PRESS DIGEST-Australian General News - April 20

Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)

State governments will be asked to commit an estimated A$1 billion a year into telecommunications spending and contribute infrastructure to support the Federal Government's A$43 billion national broadband network. A spokesman for Communications Minister Stephen Conroy confirmed yesterday that the minister will meet with states and territories in the coming weeks to secure early commitments for the fibre-to-the-home network. Page 1.

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Earnings forecasting in the current environment is almost impossible, according to Graham Kraehe, Reserve Bank of Australia director and chairman of logistics provider Brambles (BXB.AX). Speaking on Friday, Mr Kraehe conceded he was shocked with the dramatic change in performance Brambles had experienced since its annual general meeting last November, a period that he had forecast would achieve stable profits. "These circumstances are like nothing I've seen in my working life,' Mr Kraehe said on Friday. Page 1.

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Queensland Treasurer Andrew Bligh yesterday confirmed the first Public Private Partnership awarded by the Bligh government since its re-election this year. The Aspire Schools consortium, led by construction and engineering firm Leighton Contractors, has won the A$1.1 billion contract to build and maintain seven schools in the state's south east. More than two thousand jobs will be created over the four-and-a-half year construction period and 30-year maintenance period, according to the Government. Page 4.

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THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)