Sarina Locke
The supermarket giant Coles faced a barage of questions from farmers about its Down Down campaign at an event it helped pay for.
Coles is the major sponsor to the National Farmers Federation Congress in Canberra, attended by 300 farmers and business people.
The NFF and Coles both say it's important to be in the same room.
Sugar week stirs global markets
Charlie McKillop
The volatile nature of global sugar has again played out with full
effect as the market slumped and then rallied again to be up by 50
points.
It was a week in which all eyes were on London Sugar Week - a biennial
event which brings together the who's who of world sugar to exchange
information about all aspects of production and market outlook.
Green Pool Commodities senior analyst Tom McNeill says even amid the
cocktail parties and dinners, the mood was decidedly bearish, especially
with a potential clash between sugar giants Centre South Brazil and
Thailand on the horizon.
BMA dispute resolved
Michael Cavanagh
The long running industrial action at the Bowen Basin mines run by the
BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance better known as BMA has finally been
settled.
Around sixty per cent of employees covered by several unions including
the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union and the Electrical
Trades Union backed the agreement which includes a fifteen per cent pay
increase over three years more superannuation and a local housing
agreement to support families choosing to live in local towns.
CFMEU District president Steve Smyth concedes that given the present
economic conditions it was the best that could be hoped for and that
there were no compromises, but he's not "entirely happy with where it
landed".
BMA asset president Stephen Dumble says it was inevitable there would be
compromise by both parties and he is pleased a solution was found after
long and difficult negotiations.
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