THE $30 billion in tax cuts promised by the Federal Government will "not necessarily" exert pressure on inflation, Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner says.

A BRITISH retailer has withdrawn a bedroom set targeted at young girls that was branded under the name "Lolita" after a furious campaign by a mothers' group, The Times has reported.

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has warned of "pain and difficulty" for Australians in this year's budget as he declared inflation to be public enemy number one.

FAMILIES struggling with mortgage repayments can expect things to get worse, with 17 out of 19 economists predicting a rate rise on Tuesday.

DISGRACED AFL star Wayne Carey allegedly told police officers he won some money "on the punt" during his dramatic arrest in Melbourne.

MAJOR Australian greenhouse gas emitters believe that emissions-trading costs of about $65 a tonne of carbon are inevitable, forcing household electricity bills to rise by almost 100 per cent.

The Australian sharemarket has started the month on a positive note after Wall Street's strong close.

An Australian man has been detained in Vanuatu over his alleged involvement in a multi-billion dollar investment swindle.

A key monthly measure of manufacturing activity has contracted for the first time in nearly two years.

Property funds manager MacarthurCook has bought a 33 per cent stake in New Zealand counterpart Kinlock Funds Management for an undisclosed sum.

Figures released by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) show the amount of money received by political parties jumped by about 70 per cent in the year leading up to the federal election.

The Federal Government has already started blaming the Opposition for a likely rise in interest rates next week.

The dream of building a pipeline through Queensland to carry Papua New Guinean natural gas may be back on the drawing board.

The recommended price of draught and packaged beer has gone up in South Australia from today.

A mining company in Gladstone, in central Queensland, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a major Chinese company.

The planned redevelopment of Arndale Shopping Centre in Adelaide's west has been put on hold.

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A complaint has been lodged with the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) and the Queensland police ethical standards department regarding the arrest of a Toowoomba truck driver last year.

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd says it's not his place to determine whether former Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks should be allowed to profit from selling his story.

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