Making Friends With The Neighbors

THIS week's acceptance by Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid of an invitation to visit Australia is very welcome. It is a sign that relations between this country and its populous neighbor, severely strained over Australia's intervention in East Timor, are beginning to return to normality. The

Foresters Chip Away At People's Trust

EMMA Koch has lived in the Cobaw forest near Blackwood, in central Victoria, for eight years. Like many of her neighbors, Koch abandoned Melbourne for a quiet country life. She used to watch the logging trucks trundling past her home but did not think too much about what they meant for her beloved b

Paying The Price For Private Sun And Surf

What price a Portsea beach? It depends on how you pay. Trucking magnate Lindsay Fox paid dearly for his when he was widely attacked last year for staking out his land with posts in the sand. His Portsea neighbors, including critic Kate Baillieu, have paid in cash for theirs, with astronomic ra