Superman in need of a spot

PETER Dutton is being painted by colleagues as a political Superman: intimidating to Labor, vital to the Coalition team, future Liberal leadership material.

Parachute Club In Shock Over Skydive Death

A MAN in his 50s died yesterday in a parachute mishap in central Victoria while on a training exercise. A spokeswoman for parachute club Skydive Nagambie said the man was a member who had recently started the sport, and was undertaking training for his parachuting qualification. "Obviously skydiving like other sports is potentially dangerous, but the club is in shock," the spokeswoman said.

Jakarta Takes Aim At Freedom Fighters

Firing air-to-surface missiles and parachuting in hundreds of troops, Indonesia began a new campaign early yesterday to crush separatists in Aceh province in its biggest military offensive since it invaded East Timor.

Tangled Skydivers Die In Fall

Two experienced skydivers plunged to their deaths in a parachuting accident in Nagambie, north of Melbourne, on Friday.

Two Skydivers Die After Chutes Become Tangled

Two experienced skydivers plunged to their deaths at Nagambie, north of Melbourne, yesterday. It was the third parachuting tragedy in the small central Victorian town in two years and the second this year.

Anglers Gamble With Their Lives Beside The Cruel Sea

Question: what is the most dangerous sport in NSW? Mountaineering? Parachuting? Scuba diving? There's a case for saying it's none of these, but a sport many people associate with serenity rather than drama.

Motley Crew Bend Their Backs For Their Country

THE tourists continue to use a motley collection of net bowlers as they move from shire to shire. Joe Dawes made the drive north from Kent this week, where he is playing league cricket in between parachuting in for the MCC to clean up Australia at Arundel a fortnight ago.

Parachute Mass Drop Cancelled

It took the Australian Defence Force 14 days to plan its Exercise Swift Canopy but just a few clouds to stop it in its tracks. The exercise planned to have about 500 members of the Parachute Battalion Group, formed around the Third Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, parachuting en masse

Jumper Injures Spine

NEWCASTLE man Mark Bell suffered serious spinal injuries in a weekend parachuting accident near Elderslie, at Branxton. Mr Bell, 38, of Jewells, was airlifted to Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital after landing heavily at the Sport Parachuting Club on Saturday. A spokeswoman for Royal North

Adventurer Helps To Blaze Lake Trail

WANGI Queen owner Graham Burgess was one of a dozen Lake Macquarie torchbearers at yesterday's ceremony to launch the city's Olympic Torch celebrations. Mr Burgess plants the Lake Macquarie flag wherever he goes on his travels, which range from parachuting to the North Pole and attempting to roun

Crews Prepare To Drop Supplies

Australia was last night preparing for the dangerous task of parachuting emergency supplies to thousands of starving refugees hiding in the mountains of East Timor. Indonesia last night gave in-principle permission for the drops to go ahead where tens of thousands of displaced people have taken r

Appeal Of Doing New Things

Young at heart - Part VI Q.6 Is there anything you wish you had tried? I wish I had tried parachuting 25 years ago. It has always appealed to me - the notion of jumping out of a plane and the adrenaline rush of wondering whether the chute will open. I tried a few things li

Council Acts On Airport Safety

CESSNOCK Council has standardised landing procedures at the city's airport to improve safety associated with a plane used at the strip for parachuting. Council general manager Col Cowan told a council meeting on Wednesday night that a plane used by the NSW Skydiving Centre was a potential safety

Rookie's Tribute To Tragic Uncle

Rookie NSW cricketer Shawn Bradstreet has dedicated his match-winning performance in yesterday's one-day win over Western Australia to an uncle who died in a parachuting accident at Darling Harbour last week. Bradstreet emerged from a cautious start to smash an unbeaten 75 off 70 balls in the 55

Santa Sleighs Opponents

A PARACHUTING Santa landed on queue at Wynn's Newcastle Speedway on Saturday night. Last Christmas he blew all the way to Hexham Bridge but on Saturday the jolly red man landed on target. John Pyne in his Teterin Engines Pontiac Grand Prix, stole the show in the 20-lap Gough & Gilmour Sup

Q&a With Greg Bryce

Full name? Greg Bryce. Date of birth? The day my mother had me. Earliest memory? Hang on while I go back quite a few years. Childhood pin-up? Olivia Newton-John. Silliest thing you've ever done? What, besides this questionnaire? Bravest thing you've ever done? Parachuting. Favourit

Earthbound, A Bolt From The Blue

At this level of parachuting proficiency, fears of the chute not opening or of landing on a barbed wire fence do not exist. Instead, the jitters are about miscalculated manoeuvres or the fear that another team of elite skydivers will steal your thunder. The pristine sky yesterday gave dozens

My Budget The Battler

Glen and Barbie Stewart and their sons, Alain, 9, and Ben 21. JOB: Mr Stewart, 44, has been unemployed since January 1995 after a parachuting accident badly damaged his leg. He is retraining by studying part-time at Deakin University for an arts degree. Mrs Stewart has a permanent casual job har

Parachuting People

AT THE Newcastle Regional Show, students from Years 5 and 6 at Mayfield East Public School performed a parachuting display. No, students didn't come flying out of the sky. It was a performance in the mini show-ring with the bindies and small things that smelt bad ? you know what we mean? St

Raaf Man `liked Through All Ranks'

A MEMORIAL service will be held today for Wing Commander Lou La Puma who died in Maitland Hospital on Friday after a parachuting accident. He was 50. The chaplain at RAAF Williamtown, the Rev Mark Willis, said yesterday that Wing Commander La Puma was held in high esteem by all ranks. Wing