Sydney

Martin Bryant, the millionaire loner who slaughtered 35 people at a scenic Australian spot in 1996, has fulfilled the prediction of psychologists and is settling into his 10th year in prison as a lifeless hulk. ”Martin is like a zombie,” his mother, Carleen Bryant, told The Bulletin magazine in a story published on Tuesday.

The New South Wales (NSW) Waratahs smashed the Auckland Blues 43-9 to pick up a bonus point and move to the top of the Super 14 ladder here on Friday. The Waratahs leapt above the Canterbury Crusaders in their four-tries-to-nil thrashing of the inconsistent Blues to underline their claims to go one better than last year’s final loss to the Crusaders.

Australia has failed to make any significant progress over the past 30 years on improving the education of Aboriginal people, by far the country’s most disadvantaged group, according to a survey released on Friday. The survey of about 2 500 students in Western Australia state found that Aboriginal students started school at a disadvantage to non-Aboriginal children and the gap only widened during their years in the classroom.

The head of the United Nations’s probe into illegal kickbacks paid to Iraq under the oil-for-food programme found the Australian government initially uncooperative and reticent to provide information. The Australian panel examining the discredited programme was told that Foreign Minister Alexander Downer had at first prevented the UN from interviewing government officials over the scandal.

Troops headed for cyclone-devastated north-east Australia on Tuesday as Prime Minister John Howard pledged quick aid for those left homeless or without power by the country’s worst storm in decades. Cyclone Larry hit the Queensland coast as a highest-level category-five storm on Monday, destroying hundreds of homes.

Australian gamblers relearnt an old lesson along with the nation’s cricketers in this week’s record-breaking one-day international in Johannesburg: there’s no such thing as a certainty. Three punters lost Aus 000 (about R263 000) betting that South Africa could not beat Australia’s record one-day total of 434.

The tackling technique of Test forward Adrian Morley is again under scrutiny after he received a two-match National Rugby League ban for a high tackle in a club match last weekend. The Sydney Roosters had considered appealing the severity of Morley’s grade-three careless high tackle charge on South Sydney scrum-half Ben Walker but decided to accept a two-game ban.

Mat Rogers scored a stepping, weaving try which Peter Hewat converted, before crossing for a try himself from the restart as the New South Wales Waratahs thrashed the Cats 50-3 on Friday in a Super 14 match. Rogers opened the scoring in the 6th minute when he stepped inside two defenders on his way to the try line.

The oath-laden slogan of Australia’s new tourism campaign — ”So where the bloody hell are you?” — has been banned in Britain. The decision by Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority was announced in Australia on Thursday and will keep the Aus-million (-million) campaign off British television screens.

The ACT Brumbies are searching for more clinical finishing to realise maximum points against South Africa’s Coastal Sharks as they try to make up some ground on Super 14 rugby leaders Canterbury Crusaders this weekend. The innovative Brumbies will again have home-ground advantage against the 10th-placed Sharks.

Test cricket’s greatest wicket-taker Shane Warne has admitted his off-field antics with a series of women cost him not only his marriage but also a chance to captain Australia. In a candid interview with The Bulletin magazine, the spin wizard describes himself variously as ”an idiot” and ”a dickhead” for his well-publicised extra-marital sexual escapades.

Australia on Tuesday recalled three Ashes casualties in Damien Martyn, Michael Clarke and Michael Kasprowicz but snubbed fellow discard Jason Gillespie’s push for a ticket to South Africa. Selectors instead named Shaun Tait in a 14-man Test squad which had no room for batsman Brad Hodge and New South Wales quick Nathan Bracken.

Star swimmer Ian Thorpe will skip the Commonwealth Games due to illness. Thorpe, a multiple Olympic and world championship gold medalist, has bronchitis and a viral infection. ”It is very frustrating, it is very disappointing that I cannot be part of the team competing in Melbourne,” a tired looking Thorpe said on Tuesday.

Wallaby star Mat Rogers will make his first Super 14 start at flyhalf this weekend when the New South Wales Waratahs face off against South Africa’s Golden Cats in Sydney, the team announced on Tuesday. Rogers missed the opening three Super 14 rounds following the suicide of his father and former rugby league great Steve Rogers in January.

New South Wales made its first Super 14 home match of the season a winning one Saturday, while the Canterbury Crusaders won their fourth in a row to join the Waratahs among the tournament’s top four. Playing before 25 619 fans in a rare afternoon game, Wallabies winger Lote Tuqiri broke an 11-match try-scoring drought to help the Waratahs to a 31-16 win over South Africa’s Sharks.

Wallaby back Mat Rogers made a sparkling return to rugby as the New South Wales Waratahs climbed to fourth in the Super 14 with a 31-16 victory over South Africa’s Coastal Sharks in Sydney on Saturday. The Sydney franchise scored three tries to one and just missed out on a four-try bonus point in a free-flowing victory.

Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting risks aggravating a stomach muscle strain if he plays in the remainder of the five-match one-day series in South Africa, team physiotherapist Errol Alcott has warned. Medical opinion is that Ponting will miss the game as well as Sunday’s match in Port Elizabeth.

New South Wales Waratahs will be looking to overcome a tumultuous week of suspensions as they try to get their Super 14 rugby campaign back on track against South Africa’s Coastal Sharks in Sydney on Saturday. Last season’s beaten finalists will be without banned forwards Rocky Elsom and Matt Dunning.

An Australian surfer accused of ”surf rage” has been banned from riding the waves at nine Sydney beaches, local media reported on Thursday. A court heard that John Dunne (34) had mounted a campaign of intimidation against other surfers who dared catch his favourite, world-renowned, breakers at North Narabeen beach.

Wallaby winger Wendell Sailor was suspended for an additional two matches and fined an extra 3 500 Australian dollars ( 587) on Tuesday over an incident outside a Cape Town nightclub during the New South Wales Waratah’s tour of South Africa earlier this month.

Fast-bowler Glenn McGrath ruled himself out of Australia’s cricket Test series against South Africa for family reasons on Tuesday, Australian Associated Press reported. McGrath has chosen to remain in Australia to be with his wife, Jane, who is fighting cancer.

Opening batsman Phil Jaques was on Monday added to the injury-hit Australian one-day squad for its limited-overs series in South Africa, Cricket Australia said. The New South Wales batsman was considered unlucky to miss out in the original selection after a prolific-scoring Australian summer.

South Africa’s Coastal Sharks will use a secret weapon as they try to reverse a wretched playing record in New Zealand against reigning champions Canterbury Crusaders in Super 14 rugby action on Saturday. The weapon is former All Blacks fly-half Tony Brown, who played 19 Tests and 83 Super 12 matches for the Otago Highlanders.

An Australian businessman who faked his own death nearly six years ago in an attempt to cash in a 3,5-million Australian dollar ($2,5-million) life insurance policy was jailed on Thursday for 15 months. Harry Gordon (56) who was declared officially dead after an apparent boating accident but never received the money, was also ordered to compensate police Aus$22 000 for the costs of searching for him.

Wallaby winger Wendell Sailor returned home in disgrace from the NSW Waratahs’ rugby tour of South Africa on Wednesday saying the nightclub incident that led to his early departure was a low point in his career. Sailor has already incurred a one-match ban and a fine from team authorities after he reportedly pushed a man to the ground outside a Cape Town nightclub.

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting wants his team to help defuse anticipated hostile South African crowds and engage them in friendly banter while fielding during this month’s one-day cricket series. Ponting’s comments follow South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher’s urging of South African crowds to give the Australians a hard time.

Australian opening Test batsman Justin Langer took on world flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan in a promotional bout in Sydney on Monday and according to the boxer made a good fist of it. Langer went two rounds with world flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan in trainer Jeff Fenech’s Sydney gym.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting said on Monday he will be allowed to use his illegal graphite-backed bat in this month’s one-day cricket series in South Africa. The Marylebone Cricket Club, the custodian of cricket’s rules, said last week that the bat used by Ponting and several other leading international players contravened cricket laws and was illegal.

Wallaby winger Wendell Sailor will return home from the NSW Waratahs’ rugby tour of South Africa on Tuesday after incurring a one-match ban and a fine following an incident at a Cape Town nightclub, the New South Wales Rugby Union (NSWRU) said on Monday. The NSWRU said in a statement that Sailor was suspended for one match and fined an undisclosed amount for inappropriate behaviour while intoxicated.