National News - October 2006
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19/10/06 Greens hoping for farmland inquiry, AAP
19/10/06 Timber companies join origins debate
18/10/06 Laws 'threaten endangered animals' AAP
12/10/06 Govt to cut red tape for developments, AAP
11/10/06 Government to overhaul environment act, AAP
11/10/06 Firefighters turn to ocean, The Age
10/10/06 Suspicious blaze burning in Prom Reko Rennie, The Age
09/10/06 Perth dreaming, Kenneth Nguyen, The Age
08/10/06 Orange-bellied parrot in peril, Sydney Morning Herald
08/10/06 Firefighters battle blaze through night The Age New South Wales
07/10/06 Heatwave to sweep Australia next week AAP
05/10/06 Government to appeal Noongar decision, The Age , AAP
05/10/06 Cardboard war gets more intense on several fronts Leonie Wood, The Age Business
01/10/06 Popularity of cardboard king warps under scrutiny David Potts The Age Business
October 19, 2006 - 1:35PM, AAP
The Greens are hopeful the federal government will support a Senate inquiry into the sustainability of Australia's agricultural lands, after being told the issue will be discussed by the joint party room.
A Senate vote on establishing an inquiry has been withdrawn while government MPs consider the matter.
Greens senator Rachel Siewert said such an inquiry would look at the implications of climate change for primary industries, agriculture, rural communities and the environment.
It will then look at adaptation strategies.
"We're hopeful (the government) will support this inquiry," Senator Siewert told AAP.
"We believe they're in between a rock and a hard place in terms of how they're going to deal with this crisis.
"This is the most profound change facing agriculture for a very long time in this country and they need to pay attention to it and work out what they're going to do about it."
Greens senator Christine Milne said the government had dug itself into a hole on climate change.
"They have to acknowledge climate change and they have to spend money in order to get the adaptation strategies in place," she said.
"This inquiry will provide the opportunity for the scientists, the climate modellers, the agricultural scientists, people in rural communities, to come together and work out what we are going to do."
Illegal logging endangers the resource itself and denies governments legitimate revenue.
Photo: AP
Ferguson calls for end to timber industry land grabs
Leon Gettler, The Age
October 19, 2006
GREEN pressure group WWF-Australia is using a new weapon to stop illegal logging — it has signed up six Australian companies to eliminate forest products used from unknown sources, and it is targeting more businesses.
WWF's Australia Forest and Trade Network has secured signatures from listed agribusiness Timbercorp and plantation manager ITC Ltd, timber importers and wholesalers Simmonds Lumber, print management business Complete Print Solutions, commercial printer Complete Colour Printing and communications consultant UP&UP Creative.
The forest products covered by the agreements extend right across the supply chain, including wood and building materials, woodchips, furniture, pulp and paper.
The Australian businesses join some of the world's biggest companies by signing on to the WWF global campaign, including Fuji Xerox Office Supply and Mitsubishi Paper Sales in Japan, Ikea and Stora Enso in Sweden, Johnson & Johnson in North America, and big British DIY retailer B&Q.
WWF's Global Forest and Trade Network covers more than 300 companies in 30 countries.
The costs of illegal logging are immense. While environmentalists tend to emphasise damage to the habitats of animals such as Borneo's orang-utans, there is also a severe economic and financial impact.
Well-managed forests can provide wood for many years, perhaps indefinitely. But areas that have been overexploited, badly run, or razed will provide little future earnings. And, because illegal logs are cheaper, it puts pressure on legal operators to cut costs and prices. It also deprives governments in the region of badly needed revenue. The Indonesian Government recently estimated its losses at $US3 billion ($A4 billion).
Under the agreement, companies must undertake developing policies around responsible purchasing practices and make a commitment to phase out products sourced from illegal logging operations.
And if they cannot identify where the product comes from, they have to stop buying it.
To qualify for the AFTN, forestry management companies have to demonstrate that their forests are managed in an environmentally, socially and economically responsible way. The rest, such as wholesalers, manufacturers and other companies would have to commit to sourcing forestry products from areas certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, a global non-profit organisation dedicated to sustainable forestry.
WWF (formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund) has singled out the Australian companies over the past 12 months and AFTN co-ordinator Jana Blair says the group has more businesses in its sights, including listed companies.
"If you think about it, every single business has an impact on forestry," Ms Blair said.
October 18, 2006 - 11:19AM, AAP
Five hundred endangered ecological areas currently awaiting federal protection could be wiped off the list under new environment laws, two major wildlife conservation groups say.
Environment Minister Ian Campbell last week introduced 400 pages of reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, including giving the minister and his department greater powers to decide which areas should be considered for protection.
The Humane Society International (HSI) and WWF-Australia said they were fearful for the future of threatened species protection in Australia if the bill passed unamended.
HSI director Michael Kennedy said the bill could wipe 500 threatened ecological communities from the current waiting list for protection, amounting to millions of hectares of endangered habitat across the country.
The bill would remove the mandatory requirement to develop a recovery plan once a threatened species or ecological community is listed under the law as threatened, and remove the mandatory requirement to identify critical habitat for threatened species in any recovery plans developed, he said.
Mr Kennedy said the bill would also make it harder for the public to secure legal protection for threatened species and ecological communities, among other concerns.
"At a time when experts are warning of an impending extinction crisis, Australia needs to be fortifying its threatened species legislation, not weakening it and introducing political opt-out clauses," he said in a statement.
"HSI and WWF-Australia acknowledge that the current EPBC Act has not been delivering the protection that is needed.
"However, that has not been the fault of the law but the paltry resources given to the Department of Environment and Heritage for implementation of the act."
Mr Kennedy said the government should substantially increase funding for the running of the EPBC Act rather than reduce the government's legal responsibilities to protect threatened species.
AAP
October 12, 2006 - 6:44PM
The federal government is set to cut red tape surrounding the approval process for commercial development in environmentally sensitive areas.
Environment Minister Ian Campbell introduced more than 400 pages of amendments to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act - the first review since its introduction in 1999.
Under the sweeping changes to the environment act, public nominations of areas for protection face a shakier future, with stronger powers being handed to the government.
Senator Campbell said the changes would clarify the federal government's environmental responsibilities.
But Australian Greens leader Bob Brown immediately called the planned changes a horror bill formulated at the behest of big business, while Labor's environment spokesman Anthony Albanese lamented that the words "climate change" were not mentioned in the 400 pages.
Senator Campbell said he wanted to see a clearer focus on protection of the environment rather than creating more red tape.
"It's quite clear to me, having administered the act for two years now that there are a lot of aspects to it that create a lot of red tape, and process-driven activity that does not help our environment one iota," he said.
"I want to see a much clearer focus on the outcomes of protection and conservation rather than creating endless, unproductive red tape."
The changes are likely to face a short Senate review before reaching a parliamentary vote late next month.
Senator Campbell said the process by which the public could nominate areas for heritage protection would be streamlined, allowing the government to set its own priorities and shelve other nominations.
"I'm in no way discouraging public nominations but I'm making it quite clear that the minister and the government should be responsible for setting priorities and determining what nominations are assessed," he said.
"(This will ensure) that we do have a process driven by policy but that in no way diminishes the opportunities for people to make nominations."
Senator Brown said the reforms would remove the public's right to nominate places for heritage listing with the belief they will be properly evaluated.
If such laws had been in place in years gone by, the Franklin River would have been dammed, Fraser Island would have been mined and the tropical rainforests logged, he said.
"It sounds like the minister wants to turn our national heritage into a theme park where the theme each year ... is politically motivated rather than a serious and honest investigation of places of national and world significance," he said.
"What we should be seeing in this bill is a trigger for climate change, that is a specific trigger under the EPBC Act, and another one for water and rivers."
Mr Albanese berated the government for not mentioning climate change even once in the legislation.
"The government has responded to other serious threats to Australia with legislative measures, so the absence of any climate change measures in this bill suggests the government doesn't think climate change is a threat," he said.
Conservation group WWF-Australia called on the government to provide evidence that justified the disenfranchising of the community under the act.
"There is already a massive backlog of nominations for listing, and this change is likely to further prolong the time it takes for a species to be recognised as threatened with extinction, leaving it to decline in the interim," WWF spokesman Andreas Glanznig said.
Australia Institute deputy director Andrew Macintosh said the bill would remove what few restraints there were on the minister's powers.
"We will be left in a situation where the environment minister is a law unto himself," he said.
"The legislation was in dire need of improvement but rather than improvement the government has opted for a retrograde step."
October 11, 2006 - 6:59PM, AAP
An expected major overhaul of federal environment laws should be given wide public scrutiny and a Senate inquiry, the Australian Greens say.
The office of Environment Minister Ian Campbell confirmed significant changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act would be announced on Thursday.
The changes are expected, in part, to provide more certainty for development in regard to strict environmental requirements.
They are also expected to restrict the ability of public groups to nominate areas for national heritage listing.
The amendment bill to the EPBC Act comes as the minister faces a decision over whether to protect Aboriginal rock art works on the development-heavy Burrup Peninsula in north Western Australia.
Greens leader Bob Brown called the planned changes anti-environment.
"This is a bill to put the industry fox in charge of the environment chook house," Senator Brown said in a statement.
"It allows the minister, under the thumb of the resource extraction lobby in particular, to veto the input of Australian citizens in protecting the nation's heritage.
"It will excuse the inexcusable, for example, Campbell's impending decision to allow Woodside to destroy more of the world's greatest rock art site on Western Australia's Burrup peninsula in coming months.
"This will be a real test for Labor."
October 11, 2006 - 9:19AM,The Age
Firefighters will today use sea water to soak containment lines around a fire that has destroyed remote bushland at Wilsons Promontory National Park in Victoria as a warm spell descends on the state.
Gusty northerly winds and temperatures in the low-to-mid 30s are expected across Victoria, the first of three predicted warm days that could keep fire services busy, Department of Sustainability and Environment state duty officer Andrew Graystone said today.
A fire burning in remote country near Larkins Cove, on the south-east tip of the Wilsons Promontory National Park, was contained about 7pm (AEST) yesterday, Mr Graystone said.
The fire destroyed about 25 hectares of bush, Mr Graystone said.
About 35 firefighters will work today to strengthen containment lines around the fire, he said.
"Today we will be hosing the lines, using water pumped from the ocean to saturate the containment lines," he said.
"We'll have people there for a few days. There are quite deep fuels where the fire is burning."
Fire weather warnings have been issued across northern Victoria today, with more severe weather predicted for tomorrow, Mr Graystone said.
"For October, it's quite serious. We are worried about strong winds from the north, which bring the hot weather. Conditions are expected to worsen tomorrow," he said.
"Any fires that begin today could cause problems for us tomorrow."
AAP
Reko Rennie, The Age
October 10, 2006 - 2:54PM
Fifty emergency workers are battling a suspicious fire burning in remote bushland at Wilsons Promontory.
The Department of Sustainability and Environment is investigating the fire, near Larkins Cove and Refuge Cove on the eastern coast of Wilsons Promontory.
DSE emergency coordination manager Rachaele May told theage.com.au the fire has burnt 20 hectares of bush in an area that is inaccessible by vehicles.
"It's located in a really remote and inaccessible part of Wilsons Prom — so remote, in fact, we can't get any vehicles down there and we've had to take crews in by motorbike, helicopter and boat from Welshpool."
Ms May said an expected wind change and tomorrow's warmer conditions are a concern to emergency workers fighting the blaze.
"We're expecting a wind change later and that would push the wind in a north to north-westerly direction into unburnt country, which could give us some difficulties because the fuel loads are higher there," she said.
"Because it's so inaccessible we've only got crews working by hand, so that means they have to do a really good job with their hand trails. They're putting in a dirt track around the fire."
Temperatures across Victoria are expected to exceed 30c tomorrow and Thursday.
The difficult terrain has slowed efforts to contain the fire.
"Firefighting without vehicles not only hampers our efforts to actually put the fire out, but it means that we have to be very careful that we are not risking the safety of our crews," said Ms May.
DSE has informed walkers and campers of the possible fire risks in the area but has not had to evacuate anyone.
theage.com.au
Perth dreaming
October 9, 2006, The Age
The Federal Court has awarded the Noongar people native title over Perth and surrounding areas. With politicians ramping up the rhetoric and the decision set to be appealed, Kenneth Nguyen examines the findings and implications of the landmark case.
Q: What is all the fuss over?
However, we should put this decision in context. It's not the first time that native title has been established in an area considered "settled". Indigenous Australians have previously established native title claims in towns and cities, including Broome and Alice Springs.
Q: What does the decision mean for the Noongar?
On land where native title survives, the Noongar will be able to conduct traditional activities. These include:
- Accessing and living on the land.
- Conserving and using the natural resources of the land.
- Hunting, fishing and food gathering.
- Maintaining and protecting significant sites.
- Teaching about the land and the laws and customs pertaining to it.
- Learning about the land.
- Controlling the access of Aborigines who seek to use the land for traditional purposes.
Like all native title holders, the Noongar do not have any right to sell or lease the land, or to develop or use it for any non-traditional purpose. (In other words, there will be no Aboriginal casinos like those seen on some Native American reservations in the US.) And of course, they don't have any rights over land where native title has been extinguished.
Q: Where has native title been extinguished? Are backyards under threat?
Native title is wholly extinguished by freehold grants, most Crown leases and the vesting of reserves, among other things. Native title will be partially extinguished (that is, to the extent of any inconsistency) by the grant of other titles, such as mining titles.
In his judgement, Wilcox wrote: "Having regard to the extent of urban development and intensive farming in the claim area, the result is that a large proportion of the land within the claim area (the Perth metropolitan area) is unaffected by (the claim)."
Law firms agree with Wilcox's analysis. In a brief paper for its clients, corporate law firm Deacons has advised that "the native title rights of the Noongar people over Perth will have little to no impact on West Australian residents". Similarly, toptier firm Freehills have written that: "The rights of holders of validly granted titles will prevail over any native title rights and interests, and the holders of those titles are entitled to exercise those rights without interference from the native title claimants."
Q: So why are the Federal Government and the WA Government so worried?
Q: What about public land? Is it true that Aborigines with native title rights might be able to exclude others from some parks and beaches?
But Ruddock has also made the point that "it's unlikely that exclusive native title rights can be found over areas which have been specifically reserved or dedicated for public purposes".
That is likely to be the situation for practically all beaches and certainly all national parks. For example, one might look to Broome, where native title has been established by theYawuru people. The beach is certainly safe for all there, with the Federal Court clearly stating the Yawuru has no exclusive possession over the beach.
Q: What are the governments doing now?
Q: Are the politicians right? Is Wilcox's decision inconsistent with the High Court's precedent?
The Noongar people, however, could show continued observance of their laws and customs, albeit in modified, attenuated form since Crown sovereignty. Same principle, but different facts, and hence a different outcome. Still, time will tell as to whether there was any less obvious inconsistency in Wilcox's decision.
Q: What does this all mean for Melbourne?
Moreover, circumstances in WA gave the Noongar some unique advantages in establishing their continued traditional connection to the land, which won't hold true in other locations. First, Crown sovereignty came relatively late to WA, in 1829. Second, there was a wealth of written material left to contemporary historians by Europeans who visited the Noongar's claim area from the time of settlement through the later 19th and early 20th centuries; this material established the Noongar traditions.
Wilcox wrote: "The cumulative effect of these writings is to provide an insight into Aboriginal life, including Aboriginal laws and customs, in and about the date of settlement, which is possibly not replicated elsewhere in Australia." One might note that "elsewhere in Australia" includes Melbourne.
The upshot of all this? Some Aborigines may be encouraged by the Noongars' success into bringing a native title claim in Melbourne. But their chances of successfully establishing such a claim are as remote as ever.
THE HISTORIC NATIVE TITLE CASES
October 8, 2006, Sydney Morning Herald
A MYSTERIOUS disease is threatening the endangered orange-bellied parrot.
Birds in a captive breeding program near Hobart have been in quarantine since January, when 46 nestlings were killed by the disease.
Mark Holdsworth, from the parrot recovery program, said it was thought to be a herpes virus, but months of testing had been inconclusive. Tests would now be carried out on birds in the wild.
The population is now fewer than 200 adult birds.
October 8, 2006 - 7:09PM, The Age
Firefighters will work through the night to contain a large bushfire burning out of control on Sydney's northern beaches.
The fire, stretching over 250ha at Cromer, started about 1.30pm (AEST) when an illegal backyard burn flared out of control.
Strong 60kph winds and temperatures in the 30s pushed the blaze towards the Wakehurst Parkway, with crews performing a backburn in an attempt to head off flames at the road's northern edge.
The road remains closed in both directions between Warringah Road and Narrabeen, as more than 150 firefighters are working to contain the flames and keep them from jumping the road, a Rural Fire Service spokeswoman said.
No homes were under threat, but crews were keeping close watch on the Sydney Academy of Sport at Narrabeen, which lay in the path of the fire, the spokeswoman said.
"I'm currently watching a spectacular backburn behind the sport complex so the fire can't come down the hill," the spokeswoman said.
Five crews each were stationed at nearby Narrabeen and Elanora Heights, where thick pockets of bushland posed a spot fire ignition threat and residents were on high alert.
Five water-bombing helicopters had been grounded for the evening, but 150 firefighters would work through to dawn, and the aircraft would return to the skies at first light, the spokeswoman said.
A cool change and some light rain had provided little relief, she said.
"As it started to rain the fire was actually crowning across the top of the ridge," she said.
"The conditions are still just so dry and, though there was a little rain, moderate winds mean the fire's still running."
Investigators were currently at a home in Cromer, where the fire was believed to have originated.
Anyone who had been performing an illegal burn could face substantial penalties, she said.
A group of bushwalkers, missing when the blaze first broke out, had since been found unharmed.
October 7, 2006 - 9:30PM, AAP
Australia's southern and eastern states should prepare for a heatwave next week, meteorologists say.
Temperatures will soar into the 30s in Western Australia early in the week, especially along the west and south coasts, forecaster Weatherzone said in a statement.
South Australia will bear the brunt of the scorching conditions on Wednesday, with temperatures climbing into the low 40s, it said.
The heatwave will move across to NSW and Victoria on Thursday and Friday, with temperatures in the low to mid 30s expected, Weatherzone said.
Meteorologist Matt Pearce said the heat had been building over the Pilbara in recent weeks, with mid-40s temperatures.
"Northwesterly winds will then drag this hot air down across the southern and eastern states next week," he said.
"It is possible that some high temperature records will be broken, especially in South Australia on Wednesday and NSW on Thursday."
October 5, 2006 - 4:54PM, The Age , AAP
The federal government will appeal a court decision which upheld the indigenous Noongar people's claim on more than 6000 square kilometres of land in and around Perth.
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock today said the Commonwealth would appeal the Federal Court's decision because it left uncertainty surrounding the future of some parcels of crown land across Australia.
"I have instructed my department to initiate proceedings for the Australian government to appeal against the recent decision in Perth of the Single Noongar claim," he told reporters.
The federal government's decision comes just days after the West Australian government announced it would appeal the court's decision.
Mr Ruddock said while the Commonwealth would mount its own separate appeal, it would cooperate with the West Australian government.In the Federal Court last month, Justice Murray Wilcox upheld part of the Noongar people's claim over almost 200,000 square kilometres of WA's south-west. The remainder has not been resolved.
Mr Ruddock today reiterated his concerns that the decision could have major implications for other native title claims being determined over areas currently used by the public.
He said Justice Wilcox's judgement left doubt about exclusive use by native title claimants of vacant crown land, such as beaches and forests.
"This decision has left open doubt as to whether or not access by the general public to areas which are currently regarded as vacant crown land would necessarily be able to continue," he said.
"The fact is that such reservations have to be clearly made and if they haven't then the tenure arrangements might well be such that areas could include beaches, could include other parks and forests that are accessed by the public but which haven't been reserved or dedicated and that might mean that these areas would be available for claim."
Earlier this week, Justice Wilcox said there had been great levels of misunderstanding about exactly what native title gave to indigenous people.
He believed more people now understood that native title was not a threat to people's backyards, doesn't take away freehold land or the rights of most lease holders.
Mr Ruddock denied he was being alarmist over the issue, saying the Noongar case was not unique, with several native title claims yet to be decided across the country.
He said there was currently a claim over 175 square kilometres of greater Sydney, three partially overlapping claims over the Brisbane metropolitan area, several in the Northern Territory, another in Adelaide and one for nearly all of the ACT.
The Federal Court also last week referred a claim over vacant crown land on Queensland's Gold Coast to the Native Title Tribunal for mediation.
"The final outcomes of this claim in Perth may have significant implications for other cities," Mr Ruddock said.
WA Attorney General Jim McGinty later said that "unlike John Howard and Philip Ruddock", the state respected native title and recognised the Noongars as the land's traditional owners.
"The Western Australian government is not appealing the decision by Justice Wilcox in order to overturn native title," Mr McGinty said.
"We simply want to have a clearer understanding of what the ground rules are in order to embrace native title in the future."
AAP
Amcor says it hasn't seen the writ yet.
Photo: Peter Morris
Leonie Wood, The Age Business
October 5, 2006
VISY Industries has launched a new legal battle against arch-rival Amcor with explosive allegations that the paper and packaging group, via a former Visy employee, unlawfully obtained confidential information about Visy's operations.
The new case, initiated yesterday in the Federal Court, alleges that former Visy manager John Morriss, who became a senior Amcor manager in 1998, relayed information about Visy's business, customers, pricing, sales, costs and contracts to senior executives at Amcor from 1997 until he quit Amcor in January 2000.
Visy alleges the information was used in 1998 by senior Amcor executives in the corrugated fibre packaging business, including Peter Brown and Jim Hodgson, and that four years later Mr Hodgson relied on it when he lobbied Amcor's board to restructure the cardboard box division, close factories and retrench staff.
This is the latest in an increasingly complex series of cases that have entangled Australia's two biggest packaging groups since 2004, when Amcor told the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that for four years it apparently had participated in a price-fixing cartel with Visy.
On one front, the ACCC is suing Visy, its founder Richard Pratt and two other Visy managers for price fixing, although the case is not likely to begin until next year. Visy denies that it participated in a cartel, and claims that whatever actions or words it relayed to Amcor managers during that four years, and that have been interpreted as participation in a cartel, were merely a ploy to throw Amcor off its trail.
Revelations of the cartel activity emerged in 2004 when Amcor obtained court orders to raid the premises of five former employees — Mr Hodgson, Trevor Barnes, Christopher Bayley, Albert Mihelic and Ian Sangster — who planned to set up their own consultancy to the packaging industry.
Amcor's lawyers seized many documents during the raids, and
unexpectedly discovered recordings of conversations that apparently incriminated the company in deals where Amcor and Visy co-operated on fixing prices and agreed not to compete for certain customers.
Amcor sacked several executives at the time, including then chief executive Russell Jones, Peter Jones and consultant Peter Sutton.
Visy's new claim alleges that Mr Morriss, who was in charge of Visy's Victorian operations from 1989 until he resigned in January 1996, breached his fiduciary duties to Visy by leaking information to Mr Brown before he secured a new job at Amcor in January 1998.
Visy claims that senior Amcor executives used the secret information in presentations to former Amcor CEO Mr Jones and the Amcor board.
Mr Morriss said last night he did not know anything about Visy's claims and had not seen the writ.
Visy's writ alleges that on September 8 it asked Amcor to confirm or deny that it had obtained confidential Visy information from Mr Morriss and to hand it over. It says that six days later Amcor replied, saying it did not accept Visy's allegations.
A spokesman for Amcor last night said the company had not yet been served with the writ.
Separately, Mr Hodgson, who was nudged out of Amcor in August 2004, is suing Amcor for wrongful dismissal. He recently filed documents suggesting it was Amcor, not Visy, that initiated the cartel.
On yet another front, Amcor is facing a damages claim related to its cartel behaviour. Jarra Creek Packaging yesterday obtained permission from a Federal Court judge to access certain affidavits, exhibits and closed-court transcripts that emerged in Amcor's original bid of two years ago when it stopped the five former managers from using what it said was confidential information about Amcor's pricing structures and customer contracts.
As well, revelations emerged this week that Amcor secretly commissioned a team of employees to infiltrate environmental groups in its bid to influence government decisions about forestry access and help it secure long-term hardwood supplies.
Back to Top
October 1, 2006, David Potts The Age Business
Amcor's had a hard time, writes David Potts.
AMCOR, the cardboard packaging and bottle maker, could do with some packaging itself, considering it rated as Australia's least admired company in a survey by the business magazine BRW. Yes, even behind Telstra.
It won't be helped as the ACCC inquiry into price fixing in cardboard boxes grinds on to its conclusion.
Mind you, it also serves as a reminder of how dominant Amcor is in its markets, rivalled only by Visy. In fact it is one of the world's biggest packagers and has 240 factories around the globe.
But this is one stock that has paid the price of the commodities boom. It's also surprisingly vulnerable to weather shocks: Cyclone Larry hit the corrugated box business by wiping out the North Queensland banana crop, and so the need for boxes. Now, frost has destroyed Victoria's pear and apricot crops.
The rocketing price of oil has been a triple whammy for Amcor. First, oil has pushed up the prices of resin used for plastic bottles faster than Amcor can claw back the cost.
Second, as with any manufacturer, it pushed up the costs of running a factory.
The third hit is more indirect: rising commodity prices push up the dollar which reduces overseas earnings.
Although oil prices seem to have eased off, higher costs haven't fully flowed through the pipeline. They would need to drop well below $US60 ($80) a barrel before making a real difference to Amcor.
At least its new chief executive Ken MacKenzie has been well received by the market, and suggestions Amcor is vulnerable to a Coles Myer type private equity bid has helped the share price no end.
Especially since local fund managers have been caught short after bad mouthing, not without reason, Amcor for so long.
The market thinks Amcor needs to change from a production to a consumer-oriented company - the same challenge, if you'll pardon the comparison, that Telstra has been trying to meet.
Unfortunately its biggest customer is the food and beverage industry - clients include Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestle and Kraft - where fashions can change quickly. Amcor is known to want to offload its local food tin can business, but there don't seem to be any takers.
Still, Amcor is well managed, is a global player and has a history of keeping costs under control and dispensing with under-performing assets. It also benefits from the removal of the 15 per cent withholding tax on repatriated US earnings.
For better or worse, Amcor has also jumped on the China bandwagon, buying a sizable minority interest in K Laser China for its holographic material packaging.
ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES
VERDICT