Parry stepping up in Senate

You have to feel sorry for the Senate. It has its fancy Latin name, sure. And there's all that la de da reviewing of legislation. But the Senate is often seen as the scrawnier, poorer cousin of the House. Its ruby hues paling in comparison to the big green behemoth across the parquetry.

Yesterday it was the Senate's time to twinkle a little. With 12 new members and a power balance shake-up, it was the parliamentary equivalent of a new pair or shoes and a new haircut.

To boost the star power, the Governor-General turned up first thing to swear in the new guys, throwing colour-clashes to the wind in a bright pink coat.

Oaths of allegiance sworn and done, it was time to elect a president and deputy president. With Labor nominating Bob Hogg for another term in the high chair, this should have been a mere formality. However, Bob Brown attempted an upset by nominating fellow Green senator Scott Ludlam for the post. It didn't work, with Hogg taking it out 62 to nine (there are nine Greens in the Senate). Nor did it work for the deputy position, when Liberal Stephen Parry beat Ludlam 61 to nine. Still, it sent a loud, clear message to the Old Way of Doing Things. Don't get too comfy, Old Way. We've got nine votes and we're not afraid to use them.

Senator Parry, a former funeral director and police officer who was elected to the Senate in 2004, said it was an honour and a privilege to be elected.

While the role includes a new office that boasts a courtyard it will also require Senator Parry to ensure committees are functioning properly, and to fill the president's role when required.

Senator Parry's duties also will demand that he is "more bipartisan".

"I can still have my strong affiliation and strong views as a Liberal member, but I have to ensure a more fair view," he said. "Coming from the position of Whip, where I was focusing on one side, it will be a challenge, but all other deputy presidents have managed so I'm confident I will, too."

Senator Parry's appointment follows a greening of the Senate, with the Greens now holding sway in the Upper House whenever there is a disagreement between the Gillard Government and the opposition Coalition.

Senator Parry said there had already been a notable difference, with the Greens earning more questions in Question Time yesterday.

Cattle trade

Idea of driving Texas longhorn cattle from Texas to railheads in Kansas originated in the late 1850s but was cut short by the Civil War. In 1866, the first Texas cattle started arriving in Baxter Springs in southeastern Kansas by way of the Shawnee Trail. However, Texas longhorn cattle carried a tick that spread splenic fever, known locally as Texas Fever, among other breeds of cattle. Alarmed Kansas farmers persuaded the Kansas State Legislature to establish a quarantine line in central Kansas. The quarantine prohibited Texas longhorns from the heavily settled, eastern portion of the state.

With the cattle trade forced west, Texas longhorns began moving north along the Chisholm Trail. In 1867, the main Cow Town was Abilene, Kansas. Profits were high, and other towns quickly joined in the cattle boom. Newton in 1871; Ellsworth in 1872; and Wichita in 1872. However, in 1876 the Kansas State Legislature responded to pressure from farmers settling in central Kansas and once again shifted the quarantine line westward, which essentially eliminated Abilene and the other Cow Towns from the cattle trade. With no place else to go, Dodge City suddenly became Queen of the Cow Towns.

A new route, known as the Great Western Cattle Trail, or Western Trail, branched off from the Chisholm Trail to lead cattle into Dodge City. Dodge City became a boomtown, with thousands of cattle passing annually through its stockyards. The peak years of the cattle trade in Dodge City were from 1883 to 1884, and during that time the town grew tremendously. In 1880, Dodge City got a new competitor for the cattle trade from the border town of Caldwell. 

For a few years the competition between the towns was fierce, but there were enough cattle for both towns to prosper. Nevertheless, it was Dodge City that became famous, and rightly so because no town could match Dodge City's reputation as a true frontier settlement of the Old West. Dodge City had more famous (and infamous) gunfighters working at one time or another than any other town in the West, many of whom participated in the Dodge City War of 1883. It also boasted the usual array of saloons, gambling halls, and brothels established to separate a lonely cowboy from his hard-earned cash, including the famous Long Branch Saloon and China Doll brothel. For a time in 1884, Dodge City even had a bullfighting ring where Mexican bullfighters imported from Mexico would put on a show with specially chosen longhorn bulls.

As more agricultural settlers moved into western Kansas, pressure on the Kansas State Legislature to do something about splenic fever increased. Consequently, in 1885 the quarantine line was extended across the state and the Western Trail was all but shut down. By 1886, the cowboys, saloon keepers, gamblers, and brothel owners moved west to greener pastures, and Dodge City became a sleepy little town much like other communities in western Kansas.

New Jakarta ban shuts down live cattle trade

Federal government insists Indonesia's decision not to reissue import permits for live Australian cattle is not a permanent roadblock.

Indonesia last week delayed granting new licences for the July-to-September quarter given Australia's own suspension on exports, which could potentially last until November.

These moves have prompted fears within the industry that Indonesia could withhold the permits and use this as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Australia.

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The two countries are yet to agree on mutual slaughter standards which, along with a tracking system, are needed to get the $320 million trade up and running again.

But Prime Minister Julia Gillard insists there is nothing stopping Indonesia from reissuing the permits as soon as an agreement is reached.

"[Does] this definitely mean that Australia won't be in that market for three months? That's not true," Ms Gillard told parliament during question time on Monday.

"There is no technical impediment to Indonesia granting permits in the forthcoming three-month period."

Australia's suspension could last anywhere up to six months, although the coalition is demanding that trade resume immediately to a handful of abattoirs that abide by international standards.

The memo to 23 beef importers was copied to the Indonesian Agriculture Minister, the secretary-general of the Agriculture Ministry, the head of its quarantine division and divisional heads covering animal husbandry.

It signals that a resolution does not just depend on an Australian decision, and that the Indonesian government will have to now give the go-ahead to the resumption of the trade by issuing new import permits.

The government last week moved to ease the crisis in the beef industry by announcing that affected producers would each be eligible for up to $25,000 in financial assistance. Speaking on the ABC's Insiders program yesterday, Julia Gillard said it was her objective to resume the trade, but the animal welfare issues had to be addressed. "We won't wait one extra day, we are absolutely working full-bore on that," she said. "In the meantime we are providing some short-term assistance to people in the industry who need that assistance right now."

The opposition has been calling on the Prime Minister to visit Indonesia personally to resolve the issue.

NSW Liberal senator Bill Heffernan said the Indonesian memo showed "the ball is clearly in our court and the government has to show leadership".

Senator Heffernan said the government should immediately publish and implement an industry plan presented to it some weeks ago.

He said under the plan, the industry had agreed to the full tracing of cattle exported from Australia. He said exporting cattle to Indonesia abattoirs with proper standards would allow 40 to 50 per cent of the export capacity to be immediately resumed. "There is no excuse not to start issuing export authorisations. The looming industry catastrophe will cost billions of dollars," he said.

The internal Australian government assessment shows that producers will lose between $42m and $62m from the initial "first-round" impact of the ban.

The briefing estimates the full impact of the ban on "gross value of production" of the industry ranges from $99m if trade were reopened in July to $154m if the ban continued until December. "The impact on farm gate gross value of product of those selling into the live trade is even worse - it ranges from losses of $153m (about 30 per cent) to losses of $240m (almost 50 per cent)," it says.

Charges after police raid homes over shootings

Three men have been arrested by police investigating a series of violent incidents between feuding families in Melbourne's north in the past few weeks.

Santiago Taskforce detectives assisted by the Special Operations Group and the dog squad swooped on the northern suburbs at dawn, arresting the men and executing two search warrants.

The arrests and search warrants were executed in St Albans and Coolaroo "in relation to an ongoing investigation into a series of incidents in the northern suburbs in the last couple of weeks", a police spokesman said.

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Two men, aged 31 and 18, were arrested in St Albans and a 19-year-old man was arrested in Coolaroo.

The men are assisting police with their inquiries but no charges have yet been laid.

Witness Liz told ABC Radio the arrest of the 19-year-old man at Coolaroo was at the same house that has been shot at several times and fire bombed in recent weeks.

The charges follow raids by heavily armed police on a house in St Albans and a house in Coolaroo after 6am today.

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The 19-year-old was arrested outside a home in Guildford Avenue, Coolaroo, that was firebombed and targeted in a series of early-morning drive-by shootings late last month.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said Santiago taskforce detectives were assisted by state operations group and dog squad police.

The most recent outbreak of violence was on June 28, when a gunman in a car fired at another vehicle during a wild pursuit near the intersection of Hilda Street and Justin Avenue in Glenroy around 3.15pm.

At least one shot hit a nearby home.

A day earlier, two vehicles were involved in an early-morning gunfight in nearby Jacana.

On June 23, two shots were fired at a home in Sunset Boulevarde, Jacana, just hours before a light truck was crashed into the Guildford Avenue house, which was also sprayed with gunfire.

The day before, a petrol bomb was thrown through the front window of the same Guildford Avenue home.

No one has been injured in the attacks, which have terrified nearby residents.

Tiger Airways

Tiger Airways Singapore Pte Ltd, operating as Tiger Airways Singapore, is a low cost airline which commenced services on 25 March 2005. It is a subsidiary of Tiger Airways Holdings, a Singapore-based company, which is owned partially by Singapore Airlines. Incorporated in September 2003, it is currently the largest low-cost airline operating out of Singapore in terms of passengers carried. In 2006, the airline flew 1.2 million passengers, a growth of 75% from the previous year.

The airline was the first to operate from the Budget Terminal in Changi Airport in order to achieve operating-cost savings and its cost structure is modelled after Ryanair. Despite regional competition, the airline has reiterated its current intention to remain focused on flying within a five-hour radius from its Singaporean base. To overcome regulatory hurdles in the region, the airline attempts to buy into regional carriers to expand into a pan-Asian carrier.

Flights to India started in October 2007, and expansion to Malaysia was started in 2008. Former plans to establish new hubs at Incheon, Korea have been suspended.

Incheon Tiger Airways

On 5 November 2007, Tiger Airways announced that it would be starting a Korean-based budget airline. Incheon Tiger Airways was to have been a joint venture between Tiger Aviation and Incheon Metropolitan City, flying to destinations in Japan, China, Mongolia and the Russian Far East. The airline was to be based in South Korea's Incheon Airport and planned to begin services by 2009; however, the project was abandoned in December 2008.

Thai Tiger Airways

Tiger Airways and Thai Airways International will form an airline based in Thailand, where Thai Airways International and Tiger Airways will own 51% and 39% respectively of the newly formed airline, while RyanThai will hold the remaining 10%. Operations are expected to begin in the 1st quarter of 2011.

Tiger Activity in Philippines

In December 2010, Tiger enter the Philippines market by proxy, without setting up an airlines in Philippines. Instead, Tiger goes into partnership with South East Asian Airlines(SEAir), whereby Tiger will lease aircraft to SEAir, and SEAir will operate the aircraft in SEAir's livery, using SEAir's pilot and cabin crew. Seats on the flight operated by SEAir using aircraft leased from Tiger will be sold and marketed by Tiger for SEAir. This Tiger/SEAir partnership began with international flight departing from Clark to Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macau; it was then expanded to domestic flight from Manila(NAIA) to Cebu and Davao. These flight will only show up on Tiger's website route-map. Shortly after SEAir and Tiger launch the partnership, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Zest Airways, and Air Philippines send a letter of protest to the Department of Transportation and Communication. They claim the partnership between SEAir and Tiger is illegal and requested the authorities to stop flights operating under the partnership.

Tiger Activity in Indonesia

Tiger Airways ventured into Indonesia market by buying 33% shares of the troubled Mandala Airlines. The new Mandala Airlines will fly Indonesia domestic destination, as well as international destination within 5 hours radius.

Corporate management

Tiger Airways is wholly owned by Tiger Airways Holdings Limited, a holding company set up in 2007 to manage both Tiger Airways and start-up Australian subsidiary Tiger Airways Australia. Tiger Airways' original founding shareholders were Singapore Airlines (49%), Bill Franke's Indigo Partners (24%); Tony Ryan's Irelandia Investments (16%) and Temasek Holdings (11%). Tiger Airways Holdings Limited is listed on SGX since 2010.

History

The airline was incorporated on 12 December 2003 and began ticket sales on 31 August 2004. The airline flew into a period of relative difficulty for the aviation industry with rising oil prices and intense competition from other airlines. The airline held off imposing fuel surcharges as its competitors had done.

With Singapore Airlines having a stake in the airline, the airline occasionally fills in the gap when SIA drops its services from certain destinations. Macau, once served by SIA before being taken up by its subsidiary, SilkAir, in 2002, terminated all flights completely by the end of 2004. Three months later, the route was taken over by Tiger Airways with flights commencing 25 March 2005. A similar pattern can be observed in Krabi, where SilkAir suspended services in February 2005 in the wake of the effects of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Tiger Airways resumed direct services to the location from 7 October 2005.

In late July 2005, it was announced that the airline would commence flights from Macau to Manila (Clark) on 30 October 2005, a much-heralded move as it may signal the establishment of a secondary base besides Singapore, allowing the airline to expand and diversify risks.

On 21 September 2005 the company produced a report card on its first year of operations, with a total of over 500,000 passengers carried, 5000 scheduled flights flown, and a flight completion rate of 98.7 per cent. 94 per cent of flight departures and 90 per cent of arrivals took place according to schedule. It acquired four aircraft and launched a total of nine routes – of which four are flown exclusively by the airline – during the year.

The airline expected to increase its fleet to nine Airbus A320 aircraft by end 2006, and to carry up to three million passengers a year by then. It also hoped to add six more routes during the year, primarily to destinations in China and India, with flights to Southern China having commenced April. The airline also announced its switch from Singapore Airport Terminal Services to Swissport for ground handling when it becomes the first airline to operate at the newly opened Budget Terminal in Changi Airport on 26 March 2006.

Tiger Airways became the first Singaporean low-cost carrier to receive operating permits from the Chinese aviation authorities to fly to the southern Chinese cities of Haikou, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in an announcement on 21 February 2006. Ticket sales to these destinations commenced 24 February 2006, with the first flight to Shenzhen taking place on 15 April, to Haikou from 26 April and to Guangzhou from 27 April 2006. The airline has since indicated that the routes were highly popular, with increased flights to Haikou and Guangzhou less than three months since their launch.

Tiger Airways Australia

Tiger Airways Australia Pty Ltd, operating as Tiger Airways Australia, is an ultra-low cost airline which commenced services in the Australian domestic airline market on 23 November 2007. It is a subsidiary of Tiger Airways Holdings, a Singapore-based company, which is owned partially by Singapore Airlines. The airline is based in Melbourne, Victoria, with its main base at Melbourne Airport. The airline's secondary base, Adelaide Airport, commenced operations on 1 March 2009. A smaller "virtual base" was opened in Sydney on 29 October 2009.Tiger also opened a third operational base at Melbourne's Avalon Airport, in November 2010.

History

Australian government policy and legislation currently permits airlines that are 100% foreign-owned to operate domestic airline services within the country. The change in regulations originally applied only to New Zealand-owned airlines in 1996, but were later relaxed, resulting in the establishment of Virgin Australia. Australian international airlines are still subject to ownership rules limiting foreign ownership to 49%.

The Australian Foreign Investment Review Board gave approval for Tiger Airways to establish its wholly owned Australian subsidiary in March 2007 and did not place any special conditions on its approval.Subsequently on 16 March 2007, Tiger Airways Australia Pty. Ltd. was incorporated in the Northern Territory, although the company itself is based in Melbourne, with Melbourne Airport being the airline's major hub. A$10 million and five aircraft were committed to start the subsidiary. The airline's business model is based on that of sister airline Tiger Airways, which attempts to increase the total market size (number of passengers), control operating costs of the airline, and maximise the number of sectors served by its aircraft. One way it planned to keep costs low was by avoiding expensive airports.

Tiger undertook the final stage of Australian regulatory procedures on 20 November 2007, performing two proving flights from Melbourne, to the Sunshine Coast and Launceston respectively. Each carried officials from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority as well as Tiger crew. Tiger successfully completed these flights, and received their Air Operator's Certificate on Thursday 22 November, becoming one of only two Australian airlines to earn the certificate on their first attempt, following OzJet.

The aircraft used by Tiger Airways Australia have the same livery as their Singapore sister company. The airline projected initial traffic of 2 million passengers annually.

Tiger Airways Australia's first scheduled flight was TT 7402, departing Melbourne for the Gold Coast, on 23 November 2007 at 7:30am. The first flight to Mackay took off just minutes later.

On 31 May 2008, it was announced that passengers would now be charged a fee for check-in luggage. It is a A$10 (for 15KG) fee at booking but if paid at check-in, it increases to A$20.

It was announced on 3 April 2009 that Tiger intended to launch into the Melbourne-Sydney market, the third busiest passenger route in the world, signalling an end to its operational policy of avoiding expensive airports.

On 18 July the same year, it was announced that Tiger would be increasing its Melbourne-Sydney flights by up to nine flights a day in each direction, and doubling the capacity on the Adelaide-Sydney Route. This is all part of expansion plans arising from new aircraft arriving from 4 October 2009.

On 5 November 2009 Tiger Airways announced the intention to launch into the Brisbane market with services to Melbourne, Adelaide and Rockhampton. Tiger celebrated these routes for A$2 during their Second Birthday sale, along with all Tasmanian routes, and the popular Melbourne to Sydney route.

Tiger Australia announced in February 2010 that the airline is now profitable. On 27 March 2010 Tiger Airways announced it would return to the Melbourne-Darwin route, with six flights weekly from 18 June. 1 June 2010 marked the departure of former MD Shelley Roberts, and the arrival of her successor Crawford Rix. "As far as I am concerned, on-time performance is going to be a big area that we will be focusing on," said Rix in a media interview.

On 1 July 2010, Tiger became the second airline in the world apart from Irish shareholder Ryanair, to introduce a fee to check in. The A$10 fee applies to those passengers who don't opt for the web check-in service. By October 2010, the charge has since risen to A$20.

On 16 July 2010, Tiger Airways announced its intentions to cease all flying from Launceston Airport as of 2 August 2010. The Adelaide-Hobart route is also to be suspended. Communications manager Vanessa Regan says the cuts are due to seasonal demand.

On 16 September 2010, Tiger commenced services to Cairns, operating a late night daily service from its Tullamarine base.

On 21 October 2010, Tiger announced that it was adding two Airbus A320 aircraft to the Melbourne base in the new year, bringing its Victorian fleet to a total of ten aircraft, in line with the deal struck with the State government.

Competitors' reactions

The arrival of Tiger Airways Australia in the market resulted in varied responses from its primary competitors, mainly Qantas (and its subsidiary Jetstar Airways) and Virgin Australia. Jetstar, in particular, has been particularly vocal, with its chief executive Alan Joyce quoted as saying "Tiger and what they have done have come across as a joke, and will probably continue that way". He further claimed that Tiger was losing over SGD$60 million over the past two years of operations out of Singapore.

Air fares began to drop, as special offers and other promotions were launched, such as Jetstar's announcement that it will "double the difference of any competitor's fare that is cheaper than its own fares". This was soon followed by a bonus system to entice its customers to stay with the airline. Jetstar immediately matched Tiger's Melbourne to Darwin fare upon announcement.

Tiger Airways Australia had previously been quoted as planning to offer "single digit" one-way fares when it began service. The announcement of AU$79.99 flights from Melbourne to Darwin was met with criticism from Jetstar.

When Tiger released its first route, Melbourne — Darwin, at a price of AU$79.99, Jetstar immediately undercut the price, offering sale fares at AU$79 on the same route over the same period. Similarly, when Tiger released its second route, Melbourne — Gold Coast, at a price of AU$49.95, Jetstar again undercut the price, offering AU$39 fares on the route over the same period. In response to Tiger's announcement of Melbourne — Launceston flights, priced at AU$39.95, Jetstar offered AU$29 flights over the same period, save a holiday blackout.

Virgin Australia, however, has yet to respond to Tiger in any significant way. Virgin Australia considered the possibility of establishing a low-cost offshoot to fend off Tiger Airways, but instead decided to focus the funds on its new trans-Pacific carrier V Australia and on increasing their business travel share by introducing a Premium Economy service.

Melbourne Airport announced plans to cut usage fees soon after Tiger's announcement of a hub there, in a bid to increase its share of low-cost traffic Tiger's mention of New Zealand as a potential market has also raised concerns in that country.

Just days before the launch of Tiger Airways Australia, Jetstar offered 5,000 seats on 21 November 2007 for the price of five cents, inclusive of taxes, on seven domestic routes, costing the airline $25.00 per seat. Jetstar claims that the sale has nothing to do with the Tiger launch, while at the same time referring to them as "competitive". The airline's spokesman, Simon Westaway, was quoted as saying that they "are a good airline in their own right. We are not going head to head. We respect them for the competitor that they are going to be".

On 23 November 2007, the airline publicly slammed Qantas for being unable to provide ground handling services to the airline at Alice Springs, forcing it to delay its launch to the city by three months to 1 March 2008. The airline had promised to pay any cost to Qantas, but services were still denied. Qantas executive general manager John Borghetti responded by saying "assisting competitors is not part of my job description".Tiger Airways Australia CEO, Tony Davis reminded Qantas that Tiger's parent, Singapore Airlines, provides ground servicing at Singapore Changi Airport for both Qantas and Jetstar, and it wasn't unreasonable for Qantas to provide Tiger the ground staff at Alice Springs Airport.

Tiger Airways cabin crew on their own

TIGER Airways' selling tickets in the hope the ban grounding it from Australian routes is lifted this weekend has brought a warning from the consumer watchdog.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Graeme Samuel said selling a ticket without mentioning the uncertainty about whether the service could be provided ''would be potentially misleading by omission''.

Mr Samuel said it was not illegal to sell tickets for flights that may never take off but the company was responsible for ensuring customers understood there was some question about future flights.

The onus would be on the company to say 'you need to be aware that there is a possibility that we will not be able to fly you in accordance with the schedule'. It's no use relying on the small print to say that.''

A spokeswoman for the airline, Vanessa Regan, said last night its Facebook page had been updated with a message that ''all affected passengers of the Tiger Airways Australia domestic suspension will be automatically refunded back to the original form of payment''.

Ms Regan acknowledged it was difficult to get through to the company on the telephone but urged people to use the ''online customer service portal'' on the website.

Neither Tiger Airways nor Altara returned calls from the Herald Sun.

Australian Federation of Air Pilots executive director Terry O'Connell defended the ability of Tiger pilots.

"The Tiger pilot group has some very experienced pilots. We've received no complaints from any of the pilots about (safety)," Mr O'Connell said.

"We would expect that if there were any issues emerging, that we would be advised."

Tiger said it was meeting with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to address the safety concerns.

"Our goal is to resume our services as quickly as possible whilst restoring the confidence of both CASA and the Australian public at large that safety underpins our operations at all times," Tiger said in a statement.

"Affected passengers will be automatically refunded back to the original form of payment as soon as possible. They do not need to do anything at this time."

CASA has grounded all Tiger Airways Australia's domestic flights until Friday, affecting about 35,000 travellers.

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Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says Australia's large contribution of special forces soldiers and commandos in Afghanistan is justified, as the nation mourned the 28th fatality in the mission.

Sergeant Todd Langley, 35, from the Sydney-based 2nd Commando Regiment, died from a gun shot wound to the head during a battle in southern Afghanistan on Monday.

He is the 28th Australian soldier to die in action in Afghanistan since 2001, and the seventh this year.

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Just under half have been special forces and commandos, with many having been on multiple tours.

Australia has about 320 special forces soldiers and commandos in Afghanistan - the third largest contributor of such forces behind the United States and Britain.

Expressing the nation's condolences on Tuesday, Ms Gillard said that being in Afghanistan remained in Australia's national interest.

She said Australia's special forces were lauded around the world.

"We need them in the numbers we have in Afghanistan because they do take the fire up, push back the insurgency," Ms Gillard told reporters in Canberra.

But we will do everything we can to care and support his family and his mates throughout this time and beyond.'

Sgt Langley had been awarded two commendations for distinguished service and had a unit citation for gallantry.

General Hurley said the soldier who was wounded in the engagement was provided with combat first aid at the scene of the engagement.

He was airlifted to a medical facility in Karin Towt and then transferred to a hospital in Kandahar for further treatment.

'From there he has contacted his family,' General Hurley said, adding the soldier was in a serious but stable condition.

The intent of the Australian and Afghan National Army operation on Monday was to disrupt insurgents and deny them a safe haven to plan, coordinate and execute their operations, the general said.

Because the operation is still ongoing, no further details are being released by defence.

General Hurley said the 28 Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since the start of the conflict were not just numbers.

'They are fathers, husbands, sons, brothers and mates,' he said.

'They are soldiers and Australians will not forget their selfless sacrifice.

Backpacker off critical list after emergency surgery

Daniel Moore, a 21-year-old backpacker, sustained serious brain injuries, a fractured skull and internal bleeding last month after catching a taxi from the city to the northern beaches suburb of Manly.

A 29-year-old taxi driver made a statement at Kogarah police station yesterday.

Police identified him after a public appeal for information.

His taxi has been seized for forensic examination.

Daniel remains in a critical but stable condition at Royal North Shore Hospital, nine days after he was found lying on the intersection of Pittwater Road and Collingwood Street, at 3.45am (AEST) on Sunday, June 26.

Mr Moore, 21, was found lying near the corner of Pittwater Rd and Collingwood St, Manly, at 3am on Sunday last week.

He required emergency surgery after being found with a cracked skull and also internal bleeding.

Police and Mr Moore’s parents, who arrived from the UK to be by their son’s side, appealed for information about the incident that has left the British man fighting for his life.

A taxi driver, believed to have driven Mr Moore and a friend to Manly from the CBD that night, has been asked to come forward.

Police said they were still investigating the incident and had yet to ascertain the identity of the driver.