THEY are the phantom transactions buried inside more than 83,000 contracts published by the Department of Defence.

PRIVATE firms allocated thousands of dollars by the Defence Department for hotel accommodation, horseback trail rides, and use of an executive jet, say they have no knowledge of the contracts.

BARGAIN CAIRNS Sunlover Holidays is offering a five-night package at the new Lakes Cairns Resort and Spa from $602 a person, twin-share. Valid to March 31, the deal includes accommodation in a one-bedroom apartment, breakfast, full-day reef cruise, full-day Kuranda tour and one-way taxi transfer

RAILWAY buffs should note that it's 12 months short of the centenary of the Cairns-Kuranda railway line, and one suspects that a suitable flurry of celebrations will take place in 1991. Opened in June 1891, the historic railway snakes its way up from Cairns to rainforest-edged Kuranda...read more