AUSTRALIA

Backing Sought to Lease Airports: In a major turnaround, the government will seek endorsement at a party conference this week to lease all of its 22 airports rather than sell them. The federal Cabinet last week approved a plan to lease all the airports currently owned and operated by the Federal Airports Corp.--everything from Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport and Sydney’s Mascot Airport to smaller regional sites. However, the proposal must be ratified by delegates to the Labor Party’s national conference this week in Hobart. In May, the government announced it would to put the airports on the block as part of its asset sales program. But since then, criticism has intensified within Labor Party ranks over the proposal.