Call rejected

Australia's Prime Minister, Paul Keating, rejected calls for Aborigines to have the right to veto mining on native land, accusing some of them of irresponsibility, Reuter reports from Canberra.

Mr Keating said he had never promoted such a veto right and said some Aboriginal leaders seemed to be going back on agreements they had made with the government. 'A generalised veto was not on, and it was never going to be on,' Mr Keating said.