Sydney - Unemployment in Australia fell to 4.1 per cent in August, figures released Thursday showed.

The buoyant job figures, given high interest rates, high fuel prices and a global financial crisis, were a big surprise for analysts.

The number of extra people in work in August rose nearly three times more than they expected, with growth almost equal in full-time and part-time positions.

"I think it's a reminder that the underlying fundamentals of the economy are strong," Treasurer Wayne Swan said.

Sydney - The police minister in Australia's biggest state has resigned over claims that during a wild party in Parliament House, he stripped to his underpants and simulated sex with a fellow New South Wales lawmaker.

Noreen Hay, the woman whom a witness said 37-year-old Matt Brown "mounted," denied Thursday that anything untoward happened during the alcohol-fueled party three months ago that her adult daughter also attended.

Sydney - Bashings, verbal abuse, taunts and mockery - such is the harsh reality for gays and lesbians in Sydney, Australia's gay capital and the venue for the world's biggest gay pride street parade.

The travails of homosexuals have changed little in the past decade, according to a study of homophobia released by the New South Wales Attorney-General.

A spokesman, Steven Drew, said over half the 600 homosexuals interviewed for the study reported some form of abuse.

In response to complaints about personal safety, city councillors plan to create what they call "homophobia-free zones" they believe will accord more protection.

Sydney - Surprise, surprise: rather than a giddy rush of gals, an avalanche of outrage greeted Mount Isa Mayor John Malony's declaration that even "beauty-disadvantaged" women could find a bloke in his dusty Queensland mining town because of its five-to-one ratio of males to females.

"I've been cooked and roasted and carved up," a chastened Malony said, adding, "I don't have a hair left on my body."

As Malony himself might now admit, male chauvinism is perhaps among the reasons young women with a yearning to get on in life leave Outback towns like Mount Isa for Australia's big cities.

Sydney - Peter Costello, who served as Australia's treasurer for a record 11 years under former conservative leader John Howard, confirmed Thursday he would not seek the Liberal Party leadership and would likely be gone from Parliament before the next election.

Sydney  - The children's music group the Wiggles topped the list of Australia's richest entertainers for the fourth year in a row in 2007, the leading business magazine BRW said Wednesday.