One dead and six injured in NSW crash

A MAN is dead and six people, including two children, have been injured in a head-on collision at Coffs Harbour on NSW's north coast.

The 58-year-old was killed when a Nissan Pulsar and Ford Falcon collided on Hogbin Drive just before 1pm on Saturday, police say.

The man, a rear passenger in the Falcon, was taken to Coffs Harbour Health Campus but died a short time later.

The driver of the Pulsar - a 31-year-old woman - was taken to hospital with leg and wrist injuries.

Among her passengers, a nine-year-old girl and five-year-old boy were also hospitalised with serious injuries.

The 59-year-old female driver of the Falcon suffered multiple fractures to her arms and legs.

And a 19-year-old man, a passenger in the Falcon, was taken to hospital with internal injuries.

An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash is underway with police urging witnesses to come forward.

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BBC faces review of 'everything': UK govt

All aspects of how the BBC is run and paid for will be reviewed when its charter is renewed. Source: AAP

ALL aspects of how the BBC is run and paid for will be reviewed when its charter comes up for renewal, Britain's culture secretary says.

Sajid Javid said "everything" would be looked at, including licence fees and governance structures, when negotiations get under way.

Senior Tories have previously called the compulsory annual charge paid by British viewers out of date and warned it faces the axe but BBC executives insist a subscription system could end up costing more money.

Javid said plans for the process of renewing the charter, which expires in December 2016, were being worked on.

He told Total Politics: "We will announce plans in due course. That will be a time to look at all aspects of the BBC: governance arrangements, licence fees and so forth. That's where we plan to look at everything."

The renewal negotiations will take place on the back of a torrid few years in which the British broadcaster was lambasted for its handling of the Jimmy Savile scandal, massive executive pay-offs and a Newsnight investigation that led to the late Lord McAlpine being wrongly accused of child abuse.

Conservative MP John Whittingdale, chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, reportedly told senior BBC executives earlier this month that he did not believe the licence fee would survive.

Tory Party chairman Grant Shapps warned the corporation last year it could lose its exclusive right to the STG3.6 billion ($A6.57 billion) raised by the licence fee if it failed to tackle what he believes is a culture of secrecy, waste and unbalanced reporting in the organisation.

The government has frozen the annual licence fee, which is paid by every British household with a TV, at STG145.50 ($A265.58) for the rest of the charter period.

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Relatives seek new Malaysia plane search

THEIR hopes raised and dashed, relatives of passengers on a missing Malaysia Airlines plane want a new plan to find it after the search was suspended following a new setback.

The 84-year-old mother of Australian passenger Rod Burrows no longer expects to live to see the mystery of Flight 370 solved.

"I doubt it will be in my lifetime," Irene Burrows said on Friday from her home in Biloela in Australia's northeast.

"All I just want is a bit of plane. It's all I want to know - where they are."

Tempers flared on Thursday after the joint centre set up to oversee the search for the jetliner that vanished March 8 said a robot submarine had found no trace of it in a section of the southern Indian Ocean where acoustic signals, or "pings," were detected.

Investigators have concluded that the area where the signals were detected is not the final resting place of the plane.

The search for the plane and the 239 people on board will be suspended for two months while more powerful sonar equipment is brought in, according to the Australia-based Joint Agency Coordination Center.

"Now they say the pings are not from the plane. It's March 8 all over again and I don't like March 8 at all," said an emotional Jacquita Gonzales, whose husband Patrick Gomes was the flight supervisor.

"We are on a roller coaster ride and we have just hit bottom again," she said.

Gonzales said sometimes she is an "emotional wreck" thinking about the fate of her beloved husband but wills herself to be strong. Their 29th wedding anniversary is on Sunday.

"Please find the plane, find my husband and all our loved ones," she said.

Authorities believe the plane, bound from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, turned sharply and flew to the southern Indian Ocean.

Yet not a single piece of the missing Boeing 777 has been found.

The Malaysian official in charge of the search, Defence Minister Hishamuddin Hussein, visited Beijing this week, and relatives asked to meet him but got no reply, said Steve Wang, whose mother was on the plane.

"Something very disappointing has been announced and we want to know what his plan is," Wang said.

This week, the Malaysian government gave in to pressure from families of passengers and released 45 pages of satellite data it used to determine that the flight ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

"It feels like we have been fooled by the authorities. We are now back to square one. I expect them to keep searching. There can't be any closure until we find something," said Lee Khim Fatt, whose wife Christine Foong was a stewardess on the plane.

Lee said he cannot believe that such a big plane can't be detected by satellites and modern technology.

"If satellites can capture the image of a small car with its number plate, why is there no satellite image of this big bird, the 777? Are they hiding something from us?" Lee said.

China renewed diplomatic pressure on the Malaysian government on Thursday in a meeting between Premier Li Keqiang and visiting Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Beijing has tried to placate Chinese relatives of missing passengers by pressing their case with Malaysia while trying to avoid damage to relations with an important trading partner.

"We expect Malaysia to take the leading and coordinating role, come up with a new search plan for the jet at an early date, and take the investigation seriously," Li told Najib, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

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Sydney teen critical as party gatecrashed

A teen is in a critical condition in hospital after being stabbed at a party in Sydney's inner west. Source: AAP

IT was meant to be a small gathering of friends for a 14-year-old girl's birthday.

But the get-together at a house in Five Dock, in Sydney's inner west, turned into a violent brawl after gatecrashers showed up.

Now a teenage boy is fighting for his life in hospital after being stabbed several times at the out-of-control party on Friday night.

Another is facing criminal charges.

Police were called to the home on Charles Street and found two injured teenagers in the backyard.

A 17-year-old boy was stabbed in the chest and in his side and is in hospital in a critical but stable condition.

On Saturday a 16-year-old, who also sustained minor head injuries during the brawl, was charged with assault and affray. He was released on bail and is expected to appear at a children's court on June 20.

Another teenager, 17, was allegedly hit in the head with a bottle and was also taken to hospital. He was discharged on Saturday.

It is understood a 14-year-old girl, who was staying at the dual-level brick home with her grandparents, was having friends over for her birthday.

Her grandmother told AAP she allowed the girl to have half a dozen people over but the gathering was gatecrashed.

She said she was coming home from the Blue Mountains when she received a call from her daughter telling her the party had escalated.

"I went straight to Burwood police station," she said on Saturday morning.

It is understood most of the party-goers were from Concord High School.

The granddaughter is now with her father and on her way to Canberra, the woman, who did not want to be named, said.

Burwood police Inspector Michael Penfold said officers faced chaotic scenes when they arrived on Friday night.

He said there was at least one adult home.

Surrounding residents of the usually quiet suburban street heard bottles smashing and people screaming.

Jay Nam looked out her window to see young people on the street yelling at each other.

"Some of the residents came out and tried to get them away from the street," she said.

Next-door neighbour Ed White said the party-goers were about 15 or 16 years old.

"They were really young," he said.

"There was just lights flashing, sirens and cops up and down the street."

Insp Penfold had a warning for parents planning a party for their children.

"One of the main issues is make sure only invited guests attend and adequate security provisions beforehand," he said.

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Ash grounds flights to Darwin, Bali

A massive ash cloud from an Indonesian volcano may disrupt aviation in parts of Australia. Source: AAP

DARWIN remains cut off to all air services until Sunday, and flights from Australia to Bali are now affected, as three separate ash plumes billow from an Indonesian volcano.

The Sangeang Api volcano off the Indonesian island of Sumbawa is now erupting continuously after an initial blast on Friday afternoon, the Bureau of Meteorology's Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Darwin said on Friday.

Darwin International Airport was closed to all inbound and outbound flights on Saturday, while Bali's airspace is now also affected.

The major plume affecting Australian aviation is sweeping southeast over the west side of the Northern Territory as far south as Alice Springs.

The plume that is affecting Darwin would be around for the next 18 hours to 24 hours, said Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre assistant manager Cyndee Seals.

"It is starting to pull more westerly and it may move a little bit more to the north," she told AAP.

"We can see it right down to the Kimberley."

A second plume, hovering north of Darwin between 9.5km and 16km in the air, may cause problems for flights between Australia and Malaysia and Singapore..

A third, lower-level plume is drifting west from the volcano and is within 100km of Bali.

"The volcano is still erupting as it has done for most of the day, but not as violently as initially erupted but there is a steady plume," VAAC spokesman Tim Birch said.

Virgin Australia spokeswoman Jacqui Abbott confirmed two Saturday afternoon flights to Denpasar - one from Adelaide and on from Melbourne - have now been cancelled.

Qantas Group spokeswoman Kira Reed said Jetstar has cancelled an Adelaide-Denpasar flight that went via Darwin, and all its services to and from Darwin remain grounded.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said it may be days before flights through northern Australia return to normal.

"Depending on wind and other weather conditions, the ash has the potential to affect flights to and from other airports, including Brisbane, during coming days. This is currently being fully assessed," he said.

"Passengers are advised to check with their airlines for further information."

Airservices Australia has begun diverting international flights around the ash cloud.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority says volcanic ash can affect all aircraft with piston or jet engines at all flight levels.

Fine particles of pulverised rock consisting mainly of silica contained in volcanic ash clouds can be highly abrasive and damage aircraft engines, structures and windows.

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Diver dies in search of South Korean ferry

A DIVER has died during the search for people still missing inside a sunken South Korean ferry.

It's the second such death among divers mobilised since the ferry sank on April 16, leaving more than 300 people dead or missing.

Government task force spokesman Ko Myung-seok says the diver fell unconscious when he was pulled to the surface by fellow divers on Friday.

The diver received CPR and was taken to a hospital on a helicopter but was declared dead there. The exact cause wasn't known.

Ko says the diver was cutting open parts of the ship exterior to make searches easier.

Since the sinking, 288 bodies have been recovered but 16 people are still missing. No new body has been retrieved since May 21.

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WA shoplifter jailed over guard attack

A PERTH woman who shoplifted lollies and chips, and then ran over an undercover security guard who confronted her has been jailed for three years.

Narissa Marie Gidgup was with two children when she stole confectionery and cosmetics worth a total of $60 from a Coles supermarket last July.

Gidgup was confronted by a female covert security guard dressed in casual clothes and a male security guard when she sprayed the male guard in the face with deodorant and then tried to flee in a car.

She attempted to run both guards over, but her car got stuck on a bollard, so she turned it around and sped towards the female guard, striking her head-on, the Perth District Court heard on Friday.

The guard was carried onto the bonnet and became trapped under the vehicle as Gidgup drove over her.

Gidgup reversed the car, crashing into a pole and then the car stalled as she tried to flee.

The male guard grabbed the keys from the ignition, but Gidgup then charged at him, the court heard.

He punched her in the face and attempted to grab her cardigan to stop her from leaving, but it was pulled off in the struggle.

Gidgup then removed other garments and spat in his face until police arrived.

The female guard suffered injuries to her legs, hip, ribs and back.

In sentencing, Judge Ronald Birmingham said it was lucky her injuries were not more serious.

Judge Birmingham rejected claims Gidgup was stealing because she was "desperately hungry" for food, saying it was "sly deliberate stealing".

"There was preparation, forethought and certainly persistence in your offending conduct," he said.

Judge Birmingham also noted Gidgup's mental health, alcohol and drug abuse, and lengthy criminal record.

He said she had little remorse and was likely to reoffend.

Gidgup's sentenced was backdated to March 2013 and must serve 18 months behind bars before being eligible for parole.

She will also be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver's licence for two years, to begin upon her release from prison.

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Vic agencies unprepared for scale of fire

A VICTORIAN coalmine fire was so big it took agencies responsible for firefighters' health time to adjust to the scale of their task, the state's fire chief says.

Fire Service Commissioner Craig Lapsley has dubbed health monitoring at the Hazelwood mine fire a success but said the response would have to be better at future fires.

The monitoring system was based on previous, smaller fires and agencies improved over the 45 days the fire burned, Mr Lapsley said.

"We had to be agile in the way that we did it," Mr Lapsley told an inquiry into the blaze on Friday.

"The system of work needs to be embedded to ensure that we can deal with not only 30 or 40 firefighters, but the shifts of 200, 300, 400 if it was to happen again."

Fourteen firefighters were hospitalised with carbon monoxide poisoning while battling the blaze.

The inquiry heard the monitoring project was the largest of its kind in the world, with 7000 people being assessed for the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning and 23 WorkCover claims filed.

"I'd say (it was) a very successful operation," Mr Lapsley said.

The inquiry heard the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning at mine fires was known following a 2006 fire, but when the blaze started on February 9 the Country Fire Authority was yet to implement a 2010 draft operating procedure.

Mr Lapsley said it should have been signed off and published earlier.

He was also pressed on why firefighters were not given breathing apparatuses after it was agreed they should be compulsory when entering the mine.

Mr Lapsley said protocols were set around the use of breathing apparatuses in consultation with firefighters who did their own "dynamic risk assessment".

"It was found to be totally impractical to actually wear a breathing apparatus all the time," Mr Lapsley said.

He was also questioned on the possibility of the fire starting within the mine, which he said he could not rule out but was unlikely.

"The probability of having a fire start within the mine from some vehicle movement, mechanical device or other things, you couldn't actually take away," Mr Lapsley said, adding there was no evidence of fires starting from any way other than ember attacks.

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Teacher acquitted of SA woman's murder

A TEACHER has been found not guilty of the 1991 murder of a young mother who was bashed so severely that no blood was left in her dumped body.

Timo Heikki Pasanen, 43, has pleaded not guilty in the South Australian Supreme Court to murdering Yasmin Sinodinos, 26, between December 14 and 18 in 1991.

He told the jury he had sex with her, but could not recall any other details because it was so long ago.

The jury retired on Friday afternoon and returned a not guilty verdict a few hours later.

Prosecutor Sandi McDonald SC said Mr Pasanen was a university student at the time, while Ms Sindonios was a drug-addicted single mother.

"They existed in different worlds but somehow, tragically, in the hours leading up to her death their paths crossed," she said.

Mr Pasanen's DNA was matched to DNA taken from semen found in the body which was found dumped under garden rubbish on the side of a fire track in Adelaide's northeast.

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Sydney ferry staff take industrial action

Sydney ferry workers will not collect ferry tickets as part of industrial action across the weekend. Source: AAP

SYDNEY ferry workers have decided to take industrial action this weekend but it will hurt the NSW government rather than ferrygoers.

The Maritime Union of Australia has told its workers not to collect ferry tickets after 6pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the latest salvo in a wages dispute with Harbour City Ferries.

"The workers will still be there to get people on and off the boat," said MUA Sydney assistant secretary Paul Garrett with massive crowds expected in the city for the popular Vivid Festival this weekend.

"We want Harbour City to come and make fair proposals."

Mr Garrett said workers were being asked to take a pay rise that was below inflation while some were being offered work at $500 per week less than before.

Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said she was dismayed by the decision which followed months of negotiations between Harbour City and the unions.

"I am disappointed that both the Maritime Union of Australia and the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers have chosen to take industrial action this weekend, during the popular Vivid Festival," she said in a statement.

"I'm dismayed that the unions would choose to sabotage the Vivid Festival and disrupt the journeys of so many people, including families."

Harbour City Ferries chief executive Steffen Faurby said his organisation would try to minimise disruptions.

"We will continue negotiations, but our main priority is making sure our customers are not inconvenienced," he said.

Mr Faurby said extra services were being run during Vivid.

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ASIO HQ a step closer: spy boss

TEN months have passed since its official opening, and in about another seven months Australia's spy agency should finally move into its new Canberra headquarters.

The $680 million building on the northern side of Lake Burley Griffin has been plagued by delays and budget blowouts, but Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) director-general David Irvine can see a conclusion.

"The first cohorts should be going in towards the end of the year (or) early next year," he told a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd officially opened the imposing, multistorey building in July 2013, more than a year after it was due to be ready.

Since then, windows have fallen off the building, and problems remain to be fixed.

"Further remediation work will still be required on the air-conditioning system," Mr Irvine said.

Those problems stem from difficulties with the building's automatic fire doors. The access system also has problems.

After the repairs, Mr Irvine expects to get the keys in mid-June, and after some top-secret tweaking, such as with the wiring and internal fitout, the workers can move in.

However, Mr Irvine will not get the chance to work in the new building. He retires in September.

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Cyber attacks on the rise

CYBER security attacks on business are on the rise, and the culprits appear to be competitors seeking commercial information.

And while many companies reported cyber security incidents, others didn't, raising concerns they don't know what's really happening on their networks.

Australia's national Computer Emergency Response Team says 56 per cent of companies it has surveyed reported one or more cyber security attacks in the past year.

Forty-four per cent reported no incidents. But CERT, part of the Attorney-General's Department, says in a new report that anecdotal evidence indicates some businesses were unaware of the full scope of unauthorised activity on their networks.

"Most of the incidents were in the form of targeted emails, followed by virus or worm infection and trojan or rootkit malware," CERT said.

"This is consistent with the finding that respondents viewed cyber security incidents to be targeted at their organisation, rather than random or indiscriminate."

Attorney-General George Brandis said the most commonly reported was what's called "spear phishing", sending emails to specific individuals, often using personal information to create credibility. Clicking on links will download spyware, he said in a statements.

The main motivation is considered to be competitors seeking commercial advantage.

CERT's survey was directed at big business with a quarter of the 135 respondents in the defence industry sector.

All businesses used varying levels of network security but CERT found potential problems.

More than 60 per cent think their IT staff, chief executive and directors need to improve security skills and practices.

Forty-seven per cent use the now superseded Windows XP operating system and almost all were aware that Microsoft no longer provided technical support after April 8.

But 13 per cent had no plans to move to another operating system and eight per cent didn't know.

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Egypt's Sisi sweeps election

Ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is set for an overwhelming victory in Egypt's presidential poll. Source: AAP

EX-ARMY chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has scored a crushing presidential election triumph and consolidated the grip of the military, 11 months after the overthrow of the only Egyptian president not drawn from its ranks.

Ninety-six per cent of voters, at least 21 million Egyptians, chose retired field marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who deposed elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, with ballots counted from all but a handful of 352 stations, state television reported on Thursday.

Sisi's only electoral rival, leftist leader and longtime opposition figure Hamdeen Sabbahi, won less than four per cent.

The former general, who retired from the army to run for office, becomes Egypt's fifth president hailing from the military, reasserting the institution's grip on politics in the Arab world's most populous nation.

The military has always formed the backbone of political life in Egypt and the institution has provided its leaders ever since army officers toppled the monarchy in 1952.

The only exception was Morsi, elected in 2012 a year after an uprising overthrew longtime strongman Hosni Mubarak, himself a former air force commander.

"Few would have imagined that ... three years after Mubarak's toppling, a field marshal, a new pharaoh, would be elected again with 96 per cent, without even unveiling a program and without campaigning," said Middle East analyst Karim Bitar.

Sisi rode on a wave of support for a potential new strongman who can restore stability and revive the economy after three years of turmoil.

But his opponents say that since he ousted Morsi last July, Egypt has undergone a return to autocratic rule.

A state crackdown targeting Morsi supporters has left at least 1400 people dead in street clashes and seen more than 15,000 others jailed.

Amid the crackdown the military-installed authorities had aimed for a high turnout as a sign of legitimacy.

Private and state-run media pressed Egyptians to go out and vote, and the Monday-Tuesday election was extended for a third day in a last-minute decision which sparked protests.

Sisi had called for at least 40 million of Egypt's almost 54 million eligible voters to go to the polling stations.

But an election commission official put actual turnout at about 25 million, or 46 per cent, although it could edge higher, official Al-Ahram newspaper reported on its website, down from 52 per cent when Morsi was elected in 2012.

Human Rights Watch says the crackdown on opposition "stripped these elections of real meaning".

"The intense crackdown on dissent over the last 10 months has created a repressive environment that severely undermines the fairness of the elections," the New York-based group said Wednesday.

Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood is hailing what they see as a successful boycott.

"The great Egyptian people have given a new slap to the military coup's roadmap and... written the death certificate of the military coup," said its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party.

All of the movement's main leaders are now in jail or exile, and Morsi himself is being tried on charges that could carry the death penalty.

Ahead of the final official results, hundreds of Sisi supporters took to the streets on Wednesday night to celebrate their candidate's victory, waving Egyptian flags, setting off fireworks and honking car horns.

"It's a victory for stability," said Tahra Khaled, among the crowd in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

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Melbourne Zoo seal Gordo dies

GORDO the seal has died at Melbourne Zoo, more than a decade after being rescued when found emaciated and dehydrated on a Victorian beach.

The sub-Antarctic fur seal suffered a cardiac arrest while recovering from an anaesthetic procedure, zoo head vet Dr Michael Lynch said on Thursday.

The 11-year-old was having problems with his kidneys and vets were investigating whether he had a degenerative renal condition. Dr Lynch said it was possible that condition contributed to the arrest.

Gordo was found emaciated and dehydrated on the main beach at Warrnambool in August 2003.

As a yearling not adjusting well to life away from his mother he was not suitable for re-release and was kept in the zoo's care, the zoo said.

Wild Sea keeper Mark Keenan said Gordo was good natured and hundreds of thousands of zoo visitors witnessed his acrobatic skills in daily shows.

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NBN chief denies role in US disaster

THE executive appointed to run the national broadband network will "vigorously defend" the actions he took while boss of an American gas company before two of its pipelines exploded and killed nine people.

Bill Morrow was appointed as chief executive of NBN Co by the Abbott government in December after stints at major overseas infrastructure companies.

One was at Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) in the US, where he was chief operating officer in 2006 and chief executive a year later, before leaving in August 2008.

Four months later, a man was killed and five others were injured in Rancho Cordova after a PG&E pipeline explosion was triggered by a teenager lighting a cigarette.

Two years after that, another pipeline exploded in San Bruno, killing eight people, injuring 58 and destroying 38 homes.

Investigations found safety faults with both pipelines. Hundreds of millions of dollars in fines, compensation and restitution have been paid by the company.

Mr Morrow is named in an unsettled consolidated shareholder lawsuit along with 21 other PG&E executives. The company stands accused of putting profits and bonuses before safety.

The suit was filed by PG&E shareholders, who are seeking the return of "lucrative executive compensation packages allegedly approved by senior management at the same time safety budgets were being slashed".

Mr Morrow told a Senate estimates hearing into NBN Co on Thursday he would "continue to vigorously defend the proceedings".

"When the legal process runs its course, it will confirm that my fellow directors, officers and I acted with care, in good faith, and in the best interests of PG&E at all times," he said.

Mr Morrow brought up the issue with the board of NBN Co and the government before his appointment.

He said parties named in the suit included almost every person who was a director or senior officer at PG&E between 1995 and 2013.

"As the matters are still before the US courts, I am unable to comment any further, other than to make one final important point.

"I regard safety as paramount."

Labor senator Stephen Conroy spent the next hour unsuccessfully attempting to extract more information from Mr Morrow.

Committee chairman and Nationals senator John Williams ruled Mr Morrow could decline to comment further because parliamentary privilege would not extend to US courts.

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Stockland says $2.5b Australand bid final

Property group Stockland has increased its takeover offer for rival Australand to $2.5 billion. Source: AAP

STOCKLAND says its sweetened $2.5 billion takeover bid for fellow property developer Australand is final and as good as it will get.

Australand's board did not rule out accepting the offer as it did the initial $2.4 billion bid, saying it would consider it, raising speculation a deal would be made.

Stockland chief executive Mark Steinert said senior management from both companies had been holding talks since the process began.

It was also reported that Stockland had offered one-on-meetings to institutional investors with its management team on Wednesday to discuss the offer.

Some Australand investors are against the deal, with the company's shares falling on Wednesday.

Stockland's new share swap offer values Australand shares at $4.35 each, up from its previous rejected offer of $4.20.

Stockland has also offered to add a $250 million cash component to what is currently a non cash deal, but that would reduce the current scrip ratio of 1.124 shares for each Australand share.

Mr Steinert insisted he had uniform support from shareholders of both companies that he had spoken to so far.

"That has been a key part of giving us the confidence to make this compelling final proposal today," he told an analysts briefing.

"The combination creates a really great real estate company."

Stockland acquired a 19.9 per cent stake in Australand in March.

The following month it made its initial takeover bid.

If the pair merge, the combined group would be Australia's leading residential developer.

It would also hold the number one spot in regional shopping centre developments and number two position in distribution warehousing, logistics and business parks.

Stockland said a deal would immediately be earnings accretive, increasing earnings per share by five per cent and delivering savings through synergies of $15 million in the first year and $25 million in the second.

However when analysts questioned where those figures had come from, Mr Steinert said while he was confident in the savings figures due diligence still had to be done on Australand's books to prove it.

CMC Markets chief market strategist said he thought a deal would go ahead and that Stockland's bid was final, given there were legal implications for reversing such statements.

"I think there is unlikely to be another bid, it represents a better than 20 per cent premium to Australand's net tangible assets and I would think it is enough to get it over the line," he said.

He cited Australand's share price fall to investors not liking a non-cash scrip bid that forces them to be exposed to Stockland's different profile.

Australand shares were one cent lower at $4.25 at 1504, while Stockland had risen 1.5 cents to $3.885.

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Elder's 'stolen wages' claim dismissed

AN Aboriginal elder's claim for wages he says were stolen by the state has been thrown out of court due to a lack of evidence.

Conrad Yeatman, 74, was seeking $35,000 for wages he said were never paid to him when he worked as a carpenter and labourer in north Queensland in the 1950s.

Under the Aboriginals Preservation and Protection Act 1939 part of his wages were placed in the trust of the superintendent of the Yarrabah mission where he lived.

Mr Yeatman's District Court claim said that while some of his earnings were paid out when he became exempt from the law in 1958, 70 pounds that he earned working on a station was never recovered.

However, Justice David Andrews granted a state bid to put the case on hold permanently after exhaustive searches found almost no financial documentation, and that potential witnesses were dead.

"The defendants have effectively no evidence whatsoever to test these claims," the judge said.

Justice Andrews said it wasn't disputed that Mr Yeatman's savings had been managed by the superintendent but the money could have been withdrawn on his behalf for food or other reasons.

There was some evidence money had been spent on the indigenous teen for clothes, medical expenses and trips.

"I don't accept Mr Yeatman is capable of giving a useful account of the number and amounts of payments made for and on his behalf," the judge said.

Mr Yeatman, whose claim was seen as a test case and was backed by the Queensland Council of Unions (QCU), must also pay the state's legal costs.

His lawyer Charles Massy said it was an immensely disappointing outcome and the team was considering an appeal.

In 2002, former premier Peter Beattie acknowledged that as much as $500 million may have been stolen from Aborigines' wages.

Mr Beattie offered $55 million in compensation, and a reparation scheme subsequently paid out about $35 million to 7000 applicants.

Mr Yeatman was offered the maximum $7,000 reparation but knocked it back as inadequate.

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Ice addict thief spared extra jail time

A HOMELESS ice addict who went on a $20,000 spending spree across Sydney using credit cards stolen from mailboxes has been spared extra time in prison.

Kayla Hemmings, 25, received a minimum sentence of 18 months at the NSW District Court on Tuesday for deliberately lighting a fire at the historic Sydney pub, the Lansdowne Hotel, which caused $2 million damage.

Magistrate Eve Wynhausen said she took Tuesday's punishment into account at Central Local Court on Wednesday when she sentenced Hemmings to concurrent sentences, the longest a nine-month jail term, for a string of offences including credit card theft.

Ms Wynhausen said Hemmings had shown remorse for the two-week spending binge in October 2013, which was funded by bank cards stolen from mailboxes on Sydney's north shore.

By the time Hemmings was charged on October 31, 2013, her spending included 48 separate transactions on a credit card totalling just under $5000 and using a David Jones store card to buy two Apple Mac Pro laptops worth more than $5000.

Hemmings' counsel, Mary Underwood, told the court at her sentencing on Wednesday that her client had been using the drug ice at the time and under the influence of her boyfriend.

"I am not excusing her actions, but she did not have a serious criminal record ... until she was in a relationship with someone that amplified this behaviour," Ms Underwood said.

The lawyer said Hemmings was introduced to amphetamines as a teenager by her mother.

"Unfortunately, she's had a number of converging events," Ms Underwood said.

"There's been abuse, physical and sexual, she got pregnant and was abandoned, she was introduced to ice and got mixed up with domestic violence."

Ms Wynhausen said Hemmings' offending had cost the community tens of thousands of dollars.

"I hope that once she is released from custody, she gets her life in order," she said.

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Row over green reforms derails debate

A STRAIGHTFORWARD proposal to change the way fees are managed under national environment law has been sidetracked by a lengthy debate about the Abbott government's green credentials.

The non-controversial bill allows for cost recovery for environmental impact assessments, and on Wednesday cleared the first hurdle of parliament with bipartisan support.

But Labor's environment spokesman Mark Butler used the occasion to move an amendment condemning the government's plan to create a "one-stop-shop" for environmental approvals.

"In eight short months... this government has shown itself to have scant regard indeed for its responsibilities to protect and nurture Australia's environment," Mr Butler told the chamber.

Critics claim the proposal will erode environmental protections by handing federal powers to the states but the government argues it will deliver faster approvals and reduce regulatory duplication.

The amendment failed, and Environment Minister Greg Hunt pushed the bill through in a vote.

He said almost all state governments - Liberal and Labor - strongly supported the reforms on the table.

"The only people opposed to this reform are the current members of the federal opposition," he said.

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HK man charged over undeclared $A300,000

A HONG Kong national has been charged after attempting to leave Australia with $300,000 in undeclared cash he had stashed in his luggage.

The 31-year-old man was picked up at Melbourne's International Airport after customs officers found the money on Tuesday.

The officers also retrieved the man's customs declaration, which confirmed he had not declared he was exporting excess currency.

Federal police stopped the man leaving Australia on a Hong Kong-bound flight.

After his arrest, he faced charges of money-laundering and dealing with money suspected of being the proceeds of crime.

He is expected to appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court at a later date.

Victorian regional commander Graham Krisohos of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service said there was no limit to the amount of currency that could be brought in or out of Australia.

However, "if you have more than $10,000 of currency, you must declare it to a Customs and Border Protection officer before you enter or leave the country", Mr Krisohos said.

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Apple set to connect iPhone to your car

The latest gadget from Apple - connecting iPhones to cars - is getting set for a rollout in the US. Source: AAP

APPLE is getting ready to hitch the iPhone to cars in a mobile marriage of convenience.

The ambitious project, called CarPlay, implants some of the iPhone's main applications in cars so drivers can control them with voice commands, a touch on the steering wheel or a swipe on a display screen in the dashboard.

It's expected to be available in the US in the coming months when Pioneer Electronics plans to release a software update for five car radios designed to work with the iPhone.

Alpine Electronics also is working on CarPlay-compatible radios for cars already on the road.

Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Ferrari are among those expected to start selling car models with built-in CarPlay services this year.

Google is working with car makers to do something similar with smartphones running its Android operating system, but Apple appears to be further along in efforts to make it easier and safer to text, email, get directions, select music and, yes, even make calls while driving.

I recently checked out a test version of CarPlay in a van equipped with a Pioneer radio designed to work with the iPhone.

The demonstration through the streets of San Francisco convinced me that Apple is on the right track.

The CarPlay system is bound to appeal to iPhone fans who spend a lot of time behind the wheel. It makes less sense for iPhone owners who, like me, spend more of their time walking and using public transport instead of driving.

CarPlay's biggest drawback is the cost. If you want it in a car you already own, compatible radios from Pioneer sell for $US700 to $US1,400.

After factoring in other required parts and labor, figure on spending $US900 to $US1,000 just to get Pioneer's least-expensive CarPlay system in your vehicle.

That's more than the price of a new iPhone, but cheaper than buying a new car with CarPlay built in.

The key to CarPlay's success may hinge on Siri, the iPhone's digital personal assistant. Apple has been striving to make Siri smarter and more versatile, an endeavor that CarPlay figures to put to the test.

Siri serves as CarPlay's central nervous system, doing everything from taking email dictation, reading incoming text messages out load, and scrolling through the system for song requests or different genres of music.

Summoning Siri can be done by touching a button on the steering wheel or CarPlay's display screen.

While CarPlay also responds to touch, the system is at its best when Siri is doing most of the work. I got only a half-hour demo of CarPlay, too little time to determine whether Siri will be up to the job.

Within minutes of getting in the car, Siri couldn't retrieve the correct address for a requested restaurant in San Francisco. Instead, CarPlay listed several other places with the same name, so Siri apparently at least heard the request correctly.

The omission of the requested restaurant may have reflected shortcomings in Apple's database of local businesses.

Beyond that, Siri performed flawlessly reading back incoming texts, composing and sending emails and playing the role of disc jockey when asked to play the music of specific artists such as AC/DC.

It took only a few seconds before "Back in Black" blasted through the stereo.

Even a question about Arnold Schwarzenegger, a name that can be difficult to decipher, didn't stump Siri.

If Siri is able to consistently handle those kinds of challenges, then CarPlay could make the iPhone an even more indispensable mobile device.

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Palmer seeks extra staff to probe bills

Federal MP Clive Palmer has called on the government to provide his party with more advisers. Source: AAP

BILLIONAIRE politician Clive Palmer has called on the government to provide his party with more advisers ahead of it sharing the balance of power in the Senate.

The Palmer United Party will have three senators from July 1 and has an agreement to work with the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party's Ricky Muir - giving it four out of the six extra votes the government will need to pass laws.

Mr Palmer put a submission to Prime Minister Tony Abbott seeking a similar level of resources to that of the Australian Greens.

The Greens have four advisers per senator and Christine Milne has about 14 staff because of her status as a party leader.

Mr Palmer says his staffing proposal was rejected but the government should reconsider.

Asked whether he would make the extra staffing a bargaining chip over legislation the government wanted passed, Mr Palmer said: "That may be the ultimate thing."

"But that is not the intention. Our intention is for the government to be reasonable."

Mr Palmer said his party could not talk to the government about legislation until they knew what it was about.

He said his senators would not simply "tick boxes".

They needed to know how to amend legislation and ensure that government bills did not hurt pensioners and orphans.

"It's not about advantage - it's just getting the job done," he said.

"It's in Australia's interest, it is in the Senate's interest, not to have any holdups."

Mr Palmer said his senators would look at each bill on a case-by-case basis.

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Rogerson can't dodge murder charge

EVEN for a man immortalised on the small screen, former NSW detective Roger Rogerson endured the most dramatic of days.

The once-decorated detective had police thumping on the door of his Sydney home on Tuesday morning before ending the day behind bars, charged with the murder of university student Jamie Gao.

Rogerson, 73, appeared frail and dazed as he was frogmarched out of his suburban home in front of a media pack in Sydney's southwest.

"We're back to the Gestapo days now," he told the pack.

As he was pushed into a police car he complained about his bad hip and knee and said "on the advice of my lawyer, I've got nothing to say."

He and fellow former policeman Glen McNamara have been accused of killing Mr Gao in an alleged botched drug deal.

A day after police flew to Brisbane to track down Rogerson, detectives pounced on his home in Sydney's southwest as he chatted with his lawyer Paul Kenny.

Rogerson was whisked away to Bankstown Police Station, where he was charged with murdering the 20-year-old Mr Gao and large commercial drug supply.

Police allege Mr Gao took three kilograms of methamphetamine to a drug deal with Rogerson and McNamara on Arab Rd in Padstow last Tuesday.

Mr Gao was then driven to a nearby location and murdered, they say.

His body, wrapped in a blue tarpaulin with chains binding the feet, was found floating in the sea off Cronulla on Monday.

Rogerson had been in Queensland on Monday for a speaking engagement but Mr Kenny said his client had agreed to turn up to Sydney Police Centre at midday on Tuesday.

Mr Kenny was outraged by the surprise visit to his home by detectives.

He labelled the police move an "absolute disgrace" and deplored the theatrics.

"The way they spoke to Mr Rogerson was most unnecessary," Mr Kenny said.

"He has been an experienced policeman, he is an older gentleman, as you know ...

"He was treated like a dog.

"I don't know what television shows they have been watching but it's obviously a flop."

Rogerson didn't apply for bail which Magistrate Elaine Truscott formally refused in court on Tuesday afternoon.

Mr Kenny asked the magistrate for Rogerson's "security to be looked at", and for orders to be made so he could access medication while in custody.

Outside court, Mr Kenny wouldn't commit as to whether Rogerson would fight the charges.

"We'll see when we get the brief of evidence," he said.

Rogerson's due before Central Local Court on July 22, where he will appear by audio visual link.

McNamara, who was arrested on Sunday night and also charged with murder and large commercial drug supply, is also due to appear in court in July.

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BHP may axe dozens of alumina jobs

BHP Billiton may cut jobs at its Worsley Alumina operations in Western Australia. Source: AAP

BHP Billiton may soon start axing jobs at its Worsley Alumina operations in Western Australia.

The mining giant says Worsley had moved into a stabilisation phase after completing a major expansion of its operations last year.

"With no new projects planned for the next five years, the organisational structure of Worsley is under review," a BHP spokesman said.

"There may be some impact on jobs in some areas."

There are about 2,500 workers at Worsley.

BHP will review the nature and number of roles needed to support production and ensure Worsley has a sustainable future, the spokeswoman said.

She said no operational disruptions were anticipated during the review.

The cost of expanding BHP's Worsley alumina refinery blew out due to factors including inflationary pressures and the stronger Australian dollar.

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MPs called 'cowards' in abortion debate

VICTORIAN balance of power MP Geoff Shaw has called his fellow MPs "moral cowards" for their refusal to debate abortion laws.

The former Liberal MP who took the balance of power in Victoria's lower house when he turned independent last year, is planning a private member's bill to introduce radical changes to state abortion laws, including outlawing gender-selection and late-term abortions.

Both Premier Denis Napthine and Labor leader Daniel Andrews have previously said they would not support any debate on or changes to the state's abortion laws.

Mr Shaw accused Dr Napthine of "closing down debate" on the issue and said government MPs were moral cowards.

"I think they should be taking the lead on the debate and not being moral cowards," Mr Shaw told reporters.

"I think some of the MPs are a bit gutless and more concerned about their seats instead of doing what's right."

Mr Shaw has just returned from a trip to the US where he said he studied US abortion laws.

Dr Napthine has told parliament he met the independent MP on Tuesday for about 10 or 15 minutes where the pair discussed Mr Shaw's US trip.

Dr Napthine said the pair discussed public transport and a privileges committee probe into Mr Shaw, following a newspaper report on Tuesday.

The committee is investigating Mr Shaw for alleged misconduct after the ombudsman found he used his parliamentary car for his own hardware business.

Dishonesty charges relating to the allegations against Mr Shaw were dropped in December.

Dr Napthine said he told Mr Shaw he knew nothing about the committee's deliberations nor when its report would be released.

"I told him that I knew nothing about these matters," the premier told parliament.

"I'm not privy to the deliberations of the privileges committee. I'm not privy to their discussions and their timing."

There is speculation the privileges committee report on him will be released publicly this week.

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Letter bid to block Vic child abuse bill

ANTI-VIOLENCE groups want three Nationals MPs to block new Victorian laws that they fear will turn women who fail to report child sexual abuse into criminals.

Opponents say they broadly support the child protection bill's aim but one clause risks criminalising women who fail to report child abuse in their family out of fear for their own safety.

With the Legislative Council set to debate the bill this week, leaders from nine organisations have jointly written to the three National MLCs - Danny O'Brien, David O'Brien and Minister for Sport, Recreation and Veterans' Affairs Damian Drum - asking them to vote it down.

Dr Chris Atmore of the Federation of Community Legal Centres said the bill ignores previous research and best practice in the field of domestic violence.

"We hope that at least one Nationals MP will vote based on the evidence and not political expediency," she told AAP.

"We have had very little in the way of a response to our concerns from government MPs but in contrast we have had a fair amount of discussion with the opposition and the Greens, who are concerned about reducing domestic violence but seem to understand our concerns with (the) clause."

A spokesperson for the Nationals said a bi-partisan committee had strongly recommended that all adults have a duty to tell police about child sexual abuse.

"The legislation makes clear that a person does not commit an offence if they have a reasonable fear for their own or someone else's safety and if it is reasonable for them not to inform police in the circumstances of family violence they face."

Labor and the Greens hold 19 seats in the 40-seat Legislative Council and are likely to vote against the bill.

The Liberals have 18 seats and their coalition partner the Nationals hold three seats.

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Qld ministers livid with dissenting ex-MP

A FORMER Queensland government MP says "very senior" ministers wanted to hurl something at the TV when he gave interviews criticising new laws on political donations.

Chris Davis quit parliament on Friday, saying he could not support the Newman government's decision to dramatically increase the amount of money individuals can donate, in secret, to political parties.

The former member for Stafford says "very senior colleagues" told him they wanted to throw something at the TV when he criticised the government's contentious electoral reforms.

"When one has tried to debate these sensibly ... that to me is pretty intolerant," Dr Davis told Fairfax Radio on Monday.

"When you've got to play the person, you've really lost the debate and ... I couldn't work within that sort of culture."

The former geriatric medicine doctor said Premier Campbell Newman was fostering a culture of intolerance within the Liberal National Party.

"It's a broad culture and in my experience of leadership roles, it starts at the top," he told the ABC.

"And so I assume if we're going to have a change, it would have to start in the top leadership group. I think self-evidently with the leader."

But the LNP's Rob Cavallucci said MPs had every opportunity to raise issues of concern with the premier.

"Primarily there is the party room, where everyone can have free and open debate. We have enormously robust debate within the context of the party room," the Brisbane Central MP told the ABC.

"Any of us can call the premier at any time of the day or night, and he'll always be happy to receive the call, as will other ministers."

Dr Davis has ruled out running as an independent, and said he had received offers from other political parties including the Greens.

Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie said he never made any comments about wanting to throw something at the TV when Dr Davis was on air.

Although Mr Bleijie said it was unfortunate Dr Davis chose to air his concerns publicly.

"There are numerous avenues for MPs to have their say or raise concerns about policies including party room, backbench committees or simply contacting the relevant minister," he told AAP.

"Unfortunately, Chris never came to me with any of his concerns."

But deputy premier Jeff Seeney hasn't denied Dr Davis' allegation.

When asked whether he said he wanted to throw something at the TV while Dr Davis was giving an interview, Mr Seeney told AAP: "Debate is essential in the parliamentary party room and it is something that is encouraged."

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Housing prices suffer winter blues

THE weather across much of Australia is unseasonably warm, but the housing market is cooling down right on schedule.

After falling by 0.9 per cent the week before, prices in the five mainland state capitals were down by another 0.6 per cent over the week to Sunday.

According to the RP Data's analysis of the residential property market, all five capitals recorded falls last week, from 0.2 per cent in Brisbane to 1.0 per cent in Adelaide.

It was the third week in a row that prices had posted significant falls, but not necessarily an indication that the market has topped out and, at long last, begun the slump that pundits have been forecasting for years now.

There are two reason to doubt that the boom is now going bust.

One is that the market dipped at the same time last year, and to about the same degree - around two per cent or a bit more by RP Data measure.

Both times it had recovered all the lost ground by the end of June.

There is an obvious seasonal pattern.

The other is the auction clearance rates remains high.

Just over 66 per cent of properties whose auction results were tabulated by RP Data last week were sold.

The week before it was 65.4 per cent.

That was still down from the peak of over 75 per cent reached a couple of months earlier as buyers and sellers returned from summer holidays, but it remains high.

It's about level with clearance rates seen at the same time last year.

In other words, it still appears that demand is rising more rapidly than supply.

That could all change, of course.

Consumer confidence figures since the budget the week before last suggest households have had their equilibrium disturbed.

So the coming few weeks, especially the latter half of June when prices would normally be expected to recover from their winter blues as they did last year and the year before, will be a critical time for the housing market.

If the recovery does not proceed as normal, investors will be prompted to wonder whether the easy ride is over.

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Speaker stands by fundraising event

Speaker Bronwyn Bishop must explain what took place in her suite on budget night, says Labor. Source: AAP

SPEAKER Bronwyn Bishop has refused to reveal details of how her parliamentary office was used for a Liberal Party fundraising event.

Labor says a $2500 a head budget night function in the Speaker's Parliament House office - revealed in weekend newspaper reports and not denied by Ms Bishop - is unprecedented and breaches the independence of the role.

Ms Bishop told parliament on Monday that all members of parliament were entitled to use their suites "for their own purposes, but not for illegal purposes".

The opposition asked her to reflect on her ruling, but she stood by her statement.

Now Labor has written to the privileges committee asking for an investigation.

A motion asking the House to refer the same was voted down.

"This is a motion about smear and innuendo directed at the speaker's office," Leader of the House Christopher Pyne said, noting political fundraising events were held in Parliament House all the time.

As long as the costs were covered privately or by a political party there was no breach of the rules, he said.

Opposition frontbencher Tony Burke said the speaker's suite was a special case and the fundraiser represented "improper interference" in the independence of the office.

"This is not an ordinary venue," he told parliament.

"Your job is not owned by the Liberal Party."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who is understood to have attended the fundraiser, told parliament Labor was looking for distractions from its lack of policy.

"They worry about what might be in what room at what time in this parliament," he said.

Taking aim at Labor leader Bill Shorten the prime minister said: "Really and truly, this man is no Bob Hawke - he is no leader."

Labor has been critical of Ms Bishop's appointment from an early stage, especially in her handling of question time and biased language.

She has suspended 101 opposition MPs from parliament, but none from the government.

That image was reinforced when Ms Bishop said, after Mr Burke finished his speech: "I find it a bit rough to be lectured on morality from you."

Earlier, the secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services, Carol Mills, told a Senate estimates hearing she was unaware of any rule preventing such a use of the speaker's suite.

"It is up to the speaker, president or the other holders of special suites to decide how to use them," she said.

Greens senator Lee Rhiannon asked for a list of events held in Parliament House over the past three years to ascertain how many were party fundraisers.

Two previous speakers, Anna Burke and Harry Jenkins, have said they never used the suite for political fundraising events.

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Man, 21, burned in Sydney gas fireball

A GAS-FUELLED fireball in a busy northern Sydney shopping plaza has left a man with serious burns.

The 21-year-old was rushed to Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital with burns to his lower body after a gas main caught alight about 1pm (AEST) on Monday at the front of a shop in Lane Cove.

He was reported to be in a stable condition.

The local primary school was locked down and about 150 people were moved to safety as firefighters monitored the fire.

They decided not to put the fire out, opting instead to ask the gas company to shut the gas down - which it did an hour later.

"It's actually safer to allow the gas to burn," Superintendent Ian Krimmer told AAP.

"If you put the fire out, you create a bigger problem because the gas leak could go to other areas and cause explosions in other locations."

As the gas was being shut off, six fire crews were protecting buildings, while police kept Longueville Road closed to all traffic.

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