Another Tamil man sets himself on fire

ANOTHER Tamil man has set himself alight, the latest in a spate of self-immolation cases involving asylum seekers who fear being sent back to Sri Lanka.

THE 40-year-old man splashed himself with petrol and ignited it, but his housemates intervened and managed to put out the fire.

It happened late on Friday at a home in the Melbourne suburb of Noble Park, according to a statement from the Tamil Refugee Council.There were similar incidents in May, when Leo Seemanpillai burned to death outside his Geelong home, and also in April when a Sydney-based Tamil man also set himself alight but survived with burns to 75 per cent of his body.In the latest case, the man suffered burns to his legs and was taken by ambulance to Dandenong Hospital."We are very lucky on this occasion that the man's housemates were aware of what he was planning to do otherwise we may have had another death on our hands," council spokesperson Sri Samy said."I have had seven young men tell me in the past few weeks that they are thinking of doing this."They are fearful of being sent back to Sri Lanka and say they would prefer to die here than be sent back to torture, which is what the Australian government is doing to many Tamil asylum seekers."The man involved in this latest case came to Australia by boat in 2012, and he was on a bridging visa awaiting assessment of his asylum claim.He fled Sri Lanka, leaving his wife and daughter behind, after security police broke his legs.The council said last week he had learned his brother, held in a Sri Lankan prison for four years, had disappeared and was feared dead.The man feared the same fate if returned to Sri Lanka."The previous Labor government, and the current Coalition government, have sent back more than 1000 Tamil asylum-seekers under an enhanced screening process," Mrs Samy also said."That does not allow time for proper assessment of asylum claims."She called on Immigration Minister Scott Morrison to alleviate fear among Tamil asylum seekers by granting protection to genuine refugees.* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467

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Royals defend apartment spending

THE British royal family has defended spending a seven-figure sum refurbishing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Kensington Palace apartment.

THE taxpayer will foot the bill for extensive work on the property, including installing a new roof, overhauling the electrics and carrying out significant plumbing works.

A royal spokesman said repairs and refurbishments - reported to cost in the region of STG4 million ($A7.30 million), though this figure was not confirmed by the royal household - would also see a "significant amount of internal building" to "return the residence to function as a living space".William and Kate's Kensington Palace apartment was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and was the home of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon. Margaret remained there after their divorce and lived there until her death in 2002.The living space was last refurbished in 1963."This is the Duke and Duchess's one and only official residence. It is here that they plan to stay for many, many years to come," a royal spokesman said."We also had to take into account the fact that Kensington Palace is a scheduled ancient monument, and all elements of the refurbishment had to be agreed with English Heritage. Often this meant ensuring a high standard of work in line with the historical significance of the Christopher Wren building."He said William and Kate "paid privately" for all the internal furnishings, including carpets and curtains. They were also at pains to ensure that the specification is not extravagant."As with any other part of the estate, it was the royal household (TRH) who were responsible for the refurbishment of the residence - where they could in the course of the procurement process, TRH helped to bear down on cost," he added."The household oversaw the planning, tendering and project management of the refurbishment and were responsible for the budget and spend."

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Ukrainian church desecrated in Sydney

A UKRAINIAN church in Sydney has been desecrated with racial slurs in an attack the NSW government has labelled vicious and abhorrent.

MEMBERS of the Ukrainian community woke on Saturday morning to find the St Andrew's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lidcombe covered in spray paint.

Among the vandalism is a swastika symbol and the message "traitors fascists".Father Simon Ckuj said the church partly commemorated Ukrainians who fought against Nazism in World War Two."This act completely defiles the memory of those who died fighting fascism," the parish priest said on Saturday.Despite the offensive crime, the church says it will pray for the graffiti artists at a Sunday morning service.Peter Shmigel, of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, says the act trashed the principals of a multicultural and democratic Australia."There is no room for people like those who attacked our church to import their foreign conflicts to Australia and Sydney, where our community has made a positive contribution for 65 years," he said in a statement.The church says the graffiti, once translated to English, also reads "burn in hell for the sins of Poroshenko", referring to the President of Ukraine.Communities and Citizenship Minister Victor Dominello said the act was completely unacceptable."To use an international racial dispute to vilify a community in Sydney is abhorrent," he said."The use of swastikas as a means of denigrating and attacking any community in NSW is utterly offensive."The church says the vandalism has been reported to police.

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Pregnant woman airlifted to hospital

A PREGNANT woman has suffered serious head injuries after a car crashed into a northwest Sydney house, also injuring a teenage girl and another woman.

THE 25-year-old, who is four months pregnant, has been airlifted to Westmead Hospital with serious head and leg injuries, police say.

The girl, 14, also suffered head and leg injuries and was taken to hospital along with a 48-year-old woman, who sustained pelvic injuries."All three remain in a stable condition," police said.They were hit while standing on the front veranda of a Windsor Downs home on Saturday afternoon.The male driver was treated by paramedics and has been taken for mandatory drug and alcohol testing.His male passenger wasn't hurt.Police have established a crime scene and are investigating.

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Hendra virus kills NSW horse

Hendra virus has killed a horse in northern NSW, causing authorities to quarantine a property. Source: AAP

HENDRA virus has killed a horse in northern NSW, causing authorities to quarantine a property as they run tests on its stablemates and the five people who handled the animal.

IT'S the first case of Hendra discovered in NSW this year.

"The 31-year-old stockhorse gelding died overnight on Thursday after being found in a dam earlier that day and receiving treatment from a private veterinarian for very low body temperature," NSW deputy chief vet Therese Wright said in a statement."Three people who handled the horse plus the veterinarian and an assistant are being assessed and monitored by NSW Health."In recent weeks no horses have moved off the property, west of Murwillumbah, and there are no dogs or cats about, Ms Wright added.The paddock where the horse was kept "has regular flying fox activity," she said.Horses are believed to contract the Hendra virus from feed contaminated by urine, saliva or birthing fluids from flying foxes."Do not place feed and water under trees and cover feed and water containers with a shelter so they cannot be contaminated from above," Ms Wright said.Hendra virus was found in four horses and a dog across four separate mid-north coast properties last year."Winter is the season when horses have been infected with Hendra in NSW in the past so now is the time to get a vaccine booster for your horse," Ms Wright said.In Queensland four people have been killed by Hendra virus since 1994.And in December councils across the state were given permission to trim trees and use smoke, lights and loud noises to drive flying fox colonies away from urban areas without needing a permit."If a horse becomes sick, owners should contact their veterinarian immediately," Ms Wright warned.

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Thai govt to mediate in Aussie's case

THAILAND'S foreign ministry is pressing for a mediated settlement in a bid to end a legal conflict between the Royal Thai Navy and an Australian journalist who faces a possible lengthy jail term over defamation charges.

ALAN Morison, originally from Melbourne, and Thai reporter Chutima Sidasathian face jail terms of up to seven years on the charges of criminal defamation and breaches of the Computer Crimes Act.

The charges came after Morison, editor of the online English language news service, PhuketWan, in July last year republished excerpts of a Thomson Reuters report alleging the involvement of Thai navy personnel in the trafficking of ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.The navy later launched a case against Morison and Chutima, but only recently began legal proceedings against Thomson Reuters and its reporters, who were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting.Morison and Chutima made brief court appearances last month, but no pleas were entered. Their next court appearance is scheduled for March 18, 2015.But a senior Thai foreign ministry official, Songsak Saicheu, director-general of the Americas Department, says the ministry is working closely with the Thai navy and the Australian embassy in a bid to settle the matter out of court.Mr Songsak told reporters the four-way consultations would include the navy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Australian embassy, and Morison."So the navy is ready to consider any possibility that if anything can be settled out of court, of both parties are satisfied with the conversation, with the deal, together it can be possible," Songsak said.Thailand's National Human Rights Commission had also taken steps to mediate between the journalists and the navy. But talks previously scheduled for May 23 were scuttled a day after the Thai military staged a coup d'etat.The foreign ministry's stance comes as Thailand is under pressure from the US over its rights and human trafficking performance in recent years, and faces a possible downgrade with the release of the State Department's 2014 "Trafficking in Persons" report.Morison welcomed the Thai ministry's intervention in the case."Any possibility of an outcome at which we could all walk away content would be excellent," Morison told AAP."It would be great. If the (Thai) foreign ministry is working behind the scenes and taken note of what's been said in Washington that would be fantastic. That's really good news," he said.The Thai National Human Rights Commission has rescheduled a mediation meeting of the parties for July 7.

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WA Police charge former hostel warden

CHILD abuse squad detectives have charged a 69-year-old West Australian man, who is currently in prison, with two additional charges relating to historic child sex offences.

POLICE allege the offences occurred between 1975 and 1988 when the offender was a warden at a regional WA hostel.

He is expected to appear in the Katanning Magistrates Court on July 15.

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Baby gets HIV tests after given wrong milk

A THREE-WEEK-OLD baby is undergoing tests for HIV after being given breast milk from the wrong mother in a southeast Queensland hospital.

THE Metro North Hospital and Health Service says it is urgently investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, which occurred at Caboolture Hospital on Thursday.

It says it has also apologised "unreservedly" to the baby's parents and the donor mother."Medical advice, provided to the families, is because of the good health of those involved there is negligible risk of health impacts to the baby as a result of this incident," a spokesman told AAP."However as a precaution, to give peace of mind and certainty to the families involved, blood and milk samples have been taken for comprehensive testing."Results are expected to be available within a week, with a routine confirmation test to occur again in 12 weeks.The mix-up has caused a nervous wait for the baby's family.The baby's grandmother, who only identified herself as Peggy, rang Brisbane talkback radio in distress on Friday morning saying her grandson was being tested for HIV, as well as Hepatitis A, B and C."My son and daughter-in-law are beside themselves," the upset grandmother told 4BC."We're on tenterhooks and to have something like that happen at a hospital, who's not doing their job?"The grandmother said a nurse gave a bottle to her daughter-in-law only to return five minutes later and say it was the wrong one.The health service spokesman said any issues identified by a formal investigation would be addressed to prevent a recurrence.Staff involved in the incident had been counselled about the importance of following all protocols in relation to expressed breast milk, he said.

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Proudest mum sees top five graduate

SHE just had to be the proudest mother in the country.

FIVE of her own graduating on the same day, and they were five of the smartest, happiest and furriest graduates you will ever see.

Overjoyed mum Olwyn watched on as her top five; Rosie, Richie, Riley, Robbie and Ruby all graduated with flying colours as fully fledged Guide Dogs at the organisation's base in Glossodia in western Sydney on Friday.There wasn't a mortar board in sight, but plenty of tasty treats, sloppy licks and maybe a celebratory bark or two for some of the cleverest canines in the country.Make no mistake, after six months of extensive training, these gorgeous Labradors are the best of the best and with a bright, rewarding future ahead of them you couldn't stop mum's tail from wagging.It costs $30,000 to train up each dog and after graduation at 18 months of age, they are paired up with a suitable handler,There are 250 working guide dogs in NSW and 40 blind or vision impaired people waiting for a dog which makes Olwyn, a 'prize bitch' in any vernacular, even more valuable."Olywn has always been easy going and very calm, she is a great mother and she always keeps her pups under control," explains owner Sally Gorman."Maybe that is why the pups are so successful. We are extremely proud of her and her dogs."It is the perfect combination of having a dog and doing some good for us."Puppy Raisers, families who help prepare a puppy for its potential career as a guide dog, are almost as important as the dogs themselves."It's a good way to help out," says Rebecca Smith, 21, whose looked after Riley before his rise to a Guide Dog and whose current charge the sleepy-eyed Wayne is the eighth puppy her and her family have raised.The puppies join families at two months and stay for around a year."We had another dog and we felt like it needed some company and wanted to see how it would work out and it has obviously worked out really well."It is rewarding and a lot of fun that is why we continue to stay involved."Rebecca looks on as graduation photos are taken, and taken and taken.The bond between puppy raiser and puppy after a year obviously becomes a strong one. So how hard is it to give them back?"I remember the first one, me and mum got a bit teary, but as much as it is hard to say goodbye you know it is going to a good home, going to someone who needs it," Rebecca says.

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PM not concerned about ministers' safety

PM Tony Abbott says he's not concerned about the safety of his ministers during public protests. Source: AAP

THE government isn't concerned about the safety of its members, despite reports four ministers have had their security detail beefed-up, the prime minister says.

"VERY, very occasionally" some security would be required, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Friday, adding that people had the right to express their views and protest.

"Very, very rarely there are protests, occasionally those protests get ugly," he told reporters in Sydney.His comments come as Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was targeted by feisty protesters as she opened the C20 conference at the University of Melbourne on Friday morning."It shouldn't happen, I don't think it is a very Australian thing to do, to try prevent someone from speaking, to prevent someone from visiting some place where their duty calls them," Mr Abbott said.Protests, he said, should always be conducted in a "fair and respectful manner"."But it seems a few people did go over the top," he said, after a man was arrested for lunging at the car that Ms Bishop was travelling in.Treasurer Joe Hockey, Ms Bishop, Education Minister Christopher Pyne and Assistant Defence Minister Stuart Robert have been assigned extra protection from the Australian Federal Police, Fairfax reports.

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Family heartbroken after aged home deaths

THREE and a half years ago, Marie Darragh was frail, ill and on the brink of death.

SHE was placed in the St Andrews Nursing Home in Ballina as her family desperately hoped for the best.

Within years, her health had turned around.After giving up smoking, Ms Darragh turned to sugar to get her fix and earned the affectionate nickname "sugar fairy" for her fierce sweet tooth around the nursing home.It was this new-found health and happiness that made the 82-year-old's suspected murder in May all the more shocking."It's total heartbreak," daughter Janet Parkinson told AAP on Thursday."Because when she went in there she was ready to die. She was so frail and it has taken them three and a half years to get her where she was."They built her up and she had to go this way ... that's the heartbreaking thing."Ms Darragh and fellow resident and friend Isobella Spencer, 77, were found unconscious in their beds on May 10.They died hours later.The same night, a third woman was attacked at the home and admitted to hospital but survived.St Andrews Aged Care says she is in good health and is back at the facility.The fact Ms Darragh and Ms Spencer died unexpectedly, in the same location and on the same night, sparked a homicide investigation.Detectives believe they have a good idea of how both women died and have questioned nursing home staff."Obviously we are looking at the actions of staff members that night. However, we are keeping an open mind," Detective Superintendent Mick Willing said on Wednesday.Ms Parkinson said she had her own suspicions about what happened, but could not speak highly enough of the nursing home staff."Obviously I have missed something," she said.She said Ms Darragh, a grandmother to 11 and mother of three, "loved" living at the nursing home.Police have not disclosed any further details about the women's deaths but said there was no "existing threat" at the nursing home."I want to make it absolutely clear that we believe this is an isolated incident," Det Supt Willing said.In a statement, St Andrews Aged Care chief executive officer Pip Carter had no fears for the safety of residents."We understand the pain of losing a loved one and we are doing all we can to assist police," she said.

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Ferry fraudster Smith 'had no choice'

A FORMER Sydney Ferries boss who racked up more than $200,000 on the company credit card says he felt he had no choice because he couldn't tell his emotionally fragile wife how desperate the family's financial situation had become.

FORMER naval admiral Geoffrey Smith on Thursday told his sentencing hearing he was hired to help turn the troubled transport company around in August 2006.

By early 2009, allegations of rorting had surfaced and he was brought up before the corruption watchdog.He has now pleaded guilty to one charge of cheating or defrauding the company he directed.Smith said two fatal crashes on Sydney Harbour in 2007 ushered in a five-month inquiry and intense scrutiny.On the home front, his wife - who had previously been hospitalised and subjected to electroconvulsive therapy in a battle with depression - was diagnosed with cancer."I'm deeply ashamed," Smith told the Sydney District Court."I've let down a lot of people and I've done something contrary to all the values I've lived my whole life."He said he always intended to reimburse Sydney Ferries for his personal expenses, and with a crippling monthly mortgage of $11,000 and medical bills stacking up, Smith says he knew he needed to sell his home in leafy northern Sydney.But he couldn't tell his wife.They'd been married for 26 of his navy years and moved 32 times."She never asked for anything except that when the time came for me to retire we would buy a house and settle down and have a semi-normal life," Smith said."I was intensely worried that if I spoke to her about selling the house it would have a profound impact on her."When he eventually spoke to his wife about the "parlous" state of the family books, the global financial crisis was in full swing, and the house's value had dropped from an estimated $2.2 million to $1.86m - too little to settle Smith's debts.But Crown prosecutor Sara Bowers said Smith was spending Sydney Ferries' money on extravagances including a family trip to New Zealand, jewellery, a new swimming pool and two BMWs, including one for his "bedridden" wife."Not the necessities of life, are they," she said."I didn't think I had a choice," Smith said.Smith says he still wants to pay the missing money back using earnings from his retail job at hardware chain Bunnings and his superannuation.Judge Michael Finnane has indicated he intends to sentence Smith to two years, but that this may be served in the community under an intensive correction order, rather than in jail.The hearing resumes in August.

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Two boat mishaps off Malaysia, 35 missing

MALAYSIAN authorities are searching for 35 people missing at sea following two boat accidents at a time when many illegal migrant workers head home to Indonesia for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

IN the latest incident early on Thursday, nine people were missing off western Malaysia after a boat believed to be bound for the Indonesian island of Sumatra sank near the district of Sepang, south of the capital Kuala Lumpur, The Star daily reported.

Eighteen people were rescued, it said, quoting Mohamad Hambali Yaakup, an official with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).The accident came to light as authorities expanded a search for survivors of another boat - also bound for Sumatra - that sank just up the coast with 97 Indonesians aboard early on Wednesday.Nine bodies have been found after that accident, while 26 remain missing, though officials believe some of them made it to land - it sank near the Malaysian shore - and fled the area to avoid being apprehended by authorities.Authorities have not yet determined the cause of either accident, but the boat that sank on Wednesday was likely carrying three times more passengers than it could safely transport, officials said."The boat is too small to ferry 97 people. The boat must have been very cramped," said MMEA spokesman Mohamad Zuhri, adding that its capacity was likely around 30 passengers.Large numbers of Indonesians - many of them illegal migrants - return home annually from Malaysia for Ramadan, which this year begins at the end of June and will culminate in late July with Eid al-Fitr, Islam's biggest festival.On Thursday, divers were deployed, more vessels brought in and the search zone for the first sinking expanded along the coast in the hope of finding more survivors, said Mohamad Hambali."We have deployed divers and a total of 25 marine craft and a helicopter to sweep the coastal area for possible survivors," he told AFP.Mohamad Hambali said the divers would try to determine what caused the boat to sink and to view any markings that would help identify its owner and operator.The 62 survivors of the first mishap have been detained by authorities and were not available to speak with the media.

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Carr dishes up conundrum for NSW govt

EIGHT years after ending his reign over NSW, Bob Carr is still giving the state Liberals a headache.

THIS time, he's forced Premier Mike Baird to reconvene a "slimmed-down" joint sitting of parliament.

The procedure is so the former premier and foreign minister can be excused from the Senate and return to private life.Mr Baird was left with a conundrum after Mr Carr decided to retire from federal politics despite winning his Senate seat last year.The premier received legal advice that Mr Carr's resignation wasn't constitutional and a joint sitting of the NSW parliament was needed to replace him.But the problem was parliament was on Thursday preparing to close its doors for its winter recess and not planning to sit again until August, well after the July 1 date of the new Senate term.The premier eventually decided to hold a very short joint sitting session in July, which would only last a few minutes, to sort the issue out.Once that happens, Labor's Deb O'Neill will formally replace Mr Carr in the Senate.

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Labor, coalition fight for rural affection

IF you believe Labor, they are the party for farmers and rural Australia.

IF you believe the government, that's a complete joke.

Parliament took a country tone on Thursday when Labor's agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon brought on debate about the budget's impact on regional Australia.He was concerned about the fuel excise hike's impact on rural residents, which he says will go down as the Abbott government's "worst broken promise".Mr Fitzgibbon is behind Labor's new "country caucus" made up of regional MPs and senators who will influence party policy on rural issues.Labor has long been a champion of the bush, given it was partly born out of the shearing sheds of rural Queensland, Mr Fitzgibbon told AAP."Country Labor has been successful in NSW and it can be successful nationally," he said in a statement.But the coalition is having none of that.Liberal MP Dan Tehan derided Mr Fitzgibbon's topic for debate, given it came just after its country caucus was publicly announced."That's why we have this (debate) here today," he said."What an absolute joke."Mr Tehan said the country caucus came too late."You all should be ashamed of yourself, starting in the year 2014 a regional caucus and coming in here telling us who should stand up for regional and rural Australia."Nationals deputy leader Barnaby Joyce joined in the derision.If there was a friend for regional Australia, it was clear which side of the chamber they would find them in, he said.

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PNG's O'Neill sacks corruption watchdog

PNG PM Peter O'Neill has sacked his attorney-general as a court battle over an arrest warrant looms. Source: AAP

PAPUA New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has sacked the deputy police commissioner and shut down a corruption watchdog that was trying to arrest him over an alleged multi-million dollar fraud.

A POLICE warrant was issued for Mr O'Neill's arrest on Monday over allegations he siphoned $31 million of public funds to law firm, Paul Paraka lawyers.

Mr O'Neill denies any wrongdoing and on Wednesday shut corruption watchdog Task Force Sweep - effectively ending its investigation into the matter.The prime minister accused Task Force Sweep, which is made up of Justice Department staff and police, of colluding with unnamed politicians.Taskforce boss Sam Koim said shutting his organisation was the "gravest mistake".Mr O'Neill also sacked Police Chief of Operations Deputy Commissioner Simon Kauba, who was heavily involved in the case, accusing him of disobeying government orders.In a further development, new police commissioner Geoffrey Vaki was arrested in an apparent response by police to Mr Kauba's dismissal.He was reportedly being questioned by fraud squad officers.The upheaval, which may spark protests, came after a court case launched by Mr O'Neill's lawyers to stay the warrant for his arrest was adjourned until next week.The key evidence in the case against Mr O'Neill - which has gripped PNG for months - is a letter he allegedly signed authorising $31 million be paid to Paul Paraka lawyers.The prime minister has dismissed the note as a fake.Mr Koim revealed on Tuesday that Sydney-based private investigators believe the document is genuine."We have now received the forensic examination report from the Sydney-based Forensic Document Services Pty Ltd confirming that the signature on the letter ... directing payments to Paraka Lawyers is PM O'Neill's," Mr Koim said.Mr O'Neill on Tuesday announced a commission of inquiry into the allegations against him, led by Australian judge Warwick Andrew.The Paul Paraka affair - called Parakagate in Port Moresby - is one of PNG's longest-running fraud investigations.Mr Paraka, one of the most powerful lawyers in PNG, was arrested and charged in 2013 for allegedly receiving the state monies.Task Force Sweep had alleged the payments were spread over a seven-year period and ran into the "hundreds of millions".

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Defence abuse may join Royal Commission

Reports of historic abuse on HMAS Leeuwin may be investigated by the current Royal Commission. Source: AAP

THE rape and sexual assault of hundreds of teenage boys while training at a West Australian naval base may become part of the current royal commission.

THE offences against 207 junior recruits at the HMAS Leeuwin training facility between 1960 and 1984 would fit the remit of the current Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Defence Abuse Response Taskforce chair Len Roberts-Smith said.

Mr Roberts-Smith described the abuse of the junior recruits, who were aged between 15 and 17, as horrific.Victims told of being scrubbed daily with sandsoap until their skin bled, being held down while boot polish was smeared onto their genitals, and having an object such as a mop handle forced into their anus.Mr Roberts-Smith, a former WA Supreme Court judge, said the few victims who overcame intimidation and threats to seek help were told to go away and be quiet, "in almost every instance".He said 63 per cent of the abuse at the naval base was perpetrated by other junior recruits and the remainder by staff.Victims' lives had been shattered by the offending, he said."Quite often they became alcoholics, they took to drugs, they had mental and psychological issues, they were angry constantly, and all of this reflected in their lives, which were devastated by the abuse that happened so long ago," Mr Roberts-Smith told ABC radio.Former Leeuwin recruit Graham, 61, said he wanted to kill the two men who raped him on the same night at Leeuwin."I've lived with that for 46 years. I still live with it. I have terror every day. I can't get it out of my mind. I hate nights. I can't sleep."I'm not a healthy man. I'm a complete mess mentally."I've never felt like a complete man."I'm sure the other victims are still suffering as I am today."He said it was comforting that his story had been accepted and to know the cases may be examined by a royal commission."I think the government needs to come clean with what I think was a cover-up for all this time," he said.Mr Roberts-Smith said the victims had great difficulty telling their stories, but were adamant they wanted them heard."They want people to know ... because they don't want it to happen again to anyone else," he said."These were children for whom Defence and the Navy had a special duty of care, standing in the place of their parents."We must learn the lessons of history."According to the report, the pattern of abuse at Leeuwin was such that Defence knew or ought to have known it was occurring, but failed to stop it.One in 10 of all abuse complaints the taskforce has received relate to Leeuwin.Defence Force chief General David Hurley and Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Ray Griggs said the incidents should not have occurred.Both said they were confident the abusive environment at Leeuwin didn't exist in the modern defence force, but the report would help Defence to continue working towards cultural change.

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PM Abbott steps up budget pitch

The Abbott government plans to send out almost 2.5 million newsletters to win over pensioners. Source: AAP

THE Abbott government is planning to send out almost 2.5 million newsletters to win over pensioners on controversial budget measures.

BUT Labor, which has taken a solid lead in the polls on the back of budget unrest, has criticised the campaign as misleading.

The News for Seniors newsletter - which was also produced under Labor - will include information on age pension payments, the change of indexation from 2017, the rise in the pension age and the introduction of the Medicare GP co-payment.Opposition Leader Bill Shorten told parliament the government would be wasting taxpayer money if it went ahead with the newsletter."Does the prime minister seriously expect the people of Australia to believe him when he said this is an honest budget?" he said on Wednesday.Prime Minister Tony Abbott said any letter that went to pensioners would only include truthful information, unlike that being peddled by Labor.He pointed to a newsletter from Mr Shorten which said the carbon tax would be abolished under Labor."He is a serial deceiver of the Australian people," Mr Abbott said.Labor frontbencher Stephen Jones told parliament the Liberal MP for the NSW seat of Hume, Angus Taylor, had issued a newsletter stating: "The GP co-payment will not apply to those who cannot afford to pay.""PM, why are you, your MPs and ministers continuing to tell falsehoods about the budget?" Mr Jones asked.Mr Abbott said the co-payment "should hardly hurt at all", but would make the health system sustainable.The prime minister and Treasurer Joe Hockey described the budget as facing a "crisis" if Labor did not back budget-related bills.Labor and the Greens on Wednesday rejected for a second time a government bill abolishing the Clean Energy Finance Corporation funded by the carbon tax.Under the constitution, the government can use the rejection to trigger the dissolution of both houses of parliament and call an election.Mr Hockey said the government would bring the carbon tax repeal bills back to parliament next week.Greens leader Christine Milne challenged the government to bring on an election."If you are so convinced that ignoring climate change is the way to go, go to an election on it," she said.The prime minister also moved to head off an internal battle over his paid parental leave scheme.Mr Abbott is under fire from some coalition colleagues who want to make the leave scheme less generous or delay it until the economy improves."There's quite a lot of time to put legislation in parliament," he said, adding the government's immediate priority was to repeal the carbon and mining taxes and legislate the budget.

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Therapy need sent abuser abroad: Marists

THE former head of the Marist brothers in Australia has denied he made a hasty decision to put a prolific child sex abuser on a plane to Canada three days after it became known police were investigating him.

ALTHOUGH he knew the brother had confessed to molesting a boy who later committed suicide, Brother Alexis Turton, the order's provincial in 1989, thought it best to get Gregory Sutton therapy at a Canadian centre for priest sex offenders.

He denied repeatedly at a child sex abuse royal commission hearing in Canberra on Wednesday that he sent Sutton to the Southdown centre near Toronto because police had begun asking questions.Sutton was extradited from Canada and jailed for 12 years in 1996 after pleading guilty to multiple charges of assaulting children in schools in NSW, ACT and Queensland from 1975 to 1986.He had quit the Marists in 1991 and Br Turton said he lost track of him after that.Br Turton said he sent Sutton to Canada because treatments in Australia had not worked.One Australian therapist had said he could not work "with this man (Sutton) because he does not have sufficient self awareness to have true therapy with me".A document dated August 31, 1989, produced at the commission showed that Sutton was telling people at the centre his provincial had sent him "due to the fact that investigations were occurring on himself for school activities five years ago regarding his child abuse."Br Turton said on Wednesday: "No. That is incorrect. That is wrong."When it was put to him that sending Sutton to Canada was first raised by him on August 15 and he was on a plane on August 18, Br Turton said: "I didn't see it as excessive haste, I saw it as continuing the process that we had been through to get him through to intensive therapy".At the time, parents of children at St Thomas More School in Campbelltown, NSW, had gone to police alleging Sutton had abused Year 5 girls.Simeon Beckett, counsel advising the commission, put it to Br Turton that his account to the commission of why he sent Sutton to Canada was false."That is not correct your honour," Br Turton said.He also denied writing a memorandum detailing Sutton's history of abusive behaviour with children going back to the 1970s.The document used a name other than Sutton's and Mr Beckett suggested the false name was an attempt to deceive readers such as police or civil litigants."I am totally mystified by this document. I can't make any other assessment of it," Br Turton said.He was also asked if it was Marist Brothers' practice to transfer a brother from a school where an allegation or admission of child sexual abuse had been made."I can't say it was the practice. Certainly we have a number of cases (where) that happened. Yes."The commission has been told that the order normally moves brothers around a lot.Br Turton said assurances by alleged offenders they would cease their inappropriate behaviour was often accepted when no complaint of specific sexual molestation was received.

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Australia 'on notice' to protect reef

Leonardo DiCaprio has spoken of the devastation he's witnessed on the Great Barrier Reef. Source: AAP

THE World Heritage Committee has given Australia seven months to prove it is protecting the Great Barrier Reef or risk having the reef listed as in danger.

UN cultural agency UNESCO warned Australia of the "serious decline in the condition" of the reef and said "a business as usual approach to managing the property is not an option".

UNESCO's annual World Heritage Committee meeting in Doha on Wednesday called on Australia to submit a report on its actions by February 1, 2015.A decision will be assessed on whether Australia has implemented a list of recommendations set out by the committee in 2012.In documents presented at the meeting on Wednesday, UNESCO raised particular concern about the approval in December of the Abbot Point coal port and allowing the dumping of three millions of tonnes of dredge waste within the marine park waters.Any in-danger listing for the reef would admit Australia to an undesirable club that includes the likes of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has all five of its World Heritage sites on the danger list.The committee welcomed progress made by Australia, specifically around water quality and its endorsement of a 2013 Reef Water Quality Protection Plan.Australia's intention to restrict future developments to current port blueprints along the Queensland coast was also commended.But the committee added that because the Queensland Ports Strategy could not be applied retrospectively, Australia needed to ensure developments outside these areas are not approved.It requested Australia ensure the decision to dump the spoil offshore wouldn't impact the reef's "overall universal value" and was the least damaging option available.WWF-Australia spokesman Richard Leck, who attended the Doha meeting, says the committee has effectively put Australia on notice to prove it is protecting the reef."The committee has stood firm on the need for stronger reef protection," he told AAP."They've really put the government on notice that they need to lift their game."Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche says the committee has delivered a vote of confidence in Australia's management of the reef."The decision is global acknowledgment that Australia is on track to deliver a long-term plan for conservation of the Great Barrier Reef's outstanding universal value," he said.

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Bishop to unveil new plan for foreign aid

INITIATIVES to help women in poorer countries and encourage the private sector to tackle poverty could be a major focus of the federal government's new strategy on overseas aid.

FOREIGN Minister Julie Bishop on Wednesday will unveil her "new paradigm" for the $5 billion aid budget, including benchmarks to link the performance of development programs to government funding.

It's part of the government's push to put economic growth at the heart of its aid strategy, with the belief that jobs and trade are the best way to help the region's poor driving the new agenda.The government's "aid for trade" mentality has been well canvassed by the foreign minister, who sees Australia's assistance program not as charity but an investment in the region.The new strategy will stress stronger partnerships with the private sector, including by encouraging companies to devise innovative ways of reducing poverty.It's also likely gender programs will be made a priority, with Ms Bishop placing particular emphasis on the economic empowerment of women and girls in past policy speeches.ANU Professor Stephen Howes said these two initiatives looked set to feature prominently in the government's new strategy."I wouldn't be surprised if there were a couple of announcements on new sorts of aid projects, perhaps with the private sector or gender (programs) to kickstart the new strategy," he told AAP on Tuesday.The funding for these initiatives could come from a large yet-unexplained $380 million allocation in the federal budget for "cross regional programs".It was one of the few programs spared in this year's aid budget, with the government slashing overall spending by $7.6 billion over five years.The biggest question mark hangs over the benchmarks policy, with charities concerned the region's poorest will only suffer more if funding is cut because performance targets aren't met.It's also not clear how the success of programs linked to less tangible outcomes like governance and civil society will be measured."How you actually link allocations to performance is actually very difficult," Prof Howes said.

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Banned flu vax still given to young kids

REPORTS of some doctors giving young children a banned flu vaccination "defies belief", Australia's chief medical officer says.

THE bioCSL Fluvax was suspended from use for children under five years old after an increase in febrile convulsions in children was linked to the vaccine in 2010.

Earlier this month a five-year-old Perth girl received a confidential multi-million dollar payout after becoming severely disabled after receiving the bioCSL Fluvax in 2010.Despite this, in 2013 there were 43 reported cases of the bioCSL Fluvax administered to children under five. So far this year there had been 31 cases, Professor Chris Baggoley said.He admitted this figure was low, considering 48,360 children under five were given flu jabs last year. There were also no reports of adverse events.However, Prof Baggoley said it "defies belief" that some GPs said they were not aware of the ban, despite receiving a letter from him about it and other measures to inform them."In context, it's minuscule, but for every child that's been put at risk it makes me profoundly cranky," he said in Melbourne on Tuesday at the National Immunisation Conference.The federal department of health advises that the bioCSL Fluvax should not be used for children under five years. Other suitable vaccines are available.It advises that the vaccination should only be used in children five to nine years old after careful consideration of the benefits and risks.

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Australians join PNG O'Neill fraud probe

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has reportedly avoided arrest by fraud investigators. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIAN private investigators and an Aussie judge are playing key roles in a corruption scandal that threatens to topple Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, it has emerged.

A WARRANT for Mr O'Neill's arrest was obtained on Monday by fraud investigators who want to grill the prime minister over allegations he siphoned millions of dollars of public cash to a law firm.

Mr O'Neill strongly denies any wrongdoing and obtained a court order putting the warrant on ice.The key evidence in the case - which has gripped PNG for months - is a letter that Mr O'Neill allegedly signed authorising $31 million be paid to prominent law firm, Paul Paraka lawyers.The prime minister has dismissed the note as a fake.But Taskforce Sweep boss Sam Koim revealed on Tuesday that Sydney-based private investigators believe the document is genuine."We have now received the forensic examination report from the Sydney-based Forensic Document Services Pty Ltd confirming that the signature on the letter ... directing payments to Paraka Lawyers is PM O'Neill's," Mr Koim said.Police Chief of Operations and Deputy Commissioner Simon Kauba said his officers would abide by Monday's court ruling that stayed the warrant for Mr O'Neill's arrest.But he urged the prime minister to hand himself in."In the interest of national security I would like to invite the prime minister to, without any further delays, voluntarily make himself available to police for the interview to be conducted," Mr Kauba said.The case will be back in PNG's National Court on Wednesday morning, with Mr O'Neill's lawyers due to respond to an affidavit filed by Mr Koim on behalf of Task Force Sweep and the police.Meanwhile, Mr O'Neill has announced a commission of inquiry into the allegations against him - led by Australian judge Warwick Andrew.Mr O'Neill claims that police, courts and government departments have all been politically compromised."I think it's needed to be cleaned and we need an independent process to clean it out," he added.The Paul Paraka affair - called Parakagate in Port Moresby - is one of PNG's longest-running fraud investigations.Mr Paraka, one of the most powerful lawyers in PNG, was arrested and charged in 2013 for allegedly receiving the state monies.Task Force Sweep alleges the payments were spread over a seven-year period and ran into the "hundreds of millions".

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Chris Martin serenades fans in Sydney park

Chris Martin has serenaded hundreds of fans in a small inner-western Sydney park. Source: AAP

CHRIS Martin has serenaded hundreds of fans in a small inner-western Sydney park.

THE fans had spent most of Tuesday waiting in Newtown for the chance to appear as extras in a Coldplay music video.

The frontman stood on a podium, dressed in a singlet and carrying a one-man-band kit, flanked by his bandmates.The video involved them walking from Kelly's Bar on King Street, carrying their one-man-band kits as they marched through the streets, followed by the extras like modern-day Pied Pipers.They stopped in front of the Martin Luther King "I Have A Dream" mural, before ending up in a park beside the Black Star pastry cafe.The extras had responded to the tweet sent out by the band's manager, Phil Harvey, on Monday night asking for fans to turn up at the Courthouse Hotel in Newtown.They waited to hear Martin speak to them from the podium. The frontman, looking tanned and happy, thanked the fans and the paparazzi "for being nice"."This is going to be on YouTube in three hours," Martin said as everyone held their phones aloft."This is the strangest recording session we've ever done. We actually are recording this song," he said.He then sang a live, heartfelt version of the song to the crowd.After they had been serenaded, the crowd cheered. Most of them admitted they turned up for the shoot because they hadn't been able to get tickets to see the band's promotional gig in the Enmore Theatre on Thursday.In the initial tweet, Harvey said the first 250 people who turned up before 11.30am would appear in the video.By 11am, they had reached that number with many fans queuing up since 6am."I'm relieved we got the 250 we need," Harvey told AAP."The only thing that worries me is that I just hope not too many other people turn up because I don't want them to be disappointed".The shoot finished up at 3.30pm and every extra who turned up will be able to see their name in the video's credits.

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Most trusted also the most abused

New figures show assaults on Australia's paramedics are set to reach record levels in 2014. Source: AAP

THEY have retained their status as Australia's most trusted professionals.

BUT paramedics are still among the most attacked and abused workers, according to new figures that show assaults on NSW ambos are set to reach record levels in 2014.

Since January 1, there have been 81 physical and verbal assaults on NSW paramedics - many of them carried out by boozed-up patients who lashed out at the very people trying to help them.The figures for the first half of 2014 are already well on course to surpass the 133 assaults on NSW paramedics recorded in 2013. There were 89 assaults in 2012.It comes as paramedics were named Australia's most trusted professionals for the 10th year in a row in Reader's Digest annual trust index, published on Monday.Firefighters were second, followed by rescue volunteers, nurses and doctors.But trust for paramedics is clearly not translating into respect from all quarters of the community.Among the more appalling attacks on paramedics in recent months, a female ambo was punched to the ground and kicked by a man she was trying to treat in Sydney's CBD in February.And in March, four paramedics were attacked in 24 hours.The incidents included a 50-year-old man who punched a paramedic in the face near Ryde and a man who punched a paramedic in the stomach after trying to break into an ambulance at Campbelltown.Two paramedics were threatened by a 33-year-old man who tried to punch them as they treated him at a Dee Why home.The Ambulance Service of NSW welcomed the retention of its `must trusted' status but said the attacks must stop."Even though the community trusts paramedics more than any other group of people, paramedics themselves can unfortunately be assaulted physically or verbally while trying to perform their job," it said.

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Ambulance Vic named in ATSB death report

A MAN who died after being crushed by a crane on a cargo ship lay injured while an ambulance trying to reach him was locked out of the port.

AMBULANCE Victoria had neglected to train officers in how to open gates at Portland - a massive multi-berth facility about 300km west of Melbourne - says a report into the incident.

A crew member telephoned for help for the ship's injured but conscious Chinese assistant electrician but the emergency operator at first could not find the port on a mapping system and so dispatched an ambulance to the general location.Paramedics faced a locked and unmanned gate, unaware that the ambulance service had been provided with swipe cards, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau reported on Monday.They drove to a second gate seeking access and then back to the original entry point where they were lucky to meet a staff member.Despite the hold-up, paramedics reached the man 13 minutes after they were called.Forty-nine minutes later, after a delay arranging to open the gates to leave, the ambulance arrived at Portland Hospital.Shortly afterwards the man died.The ATSB concluded the electrician had been working without proper approvals near an operating crane on the deck of the Singapore-based Toucan Arrow when he was crushed on October 7, 2013.A warning light in the area was inoperative and, because of background noise, he is unlikely to have heard the alarm warning of the crane's approach.Although no one witnessed the incident, a torn strip of his clothing was found on a hatch lid against which he is believed to have been pinned as the remote-controlled crane moved along the deck.The ATSB found the ship's master failed to alert port authorities and therefore an emergency response, including manning of port access gates, did not occur.The ambulance service had not taken up an offer by the port authority to take paramedics on a familiarisation tour of the port.In response, Ambulance Victoria said it was impractical to hold access cards for the variety of sites that may call on its services.Portland-based paramedics have since undergone retraining.

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Too many ship types lift navy cost: Griggs

IF a car hire firm had to buy cars the way the navy has to buy ships, it could go broke, Navy chief Vice Admiral Ray Griggs reckons.

FOR an overall fleet of 52 vessels, the navy operates 14 different classes from 13 different ship designers with engines from 13 different makers.

Ship radars come from 11 different firms and there are 14 different control systems."If you ran a small hire car fleet with this sort of overhead you would be tearing your hair out, if you weren't broke. Yet commonality too often takes a back seat to upfront acquisition costs," he told the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.Vice Admiral Griggs, who leaves the navy top job next month, says Australian naval shipbuilding is at a crossroads.With the air warfare destroyer program running late and local shipbuilders performing below international standards, the government has warned it could look offshore for the navy's next frigates.The stop-start nature of shipbuilding projects means having to relearn lessons and paying the price in delays and cost increases.Vice Admiral Griggs thinks they should either buy everything offshore or maintain a continuous build program to gain the full economic benefits.The diversity of navy ships and systems adds to training requirements, cost, complexity of support and the size of the spares inventory.Recently a ship had to sail without fully operational communications because the three contractors in Australia who could work on the system were not around.Two were overseas on holidays and one had gone bush and was out of mobile range.Greater fleet commonality would reduce the likelihood of this occurring."We need to get better at understanding the balance of benefits. Is it better to accept a higher acquisition cost in the interest of commonality," he said.

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Fault still no.1 on Australian box office

HOW To Train Your Dragon 2 came close but couldn't knock The Fault in Our Stars from its top spot on the Australian box office.

THE adaptation of John Green's bestseller remained no. 1 for the second weekend in a row with $2.438 million, although How to Train Your Dragon 2 was nipping at its heels. According to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia, the animated sequel earned another $2.170 million in preview screenings, jumping from fifth to second, with its official release not until June 19.

It pushed Tom Cruise's new sci-fi/action flick Edge of Tomorrow into third place and Angelina Jolie's Maleficent into fourth.The new Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore comedy, the critically panned Blended, debuted at no. 5, while another new entry of note, Australian film The Rover by Animal Kingdom director David Michod, came in at twelfth on the ladder.X-Men: Days of Future Past starring Aussie Hugh Jackman slipped two places to sixth, while Seth MacFarlane comedy A Million Ways to Die in the West dropped one spot to seventh.Grace of Monaco starring Nicole Kidman remained steady at eighth place, while comedy Bad Neighbours fell two spots to ninth and The Trip to Italy finished off the ladder in tenth, pushing Godzilla into no. 11.

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WA basketballer socks it to sarcoma

ADAM Deans thought he was a bit sore from playing football.

BUT when the fit 16-year-old broke his femur simply walking down the stairs in 2005, doctors biopsied his leg to discover the bone had been weakened by osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer.

Less than a month later, Deans' left leg was amputated above the knee and he began eight months of chemotherapy."I didn't know what it was ... to be honest it didn't really bother me - the word I was fixated on was cancer," he said."I was so tall I couldn't sit in any of the beds at a children's hospital, so I was taken to an adult hospital."Like Deans, many diagnosed with the disease have never heard of sarcoma even though 15 per cent of paediatric cancers in Australia are sarcomas as well as 10 per cent among youths aged 15 to 25.Despite this, less than one per cent of the cancer research dollar is spent on sarcoma research.Fortunately, nine years on and Deans still calls himself not only a cancer survivor, but a sporting champion selected to represent Australia in South Korea at the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation World Championships.Not everybody diagnosed with the disease is as lucky as Deans: Abbie Basson, who started up Perth-based organisation Sock it to Sarcoma, lost her three-year battle with Ewing's Sarcoma in 2011.But her work has been carried on by her family, with the organisation holding several public events as part of the inaugural West Australia Sarcoma Awareness Week from June 16 to 21.Abbie's mother Mandy urged people, especially youths, not to dismiss symptoms like feeling tired or pain as a sport injury, but to ask their GP to refer them to a primary bone and soft tissue tumour specialist."Don't get it misdiagnosed, put it off as a sport strain or back pain," she said."As a result, the cancer gets the opportunity to spread."

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NSW budget to return to surplus sooner

The Baird government is set to deliver a budget surplus one year earlier than previously predicted. Source: AAP

JUST two months into the job, Treasurer Andrew Constance is set to announce NSW's finances are heading toward surplus earlier than previously expected.

IT is understood Tuesday's budget, which is the last to be delivered by the Baird government before next year's March election, will predict a surplus by 2015/16.

That's one year earlier than forecast by former treasurer and now premier Mike Baird six months ago.Mr Constance is expected to deliver the good news in his first budget on Tuesday, which will mark the start of the Baird government's pitch to voters before next year's March election."We have a state economy that is going gangbusters, driven by our focus on housing and jobs," he told reporters in Sydney on Monday.Borrowing a phrase synonymous with US politics, Mr Constance said his "Super Tuesday" budget would focus on infrastructure, with more than $60 billion going toward roads, rail and hospitals over four years.But Opposition Leader John Robertson dismissed the announcement, saying NSW governments had always spent about $60 billion on infrastructure each budget.Meanwhile, the treasurer acknowledged the state's finances had been affected by cuts in federal funding and said there would be "challenges" in health beyond the forward estimates.It is understood an Abbott government decision to deliver a $703 million payment for the Pacific Highway upgrade this financial year is set to affect the 2014/15 bottom line, leaving it further in deficit.Mr Robertson expects the budget to be "built on cuts", despite "record revenue" from stamp duty and speed cameras."Mike Baird as treasurer has shown that when it comes to cutting, he can cut with the best of them with the deep cuts that we've seen for the last three years," Mr Robertson said.The treasurer is expected to spruik the government's plan to raise $20 billion from the sale of NSW's electricity assets in his budget speech.

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Nicole Kidman for top Shanghai honour

NICOLE Kidman is to be honoured with an outstanding contribution award at the Shanghai International Film Festival in China.

HUGH Grant and John Woo will present the Australian actress with her latest accolade at the opening ceremony on Saturday, while artist Qin Yi will honour actor and director Jiang Wen with the Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Film Award.

Kidman will be hoping the festival will be a better experience than her visit to Cannes last month, when her new film Grace of Monaco was savaged by critics.Kirsten Dunst, John Cusack, Hayden Christensen, Jackie Chan, Tony Leung, Li Bingbing and Korean superstar Rain are expected to attend the opening gala, according to The Hollywood Reporter.The film festival will open with a restored version of 1964 movie Two Stage Sisters and close with Transformers: Age of Extinction.A jury led by actress Gong Li will decide the winner of the Golden Goblet from the 15 films in competition.

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Qld chief justice critics told to shut up

Queensland science minister has lashed out at critics of Tim Carmody's appointment to chief justice. Source: AAP

A QUEENSLAND government minister has lashed out at critics of Chief Magistrate Tim Carmody's appointment to chief justice, saying they should "shut up".

SCIENCE Minister Ian Walker, a former lawyer, says the "war of words" over Mr Carmody's promotion to chief justice of Queensland has got to stop.

"People have got to put a sock in it, they've got to shut up, and they've got to let Justice Carmody get on with the job," he told reporters in Brisbane on Sunday."He deserves a fair go at the job, the debate should stop and Justice Carmody should be allowed to get on with the job that he's been appointed to do."Mr Walker's comments follow calls for Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie to step down over the appointment, which has caused great unrest in legal circles.Bar Association of Queensland president Peter Davis quit on Friday saying private discussions with Mr Bleijie in which he didn't recommend Mr Carmody for the job were leaked to others, including Mr Carmody.Australian Bar Association president Mark Livesey said it was accepted practice that consultation before any appointment is kept confidential."The Attorney-General of Queensland must consider whether the breakdown in trust can be repaired," Mr Livesey told The Sunday Mail."If confidentiality in the judicial appointment process cannot be assured he must reconsider whether he can continue in his position."State Opposition leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said Mr Bleijie couldn't be trusted and wasn't fit to hold office.Mr Carmody's appointment has been criticised by senior Queensland legal figures who question his experience and say he's too close to the government.It's been revealed that days after Mr Carmody was appointed chief magistrate in September 2013, he and Mr Bleijie had a private dinner at an upmarket Brisbane restaurant.The attorney-general has described the meeting as a social catch-up.

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Firies cancer law not ruled out: Vic govt

Volunteer firefighters rally in Melbourne for access to compensation for cancer contracted at work. Source: AAP

THE Victorian government says it hasn't ruled out changing the way firefighters access cancer compensation as hundreds rallied in Melbourne to try to break down barriers to claims.

THE government says it simplified cancer claims for firefighters and encouraged both career and volunteer firefighters to lodge a claim if they believe they had contracted cancer as a result of their duties.

"The Victorian government is not ruling out presumptive legislation and will continue to consider new medical and scientific evidence as it becomes available," a government spokesperson said.Volunteer Fire Brigades president Bill Watson said firefighters wanted a law that lists the 12 typical "firefighter" cancers and presumes them to be work-related, providing the firefighter has enough years of service behind him or her and relevant risk exposure.Mr Watson said there is plenty of evidence firefighters are more likely to suffer certain cancers, but it can be difficult to prove which fire or chemical incident caused their illness."It's not like a broken bone where you know exactly when and where it happened," Mr Watson said."The burning car or house fire you attended today may cause a cancer that doesn't show up for decades, which makes it nearly impossible to prove it was work related."The federal government introduced presumptive legislation in 2011.Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia also have laws that recognise the link between firefighting and cancer.Mr Watson said any legislation would have to include eligibility guidelines."We're not after a free ride," he said."We just want to make sure they're looked after if they get sick."The Victorian government has been under pressure to make changes to the way compensation is accessed after a 2012 report found firefighters who trained at the CFA Fiskville site had been exposed to dangerous chemicals going as far back as the 1970s.Last year they introduced a review panel to assist both volunteer and career firefighters seeking compensation for cancer caused by their work.Opposition leader Daniel Andrews said Labor would introduce the legislation if elected in November."I have committed to the introduction of presumptive rights," Mr Andrews said.

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Get out of Iraq now, warns Bishop

Australia ready to help with humanitarian crisis in Iraq, but no troops envisaged says Julie Bishop. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIANS have been told to leave Iraq immediately by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who has described the escalating crisis as deeply disturbing.

INSURGENTS from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have taken a swathe of mostly Sunni Arab territory in northern Iraq in an offensive that has brought fighting to within 80km of Baghdad.

The worsening crisis prompted Ms Bishop to urge Australians to leave "immediately".

"The airport in Baghdad is still open. Commercial flights are still operating out of Baghdad," she told the Ten Network. 

"But if Australians must stay in Iraq, they must ensure that their personal circumstances and their security is absolutely safe." 

The Australian embassy in Baghdad would be "very constrained" in the support it could provide, she said. 

On Saturday US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered an aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf as President Barack Obama considers possible military options, after he ruled out sending troops into Iraq. 

Speaking to reporters in Houston, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he would wait to see how the US responds to the situation before developing an Australian response. 

Ms Bishop said the US would take the lead when it came to any military action. 

"I didn't envisage a circumstance where we would be sending in troops," she said. 

"But we certainly stand ready to support the humanitarian crisis should a request be made." 

She defended the 2003 military intervention in the country, which she supported as a member of the Howard Government. 

"I thought Saddam Hussein was one of the worst dictators on the planet at that time. His removal was a good thing," she said. 

Greens leader Christine Milne said following the US into Iraq was not going to "fix" the violence in the country. 

"We do not want to follow the United States blindly as John Howard did (in 2003)," Senator Milne told ABC Television. 

"Clearly it didn't work last time in Iraq and it won't work this time." 

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Afghan bomb kills 11 amid vote fraud claim

Afghans have braved threats of violence and searing heat to vote in the presidential elections. Source: AAP

A ROADSIDE bomb killed 11 people including five election workers in northern Afghanistan, officials said Sunday, as a prolonged vote count began after the presidential run-off election.

ELECTION officials were sifting through fraud complaints from both candidates, and analysts said the lengthy count could be the trickiest phase in the country's first democratic transfer of power.

More than 50 people were killed on polling day Saturday by militant attacks, including the 11 whose bus was hit by a roadside bomb in Samangan province and five members of one family who died when a Taliban rocket hit a house near a polling station.Eleven voters in the western province of Herat had their fingers - which were dipped in ink to register their ballot - cut off by insurgents, Deputy Interior Minister Ayoub Salangi said.But despite the Taliban attacks, Saturday's election drew a high turnout of about seven million voters in a contest between former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani.The White House praised voters' courage and called the elections "a significant step forward on Afghanistan's democratic path".The US, along with the UN, also urged the two candidates not to trade unproven fraud allegations, but both Abdullah and Ghani raised the issue immediately after polls closed."It is win or lose now," said Kate Clark, director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network."The voting is only one phase of the election, and there is still a lot that could change. Being a good loser doesn't gain you much here."If it is close and fraud looks to have been a lot, and either candidate wants to really make a fuss, then we could be in for months of wrangling."The 2009 election, when outgoing President Hamid Karzai retained power, was marred by massive fraud that shook the US-led international effort to develop Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.A credible election and smooth handover of power would be a major achievement for Afghanistan's backers after 13 years of hugely costly military and civilian assistance.All foreign combat troops are due to withdraw by the end of this year."Allegations of fraud need to be addressed," US ambassador James Cunningham said after polls closed on Saturday."But the candidates and their supporters should refrain from premature judgments and from criticism that is not supported with clear evidence."The preliminary result is due on July 2, before the complaints period begins, and the final result is scheduled for July 22."We have urged the candidates to act as statesmen, future presidents, rather than people simply in a competition with each other," said Nicholas Haysom, the deputy chief of the UN mission.Reflecting international fears of a contested result, he said candidates must "exercise patience" as the count got underway.The Electoral Complaints Commission said it had registered about 275 complaints by Sunday morning."There were violation cases where the supporters of the presidential candidates forced voters to vote for a certain candidate," said spokesman Mohammad Nader Mohsini."Supporters were also offering money for voters to vote for a certain candidate."He said allegations had also been raised of interference by election officials and the security forces.

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