Vic PSOs may be given new powers

Victoria's transport police may be given new powers after incorrectly issuing infringement notices. Source: AAP

VICTORIA Police are open to granting new powers to the state's public transport protectors, after it was discovered they issued hundreds of infringement notices without having the authority to hand them out.

The notices have had to be withdrawn after an internal police audit found Protective Services Officers (PSOs) had been acting outside their authority.

Assistant Commissioner Chris O'Neill blamed a misinterpretation of the legislation for the bungle, but said Victoria Police would be open to granting PSOs those powers.

"We'd be more than happy to have the conversation with the DOJ (Department of Justice)," he said on Thursday.

The PSOs incorrectly issued 338 infringement notices from February 2012, until the audit caught the mistake in late August this year.

Most of the infringements were for traffic offences under the Road Safety Act, but there were also seven incorrect notices issued under the Liquor Control Reform Act.

Letters had been sent to those affected by the mistake, and all fines and demerits points will be refunded.

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine said the government would consider granting the PSOs new powers.

"If the Victoria Police as a result of this investigation determine they want further powers provided to PSOs ... then we'll have a look at that," he said.

The error applies to around two per cent of the overall number of infringements issued by PSOs since their deployment.

Mr O'Neill said PSO training had been reviewed and changed to ensure it complies with the current legislation.

"This is not an error on their behalf, they were doing their job the way they had been trained and unfortunately the information provided to them was wrong," he said.

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Aussie prisoner numbers hit record high

Official data shows the number of prisoners in Australian jails hit a record 30,775 in 2013. Source: AAP

MORE prisoners are doing time in Australian jails than ever, official data shows.

The number of inmates in Australian jails hit a record 30,775 in 2013, up five per cent from 2012, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data released on Thursday shows.

The nation's rate of imprisonment is also up, at 170 prisoners for every 100,000 adults, from 157 for every 100,000 adults in 2003.

The Northern Territory has the highest imprisonment rate this year, with 821 adults in prison for every 100,000 adults.

Western Australia, with 256 prisoners for every 100,000 adults, is second, followed by NSW, Queensland and South Australia. The ACT has the lowest imprisonment rate.

Of the male inmate population, 20 per cent was jailed for acts intended to cause injury, 15 per cent for sexual assault, and another 15 per cent for unlawful entry with intent.

Women, meanwhile, were commonly jailed for drug offences (18 per cent), acts intended to cause injury (17 per cent) and unlawful entry with intent (10 per cent).

Most prisoners were born in Australia (81 per cent), followed by New Zealand at three per cent.

Two per cent of the local prison population was born in Vietnam, with another two per cent born in the UK.

Indigenous Australians comprise 27 per cent of the prisoner population, the ABS data shows.

The average age of Australian male inmates is 40, while for females it is 34.

Fifty-eight per cent of all prisoners are reoffenders.

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Banned Gay asks for management right

Former chairman of Gunns John Gay wants part of his penalty for insider trading overturned. Source: AAP

FORMER chairman John Gay of failed Tasmanian timber company Gunns is asking a court to allow him to manage two companies after he was banned from doing so.

Gay's conviction for insider trading prevents him managing a company for five years.

He applied to the Tasmanian Supreme Court in November to be allowed to manage two firms, his timber business Specialty Veneers Pty Ltd, and another company, JEG Management Pty Ltd.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) is opposing the application.

The parties have agreed to file court documents for a hearing no earlier than March 10.

Gay was fined $50,000 in August for trading about $3 million worth of Gunns shares with information not available to the market.

The Australian Shareholders' Association slammed the fine as too lenient when Justice David Porter handed it down in the Tasmanian Supreme Court.

Gay had faced a maximum penalty of five years' jail or a $220,000 fine.

In October it was revealed the Australian Federal Police was considering whether to investigate pursuing Gay over the profits of his insider trading.

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Top cop, silk join Qld corruption watchdog

Australia's former top cop Mick Keelty will join Queensland's Crime and Misconduct Commission. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S former top cop and a barrister have been appointed as acting commissioners of Queensland's corruption watchdog.

The state's government has named former Australian Federal Police commissioner Mick Keelty and barrister Sydney Williams QC as part-time acting commissioners on the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC).

Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie says they will fill recent vacancies and assist acting chairman Dr Ken Levy while the CMC goes through a period of change.

"Mick Keelty and Sydney Williams' credentials and experience are impeccable," Mr Bleijie said in a statement on Thursday.

"Mick Keelty's integrity and professionalism is known worldwide.

"Sydney Williams QC is one of Queensland's most experienced barristers."

The appointments come at a time when Dr Levy is being intensely scrutinised over his alleged contact with the government before he wrote an opinion piece praising its anti-bikie laws.

He was accused of pro-government bias and members of the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee (PCMC), which oversees the CMC, called for his resignation.

The Liberal National Party government then sacked the PCMC, accusing it of bias itself, against Mr Levy.

Some PCMC members and Dr Levy are still being investigated by the new Select Ethics Committee.

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China bars banks from handling bitcoins

BITCOINS have suffered a new setback after China barred its banks from handling the virtual currency.

The Chinese central bank said on Thursday that bitcoins did not qualify as a currency. But it said private individuals still are allowed to trade them at their own risk.

Bitcoins are created and authenticated independently of any bank or government. Atlanta-based BitPay handles transactions for more than 4,500 companies, taking payments in bitcoins and forwarding the cash equivalent to the vendor.

A Chinese central bank statement says, "Bitcoins are virtual goods that have no legal status or monetary equivalent and should not be used as currency."

It says, "Ordinary people are free to participate in transactions at their own risk."

Thailand banned bitcoins for most uses in July.

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O'Neill turns Senate into classroom

NEW Labor senator Deb O'Neill wants visitation rights to her old chamber for a good cause - to increase awareness of the effort to close the gap on Aboriginal disadvantage.

During her first Senate speech on Wednesday, in which she read from a centuries-old John Donne poem, the former lower house MP flagged her desire to see a joint sitting of federal parliament when the prime minister and the opposition leader provide the yearly Closing the Gap report card.

"Until we overcome the 20-year life-expectancy gap, we cannot turn our heads away," she told the Senate.

Senator O'Neill lost her marginal lower house Central Coast NSW seat of Robertson at the September 7 election but has moved to the upper house, filling the vacancy left by Bob Carr, who resigned six weeks after being re-elected.

The former teacher gave the Senate an impromptu literature lesson, reading an extract from a 1669 poem, A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, by John Donne.

She said the poem explained how strong the love at home bound people, despite great distances - which rang true for politicians' families.

"My dear family, you can always be assured that my heart is with you, and when my work is done I'll be home, hang in there with me," Senator O'Neill said as her three adult children, Caitlin, Brianna and Noah, watched from the public gallery.

Senator O'Neill explained what she believed constituted quality teaching and learning in Australian schools and how the Gonski needs-based funding model was long overdue.

"In our hearts we know the power of a great teacher to effect great learning ... we know education is an investment worth making," Senator O'Neill said.

"Money is part of the answer."

She pleaded for the "war of words" on school funding to end, otherwise students would be the ultimate casualties.

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Video shows Vic premier desperate: Oppn

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine has released a video ruling out changes to abortion laws. Source: AAP

THE release of a video by Victorian Premier Denis Napthine ruling out laws that would restrict a woman's right to choose to have an abortion was a move by a rattled and desperate premier, the opposition says.

Independent MP Geoff Shaw, who holds the balance of power in the parliament, has reportedly approached Dr Napthine wanting to overhaul the state's abortion laws.

A motion was passed at the Victorian Liberal Party state conference on Sunday backing changes to abortion laws.

Dr Napthine released a video message on Tuesday night ruling out changes.

"As premier, neither I nor my government have any intention of introducing legislation that would reduce a woman's right to choose," he said.

"This issue was vigorously debated in the community and settled in the parliament in 2008.

"Let me again be crystal-clear about this - I have no intention whatsoever of introducing or supporting legislation that would reduce a woman's right to choose."

Acting opposition leader James Merlino said the premier was rattled.

"The premier released a video yesterday which can only be described as a move by a rattled and desperate premier," he told reporters.

"The fact of the matter is the only way that this issue will be debated in the parliament next year is if Premier Napthine has made a deal with Geoff Shaw."

Mr Merlino said it was clear Mr Shaw wanted a debate on the issue and it would be up to Dr Napthine to decide whether to give it the green light.

A Victorian government spokesman said Mr Merlino's comments were a lie.

"James Merlino has been in parliament long enough to know that any member of the upper house can directly introduce a private member's bill," the spokesman said.

"This includes Labor members."

Mr Merlino was asked by a reporter earlier on Wednesday about a possible move by Labor MP Christine Campbell, who wants a section of abortion law reformed, bringing a private member's bill in the upper house.

"At the end of the day it is the government that controls the debate in parliament," he said.

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Ex Qld transport head won't be charged

No criminal charges will be laid against Queensland's former transport head Michael Caltabiano. Source: AAP

FORMER Queensland transport department head Michael Caltabiano will not be charged over allegations he gave a minister's son a leg up.

The premier's hand-picked director-general was sacked in February amid allegations there was official misconduct over the hiring of the son of former arts minister Ros Bates, Ben Gommers, to a senior position in his department.

After an investigation spanning more than a year, the state's Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) announced on Wednesday it will not lay criminal charges.

It had referred a brief of evidence to the Director of Public Prosecutions in July.

The DPP has advised that any prosecution of Mr Caltabiano for alleged criminal offences would not have reasonable prospects of success, and therefore was not warranted.

"As such, the CMC will not take any further action in relation to Mr Caltabiano," a statement said.

Less than a fortnight ago, Mr Caltabiano was also cleared by the parliamentary Ethics Committee over allegations he lied about a prior business relationship with Mr Gommers.

Mr Caltabiano, a fellow councillor with Premier Campbell Newman when at the Brisbane City Council, had been on leave with pay for four months before he was sacked.

He made more money after he was sidelined from his position than when he actually worked, pocketing $652,947 for less than a year's on the job.

Comment has been sough from Premier Campbell Newman, but Ms Bates has declined to comment.

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Bieber gives injured Vic fan private show

EDS Att: Language in 7th par

Pop megastar Justin Bieber has performed a secret, intimate concert for a Melbourne fan whose dreams of seeing him perform were shattered, along with her spine, in a horrific car accident last month.

Friends of Melbourne teen Kate O'Neill launched a social media campaign to encourage the Canadian teen idol to visit Ms O'Neill who had saved thousands of dollars to be able to attend all of his Australian concerts.

The 19-year-old, whose Twitter account @BieberMelbourne has more than 29,000 followers, tweeted on Wednesday morning that it was the best day of her life, after she received a tweet from the official Justin Bieber account.

At the time, she had no idea of the surprise that lay ahead.

"Not even the amount of pain I am in right now can ruin this for me," Ms O'Neill wrote on Wednesday morning.

Ms O'Neill is still in hospital recovering from her injuries, which include broken ribs, a fractured spine, internal bleeding and lacerations to her kidney and liver.

"If I meet Justin I will hug him so tight IDGAF (I don't give a f**k) about my broken spike (spine) and broken ribs," she tweeted on Wednesday morning.

"I thought this was going to be the worst week of my life but Justin has made it the best! I can't believe this I am so happy!"

On Wednesday afternoon, a car transferred Ms O'Neill from hospital to a private studio where Bieber performed an impromptu acoustic set for her and 50 other fans.

After his performance, Bieber said he loved his "Beliebers" who do so much for him.

"It was so special to be able to give something back, especially to an amazing fan like Kate," Bieber said.

Then he asked Ms O'Neill to kiss him on the cheek.

Ms O'Neill was quoted in a release from Bieber's management as saying the concert had been amazing.

But it was on Twitter that she revealed her true excitement:

"AHWSJJDJEIDIEJHSJWSIYWUWOWODHJWIDIWBB BEST DAY OF MY LIFE I CANT BREATHE OMFG JUSTIN AND THE CREW ARE SO PERFECT SVSJJSDJJSJDJSDISIWJDJWJS," she wrote.

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Ken Reed to give $5.5m to Sydney Uni

Arts patron Kenneth Reed will give $5.5m and a collection of paintings to the University of Sydney. Source: AAP

RENOWNED arts patron Kenneth Reed will give $5.5 million and a collection of centuries-old paintings to the University of Sydney.

Mr Reed has donated $500,000 to fund scholarships for PhD students of English literature, the university announced on Wednesday.

The retired lawyer has also bequeathed 14 Dutch old master paintings to his alma mater, along with $5 million.

Of that, $4 million is earmarked for postdoctoral fellowships in English, and $1 million for the care and conservation of the paintings and other works in the university's collection.

It is not the first time the septuagenarian has made a significant donation.

He offered paintings, porcelain and pottery to the Art Gallery of NSW worth a total of almost $13 million, telling AAP in 2012 that his Sydney apartment had been getting "a bit crowded" with art.

A 2005 donation of $1 million to the Australian Ballet was the biggest one-off contribution in the ballet's history, the university says.

Mr Reed said fond memories of his university days inspired his latest act of philanthropy.

"My fondest memories were when I was doing English," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

"A degree in English or the arts equips you for any other field.

"People need a good basis and understanding of their own language and the history and literature of their own language."

Mr Reed graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1957 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1960.

Arts and Social Sciences dean Duncan Ivison said the gift was an enormous vote of confidence.

"It is a huge boost, both practically and morally, for the importance of the humanities, and in this case, in the study of English literature," he said.

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