Qld blazes keep firefighters busy

A SERIES of bush and grass fires across Queensland is keeping emergency services busy and creating smokey conditions.

Fire crews were able to bring back within containment lines a large bushfire burning near Euleilah, north of Bundaberg on Saturday, after working through the night.

The blaze, burning since Tuesday, had forced an evacuation alert for the town on Friday.

A second fire at nearby Rosedale, which began on Saturday morning, was also brought under control by the afternoon.

Meanwhile, a scrub fire at Mount Low, near Townsville, did not threaten properties but caused a large volume of smoke and haze throughout the region.

Residents on the Gold Coast reported seeing a dense haze from a fire at Jimboomba, which was contained on Friday.

Closer to Brisbane, firefighters continued to backburn around a bushfire at Greenbank on Saturday, which has consumed over 1500 hectares since Monday.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Inmate seriously injured in jail fight

A VICTORIAN prisoner has suffered a serious head injury during a fight with another inmate in the state's most secure jail.

Police were called to Barwon Prison near Geelong southwest of Melbourne after a report of a fight involving two male inmates just before 11am (AEDT) on Saturday.

One of the inmates, who is in his 30s, was airlifted to a Melbourne hospital, an Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said.

Detectives from Geelong's criminal investigation unit are investigating.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Last Aust sheep to be culled in Pakistan

MORE than 11,000 Australian sheep that have been in export limbo in Pakistan for more than a month will be culled on Saturday.

A shipment of about 21,000 sheep was sent to Pakistan on September 5 after being rejected in Bahrain due to health concerns.

However further disease fears emerged in Pakistan, leading to the brutal culling of thousands of the animals and reports that some had been buried alive.

Fremantle-based exporter Wellard says it has been informed the culling of the remaining 11,500 sheep will be completed in Karachi on Saturday despite proof the sheep are healthy and fit for human consumption.

Importer PK Livestock had been negotiating with the Sindh Livestock Department and the Federal Quarantine Department of Pakistan to guarantee the humane processing of the remaining sheep.

Pakistani livestock authorities have made assurances the cull will be "completed humanely".

However, Wellard said it was unable to verify the guarantee because its staff and PK Livestock staff were forcibly removed from the facility where the cull will take place.

Wellard spokesman Cameron Morse told AAP a group of Pakistan police arrived early on Saturday morning to remove the staff from the PK Livestock feedlot.

He said about three Wellard staff members were escorted off the premises but were not detained.

"We've exhausted every avenue, diplomatic, legal etc," he said.

Exports to Pakistan remain suspended, he said.

Mr Morse said the company was frustrated and sad that the animals would be killed despite proof the sheep were healthy.

The company said the issue has "undermined 20 years of incident-free livestock exports to Pakistan".

A spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture said Australian authorities were trying to confirm reports the cull was going ahead.

"A cull would contravene a previous agreement overnight by the local authorities and importer PK Livestock to hand full control of the animals to representatives of the importer and Australian exporter Wellard Rural Exports," she said.

"The agreement was reached after the Sindh High Court received test results from an independent international laboratory that confirmed the sheep were free from the tested diseases and fit for human consumption."

Australian Greens senator Lee Rhiannon said the culling showed that government regulation of the supply chain assurance system was failing.

"The whole thing underlines why the export trade must end," she told AAP.

The Greens want to debate to continue on their private member's bill to end live exports, when parliament resumes in a fortnight.

Animals Australia campaign director Lyn White said she was horrified.

"This again proves that once animals are outside of Australian control there is nothing we can do to prevent horrendous treatment," Ms White said.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Changing permit caps 'on the table'

THE federal government appears open to the possibility of relaxing restrictions on the number of cheap Kyoto pollution permits Australian businesses can purchase to offset their carbon emissions.

Labor announced in late August it was scrapping the $15 floor price for its emissions trading scheme which will be linked to the European market when it starts in mid-2015.

Under current arrangements companies are allowed to meet 50 per cent of the liability each year with overseas permits.

But only 12.5 per cent of a polluter's liability can be met with cheap Kyoto carbon permits which can sell for a third of the cost of European credits.

Australian Coal Association director Peter Morris told a parliamentary hearing on Friday the removal of the floor price was a small step towards improving the regime.

"It indicates the government's willingness to remain open to amending the scheme design and also to ... allow permit arrangements with other countries and regions," he told the Senate's economics legislation committee.

But Mr Morris insisted the changes were marginal and didn't address fundamental design flaws.

"If Australian coal producers are to reduce their emissions at least cost they should be allowed unrestricted access to international permits," he said, adding that if the 12.5 per cent cap on Kyoto credits was instead 40 per cent "we would have a lower cost outcome".

In response the committee chair, Labor's Mark Bishop, said: "That's something I'm sure that's on the table for discussion."

Climate change department assistant secretary James White later suggested relying too heavily on Kyoto credits wouldn't set Australia up "for the further emissions reductions that will be required to 2050".

Canberra has committed to cutting emissions by five per cent from 2000 levels by 2020. It aims to reduce pollution by 80 per cent by 2050.

Mr White said although the department was yet to compare the stringency of reporting systems in Europe it didn't have "any particular concern" about international units.

Treasury official Robert Raether was cagey on Friday when asked if the government's budget update would include new modelling on future carbon prices.

Many experts think permits will be much cheaper than $29 in 2015/16 as Treasury has previously predicted. European credits currently cost just $10.

Asked if the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) would update the projections, Mr Raether replied: "I'm not in a position to speculate what will be in the MYEFO."

Quizzed whether Treasury had undertaken any work to update forecasts the official refused to answer, saying: "That goes to our preparations for the MYEFO."

Mr Raether's response was in stark contrast to Treasury executive director David Gruen who on Thursday declared: "We have not updated the modelling."

Fellow Treasury official Ben Dolman on Friday said that despite Europe's existing economic woes "it's not clear that world GDP growth over a substantial period of time is necessarily very different than it was at that time" of the modelling.

Treasury last released updated modelling in September 2011.

Legislation to scrap the floor price and link the ETS with Europe's scheme is currently before the Senate.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Surgeon slams treatment of cancer patients

A LEADING surgeon is "appalled" at the lack of compassion health workers show to cancer patients - and he expects the problem to get worse.

At a NSW Health Innovation Symposium in Sydney on Friday, Associate Professor Brian McCaughan slammed the way science had taken over traditional care in hospitals and cancer centres.

"What I see as the big downer, and what I'm worried will continue to get worse, is that good old thing called compassion for the patient," the cardiothoracic surgeon told the forum.

"I think there's a little bit too much science coming in and not enough compassion or caring.

"I'm appalled at how I observe people being handled at front doors of hospitals when they're sick and worried."

Prof McCaughan was also concerned that medical professionals had lost some of the ability to decide who should be treated.

"I think we're all so full of ourselves in how good our treatment is and how low risk it is that we are treating people who can be managed a whole lot better than in the traditional anti-cancer way," he said.

"Let's up our game."

But NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner said Prof McCaughan's point was somewhat "exaggerated".

"Generally, what people are saying is you can't just rely on science in coming up with cures and treatments," Ms Skinner told AAP.

"There's also human elements and that's about putting that patient first, and I think everybody would agree with that."

Kathy Smith, who chairs a coalition of cancer consumer groups, Cancer Voices NSW, said the situation had improved since she was treated for cancer 16 years ago, but more needed to be done.

"I agree entirely that the science has crept into it in a big big way, to the point of not only baffling the patients (but) it can scare them," Ms Smith said.

"There must be a more open, friendly approach.

"The clinicians themselves need to approach patients as people and talk to them on their level."

Prof McCaughan, who is based at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and chairs NSW's Clinical Excellence Commission, is a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to medicine.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Job cuts rob Qld of $1bn in wages: unions

THE Queensland government's job cuts will rob the state's economy of more than $1 billion in wages, union figures show.

The Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) on Friday released a breakdown of the economic impact of the public sector job cuts.

It says the loss of 14,000 jobs equates to more than $1 billion in wages over a year, based on the average public servant wage of $75,000.

QCU president John Battams says the cuts will have a devastating effect on spending across the state.

"If you have take 100 public servants out of a town, their lack of spending will have a reverberating effect on the community," he told AAP on Friday.

He said regions with high unemployment rates, such as Wide Bay-Burnett, could not afford job cuts.

"When things are tough it's just not good economic management to be cutting jobs," Mr Battams said.

"It has devastating impacts on small businesses in regional communities.

"Even those with a job are not going to spend as much because there's a good chance the next round of job cuts might affect them."

He said more than 8000 public and private sector jobs had gone in regional Queensland since the Liberal National Party won government in March.

State-owned power supplier Ergon Energy announced this week it will axe 500 jobs in the regions.

Comment was being sought from the government.

Minister Assisting the Premier Glen Elmes said the union claim of huge job losses was "just plain wrong".

"The vast majority of the 10,600 positions to be made redundant are in Brisbane," he told AAP.

"Regional-based people who do take a redundancy will, in many cases, leave with more than a year's pay, so any immediate effect on local economies will be minimal.

The minister said the government flatly rejected the union's scaremongering tactics on teacher job losses.

"In fact we expect that teachers, teacher aide and support staff numbers in our schools will grow by 270 (full-time positions) from the start of the 2013 school year."

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Code of conduct for councillors beefed up

MISBEHAVING councillors could have their allowances suspended or be banned from office for up to five years under a tough new code of conduct in NSW.

New laws will punish councillors for making "politically motivated or vexatious allegations" and they will be banned from receiving free meals or overseas travel, or using their positions for personal benefit.

NSW Local Government Minister Don Page announced the penalties on Thursday.

The new rules were developed with input from the community, the local government sector, the NSW Ombudsman's office and Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Mr Page said in a statement.

"The new code sets the standards of ethical and other conduct that council employees and councillors are required to observe while fulfilling their work obligations," he said.

"The vast majority of councillors do a great job and work long hours without regard to furthering their personal or political interests," Mr Page said.

"These rules are not aimed at those councillors."

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Catholics may save doomed Melbourne school

THE Catholic Church has emerged as a potential white knight for the students of debt-ridden Melbourne school Acacia College.

The Uniting Church announced on Wednesday the two-year-old independent college would close at year's end, leaving more than 500 students and 50 staff to find a new school for 2013.

The Catholic Education Office has confirmed it is in talks with the Uniting Church over the future of the school, in the city's far north.

"We have had discussions with the Uniting Church and are currently doing our due diligence and will make a further statement when this is complete," Catholic Education executive director Stephen Elder said.

The Victorian government welcomed the news, with Education Minister Martin Dixon saying he will speak with both parties.

"We believe the Catholic Education Office is very interested," Mr Dixon's spokesman James Martin said.

The government did not have the capacity to bail out the school but Mr Dixon remained determined to assist in the changeover, Mr Martin said.

"One of those ways he can assist is in speaking to the parties involved. The other is by working with parents who want their child to move to a government school."

The Uniting Church learned the school's future was in jeopardy six weeks before it revealed its plans on Wednesday.

But church moderator Isabel Thomas Dobson said parents and teachers were informed as soon as was possible.

"In an ideal world this decision wouldn't have been made and in an ideal world it would've been at a different time of the year," she told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.

"The information and the work we've been doing (means) the timing is just now. We've informed them as soon as we can."

Ms Thomas Dobson said potential buyers contacted the church after the announcement and the church was "very hopeful" of finding a new operator.

She said nearby schools had also indicated they could open places for Acacia's displaced students.

The church had originally planned to lease the school from a developer but took on responsibility for funding the construction when the developer hit financial trouble in 2008.

She said the debt identified was "substantial" but would remain confidential.

"It would be unsustainable for the school. It would never get to the stage where it could pay off more than the interest," Ms Thomas Dobson said.

She rejected claims the church failed to do its due diligence before entering the deal.

"We did do due diligence. We've since discovered our due diligence wasn't diligent or detailed enough and it's in the last six weeks as we review other figures that we found there were substantial things that had been underestimated that has bought us to this decision."

The church's 15 other schools in Victoria and Tasmania were unaffected by Acacia's woes, Ms Thomas Dobson said.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Two more arrested over child prostitution

TWO more men have been charged over an alleged child prostitution ring in Sydney involving eight girls, some as young as 12.

A total of 90 charges have now been laid against six men and two women allegedly involved in the sex ring, which sold a 12-year-old for sex three times in three days.

Strike Force Woodvale continues to investigate the operation allegedly run by two young sisters in southwest Sydney.

On Thursday morning, police arrested a 44-year-old man at a home in Chester Hill and charged him with engaging in an act of child prostitution.

He was granted bail until his appearance in Campbelltown Local Court on November 12.

Hours later, police charged a 36-year-old man at Mascot, in Sydney's south, with sexual assault and engaging in an act of child prostitution.

He was refused bail until he appears at Waverley Local Court on Friday.

Police also laid five more charges, including aggravated sexual assault, against Rino Mura, 53, who was first arrested in May over his alleged involvement as a client.

Bassam Darwich, 52, was charged with nine more offences relating to aggravated sexual assault and child prostitution.

Both men will appear before Campbelltown Local Court on November 14.

Two Liverpool sisters accused of being the ringleaders, aged 22 and 19, who can't be named for legal reasons, and two other alleged customers - Elia Toma and Trevor Weger - are also before the courts.

Police say the sisters targeted young girls who were living rough and offered them illicit drugs before prostituting them.

The alleged offences date back to November 2008.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Five more Vic ambo drug theft cases emerge

THERE have been five further cases since 2008 where Victorian paramedics have been accused of stealing the powerful painkiller fentanyl from ambulance supplies.

Three paramedics were fired following an investigation into the theft of the drug, while two others resigned during an investigation, Ambulance Victoria confirmed on Wednesday.

The revelation came after two Victorian paramedics were arrested and stood down after fentanyl was allegedly stolen from vials, leading to hundreds of patients unwittingly being treated with tap water instead of the painkiller.

Only one of the further five cases since 2008 affected patients, and this was in northern Victoria, where the drug was siphoned from the bottle and replaced with water, an Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman said the seven affected patients and the local community were advised and the job of the paramedic involved was terminated.

All cases were passed onto police, the spokeswoman said, but she was unable to detail the outcome of the police investigations.

One long-serving paramedic has been stood down as police investigate the latest theft.

The 47-year-old Donvale man was interviewed by police on October 5 and released pending the application of a summons.

A second paramedic was arrested and interviewed on Tuesday morning after police executed a search warrant at a South Melbourne address.

The 40-year-old man was also released pending summons and he has also now been stood down.

Police are investigating allegations of theft from a number of Ambulance Victoria response stations.

Ambulance Victoria chief executive Greg Sassella on Tuesday said "many hundreds of patients" were affected and it has responded by changing protocols around the use of fentanyl.

He said Ambulance Victoria has previously contacted the drug's manufacturer to complain about the rubber cap securing the fentanyl vials.

The drugs are now secured in a safe, which can only be accessed by a paramedic with an electronic card, and monitored by CCTV.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Navy not sure why HMAS Choules broke down

DEFENCE is still trying to figure out why a $100 million navy vessel bought last year from the United Kingdom and given a clean bill of mechanical health broke down.

Defence Materiel Organisation chief executive Warren King has told a senate budget estimates hearing one of two main propulsion transformers aboard the amphibious landing ship HMAS Choules had failed.

The catastrophe occurred in June when Choules sailed north from Sydney to participate in Exercise Hamel and had to return on reduced power.

Later, a hole was cut in the ship to remove the dodgy transformer, which weighs 6.5 tonnes.

An inspection revealed the insulation had failed prematurely, leading to a major short circuit, but fortunately no fire.

Further inspections of four other power transformers also revealed premature wear.

Mr King told the hearing in Canberra the Defence Science and Technology and manufacture Siemens were trying to find out why the propulsion transformer failed.

Some of the causes could be overheating, although temperature sensors did not indicate this, or mechanical stress.

"We have certainly run into a serious problem with this transformer and we are not yet at the end of the path of knowing what's caused the problem," Mr King said.

Navy chief Vice Admiral Ray Griggs said new transformers had been ordered, costing $1 million each but it hadn't yet been decided whether all would be replaced.

Repairing Choules could cost up to $10 million and it won't be able to return to service until January at the earliest or April at the latest.

The UK has reported no similar experience, although it's about to inspect its vessels for signs of premature transformer wear.

The 16,000 tonne Choules was built in the UK, launched in 2003 and served in Britain's Royal Fleet Auxiliary from 2006 until 2011, when she was declared surplus and sold to Australia.

Unlike vessels with diesel engines that directly drive the propellers, Choules' main engines run generators providing power to electric motor propulsion pods through transformers.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria says it's ready to explore truce

SYRIA says it is prepared to explore a truce proposal by international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, even as it unleashed multiple air strikes on rebel positions on a key highway.

The exiled opposition said on Tuesday it would welcome any ceasefire but that the ball was in the government's court to halt its daily bombardments.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that pre-dawn air raids around Maaret al-Numan were the "most violent" since insurgents captured the strategic town on the Damascus-Aleppo highway last week.

The Syrian foreign ministry said early on Tuesday that it looked forward to talks with UN-Arab League envoy Brahimi on his proposal for a ceasefire for the four-day Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday beginning at the end of October, which he has been promoting on a regional tour.

But spokesman Jihad Maqdisi stressed that the rebels and their backers would also need to be involved.

"In order to succeed in any initiative, it takes two sides," Maqdisi said in answer to a question from AFP.

"The Syrian side is interested in exploring this option and we are looking forward to talking to Mr Brahimi to see what is the position of other influential countries that he talked to in his tour," he said.

"Will they pressure the armed groups that they host and finance and arm in order to abide by such a ceasefire?"

The opposition Syrian National Council said it would expect the rebel Free Syrian Army to reciprocate any halt to the violence but that it expected the government to act first.

"We would welcome any halt to the killings but we think the appeal needs to be addressed first to the Syrian regime, which has not stopped bombarding Syrian towns and villages," SNC leader Abdel Basset Sayda told AFP.

Rebel fighters "are only acting in self-defence, so it is normal that they would halt hostilities when the war machine does so", he added.

Brahimi was in Cairo on Tuesday on the latest leg of a swing that has already taken him to Turkey and Saudi Arabia, staunch backers of the opposition, and to Iran, Syria's closest ally.

Brahimi's office said the envoy had appealed for Iranian help to broker the truce.

"He reiterated the call by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for a ceasefire and a halt to the flow of arms to both sides. A ceasefire, he said, would help create an environment that would allow a political process to develop."

The UN chief had previously called for a unilateral government ceasefire to be matched by the rebels afterwards, but that idea was rejected by Damascus as its troop losses mount.

Warplanes targeted the rebel blockade of the highway to Aleppo, theatre of intense fighting for the past three months, the Observatory said, adding that rebels responded with anti-aircraft fire.

"Since this morning, there have been 29 air strikes on the area of Maaret al-Numan," said Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman.

"Most civilians from the area have fled."

Army shelling of nearby Kafr Nabal killed two children, aged six and 10, said the Observatory, adding that they were among at least 78 people who died in bloodshed around the country.

Another five children under the age of six, and two adults, died in shelling of homes at Mayadeen village in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, added the Britain-based group.

The Observatory - which relies on a network of activists, medics and lawyers for its information - says children account for 2300 of the 33,000 people killed in the conflict.

Pope Benedict XVI will send a delegation to the Syrian capital to "express his brotherly solidarity with the entire population", the Vatican said.

"We cannot be mere spectators to the tragedy taking place in Syria," the Holy See's No.2 official, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said during a global synod of Roman Catholic bishops at the Vatican.

Syria has a significant Christian minority, some of them Catholic.

A UN commission investigating rights abuses in the war-torn country warned that foreign militants fighting in Syria "could contribute to an increased radicalisation".

"The presence of foreign militants, radical Islamists or jihadists, worries us very much," commission head Paulo Sergio Pinheiro told reporters in New York, estimating there were hundreds of foreign combatants on the ground in Syria.

"Their presence can contribute to radicalisation ... this presence is particularly dangerous in a very volatile conflict," he said.

Pinheiro added that the commission feared the foreign combatants were not fighting for "the building of a democratic state in Syria" but "for their own agenda".

In other developments, the UN food agency said prices for basic provisions had nearly doubled in Syria since the conflict erupted in March last year, and that it had failed to deliver supplies to 100,000 people because of the spiralling fighting.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Abbott displays cowardly approach: PM

THE federal government is trying to draw a line between what Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says at home and abroad, after the leader failed to raise his controversial policy to tow back asylum seeker boats with Indonesia's president.

Opposition MPs on Tuesday agreed Mr Abbott didn't raise the issue during his Monday meeting with Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Instead, it was taken up by opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison who discussed the coalition's "full suite" of border protection policies in a separate follow-up meeting with foreign minister Marty Natalegawa.

But Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Mr Abbott's approach was cowardly because he did not raise with the president a key aspect of the coalition's border protection plans that is frequently raised in Australia.

"What it means is that Mr Abbott doesn't have the guts to raise with international leaders issues that he says are important," she told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday.

"He beats his chest at home but when he's overseas, he doesn't have the guts to raise them."

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen accused Mr Abbott of being "a lion in Canberra and a mouse in Indonesia".

"He talks tough in Canberra and doesn't talk at all in Jakarta," he told reporters in Sydney.

Mr Bowen also questioned whether it was the opposition leader's intention to turn back boats without Indonesia's agreement or co-operation.

But senior Liberal Eric Abetz said it made sense for Mr Abbott to discuss the "broad umbrella issues" with the president, while the finer details were left for Mr Morrison to discuss in later meetings with ministers.

"The policy (of turning back boats) has been, I understand it, fully discussed with the relevant minister and Scott Morrison," Senator Abetz told Sky News.

"That's the way these delegations usually work."

Ms Gillard suggested Mr Abbott didn't bring the issue up because he knew Indonesia wouldn't agree.

But she rejected suggestions Mr Abbott's access to high-ranking Indonesia government officials, including President Yudhoyono, meant the Indonesians were anticipating a coalition victory at the federal election in 2013.

"It's absolutely routine," she said of the meetings.

Meanwhile, refugee advocates on Tuesday hailed a government proposal to establish a review process for asylum seekers deemed to be security risks.

Under the process, former federal court judge Margaret Stone will be appointed as an independent reviewer to re-examine cases where ASIO, Australia's intelligence organisation, has found asylum seekers to be a security threat.

Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs said the review might allow a more nuanced sense of what the risk actually was, rather than simply stating there was a risk.

"It might be that one would say there is a risk, but it is relatively lower one," Prof Triggs told a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra.

"It might be possible, in that case, to look at alternative means of community detention or settlement."

Amnesty International's refugee spokesman Dr Graham Thom said more than 50 refugees have been held indefinitely over the past few years because of adverse security assessments.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Industry wants access to truckie records

FREIGHT companies should have access to truckies' driving records to improve road safety, an industry group says.

In a submission to the newly created Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, the Australian Logistics Council (ALC) says roads would be safer if transport companies could bypass privacy laws and access employees' driving records.

"ALC believes transport companies need to be able to confirm whether employees and contractors driving their vehicles have an appropriate and valid heavy vehicle licence," the submission made earlier this month states.

"While this may be imposed as a condition of employment, providing this information is also prohibited under privacy legislation."

The tribunal was set up by the federal government in July to hear concerns about pay, conditions and deaths in the trucking industry.

It is currently receiving submissions which will determine what it will examine in 2013 and whether it will recommend changes to pay and conditions for truckies.

But the union representing truck drivers accused the ALC of blaming road deaths solely on drivers.

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) described the ALC as "essentially the mouthpiece for big industry players".

In its submission to the tribunal, the union said big retailers were putting truck drivers' safety at risk.

TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon said unrealistic deadlines from retailers like Coles meant some drivers had to speed, carry overweight loads and exceed safe driving hours.

"The Safe Rates legislation clearly acknowledged the need to address the responsibility of those at the top of the supply chain in order to ensure safer roads for everyone," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

An "ongoing crisis" in the industry was causing on average 330 truckie deaths every year, Mr Sheldon said.

Comment was being sought from Coles.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Corby's half-brother jailed in Queensland

SCHAPELLE Corby's half-brother will spend Christmas behind bars after pleading guilty to an assault at the home of a former Brisbane Broncos player.

James Soeli Kisina was 24 when he and friend Samuel James Ratumaitavuki, 25, entered the Ashgrove home of footballer Ben Te'o in November last year, the Supreme Court in Brisbane heard on Tuesday.

The court was told the pair went to the property in search of Te'o, who Ratumaitavuki believed had slept with his ex-girlfriend some months earlier.

However Te'o, who has since signed with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, was attending the Queensland Sports Awards when the pair arrived at his home.

Ratumaitavuki, an aspiring rapper who goes by the name Fortafy, demanded to know where Te'o was before assaulting two members of the footballer's family.

The court heard Kisina did nothing to stop the attack, which left both men with scratches and one with a bloody nose.

Ratumaitavuki and Kisina pleaded guilty to one count each of burglary and assault occasioning bodily harm.

The court heard Kisina was on a suspended jail sentence at the time for a home invasion he had committed in 2006.

He was sentenced to 15 months' jail on Tuesday and will be released on parole in January.

Ratumaitavuki, who had no criminal history, was sentenced to an immediately suspended sentence of 18 months.

Ratumaitavuki posted a message of solidarity to Kisina on Facebook immediately after sentencing, saying: "I got u brother.... Free Kisina..... ! Don't let anyone else control your destiny."

Kisina was with Corby on October 8, 2004 when she was caught at Denpasar airport with 4.1 kg of cannabis.

She is serving a 20-year jail term at Bali's notorious Kerobokan prison.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

SA water breaches health guidelines: group

SOUTH Australians have been exposed repeatedly to dangerous chemicals in their drinking water, with thousands of breaches of health guidelines, an environmental group says.

Friends of the Earth's report, compiled from freedom of information requests, reveals more than 9000 breaches of the Australian drinking water guidelines and World Health Organisation drinking water guidelines between 2000 and 2012.

The breaches include monochloramines, which occur when ammonia is added to chlorine, which reportedly aggravate skin, digestive and respiratory ailments.

Friends of the Earth said thousands of breaches were also recorded for chlorine disinfection by-products, particularly compounds defined as trihalomethanes, some of which have been linked to bladder cancer and reproductive problems.

"For Adelaide residents the chemical of most concern would be bromodichloromethane," the group's spokesman Anthony Amis said.

"We found that many suburbs in Adelaide have been exposed to this chemical above the level which the World Health Organisation believe is safe."

Mr Amis said bromodichloromethane was regarded by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a possible carcinogen for humans.

Friends of the Earth said people wanting to avoid the risks of exposure to chemicals in drinking water should install a water filter in their homes.

It said SA residents should also start lobbying for alternative water treatment processes.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Qld govt flags tougher union funding laws

QUEENSLAND union bosses caught misusing funds will be stung with heavy fines as part of a state government plan to increase their accountability.

Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie revealed on Monday he's considering laws that will force Queensland's union bosses to reveal their pay and perks.

He later said he wanted to introduce heavier fines for leaders who illegally used members' funds.

Mr Bleijie said when federal Labor increased fines from $11,000 to $33,000 in the wake of the Craig Thomson affair, it didn't go far enough.

In the corporate sector, penalties for illegal use of funds were upwards of $200,000, he said.

"We'd be looking certainly to make sure we can increase fines in Queensland under the Industrial Relations Act," Mr Bleijie told reporters in Brisbane.

Under the proposal, union officials would have to declare an array of personal professional interests, such as credit card statements, similar to rules for state MPs.

Individual unions could also have to publicly account for all spending, with particular emphasis on political party expenditure.

The government hopes to implement the new laws by early next year.

The attorney-general dismissed union claims the proposal was "political payback" for unions' relentless campaign against the Liberal National Party (LNP) government.

"That's ridiculous. This is not a political payback. This is about accountability, openness and transparency," he said.

Mr Bleijie questioned the motives of union leaders who spoke out on Monday against the proposal, such as Together secretary Alex Scott.

"What have they got to hide?" he said.

"Why wouldn't they believe in a system that is open and transparent (and) put the figures out on the table for the world to see?"

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

CEO pay to feature at Cochlear AGM

THE issue of executive pay is set to feature prominently at Cochlear's annual general meeting, with shareholder groups set to reject the awarding of options worth $1 million to chief executive Chris Roberts.

The Australian Shareholders' Association (ASA) says it will vote against the resolution, arguing $1 million worth of options was too big a grant.

"The CEO, Dr Chris Roberts, is already highly incentivised by way of equity alignment through his ownership of ordinary shares worth approximately $50 million," the ASA said in its published voting intentions.

"Such a large additional grant seems excessive and ASA will be voting undirected proxies against this particular proposal."

Other proxy advisory groups have also called on shareholders to vote against the resolution, which will be debated at Cochlear's annual general meeting in Sydney on Tuesday.

"During our engagement with Cochlear, it was acknowledged that some institutional investors have expressed concerns about the size and terms of this particular grant," the ASA said.

In August, the hearing device maker's net profit dropped to $56.8 million in the year to June 30 from $180.1 million in 2010/11, following the mass recall of Nucleus CI500 devices.

The stock finished Monday's local session down 31 cents, or 0.44 per cent, at $70.87.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More