Stranded Vic fishermen saved

WATER police have rescued two fishermen clinging to their overturned boat in southeast Victoria's Western Port Bay.

The men launched their recreational fishing boat from Stony Point before dawn on Saturday, but their boat overturned and the men became stranded in the bay, police said.

A fixed-wing rescue plane spotted them, later in the morning, clinging to the hull of their boat in the water off Flinders after Canberra's rescue base picked up their emergency positioning indicator radio beacon.

Water Police took the men ashore, where paramedics treated them for mild hypothermia.

It was unclear how the boat had overturned, but police praised the men for wearing life jackets and quickly activating their radio beacon.

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Voting machines remain a worry in US poll

FEW want to even think about it, but the 2012 US election result could be clouded by problems with voting machines ... again.

Twelve years after the Florida punch card debacle in which thousands of votes went uncounted in the crucial state, some experts cite similar concerns about voting technology.

"I'm not sure we've made forward progress since 2000," said Douglas Jones, a University of Iowa computer scientist and co-author of a book published this year, "Broken Ballots."

"We've put a tremendous effort into changing the voting systems, but in many cases we've discarded systems too quickly and replaced them with systems that we haven't examined enough."

Jones said technology used on some vote machines is now close to a decade old and should be updated. And some systems have security flaws or may not allow for recounts or audits, he noted.

"Whenever an election is close all of the weaknesses become apparent," he said. "I expect there will be some states where the margin is so close that people will raise questions about irregularities."

A frequent target for critics is the use of touchscreen voting machines, which lack a paper backup. Around 25 per cent of Americans are expected to use paperless electronic voting, according to the Verified Voting Foundation.

A report earlier this year by two activist groups and the Rutgers University School of Law said systems used in 20 states were either "inadequate" or needed improvement.

That includes 16 states which use paperless machines in some or all jurisdictions. Six states were ranked "good" and 24 "generally good."

Hurricane Sandy's destruction has added another element of uncertainty, says Thad Hall, a University of Utah political scientist and researcher for the Voting Technology Project.

"No power means that (vote machines) will only operate as long as their batteries last," he said. "It also means that voters voting on paper ballots will not have the use of scanners to identify errors on their ballots."

The devastation also means "some voters will literally not be able to vote because they will have been evacuated from their local polling place and there is no provision for remote voting."

Hall said the storm probably had a disproportionate impact on supporters of President Barack Obama, creating new political risks even if the incumbent carries those northeast states.

Lower turnout "may not mean that Obama does not win the affected states but it could mean that we have a re-run of 2000 - an electoral college winner who does not win the popular vote," he said.

A report last month by the Voting Technology Project, a joint effort by the California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, found some electronic voting systems had a failure rate as high as punch cards.

The report said between four million and six million votes were "lost" in the 2000 election, and that despite some progress since then, it's not clear whether the problems could be repeated.

"What has changed since 2000? In many respects, there have been profound changes in the voting equipment business, but in some very important respects, very little about this business has changed," the report said.

The report said growth in mail-in and early voting raises new questions and Internet voting available to overseas or military voters raises security issues.

Charles Stewart, an MIT professor and member of the project, said the most likely problems may come from mail-in paper ballots, which have increased as states ease absentee restrictions.

He said these are problematic because "absentee ballots are not secret ballots, they generally don't have a secure chain of custody, and they are prone to be disputed."

Jones meanwhile is among computer specialists who argue that paper ballots scanned by computers remain the most reliable method.

"Everything is complicated if you have no paper backup," he said. "If the scanners fail you can hand count the paper ballots. If touchscreens fail, what can you do?"

But Paul DeGregorio, a former chairman of the US Election Assistance Commission and currently a consultant, says technology should be seen as the solution, not the problem.

"Of course there are the naysayers to progress and change. They believe paper and pencil is the answer to everything; that technology is not our friend - and that it cannot be trusted, under any circumstance," DeGregorio said in a commentary to the CalTech/MIT report.

He added that "modern technology can make it easier to confirm legitimate voters and also catch those who are trying to vote illegally," and that electronic systems have "prevented thousands of voter errors."

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Foreign firms owe British taxman Stg5.5bn

FOREIGN companies in Britain reportedly owe about Stg5.5 billion ($A8.6 billion) in taxes.

Britain's tax-collecting body, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, has identified 258 major multinational firms thought to have outstanding tax bills amounting to that sum, The Times said on Saturday.

According to figures the newspaper obtained under Britain's freedom of information laws, UK businesses owned by foreign parent firms were responsible for 44 per cent of all potential tax lost through underpayments by Britain's largest companies.

Margaret Hodge, who chairs parliament's public accounts committee, a cross-party scrutiny body, told The Times: "Over the past few months there has been growing anger at what is seen to be unfairness in the tax system.

"If you're rich you get away with tax avoidance, and if you're an ordinary person you pay your fair share."

The committee will question revenue and customs chief executive Lin Homer on Monday.

In total, some 551 major British and foreign firms are thought to owe a total of Stg12.5-19.3 billion in tax.

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More jail possible for indecent doctor

A SYDNEY doctor jailed for indecently assaulting boys on the pretext of needing semen samples should be released before Christmas as planned, despite pleading guilty to more charges, a court has heard.

John Phillip Rolleston, 74, is due to be released from prison on December 23 after serving a minimum 18-month sentence for 17 counts of indecently assaulting 12 young boys between 1975 and 1981.

However, the former doctor pleaded guilty earlier this year to four more charges of indecent assault after more victims came forward due to the publicity of his trial in March 2011.

The trial heard the boys, aged 14 and 15, were seeking treatment for conditions such as a sore throat, an ankle injury or the flu.

But the doctor either masturbated them or ordered them to do it, claiming he needed a semen sample from them.

In a sentence hearing in the District Court in Sydney on Friday, Rolleston's defence barrister, Michael Ainsworth, argued Rolleston's prison sentence should not be extended because of the prosecution's delay in bringing the additional charges.

The court heard the new victims came forward during the trial, but Rolleston was not charged until a year later, in March this year.

"Mr Rolleston should have been charged with these offences at an earlier time," Mr Ainsworth told Judge Leonie Flannery, who originally sentenced Rolleston.

Judge Flannery could have taken the additional charges into account then, rather than just before his release, Mr Ainsworth said.

"Arrangements are in place for his release and now the crown is suggesting the only other course is additional time in custody."

Mr Ainsworth said Rolleston had been a model prisoner and was hoping to reconnect with his family on his release.

Crown prosecutor Mariella Schattiger said the judge should take into account the additional criminality of Rolleston's offending.

Judge Flannery said she needed to consider the issues and adjourned the matter for sentence on Friday, November 9.

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Protesters disrupt Abbott speech

PROTESTERS have disrupted the start of a speech by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott in Melbourne.

A few minutes into his address to the Melbourne Institute/The Australian 2012 Economic and Social Outlook conference, several protesters went on the stage.

Dominic O'Dwyer said he was happy to see Mr Abbott and looked forward to him becoming prime minister, noting the opposition leader thought global warming "is a bunch of crap".

"Isn't it fantastic, ladies and gentlemen, to see undergraduate humour does not change," Mr Abbott told the audience.

"They've come at the right moment because they've probably given me the punctation point to stop ad-libbing and start my scripted speech."

Mr Abbott was also mobbed by a small group of protesters as he reached his car as he left the conference.

Security guards had to hold some protesters out of the path of the car so it could depart the University of Melbourne.

After the protest Mr O'Dwyer said: "I wasn't protesting, I was just thanking Tony Abbott for his unwavering support for the fossil fuel industry.

"It was to thank Tony Abbott for his continuing academic rigour in the face of the global warming conspiracy and his unwavering support of the fossil fuel industry."

Mr O'Dwyer was involved in scaling Victoria's Parliament House in September and unfurling an anti-coal sign.

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Alleged killer cop stays in legal limbo

AFTER 28 long, sad years, the mother of Victorian woman Jennifer Tanner, who was killed by her policeman brother-in-law, hopes her ordeal is finally over.

Denis Tanner was found by a coroner in 1998 to have killed Ms Tanner, who was shot twice in the head at her Bonnie Doon home in November 1984, but he has never been charged.

In August, Mr Tanner's lawyers urged the Victorian Coroners Court to set aside the 1998 finding, but on Friday they abandoned the application after a key piece of evidence was found not to be new.

Ms Tanner's mother Kath Blake said outside court the family was happy with the finding from the 1998 inquest and hoped their ordeal was now over.

"It's been a long, sad 28 years for us and we're hoping to see the finish today," she told reporters.

"We still are happy with (then-state coroner) Graeme Johnstone's finding in 1998."

Under Victorian law, Mr Tanner must prove there is new evidence before a fresh inquest can be ordered.

His lawyer Bob Galbally said Mr Tanner had been found to have contributed to Ms Tanner's death on the basis of a low standard of proof and now had no forum to overturn the finding.

"He is in a position where in the court of public opinion he is guilty," Mr Galbally said.

"Justice in Victoria does not visit everybody and it hasn't visited Mr Tanner ... because he is in a position where he has not had his day in court."

A recent search by Mr Tanner uncovered a witness statement that had been said to be new evidence.

The statement was in fact made at the time the 1998 inquest was held.

The statement was the key piece of evidence in Mr Tanner's case for a fresh inquest, the court heard.

Applying for costs to be ordered against Mr Tanner, a lawyer for the Victoria Police chief commissioner said Mr Tanner had known about the existence of the statement since 1998.

She said his application was doomed to fail.

State Coroner Jennifer Coate reserved her decision on costs.

Mr Tanner argued in August that the previous finding was seriously flawed and a miscarriage of justice.

He urged Judge Coate to quash the finding and hold a new inquest.

On Friday, Mr Tanner left court without commenting to reporters.

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Australian bonds a touch firmer

AUSTRALIAN three-year bond futures prices are a touch higher as positive economic news from China and a poor performance by local shares pulled the market in opposite directions.

Chinese economic data released on Thursday showed that manufacturing activity expanded in October for the first time in three months.

JP Morgan interest rate strategist Sally Auld said bond futures prices during the local session went down and then popped back up again.

"Around lunchtime it was the China data that was a little bit stronger than expected but it was unable to sustain any moves one way or another," she said.

"Our equities haven't done so well, but Chinese equities have done alright."

At 1630 AEDT on Thursday, the December three-year bond futures contract was at 97.470 (2.530 per cent), up from 97.460 (2.540 per cent) on Wednesday.

The December 10-year bond futures contract was trading at 96.955 (3.045 per cent), level with the end of the previous local session.

Ms Auld said the bond market has been trading in a tight range over the past few days as traders awaited the outcome some key market events.

These include the release of US employment figures on Friday, the Reserve Bank of Australia's board meeting and interest rate decision on Tuesday, and the outcome of the US presidential election, which is likely to be announce on Wednesday, Australian time.

"There is so much event risk over the next little while that people are struggling to put a big position on either way," she said.

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Manufacturing continues to take a beating

IF manufacturing was a boxer, the referee would have stopped the fight and held the Australian dollar's bloodied glove in the air.

Activity in the manufacturing sector sagged against the ropes in October for the eighth month in a row, according to the Australian Industry Group's monthly survey.

The performance of manufacturing index (PMI) index came in at 45.2 in October, up by 1.1 from September's reading but still well under the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction.

In fact the PMI has been on the wrong side of 50 for all but five of the past 26 months.

And the pain has been shared around.

In October, all but two of the 11 sectors covered by the survey recorded declines in activity, with paper, printing and publishing barely into positive territory and transport equipment doing little better with a tepid gain after a big fall in September.

And it shows in the broader economic data, including the quarterly national accounts from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Manufacturing gross value added, the main measure of activity in the sector, fell by four per cent over the past 10 years, compared with a rise of 19 per cent in the preceding decade.

At the same time, employment in the sector fell by 114,000 in the latest decade compared with a rise of 33,000 in the decade before it.

There is no doubt the manufacturing sector is taking a savage beating and there is no doubt the beating is being administered by the high Australian dollar.

The Australian dollar's real exchange rate has risen sharply against the currencies of Australia's trading partners since commodity prices took off nearly a decade ago.

The real exchange rate adjusts the actual exchange rate for inflation rates in Australia and those other countries.

It's a key measure of competitiveness.

Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) figures show the Australian dollar's real exchange rate over the past 10 years was 34 per cent higher than the previous 10 years.

No wonder the manufacturing sector is on the ropes.

That's a massive loss of competitiveness.

And the bout is getting even more one-sided.

The latest reading for the real exchange rate, the average for the September quarter, was 65 per cent above its level over the decade before the commodity price boom.

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Coroner calls for cosmetic surgery reforms

A CORONER who found a woman died after being infected during a liposuction procedure has called for national reforms to the cosmetic surgery industry.

South Australia's Deputy State Coroner Anthony Schapel also recommended that patients be seen by their surgeon within 24 to 48 hours of having liposuction.

Lauren Michelle Edgar, 28, died five days after Dr George Kerry carried out the $7000 procedure on her stomach and thighs at his North Adelaide rooms on Wednesday March 5, 2008.

He did not examine her again after her discharge on the same day.

In his findings on Thursday, the coroner found Ms Edgar's death was a result of multi-organ failure due to her contracting a clostridium perfringens infection that led to gas gangrene, a very rare condition.

He concluded that an instrument used in the procedure picked up the micro-organism from Ms Edgar's skin surface, but he could not determine if she had been inadequately sterilised.

Ms Edgar's parents gave evidence about her increased discomfort and pain in the days after the surgery.

The coroner said that on March 7, Ms Edgar spoke to Dr Kerry twice on the phone about her pain.

He found that the information she gave him about her pain, her desire to take off the post-surgery corset and her need for stronger medication "should have generated significant concern in Dr Kerry's mind about her welfare."

Dr Kerry should have immediately insisted on examining her and, if he had, he should then have immediately referred her to hospital.

But the coroner could not determine whether Ms Edgar would have survived if her hospital treatment for gangrene had started earlier than March 8 when she was taken there by her parents.

Mr Schapel endorsed recommendations made by the Inter-Jurisdictional Cosmetic Surgery Working Group made in November 2010.

He pointed to its recommendation for "a national framework covering cosmetic, medical and surgical procedures" including basic requirements for the training, expertise and qualifications of cosmetic surgeons.

Regulation of the places where cosmetic surgery is undertaken, compulsory licensing and standards for private health facilities were also recommended.

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Macklin hints at more NDIS cash next year

THERE will be more cash for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in next year's budget, amid estimates that $4 to $5 billion is needed to transition from trial sites to a full rollout.

The scheme is expected to cost around $15 billion a year to run when fully implemented in 2018/19.

So far, the Labor government has set aside $1 billion to fund launch sites for the scheme but future funding commitments fall outside the four-year budget estimates period.

In an address to the National Press Club on Wednesday, Families Minister Jenny Macklin hinted there would be extra money allocated next year.

"You can anticipate additional funding for the national disability insurance scheme in next year's budget," Ms Macklin told reporters.

She will release draft legislation "shortly" and plans to introduce it to parliament in the final sitting week of parliament before the summer break.

"The legislation will establish a framework for a national scheme," Ms Macklin said.

The scheme will start in mid-2013 at five launch sites around Australia.

Ms Macklin said a parliamentary committee will examine the draft legislation and feedback will be sought from people with disabilities, their families, carers and disability workers.

The legislation will establish a launch transition agency as an independent body.

"It will play the central role in ending the frustration and confusion too many people currently face as they knock on the door of service provider after service provider looking for the support they need," she said.

The establishment of a ministerial council involving state, territory and federal government representatives would ensure the agency was accountable, she said.

John Della Bosca, the spokesman for the Every Australian Counts campaign which is pushing for the scheme, said the government was "ticking all the right boxes".

Mr Della Bosca estimated that $4 to $5 billion was needed for the scheme, over the forward estimates.

"We want to make sure the change from launch sites to expanding the scheme out is fully funded," he told AAP.

"That's what we're anxious about."

He said it was critical for the parliamentary inquiry into the legislation to hear first hand from those affected by disabilities.

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Call to help the homeless on Halloween

SYDNEYSIDERS are being asked to show a generous spirit this Halloween as little ghosties and ghoulies get ready to stake out their favourite trick or treat haunts.

Evidence suggests Australians remain divided on the October 31 festival, which has its roots in Celtic folklore and heralds November 1's All Saints' Day.

Some are spellbound by the whole thing, while others would see it dumped in a boiling witch's cauldron faster than you can say "Jack O'lantern".

But now, a Christian group has come up with way of celebrating Halloween which avoids kids filling up on loads of lollies - and involves helping some very needy souls.

The Exodus Foundation, run by the Reverend Bill Crews, is asking youngsters to use trick or treating as a way to collect tins of food for the homeless.

"It's a great way to put some real meaning into Halloween," Rev Crews said.

"When you go out this Halloween, ask your neighbours to donate a tin of food instead of lollies.

"Once you've collected the food you can drop it off at The Exodus Foundation."

Mr Crews said the foundation delivers almost 800 emergency food parcels to the poor and homeless every month, and demand always rises towards Christmas.

Meanwhile, animal lovers are being urged to keep their pets safe on Halloween night.

Dr Sarah Goldsmid, a vet at Sydney's Animal Referral Hospital, said pets often wound up hurt or scared on October 31.

She urged people to keep mutts and moggies away from chocolate and sweets, which can be harmful to animals.

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New port strategy announced for Qld

QUEENSLAND is to have fewer but bigger ports.

Deputy Premier and State Development Minister Jeff Seeney has tabled the draft Great Barrier Reef Ports Strategy, which will be available for public consultation on Thursday.

It proposes that any significant port development in or adjoining the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area would be restricted to within existing port limits for the next 10 years.

There will only be expansion at Abbot Point, Hay Point and the Gladstone Precinct, including Balaclava Island, Port Alma and Sea Hill.

Mr Seeney said on Wednesday the strategy will guide the government's approach to future port development and planning for the Great Barrier Reef coast for the next decade.

"Through this strategy, the government will balance environmental protection with the need to facilitate economic prosperity," he told parliament.

"Put simply our ports must expand if we are to prosper."

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Abbot Point will ship coal by 2016: GVK

MINING giant GVK says it is on "record pace" to start shipping coal from Queensland's Abbot Point port by late 2016, despite concerns about its Indian operations.

The Indian-Australian joint venture GVK-Hancock won Queensland government approval in June to build a rail corridor linking the Bowen and Galilee basins with the central Queensland port.

But rival mining magnate Clive Palmer, whose China First project lost out to the GVK-Hancock consortium, has suggested the coal-rail project will never proceed.

GVK has experienced problems in India, where it failed to meet a deadline to develop a coal mine in Jharkhand state.

But Paul Mulder, GVK Resources's manager director of coal and infrastructure, told reporters in Brisbane the problems in India would not affect the Queensland operations.

"You can't presume what trouble the Indian operations had because it was broad-ranging. It wasn't just focused on GVK," he said after addressing a Committee for Economic Development of Australia lunch.

Mr Mulder said coal would be loaded at Abbot Point by about September 2016, three years after final investment decisions were made.

"We think it's realistic," he said.

"For a project of this size and scale, we're doing this at record pace."

But he said delays were inevitable with large projects, as GVK sought regulatory approval and finalised commercial construction contracts.

"If anyone can guarantee they're not going to have project delays, I think they don't understand the requirements of developing mega projects," Mr Mulder said.

"Due to the magnitude, some of the contracting arrangements and finalising appropriate arrangements for our construction have taken a little longer than what we'd hoped."

The $6.4 billion project for the Galilee Basin also includes a mine 40km northwest of Alpha, which lies between Emerald and Barcaldine, and a 495km rail line to Abbot Point, north of Bowen.

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Elijah inquest told of missed guidelines

A DOCTOR who treated baby Elijah Slavkovic on the night he fell ill failed to immediately give antibiotics or arrange for a senior doctor to examine him, an inquest into his death has heard.

Elijah was three months old when he contracted bacterial meningitis on a family holiday on the NSW south coast in 2009.

He waited several hours after his first visit to Pambula Hospital for potentially life-saving antibiotics to be administered, the inquest heard.

From Pambula he was taken to hospitals in Bega, Canberra and Sydney, before finally being airlifted to Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital. He died six weeks later.

Dr Tin Myint was the only doctor on duty in Bega District Valley Hospital the night Elijah was admitted, Parramatta Coroner's Court heard on Tuesday.

Dr Myint told the inquest he had not been expecting Elijah on the night of April 24, 2009.

"Elijah's eyes were open, and he was dry, and also he (had) a lethargic look," he told the court, adding he had been told the child had been vomiting for hours.

The infant's temperature soared to 39.1 degrees, the court heard, but Dr Myint was not sure whether the child's symptoms were caused by a viral infection, bacterial infection or dehydration.

Counsel assisting the inquest, Peggy Dwyer, said guidelines for treating potentially septic infants of three months included seeking a "senior review early" and intravenous antibiotics.

Dr Myint told the court he suggested a senior doctor on call in Bega should come to the hospital, but he didn't insist on it.

Even though Dr Myint first saw Elijah at approximately 11.40 pm the antibiotics weren't given until the early hours of the next day, possibly around 2.30 am, the inquest heard.

He said he asked a nurse on duty to take blood and urine samples before administering antibiotics.

Dr Erika Jaensch was on call for Bega Hospital the night Elijah was admitted.

She gave evidence on Tuesday that when she received a call from Dr Frank Simonson, the Pambula Hospital doctor who first treated Elijah, his description of the child's symptoms reassured her.

But the baby was later described to her as febrile, floppy and lethargic, she said.

Dr Jaensch later agreed Elijah's symptoms were very dangerous for a child so young and said she would have administered antibiotics as soon as possible without necessarily waiting.

"I would have collected what I could and then administered antibiotics," she said.

Dr Jaensch added she specifically asked Dr Myint if she should attend Bega Hospital in person but was told she wasn't needed.

The inquest continues before Deputy State Coroner Carmel Forbes.

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Pitbulls bite off teenager's ear

A TEENAGER has had his ear torn off in an attack by two pitbull terriers in southwestern Sydney as he tried to save his pet.

The 17-year-old was walking his own dog in the Bankstown area on Tuesday afternoon when he was set upon by the animals.

He tried to rescue his dog but, as he did so, the two terriers attacked his legs.

The teenager fell to the ground and the dogs attacked his head, with one of them biting off his left ear.

Local residents at Lehn Road in East Hills rushed to help him and the two dogs fled.

Paramedics took the youth to Liverpool Hospital in a stable condition. His ear was found nearby and surgeons are attempting to reattach it.

He is also being treated for bites to his left leg, the Ambulance Service of NSW said.

The pitbulls were captured after the 3.20pm (AEDT) attack and their owner is assisting police and Bankstown City Council officers who are investigating.

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Burst water main in Melbourne

TWO million litres of water have gone down the drain after a water main burst in suburban Melbourne.

The water main burst on King Arthur Drive, Glen Waverley, about 11.30am (AEDT) on Monday.

A Melbourne Water spokesman said an estimated two million litres of water was lost.

"It's believed that a faulty air ball valve, a valve which regulates pressure in the main, caused the burst," he said in a statement.

"There has been one report of damage to property and Melbourne Water is working with the owners to fix the situation."

The damaged section of the main was shut within one hour of it bursting.

The main supplies water from Silvan Reservoir to more than 100,000 homes and businesses in Melbourne's southeast.

Melbourne Water crews will continue working to repair the main without affecting customer water supply.

The incident would be investigated, the spokesman said.

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade was also on the scene and a spokeswoman said the water shot about 60 metres in the air.

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Elders seeks to sell rural services ops

AGRIBUSINESS and automotive interiors supplier Elders wants to sell its biggest business unit, its rural services business, before someone tries to take it over.

Elders said on Monday that it would start a sales process for the rural services division as part of an accelerating strategy to return value to shareholders.

Elders also said it was in talks with its bankers about refinancing.

Elders chief executive Malcolm Jackman said it was inevitable that, sooner or later, some other company would try to snatch the rural services division from Elders.

Earlier this month, Ruralco Holdings made overtures to Elders to discuss a possible merger between the two agribusinesses, but no formal proposal has been put on the table.

Mr Jackman also pointed to US-based food processing giant Archer Daniels Midland Company's (ADM) proposed $2.68 billion takeover of Australian grains marketer GrainCorp.

"Given the fact that we've got a lot of interest in the agricultural sector at the moment - we've got people approaching us - the board has asked: Should we just be waiting for people to come knocking on the door, or should we take charge of the process?" Mr Jackman told AAP.

"That (the sales process) is being done with the full support of our banking syndicate which we've been in discussions with anyway given the fact that we've got (debt) maturities at the end of the year."

Elders is already exiting its forestry assets and has put its automotive interiors business up for sale.

Mr Jackman acknowledged that if rural services were sold, Elders would have few assets left, and he could not say if Elders would continue thereafter as a publicly-listed company.

But the Elders name would continue because it was among the best known brands in the agricultural sector.

Ruralco, which is the largest shareholder in Elders, said on Monday that Ruralco was disappointed that Elders was selling its rural services and automotive divisions while it was in talks with its bankers about refinancing.

"However, the sale of Elders Rural Services creates opportunities for Ruralco," Ruralco said.

"Ruralco can potentially generate material synergies from an acquisition of Elders Rural Services."

Mr Jackman said it was hoped that Elders could invite indicative bids early in the new year.

Any sale would be subject to a shareholder vote.

Commonwealth Bank agricultural analyst Jordan Rogers said Ruralco's recent approach to Elders had likely prompted Elders to try to flush out other interested parties.

In a recent research note, Mr Rogers estimated the takeover value of Elders' rural services business at $268 million to $350 million.

Mr Rogers had said that Ruralco had already showed its intention to be part of a break-up of Elders and international interest could follow.

Elders' rural services division - which sells chemicals, fertiliser, farm supplies, livestock, wool and real estate - generated underlying earnings of $21.1 million in the six months to March 31, 2012.

Shares in Elders were one cent lower at 24.5 cents on Monday.

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Most against surplus if more cuts needed

OVER half of coalition voters do not support the return of a federal budget surplus if it means making more spending cuts, a new poll shows.

The weekly Essential Research online poll found that 37 per cent of all voters supported a budget surplus this financial year, as forecast in the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (MYEFO) released last week.

However, of the 955 people surveyed, 43 per cent disapproved of a surplus if it meant more spending cuts.

Among Labor voters, 52 per cent backed a surplus against 32 per cent who disapproved, while 31 per cent of Liberal/Nationals voters approved of a surplus, but 54 per cent were against it.

Forty-three per cent of Greens voters supported a surplus versus 35 per cent who were against.

The survey also found respondents viewed the economy more favourably than five months ago.

Asked to rate the current state of the economy, a total 41 per cent viewed it as good, up from 35 per cent when last asked in May.

Those who rated the economy poor declined to 23 per cent from 29 per cent previously.

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Qld opposition wants to quiz arts minister

THE Queensland opposition insists Arts Minister Ros Bates is well enough to attend parliament and answer tough questions about her links to a senior bureaucrat.

The opposition planned to grill Ms Bates during this week's parliamentary sittings about her involvement with Transport and Main Roads director-general Michael Caltabiano, but the minister has taken leave and is said to be unable to work because of a medical procedure she underwent some time ago.

Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk says Ms Bates should at least attend question time.

"She's only required to attend one hour a day for question time," Ms Palaszczuk told reporters on Sunday.

"She doesn't have to drive herself. She has a driver and after that hour of question time she can rest in her ministerial suite."

Ms Palaszczuk said former Labor ministers have had serious ailments, but at least turned up to question time, including one who was undergoing chemotherapy.

"I would understand if (Ms Bates) was in hospital or if she was bed-ridden," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"It seems to be ironic that the same day Mr Caltabiano stood aside is the same day Ms Bates decided to take leave."

Mr Caltabiano stood aside from his $500,000-a-year job on full pay last week after allegations that he had misled parliament about having worked for lobby firm Entree Vous, which Ms Bates used to own and which he had helped to set up.

The Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) is investigating the appointment of Ms Bates's son Ben Gommers as a senior liaison officer for Mr Caltabiano's department. The 25-year-old is earning about $103,000 a year.

Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls issued Ms Bates's medical certificate on Saturday to prove she was ill.

"Minister Bates has taken leave, which was approved by the premier, on the basis of advice from her surgeon that she is unable to work following an operation," Mr Nicholls said in a statement on Saturday.

The opposition also dubbed Tourism Minister Jann Stuckey and Natural Resources and Mines Minister Andrew Cripps as "ministers missing in action", claiming they were also planning to skip this sitting week.

Mr Cripps's office denied this, saying the minister will attend parliament after his application for a trade mission was knocked back.

Ms Stuckey will be in Cairns for an event on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, but is expected to be present for question time on both days, the government says.

AAP peb/m

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Police arrest Basque ETA leader in France

AN alleged leader of the Basque separatist group ETA has been arrested in eastern France, Spain's interior ministry says.

The ministry said in a statement that Izaskun Lesaka and an unnamed suspected member of the violent armed group were arrested in a hotel in Macon in the early hours of Sunday.

The suspects had been tracked by a special operations tactical unit of the French National Police and were both armed at the time of their arrest.

ETA is considered a terrorist organisation by Spain, the US and the European Union and is blamed for the killings of more than 825 people in a violent campaign of bombings and shootings for an independent Basque state straddling the border with France.

ETA has been decimated by arrests over recent years.

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Australians sick of Labor saga: Abbott

LABOR and the opposition seem united on one front: they think Australians are sick of hearing about the ousting of former prime minister Kevin Rudd.

Trade Minister Craig Emerson says he has "zero" interest in a book, Tales from the Political Trenches, by former Labor MP Maxine McKew that details Mr Rudd's removal.

The book includes a written response from Mr Rudd about how he felt when his deputy Julia Gillard replaced him as prime minister.

On Sunday News Ltd revealed Mr Rudd felt "betrayed" and "let down" because Ms Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan gave no indication of their intentions on the evening before the coup.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott suggested Labor should be given a stint in opposition to sort out their internal problems.

"I think the public are sick of the soap opera," Mr Abbott told reporters in Canberra.

"The Labor Party leadership is a soap opera and the only way to end the soap opera is to change the government."

Dr Emerson refused to weigh in when asked on Sunday about the latest chapter in the 2010 ousting saga.

The minister said he had no interest and suspected the Australian public felt the same.

"My interest in that book is zero. That's the truth of it," Dr Emerson told Sky News on Sunday.

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