Queen's chaplain 'victim of racism'

A chaplain to Queen Elizabeth (pic) says she is a victim of racism within the Church of England. Source: AAP

A CHAPLAIN to Queen Elizabeth tipped as a possible contender to be one of the first women bishops claims she is a victim of racism within the Church of England.

The Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, who became the first black female chaplain to the House of Commons, has also asked why there were not more people of minority ethnic backgrounds in leadership roles within the church, which she said was "still struggling with institutional racism".

In an interview with The Times on Friday, Ms Hudson-Wilkin, who was born and brought up in Montego Bay, Jamaica, said: "I've had people who did not want me to do a funeral. I can smile because it's their sheer ignorance - I feel sorry for them. I know that it's not about me, it's about them.

"We have been encouraging people to stand and people have been putting themselves forward and have not been elected. I think there is a level of racism around that."

Ms Hudson-Wilkin, who is vicar to two inner-city parishes in Hackney, east London, said she thought racism was a more pressing issue than homosexuality.

"The church has always been obsessed with sex, I really don't understand it," she told the paper.

"I have known some decent gay people who are in faithful monogamous relationships and who are hugely committed to each other.

"I'm deeply saddened that parts of the church continue to be obsessed by this whole business. There are so many more important things."

Ms Hudson-Wilkin was one of a number of prominent female clergy tipped as possible contenders should the Church of England's national assembly give final approval to legislation introducing the first women bishops.

The draft legislation was carried in a vote by the houses of bishops and clergy in the General Synod last month but failed by six votes to gain the necessary two-thirds majority among lay members.

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Man charged over Vic stabbing death

POLICE have charged a 33-year-old man with murder after a man was allegedly stabbed to death following a heated argument in Victoria's east.

A 32-year-old man was rushed to hospital, but died from his injuries after being stabbed in Traralgon - about 160km east of Melbourne - shortly after 12.45am (AEDT) on Saturday, police say.

William Scriven, of Traralgon, faced a bail justice on Saturday afternoon and was remanded in custody to appear in the Morwell Magistrates Court on Monday.

Homicide detectives had said three men had been involved in an argument, which escalated and led to the alleged stabbing in Thexton Street.

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Man throws loaded firearm on Sydney street

A man has been charged after allegedly being found with a loaded firearm in Sydney's southwest. Source: AAP

A MAN has been charged with 10 offences after allegedly being found with a loaded firearm in Sydney's southwest.

Police from the State Crime Command's Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad said they spotted the man acting suspiciously outside a unit complex in Bankstown just before midnight (AEDT) on Friday.

When they approached him, he allegedly threw a loaded firearm on to the street and then ran away.

When he was caught shortly after, he allegedly also had ammunition.

The 30-year-old was taken to Bankstown Police Station where he was charged with 10 firearm-related offences, including carrying a firearm in a manner likely to injure person/property.

The Punchbowl man was due to appear in Parramatta Local Court later on Saturday.

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Mandela's health improving: president

Nelson Mandela's health is improving after undergoing surgery in Pretoria to remove gallstones. Source: AAP

NELSON Mandela's condition was serious when he was admitted to hospital 13 days ago, but the 94-year-old icon's health is improving, South African President Jacob Zuma says.

"His condition was serious but he is responding well to treatment and has steadily improved over the last few days," Zuma told members of the ruling African National Congress at the close of a party conference.

Mandela was airlifted on December 8 from his rural village in the south of the country to a hospital in Pretoria for a series of tests.

Doctors found the former president and hero of the anti-apartheid struggle had a recurrent lung infection and had developed gallstones. He underwent surgery to remove the gallstones on December 15 and is still in hospital.

Zuma sought on Thursday to calm jitters over the health of Madiba, as the renowned former statesman is affectionately known by his clan name.

"I have been informed that at his age doctors need to intervene in a very gradual and sensitive way in order to maximise the chances of a full recovery," said Zuma.

"Madiba is an unparalleled fighter and has always been so. He has met all his health challenges with his tremendous fortitude and grace."

The Nobel peace laureate has a long history of lung problems dating back decades to when he contracted tuberculosis while in jail as a political prisoner.

He was previously hospitalised for an acute respiratory infection in January last year, when he was kept as an inpatient for two nights.

Mandela became South Africa's first black president after the country's first all-race elections in 1994 and stepped down after serving one term.

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N Ireland police open Bloody Sunday probe

Northern Ireland police have opened a criminal probe into the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre. Source: AAP

NORTHERN Ireland police say they have opened a criminal probe into the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre, when British soldiers shot to death 13 unarmed Irish Catholic protesters.

A police commander, Judith Gillespie, confirmed the move after meeting families of the Bloody Sunday dead on Thursday.

Nobody has ever been charged over the killings, which inflamed Catholic support for the outlawed Provisional Irish Republican Army.

Gillespie says 15 full-time detectives will collect witness testimony, and then question former soldiers who opened fire as criminal suspects.

When asked how long the investigation would take, Gillespie said she couldn't know but detectives would "go where the evidence takes us".

The Bloody Sunday victims' families and the IRA-linked Sinn Fein party, which represents most of Northern Ireland's Catholic minority, welcomed the move.

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Christmas greetings to diggers on duty

DEFENCE Minister Stephen Smith has extended Christmas greetings to all defence personnel and their families on behalf of the country.

Mr Smith also said Christmas would be a very difficult time for the families of the seven Australian Defence Force (ADF) members killed in Afghanistan in 2012.

"We honour and remember those brave Australians who have lost their lives serving their country," he said in a statement on Friday.

"On behalf of my ministerial and parliamentary colleagues and all Australians, we wish all members of the ADF, their families and friends a peaceful Christmas and a safe and happy New Year."

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Some medical staff to miss Gulf War medals

AUSTRALIAN medical personnel who served aboard a US navy hospital ship during the 1990-91 Gulf War won't receive another medal.

The independent Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal has recommended against changing medallic recognition for Task Group Medical Support Element One (TGMSE 1) during the 1990-91 Gulf War, and the government has accepted the findings.

The tribunal found on Thursday that service with Task Group Medical Support Element One was already recognised with the Australian Service Medal with Kuwait clasp.

As well, eligible personnel could also wear the emblem of the United States Navy Unit Commendation.

TGMSE 1 comprised 20 Australian Defence Force personnel who served aboard USNS Comfort in the Persian Gulf from September 16, 1990 to January 4, 1991.

This was the lead-up to hostilities against Iraq, with the air campaign starting on January 17 and the ground war on February 24, 1991.

Under Australian regulations for awarding the Australian Active Service Medal (AASM), the governor-general declared this to be a warlike operation from January 17, with the Australian personnel of TGMSE 2 and 3 entitled to the AASM.

TGMSE 1 members argued that their service was similar and warranted award of the AASM.

The tribunal concluded that although the service was similar, it still wasn't as part of a warlike operation because use of force was not authorised at that time.

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Abbott finally reads Slipper judgment

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott says he has now read the judgment in the Peter Slipper and James Ashby case, and still stands by Mal Brough.

Mr Abbott came under fire this week for saying he had not read the judgment handed down last Wednesday because he had been "doing very important things for Australia" in the United Kingdom.

The judgment found Mr Brough, the coalition's candidate for Mr Slipper's Queensland seat of Fisher, had worked in "combination" with Mr Ashby to politically damage the former speaker by lodging the case.

When asked in Sydney on Thursday whether he had read the judgment, Mr Abbott said he had.

"Yes I have, and I absolutely stand by Mal Brough," Mr Abbott told reporters.

He refused to comment further.

Minister for Trade Craig Emerson said on Wednesday that Mr Abbott's failure to read the document, which had a seven-page summary, was a "damning indictment".

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Korean church to shed Xmas lights on North

A SOUTH Korean church plans to display Christmas lights near the border with North Korea, despite concerns about a violent response from Pyongyang.

A Presbyterian church in Seoul would set up the giant display on a tree-shaped steel tower near the heavily-fortified border, the defence ministry said on Thursday.

The Christmas lights on a military-controlled hill in Gimpo west of Seoul would be switched on for 12 days from December 22, it said.

Last month a different church group shelved its plans for a similar display after local residents voiced fears that Pyongyang might shell the illuminations.

Before the South's "Sunshine Policy" of engagement with North Korea launched in 1998, the seasonal lighting displays were common.

Pyongyang repeatedly condemned them as "psychological warfare" aimed at spreading Christianity.

In 2004, the two Koreas agreed to halt official-level cross-border propaganda and the South stopped the Christmas border illuminations completely.

They were resumed in 2010 after North Korea shelled a frontline island, but were postponed last year in a conciliatory gesture following the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.

Tensions have been running high on the Korean peninsula after the North's rocket launch last week.

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$A lower on Chinese shares weakness

THE Australian dollar is slightly lower following weakness in Chinese stocks.

At 1700 AEDT on Wednesday, the local currency was trading at 105.16 US cents, down from 105.34 cents on Tuesday afternoon.

Commonwealth Bank currency strategist Joseph Capurso said the Australian dollar had traded in a narrow range on Wednesday but a slide in the Shanghai Composite Index, earlier in the day, had put some downward pressure on the currency.

"The Chinese stock market is a little bit weaker, maybe that has put a bit of downside on the Aussie dollar but it's hard to scratch around for a reason really," he said,

The lack of volatility in the Australian dollar came despite positivity in global markets, which saw shares in the US, Asia and Europe rally and the euro rally to a seven-month high against the US dollar.

Mr Capurso expected the Australian currency to trade in a narrow range in the lead up to Christmas, unless there were significant developments in US debt negotiations.

Democrats and Republicans are trying to reach a compromise to bring down the country's debt while avoiding a "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to apply from the beginning of 2013.

"If it gets resolved the Aussie would put on a cent or maybe more very quickly but that would fade off eventually," Mr Capurso said.

"But if the market gets worried we are going to fall of the cliff the Aussie is going to fall."

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Vic power bills to rise $80 next year

VICTORIAN families will pay an average of $80 extra for electricity next year, with the national energy regulator unveiling new network tariffs in an early Christmas stocking shocker.

Customers will pay around 16 per cent more on average for electricity network transmission and distribution costs next year, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) says.

These costs make up between 30-40 per cent of household electricity bills, and will see retail tariffs climb around five per cent, an $80 increase on an average household bill of $1900, the regulator said in a statement.

The network tariffs will effect all five of the state's major electricity providers, and are chiefly designed to recover the costs of transporting power along low and high voltage power lines, the AER said.

The increase also factors in annual transmission network charge hikes, payments for solar power tariffs, and the Australian Competition Tribunal's allowance for networks to claim higher allowances for debt costs and bonuses for network improvement, it said.

Powercor and SP AusNet's new charges will include additional costs for bushfire-related safety upgrades.

The new tariffs will include flexible time-of-use charges from July 1 for Victorians with smart meters installed at their homes.

SP AusNet has the highest network tariff increase, with 31 per cent, equating to about an average of $180 per household.

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Aust shares close higher

THE Australian share market closed at its highest level for the year with investors betting on US policymakers to back a deal to avert $US600 billion in federal tax hikes and spending cuts.

At the close on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 22.6 points, or 0.49 per cent higher at 4,617.8, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 22.7 points, or 0.49 per cent, at 4,633.2.

On the ASX 24, the December share price index futures contract was 19 points higher at 4,621, with 107,606 contracts traded.

The negotiations between US Democrat and Republican leaders to avert the so-called fiscal cliff have been a major influence on global markets for a month, but recent reports suggest a deal is getting closer.

The Australian market closed up an eighth day out of nine sessions and 17th out of 23 on Wednesday, said Commsec market analyst Steve Daghlian.

"It has been a very strong run as we get close to the end of the year and we are up 12.5 per cent for 2012," he told AAP.

"Most markets are at good levels, European markets are at 18-month highs."

Most indices finished with gains, as Australia's major miners benefitted from a rally in the iron ore price.

Rio Tinto closed 64 cents, or 1.6 per cent better, at $65.71, BHP Billiton jumped 40 cents, or 1.1 per cent to $37.06 and Fortescue Metals lifted six cents, or 1.3 per cent to $4.66.

Billabong shares plummeted after the struggling retailer slashed its earnings forecast and announced it was considering its fifth - and lowest - takeover offer in 10 months.

Its shares resumed trading after being in a halt for two days and closed 13 cents, or 13.3 per cent, lower at 85 cents.

Whitehaven Coal shares made the biggest gains on the ASX100, adding 26 cents, or 8.1 per cent, to $3.38 after it said it had held talks with China's largest coal company, Shenhua Group, but no offers were currently on the table.

Most sectors were up, with gold an exception following a 27.4 US cent fall overnight.

Gold stocks were 2.5 per cent weaker, led by the nation's largest gold company Newcrest Mining, which were 72 cents, or 3.1 per cent, weaker at $22.56.

National turnover was 1.65 billion securities worth $4.33 billion, with 493 stocks trading up, 420 down and 375 unchanged.

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Aust stocks closes at 16 month high

THE Australian market finished on a 16-month closing high as progress with the US fiscal cliff negotiations led to across the board gains for local stocks.

At close on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 21.8 points, or 0.48 per cent, at 4,595.2 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index had risen 22.5 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 4,610.5 points.

On the ASX 24, the December share price index futures contract was 29 points higher at 4,602 points, with 167,860 contracts traded.

Australian Stock Report head of research Geoff Saffer said the Australian market had its highest close since late July 2011 after US politicians appeared to be making progress on their "fiscal cliff" negotiations.

Just two weeks remain before tax increases and government spending cuts, referred to as the fiscal cliff, start taking effect in the US if no deal is reached.

"I think it was mainly widespread buying today on hopes that US politicians will reach a compromise before the end of the year," he said.

Mr Saffer said the Reserve Bank of Australia's minutes of its December board meeting also suggested that the cash rate could be cut further in 2013 which prompted investor buying.

The Australian market recorded gains across the board with mining, utilities and healthcare the best performing sectors.

BHP Billiton jumped 31 cents to $36.66, Rio Tinto soared $1.18 to $64.70 and Fortescue gained 13 cents to $4.60.

The four major banks all finished in positive territory.

ANZ was up two cents to $24.51, National Australia Bank gained 12 cents to $24.60, Westpac added six cents to $25.81 and Commonwealth Bank jumped 16 cents to $61.45.

Market turnover was 1.77 billion securities worth $4.99 billion, with 536 stocks up, 434 down and 352 unchanged.

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Aust bonds lower after RBA minutes

AUSTRALIAN bond futures prices were lower after the release of the minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's latest board meeting reduced traders' expectations of future interest rate cuts.

RBC Capital Markets fixed income strategist Su-Lin Ong said local bond futures prices fell following the release of the RBA's minutes at 1130 AEDT.

"The minutes from the December meeting suggested it was quite a close decision and I guess the interpretation is that with the cash rate down to three per cent the hurdle to cut further may be quite high," she said.

"So that weighed quite high on fixed income markets."

The RBA cut the cash rate to three per cent in December, from 3.25 per cent previously.

Ms Ong said developments in negotiations on the 'fiscal cliff' of tax hikes and spending cuts due to apply in 2013, unless US political leaders can agree to alternative measures, was likely to drive bond markets over the coming days.

"I think most attention is on these fiscal cliff negotiations, we have had some progress since the weekend and I think there is an expectation that we are inching closer to both a compromise and agreement," Ms Ong said.

US President Barack Obama has offered a proposal to House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner which would raise revenue by $US1.2 trillion ($A1.14 trillion), and cut spending by the same amount.

At 1630 AEDT on Tuesday, the March 10-year bond futures contract was at 96.640 (implying a yield of 3.360 per cent), down from 96.670 (3.330 per cent) on Monday.

The March three-year bond futures contract was trading at 97.220 (2.780 per cent), down from 97.235 (2.765 per cent).

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Man faces 10 years jail over flight abuse

AN international flight was diverted after a drunken Perth man allegedly tried to smoke a cigarette on the plane before punching and spitting on crew members.

The 34-year-old man was taken off the flight, enroute from Sydney to Japan on Monday night, when it was diverted to Cairns.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) allege the man was heavily intoxicated and was abusive towards the crew and other passengers.

He had to be forcibly restrained by the crew and was arrested when the plane landed in Cairns, police said.

Assistant commissioner Shane Connelly said the public needed to remember that when they travelled on an aircraft their behaviour was subject to Australian laws.

"Enough is enough. An aircraft captain and co-pilot can ill-afford to be distracted from their duties of safely flying an aircraft by having to deal with drunk, violent or disorderly passengers," he said.

"The cabin crew are there to make your flight safe and enjoyable.

"They should not have to restrain violent passengers, be abused or assaulted, or be interfered with in conducting their duties."

AFP responded to more than 1000 alcohol-related incidents at Australia's 10 major airports during the 2011-12 financial year.

Out of those incidents, 145 were for offences related to offensive and disorderly behaviour and excessive alcohol consumption.

AFP said the plane was forced to dump its fuel load when it diverted to Cairns and the airline would seek to recover significant costs.

The man was due to face Cairns Magistrate Court on Tuesday charged with smoking in an aircraft, disorderly and offensive behaviour on board an aircraft, and interfering with crew or aircraft.

The offences carry a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment.

He will also be charged with assaulting crew general, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.

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RBTs helped to slash road toll: NSW police

NSW marks the 30th anniversary of random breath testing (RBT) this week with a pledge to keep up the fight against drink-driving over summer.

The late Labor MP George Paciullo was the champion of RBT, which was first conducted in the Sydney suburbs of Granville and Guildford on December 17 1982, at a time when the state's annual road toll stood at 1253.

Thirty years and 85 million RBTs later, there are now 70 per cent fewer deaths on the state's roads, with 364 recorded in 2011, the NSW police department says.

As part of RBT's 30th anniversary, NSW Police Minister Michael Gallacher launched Operation Paciullo last month to honour the former MP.

NSW police officers will perform more than one million RBTs over the summer, having already charged 27 drivers with drink-driving since Operation Paciullo began.

They join more than 545,000 other motorists who have been charged with the offence over the past 30 years.

"Throughout the summer we will be conducting numerous operations, designed to catch dangerous drivers before they hurt or kill themselves or someone else," Assistant Commissioner John Hartley said.

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Shares fall as funds freed up for Trade Me

NEW Zealand shares fell as some investors freed up funds to buy into Fairfax Media's Trade Me selldown and prepared for index changes that will add rest home operators Summerset and Metlifecare to the NZX 50.

The NZX 50 fell 12.68 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 3966.48. Within the index, 21 stocks fell, 20 gained and nine were unchanged. Turnover was $104 million.

NZ Refining, one of two companies that will exit the NZX 50 on December 24, fell 2.9 per cent to $2.35. Goodman Fielder rose 7.8 per cent to 83 cents.

They are being replaced by Summerset Group and Metlifecare, which traded unchanged at $2.23 and $3.10 respectively.

Index-weighted funds must follow suit by tweaking their own holdings.

"Behind the scenes there's a lot going on," said Rickey Ward, equities manager at Tyndall Investment Management. With Trade Me, there have been "transactions to get cash flow to pay for it."

Trade Me stock is halted for the bookbuild as Australia's Fairfax Media sells down its remaining 51 per cent holding. Mr Ward said investors are looking to liquid stocks such as Guinness Peat Group, which is relatively easy to sell during its buyback.

GPG was unchanged at 59 cents, with 5.2 million shares changing hands. Separately, veteran corporate raider Ron Brierley sold down a further A$2.38 million of his holding in the company.

Fletcher Building, the biggest company on the NZX 50, fell 1.5 per cent to $8.14, having climbed 35 per cent this year.

Heartland New Zealand rose about 3 per cent to 69 cents and has gained 37 per cent this year. The Reserve Bank on Monday said it had approved Heartland's application to be a licensed bank, ending a long wait for the lender. The central bank said Heartland has become New Zealand's 22nd registered bank.

Chorus fell 0.4 per cent to $2.69. Telecom fell 0.7 per cent to $2.16.

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Man jailed for threatening NSW judge

A MAN who threatened to shoot a NSW District Court judge in a series of "specific, stark and chilling" death threats has been jailed for at least two years and five months.

Darren Linney, 46, from Queensland, sent three emails to Judge Peter Johnstone between April 10 and April 28 this year, saying he knew where the judge lived and telling him, "Remember Judge Opas. You should join him."

Justice David Opas was shot and killed outside his Sydney home by an unidentified gunman in 1980.

The NSW Supreme Court heard Judge Johnstone presided over a case that Linney's neighbours took against him in February for nuisance, defamation and personal injury.

Judge Johnstone found against Linney and awarded his neighbours nearly $190,000 in damages.

The decision sparked abusive emails from Linney, sent to the judge's associate, in which he wrote, "Just to let you know I will not disappear. Not until you die".

Other threats included, "Maybe you should start digging your own hole. You will rot in hell much quicker and earlier than you anticipate" and, "Nice house you have maggot. I'm glad you won't get to enjoy it much longer".

Linney was arrested in Queensland on May 4 and he pleaded guilty to threatening to cause injury to Judge Johnstone.

In a sentence handed down on Friday, Justice Geoffrey Bellew said Judge Johnstone had suffered substantial emotional harm as a result of the threats.

"What (Linney) did, in blunt terms, was threaten a judicial officer with death," Justice Bellew said.

"He did so in terms that were specific, stark and chilling.

"... It is clear that in sending the emails, and quite apart from their terms, the offender intended to convey, to Judge Johnstone, a threat to his life."

In a statement tendered to the court, Judge Johnstone said the emails had caused him "extreme concern".

"It is not so much the personal abuse, it is the threats," said Judge Johnstone, who has since been appointed President of the Children's Court of NSW.

"In particular, the reference to Justice Opas and an insinuation that Mr Linney knows where I live, and he is proposing to come to my house, have been particularly upsetting."

The court heard Linney now regretted his behaviour, which he described as "brainless".

Linney had told the court he did not know where the judge lived and he had no intention of hurting him.

He said he was "gutted" by the judge's decision, which he said left him bankrupt.

"I wanted him to feel how I had been feeling," he told the court.

Justice Bellew found that despite Linney's expressed apology, he had shown no genuine remorse.

"An offence (such as this) is, by its very nature, a serious offence," he said.

"It strikes at the very heart of the administration of justice."

Justice Bellew jailed Linney for at least two years and five months, with a maximum term of three years, nine months.

Taking into account time already served, he will be eligible for parole in October 2014.

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Sydney man charged over cash and drugs

POLICE seized more than $5000 cash, stolen clothes and substances believed to be cocaine, ice, ecstasy and Oxycontin during a vehicle search on Sydney's north shore.

After pulling over a Land Rover being driven erratically on Burns Bay Road, Lane Cove about 10.30pm (AEDT) on Saturday, police noticed a white substance on the car's dashboard.

They removed the driver and searched the car, finding the cash, drugs and motorcycle clothing believed to have been stolen.

Police said the car will undergo further forensic testing and may be confiscated under proceeds of crime legislation.

The 30-year-old male driver was charged with three counts of supplying a prohibited drug, two counts of possessing a prohibited drug and having goods in custody.

The man was refused bail and he is due to appear before Hornsby Local Court on Monday.

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Young daughter reports Tas double killing

A man and woman have been found dead in an apparent double murder northwest of Hobart, police say. Source: AAP

A NINE-YEAR-OLD girl called police after her mother and her mother's partner were shot dead in Tasmania.

The bodies of a woman, 31, and a man, 34, were found at a property on Hamilton Plains Road at Hamilton, a small rural town 70km from Hobart, about 5am (AEDT) on Sunday.

Detective-Inspector Colin Riley said the alleged gunman, a 59-year-old man, was previously in a relationship with the dead woman.

He was found at Lachlan, 45km away, lying beside a car pulled over to the side of the road, with a gunshot wound to the head.

The man's one-year-old son, whose mother was the dead woman, was unharmed and found inside the car.

Det Insp Riley said the man's gunshot wound was inflicted shortly before or just as a police car arrived.

The man is under police guard at Royal Hobart Hospital in a critical condition after surgery.

Det Insp Riley said the nine-year-old girl called police using a mobile phone.

"It appears to me that the nine-year-old heard what occurred in the house and we are still ascertaining ... what was seen by that child," he told reporters at Hamilton.

Det Insp Riley said the dead couple had been in a relationship and living in the Hamilton house together for about four months.

He said there had been no reports of violence involving the dead woman and her alleged killer.

The children, including a third child who was not in the house at the time of the incident, were being cared for by their grandparents.

Det Insp Riley said the shooting had shocked the close-knit community.

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Qld bans new commercial solariums

New commercial solariums will be banned in Queensland from next year, officials say. Source: AAP

NEW commercial solariums will be banned in Queensland and existing ones will be wound down under new regulations which offer no compensation to the controversial industry.

From January 1, tanning salons won't be able to buy new sunbeds and sunbeds already in use won't be replaced when they break down.

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg says if the industry doesn't end quickly the regulations may be toughened.

He says the changes are in step with community attitudes.

There are currently 120 solaria registered in the state, down from 350 in 2007.

"This ban on new equipment will accelerate the trend away from solaria as existing equipment fails or as licensees relocate, he said.

The government will not compensate the industry and says operators have time to diversify their business.

One solarium worker on the Gold Coast, who didn't want to be named, believes the business where she works will close and she'll be out of work.

"They've put hard work into this business and now because of the changes they will be out of business and that will be sad to see," she told AAP.

She said that each customer signs a consent form which explains the links to cancer and whether to go to a tanning salon should be a personal choice.

"You can get cancer from smoking, from the sun, it's silly to ban just one thing," she said.

However, Cancer Council chief executive Professor Jeff Dunn has commended the health minister for his decision.

He says Queensland has the highest rates of skin cancer in the world - more than 2600 people across the state are diagnosed with melanoma each year - yet it remains the single-most preventable cancer.

"A ban on solariums will eliminate potentially deadly skin cancers linked to sunbed use, no doubt saving the lives of thousands of Queenslanders," he said.

People who use a solarium before the age of 35 have a 75 per cent greater risk of melanoma, the Queensland government says.

The ban does not apply to a solarium used exclusively by a health practitioner for a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure, or those bought for personal use.

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