Tasmania bushfires cut off more towns

PARTS of Tasmania's east coast have been cut off by bushfires as a blaze on the Tasman Peninsula continues to burn out of control.

The east coast holiday town of Coles Bay was isolated on Saturday afternoon by a fire the Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) has upgraded to "very high risk" emergency warning.

More than a dozen properties have been lost south of Bicheno, and Coles Bay Road, south of Apsley River, and the Tasman Highway, south of Tower Hill, are at risk.

The Tasman Peninsula fire that claimed at least 80 properties and left thousands of people isolated on Friday night was still burning out of control on Saturday afternoon.

The main access road, the Arthur Highway, remained closed. Police and commercial boats were being used to ferry in supplies and ferry out people most in need.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the federal government was supporting the fire effort.

"We are working with the state government to support people and make sure that they get through," Ms Gillard told ABC radio.

"My message is there's only one you.

"Everything else in life at the end of the day, no matter how precious, can be replaced.

"What can't be replaced is a human life."

Insurers declared the bushfire-hit towns a catastrophe and police powers were increased when the Tasman Peninsula was declared a serious-incident site.

The Insurance Industry Council of Australia's declaration included the towns of Dunalley, Connellys Marsh, Forcett, Copping, Murdunna, Boomer Bay, Primrose Sands, Susans Bay, Eaglehawk Neck and Taranna.

Electricity company Aurora told people whose power had been cut off to expect delays of several weeks before it was restored. About 300 poles were down on the Tasman Peninsula.

Property losses from the peninsula fire have been huge, with 30 per cent of the buildings in the small community of Dunalley, 55km southeast of Hobart, destroyed. These included the school, police station and bakery.

At Connellys Marsh, 40 per cent of the buildings are gone, including three houses at Copping and several at Primrose Sands.

Twenty houses have been lost around Murdunna.

Several thousand people, many of them tourists, are stranded with access roads closed.

Around 700 are taking refuge at the Port Arthur historic site, another 2000 at a community centre at Nubeena and more than 50 at the Dunalley pub.

Up to 1000 people were reported to have been rescued from beaches by boat overnight, but police could not confirm the number.

They said boats had ferried in 3000 meals as well as fuel, water and medical assistance.

"Where we possibly could, we were moving people out by vessel overnight," Acting Commissioner Scott Tilyard told reporters on Saturday.

"The vast majority of people still remain down there."

No deaths or serious injuries have been confirmed.

A fire in the Derwent Valley northwest of Hobart was affecting the communities of Ellendale and Karanja, but the extent of property damage was unknown.

Conditions across southern Tasmania on Saturday were cooler than on Friday, when Hobart reached 41.8C - its hottest since record keeping began in 1883.

State fire chief Mike Brown said similar conditions in 1967 had resulted in the loss of 2000 homes and 62 lives.

"I would imagine there'll be numerous stories about the heroic and risky approaches that were taken out there," he said.

"The big outcome for us ... is that at the moment there looks to be no loss of life or injuries."

He said this was because of the way "we put out our warnings, and clearly a lot of people did heed those warnings".

People concerned about relatives and friends can call a police hotline on 1800 567 567.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

US plans for fewer troops in Afghanistan

THE US Defence Department has prepared plans for a smaller presence in Afghanistan after the White House insisted on examining the option of leaving fewer troops in the country after 2014 than was initially proposed, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

The newspaper said on Friday the plans now prepared by the Pentagon call for leaving roughly 3,000, 6,000 or 9,000 US troops in the country.

Those troops would launch strikes against militants and continue training the Afghan army and police, who will be responsible for national security more than a decade after a US-led alliance ousted the Taliban regime in 2001.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said the slimmed-down force would focus on preventing Al-Qaeda, which was sheltered by the 1996-2001 Taliban government, from regaining a foothold in the war-shattered nation.

General John Allen, commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, had earlier suggested leaving 6,000 to 15,000 US troops, the Journal pointed out.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai prepares to visit Washington next week to discuss the US security presence after 2014.

The United States and its allies are currently negotiating future troop commitments to Afghanistan on the basis of a formula that calls for US troops to make up two-thirds of any follow-on force, The Journal said.

According to the paper, with a smaller US troop presence, the State Department would also be forced to cut plans for large-scale diplomatic outposts across Afghanistan.

The new plans would heighten the US reliance on drones to monitor and target militants after most manned aircraft and their pilots pull out, the paper said.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

New alerts for Tas fires

THE Tasmania Fire Service has upgraded a bushfire at Forcett southeast of Hobart to emergency warning level with a "high" danger rating.

It says a large, uncontrolled bushfire is burning between Forcett and the Tasman Peninsula.

The fire is one of two for which emergency warnings have been issued, with fire at Bicheno still out of control.

Authorities earlier issued watch and act warnings for fires at Nubeena and Lake Repulse.

The community of Taranna is affected by the latest upgrade and residents are being told it is too late to leave and they should go to a nearby safer place.

The fire has spread south of Murdunna, has spotted as far as Taranna and has active fire edges back to Forcett and Dodges Ferry.

Smoke, embers and ash could fall on the entire Tasman Peninsula.

The Arthur Highway from Old Forcett Road to Eaglehawk Neck, Fulham Road, Sugarloaf Road and Carlton River Road are all closed.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

China kids shelter fire kills at least 7

A FIRE at a private shelter for orphans and abandoned children in central China has killed at least 7 children and left an unknown number injured.

The official website China.org.cn says the fire broke out on Friday morning at the shelter that was being run out of a woman's home in Lankao county of Henan province.

The website cites police at the site as saying many children had been hurt in the fire, though the specific number was not yet available.

China.org.cn says the woman who owned the home, Yuan Lihai, had for years been a street vendor in Lankao when she became locally known for sheltering abandoned children.

Another report says she's taken in more than 100 children over the past two decades.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Man shot in the foot on the Gold Coast

A MAN has been shot in the foot on the Gold Coast.

Police say the 23-year-old showed up at Southport Ambulance Station with a gunshot wound to his foot about 1.15pm (AEST) on Friday.

He was taken to hospital in a stable condition.

Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.

End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fire threatens SA properties

THREE farming properties are under threat as a bushfire burns out of control in grassland and scrub on South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula.

The blaze was among several across the state on Friday as temperatures soared into the high 40s in some centres and reached a scorching 44.5C in Adelaide.

The Country Fire Service said the fire near Currency Creek was moving towards Gilberts Siding and Finniss and was being fought by ground crews, fixed wing aircraft and a water-bombing helicopter.

Another blaze on the Yorke Peninsula was contained during the day.

CFS crews were kept busy monitoring a fireground in the Clare Valley, where a fire was burning within control lines. At Truro, north of Adelaide, a car crash sparked a small fire.

CFS spokesman Mal Watts said while a cooler change was expected to bring some relief to coastal areas of the state on Saturday, fire fighters would remain on high alert.

They were concerned that wind shifts with the temperature change could cause further problems, especially at Currency Creek.

"We are throwing everything that we are able to at incidents as they occur," he said.

"We've got to get through today, then we get a bit of a lull and then we're back into it again next week.

"We can't be complacent. We can't think it's just today."

The Bureau of Meteorology said temperatures in Adelaide would drop to the low 30s on Saturday but forecast a return to very hot conditions for most of next week.

Police were out in force on Friday with 75 operation Nomad patrols deployed to check for suspicious activity in high-risk areas and to keep tabs on known firebugs.

In some cases previous offenders were contacted directly to make them aware police were watching.

The State Emergency Service said it had taken 20 calls to deal with trees dropping limbs in the extreme heat.

With the severe weather affecting most of southern Australia, the CFS said local authorities were in contact with their counterparts interstate to ensure resources were deployed to where they were needed.

"Our operations are seamless. They're not bound by a line on the map," Mr Watts said.

"Bushfires don't have postcodes."

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

An heir for North Korea's Kim Jong-Un?

NORTH Korea's next dynastic succession may have been secured, with TV images of leader Kim Jong-Un's wife suggesting Pyongyang's first lady recently gave birth.

When state TV showed Ri Sol-Ju attending a memorial service for her husband's late father, Kim Jong-Il, in mid-December, she appeared heavily pregnant with her loose-fit traditional dress barely hiding a swollen belly.

But more recent images of her attending an official New Year's party showed her wearing a well-fitted two-piece skirt suit with no physical sign of pregnancy.

Speculation was fuelled by the official performance, which included an all-woman band singing a version of the Christmas favourite When a Child is Born made popular by Johnny Mathis.

South Korean television and newspapers on Thursday ran before-and-after photos with speculative captions.

"The bulging stomach has gone down ... has Ri Sol-Ju given birth?" asked the Dong-A Ilbo daily.

"Ri Sol-Ju with her tummy reduced in 11 days. Has she come out right after childbirth?" ran the caption in the Chosun Ilbo daily.

A South Korean government official, quoted by Yonhap news agency, said Ri "appeared to have already given birth, based on analysis of the TV images".

The fact that Kim Jong-Un even had a wife was only revealed in July last year when pictures emerged of a stylishly dressed young woman accompanying the new young leader at official events.

Pyongyang's state media confirmed her identity later in the same month. A rare move in the isolated and deeply patriarchal nation, which has rarely placed its first ladies under the spotlight.

According to intelligence reports cited by the South Korean media, the couple were married in 2009 and already have one child, although that has never been confirmed.

Ri was described as coming from an ordinary family, with her father an academic and her mother a doctor. She visited South Korea in 2005 as a cheerleader for her country's squad in the Asian Athletics Championships.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Labor MPs agree it's tough to live on dole

Jenny Macklin's Labor colleagues are refusing to say whether they too could survive on the dole. Source: AAP

LABOR MPs have continued to distance themselves from comments by Families Minister Jenny Macklin, who caused a furore by claiming she could survive on the dole.

Ms Macklin angered welfare groups by claiming she could live on Newstart payments of $246 a week - or about $35 a day - while defending cuts to single parents' benefits.

The minister, who earns about $850 a day, has since been challenged to prove it, while her Labor colleagues have dodged answering whether they too could survive on the dole.

Treasurer Wayne Swan admitted it would be tough to survive on $35 a day, which was why the government offered low-income families a range of "generous" extra payments.

Newstart was indexed annually against inflation and was boosted by additional benefits such as the School Kids Bonus and Family Tax Benefits A and B, he added.

"For people on low incomes they're very generous payments," Mr Swan told reporters on the Sunshine Coast on Thursday.

"We make them because we're a Labor government that absolutely understands it's tough to get by on low incomes."

He refused to say whether he could live on the dole, or whether the Gillard government would continue increasing the Newstart allowance.

The Australian Council of Social Service claims Newstart hasn't been increased in real terms for nearly 20 years and must be raised by $50 per week to prevent worsening poverty in Australia.

Ms Macklin's comments also drew the ire of the 84,000 single parents eligible for parenting payments, who since January 1 are being moved to the Newstart allowance when their youngest child turns eight.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union joined a growing chorus on Thursday calling for Newstart to be increased, arguing it keeps the jobless in poverty and makes it difficult for them to find work.

"On 35 bucks a day you can barely feed and clothe yourself, let alone pay rent or a mortgage, catch public transport or drive a car to a job interview," national secretary Paul Bastian said in a statement.

Health Minister Tanya Plibersek also wouldn't say if she could get by on $35 a day, but conceded it would be very hard to live on an income support payment.

"I don't think anyone thinks it's easy to live on Newstart," Ms Plibersek told ABC radio on Thursday.

The government understood the challenges of surviving on income support, which was why Labor had put extra money into age and disability pensions and carers allowances, she added.

Acting Greens leader Adam Bandt has challenged Ms Macklin to join him in living off the dole for a week, prompting Housing Minister Brendan O'Connor to accuse the MP of patronising those on the payments.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Toddlers narrowly escape drowning

TWO toddler brothers have been rescued after nearly drowning in a backyard pool in Sydney's southwest.

A two-year-old boy was found at the bottom of a pool at a Padstow home on Wednesday morning. His younger sibling was floating at the top.

According to an Ambulance NSW spokesman, the parents of the children jumped in and rescued them, with the father performing CPR on one of the children, who was revived at the scene.

Both children are recovering in Westmead Children's Hospital.

"This is a good example of why knowing CPR is so important, especially for families with young children," the spokesman said.

"In this case the father performing CPR may have averted a tragedy".

The gate lock on the pool at the rental home was faulty, according to Blacktown City Council.

In a statement, the council said it inspected the pool fence after the incident, issuing compliance orders for a faulty gate latch and a loose section of fencing.

According to the statement, the property agent has agreed to immediately rectify the problems.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Foxtel feels viewer backlash over changes

Subscription TV giant Foxtel is facing a customer backlash over changes to its movie content. Source: AAP

REDUCING the number of movie channels but not the subscription fee has been a horror for customers and a drama for Foxtel.

From January 1, the subscription TV giant moved to just one movie package of 11 channels (movies/drama), which includes two channels repeating the same programs two hours later.

The new offering also splits movie content into genres.

Previously there were two packages and a total of 15 channels, with four of them repeating content two hours after it was initially screened.

The reduction in the number of packages and channels, but not the subscription per month for those who were previously paying for both packages, has caused a major backlash.

Subscribers have vented their anger on Foxtel's Facebook page with more than 600 posts criticising the change.

"If the range of new movies doesn't increase and the cost doesn't stay the same then it'll back to DVD's and downloads.... even back to cinemas....," wrote Dennis Radisich.

Bruce Foster wrote: "Expect my call tomorrow Foxtel, I'm cancelling my Movies subscription! Refuse to pay for the reduced channels for the same price! Oh and if you send me a price increase in the next month or so expect me to cancel the lot!!"

Foxtel's director of corporate affairs Bruce Meagher said the call centre had received more telephone calls than usual about the new movie channel package.

However, he said most subscribers who called were satisfied with the changes once they were told they would not be worse off.

He said once Foxtel had finalised movie deals with Disney and MGM, subscribers would be the winners.

"We are significantly increasing our on demand library so that will also increase the number of movies available," Mr Meagher told AAP.

"We would say they are no worse off and over time they will be far better off.

"The experience we are getting in the call centre, because they are getting calls as well, once that is explained to people they are quite OK about it.

"What we have to do on Facebook is go back and start directly addressing it which is what we are working today."

Meagher said having two less time shifted channels was not really an issue, because a lot of subscribers used an IQ box to record movies.

He said customers who were only subscribing to one of the two previous movie packages were being catered for.

Streamlining the movie channels would mean less "straight to DVD" content being aired and there would also be an increase in the number of movies available on-demand.

"We are significantly increasing our on-demand library so that will also increase the number of movies available even though they are not on a channel," he said.

"For those who only took one of the movie packages before, there are grandfathering arrangements so they will get the same number of channels as they had before."

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

US Congress finally averts fiscal cliff

THE US Congress has finally backed a deal to avert a "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and massive spending cuts that had threatened to unleash economic calamity.

The deal increases taxes on the rich and puts off $US109 billion ($A105 billion) budget cuts for two months, lifting the clouds of immediate crisis.

The deal's fate had hung in the balance for hours as House conservatives sought to add spending reductions to a version passed by the Senate in the early hours of 2013.

In the end, the House voted 257 votes to 167 to pass the original bill after a fiercely contested and unusual session on New Year's Day.

President Barack Obama, who campaigned for re-election on a platform of building a more equitable economic system, declared the deal was a promise kept, despite falling short of earlier hopes for a grand deficit bargain.

"I will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest two per cent of Americans while preventing a middle class tax hike that could have sent the economy back into recession," Obama told reporters after the vote.

"The deficit needs to be reduced in a way that's balanced. Everyone pays their fair share. Everyone does their part," Obama said, before heading to Air Force One to resume his interrupted annual holiday in his native Hawaii.

Had the deal splintered, all Americans would have been hit by tax increases and the spending cuts would have kicked in across the government, in a combined $US500 billion shock that could have rocked the fragile recovery.

The House vote took place after a conservative rebellion fizzled when it became clear there were not sufficient votes in the restive Republican caucus to send an amended version of the bill cuts back to the Senate.

Republican party leaders ultimately feared they would carry the can if the deal collapsed, leaving Americans enraged by higher taxes and the prospect that an economy slowly recovering from crisis could be plunged back into recession.

The political feuding which spanned the Christmas and New Year holidays reflected the near impossibility in forging compromise in Washington, where power is divided between a Democratic president and the Republican House.

It was also a signal that Obama, despite a thumping re-election win in November, may find it tough to achieve second-term legislative goals that include immigration reform, clean energy legislation and gun control.

The truce in dysfunctional Washington is likely to be brief, given the fight that will ensue over the spending cuts that now loom at the end of February.

This fights will be paralleled by one over Obama's request for Congress to lift the country's $US16 trillion borrowing limit. Republicans are already demanding concessions on expenditures in return for allowing it to rise.

Stock markets, which had been likely to plunge if the deal had foundered, reacted positively to the news with indices in Asia rising sharply.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bali pool death at private home not club

Bali police are investigating the suspicious death of a Qld woman who was found dead in a pool. Source: AAP

A QUEENSLAND woman found dead in Bali was found at her home, not the beach club where she worked, her employers say.

Indonesian police are investigating the death of 33-year-old Denni North, who was found facedown in a pool on the resort island on December 30.

She had been working as a guest relations consultant at the Cocoon Beach Club and her death is reportedly being treated as suspicious.

The club released a statement on Facebook on Wednesday saying Ms North had been found dead in a swimming pool at her home, not at the club as has been reported.

"We cannot comment on any details of her death but would like to confirm the incident did not occur at Cocoon but at her private residence, we do not believe it to be suspicious but the police are investigating," it said.

Ms North, from Deception Bay north of Brisbane, reportedly frequented the beach club as a customer and was later offered a job there.

The club has offered assistance to her family, the police and the Australian consulate.

"She was a vivacious and beautiful young woman and we are incredibly saddened by her death and send our deepest condolences to her family and many friends," the statement said.

Meanwhile, tributes are flowing to the Facebook page RIP Denni North, created as an online memorial.

"You are an angel that was taken from us to soon .. RIP Beautiful xx," wrote friend Samantha Knight.

Leanne Forbes posted a Youtube link to the Sarah McLachlan hit Angel, while friend Jackie Blake posted a photo of herself and Denni at a costume party.

"Ever the Rock star .... Lost count of the times you made me almost spurt wine from my nose with laughter! God we will miss you and your hilarious story telling funny girl xoxo," Ms Blake wrote.

A recent guest at the club, Veronica Bulline, said she was very sad to hear about the death of the "beautiful and bubbly young girl".

"RIP Denni, you made the Cocoon such a wonderful place to be for all us Australians. My thoughts go out to her family," the post said.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

House destroyed in 'suspicious' fire

A Melbourne house has been destroyed in a suspicious early morning fire, police say. Source: AAP

A MELBOURNE house has been destroyed in a suspicious fire.

Fire crews arrived shortly after 5.30am (AEDT) on Tuesday to find a single storey weatherboard house ablaze in the western suburb of Albion.

The fire was so fierce that an entire block of units had to be evacuated as more than 10 unit windows were broken by the intense heat, a Melbourne Fire Brigade (MFB) statement said.

A two-storey house on the east side was also evacuated but did not sustain any fire damage.

Crews brought the blaze under control in 25 minutes, but it took more than two hours to extinguish.

A search confirmed that there were no occupants in the house.

The damage bill has been estimated at $300,000 and the cause listed as "suspicious", the statement said.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Vic Police happy despite 356 NYE arrests

Victoria Police has praised the behaviour of New Year's Eve revellers. Source: AAP

VICTORIA Police has praised the behaviour of New Year's Eve revellers, saying the majority of people were well-behaved.

Across the state, 356 people were arrested overnight, including 240 arrests of drunk people, but Deputy Commissioner Tim Cartwright said this was an improvement on the 400 arrests of drunk people in 2010.

"When we look back two years ago we arrested 400 people for drunk, last night it was 240 drunk," Mr Cartwright told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday.

"(It's) still too many, but it's good to see that we've got some improvement."

He said a small number of people did the wrong thing, but they were dealt with by police.

Officers made 182 arrests for assaults and recorded 55 drink driving offences, a number Mr Cartwright said was disappointing.

In the seaside town of Lorne, a 18-year-old man was stabbed in the chest during a fight at about 11.45pm (AEDT).

He was taken by air ambulance to Melbourne's The Alfred hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Ambulance crews were kept busy attending dozens of jobs including many drug overdoses.

A 15-year-old boy was one of more than 30 people to overdose in country Victoria.

Ambulance Victoria operations manager Paul Holman said crews were extremely busy after midnight attending a number of violent incidents including glassings and assaults.

"We have been flat-out since midnight, every available paramedic resource has been used, not only in the CBD, but right across Melbourne," he told reporters early on Tuesday morning.

A 22-year-old man in Melbourne suffered burns to his forearm and hand when fireworks he was holding exploded in his hand.

He was taken to The Alfred hospital with burns.

The police blitz of Melbourne's CBD resulted in 39 drunk and 17 assault arrests.

Melbourne City Council estimates about 550,000 people packed into the CBD to watch the fireworks, with Mr Cartwright saying the decision to spread out fireworks helped with crowd control.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fiscal cliff fix not enough: Carr

Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr says the temporary fix to avoid the "fiscal cliff" is not enough. Source: AAP

THE short term agreement to head off the "fiscal cliff" in the United States is not enough, Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr says.

The White House and top Republicans have struck a deal to avert huge New Year tax hikes and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff" that had threatened to send the US economy into recession.

The pact would raise taxes on the richest Americans - those earning over $US450,000 ($A436,000) a year - but exempt everyone else, and will put off $US109 billion ($A105.63 billion) in budget cuts across the government for two months, top congressional aides said late on Monday (local time).

But Senator Carr said the US must go further to convince the world that it was still a world leader.

"We want a longer term agreement that will see America rein in the debt and deficit that have questioned its ability to provide world leadership," Senator Carr told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.

"I've said throughout that America is one budget deal away from resolving the issue of American decline."

Treasurer Wayne Swan said there was more work to be done to achieve a deal the rest of the world needed.

"As the IMF have said, anything short of a deep and wide-reaching resolution will not be good enough this time around," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We will continue to closely monitor these developments because they have a significant impact on the entire global economy, including Australia and our region."

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

More toxic canisters wash up in Qld

MORE canisters containing a potentially lethal chemical have washed up on Queensland beaches.

Three canisters containing aluminium phosphide, which authorities warn can be fatal if inhaled, have been discovered on beaches in central Queensland this month.

A canister was located on Lady Elliot Island on December 10, a second canister was discovered at Rules Beach, while a third was reported to police at Deep Creek south of Gladstone on Sunday morning.

Their discovery comes after four canisters were washed up along a 200-kilometre stretch of coastline from Ayr to Ingham in the months since February.

Police are re-issuing their warning for beachgoers to avoid the canisters if they spot them and immediately call triple zero.

The deadly chemical they contain is used to fumigate ships, and it's believed the canisters came from a passing vessel.

"For safety's sake, should anyone find one, I urge them to immediately report it by calling triple zero," Gladstone District Officer Glenn Kachel said in a statement.

"Do not inspect the contents, open the canister or transport it."

Aluminium phosphide generates phosphine gas when it comes into contact with air or moisture and can also self-ignite in certain conditions.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Brisbane home destroyed in blaze

FIREFIGHTERS are battling a blaze that has caused significant damage to a house in Brisbane's northwest.

Multiple fire crews were called out to the Ferny Grove property just before midday on Sunday and are continuing to fight the blaze.

There are no reports of anyone being hurt in the fire, nor is anyone believed to be missing from the house.

Fire investigators are already at the scene in an attempt to determine the cause of the blaze and whether it is suspicious.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Australia ready to welcome in 2013

A GLITTERING night planned by pop princess Kylie Minogue will lead New Year's Eve celebrations throughout Australia.

And the famous Sydney fireworks that are shown around the world are promising not to disappoint.

As creative ambassador for Sydney's event, Minogue developed the event's theme "embrace" and chose its colour scheme and soundtrack.

"I love the concept of embrace - it can mean so many different things, and I'm looking forward to embracing new possibilities for the next year," Minogue told reporters.

She will be honoured with a one-of-a-kind sparkling musical-note firework.

The semiquaver will be one of 100,000 individual pyrotechnic creations this year, including brand-new koala, octopus and hand images up in lights.

"What we aim to do (each year) is to make it the best one - for people to go away and say 'that was the best display I've ever seen'," fireworks director Fortunato Foti said.

For those cities that don't have Kylie, there will still be celebrations with families, friends, champagne and fireworks.

Most capital cities are hosting two lots of fireworks - one around 9pm for families and another at midnight.

Melbourne's skyline will be lit up like never before as New Year's Eve fireworks are launched from building tops across the city.

The City of Melbourne is expecting more than half a million people to flock to the city to welcome in 2013, with three official live sites featuring entertainment at Flagstaff Gardens, Treasury Gardens and Docklands.

At midnight, fireworks will be launched from 22 sites across the city - 18 from buildings.

"So the message is, if you can see the city skyline, then you will see the fireworks on New Year's Eve," Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said.

Fireworks will light up Brisbane's CBD with Southbank Parklands the place to be.

On the Gold Coast, organisers of the Surfers Paradise New Year's Eve celebrations are hoping a superhero theme will bring a more family-friendly crowd.

Children are being invited to dress up as their favourite superhero before attending one of the biggest fireworks shows in the state, with more than 10,000 fireworks to be released from Surfers Paradise beach.

Adelaide is also going for family-friendly events with thousands expected to gather at the venues - Elder Park in the city and at seaside Glenelg.

Organisers will keep drinkers separate from other partygoers at Elder Park.

A heatwave in Perth is likely to continue with 40C forecast for New Year's Eve before dropping to 36C on New Year's Day.

However, that's not expected to keep people away from the festivities.

Events include the City of Perth's free outdoor New Year's Eve Northbridge party.

And Hobart will get a chance to show off its newfound hipness to thousands in town for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race and Tasmania's biggest event, The Taste Festival near Salamanca Place.

Proving Tasmania is the world's new avant-garde capital, American rockers The Flaming Lips will give up their annual Freakout New Year's Eve gig in the US to bring in 2013 at The Falls Festival east of Hobart.

And to prove it's not too cool, there will be fireworks.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More