Libs promise $12m to protect firefighters

THE West Australian Liberal party has promised to invest $12.34 million to protect firefighters caught in bushfires.

The investment is aimed at preventing tragedies such as the 2011 death of firefighter Wendy Bearfoot, a mother of three who died in an Albany fire when a change in wind direction turned flames on her truck.

Emergency services minister Troy Buswell said the promised measures, which would be introduced if the party retained power in the March 9 election, included water spray systems to wet the vehicle and surrounding areas.

Fire trucks would also be fitted with in-cab breathing systems and GPS devices that could send distress signals and allow the vehicle to be tracked on a web-based mapping system.

The vehicles would also be heat-shielded.

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Australian soldier killed in road accident

POLICE are investigating the death of an off-duty Australian soldier who was killed by a truck and trailer near Christchurch.

The soldier, who had been working with the New Zealand Army, was walking along State Highway 1 near Rolleston when he was hit about 12.30am on Saturday.

He died at the scene, police say.

The driver of the truck has been interviewed and police investigations are continuing.

The New Zealand Defence Force says the man's next of kin have been informed.

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No buried Spitfires in Myanmar

THE sponsor of a British-led team hunting for dozens of rare World War II Spitfires said to have been buried in Myanmar has abandoned the search, saying stories of the stashed planes are merely "legend".

Rumours that dozens of the iconic single-seat aircraft were buried in 1945 by Britain, the former colonial power in what was then Burma, had excited military history enthusiasts, but surveys at Yangon airport in the Mingaladon district have failed to bear fruit.

The project backer, online game company Wargaming, said the team "now believes, based on clear documentary evidence, as well as the evidence from the fieldwork, that no Spitfires were delivered in crates and buried at RAF Mingaladon during 1945 and 1946".

Lead archaeologist Andy Brockman said the investigation into the stories of buried Spitfires was undertaken in the spirit of US television forensic police series "CSI" (Crime Scene Investigation).

"We followed the clues in the documents, period maps, pictures and air photographs; we talked to surviving witnesses, and visited the 'crime scene' in order to turn our study in the archives into facts on the ground," he said.

"As a result we believe that the legend of the buried Spitfires of Burma is just that: a captivating legend about a beautiful and iconic aircraft."

In a statement released late on Friday, Wargaming said the search for Spitfires in Myanmar was rooted in persistent rumours that began among servicemen in "the bars and canteens of South East Asia" as early as 1946.

It added that no surviving witnesses had actually seen planes being buried and that its research in British archives had failed to produce any evidence of the arrival of the aircraft in Myanmar in the latter months of the war.

But a local businessman involved in the project, Htoo Htoo Zaw, on Saturday vowed to continue the planned digs in the northern city of Myitkyina and Yangon airport, signalling a split within the team.

"We haven't started any digging yet. So how can we say for sure whether there are Spitfires or not?" he told AFP.

It was unclear to what extent the excavations would continue and project leader David Cundall -- a farmer and aircraft enthusiast who has spent around 17 years chasing the Spitfires -- was not immediately reachable for comment.

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Crean confirms no redesign of mining tax

A SENIOR Labor minister has reaffirmed the government does not intend to redesign its mining tax as it continues negotiations to stop the states jacking up their mining royalties.

Minister for Regional Australia Simon Crean on Friday clarified comments he made earlier in the day that there was a design flaw in the minerals resource rent tax (MRRT) that needed changing.

"No, the tax is not being redesigned," the one-time Labor leader later told reporters in Canberra.

Under the 30 per cent MRRT on the super profits of coal and iron ore miners, companies' state royalties are credited back to them if they are liable for MRRT, including any increases in royalty rates imposed by the states.

Treasurer Wayne Swan blames increased state royalties and a slump in commodity prices for the fact MRRT revenue came to a paltry $126 million in its first six months of operation, when it was forecast to bring in $2 billion over 2012/13.

The opposition were quick to jump on Mr Crean's initial comments, saying he had come clean on "secret plans" to redesign the tax that was handcrafted by Mr Swan and Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

"Now that Simon Crean has told the truth about the government's secret plans, Australian businesses deserve to know what changes Labor are planning to the mining tax, and how they will affect business," shadow treasurer Joe Hockey and shadow assistant treasurer Mathias Cormann said in a joint statement.

A spokeswoman for Mr Swan, who is in Moscow for the G20 Finance Ministers meeting, reiterated that the GST distribution review panel concluded that the current treatment of royalties under the MRRT was "unsustainable and undesirable".

She said Mr Crean was restating comments made repeatedly by the treasurer and prime minister this week.

"Just as it was with putting a price on carbon pollution, the coalition will stop at absolutely nothing to peddle baseless misinformation campaigns," she said.

Meanwhile, two business groups have traded blows over interest rates.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has launched a national push to get the major banks to reduce their interest rates by 25 basis points.

It argues that the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) most recent board decision pointed to easing global conditions that have narrowed lending risks and caused more favourable wholesale funding costs.

"Keeping a portion of a customer's interest rate cut on an ongoing basis when the problem is not ongoing is highway robbery," the chamber's chief executive Peter Anderson says.

"As the global situation has changed so should the price they now charge."

But Australian Bankers' Association chief executive Steven Munchenberg said ACCI's claims were incorrect and that the RBA in last Friday's statement on monetary policy estimated that funding costs had been broadly unchanged over the past three months.

"ACCI's call is based on both false claims and a profound lack of understanding of how monetary policy works," Mr Munchenberg said in a statement.

"This is very disappointing."

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WA axe murderer given 20-year sentence

A CAREER criminal who killed an elderly woman with blows from a tomahawk after she disturbed him robbing her house will spend at least the next 20 years in a Perth prison.

Colin Peter Casey, 52, had earlier admitted to murdering 73-year-old grandmother Helen Bromley at her Mandurah home, south of Perth, on October 8, 2010 after he was caught attempting to steal money to feed his $250-a-day methylamphetamine habit.

WA's Supreme Court was told when Casey was confronted by Mrs Bromley on her patio, he panicked, picked up the nearby axe and smashed her in the back of the head twice.

The horrific head injuries caused massive blood loss and exposed Mrs Bromley's brain.

But despite her injuries, Casey merely covered her body with carpet mats and continued to steal jewellery before fleeing.

Her lifeless body remained there until she was discovered by members of her family some 36 hours later.

Casey remained on the run for 11 months, and even did an interview with a local newspaper complaining about escalating violence in the area when he was the victim of a robbery himself.

But he was caught after police intercepted a phone call between Casey and a woman, in which he admitted the offence and threatened the woman with reprisals if she betrayed him.

Justice Eric Heenan said the level of violence used to kill Mrs Bromley was compounded by Casey's lack of remorse at the time, and since.

"The offender's lack of concern for the dying victim is a stark demonstration of inhumane and selfish disregard," Justice Heenan said.

"There was no concern for her welfare, and little, if any, appreciation of the enormity of the violence used or its consequences."

Outside court, Mrs Bromley's granddaughter Rachel Dawe said the death of the elderly woman had devastated the family.

"It has torn us apart. Especially as the older generation should be the most respected in our society," Ms Dawe said.

"Drugs are never an excuse for this sort of crime, at all."

Justice Heenan said Casey should not be released for 20 years, with the sentence backdated until September 2011.

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Little change for urgent Vic patients: AMA

HOSPITAL waiting times for urgent patients have hardly changed in Victoria, as the health funding dispute between the federal and state governments drags on.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) annual report on public hospitals released on Friday shows little improvement in capacity and waiting times over the past year.

The report says Victorian emergency department performance improved only marginally in 2011-12.

Seventy-two per cent of urgent patients were seen within the recommended time, up from 70 per cent in 2010-11, while elective surgery waiting times remained the same.

National health reforms haven't stopped funding cuts and the "blame game" being played between state and federal governments, the AMA says.

Premier Ted Baillieu has invited Prime Minister Julia Gillard to meet with him to discuss the funding stoush that has forced some hospital bed closures and elective surgery cancellations around the state.

"The facts are undeniable and the prime minister has sought to avoid the issue. She's barely been in Victoria, she's barely been asked any questions about this, and they trot out every excuse in the book."

The federal and state governments are accusing each other of multimillion-dollar cuts to health funding.

The Victorian government says the federal government used wrong population statistics to cut $475 million from the state's health budget over four years.

But federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek says commonwealth funding to Victoria is increasing by $900 million over the next four years and Victoria has taken more than $600 million out of its health system

Ms Plibersek said the AMA report was based on early data.

She told reporters on Friday the commonwealth investment had made a big difference to the health system, but it also required states to keep up their efforts.

"We can't have the federal government doing more and then some states doing less," she said.

The federal and Victorian health ministers have met twice but remain stubbornly deadlocked.

A spokesman for the prime minister said the Victorian government chose to grandstand this week by sending Health Minister David Davis to Canberra without any new ideas on how to provide better health services.

"Ted Baillieu has followed this up with another stunt today: he should stop playing politics with Victorian patients, reverse his $616 million of cuts and start delivering better services," he said.

The AMA report found that hospitals in all states and territories fell short of the national performance target of 80 per cent of urgent patients being seen in the recommended timeframe.

It called for federal and state governments to work together, focus on problems with public hospitals and stop blaming each other.

AMA president Dr Steve Hambleton said delays in emergency room consultations for urgent patients could lead to deaths.

"If there's insufficient beds in the system and we can't get people out of emergency, it does cause harm," Mr Hambleton said.

"We do see unnecessary deaths that we do want to protect against."

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Roses are red, but romance is dead

RED chocolate Valentine's Day roses travelled mysteriously around parliament, but failed to spark an outbreak of cross-party romance.

Not that Thursday's question time - the last for a month - was particularly raucous.

Opposition Chief Whip Warren Entsch brought the roses in for coalition MPs first thing in the morning.

By afternoon they'd spread to some unlikely places, including Julia Gillard's side of the despatch box.

At one point there were four in front of Kevin Rudd.

Some ingenious commentator will surely find leadership significance in this. Let's hope, for Kevin's sake, it doesn't mean only four members of caucus love him.

Actually, Liberal MPs probably had more to do with his growing collection, all in the spirit of love rather than troublemaking, of course.

During the session the opposition remained focused on tax and Wayne Swan was its main target.

Mums and dads made an appearance when Liberal backbencher Jane Prentice suggested to Swan that if they ran their household budgets like he ran the country's they'd soon be broke.

Swan, ever the master of deflecting attacks, replied that mums and dads with a mortgage were paying $5000 less than they would have in John Howard's time.

He continued, with mysterious logic, that Prentice would have mums and dads selling their homes and living in a tent.

At other times the treasurer was plain dismissive.

Christopher Pyne reminded him of his regular boast that Australia's job creation record is unequalled in the world before asking him to explain why several other countries, including Mexico and Chile, were doing better.

"Simply too silly for words," Swan sniffed. It was comparing apples, pears and oranges.

Gillard stretched the meaning of relevance to breaking point.

When Warren Truss asked her to rule out changing the tax treatment of self-managed super funds, she went on at some length about not joining the opposition in attacking the retirement savings of poorer Australians.

Anna Burke finally told her to return to the question, leading Gillard to protest that people were entitled to have the policies contrasted.

The overriding message of this first two parliamentary weeks of the September 14 election year is that the campaign will be another in Bill Clinton's "It's the economy, stupid" tradition.

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US to introduce medal for cyber warriors

THE US military is to introduce a medal for drone pilots and cyber warriors, says outgoing defence head Leon Panetta.

US military personnel working in cyber warfare and piloting drones were not previously eligible for combat medals because they are not engaged in direct combat with the enemy.

Drone pilots and cyber warfare personnel will be eligible for the Distinguished Warfare Medal.

"I've seen firsthand how modern tools, like remotely piloted platforms and cyber systems, have changed the way wars are fought," Panetta said on Wednesday.

Chuck Hagel is due to replace Panetta, 74.

Panetta was director of the CIA until 2011 when he took over at the Pentagon.

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Chinese take $452 million stake in Alumina

CHINESE government-owned CITIC has taken a 13 per cent stake in Alumina for $452 million, sending shares in the smelter investor to their highest level in almost a year.

But enthusiasm for the stock eased later as analysts said the deal would not allow CITIC to move towards controlling Alumina's prime assets in Victoria.

Alumina shares were nine cents, or 7.5 per cent, higher at $1.29 on Thursday but had been as high as $1.405 earlier in the day, their highest level since March 2012.

Under the deal, CITIC will buy more than 366 million new Alumina shares at $1.235 a share, which will equate to just over 13 per cent of Alumina's total share base.

Alumina said the Chinese government-owned investment firm would be a strategically aligned and financially strong long-term investor.

"CITIC's investment demonstrates their confidence in the alumina industry and their understanding of Alumina Ltd's unique position in the global market," Alumina chief executive John Bevan said in a statement.

Proceeds of the share sale will be used to reduce debt.

Melbourne-based Alumina's only earning asset is its 40 per cent stake in Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals (AWAC), with Alcoa holding the controlling remaining 60 per cent.

AWAC owns aluminium smelters at Portland and the struggling Point Henry plant, near Geelong, both in Victoria.

CMC Markets analyst Michael McCarthy said said CITIC's stake appeared to be more of a long-term investment than a strategic stake in the AWAC project.

"They don't have a majority control over the asset so they wouldn't be in a position to acquire it or run it even if they do take Alumina over," Mr McCarthy said.

"The market reaction appears to be suggesting this is a strategic stake."

CITIC's investment was a classic counter-cyclical move by the Chinese.

"People must have been speculating that CITIC was looking at upping its stake."

Aluminium is one of the world's lagging commodities, largely due to the power inputs required to refine bauxite to alumina and to aluminium.

Falling aluminium prices and the high Australian dollar have put Alumina under financial pressure, swinging to a loss of $US14.6 million ($A14.19 million) in the first half of calendar 2012.

China's overproduction of aluminium has driven down prices that were above $US3,000 a tonne before the global financial crisis and were trading around $US2,143 a tonne on Thursday.

Weaknesses in the global economy in 2012 have hurt demand for aluminium used in products such as aircraft, cars, drink cans, the construction industry and other appliances.

Alumina, which is among Australia's top 100 companies by market capitalisation, will release its results for the full year on February 21.

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US police deny ex-cop's body found

US police have denied reports that a body has been found in a burnt-out cabin where fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner was believed to have barricaded himself.

Media reports that a body has been found in the cabin near Big Bear, east of Los Angeles, and identified as Dorner's are false, says Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) spokesman Andrew Smith.

"That cabin is still too hot to enter. There has been nobody located and it has not been searched. The fire is too hot. Any reports of a body being found are not true," he told reporters on Tuesday.

Dorner, 33, was cornered in the snow-covered mountains after reportedly stealing a car near Big Bear.

He abandoned it and took refuge in a cabin, where a firefight broke out in which one policeman died and another was injured.

A single gunshot was heard as police moved in on a remote mountain cabin where former US policeman and suspected cop killer Christopher Dorner was barricaded, the LA Times says.

A Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) spokesman was meanwhile cited as saying the force believed that Dorner had died inside the burning cabin near Big Bear, in the mountains east of Los Angeles.

Officers broke the cabin windows, pumped in tear gas and called for Dorner to surrender over a loudspeaker, the LA Times said on Tuesday.

When they got no reply, they deployed a vehicle to rip down the cabin walls.

It did so "one by one, like peeling an onion", a law enforcement official told the newspaper. When it got to the last wall, a single gunshot was heard, before flames began to spread through the structure.

KTLA 5 television cited LAPD spokesman Andrew Smith as saying: "We believe he is dead. We believe he was in that cabin. We believe he was burned up in that cabin."

Smith had earlier said that the LAPD was getting its information from the San Bernadino County Sheriff's office, the lead agency in the operation near Big Bear, two hours to the east of Los Angeles.

San Bernadino Sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Bachman confirmed that one deputy had been killed and another injured in an exchange with Dorner, who has been on the run since last week when he allegedly killed three people.

The suspect was "described as looking similar to Christopher Dorner, and we have reason to believe it is him", she said, while adding: "That is unconfirmed at this time."

Police launched a massive manhunt last week for Dorner, who had already been accused of killing three people, and threatened to kill other police in a chilling online manifesto.

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Nannup homes threatened by bushfire

AN unpredictable bushfire in Western Australia's Blackwood Valley is threatening lives and homes.

Residents south of Spring Valley Road, west of Maranup Ford Road, north of Southampton Road and east of the area between Glenarden Road and Cassia Road in the Donnybrook-Balingup, Bridgetown-Greenbushes and Nannup shires must act immediately, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) says.

"There is a threat to lives and homes," the DFES statement on Wednesday said.

Residents are being told to leave via Southampton Road to Brockman Highway, or Maranup Ford Road towards Bridgetown.

The fire started at River Road on Tuesday, has crossed the river and is burning in a south-easterly direction. It is out of control and unpredictable.

The Bibbulmun Track, including Kings Hut, is closed between Balingup and Donnelly River Village.

Two more less serious fires are also burning in the Nannup area, and are thought to have been started by lightning.

More than 130 personnel from the Department of Environment and Conservation, DFES, the Forest Products Commission and local volunteer bushfire brigades are working on fires in the area.

Firefighters are being assisted by four water bombers and a helicopter.

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30,000 Vic teachers striking: union

MORE than 30,000 Victorian teachers and school staff are expected to take mass strike action on Thursday in pursuit of higher pay.

About 170 schools are set to close out of about 660 primary and secondary schools taking part in the mass 24-hour strike, according to union figures.

Rallies are planned in Melbourne and regional Victoria as part of a two-year industrial dispute between the Australian Education Union (AEU) and the Victorian government.

School staff will meet at 10.30am (AEDT) at Hisense Arena in Melbourne and then march to Parliament House.

A regional rally will be held in Mildura at the same time.

The AEU estimates more than 30,000 school staff will stop work, with Victorian branch president Meredith Peace saying it is time the government put a fair offer on the table.

"Tomorrow's statewide strike will send a clear message to the state government that enough is enough and it must invest more in public education," Ms Peace said in a statement.

"Victorian teachers are now the second lowest paid in the country."

The strike will go ahead following a failed court bid last week by the Victorian government to stop it.

Ms Peace said the action was not taken lightly.

"It is crucial to ensure quality teachers, principals and education support staff remain in this state and in our profession," she said.

"It is time for the state government to treat Victoria's public school staff with the respect they deserve and resolve this dispute without further delay."

The AEU revised its offer to the government in November, offering 4.2 per cent per year over three years, but it failed to resolve the dispute.

Ms Peace said the offer was comparable to teacher salaries in NSW and South Australia and in line with the deal the Victorian government achieved with police.

Education Minister Martin Dixon will address reporters on Wednesday afternoon.

Mr Dixon said the strike action would be disappointing and disruptive to families and businesses.

"Victoria's teacher performance management system is broken, we want to fix it. That's what tomorrow's strike's about," he told reporters in Melbourne.

"We've got a system that's broken whereby the best teacher in the school is paid the same as the worst teacher. That's what we need to change and they're the sort of issues we're talking with the union about.

"We call on the union to call off the strike and work with us to fix that system."

Mr Dixon said the government is working to minimise the disruption.

Government figures show so far about 65 per cent of school staff are taking part in strike action and 300 schools will not have students, he said.

Mr Dixon said principals have told the government there will be adequate supervision put in place at schools.

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China warned N Korea against blast: envoy

NORTH Korea ignored a "strong warning" from China against staging its suspected nuclear weapon test, a UN diplomat says.

The 15-nation UN Security Council warned the North in a resolution passed last month that it would take "significant" action in the event of a new test or missile launch, and the body has called an emergency session for 1400 GMT on Tuesday (0100 AEDT Wednesday).

The United States and South Korea, the council president for February, had both called for firm measures against North Korea if it stages a nuclear test.

China, the isolated North's closest ally, made special efforts to try to head off the bomb test, said the UN diplomat who has taken part in recent consultations.

"The Chinese gave the North Koreans a strong warning against carrying out a test as it became apparent that it was imminent," said the diplomat.

China has "special means of communications" with the entourage of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, the envoy added.

"What the North Koreans have done now is a big challenge to the Chinese. There have been consultations in recent days, and in all likelihood China, Russia and the United States will quickly agree that tough action now has to be taken," the diplomat said.

The envoy added that sanctions may not be agreed upon on Tuesday but the "intention" would be made clear.

After North Korea's nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, and North Korea's sinking of a South Korean warship in 2010, it took weeks for the Security Council to agree on statements and sanctions.

China has traditionally shielded its neighbour against international action, warning Western powers against any measures that could cause instability so close to its frontier.

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Church ponders choices for next pope

WHO will be the next pope? Cardinals who elect Benedict XVI's successor later this month must choose a leader capable of guiding the church through a difficult period, marred by scandals, internal tensions and growing secularism.

Benedict's rule has been criticised as overly "eurocentric" in some quarters and Vatican watchers say the college of cardinals set to meet in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican for the secret vote may seize the moment to elect a Latin-American, African or Asian pope.

Others say 85-year-old Benedict may call on the cardinals to elect someone younger, who is less likely to suffer failing health early in his mandate.

"His decision to step down will have a big influence on the choice of the future pope. The old must make way for the young. The church needs it," said Marco Politi, Vatican expert and author of a celebrated biography on Benedict.

Among those tipped as candidates are Canadian Marc Ouellet and the Archbishop of Milan, Angelo Scola, though some analysts have said they are likely to be considered as not charismatic enough to revive faith amid rising secularism.

Previous hot tickets Peter Erdo, from Hungary, and the pope's Austrian friend Christoph Schoenborn, have recently dropped in favour, while American Timothy Dolan is increasingly tipped for his mediation skills - key in helping the Vatican overhaul its image in modern society following a damaging wave of clerical child abuse scandals.

Writing on US website National Review Online, American priest and political and cultural commentator, Father Robert Sirico said Cardinals Ouellet and Scola were the favourites, but also added "even Cardinal George Pell from Australia" was a chance.

The bookies don't think so though, with Ladbrokes listing Cardinal Pell at 66/1, behind 28 other candidates.

Ladbrokes installed Ouellet as their favourite at 3/1, with Ghanaian Peter Turkson at 4/1, while Scola and Nigeria's Francis Arinze are at 5/1.

William Hill, Britain's largest bookmaker, offered odds of 3/1 for Arinze, with Ouellet and Turkson at 7/2.

While bookmakers had given even odds on the choice of Joseph Ratzinger in April 2005, no-one had foreseen Karol Wojtyla's surprise election in 1978.

Frontrunners in Latin America - which boasts the largest number of practicing Catholics in the world - are Claudio Hummes and Joao Braz de Aviz.

Progressives favour Honduran Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, head of Caritas Internationalis, but he is considered by the Church's more traditional members to lean too far left, and is unlikely to win the two-thirds majority needed.

Among the outsiders to watch, experts note dynamic Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle - the Church's second youngest cardinal, appointed just last year at 55 years old - is very popular in Asia and is rising fast within the Vatican.

There are 118 cardinals who are under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote. The red-robed cardinals, who usually meet between 15 and 20 days after the death of a pope, take an oath of secrecy when they enter - and are automatically excommunicated if they break that oath.

Sixty-two of the cardinals are European, 28 of whom are Italian, while 19 come from South America, 14 from North America, 11 from Africa, 11 from Asia and Pell is the lone vote from Oceania.

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Aust divided over Pope's handling of abuse

AUSTRALIANS are sharply divided over Pope Benedict XVI's legacy on the vexed issue of church sexual abuse.

Supporters are hailing his efforts, but critics denounce his reign as one of concealment and cover-up.

The 85-year-old pontiff's surprise decision to retire comes as Australia embarks on a three-year royal commission into child abuse, which victim groups have urged other nations to follow.

Melbourne lawyer Judy Courtin, a PhD student studying sexual assault in the Catholic Church, said the Pope had been "absolutely appalling" in his handling of the global issue.

"There's no doubt there's been that culture of (the Catholic Church) protecting their assets and protecting their name by concealment and cover-up," Ms Courtin told AAP on Tuesday.

"He has no doubt entrenched that culture and it's a terrible crime."

Ms Courtin said there was no point trying to get the Catholic Church to change, or to rely on a new Pope for leadership.

Helen Last, director of the victims support group In Good Faith, said Pope Benedict had used the church's ancient Canon laws and internal processes when complaints needed to be dealt with by police.

She said clerical and religious offenders still held positions of power in the church, which had not been co-operating with criminal authorities.

But Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge said it was "simply wrong" to suggest the retiring Pope didn't do enough to address the abuse issue.

"Has he done enough? No, none of us has done enough," the archbishop told ABC TV.

"But that he has done a remarkable amount, both before he was Pope and as Pope, I think is undeniable."

Former NSW premier Kristina Keneally, a staunch Catholic who was the government's spokeswoman for World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008, which the Pope attended, said she had hoped to see more reform during his time in office.

"I hope the next Pope shows leadership in the face of the sexual abuse scandal, starts a period of renewal, builds the church so it is truly inclusive, honestly confronts crises and is transparent," she said.

The Bishop of Parramatta Anthony Fisher, who helped co-ordinate World Youth Day, remembered the Pope as a "great teacher" and "spiritual grandfather" to young people.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd, who met the Pope, said he understood concerns about the Catholic Church's slow action on historic child sexual abuse.

"It's fair to say that over many, many decades the Catholic hierarchy, without pointing to a particular individual, has been slow to recognise the dimensions of the problem, the depth of the problem and the necessity for action," he said.

Australia's most senior Catholic, Sydney Archbishop George Pell, will travel to Rome to help elect a new Pope, which insiders say could be Canadian Marc Ouellet, Archbishop of Milan Angelo Scola or American Timothy Dolan.

Cardinal Pell, rated by bookmakers as a 66/1 outsider to become the new pope, said he was surprised by the first papal resignation for 600 years, but said Benedict always worked to do what was best for the church.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard called the Pope's decision a "genuinely historic" and emotional moment for the nation's Catholics.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott, a Catholic who once trained for the priesthood, said the spiritual leader of the world's one billion Catholics obviously had an "extraordinarily onerous job".

"It's hardly surprising that at the age of 85, after much soul searching, Pope Benedict should have decided to retire," he said.

Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart said Benedict's resignation reflected the pace of modern life and could set a precedent.

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17 dead as bus falls into Bangladesh river

A BUS carrying pilgrims to Bangladesh's beach resort town of Cox's Bazaar has plunged into a dried-up river, killing at least 17 people and injuring another 26, police say.

The bus crashed on to the Matamuhuri's parched river bed on Monday after the driver lost control of the vehicle which then smashed through railings on a bridge.

"So far we have 17 people dead. Sixteen died on the spot and another on the way to the hospital," Cox's Bazaar police chief Azad Miah told AFP, adding that 18 of the 26 people injured had been admitted to hospital.

He said the pilgrims were mostly from Bangladesh's central district of Gazipur and were heading to Cox's Bazaar after attending a festival at Fatikchhari, home to one of the most visited Sufi shrines in Bangladesh.

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Low rates but first home buyers cautious

DEMAND for home loans from first time buyers has sunk to the lowest level in eight and a half years, despite the benefits of lower mortgage rates.

However, lower rates are having a positive effect in other parts of the building industry, by encouraging demand for loans for the construction and purchase of new dwellings.

The proportion of first buyers among those taking up home loans in December was just 14.9 per cent, the smallest since June 2004, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data shows.

"The decline in first home buyers that continued in December is a concern, given the various incentives across several states to entice them into the market," Master Builders Australia chief economist Peter Jones said in a statement on Monday.

"With consumers still reluctant to commit to large investments, the Reserve Bank should give urgent consideration to a rate cut at its March board meeting."

Overall, mortgage demand fell for a third straight month, declining 1.5 per cent in December to 45,335 loans.

However, loans for construction rose 1.2 per cent and those for the purchase of new homes rose 1.9 per cent.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has identified home building as one of the sectors the economy will need to lean on to maintain overall growth, once the mining investment boom peaks toward the end of this year.

But Macquarie Research senior economist Brian Redican said the ABS figures didn't support that expectation.

"More than a year after the RBA commenced its current rate cutting cycle ... there are still few signs that those rate cuts have gained traction," he said in a client note.

The central bank cut the cash rate by 25 basis points in December to three per cent, its lowest level since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. It has made 175 basis points worth of reduction since November 2011.

"The RBA will have to continue cutting rates if it still believes that stronger housing construction can help fill the growth hole left once mining investment stops rising," Mr Redican said.

At this stage, financial markets point to a less than a 50/50 chance of a rate reduction to 2.75 per cent at the central bank's March board meeting.

In its quarterly monetary policy statement on Friday, the RBA said given the subdued outlook for inflation, there was scope to ease interest rates further if necessary, to support demand.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

NT govt backs plan to save Gove refinery

THE Northern Territory Cabinet has voted to back a gas plan it hopes will be enough to keep an alumina refinery open and save the outback town of Nhulunbuy.

After returning to Darwin on Saturday following a trip to Canberra and Europe, NT Chief Minister Terry Mills took a proposal to his cabinet on Monday that may secure the future of the Gove alumina refinery.

"The Northern Territory government has agreed to release enough gas to keep the Gove aluminium refinery open for the next 10 years," the government said following the meeting.

"Today's decision is subject to a commitment from Rio Tinto assuring the ongoing operation of the Gove alumina refinery, and from Eni confirming details of their guarantee to supply gas to Power and Water Corporation until 2026," it said.

The refinery, run by Rio Tinto Ltd subsidiary Pacific Aluminium, has been making a loss of about $US30 million ($A29.22 million) per month, and an internal review recommended mothballing the facility.

Such a move could economically devastate the satellite town of Nhulunbuy that services the refinery and bauxite mine, and force many of its 3800 residents to leave.

"I would be wanting a statement from Rio as to what their intent is regarding the operation of the refinery," Mr Mills told reporters.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

WA Liberals pledge Perth airport rail link

THE WA Liberals have promised to build an airport rail link if they win next month's state election, after Labor announced an ambitious Metronet project in late January.

If re-elected on March 9, the Liberals have pledged to build a $1.895 billion airport rail link transporting domestic and international passengers to and from Perth Airport.

Premier Colin Barnett says as well as offering public transport to travellers, the rail link will also offer more options to residents in the eastern suburbs wanting to travel into the city, as well as businesses at the proposed airport business and industrial park.

"Our airport line will take Western Australians and tourists straight to the doorstep of the airport terminal, delivering maximum convenience and cost savings for travellers," he said.

Under the Liberal model, trains would run at least every 10 minutes at peak times and airport trains would integrate with services on the existing Midland line, meaning increased train frequencies between Bayswater and Perth.

Transport Minister Troy Buswell said the project would have three stations and 3000 car bays and would be built by 2018.

"Unlike the Labor party's airport rail line, the Liberal Party will not leave you sweating or shivering waiting for a shuttle bus more than 1km down the road," he said.

"We will take you directly to both the international and domestic terminals."

Labor's Metronet project would include a 10.5km rail line to Perth's international airport - and would serve domestic terminals when they are relocated to adjacent land in coming years - at an estimated cost of $731.5 million, not including rail cars.

Labor's entire Metronet project servicing the metropolitan area is expected to cost $3.8 billion but the Liberals have mocked the ambitious scheme, saying it is more likely to cost $6.4 billion.

13.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Millions of Indians bathe in Ganges river

Millions of Hindus are expected to participate in a bathing ritual at India's river Ganges. Source: AAP

TENS of millions of Hindus have gathered to bathe in India's sacred river Ganges on the most auspicious day of the world's largest religious festival.

Ash-smeared naked saints led the ritual bathing before dawn - which is said to cleanse pilgrims of their sins - with millions following them into the swirling river waters at the festival site in Allahabad in northern India.

The population of the city increased from its normal 1.2 million to about 40 million on Sunday morning, with about 20 million packed inside the vast bathing area on the banks of the river, spokesman Ashok Sharma said.

Amid the crush, the thousands of volunteers on duty and police were urging pilgrims to take one short dip and then leave the freezing waters to make space for the flow of humanity behind them.

"Aerial surveys by choppers, flying cameras and our estimates put the figure at around 20 million people taking a holy dip in the rivers," Sharma told AFP.

"Public address systems are asking people to leave the ghats (steps) after bathing to avoid a crush."

The "Maha Kumbh Mela", which began last month and ends in March, takes place every 12 years in Allahabad. Smaller, similar events are held every three years in other locations around India.

The bathing takes place at an area called Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges and Yamuna and a third mystical waterway called the Saraswati.

Devotees believe entering the mighty rivers cleanse them of sin and free them from the cycle of rebirth.

Assorted dreadlocked holy men, seers and self-proclaimed saints from all over the country have assembled for the spectacle that offers a rare glimpse of the dizzying range of Indian spiritualism.

Despite the hardships of waking early, plunging into the freezing and heavily polluted water and the crush of the crowds, pilgrims described being spiritually uplifted and amazed by the scale of the event.

Swapna Bhatia, an interior designer from New Delhi, called it "simply an out of the world experience".

"I feel so light now," Bhatia said.

More than 7000 policemen were deployed to oversee the Sunday bathing ritual, along with 30,000 volunteers, police said.

"The security is in full swing and our first concern as of now is the smooth exit of people after bathing as the number of devotees at Kumbh on this day has surpassed our expectations," police officer Ganganath Tripathi, who is overseeing security, told AFP.

The festival has its origins in Hindu mythology, which describes how a few drops of the nectar of immortality fell on the four places that host the festival - Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar.

The "Mother Ganges" is worshipped as a god and is seen as the giver and taker of life.

"One dip in the river has the power to change life forever," said 65-year-old Malti Devi from London, who was taking part in the festivities for the first time.

Most devotees dunk their heads under the water, some drink it and others bottle it and take it home as gifts.

Management of the festival requires a monumental effort - and a budget of 16 trillion rupees ($A290 million).

Thousands of buses and special trains were ferrying people to Allahabad where the heavily polluted Yamuna river flows into the Ganges.

Despite its important role in Hinduism, the Ganges is tainted by industry and the settlements along its banks, which quickly turn the clear waters from the Himalayas into a murky, frothy brown downstream.

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More horse meat cases possible: UK govt

MORE cases of contaminated meat could be revealed within days, the British government has warned, raising fears that an international criminal conspiracy is behind the horse meat scandal.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson says the next set of results on all retailers' and manufacturers' processed beef products, due on Friday, may reveal more traces of horse meat.

"There may well be more bad results coming through, that's the point of doing this random analysis," Mr Paterson said.

Findus, one of the food companies at the centre of the horse meat scandal says it's considering taking legal action against its suppliers.

The frozen foods company, which has taken its beef lasagne off supermarket shelves after some were found to contain 100 per cent horse meat, says it's looking into legal action because an internal investigation "strongly suggests" the contamination "was not accidental".

The company said in a statement: "Findus is taking legal advice about the grounds for pursuing a case against its suppliers, regarding what they believe is their suppliers' failure to meet contractual obligations about product integrity."

Mr Paterson spoke after attending an emergency meeting with the chiefs of leading supermarkets, trade bodies and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to discuss the scandal which has seen supermarket chains including Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and Iceland withdraw some products.

He said retailers have agreed to improve their food testing because they hold the "ultimate responsibility" for making sure their products do not contain horse meat.

The retailers had also agreed that consumers should be compensated if they have bought withdrawn products with no questions asked, he said.

Mr Paterson added: "It's a question of either gross incompetence, but...I'm more concerned there's actually an international criminal conspiracy here, and we've really got to get to the bottom of it.

"If there's a criminal act we will work with the authorities wherever they are to ensure the appropriate measures are taken.

"This is a conspiracy against the public. Selling a product as beef, and including a lot of horse in it is fraud."

Questioned about whether he would be prepared to eat meat bought from a supermarket, he said: "I would be very happy to eat any products on sale in British supermarkets this morning but I would not recommend anyone to eat a product which has been withdrawn."

Prime Minister David Cameron described the matter as "shocking" and "completely unacceptable", while Labour leader Ed Miliband said it was "appalling".

He added: "I think people in the country will be quite shocked that horse meat has been in the food that they have been innocently buying.

"The government has got to get a grip on this situation."

The Trading Standards Institute has said the discovery of such high levels of horse meat suggests "deliberate fraudulent activity".

Food safety experts have said there is no risk to public health.

Findus said it carried out a full product recall on Monday, two days before DNA tests found that some of its lasagnes contained up to 100 per cent horse meat.

The firm, which has its headquarters in London, tested 18 of its beef lasagne products, made by French food supplier Comigel, and found that 11 contained in the range of 60 to 100 per cent horse meat.

Tesco and Aldi have also withdrawn a range of ready meals produced by Comigel over fears that they contained contaminated meat.

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