Sydney transport passes fleet review test

The warships in Sydney for the International Fleet Review will leave Sydney Harbour on Friday. Source: AAP

AS Sydney farewells visiting naval ships, the harbour city's transport workers are being hailed for their performance in one of the biggest events the city has seen.

There were 2.3 million journeys on Sydney public transport during the October long weekend, NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said.

More than 5000 extra services were provided, as road closures and clearways required people to leave cars at home.

The Fleet Review coincided with a number of major events including the NRL Grand Final and a One Direction concert.

"Behind the scenes there was tremendous work by a number of hardworking teams making sure Sydneysiders and visitors could move around seamlessly," Ms Berejiklian said.

The Fleet Review also made for a busy period for the Australian National Maritime Museum, with more than 85,000 visitors over the nine-day celebration.

Sydney Harbour hosted 16 tall ships, about 40 Australian and international warships, aircraft displays, and of course, Prince Harry, during the commemorations to mark 100 years since the Royal Australian Navy fleet entered the harbour.

The warships - from afar as Nigeria, India and the United Kingdom - left the harbour on Friday morning.

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Challenge will protect national laws - PM

The ACT government says it will defend its gay marriage laws against any High Court challenge. Source: AAP

STATE and territory governments have no right to legislate in favour of same-sex marriage in defiance of commonwealth law and the constitution, the federal government says.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott made the stand on Friday, a day after Attorney-General George Brandis warned the validity of a proposed ACT law allowing same-sex marriages would be challenged in the High Court.

Senator Brandis also personally asked ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher not to allow same-sex marriages to proceed if the bill was passed during the late October sitting of the ACT Legislative Assembly.

But the ACT says it won't be bullied by the federal government and will push ahead with the bill, which could see the territory hosting same-sex marriage ceremonies by December.

Asked what message the High Court challenge would send to gay and lesbian couples wanting to get married, Mr Abbott said: "We want to uphold the constitution."

"We think it is important that there be a uniform approach to marriage around the commonwealth, and that's what we are going to do our best to ensure," he told reporters in Darwin.

"It's important to ensure that the constitution is adhered to."

Federal parliament last year rejected a Labor private member's bill aimed at altering the definition of marriage, as being between a man and a woman, to allow same-sex marriage.

Mr Abbott said while future federal parliaments may revisit the issue, the bill was defeated by a "fairly decisive margin".

"The point is that it's the commonwealth parliament which is responsible for making laws with respect to marriage, not the state parliaments, and not the territory legislatures," he said.

Labor federal leadership candidate Bill Shorten said he supported the principle of states and territories having the right to make their own laws.

"It's a matter of record that I voted for same-sex marriage when the matter came before the federal parliament, but I don't think this issue is just about that," he told ABC Television.

"You've also got some pretty important constitutional issues."

Australian Greens leader Christine Milne said the looming High Court challenge was a front for the coalition government's opposition to marriage equality and reform.

"If they were genuinely interested in taking away any question of whether the commonwealth should only have the power to legislate with regard to marriage, then we would simply be passing the legislation in the federal parliament," Senator Milne said.

Lobby group Australian Marriage Equality (AME) said the federal government's reasoning wasn't clear.

"To say it is about the constitution is not a clear enough answer," AME chair Alex Greenwich said.

"Constitutional experts, the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute and the NSW parliamentary inquiry all found that it is constitutionally possible for a state to legislate for same sex marriage."

The ACT argues that because the commonwealth marriage act applies to unions between men and women, it's within its right to legislate beyond that to same-sex couples.

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Asylum seekers get message: Morrison

A FEDERAL government decision to deny asylum seeker boat arrivals any right to settle in Australia is working to deter people from making the journey, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says.

Mr Morrison this week visited a government detention centre on the Pacific Island of Nauru, where he held talks with officials and inspected building work and delivered a direct message to detainees.

He told them people smugglers had ripped them off and that under the new coalition regime they would not be coming to Australia.

"I was pleased to learn while I was there that there are around 30 people who are already now in the process of looking to go back to where they come from," Mr Morrison told reporters in Sydney.

"Offshore processing, you know, is working when people decide to go home."

In the week since October 4, only one asylum seeker boat had arrived in Australian waters.

Operation Sovereign Borders Acting Commander, Air Marshal Mark Binskin, said the boat was intercepted on Thursday off the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

The number of people on board the boat, which likely came from Sri Lanka, was not released because they were still being processed at Christmas Island.

"But I do want to emphasise that the people who came to Australia on board this boat by now already understand that they will not be settled in Australia," Air Marshal Binskin said on Friday.

For the October 4-11 reporting period, a total of 111 people were transferred to the offshore processing centres on Nauru.

Since the new government's Operation Sovereign Borders began three weeks ago, a total of 215 arrivals have been transferred to the centres, including Papua New Guinea's Manus Island.

As of Friday, there were 1059 detainees on Manus, 800 on Nauru and 2176 on Christmas Island.

The government also emphasised further moves to tackle people smuggling.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus said there had been 17 "disruption" operations in Indonesia in the past three weeks, result in the arrest of five crewmen and three facilitators.

It's estimated this has stopped more than 550 people from getting on rickety boats to Australia.

Meanwhile, the High Court handed the government a victory by upholding the validity of mandatory prison terms for convicted people smugglers.

The case, brought by an Indonesian crew member from a boat which transported 52 asylum seekers to Australia in 2010, was seen as a test case for mandatory sentencing.

Aged 19 and described as a simple fisherman recruited just to steer the vessel, crewman Bonan Darius Magaming was jailed for five years with a non-parole period of three years under mandatory sentencing laws.

"If people seek to break those laws than they can expect to suffer the consequences of those penalties," Mr Morrison said.

Human Rights Law Centre spokesman Daniel Webb said international human rights law required that the punishment fit the crime.

"Mandatory minimum sentences for young cooks and deckhands from impoverished fishing villages won't stop people smuggling. These kids are not the ringleaders," he said.

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NZ sharemarket firms in quiet trading

THE New Zealand sharemarket has firmed with investors attracted to Auckland International Airport's earnings outlook, while Mighty River Power and Infratil rose on plans to return capital via buybacks.

The NZX 50 Index gained 6.747 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 4717.380 on Thursday. Within the index, 24 stocks gained, 19 fell and seven were unchanged. Turnover was a lower-than-average $81.5 million.

Auckland Airport shares rose 2.5 per cent to $3.32, bringing their advance this year to about 24 per cent while the NZX 50 has gained 16 per cent.

In August, the airport said 2014 underlying earnings would be $160m to $170m, up from $153.8 million last year, helped by an expected pickup in Asian visitors.

"One of the premium stocks in New Zealand continues to be sought," said Nigel Scott, a director at Craigs Investment Partners.

Trading activity was relatively subdued "as the market gathers its cash" for the Meridian Energy sale this month, and investors "have been looking over their shoulders at the unknown in the US" of a budget shutdown and looming debt ceiling deadline, he said.

Mighty River Power rose 1.4 per cent to $2.23 after the state-controlled power company announced plans to buy back about 1.8 per cent of its stock, or up to $50m worth, over the next 12 months.

Its shares have traded below the $2.50 IPO price since the sale in May.

Infratil rose 0.2 per cent to $2.515. The investment company plans an on-market buyback of up to 24.8 million shares through a tender offer at a maximum share price of $2.60 per share on October 22, following the partial sale of its stake in Z Energy.

"Companies with additional cash are looking to buy back their shares that they see as currently undervalued," Mr Scott said.

New Zealand Oil & Gas rose 3.8 per cent to 82.5 cents and was the biggest gainer on the NZX on Thursday.

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WA trio face $6m property fraud charge

Three men will face a WA court over an alleged property fraud worth $6.3m. Source: Supplied

THREE men are facing court over a property fraud in Western Australia which is alleged to have netted them more than $6 million.

The Major Fraud Squad said today it had charged the men - a 70 year-old from York, a 43 year-old from South Perth and a 45 year-old from York - with fraud.

They are all due to appear in the Perth Magistrates Court later this month.

Police will allege the men profited unlawfully from the sale of six rural properties worth more than $17 million from 2008 to 2011, located in the state's Mid West Region.

The men are accused of buying the properties on behalf of international vendors but misrepresenting the price offered and siphoning off the excess into various shelf accounts, police say.

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Tassie judo club wants Putin as patron

A JUDO club in Tasmania has written to the Kremlin to ask Vladimir Putin to be its patron.

The Ulverstone Judo Club, in the state's north, says President Putin's prowess in the sport and no-nonsense approach make him the perfect candidate.

"I often say (at the club), look, Vladimir Putin doesn't put up with crap like this," head coach Chris Palmer told AAP.

"He's got plenty of backbone, he makes a decision and away he goes."

Mr Palmer said members of the club came up with the idea when they spotted the Russian president at the world championships in Rio last month.

They wrote to him this week and are hopeful of receiving a reply.

"We've gone to the Kremlin now," Mr Palmer said.

"If we don't do any good with getting a reply ... I'll shoot it back through the European judo.

"We might be able to get something that way."

President Putin began judo as a teenager and holds a sixth 'dan' red and white belt.

He has been the president of his boyhood club in St Petersburg and co-authored a book on the sport.

Mr Palmer, who earned his fifth 'dan' black belt last weekend, said the president's appearances practising judo on TV showed he had a sound knowledge of the sport.

"You can tell straight away that he has done a bit," he said.

"We have kids one night a week, some might do two.

"In Russia you're four nights a week or bugger off."

Mr Palmer said while he admired President Putin's lack of political correctness, he didn't agree with some of his more controversial policies.

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Small firms listened to on regulation

SMALL business believes it is finally being listened to with a Productivity Commission report making recommendations to ease the regulatory burden on the sector.

The commission says regulators must make more effort to understand how regulation impacts small business because it feels the burden of regulation more than larger businesses.

A lack of staff, time and resources means small business don't always understand and fulfil their compliance obligations.

"A regulator's culture and attitude towards business can be as important as the content of the regulation itself," Commissioner Warren Mundy said in a statement on Wednesday.

"There is still significant scope for improvement in the way regulators engage with small business."

Council of Small Business Australia (COSBA) executive director Peter Strong described it as a landmark report that sets up a template for regulators to better work with small business.

He said small business people are tired of rhetoric about the importance of small business people, because it has rarely been matched by outcomes.

"This report is a positive and constructive response that shows we have been heard," Mr Strong said in a statement.

"The message from this report is loud and clear - stop and consider the impact of regulation on the small business person, their business and their capacity to continue in business."

The report proposes a suite of changes which need to be implemented by the federal, state and territory and local governments.

These include adopting communication practices with small business that focus on "brevity, clarity and accessibility of information".

Regulators should also be resourced to do their job effectively to avoid the shifting of direct and indirect costs onto business.

Small Business Minister Bruce Billson said the government looks forward to considering the commission's recommendations as part of its broader commitment to reducing the regulatory burden.

"The commission's report represents a significant body of work that can inform broader work on deregulation," Mr Billson said in a statement.

"If implemented properly, improved engagement strategies have the potential to result in a win-win situation for small businesses and regulators."

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Hunt after WA shark attack called off

A CATCH and kill order to destroy the shark that attacked an abalone diver off a remote part of Western Australia's southern coast has been called off.

Greg Pickering, 55, was collecting the delicacy off Poison Creek at Cape Arid National Park, about 180km east of Esperance, when he was attacked by a suspected great white shark on Tuesday morning.

He was taken to Royal Perth Hospital where he underwent almost 10 hours of surgery for bite wounds, mainly to his torso, and injuries to his face.

The Fisheries Department set up traps in the area after director general Stuart Smith gave orders for the animal to be killed.

But on Wednesday afternoon, the department decided there was no longer an imminent threat to holiday makers in the area.

"As the shark posed an imminent threat to swimmers and divers in the area, we had no choice but to issue this order, especially as it is school holidays at the moment," Mr Smith said.

"There have been no further sightings of a white shark in the area and it is likely that the shark responsible for the attack is no longer in this general locality."

Efforts have also been made to advise campers about the incident, which has reduced the likelihood of them entering the water, Mr Smith said.

Earlier, Mr Smith conceded it was possible that even if a shark was caught it might not be the culprit.

It is the second time a kill order has been issued in WA.

On the previous occasion, two tiger sharks were caught and released after they were tagged, but the great white shark the department was looking for was not found, Mr Smith said.

Mr Pickering has been an abalone diver for more than 40 years and was bitten in 2004 by a 1.5m bronze whaler while in waters near Cervantes, north of Perth, as he was trying to help a friend.

He put himself between his friend and the shark when it began attacking and was bitten on the leg.

The experienced spear fisherman had another close call in 2009, when the boat he was diving under in Ceduna in South Australia was capsized.

He and another deckhand were found by rescue crews in a life raft after about three hours.

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Pair charged over Sydney home invasion

A MAN and woman who allegedly broke into a Sydney man's house, tied him to chair, cut him with a knife and robbed him have been charged.

They allegedly demanded money before ransacking the house at Oatley in Sydney's south and making off with a laptop, mobile phone, bank cards and fishing rods.

The victim, 34, was able to alert a neighbour, who cut him free, police say.

He was treated at St George Hospital and received stitches to cuts on his face and neck.

A 23-year-old woman and a 49-year-old man were arrested at Arncliffe on Wednesday and charged with aggravated break and enter and attempting to obtain financial advantage by deception.

Police say a further arrest and charges are expected.

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Toro shares rises on resource upgrade

TORO Energy shares are higher after the uranium mine developer upgraded the quality of resources at its Wiluna project in Western Australia.

Toro said recent drilling results led to a 75 per cent increase in the project's measured and indicated resources.

All three deposits had contiguous zones of higher grade mineralisation, it said.

Managing director Vanessa Guthrie said improvements in the company's knowledge of the deposits would help in the completion of a definitive feasibility study, expected in 2014.

Toro still needs to secure project financing for Wiluna.

The company hopes to begin production at Wiluna in 2016, making it Western Australia's first uranium mine.

Toro shares gained 0.3 cents, or 3.6 per cent, to 8.6 cents.

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Online IPO 99wuxian goes gangbusters

SHARES in Chinese mobile marketplace operator 99wuxian have soared after debuting on the Australian market.

99wuxian has more than 20 million registered users and allows consumers to shop on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Shares in the company gained as much as 50 per cent in their first day of trade, and at 1510 AEDT were up 10 cents, or 25 per cent, at 50 cents.

However, their value fell away somewhat, closing five cents, or 12.5 per cent, higher at 45 cents.

99wuxian's Australian listing was aimed at raising $20 million to complete an agreement with its mobile payment provider.

Chairman Ross Benson said the company's initial public offering (IPO) ahead of Tuesday's listing was oversubscribed.

"It's a very strong endorsement of the interest that the Australian public have, particularly in m-commerce and within some of these very exciting consumer growth areas in China," Mr Benson said.

He said the company had listed in Australia because of its rapid growth and positive cash flow, but there were no plans to list the company in China at this stage.

"We've listed here because there is a very strong local demand to participate in China for good quality opportunities to participate in the consumer space," Mr Benson said.

"Within the next couple of years we anticipate we'll be staying in the Australian market."

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Plea for Indian student's safe return

THE husband of an Indian post-graduate student missing in Tasmania since Friday has made an emotional plea for her safe return.

Natasha Narang was last seen on CCTV footage at the University of Tasmania in Launceston.

Police say there has been no sign of the 30-year-old education student since.

Her husband, Sandeep Narang, last saw his wife when he dropped her at the campus on Friday afternoon.

"Every second is killing me, I have sleepless nights, I am trying to search everywhere ... we don't have any close friends here, so I am stressed," Mr Narang told Launceston newspaper The Examiner.

Inspector Michael Johnson said Ms Narang had not made preparations for any kind of overnight stay, but police had no reason to suspect foul play.

He said threats to foreign students in other states had not been an issue in Tasmania.

"There's no evidence to suggest that that's an issue in this particular matter," he told AAP.

"We've got no reason or information to suspect or point to foul play."

Mr Narang has said study stress in a Sikh community that values high achievement could have caused his wife to run away.

Inspector Johnson said police were treating that as a possible explanation.

"There is some suggestion that her studies weren't going as well as they could have been," he said.

"That was potentially an issue."

The couple have been in Tasmania for several years, with Ms Narang completing much of her study at UTAS.

Natasha Narang is described as about 165cm tall, of medium build, with long black hair and olive skin and last seen wearing a long-sleeved black top, grey coloured jeans and black shoes.

Anyone with information relating to her whereabouts should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Launceston police on 03 6336 3945.

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Defects mount for Sydney tanker crash firm

EIGHT trucks have been ordered off NSW roads as the state continues its audit into the company linked to a horrific crash on Sydney's northern beaches.

Roads and Maritime Services and NSW Police have now inspected 211 heavy vehicles owned by Cootes Transport and slapped the company with 174 defect notices.

More than a third of these involved major defects such as brake failures, steering and suspension faults, and eight trucks have been grounded, inspectors said on Sunday.

The investigation was launched after an out-of-control fuel tanker owned by the firm ploughed into a power pole and four cars before erupting in a fireball at Mona Vale.

Two men died in the inferno and six people were hospitalised.

An audit of the company's Victoria-based fleet has left 48 vehicles grounded.

VicRoads inspectors have looked at 128 vehicles so far and issued 114 defect notices.

The authority will review the company's heavy trucking licence once the vehicle inspections are completed.

The NSW investigation into the cause of the fatal crash is expected to take weeks.

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Fraud trial starts for 5 ex-Madoff staff

JURY selection begins Tuesday in the New York fraud trial of five former employees of imprisoned Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff.

The trial of Madoff's long-time secretary and other back-office workers is expected to unfold over five months in federal court in Manhattan. It's the first trial to result from the unprecedented fraud that was revealed to thousands of investors in December 2008 with Madoff's arrest.

Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence in Butner, N.C.

Prosecutors say the defendants played critical roles in helping Madoff conceal a fraud that squandered nearly $20 billion in investor money over several decades.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty. They are expected to argue through lawyers that they were victims of the fraud as well.

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Abbott says Papua better off under SBY

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has reiterated his support for Indonesia's sovereignty over Papua while insisting three activists who breached the walls of the Australian consulate in Bali left the compound voluntarily.

The three men - Rofinus Yanggam, Markus Jerewon, and Yuvensius Goo - climbed the walls of the consulate in the early hours of Sunday morning to highlight claims of abuse and ill-treatment of West Papuans in the restive Indonesian province.

The men, who hoped to gain the attention of world leaders in Bali for the APEC summit, left the compound before 7am but it has since been alleged they were threatened with arrest by Australian Consul-General Brett Farmer.

Mr Abbott on Monday insisted the activists left of their own accord after a "lengthy discussion" and warned Australia would not be party to protests aimed at undermining Indonesia's authority over West Papua.

"We have a very strong relationship with Indonesia and we are not going to give people a platform to grandstand against Indonesia," he told reporters on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

"And people seeking to grandstand against Indonesia, please, don't look to do it in Australia. You are not welcome."

Mr Yanggam claimed consular officials threatened to call the Indonesian military unless the trio of protesters left.

"We don't accept you to stay here. If you stay here for five minutes, I will call the Indonesian army to come and take you out", Mr Yanggam quoted Australian officials as saying.

Australian Greens Senator Richard Di Natale said the three "effectively had a gun to their head".

"After hearing directly from the West Papuans involved, we now know the truth is that they only (left) after being threatened with being handed over to the Indonesian police," he said in Melbourne on Monday.

Senator Di Natale, the founding co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of West Papua group, said West Papuan protesters would face imprisonment if handed over to the Indonesian authorities.

Indonesia, which took control of Papua from the Dutch in 1963, has for a long time fought a separatist movement in the province and faced various allegations of systematic abuse of the native population.

There have been numerous incidents of torture committed by the Indonesian military while the local population also complains that much of the wealth generated in the resource-rich province flows back to Jakarta while West Papuans remain poor.

Mr Abbott says the "situation in West Papua is getting better not worse".

"I want to acknowledge the work that President (Susilo Bambang) Yudhoyono has done to provide greater autonomy, to provide a better level of government services and ultimately a better life for the people of West Papua," he said.

The protest had threatened to overshadow what was Mr Abbott's first involvement in a meeting of world leaders since he was elected prime minister last month.

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Coalition MPs' wedding travel costs $20k

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and four other MPs claimed $20,000 on wedding-related travel. Source: AAP

IF the average Australian wedding costs $36,000, what should taxpayers make of paying almost $20,000 for five coalition MPs - including Prime Minister Tony Abbott - to attend three weddings?

Interim Labor leader Chris Bowen says the series of revelations about Mr Abbott, three of his ministers and a backbencher show a pattern of poor judgement.

"This goes to judgement of senior Liberals claiming travel expenses for what are very clearly, very clearly not legitimate travel expenses," he told reporters on Sunday.

"We all accept that mistakes can happen but this goes to a pattern of poor judgement and a pattern of a lack of transparency and disclosure."

Mr Abbott has paid back $1094 claimed for travelling to Wangaratta for then-Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella's wedding in 2006.

Ms Mirabella was set to be in Mr Abbott's cabinet but lost her seat at the recent federal election to independent Cathy McGowan.

A spokesman for Mr Abbott said he had recently repaid money claimed for the 2006 trip after the Department of Finance told him it could not guarantee he was entitled to it.

Likely speaker Bronwyn Bishop also attended the wedding.

Separate questions have arisen about the Bollywood adventure of three other coalition MPs which cost taxpayers more than $12,000.

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart flew Julie Bishop, Barnaby Joyce and Teresa Gambaro from Perth to Hyderabad in a private jet to watch the granddaughter of her business partner marry in front of 10,000 guests, Fairfax media reported on Sunday.

They later claimed travel expenses to return home.

Ms Bishop claims to have spent more time talking to business executives over the three days than she did attending the wedding, while Mr Joyce met officials in Malaysia on his way home.

It's the second wedding Mr Joyce attended which has come under scrutiny.

A week ago he and Attorney-General George Brandis paid back almost $2300 they got to cover travel to the 2011 wedding of former radio shock jock Michael Smith.

"This simply isn't good enough," Mr Bowen said of the series of wedding revelations.

"This money is only being paid back after journalists are asking questions, not because the individuals involved have decided on balance that it was an illegitimate claim."

But minister Malcolm Turnbull says his colleagues would have been "absolutely satisfied" they were doing the right thing when claiming the expenses.

However he conceded there was a degree of ambiguity in the rules.

"The better course of action is to always err on a more conservative side and if there is any doubt, then don't make a claim," he said.

"All of the colleagues that you have mentioned are people that are scrupulous about the way they use taxpayers' money and would have been absolutely satisfied that what they were doing was the right thing."

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UK warship opens to public in Sydney

The Royal Navy's 1.6 billion HMS Daring has docked in Sydney ahead of the Navy's fleet review. Source: AAP

SHE is the envy of sailors around the world.

Her modern exterior and state-of-the-art technologies have turned heads ever since she entered Sydney Harbour for the International Fleet Review.

Now the public has the chance to enter the belly of the Royal Navy's HMS Daring.

The $1.6 billion defence destroyer is one of the United Kingdom's most advanced warships having been commissioned only in 2009.

About 230 personnel are halfway through a nine-month deployment and are currently anchored at Barangaroo, much to the delight of 50,000 people who have bought tickets to tour the vessel on Sunday and Monday.

The tour has proven to be extremely popular as all the tickets have sold out.

The ship's commanding officer Commander Angus Essenhigh said the Type 45 destroyer's job was to sit close to high value ships and provide blanket security.

"So defending them from planes and missiles and the like," he said.

"It's a $1.6 billion ship so its quite expensive and not something you want to crash.

"I think the other navies look to it and say well that's the next step."

Twenty-seven-year-old fighter controller Lieutenant Duncan Stradling has the heavy task of driving the 8000-tonne ship.

He and five other controllers and captains rotate on four hour shifts, 24 hours a day.

Laughing off a suggestion the task is akin to driving a bus through honey, Lt Stradling said HMS Daring was actually quite nimble.

"Warships are designed to be less stable than commercial ships which is why essentially you might get a bit more sea sick but that means they do manoeuver very quickly," he said.

Inside the ship's maze of manholes and control rooms lies a vital organ - the kitchen.

Loaded up with 960 shopping trolley's worth of food, the kitchen can satisfy the contingent of hungry sailors for 45 days.

And it's not all canned soup and baked beans.

"Last night we had steak and sweet corn and potatoes so its just as you would expect," Cmdr Essenhigh said.

"We also have pet favourites the ship company like to eat so on Friday it's fish and chips, Wednesday we have curry night, so its a pretty diverse menu.

"Although as you get further away from land things like fresh milk run out a little bit.

"But it's nice to get back on the harbour and get some fresh and crunchy vegetables."

Working away in the ship's control room on Sunday was 22-year-old communication information and systems specialist Kirsty Truesdale.

Ms Truesdale rallied off a seemingly endless list of countries she had seen through her five year stint with the Navy.

But one place stood out for her.

"I would say Sydney (was the highlight). I have to say that haven't I?"

HMS Daring will head to Adelaide and Perth after Sydney.

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Prince, PM and premier meet up in Perth

Prince Harry has waved goodbye to Sydney following his visit for the International Fleet Review. Source: AAP

SPECIAL forces and surfing spots were on Prince Harry's mind as he completed his whirlwind tour of both sides of Australia with a brief stopover in Western Australia.

After the fleet and fireworks in Sydney on Saturday, the 29-year-old Prince made his first visit to WA accompanied by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, saying he had always wanted to visit the state.

After sharing a Royal Australian Airforce flight across the country, the Prince and the PM were met by WA premier Colin Barnett and his wife Lyn, both avowed royalists.

And after an amiable chat on the tarmac, the premier and the prince spent 30 minutes discussing the state and it's attractions - with the best surfing spot high on the prince's agenda.

"Prince Harry was charming, a very nice young man and we just chatted about his trip and how pleased he was to be here," Mr Barnett said.

"He said it was a short visit because he had to be back to work on Thursday - a delightful young man, full of energy and enthusiastic.

"His query was where is the best surfing spot ... I should have said Cottesloe (where Mr Barnett lives) but I told him Margaret River. He showed close interest in the state and I am sure he would like to have a closer look around in the future."

The prince also commented on his relief to be out of the Sydney heat.

After his meeting with Mr Barnett, the Prince Harry along with Mr Abbott was whisked away in a ten-car armed convoy to the home of the SAS at the Campbell Barracks in the coastal suburb of Swanbourne.

The prince even managed a quick wardrobe change, ditching the dark-blue navy suit he arrived in to don combat fatigues for his meeting with the SAS troops, who have been based in Swanbourne since 1957.

"It is a great thing he is spending some time with the SAS regiment - they have spent some time in Afghanistan, as he has, Mr Barnett said.

Despite no official public functions for the prince in WA, a small crowd of well-wishers did gather at the airport to greet the royal, along with a troop of photographers and a helicopter from a local TV network.

Before his departure from Sydney, Prince Harry told reporters Australia already felt like a second home and he was very sad to be leaving.

"I just can't get the time off work these days," he said.

"The next time I come back you will be struggling to get rid of me I am sure."

The prince will leave Perth later on Sunday evening en route to Dubai, where he is scheduled to attend the Sentebale 'Forget Me Not' ball on Monday.

Prince Harry was a co-founder of Sentebale - a charity set up to help vulnerable children.

Mr Abbott is also due to fly out of Perth at 2pm (WST), to take his place at the APEC Summit in Bali.

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