War veterans complete 1000km kayak voyage

A TEAM of wounded war veterans were given kisses and cheers in Brisbane after finishing a gruelling 1000-kilometre paddle-powered voyage from Sydney.

The 23-strong group completed the first Mates4Mates Sea Kayak Adventure Challenge in just 21 days by paddling up to 70km a day.

Family, friends and more than 100 dignitaries greeted them when they arrived, sweaty, tired and triumphant, at Brisbane's Riverside Centre on Saturday.

Kayaker Corporal Tyson Murray, who has suffered PTSD since two of his mates were killed in Afghanistan in 2010, was looking forward to a beer after finishing.

He said camaraderie helped them battle physical challenges including three-metre swells and 30-knot headwinds.

"When you looked across and saw the other boys fighting through that and pushing through, that was what gave you the drive to keep going," he told AAP.

"You don't want to be the one that lets the team fall behind."

Sharks they saw also kept the team moving.

"Every bump on the bottom of the boat was enough to get the heart racing," Mr Murray said.

The adventurers left Sydney on October 19 and averaged 50km a day through ten hours of daily paddling. It meant Saturday's 20km Brisbane River leg was easy.

Sapper Curtis McGrath, who lost both legs in a blast in Afghanistan last year, had his mum and dad urging him on from the support team boat.

"Your hands and shoulders get really sore, there's wicked blisters, and sitting on your bum for hours on end can be really uncomfortable," he said.

Team leader and former army PT instructor Ricky Dumigan said: "I've seen during my time in the army what these guys are going through, so it's been a privilege to take them on an incredible journey."

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Vic govt unveils emergency dept changes

VICTORIAN hospitals will take immediate charge of ambulance patients when they arrive in a bid to cut paramedic response times and ambulances queuing at hospitals.

Health Minister David Davis says allowing ambulance crews to leave patients in the care of hospitals once they arrive will allow them to respond to others needing emergency care.

"This will release ambulances and enable paramedics and others to respond to calls and result in better outcomes for patients," Mr Davis told reporters.

Mr Davis says the measures, recommended by a health industry task force appointed by the government in July, will avoid ambulances queuing at hospitals waiting to offload patients into emergency.

The practice, known as "ramping", has been blamed for increasing ambulance wait times.

Mr Davis says the changes will more clearly define responsibilities between Ambulance Victoria and emergency departments, and improve communication so emergency departments know when patients are on the way.

It will also lead to less hospital bypass, he says.

Hospitals will have to determine how to deal with emergency patients efficiently and it could mean discharging other patients earlier, he says.

"It may be they need to look at who can be discharged appropriately, it might mean they need to bring in an additional staff member," he says.

Ambulance Victoria CEO Greg Sassella welcomed the reforms as commonsense.

"What this means at the end of the day is we can get our paramedics to attend people who are in a public place who are otherwise undiagnosed, uncared for," he told reporters.

"Anything that means we can be free of being in an ED is a good thing."

But Opposition leader Daniel Andrews says handballing the problem from paramedics to hospitals will do nothing to unclog emergency departments and provide extra beds.

"If there is no bed in the emergency department for those patients, and we know there are less beds today than there were three years ago, then rather than having ambulances filling the car parks of our hospitals, we'll have patients filling the car parks of our hospitals," he told reporters.

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Andy Murray fans spark gun scare in UK

Police arrested four men suspected of brandishing a gun at Andy Murray but was a tennis racquet. Source: AAP

POLICE arrested four men suspected of brandishing a gun at tennis star Andy Murray - but later realised they were autograph hunters with a tennis racquet.

The mix up occurred in north London on Wednesday night when the Scot was in a car with his agent.

It is understood that two men got out of another car and knocked on the window of Murray's vehicle in an attempt to get him to sign a racquet, but the Wimbledon champion drove away.

Things went from bad to worse for the men as a member of the public thought one of them was carrying a gun and contacted police.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said they received a call at 1700 on Wednesday (0400 AEDT Thursday) to report a sighting of a man with a firearm in a Mercedes car in Avenue Road, Swiss Cottage.

The car was stopped in Tadema Road in Chelsea, west London and four men - aged 21, 26, 27 and 31 - were arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm and taken into custody.

They were later bailed until late January pending further inquiries.

"A search of the car was conducted and no trace of a firearm was found," the spokesman added.

Murray is currently recovering from back surgery.

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Economic trends encouraging: Hockey

Treasurer Joe Hockey has says the federal budget is in poor shape and likely to get worse. Source: AAP

TREASURER Joe Hockey says the federal budget remains in poor shape, but he is encouraged by improving trends in the domestic economy.

In the 18 months since the May 2012 budget there has been a $95 billion deterioration in the bottom line across those forward estimates, he told an audience in Sydney on Friday.

He said when the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook was released before Christmas, Australians will see the true state of the books the coalition had inherited.

"I anticipate the story will be even worse," he told the Centre of Independent Studies.

"It has been more of a disappointment than a surprise that overly optimistic forecasts over recent years have raised hopes only to be dashed by backfilling angst."

He said consumers and businesses had rushed to strengthen their balance sheets and had been far smarter than the prior government, which had over-promised and under delivered on the budget recovery.

"The community is now far better prepared for the future than the government," he said.

However, confidence is coming back with the share market around five-year highs, the property market gaining confidence, retail sales lifting and business confidence rising.

"It's not all rosy, but the trend is encouraging," he said.

"Whilst the continuing surge in resources exports will support growth, the rest of the economy must now step up to the plate to fill the gap."

Over the past six years, Australia had experienced the most serious deterioration in the budget and the fastest increase in commonwealth debt in peace time history.

"We will deliver sustainable budget surpluses on average over the next decade, building to at least one per cent of gross GDP by 2023/24," Mr Hockey said.

However, government would "most certainly" achieve a surplus before then.

Mr Hockey also said maintaining increases in Australia's standard of living would require a "very big effort" to generate growth.

"It is the only way for governments to undertake sustainable fiscal repair. It is the only way for employment queues to shrink. And it is the only for more people to be lifted out of poverty, across our region and here at home," he said.

Australia will chair the Group of 20 in 2014 and the first major event will be a finance ministers meeting in Sydney in three months time.

Mr Hockey said he had underestimated the size of the G20 event, to which the former Labor government had allocated more than $400 million.

"We want this to be a success. And this is another challenge that we are up for.

Mr Hockey said the $8.8 billion grant that he gave the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to replenish its reserves was not there to tackle a high exchange rate.

"It is not a currency play, I do not play currency markets, but it is about being at our best and our strongest to deal with the headwinds that must come," the treasurer said in response to a question from the audience.

The RBA earlier this week warned that the Australian dollar was "still uncomfortably high", and a lower level was needed to achieve more balanced growth in the economy.

The central bank also released its quarterly monetary policy statement on Friday, in which it cut its 2014/15 economic growth forecast to two to three per cent from its 2.5 to 3.5 per cent prediction made three months ago, suggesting a continuation of below trend growth.

Quizzed on the report, Mr Hockey said he was fully aware of the growth challenges ahead.

"We need projects, mining projects to happen in 2014/15 and if significant mining projects do not proceed as proposed ... then we are facing a great challenge," he said.

"But like the Reserve Bank we're up for it. We know it's there. That's one of the reasons why we need to roll out a significant infrastructure program that lays the foundations for the re-tooling for the nation."

He said this roll-out of infrastructure must not be impeded by red tape and regulation at all levels of government.

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Indonesia issues warning on asylum seekers

INDONESIA has warned Australia not to expect to continue to offload asylum seekers on its shores following a mid-ocean stand-off in waters off the coast of Java.

Negotiations between Indonesian and Australian authorities were continuing on Friday in a bid to resolve the impasse more than 24 hours after the boat carrying more than 50 asylum seekers first issued a distress call as it made its way to Christmas Island.

There have been reports from Indonesian officials that as many as 63 people had been transferred from their boat to the Australian Customs vessel, the Ocean Protector, on Friday.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison, at his weekly briefing on Friday, denied there was a stand-off between Indonesian and Australian authorities.

"What's important is the people who are the subject of our assistance are all accounted for," Mr Morrison said.

He said he wasn't in the business of offering "micro details" on military matters.

The commander of Operation Sovereign Borders, Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, also refused to provide details about the stand-off.

"I will not comment further in relation to on-water matters," Lieutenant General Campbell said three times, after reporters repeatedly questioned him on the matter.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott defended the government's reluctance to offer details of operations at sea, saying the important thing was to stop the boats.

"The best way to stop the boats is to ensure ... we are not providing a shipping news service for people smugglers," he told reporters in Melbourne.

But Indonesian officials on Friday morning were continuing to resist appeals from Australian authorities to offload the asylum seekers at a port in Java.

A spokesman for Djoko Suyanto, the Indonesian co-ordinating minister for Legal, Political and Security Affairs, said Jakarta was reluctant to accept them because the boat had been in working order when first approached by the Australian navy vessel HMAS Ballarat.

"From what I've been told, the boat was fine and they were not in danger. If that's the case, then we reject it," Agus Barnas told AAP on Friday.

"We don't want Indonesia to be a dumping ground, but we don't want Australia to accuse us of not doing anything. We want to respect Australia.

"At least for the time being we will not accept them."

The fact that Mr Djoko's office was so heavily involved, instead of the national search and rescue agency BASARNAS, also suggests Indonesia was treating the matter as more than simply operational, and that political considerations were playing a part.

The stand-off comes amid rising tensions between Canberra and Jakarta over the spying row that has threatened to derail cooperation in various areas, including people smuggling.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa warned earlier this week that "the agreement to exchange information, exchange even intelligence information, in fact, to address the issue of people smuggling" would be reviewed in the wake of the spying allegations.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Friday attempted to play down suggestions of a rift in relations between Jakarta and Canberra, but also refused to provide details of the unfolding drama off Java.

Shadow Immigration and Border Minister Richard Marles said Australians were finding out more about boats from the Indonesian government than Mr Morrison.

The boat had been bound for Australia when it issued a distress call at about 5.30am on Thursday morning.

Lt Gen Campbell confirmed the vessel first called for help about 43 nautical miles south of Java inside Indonesia's search and rescue zone.

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Five fewer missing WA Senate votes: AEC

THE number of missing votes from the Western Australian Senate election count is slightly lower than initially thought, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) says.

The AEC on Friday released details of the voting preferences of the missing votes, which are the subject of an investigation by former federal police commissioner Mick Keelty.

In doing so, it found there were five fewer votes missing and revised the total figure to 1370.

The bulk of the preferences from the missing votes (886) were for the Liberal Party, while 164 were for Labor and 112 for the Greens.

None were cast for the Palmer United Party (PUP) or the Australian Sports Party (ASP).

The WA Senate result, as it currently stands - gives the Liberals three spots, Labor one, the Australian Greens one and the ASP one.

The AEC, Labor and PUP are now considering whether to petition the Court of Dispute Returns, which could order in a fresh WA Senate election.

Mr Keelty will visit Perth on Monday to start gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses.

The investigation is expected to take two weeks.

ABC election analyst Antony Green, who has a computer system which can calculate Senate results, said the missing preferences would change the election result.

Mr Green said if the preferences were included, the final two seats would go to Labor and the Palmer United Party by a single vote.

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First aid kits for SA police dog handlers

SA police dog handlers are to carry compact first aid kits after the stabbing of a patrol dog. Source: AAP

SOUTH Australia's police dog handlers are to carry compact first aid kits for their canines following the recent stabbing of patrol dog Koda.

The German shepherd was rested for about five weeks after being stabbed in August as police chased and arrested a man over a spate of break-ins in Adelaide's northern suburbs.

The Animal Welfare League, In Wingfield, has now put together the kit so handlers will be able to provide initial first aid.

Each kit includes vet wrap bandage, dressings, saline solution, antiseptic, scissors, forceps and a shock blanket, all contained in a pouch small enough to fit into a handler's pocket.

Koda's handler, Senior Constable Simon Rosenhahn, praised the initiative.

"We work solo the vast majority of the time and sometimes in the middle of the scrub, a long, long way from help," he said on Wednesday.

"When Koda was stabbed, we were a long way from the police vehicle so it was hard to act quickly to ensure he didn't lose too much blood."

The stabbing prompted the SA to propose new laws and tougher penalties for attacks on police animals.

South Australian police currently use 25 dogs and 36 horses.

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DNA casts doubt on knife in Knox case

Expert testimony has again cast doubt on whether a knife was the murder weapon used by Amanda Knox. Source: AAP

A NEW DNA test on a kitchen knife failed to conclusively prove that it was the murder weapon used by US student Amanda Knox and her boyfriend to kill her British roommate.

An expert witness testified on Wednesday that the minuscule DNA trace on the knife handle near the blade showed "considerable affinity" with Knox's own DNA.

That confirmed what was already known from two previous trials: that Knox's DNA was on the knife handle, identified through another trace.

No DNA belonging to the slain British student, Meredith Kercher, or Knox's boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was identified. Previous genetic evidence on the blade linked to Kercher had been contested at earlier stages.

Outside the court, Knox defence lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova said the testimony confirms his contention that the knife was used by Knox solely for preparing food.

"The report confirms that this is a kitchen knife. It is not a murder weapon," Dalla Vedova said.

Luca Maori, a defence lawyer for Sollecito, said the trace's very existence also indicated the knife had not been washed.

"It is something very important," he said. "It is absurd to use it for a murder and put it back in the drawer."

Prosecutors deferred comment for their summations, which are due later this month.

Knox and Sollecito were convicted in 2009 in the brutal slaying of Knox's 21-year-old roommate in the apartment they shared in Perugia, and sentenced to 26 and 25 years in jail, respectively.

The conviction was overturned on appeal in 2011, freeing the pair after four years in jail.

Italy's highest court ordered a fresh appeals trial, blasting the acquittal as full of contradictions and questioning failures to retest the tiny DNA trace in light of new advanced technology.

The DNA evidence on the knife found by investigators in a kitchen drawer at Sollecito's apartment has been among the most hotly contested pieces of evidence in the original trial and now in two appeals.

Prosecutors have contended the knife was the murder weapon because it matched Kercher's wounds, and presented evidence in the first trial that it contained Kercher's DNA on the blade and Knox's on the handle.

But a court-ordered review during the first appeal in Perugia, where the murder happened, discredited the DNA evidence. It said there were glaring errors in evidence collecting, and that below-standard testing and possible contamination raised doubts over the DNA traces linked to Kercher on the blade, as well as Sollecito's DNA on Kercher's bra clasp.

Sollecito, in an emotional 20-minute-long address to the court on Wednesday, said Knox was "my first real love in my life, even if it was very late".

He acknowledged he hadn't taken seriously enough the accusations at the beginning because he was too caught up with his new romance with Knox to grasp the severity of the situation.

He said he has since been living a nightmare, and he struggled with his composure as he pleaded with the court to acquit him. "I hope I'll have the chance to live a life, a life, because at the moment I don't have a real life," Sollecito said. "That's what I'm asking you."

Prosecutors begin their summations later this month, followed by the defence in December.

A verdict is expected in January.

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NZ police probed over teen sex probe

NEW Zealand's police commissioner says the force will act on a watchdog's findings into how officers handled an investigation into a group of teenage boys who boasted online about having sex with drunk and sometimes underage girls.

In an unprecedented move, Police Minister Anne Tolley has asked the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) to investigate after revelations four complaints were made about the Roast Busters group between 2011 and 2012.

Police said earlier this week they couldn't lay charges against the Auckland teens because no complaints had been laid.

They appealed for "a brave girl" to come forward, and on Wednesday a 15-year-old said she laid a complaint in 2011 when she was 13.

She says she was asked about the clothing she was wearing at the time in a way that suggested police thought she had been "asking for it".

Tolley summoned Police Commissioner Peter Marshall to parliament for an urgent please-explain meeting on Thursday morning.

Marshall said he assured Tolley that the best efforts had been made by the investigation team and complaints about sexual assaults were investigated thoroughly and professionally by police.

The referral of the case to the IPCA is "entirely appropriate given the level of public interest", he said.

Waitemata District Commander Superintendent Bill Searle will also be reviewing aspects of how the investigation was handled.

Marshall and Searle have apologised to the girl whose formal complaint was not publicly acknowledged by police.

"However, I am now satisfied that her complaint was very thoroughly investigated, but this case did not meet the evidential threshold required for prosecution," Marshall said.

Police welcomed any IPCA investigation and "will act on any learnings it may identify", he said.

Meanwhile, Assistant Police Commissioner Malcolm Burgess will be sent to Waitemata to review the policing district's processes after officers failed to tell their bosses about the complaint.

Top Auckland cop Detective Superintendent Andy Lovelock is also assessing the Roast Busters file to decide what steps police should take next.

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Academics downplay Indon diplomatic spat

Indonesia is unlikely to make changes to its relationship with Australia over spying allegations. Source: AAP

FEARS of a breakdown in Australia's relationship with Indonesia appear to be a diplomatic storm in a teacup as intelligence experts downplay the fallout from spying allegations.

The federal government remains silent on leaked documents showing surveillance was undertaken from its Jakarta embassy as part of a US-led intelligence-gathering operation implicating America and its European allies.

But Foreign Minister Julie Bishop can expect a frosty reception from her Indonesian counterpart, Marty Natalegawa, when the pair meet later this week at the Bali Democracy Forum.

The seasoned Indonesian diplomat has said Australia's espionage was unacceptable.

"The recent revelations will have a potentially damaging impact in terms of the trust and confidence between the countries concerned," he said.

However, security and diplomatic academics doubt Indonesia will sever any major ties with Australia as they are mindful of the value of standing agreements.

"Once they have done a bit of huffing and puffing, and we make some soothing noises, it will all go away," Murdoch University's Professor of international relations Mark Beeson told AAP.

The Indonesian government had to present a strong opposition to the spying activity for the sake of national sovereignty, he said.

"There is a lot of sensitivity around sovereignty in Indonesia and to save face in the community the authorities must be seen to be proactive ... but I would be surprised ... if they do anything to change relations," Prof Beeson said.

Australian National University (ANU) Professor Michael Wesley said it would have come as no surprise to Indonesia that surveillance was going on and, in fact, "all countries spy on each other".

The alleged actions of the top-secret Defence Signals Directorate in Jakarta were so well known that Indonesians used to send messages to eavesdroppers, ANU intelligence expert Professor Des Ball said.

"One of the main listening stations that monitors Indonesian communications for years now every Christmas gets a message from their Indonesian counterparts wishing them best wishes for Christmas," Prof Ball told SBS.

Details of the clandestine operations made headlines around the globe after the leaking of US National Security Agency documents.

Mr Natalegawa said Indonesia would join Germany and Brazil in co-sponsoring a resolution in the General Assembly of the United Nations to address allegations of US-led data snooping.

Activist group Anonymous Indonesia claims it has hacked into more than 170 Australian websites in protest at the spying claims.

Web pages, apparently selected at random, were defaced with the message: "Stop Spying on Indonesia" underneath an Indonesian flag imprinted with a black graphic of a Guy Fawkes mask, the image used by Anonymous internationally.

Meanwhile, Ms Bishop is doing her best to strengthen relations between Australia and Indonesia, on Tuesday tweeting a photo of herself with the head of the country's foreign affairs commission, Mahfudz Siddiq, who has also voiced his opposition to the alleged spying.

Ms Bishop is due to travel to Bali on Wednesday ahead of the forum, which opens on Thursday.

A spokeswoman for Ms Bishop said the minister was aware of her Indonesian counterpart's comments.

"Bilateral co-operation in areas such as people smuggling and counter terrorism is to the mutual advantage of both countries," the spokeswoman said in a statement.

She said it was long established practice for the Australian government not to comment on intelligence matters.

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Brown, Palmer showdown moves closer

BOB Brown has accepted Clive Palmer's challenge to a debate following the mining magnate's claim the Greens have ruined Tasmania.

Dr Brown has responded to Mr Palmer's call and Tasmanian senator-elect Jacqui Lambie's pledge to instigate a parliamentary inquiry into the Greens.

The Palmer United Party (PUP) is looking to build on Ms Lambie's success by running candidates in all five seats at next year's state election.

"Clive knows this: if he can get a couple of seats off the Liberals by appealing to the lowest common denominator ... then they'll go for it," the former Greens leader told ABC radio.

"I think Clive's wily enough to know that."

Dr Brown said he would debate Mr Palmer, who was elected to the seat of Fairfax in the federal election, on the future of Tasmania.

He said the arrival of PUP to the federal parliament would add to its diversity but offered Mr palmer a warning.

"Clive has to know that you simply can't purchase what you want when you get into the democratic arena," Dr Brown said.

"You do have to be transparent and you do have to act honourably and above board and that's not always the case with the world of trading and backroom deals and so-on in business."

Dr Brown was speaking from the US, where he will give evidence in the civil case brought against the Sea Shepherd conservation group by Japanese whaling interests.

The law suit is being brought against the US arm of the group and will not affect plans by Sea Shepherd Australia to take on the Japanese fleet, which claims to conduct scientific whaling.

Dr Brown, a Sea Shepherd Australia director, remains hopeful the International Court of Justice will outlaw the annual hunt before it can begin.

"The big question then is, if that happens, will the Japanese abide by the international court decision and not send the whale killing fleet south?" he said.

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Linc blames regulation for overseas move

LINC Energy will shut its underground coal gasification research and development facility in south-west Queensland and move overseas.

The shutdown of the facility at Chinchilla will cost several million dollars and put the future of 30 workers at risk.

Linc chief executive Peter Bond said the company expected to begin relocating by the end of 2013 to either Poland, Indonesia or Wyoming in the US, due to a frustratingly slow local approvals process.

"The Queensland government has to take control of the regulator and make sure the policy is being followed rather than the regulator running to the beat of their own drum," Mr Bond told AAP.

"There's a disconnect between the ministerial level and the mid-tier departments."

The underground coal gasification (UCG) process converts coal into gas through combustion in the coal seam.

Mr Bond said Linc would aim to retain all of the 30 affected staff and offer positions at the company's Australian or overseas facilities.

"We're trying to limit redundancies," he said.

"Ideally we'd like to have none."

Linc said the decision came after a continuous two year operation at its UCG Gasifier 5 (G5) at Chinchilla facility.

The completion of G5 operations marked the end of almost 14 years of operational trials and technology, research and development, he said.

If the Queensland government approved the company's current G6 expansion it could potentially extend operations at Chinchilla for another two or three years, Mr Bond said.

However, he is not hopeful of a resolution after three years of waiting.

"With the demand we're getting from locations like Asia it makes no sense to continue trying to keep the government happy when we've got other governments that are happy to work with us," he said.

Shares in the company dropped half a cent to $1.355.

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Inflation remains benign despite Sept CPI

Inflation is expected to remain benign to the end of the year, despite the falling dollar. Source: AAP

INFLATION is expected to remain benign to the end of the year, despite the falling Australian dollar, leaving the door open for a further rate cut.

The TD Securities/Melbourne Institute Monthly Inflation Gauge rose 0.1 per cent in October, following a 0.2 per cent rise in September and a 0.1 per cent increase in August.

The inflation gauge increased by 2.1 per cent in the 12 months to October, figures released on Monday show.

Price rises for new homes, non-alcoholic drinks, meat and seafood were offset by falls in the price of fruit, vegetables, petrol and furniture.

The consumer price index (CPI), the key measure of inflation released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, rose 1.2 per cent in the September quarter - stronger than the 0.8 per cent rise economists were forecasting.

Economists said the higher-than-expected figure ended any hope of another cash rate cut in 2013.

But the inflation gauge shows inflation remains benign, TD Securities head of Asia-Pacific research Annette Beacher said.

"Compared with the surprise jump in headline inflation in the September quarter, this October report is rather benign, and starts the final quarter of the year with a whisper," Ms Beacher said.

"Headline inflation and our trimmed mean measure of inflation were both only 2.1 per cent higher than a year ago, suggesting no sign of a pickup in inflation in the final months of 2013.

"While early days yet, this report is likely to provide some relief for the Reserve Bank as tradable inflation was flat in the month after three consecutive increases."

Ms Beacher said the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) was likely to leave the cash rate on hold at 2.5 per cent when it meets on Tuesday.

"After two neutral-bias communiques, we expect a near repeat tomorrow," she said.

"It will be interesting to see if the board agrees with the RBA governor's recent proclamation that 'at some point in the future the Australian dollar will be materially lower than it is today' as that message managed to dent the dollar to a considerable extent last week and keep rate cut hopes alive."

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Pilbara quad biker found safe and well

A 51-YEAR-OLD man who went missing while quad biking with friends in Western Australia's Pilbara region over the weekend has been found.

The small group had been quad biking near the Fortescue River on Sunday when they left the area to return to Pannawonica at about 4pm (WST).

It's believed the man became separated from his friends, who reported him missing at about 8.45pm (WST).

Just before 1pm (WST) on Monday, police said he had been found safe and well.

He is being flown by helicopter to a medical centre in Pannawonica for assessment.

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Whitehaven says future will be OK

WHITEHAVEN Coal's chairman has told shareholders the company's future is assured following a difficult year in which it posted a $82 million loss and its share price more than halved.

Chairman Mark Vaile said that although global coal markets had been tight and prices flat, there had been a modest improvement in thermal and metallurgical coal prices in recent months.

Mr Vaile said the ramp-up of the company's flagship Narrabri underground mine and development of the Maules Creek open pit mine would equip it for the future with two large, low cost, highly productive and efficient mines.

"We doubled our coal sales in fiscal 2013 and have plans to more than double production again over the next three years," he said at the company's annual general meeting on Monday.

"As you are aware, Whitehaven is a company in transition from being a four million tonne (a year) producer to 23 million tonne producer with two, world class tier-one mines."

However, the highly regarded $767 million Maules Creek project has been delayed by court action by opponents who say it will damage the local environment north of Sydney. A decision is expected next month.

A ruling against it would put pressure on Whitehaven's balance sheet with its planned cashflows from coal sales at the new mine also delayed.

The company last month said it had started talks with its lenders, led by ANZ, about restructuring its $1.2 billion debt facility because of delays to Maules Creek.

The company's market capitalisation is currently only $1.6 billion with its share price falling from $3.61 in early January.

The shares dropped six cents to $1.545 on Monday.

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Long wait ahead for WA voters

Deputy PM Warren Truss says any fresh Senate poll in WA should be held as soon as possible. Source: AAP

WEST Australians may have to wait until next year to find out if they have to return to the ballot box for a fresh Senate election, a constitutional expert warns.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) announced on Saturday that Greens Senator Scott Ludlam and the Australian Sports Party's Wayne Dropulich had been elected to the Senate after a controversial partial recount in WA.

The announcement came as former Australian Federal Police commissioner Mick Keelty continued his investigation into 1375 missing votes.

Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer immediately flagged a High Court challenge after his candidate Zhenya "Dio" Wang and Labor's Louise Pratt missed out, despite having been successful in the initial count.

Once the writs for the Senate election are returned to the WA governor early this week, there is a 40-day window for legal challenges to be lodged.

The High Court, sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns, would decide whether a new election should be held.

University of Queensland Law Professor Graeme Orr said it might be months before the court could consider the matter, although it might sit over Christmas if necessary.

"It would be too quick to (happen within) the 40 days because you have to get all the evidence together and (the full bench of) judges together," he told AAP.

Prof Orr said parties lodging a challenge had to supply a statement of claim outlining their evidence, which would take time to compile.

He pointed to the Queensland election in July 1995, in which a court challenge was lodged in August, before a decision came out in December ordering a by-election.

The by-election took place in February 1996.

Labor Deputy Leader Tanya Plibersek said Mr Kelty's investigation must be allowed to run its course, but did not rule out Labor pushing for a fresh poll.

"I think it's obviously very important Western Australians are confident that they got the senators they voted for," she told reporters in Sydney.

"But the question of how we can have that confidence is one for a few days' time when the investigation is complete."

She described the situation as a "very unfortunate incident", but said the AEC had a reputation for being the best and most reliable in the world.

Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said any new Senate election in WA should be held as soon as possible.

The situation of missing votes was a debacle.

"The whole event is a huge embarrassment for the Australian electoral system and we must make sure it doesn't happen again," Mr Truss said.

Senator Ludlam allowed himself a brief moment of celebration on being declared re-elected, but is not certain his victory will stick.

"We are really in uncharted territory," he said.

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Turnbull in tussle over NBN contracts

Malcolm Turnbull has vowed to take marginal seats out of the equation during the NBN roll-out. Source: AAP

LABOR has seized on revelations the Coalition has booted 500,000 households off the National Broadband Network roll-out map.

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull claims those affected are actually the victims of Labor's "lies and spin".

"(The Labor government) had a metric which said that construction had commenced at the point plans were called for," he told Network Ten on Sunday.

"This is the equivalent of saying you had started construction on a new house, from the moment you called your architect and asked her to do a sketch plan."

Deputy Labor Tanya Plibersek hit back accusing the Abbott government of a breaking an election promise not to rip up existing contracts.

"Instead of getting top quality, state-of-the-art national broadband network fibre to the premises, they will get instead the poor cousin," she told reporters in Sydney.

Mr Turnbull has also vowed to take marginal seats out of the equation during the roll-out of the NBN.

Mr Turnbull says a survey is underway to identify parts of Australia with the worst broadband.

"(Places) where the need for upgrade is greatest, they will be prioritised," Mr Turnbull said.

Another priority will be areas where demand for high-speed internet is greatest, such as business and industrial parks.

Asked if he would change the previous focus on marginal seats, Mr Turnbull said: "Yes".

"The NBN Co has to start being operated ... like a rational business that seeks to do its job as quickly and cost-effectively as possible," he said.

Mr Turnbull declined to comment on whether there had been legal claims lodged over asbestos scares at NBN construction sites.

Last week Prime Minister Tony Abbott ruled out overturning the ban on Chinese telecom giant Huawei tendering for work on the NBN.

Mr Turnbull said the decision was a question of "managing risk".

"Other companies and other countries have taken different judgments," he said.

He admitted that Huawei had in the past undercut the prices of western telco suppliers but stopped short of saying it would be cheaper to build the NBN with Huawei's involvement.

Mr Turnbull said Vodafone and Optus used Huawei equipment in their Australian networks and they would attest that it worked properly and was cheaper.

"These are things you've got to weigh up," he said.

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Free vote on gay marriage likely:Turnbull

COMMUNICATIONS Minister Malcolm Turnbull believes the coalition is likely to grant MPs a conscience vote if a gay marriage private member's bill comes before federal parliament.

Mr Turnbull said on Saturday there was a mood in the coalition party room for a free vote on the issue.

"As to whether there would be a majority in favour of same-sex marriage in the House of Representatives and the Senate, I don't know," he told Network Ten.

He said he believed if the coalition had allowed a conscience vote when the issue was debated in the last parliament it would have made no difference to the outcome.

"There nonetheless would not have been the numbers to get it passed," Mr Turnbull said.

He reiterated his support for gay marriage.

Australian Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young flagged her party would re-introduce a private members bill on gay marriage when parliament resumes in a fortnight.

"This parliament can achieve marriage equality but it will take all sides working together to make it happen," she said in a statement.

She put the call out for politicians from other parties to co-sponsor the bill.

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