Man swept into drain in outback SA

A MAN is believed to have drowned after being swept into a drain during a late night swim in outback South Australia.

The man was walking with friends just after midnight (CDT) on Saturday in the far north township of Innamincka when he decided to go for a swim in Cooper Creek.

He was swept into a drain under a culvert and his friends were unable to rescue him.

A body, believed to be that of the man, was found at about 8am (CDT) on Saturday.

Police from Leigh Creek, more than 500km away, are still making their way to the scene.

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Thousands march in Thai capital

TENS of thousands of anti-government protesters have marched through the streets of the Thai capital, reviving their whistle-blowing, traffic-blocking campaign to force the resignation of the country's prime minister.

The protest on Saturday came after a lull in anti-government rallies and amid growing concern of violence between opponents and supporters of embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Yingluck's opponents have previously tried to force her ouster by blocking Bangkok's major intersections, and have stormed government offices.

The protesters have demanded that the government yield power to an interim appointed council to oversee reforms before new elections.

They say Yingluck is a proxy for her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup after being accused of corruption and abuse of power.

The march was the first major rally since Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled on March 21 to nullify last month's general election.

"The fact that the election has been nullified means that our campaign is successful," protest leader Thaworn Senniem said.

Yingluck's ruling Pheu Thai party and its predecessors have easily won every national election since 2001. It had been expected to win again in February, especially because the opposition Democrat Party boycotted the election.

Election officials say it would take at least three months for a new vote to be held, prolonging Thailand's political paralysis.

Yingluck's Red Shirt supporters have vowed to stage their own mass rally next Saturday, though they have not yet said if it will be held in the capital, which many fear could lead to clashes between the two sides.

The sporadic violence over the past four months has left at least 23 people dead and hundreds hurt.

Thailand has seen political conflict since 2006, when Thaksin was ousted by a military coup.

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Teen girl missing in inner Brisbane

A TEENAGE girl with a suspected medical ailment has gone missing from an inner Brisbane suburb.

Alice Barlow, 13, was last seen on Friday afternoon in Ascot, and has not made contact with her family since.

Police are concerned for her welfare.

She is described as caucasian, about 169cm tall with a fair complexion and long, dark hair.

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Man charged over double fatal Vic crash

A VICTORIAN man has been charged over a crash that killed a girl and her mother.

The eight-year-old girl died at the scene of the head-on crash with another car at Rosedale on November 22 last year.

The 45-year-old woman, from nearby Sale in the state's east, died later.

A 20-year-old man from Denison, also near Sale, was charged on Friday with two counts of culpable driving, two counts of negligently causing serious injury and other traffic offences.

He has been bailed to appear at the Sale Magistrates Court on Monday.

Earlier on Friday, a cyclist died after being hit from behind by a truck at Colac in western Victoria.

The truck driver is assisting police.

Police have asked for witnesses to the crash to come forward.

Victoria's road toll is 66, seven more than at the same time last year.

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Woodside misses Israeli gas deadline

WOODSIDE Petroleum has missed a deadline to seal a $US2.7 billion ($A2.92 billion) deal for a stake in a natural gas project in Israel.

Woodside had intended to take a 25 per cent stake in the Leviathan project with an $US850 million up-front payment, but has not yet agreed on terms with the Israeli government.

Israeli media has reported Woodside, its joint venture partners and the Israeli government cannot agree on how profits would be taxed, with the company seeking to use its investments in the field to offset tax rates.

Woodside said discussions would continue, with a view to resolving the issues and executing agreements.

Israel's largest gas field is a key part of Woodside's future growth plans, but has been repeatedly delayed, as has its Browse project in Western Australia.

Under the licence terms, the Noble Energy-led project must set aside 9.2 billion cubic metres of gas a year for use in Israel.

Gas for domestic use would generate lower prices than exports, and the amount represents more than half of the current planned production.

Woodside shares gained 22 cents to $38.65.

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AFP tip leads to major Thai drug bust

A TIP-OFF from Australian Federal Police to their Thai counterparts has led to the arrest of two men and the seizure of 150 kilograms of heroin before it could be packed in seafood and shipped to Australia.

Secretary-General of Thailand's Office of the Narcotics Control Board told local media the men, Malaysian national Yi Yong Ho and his Thai accomplice, Kritsana Meenant, were allegedly using a seafood export company's office in Ranong, in Southern Thailand.

Pongsapat said Australian authorities notified Thai officials that "a large batch of heroin would be sent to Australia".

Thai narcotics police with the aid of the AFP tracked the suspects, especially Yi, who made several trips to Bangkok and Ranong last November. He returned to Ranong in February.

Late on Tuesday, Yi and Kritsana returned to Ranong, allegedly to take the heroin to the company's office for repacking.

The seized heroin, which Thai authorities put at 147 kilograms while the AFP in a statement said weighed 168 kilograms, had a potential street value of up to $95 million in Australia.

The seized heroin was said to be sourced from Myanmar, the world's second-biggest producer after Afghanistan of opium - the raw material of heroin. The heroin was packed in 420 small packets and hidden in 23 boxes of seafood, Pongsapat said.

In Australia, AFP national manager serious and organised crime Assistant Commissioner Ramzi Jabbour said the force's international network played a key role in assisting Thai authorities to disrupt the drug syndicate.

Jabbour said intelligence obtained by AFP that a transnational organised crime syndicate was planning to import "a significant quantity of heroin into Australia from Thailand" led to the combined investigation with the Royal Thai Police.

Australia has stepped up regional cooperation, including with Indonesia and Pakistan, in recent years in a bid to stem the trade in both opiates and amphetamine-type stimulants, according to the UN's International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).

The INCB in its latest annual report for 2013, warned of an upsurge in the cultivation of opium poppy, "threatening the positive gains made over the past decade".

A dramatic increase in demand for heroin in East and Southeast Asia has led to Afghan opium reportedly being smuggled to the region to meet demand, where an estimated one quarter of the world's opiate users live.

In China, there were a reported 1.3 million registered opioid abusers in 2012.

The INCB also criticised the use of "medically supervised injecting centres" in Sydney, saying such facilities "contravene the principle of the of the international drug control treaties that drugs should be used only for medical and scientific purposes".

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Labor no confidence bid on Speaker fails

Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus has been banned from parliament for 24 hours. Source: AAP

THE manager of opposition business Tony Burke has moved a motion of no confidence in the Speaker, Bronwyn Bishop.

The suspension motion went down 51-83.

Independents Andrew Wilkie and Cathy McGowan supported the government, while Greens MP Adam Bandt sided with Labor.

Mr Burke's move followed Mrs Bishop's upping the ante in her ongoing battle with Labor, banning shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus from parliament for 24 hours.

Question time has become progressively rowdier this week with Mrs Bishop demanding several times that Labor cease its "wall of noise".

Barely 15 minutes in to Thursday's session, she told the opposition to listen to Prime Minister Tony Abbott in silence, since it had heard Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's question quietly.

"Madam Speaker!" Mr Dreyfus protested.

For that, the Speaker "named" him and the government won a motion to excuse him from parliament for 24 hours - the usual procedure for a naming.

Mr Burke urged the house to say it had no further confidence in Mrs Bishop as Speaker due to her "serious partiality" in favour of government members.

Mrs Bishop "constantly fails to interpret correctly the standing orders" and accused her of "gross incompetency" in administering parliamentary procedure, he said.

But Mrs Bishop suggested Labor needed to get its own house in order.

She said on Thursday Labor was unable to call a division on a second reading speech because only one MP was in the house. Then Labor called a division and then called it off.

Finally, Labor had failed to provide a speaker for the debate on a piece of legislation, she said.

Moving for suspension of standing orders so the no-confidence motion could be debated, Mr Burke said never before in the history of the Commonwealth had an MP been named and thrown out for calling "Madam Speaker".

"Yesterday we had a member of parliament thrown out for laughing," he said.

Mr Burke said both sides acknowledged the Speaker was a formidable parliamentarian, who as a minister and member of the opposition managed to launch scathing attacks on Labor.

"You are respected as a member of parliament for that. But we cannot support you continuing to behave that way when you want to sit in the Speaker's chair," he said.

"The parliament deserves more than that and the parliament cannot, cannot have confidence in a Speaker who refuses to be impartial," Mr Burke said.

House leader Christopher Pyne defended Mrs Bishop, saying Mr Burke had clearly been working up to the motion since the 44th parliament began.

"The fact that this is a stunt, Madam Speaker, is so clearly indicated by the fact the Manager of Opposition Business came into the chamber with a prepared speech," he said.

Mr Pyne called Mr Dreyfus an aggressive bully who had deliberately been rude to the Speaker.

"I'm no sook," Mr Pyne said, citing his term as opposition business manager during the hung parliament and his record as the most-ejected MP in parliament's history.

"I never complained. I didn't stand up like a great big sook like the Manager of Opposition Business did today and say ... I had my toy taken away."

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Art Gallery of NSW to give back sculpture

THE Art Gallery of NSW has been asked to return a 1000-year-old sculpture that was stolen from an Indian temple.

The attorney-general's department has received a formal request from the Indian government to return the Ardhanariswara idol, which was sold to the gallery after being stolen.

The stone sculpture, which has been removed from display, is linked to New York dealer Subhash Kapoor, who is facing trial in India for allegedly trafficking stolen antiquities from two Indian temples.

The National Gallery of Australia in Canberra had already announced it would return a dancing Shiva statue, which it bought from Kapoor in 2007 for $5.6 million.

Kapoor reportedly sold six objects to the Art Gallery of NSW when it was under the leadership of Edmund Capon, who on Thursday told ABC Radio that ties with the dealer were cut once suspicions were raised.

"Well I think there's a question mark over one, which was one of the things that led us to not deal with him anymore," Mr Capon said.

Mr Capon said the piece acquired by the Art Gallery of NSW was not as significant as the statue in Canberra.

It is understood Mr Capon's successor, Dr Michael Brand, will give back all six works if asked to do so.

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Tough budget decisions coming: Abbott

PM Tony Abbott has warned that "tough decisions" are coming to restore the federal budget. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has warned that "tough decisions" are coming to restore the federal budget.

In the last parliamentary sitting day before Treasurer Joe Hockey brings down his first budget on May 13, Mr Abbott said of all the government's commitments, the most fundamental was to restore the budget.

"Tough decisions are coming," he told parliament.

"They are necessary for the prosperity of our country."

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen asked Mr Hockey why, if he is concerned about the budget, did he double the deficit and add $68 billion of new spending, and change economic assumptions to his mid-year review in December.

Mr Hockey described this as "great fiction" which came from a party with a record of $190 billion of deficits in five years.

"The legacy of Labor is that over the next 10 years there is no surplus, there is no repayment of debt," he said.

"The Labor party legacy of debt and deficit wasn't just for the period they were in government, it is for as far as you can see in the years ahead."

He said the government plans were very clear, and entirely consistent in dealing with what were changing economic circumstances over the last few decades.

"We said government cannot afford to waste taxpayers' money," he said.

He said the pink batts program was a terrible waste of money and cost lives; GP super clinics were medical facilities that did not treat any patients; and the NBN was a litany of waste and incompetence.

"We are going to fix the mess," he said.

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Total sex offenders monitor 'unrealistic'

NO scheme can guarantee that sex offenders won't abuse again and more needs to be known about whether a public register can prevent offending, a top Victorian policeman says.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Graham Ashton said without 24-hour-a-day physical monitoring it is not possible to completely mitigate the risks sex offenders pose to the community.

"It is unrealistic to expect that a registered sex offender is supervised to the point that it is impossible that they find opportunity to reoffend," Mr Ashton told a conference.

The parents of Queensland schoolboy Daniel Morcombe, who was abducted and murdered by serial child sex offender Brett Peter Cowan, want a public child sex offenders' register.

Experts at a two-day Asia Pacific Sex Offenders Registry Conference are discussing the idea of a public register but Mr Ashton said the research is incomplete.

"A lot of research tends to focus on the experience of the registrant on the public register - the fact that they feel intimidated in the community by everyone knowing who they are and where they are," he told reporters on Wednesday.

He said he wanted more victim-focused research on how a public register could prevent offences.

Mr Ashton said whatever model for managing sex offenders is adopted, the focus must be on the protection of potential victims.

"I think some of the crimes that have been impacting on the community, some of the high-profile crimes, have certainly been great learning opportunities for us in terms of how we're intervening and how heavily we are monitoring," he said.

There are more than 5300 registered sex offenders living in Victoria alone.

Improved communication between Victoria Police and the Department of Human Services had enabled child protection authorities to act on incidents straight away, Mr Ashton said.

Mr Ashton said social media presents a challenge for authorities, with predators able to prey on victims without ever leaving home.

"Further impacting on the management issues is the increase in social media and other mediums of communication that make it easy for these individuals to contact potential victims, especially the young and the vulnerable, without leaving their premises."

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Christian bikies back Qld court challenge

QUEENSLAND'S anti-bikie laws go against the Bible and Christian beliefs about justice, the Brotherhood Christian Motorcycle Club says.

Queensland's outlaw motorcycle gangs have found an unlikely ally in the Brotherhood, which will help bankroll their High Court challenge against the laws.

"We'd hope to raise at least $2000, maybe more," spokesman Greg Pendlebury told AAP on Wednesday.

The club has written to the Queensland parliament asking for the laws to be repealed.

It's also contacting churches, asking them to compare the laws with the Bible's teachings and consider contributing funds.

The club has spoken out against anti-association laws in NSW and other states in the past, but considers the Queensland laws to be the most menacing.

The laws go against Christian principles by changing the nature of crime from "what you do" to "who you talk to", the club says.

Other criticisms include that the laws remove the intent of the justice system to correct behaviour, and the prospect of innocent people being punished because of their associations.

"Punishing the innocent is contrary to the Bible's mandate for government," Mr Pendlebury said.

"The new laws mean that an activity as innocent as a family picnic may be an offence."

Fourteen of the state's bikie gangs, which were declared illegal organisations in October, as well as recreational riders, launched the High Court challenge last week.

They'll argue that more than a dozen sections of the new laws are unconstitutional.

The reforms were introduced after a violent brawl at a Gold Coast restaurant in September 2013, which involved dozens of bikies wearing club colours.

The legislation imposes mandatory jail terms of between 15 and 25 years for anyone found guilty of gang-related crimes, with the punishment to be imposed on top of the usual sentence.

And it is illegal for three or more gang members to knowingly meet in public.

Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie said the laws are firm but fair.

"Everyone has the right to fund a legal challenge but that money could go towards helping victims of crime, disadvantaged Queenslanders and not organised criminal gangs," Mr Bleijie told AAP.

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Female ADF members facing sexist backlash

AUSTRALIA'S sex discrimination commissioner says commanding officers should be made more accountable for the sexist culture that exists within the military, while warning efforts at change had led to a backlash against female members.

Elizabeth Broderick on Wednesday said the Australian Defence Force (ADF) had made progress in terms of its treatment of women, including adopting new recruitment targets and establishing a sexual misconduct response office.

But the sex discrimination commissioner warned that the attempt at cultural change had also led to a backlash against female ADF members.

"We are out everyday talking to thousands of people across the military, both women and men," Ms Broderick said in Sydney on Wednesday, as she released the Australian Human Rights Commission's final audit report into the treatment of women in the ADF.

"In all our discussions, our focus group and the work we have been doing, we have heard of a backlash," she said.

Ms Broderick said the backlash included comments linking the promotion of women to their gender rather than ability, and that it had also been suggested that the ADF's standards had been lowered because too many women were being recruited.

"My message to defence is simple," Ms Broderick said.

"More needs to be done to better communicate the case for change and the rationale for many initiatives that are now in place.

"That case needs to be particularly communicated at the mid and junior levels."

But the commissioner also called for commanding officers to be made more accountable for the culture in their units.

"The research is clear," Ms Broderick said.

"Individual leaders create that environment that determines the nature of the culture of their organisation."

In responding to the report, ADF chief General David Hurley said tangible actions such as establishing the Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Office, demonstrated a commitment to change.

"However, the results from the audit report indicate that we still have some way to go to achieve the deep cultural reform we seek," he said.

The audit also recommends a sexual ethics program be put in place as soon as possible.

In a further step aimed at overturning the culture of sexism within its ranks, General Hurley on Wednesday also announced that women's advocate Julie McKay had been appointed to provide specialist advice on gender issues to help the ADF become more welcoming to women.

"Defence is committed to enhancing diversity in the workplace. We want to create an inclusive environment that respects, values and utilises everyone's contribution, regardless of their background, experiences or perspectives," he said in a statement.

Ms McKay, the executive director of the Australian National Committee for UN Women, and who has been a member of the Secretary and Chief of the Defence Force Gender Equality Advisory Board since 2012, will begin working in her new part-time role next week.

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Victims group backs filming in NSW courts

OPENING the doors on NSW criminal cases to TV cameras and broadcasting will provide greater understanding of the court process, a victims of crime advocate believes.

Traditionally an environment reserved for notepads and pens, the NSW government has announced plans to allow TV cameras and broadcasting in some criminal matters.

NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith said the plan would create a presumption in favour of allowing broadcasting in final proceedings such as verdicts and sentences.

Howard Brown, of the Victims of Crime Assistance League, believes it is a brilliant idea.

"Even though the courts are open to the public and the media, people generally take a very limited interest in it," he told AAP.

"When you see what is really involved in handing down a sentence in any matter and how complex it is, I think people would have a better understanding of it."

It could also yield greater compliance from judges as they are aware every decision is subject to public scrutiny, Mr Brown added.

However the victims advocate does not want to see anything like the live-streaming of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial.

Mr Smith referred to the South African trial, which was adjourned when a television station broadcast the image of a witness entitled to privacy.

"The judge warned the station in question to ensure they complied with the broadcast conditions," Mr Smith said.

"We'll consult with the media and other stakeholders before passing the legislation to ensure that the appropriate balance is struck."

Under the proposal, the filming of jurors, protected witnesses or victims would still be forbidden.

The plan would be initially rolled out in the Supreme Court but could apply to other courts and civil cases.

The attorney-general's department is considering introducing web streaming for certain court proceedings.

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Business wants even more red tape to go

FOR thousands of Australian businesses the Abbott government's first so-called repeal day can't come soon enough.

But there will also be disappointment that among the thousands of pieces of regulation that will be ditched on Wednesday - in what the government describes as a "red tape bonfire" - three areas that are the real bugbears of trying to do business are largely untouched.

Research by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry found safety and workers compensation; wages, conditions and superannuation; and tax compliance obligations are the biggest hindrances to doing business.

The chamber's acting chief economist, Burchell Wilson, said that while that was unfortunate, he was optimistic they would be on the agenda at some point.

Even so, business is highly supportive of repeal day, which is part of the government's promise to remove $1 billion worth of red tape a year.

"Red tape is strangling small business," Mr Wilson told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.

Almost three quarters of businesses believe the regulatory burden has increased over the past 12 months alone, while more than half said they had no capacity to pass on compliance costs to consumers.

For Mr Wilson the most disturbing finding was that 40 per cent said the red tape burden was restricting the growth in their businesses.

"If you are preventing businesses from expanding, you are also preventing them from taking on new staff," he said, adding that was seriously bad news for both them and the economy.

The Labor opposition will support most of the government's repeal day laws that cover some 9500 pieces of unnecessary regulation and 1000 redundant acts of parliament that come at a cost to the economy of $700 million a year.

But it has baulked at legislation to axe the Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission.

And a bill to streamline the way in which agricultural and veterinary chemicals are approved will be referred to a Senate committee for an inquiry.

Separately, the government has temporarily deferred rolling back Labor's financial advice reforms amid concerns it would weaken protections for investors.

The government decided on Monday to wait until Finance Minister Mathias Cormann consults with all relevant stakeholders "before pressing the go button" on changes to Future of Financial Advice laws.

"We are committed to the polices we took to the last election," Senator Cormann told the Senate on Tuesday.

Senator Cormann took charge of the issue after Arthur Sinodinos stepped down as assistant treasurer last week pending his appearance as a witness before anti-corruption inquiries in NSW.

Industry groups have supported the delay, but shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said the government was avoiding implementation of the controversial changes before the April 5 West Australian Senate election, a state where consumer protection is a key concern after the Westpoint collapse.

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Abbott restores knights and dames

RETIRING Governor-General Quentin Bryce has become a dame and her successor Peter Cosgrove will become a knight, after Prime Minister Tony Abbott restored the system of pre-eminent honours.

The Queen has amended the letters patent for the Order of Australia to allow for the new honours, Mr Abbott said on Tuesday.

The honours category, which was removed in 1986 after only 10 years of operation, will recognise pre-eminent Australians and up to four knights or dames can be appointed each year.

"I believe this is an important grace note in our national life," Mr Abbott said.

The chairman of the Order of Australia Council will be consulted on any recommendations.

Mr Abbott, a former director of Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy, defended the decision, saying it would enhance the dignity of the existing system.

"I don't think it's really any surprise," he said.

The prime minister made the decision to ask the Queen for the new category in the past few weeks, as he contemplated Dame Quentin's retirement and General Cosgrove taking on his new role.

He consulted both governors-general on the proposition and said they were happy to accept.

Asked whether it would lock in future governors-general to the monarchy, Mr Abbott said: "People who love our country, I think would be happy to accept this honour."

Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus said the move showed the government was rushing back to the 19th century.

Australian Greens leader Christine Milne said Australia had gone socially backwards under Mr Abbott's government.

"Bring on a republic," she said.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten didn't have much to add.

"It's good to see the government has a plan for Knights and Dames - where's their plan for jobs?" he said in a statement.

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Qlders should be able to party: Newman

QUEENSLAND Premier Campbell Newman says he won't change pub and club trading hours because people should be able to "let their hair down and party".

Queensland's government on Sunday released its draft plan to tackle alcohol-related and drug-related violence.

The reforms are aimed at stamping out night-life violence, including setting up 15 "safe night precincts" across the state.

But the opposition criticised the proposal for not reviewing trading hours for pubs and clubs.

Queensland Labor leader Annastacia Palaszczuk says the new laws won't work without action on hours. She said Newcastle in NSW had experienced a 33 per cent reduction in alcohol-related violence since restricting trading hours.

Mr Newman said closing licensed venues earlier wasn't part of his reforms because the reforms were about safety, not halting fun.

"We're saying this is a place where people should be able to let their hair down," he told reporters on the Gold Coast.

"It should be a place to party and you don't do that by saying that you're going to shut the place down.

"There are many places overseas that have even more liberal drinking hours than Australia and they manage to do it far better than we do in this country.

"That's what we should be aiming at, to change the behaviour."

Councils are supporting the government's plans, which would set up local boards to run the "safe night precincts".

"This approach reflects a commitment to further empowering local councils to create safe and supportive environments for their communities," Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) president Margaret de Wit said in a statement.

"Under the action plan, councils will have greater say on applications for extended liquor trading hours and adult entertainment permits, a proposal which has been supported by local government and the LGAQ for some time."

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Curriculum experts help review

AUSTRALIA'S curriculum developers have emphasised in a submission to an independent review the large amount of consulting and the lengthy time taken to create subjects to be taught.

The Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority notes that ministers from every state and territory and the Commonwealth have to endorse each subject before it can be published.

The authority's statement outlines the process the authority has gone through during the past five years to develop the national curriculum.

It published 30 subjects, ranging from foundation or kindergarten to Year 12.

Each subject takes two to three years to develop and almost 17,000 submissions have been considered in their formation.

The authority decided that the topics of indigenous history and culture, engagement with Asia and sustainability could be taught under other relevant subjects rather than being subjects in themselves, chairman Barry McGaw said on Monday.

For example, under the maths curriculum, Year 10 students studying statistics can compare data for the entire Australian population with data for indigenous people.

Professor McGaw says there is international interest in ACARA's work and Australia is recognised as a world leader.

"We have not yet seen the true benefits of a national curriculum," he said.

While change would always be debated, the imperative was for any revisions to be evidence-based and focused on achieving the best possible education outcomes.

Reviewers Kevin Donnelly and Ken Wiltshire will report to the government by the end of July.

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Archbishop fronts abuse inquiry in SA

THE Archbishop of Adelaide has agreed the Catholic Church's response to sexual abuse claims at a special school should have started about a decade earlier than it did.

Archbishop Philip Wilson told the royal commission into sexual abuse in Adelaide on Monday that if his predecessor had known of the claims in 1993, he would have expected police would have been contacted, letters written to parents and other processes put in place.

"If the matter was known, it should have been dealt with in all the formal ways that are required," he said.

The commission is investigating St Ann's Special School and its bus driver Brian Perkins, who sexually abused intellectually disabled children between 1986 and 1991.

The archbishop was referred to a statement of his predecessor, Archbishop Leonard Faulkner, who said he was informally told in 1993 about the arrest and charging of Perkins, who worked at St Ann's.

Archbishop Wilson said he first learnt of the claims in late 2001, when Archbishop Faulkner told him the Catholic Education Office had received a complaint from parents saying children had been molested by a bus driver at St Ann's.

Archbishop Wilson told the commission he was appalled and horrified and took immediate steps to put appropriate responses and processes in place.

The church made an offer to police to pay for Perkins's extradition from Queensland and Archbishop Wilson said that in March 2002 he wrote to parents who had children at the school at the relevant times.

The hearing is continuing.

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Female hiker found in Vic park

A HIKER missing for days in the Victorian wilderness has been winched to safety.

A police helicopter spotted the woman and winched her from the Alpine National Park, northeast of Melbourne, just after 10am on Sunday.

The woman, from the rural NSW city of Dubbo, sent a text message to her husband late on Thursday to say she was lost and out of water as she trekked through the remote park.

She lit a campfire at Howitt Plains to attract the attention of the helicopter.

A police spokeswoman said the woman was in reasonable health and was being attended to by paramedics.

Victoria Police and SES and CFA crews were involved in the search.

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NSW urged to get flu-ready

PREGNANT women and the elderly are being urged to prepare for winter and get a flu shot following an "unusually high" level of influenza in NSW this summer.

The Director of Health Protection NSW, Dr Jeremy McAnulty, said the northern hemisphere had experienced widespread influenza over the past months, with influenza A(H1N1) pandemic strain, A(H3N2) and influenza B circulating to different extents in different countries.

An unusually high level of influenza had also been seen in NSW over summer, he said.

He and other health professionals are now urging people, especially the elderly and pregnant women, to prepare for winter.

"The Australian flu vaccine has been updated to more closely match the influenza strains likely to circulate in NSW this year.

"So get a shot in preparation for this season," Dr McAnulty said on Sunday.

He said the seasonal flu shot continues to be the best defence for pregnant women and has the added advantage of protecting babies during their first six months when they are too young to have the vaccine.

NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner said the government's Be Winter Wise campaign, launched on Sunday, was focusing on pregnant women, the elderly and people with chronic medical conditions.

"Although we are still experiencing warm weather, people should not be complacent when it comes to the dangers of the flu," she said in a statement.

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One-punch killers to face life in Qld

One-punch killers will face life imprisonment under proposed changes to Queensland laws. Source: AAP

ONE-PUNCH killers would face life imprisonment under proposed changes to Queensland laws.

The Newman government's draft plan to tackle alcohol-related and drug-related violence, released on Sunday, would create an offence - unlawful striking causing death - to deal with one-punch killers.

If convicted, defendants would be required to serve at least 80 per cent of their life sentence behind bars before being eligible for parole.

"We have all seen the devastating and often tragic effects of coward punches not just in our state but across the nation," Premier Campbell Newman said in a statement.

"The Queensland government is determined to counter this dangerous trend and make Queensland the safest place in Australia for people to go out and enjoy themselves."

Under the plan, the maximum penalty for aggravated serious assaults on ambulance officers would rise from seven to 14 years' imprisonment.

Drunkenness would no longer be a viable excuse to mitigate an offender's sentence and courts would have the power to ban people from licensed premises for life.

ID would be installed in all licensed venues trading after midnight to keep out problem patrons and banned people.

The government would also set up 15 "safe night precincts" across the state where there would be late-night lockouts and more police on the beat.

Police would be given the power to detain people for their own safety if they were unduly intoxicated and at risk of serious harm, or behaving in a potentially violent or antisocial manner.

The government would also introduce a compulsory drinking awareness plan for all students between years 7-12 as part of the school curriculum.

The public has been asked to comment on the draft policy before April 21.

The opposition called on the Newman government to introduce a blanket 1am lockout across the state.

"If you don't tackle trading hours you don't tackle alcohol-fuelled violence. It's that simple," Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said in a statement.

"Unfortunately we have a premier too scared to act and showing no leadership."

Opposition police spokesman Bill Byrne questioned whether the government had failed to introduce a lockout because it was beholden to vested interests.

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