Newman postpones Cooktown visit

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman is planning to visit cyclone-hit Cooktown. Source: AAP

THE Queensland premier is postponing a planned visit to cyclone-hit Cooktown as a major road is cut off and strong winds make helicopter travel unsafe.

Campbell Newman had earlier promised to travel from Cairns on Saturday afternoon to see how Cyclone Ita had uprooted trees and destroyed a pub in the coastal community north of the Daintree National Park.

But a spokesman for the premier told AAP that Mr Newman would postpone his visit until Sunday.

"We're now not planning on doing it until it's safe," he said.

About 700 homes in Cooktown are still without power but mobile phone services are working.

The roof was also ripped off the West Coast Hotel, along with some homes, after Ita made landfall north of the town on Friday night as a category four system.

The Mulligan Highway into the town of about 2300 people remains closed because of flooding at the Annan River.

Earlier, Mr Newman said he had hoped to visit Cook Shire mayor Peter Scott.

"This afternoon, if it is safe and practical, I intend to go to Cooktown," he told reporters.

"That will depend, of course, on weather conditions."

Winds of up to 120km/h could hit areas from Cooktown south to Port Douglas on Saturday afternoon, the Bureau of Meteorology said in a 3pm update.

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Ita weakening quickly, BoM says

The weather bureau says tropical cyclone Ita is weakening quickly as it moves across Queensland. Source: AAP

TROPICAL cyclone Ita is weakening quickly as it tracks across Queensland's far north, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) says.

Ita was a category four cyclone as it crossed the coast near Cape Flattery about 9pm on Friday, but has been downgraded to a category one as it moves south across the state.

The weather bureau's Ken Kato said Ita was about 85 kilometres south of Cooktown and was moving south about nine kilometres per hour.

He said the cyclone was weakening and was likely to be downgraded to a tropical low later on Saturday.

"We've always anticipated that. Once it starts moving over that rugged terrain a bit inland of the coast it'll weaken fairly quickly - that's what's happening," Mr Kato told AAP.

"It should continue weakening as it moves south over that type of terrain."

He said the cyclone would head out into the Coral Sea somewhere off the north tropical coast in the next few days.

Cyclone warnings are current for coastal areas from Cape Melville to Cardwell, including Cooktown, Port Douglas and Cairns, and extending inland to areas including Mareeba and Chillagoe.

Damaging winds with gusts to 120km/h are possible south of Cooktown to Port Douglas for a brief period on Saturday afternoon, BoM also advises.

Coastal residents south of Cooktown to Cairns, including Port Douglas, are also being warned of a storm tide on Saturday.

Heavy rain, which BoM warns may lead to flash flooding, is buffeting parts of the North Tropical Coast and Tablelands districts.

BoM says the rain should gradually contract southwards with the system over the weekend.

Authorities had been warning Ita could be the worst cyclone to hit Queensland since Yasi three years ago, but damage appears to be less serious than expected.

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Police pluck three from Tasmanian cliff

THREE people including a six-year-old boy have been winched unharmed from cliffs in Tasmania after their fishing boat was smashed on rocks.

Tasmania Police search and rescue helicopter pilot Senior Constable Josh Peach said the boat, a six-metre fibreglass vessel, struck rocks and sank at Coal Point on Bruny Island, south of Hobart, about 10am (AEST) on Saturday.

Police responded to a feint mayday signal from the boat, followed by two frantic mobile phone calls from the fishing party, a 53-year-old man, his six-year-old son and a male relative, 26, all from Geeveston.

"They had difficulty retrieving a net off Coal Point in Adventure Bay," Const Peach told AAP.

"There was a one-metre easterly swell in Adventure Bay, which is reasonably choppy, and they had laid the net close to the cliffs.

"The rope and netting wrapped around the propellers and they were unable to free them in the minute or two it took for the boat to hit the rocks."

The three scrambled on to the cliff but the boy was swept back into the sea and was rescued by the 26-year-old relative.

Police in a boat and another officer on top of the 20 to 30 metre high sandstone cliff were unable to reach the group so the Westpac rescue helicopter was called.

An Ambulance Tasmania paramedic was winched down to rescue the three.

Const Peach said they suffered nothing but a scare from the ordeal.

"They were all fine, there were no injuries," he said.

"They just had a bad day of fishing."

The helicopter flew the group to Hobart Airport and police escorted them into Hobart to be reunited with loved ones.

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Global equities sell-off spills into NZ

NEW Zealand stocks have joined a global sell-off amid concerns high-growth companies may struggle to convert sales into profits.

Led lower by biotech firm Pacific Edge and software developer Xero, the NZX 50 Index fell 24.058 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 5091.431 on Friday.

Within the index, 28 stocks fell, 11 rose and 11 were unchanged. Turnover was $101.8 million.

Equities across Asia followed Wall Street lower, after the biggest daily decline on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index since November 2011.

Pacific Edge was the biggest decliner on the local market, closing 9.8 per cent loweer at $1.10 after an intraday decline of 15 per cent to $1.04.

Xero fell 5.3 per cent to $31.35, while milk marketer A2 Milk slipped 3.5 per cent to 84 cents.

"Dragging the index lower today are Pacific Edge, Xero, A2 Milk - so all the companies that don't make any money," said Bryon Burke, head of equities at Craigs Investment Partners.

"Stocks that have moved higher today are high yield stocks, so New Zealand is reflecting what's happening in the rest of the world."

Fletcher Building, New Zealand's largest listed company, rose 0.6 per cent to $9.70 and Sky Network Television advanced 0.5 per cent to $6.48.

Friday was the last day investors could buy Genesis Energy shares before the government lists 49 per cent of the state-owned energy provider and retailer on April 17.

Mighty River Power rose 0.2 per cent to $2.16, Meridian Energy advanced 0.4 per cent to $1.15 and Contact Energy slipped 0.4 per cent to $5.31.

Shares in Chorus fell two per cent to $1.73 after it sought leave to appeal a High Court judgment upholding the Commerce Commission's determination setting the regulated prices on the telecommunications network operator's copper lines.

The company also suspended its dividend reinvestment plan.

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$A rallied but gains will be limited

THE Australian dollar could get to 95 US cents after rising almost two US cents this week but don't expect the rally to last too long.

The Australian dollar got a boost at the beginning of the week when the US dollar fell after US employment growth for March was weaker than expected.

The US dollar weakness continued over the following days, helped by the minutes of the most recent US Federal Reserve meeting that showed the Fed will keep its interest rate at its near zero per cent level for "a considerable time".

The Aussie passed 94 US cents on Thursday for the first time in five months after the local unemployment rate for March had a surprise fall of 0.3 percentage points to 5.8 per cent.

The Aussie started the week at 92.90 US cents and peaked at 94.63 US cents during European trade on Thursday night.

The four-month low in the unemployment rate was seen by analysts as a sign of an improving economy and that the chances of another interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank have all but disappeared.

AMP chief economist Shane Oliver expects the currency to move up towards 95 US cents, which would be a concern to the RBA.

"The broad trend in the Australian dollar is likely to remain down though, reflecting softer commodity prices," he said.

"Renewed RBA jawboning in the months ahead is also likely to weigh on the Australian dollar."

Dr Oliver also said that a stronger recovery in economic growth in the US relative to that in Australia will also limit any gains by the Australian dollar.

RBC senior currency strategist Sue Trinh said doesn't expect the currency's strength to continue and is doubtful about the strength of the Australian economy.

"We are particularly mindful that the RBA has suggested that savers have responded to the fall in the cash rate," she said.

"Yet, the extent to which the data at the household level back this assertion is more debatable.

"The only clear signs that households appetite for risk has picked up are in demand for dwellings.

"RBC's base case is that households remain broadly cautious."

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Boys 'assaulted' with gas soldering torch

A MAN and woman have been charged with assaulting two young children with a soldering torch, a hammer, rope and sticks.

Family and Community Services (FACS) staff removed three boys aged five-months-old, eight and 10 from a home in the St George area, in Sydney's south on Tuesday.

Police raided the home on Thursday and seized a rope, sticks, a gas-powered soldering torch and a hammer; all of which were allegedly used on a number of occasions to assault the eight-year-old and 10-year-old boys.

A 33-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman who were caring for the children were arrested and faced Sutherland Local Court on Friday.

The man was charged with four counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, while the woman was charged with one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

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Transurban collects 12.9% more tolls

Transurban collected $273.8m more proportional revenue on its toll roads during the March quarter. Source: AAP

THE upgrade of Sydney's major Hills M2 toll road contributed to a near 13 per cent jump in Transurban's quarterly revenue.

The toll road operator and owner increased toll revenue by 12.9 per cent to $221.7 million for the March quarter compared to the prior corresponding period.

Proportional toll revenue, which measures revenues relative to its ownership stakes, increased 12.7 per cent to $273.8 million compared to the same period last year.

But it was below the December quarter's $281.3 million.

Toll revenue from the Hills M2 road jumped 40.3 per cent to $48.4 million.

Transurban said its Sydney network had continued its strong performance.

That reflected continued growth in the northwest corridor from the M2 upgrade, completed last August, with average traffic growth in Sydney up 10.9 per cent for the quarter.

"It has been eight months since the M2 upgrade was officially completed and we are continuing to observe strong growth in that corridor, which reflects the travel time savings that project delivered to motorists," chief executive Scott Charlton said in a statement on Thursday.

Toll revenue from Transurban's biggest asset, Melbourne's CityLink, increased 6.3 per cent to $130.5 million.

Transurban is part of a consortium also bidding for Brisbane's toll road portfolio Queensland Motorways.

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NAB severs ties with Bitcoin vendors

NATIONAL Australia Bank is severing ties to digital currencies, saying they're too risky.

NAB has sent letters to business customers who primarily trade in Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies, informing them that their accounts will be closed on May 2.

The letters say an internal review concluded that ties with digital currency providers pose an unacceptable level of risk to NAB's business and reputation.

NAB has never banked or traded in digital currencies, but has provided banking services to companies who do.

Confirming the move, a spokesman said: "NAB continually reviews its risk profile and the businesses we bank, ensuring NAB's activities are in the best interest of our customers and our shareholders."

The decision follows recent moves by the Bank of Ireland and the Bank of Montreal to distance themselves from customers who trade in digital currencies.

It also comes a month after Japanese bank Mizhuo was named in US and Canadian lawsuits brought against the bankrupt Mt Gox exchange, to whom it provided banking services.

Mt Gox, the world's biggest exchange, announced in February it had been robbed of all its Bitcoins in a massive cyber attack.

One of Australia's largest Bitcoin traders, CoinJar, which uses NAB to take deposits from clients, said in a blog post it was disappointed with the decision, adding it would affect many other companies.

But co-founder Asher Tan praised the bank for providing notice, saying CoinJar had been dumped by the Commonwealth Bank last year in a much shorter timeframe.

Australian banks are generally uneasy with digital currencies and regularly shut off banking services, said Robert Masters, CEO of digital currency trader Krypto Currency Solutions.

Professor David Glance, a bitcoin expert and the director of software practice at the University of Western Australia, said NAB's move smacked of an overreaction.

"Unless they had evidence that the companies they were dealing with were actually doing something in particular, it's an odd reaction."

He said local Australian digital currency providers were far smaller than massive exchanges such as Mt. Gox and therefore posed far less risk.

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WA union call for Labor senator to resign

A KEY union affiliated with the Labor party has called for West Australian senator-elect Joe Bullock to step down.

Mr Bullock was first on Labor's senate election ticket in Saturday's WA Senate election re-run.

His preselection was mired in controversy after he knocked off sitting Labor senator Louise Pratt for the top spot on the ticket in a factional deal.

Senator Pratt is likely to lose her seat once counting is concluded in the next fortnight, with the Liberals taking three of the six seats.

Mr Bullock issued an apology last week over a speech he made in 2013 in which he described Senator Pratt as a "poster child" for gay marriage, said Labor members were "mad" and saw himself as a bulwark against "every weird lefty trend".

United Voice WA secretary Carolyn Smith said Mr Bullock's comments were "inexcusable".

"In light of his recent comments we no longer believe he is fit to represent the ALP in the Australian senate," Ms Smith said in a statement on Thursday.

"He should seriously consider resigning his position."

United Voice was part of the factional deal that led to Mr Bullock being in the top spot on the Labor ticket.

The deal delivered the Left's Sue Lines, a former assistant national secretary of United Voice, the WA Senate seat made vacant by the retirement of former minister Chris Evans in 2013.

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More relocatable units for Vic prisons

MORE shipping container-style "relocatable units" are being rolled out to boost the capacity of Victoria's prison system.

The Victorian government has announced another 27 units will be installed by August at two correctional facilities near Geelong, a gain of 81 medium-security beds.

"Relocatable units are already providing an important, immediate boost to capacity in Victoria's corrections system, and today's announcement will build on this," Corrections Minister Edward O'Donohue said on Wednesday.

"The security and design of the units will be consistent with the standard security accommodation already at Fulham and Marngoneet prisons."

The government has previously likened the units - which each house three inmates - to mining camp accommodation and has also pointed to their use in prisons in Western Australia, South Australia and New Zealand.

Expansion plans for Victoria's Loddon Prison, announced in March, include 15 of the units.

The government says it has added 1000 prison beds since 2011 with another 2500 in the pipeline, including the 1000-bed prison under construction at Ravenhall in Melbourne's west.

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