Corruption watchdog given Palmer papers

Clive Palmer allegedly demanded mining control to stop his attacks on the Newman government. Source: AAP

ALL dealings Clive Palmer has had with the Newman government will be forwarded to the state's corruption watchdog.

Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney hasn't made a formal complaint and says it will be up to the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) to assess if the federal politician acted inappropriately.

Mr Seeney said the mining magnate sought preferential treatment for his coal projects in 2012, which were rejected.

Newly released documents suggesting that in early 2013, Mr Palmer offered to drop three legal cases against the government if it approved his rail line in the untapped Galilee Basin.

"That's just crazy stuff and I told him so," Mr Seeney said.

He says staff were gathering all correspondence his office and the government have had with the businessman and will be giving it all to the CMC.

The deputy premier may have breached laws by sitting on a possible claim of official misconduct for so long.

"At the time, we were a new government, we were about creating jobs for Queenslanders," he said.

"I conceded that (that I had an obligation to report).

"With the benefit of hindsight given the way Clive Palmer has gone, it probably would have been better not to try to deal with him."

Labor's Yvette D'Ath says if the allegations are genuine, the government was required report to the CMC any suspicions of misconduct at the time.

"They need to come out and say why they are now coming out and doing it two years later," Ms D'Ath said.

Mr Palmer says Mr Seeney and Premier Campbell Newman have made up the allegations, and want to hurt him because he's suing the premier for defamation.

He warned Mr Seeney's deceitful actions could land him in legal hot water.

"It's a criminal act to refer an allegation to the CMC which you know to be untrue," Mr Palmer told AAP on Tuesday.

"The sooner he's thrown out of parliament the better."

Mr Palmer declared all out war with LNP not long after Mr Newman became premier, and he threw in his life membership in November 2012.

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Budgets weigh on WA consumer confidence

A FALL in consumer confidence in Western Australia is further evidence that federal and state budgets have hit taxpayer sentiment hard, member for Perth Alannah MacTiernan says.

The latest WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Curtin Business School survey of consumer confidence shows sentiment remains at record lows.

Almost 90 per cent of respondents said they expected the economy would remain the same or deteriorate over the next three months.

While high living costs was the most significant issue on 53 per cent of consumers' minds, 49 per cent of respondents rated the political environment as a major concern, up from 40 per cent in March.

Ms MacTiernan pounced on the figures, saying the survey was taken at a time where pre-budget speculation dominated, so consumer confidence might have fallen even lower, given households would have since digested the numbers.

"The Abbott government promised to 'turbo charge' consumer confidence and what we have seen in the lead up and with the May budget is the exact reverse, with the treasurer making it clear that the budget was about hitting household consumption," Ms MacTiernan said.

"That inevitably meant pensioners, students and families relying on basic services and payments to get ahead would suffer."

In the state budget, which was handed down five days before the federal budget, WA households were slugged on average an extra $324.18 a year for electricity, water, public transport and car registration.

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Vic teen 'forced into sex work': police

A 17-YEAR-OLD girl may have been forced into sex work for three months, Victorian police say.

A 33-year-old Warrnambool North man was arrested over the claims, but was released pending further inquiries.

He was interviewed on Monday over charges of procuring and inducing a child to take part in sex work, allowing a child to take part in sex work and living on the earnings of a sex worker.

Police on Tuesday said they had reports a girl had been forced into sex work, and appealed for anyone else in the same situation to come forward.

Detectives want to speak to anyone who has information about the girl or illegal sex work in Victoria's southwest.

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Police investigate 4WD flip on Sydney's M1

POLICE are investigating a crash on the Sydney to Newcastle freeway in which a four-wheel drive overturned and the caravan it was towing continued down the roadway.

Witnesses have told police that the Toyota four-wheel drive was towing a caravan northbound on the M1 on Monday at 11am when the car flipped on the Mooney Mooney Bridge.

The caravan disconnected from the car and continued to travel about 500 metres north from the accident site.

Emergency services removed the trapped 47-year-old male driver from the vehicle before he was taken by ambulance to Mount White.

He was then airlifted to Royal North Shore hospital.

No one else was injured in the crash.

Two lanes of north bound traffic were blocked while emergency services investigated the scene but they have since been reopened.

Witnesses told police the driver may have hit a rock wall but the exact cause of the crash remains unknown.

Investigations are continuing and police have asked for anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Meanwhile, NSW Police have also warned that motorists face long delays on the Princes Highway at Nowra, Berry and the southern Sydney suburb of Heathcote as they return at the end of the long weekend.

There are also delays for drivers on the Great Western Highway at Blackheath and Hazelbrook in the Blue Mountains.

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Aust to attract chefs with visa changes

Australia needs more of the culinary professionals to cope with forecast growth in the hospitality and tourism sectors, and the government will try to attract experience from overseas.

Chefs, along with bricklayers and wall and floor tilers, will be added to the Skilled Occupation List from July, making it easier for suitably-qualified people to secure a visa to enter, live and work in Australia.

Strong interest from a number of high-end international hotel chains means there is going to be a drive in the restaurant and cafe business, along with the construction sector, Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb said.

Australia must ensure it has the workforce to compete, he added.

The need for more construction-industry professionals stems partly from a decrease in Australia's apprenticeship completion rate, the government said.

There are almost 200 occupations on the occupation list, with jobs including health professionals, engineers, various trade roles, accountants and veterinarians.

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Vic Labor to stall legislation over Shaw

VICTORIA'S parliament is set for a showdown, with Labor insisting independent MP Geoff Shaw be dealt with before any legislation is examined.

Labor is calling for the balance of power MP to be expelled for contempt of parliament and wants the lower house to debate the issue as soon as parliament is recalled on Tuesday.

Shadow Treasurer Tim Pallas said it was the most important issue facing the house.

"When a member is the subject of a contempt consideration, that matter should be resolved as quickly as possible," he told reporters on Sunday.

A parliamentary privileges committee last month found Mr Shaw breached the MP code of conduct by misusing his parliamentary car for his private hardware business.

The committee, which was dominated by government members, recommended Mr Shaw repay the money but face no further sanction.

Premier Denis Napthine has since fallen out with Mr Shaw, after the former Liberal MP declared he no longer had confidence in the government.

Dr Napthine responded by accusing Mr Shaw of making demands for a judicial appointment.

The government now says it is carefully considering legal advice about the parliament's powers to expel an elected member.

Labor says it has obtained advice from constitutional expert George Williams saying the state parliament could do precisely that.

"There is no doubt that a properly structured resolution to either expel or suspend Mr Shaw can be put," Mr Pallas said.

Mr Pallas said Mr Shaw had blackened the name of all politicians.

He said any other Victorian would expect to lose their job if they had been found to have misused a work credit card.

Treasurer Michael O'Brien last week said passing the budget was a "million times more important" than Mr Shaw.

Mr Pallas said Labor would pass the budget, and that it could be dealt with before the end of the sitting week.

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WA woman's death due to 'misadventure'

A WOMAN who died after a case of misdiagnosis still may not have survived if doctors had correctly identified her ailments sooner, a West Australian coroner has found.

Julissa Teresa Gilbert, 57, was an obese smoker with a history of hypertension, arthritis, asthma and chronic obstructive airways disease.

On September 17, 2008, she ate a hotdog for lunch, felt abdominal pain and vomited that night.

She visited Geraldton Regional Hospital and had an appendectomy the next morning.

The doctor who saw Ms Gilbert after her surgery believed her subsequent hypotension was due to septic shock and ordered more fluids with increased Aramine infusions.

But Ms Gilbert died a little over two hours later from an intra-abdominal haemorrhage.

In her findings, Deputy State Coroner Evelyn Vicker noted that because the doctor determined Ms Gilbert was suffering from septic shock rather than an internal haemorrhage, he considered it a medical problem rather than a surgical or anaesthetic problem.

As a result, he did not consult the surgeon or an anaesthetist, who may have offered a different perspective, Ms Vicker said.

"This may have presented an alternative view for the deceased's deterioration, but may still have been too late to have altered the outcome," she said.

The coroner noted there was some doubt about whether there would have been enough time to supply Ms Gilbert with sufficient blood products and return her to surgery to stem the bleed and save her.

Given how rapidly her condition deteriorated, it was impossible to predict whether a correct diagnosis earlier would have saved her, Ms Vicker said.

"The deceased needed blood or blood products in sufficient quantities to replace the loss and provide appropriate perfusion, and surgery to correct the source of the blood loss, if it could be located," she said.

Ms Vicker noted there had been changes made to medical practices since 2008, including improvements in the management of deteriorating patients.

She concluded that Ms Gilbert died due to misadventure.

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Shaw can be expelled, opposition says

GEOFF Shaw can be expelled from the Victorian parliament, according to legal advice obtained by the opposition, as it renewed calls for the Napthine government to banish the independent MP.

Shadow attorney-general Martin Pakula released advice obtained from constitutional lawyer George Williams AO, which concludes the Victorian Parliament has the power to expel a member.

Describing Mr Williams as one of the country's top constitutional experts, Mr Pakula called on the Napthine government to take decisive action against Mr Shaw.

"The legal advice makes it absolutely clear that parliament has the power to expel a member of parliament, and in the opposition's view this removes from the government the last excuse not to act," he said on Sunday.

"This advice is clear, it is unequivocal and it is from an extremely eminent constitutional lawyer."

Mr Pakula reiterated the opposition's intention to seek Mr Shaw's expulsion when parliament resumes on Tuesday.

"This is a big step, the opposition does not deny that, but the actions of Mr Shaw are unprecedented," he said.

"We believe the circus has to end."

Premier Denis Napthine has said the government will not be held to ransom by Mr Shaw, but has refused to say if he should be suspended or expelled when parliament sits.

His Health Minister David Davis said on Sunday the government was still in the process of testing it's own legal advice.

"What is important is to make sure that we move in a way that is legally safe and legally secure and the government is obtaining detailed advice on those matters to make sure we take the proper steps in the proper way at the proper time," he said.

A parliamentary privileges committee found Mr Shaw breached the MP code of conduct by misusing his parliamentary car for his private hardware business.

Mr Pakula said it would be unacceptable to stop short of expulsion and simply suspended Mr Shaw from parliament in a move that may still allow him to collect a salary.

"I think the people of Frankston and the people of Victoria more generally would be appalled at the notion," he said.

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Vietnamese man still on the run in Perth

A VIETNAMESE man is still on the run after escaping from Serco guards at Perth Airport while he was being deported, but is not believed to be a danger to the community.

The man fled while under escort at the departures check-in area on Saturday morning.

Australian Federal Police officers, WA Police and Serco staff searched for the man, but could not find him.

A spokesman for Immigration and Border Protection Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday that efforts were continuing to locate the man, who is not known to be a threat to the public.

"The department's detention services provider will investigate the details of the incident," he said.

Mr Morrison was concerned about the incident and asked to be kept regularly updated on the progress of the search, the spokesman said.

The department's contract with Serco has clauses regarding underperformance, which may include financial abatements.

"Following the investigation, the department will consider under the contract provisions what further action should be taken," the spokesman said.

It is understood the man had travelled to Australia by boat illegally.

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NSW govt to extend home owner grant

Next week's NSW budget will extend eligibility criteria for a first home owner grant. Source: AAP

THE NSW government has freed land for 6600 new homes in Sydney's northwest and will extend the first home owner grant in this month's budget.

Land at Marsden Park North, Richmond and Blacktown has been released or rezoned for housing, Premier Mike Baird announced on Saturday.

The Marsden Park land has space for 4000 new homes and is close to where the North West Rail Link is being built, while the land at Blacktown is on an old golf course.

"In western Sydney, there is a massive housing boom occurring and the unlocking of up to 6600 new housing lots at three sites will boost housing supply and make homes more affordable," Mr Baird said in a statement.

The government claims 100,000 new homes have been built across NSW since the March 2011 election.

Treasurer Andrew Constance also announced that the June 17 state budget will extend eligibility criteria for the first home owner grant by $100,000.

It means first-time buyers who purchase new properties worth up to $750,000 will qualify for the $15,000 payment. The previous threshold was $650,000.

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