Ducks return to memorial for Royal visit

THE Australian War Memorial has some special guests for the visit of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.

Overnight a family of ducks resumed residence in the Pool of Reflection which holds the eternal flame.

The mother, with her new ducklings, returns to the war memorial every year from Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin.

Memorial spokeswoman Marylou Pooley said staff looked forward to the duck family taking up residence.

"It is lovely to see new life in a commemorative area that represents so much sadness," she told reporters on Saturday.

"This year the timing of the ducklings' arrival is even more poignant."

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Royal couple lay wreath at war memorial

THE Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have wound up their Australian tour with a visit to The Australian War Memorial.

There they laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to the haunting sounds of a bugle.

Later the royal couple walked down the colonnade past the names of Australia's war dead, inspecting the section which lists those who died in Afghanistan.

The Roll of Honour is updated each Remembrance Day with the names of those killed in action during the year.

After signing the visitors' book, Prince Charles and the Duchess shook hands and chatted with members of the several hundred strong crowd gathered outside the memorial.

Earlier the pair arrived to calls of "Charles, Charles! I love you Charles!"

British expat Mark Rowan, 48, was proud to be amongst the crowd.

Mr Rowan moved to Australia five months ago and works for the Royal Australian Navy.

"In this day and age, especially with the republican side of things, you're never too sure but it's a good turnout," he told AAP.

Mr Rowan was joined by his eight-year-old daughter Bethany who was waving a Union Jack flag with a picture of Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.

Prince Charles and the Duchess were on their way to Canberra airport where they will board a plane for New Zealand.

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Massive fire in Mackay shops under control

A MASSIVE fire that gutted four shopping outlets in north Queensland has been brought under control.

Emergency services received reports of a fire in a shopping centre on Greenfield Boulevard, Mackay, at 11.45am (AEST) on Saturday.

The Department of Community Safety (DCS) says at 3pm (AEST) the main fire, which destroyed most of the Toys R Us, Clark Rubber and Autobarn stores, had been put out and firefighters were hosing down remanent flames.

No one was injured.

A public safety order is still in place because of police concerns about toxic smoke from burning chemicals in some of the shops.

A nearby shop worker, who did not want to be named, said witnesses saw four teenagers being arrested in the carpark.

"They (the teenagers) were in our shop this morning, we hunted them out. They were being horrible in here," she told AAP.

"Officers have put those young people in a paddy wagon."

Police couldn't confirm whether any arrests had been made, but the DCS confirmed a fire investigator would be brought in to work out how the blaze started.

Drivers are being warned to expect long delays on the Bruce Highway, which is next to the shopping centre.

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Royals kick off Sydney visit

AFTER mingling at the Melbourne Cup, enjoying an outback Queensland barbie and sampling South Australian wine, Charles and Camilla will begin the Sydney leg of their whirlwind Australian tour on Friday.

After arriving at Kingsford Smith Airport on Thursday night, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will make their first stop at Garden Island in Sydney Harbour, where they will meet Australian Defence Force personnel and their families.

From there, Charles is to attend a Campaign for Wool event at Circular Quay, before heading to Bondi for an emergency services reception hosted by NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell.

The Prince will then attend a corporate social responsibility function put on by the National Rugby League and Community One, also at Bondi.

Meanwhile, Camilla will be appointed colonel-in-chief of the Royal Australian Corps of Military Police at Government House.

In the early evening, the royal couple are due to cross the harbour by barge to the Sydney Opera House for a reception with NSW Governor Marie Bashir.

The royal couple's busy day will conclude with a reception at Kirribilli House with Governor-General Quentin Bryce.

Charles and Camilla will fly out of Sydney for Canberra on Saturday morning.

The royals are on a 13-day tour of the southern hemisphere and are in Australia for six days as part of the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations.

On the tour they have already met World War II veterans of the Kokoda Campaign in Papua New Guinea, sampled an "Aussie" barbecue in Longreach, Queensland, and attended the Melbourne Cup.

On Wednesday, they enjoyed South Australian wine and cheese in Adelaide, before flying to Tasmania for a five-hour stopover on Thursday.

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Sydney turns on weather for Royals

PRINCE Charles was caught in a thunderstorm at Bondi Beach and a military policeman fainted in the heat at a separate event attended by his wife Camilla, as weather extremes hit the royal visit.

Charles rolled his eyes in disappointment when the heavens opened, forcing him to cut short a meet-and-greet session with emergency services officers.

As hundreds of locals fled Sydney's most famous beach and thunder boomed, Charles was quickly escorted to shelter, waiting for the storm to pass before watching indigenous players in a rugby league match played on the sand.

He had arrived to screams of "Charlie, Charlie", British flags and a sign reading "Say G'day to Betty for me".

A barricade almost came down as excited locals shook hands and had photos taken with the prince amid a sea of smartphones.

"Look at all these fantastic telephones you've got - amazing," he told them.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell welcomed him, saying he would meet "some of the finest representatives of the emergency services that exist anywhere in the world - people who run toward a crisis when others are running away".

Soon it was Charles' turn to scamper, as the rain belted down.

A short time earlier, at Sydney's historic Victoria Barracks, a military policeman had fainted in the high heat and humidity at a parade where Charles' wife Camilla was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of Australia's military police.

But the Duchess of Cornwall was reviewing troops behind him at the time and would have been unaware of the incidental passing out parade.

The duchess, whose father was a British army officer, was regaled by a military band playing the convict song Bound For Botany Bay.

In the only speech of her first Australian visit, she admired the "dashing scarlet berets" of the military police and wondered if she might get to wear one. Her wish was soon granted when she was presented with a beret.

Praising their outstanding service to the nation in war and peace, at home and in dangerous places like Afghanistan, Iraq and East Timor, she said: "It seems to me you are never off duty, rather like my husband."

The 65-year-old duchess said she "deeply regretted" leaving it so late to visit Australia, but now hoped to return often.

The royal couple kicked off their only full day in Sydney with a barge ride on the harbour ahead of a morning tea with Australian Defence Force personnel and their families.

The pair soaked up the sight of the sunny city as they travelled to Garden Island in a wooden ceremonial boat, the Admiral's Barge.

Camilla looked fresh in a knee-length cream dress, cream hat, sunglasses, tan shoes and pearls, while Charles wore a navy blue suit paired with a light blue shirt and a striped blue and white tie.

The prince wore his Australian merino wool suit to the Museum of Contemporary Art to meet five local designers in his role as an ambassador for the Campaign for Wool.

If he glanced up at a nearby P&O cruise ship moored in Circular Quay he would have seen a large banner declaring "Royal Suite Available".

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Australian PM insists 'many' boats stopped

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard says the government's border protection policies are working, insisting co-operation with Indonesia has successfully disrupted "many" people-smuggling ventures.

Ms Gillard said the government would remain focused on targeting "high-value" people smugglers to stem the flow of boats.

"It is about continuing to focus on disruption activities, stopping people smugglers (and) particularly focusing on the high-value targets - the people who are the masterminds behind these ventures," Ms Gillard said in Bali on Friday.

Ms Gillard and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono discussed the people-smuggling issue during a meeting in the resort area of Nusa Dua in Bali on Friday.

"I believe when you look at the disruption statistics, for example, that our work with Indonesia has successfully disrupted many ventures from setting sail," she added.

But there have not been any recent arrests of people smugglers in Indonesia that could be considered high profile, while more than 800 people have arrived in Australia on 16 boats in the first nine days of November.

Most of the vessels originated from Indonesia, the main transit point for asylum seekers heading to Australia.

Ms Gillard said her government was "intensively engaged every day with Indonesia on combating people smuggling".

"We co-operate strongly with Indonesia at every level," she said.

"The president of Indonesia has said to me today that he wants to continue that strong co-operation. He wants to keep working with us on what is a shared challenge."

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison responded by labelling the prime minister's record on international negotiations on people smuggling as "disastrous".

"While Julia Gillard was talking, the 501st boat turned up on Labor's watch," he told AAP.

"From the East Timor farce to the Malaysia people swap debacle, this prime minister has failed the test."

"Our regional co-operation must focus single-mindedly on deterrence, rather than sending mixed messages that simply draw even more people into the region."

Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen announced on Friday that a group of 33 Sri Lankan single adult men had been returned home - the third involuntary removal in as many days.

Since August 13, a total of 219 Sri Lankans have been returned home.

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Ferguson wants state co-operation

ENERGY Minister Martin Ferguson says he's determined to work co-operatively with the states to reform the energy market, particularly on expanding the use of gas.

"I'm not going to pick a fight on this because this is too important," Mr Ferguson told reporters after launching the federal government's Energy White Paper in Melbourne on Thursday.

Gas, along with electricity reforms, will be high on the agenda at next month's Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting, Mr Ferguson said.

Unless the governments work together, win community support and attract gas investment, "we are all losers", he said.

"This is about supply and demand and potential impact on price," Mr Ferguson said.

Mr Ferguson, who's called for more privatisation in the energy sector, says Australia's energy sector remains a lucrative investment opportunity for overseas investors.

"The private sector sees Australia as a safe haven for investment," he said.

"We've got around $170 billion in LNG alone and about $270 billion across resources in energy."

The minister said his recent trip to an energy suppliers and users conference in Tokyo had affirmed his belief.

"There's still a lot of interest in Australia," he said.

Mr Ferguson also said while nuclear power was a proven form of clean energy, its high cost of production meant it would not be on the government's agenda any time soon.

"We've never had to think about nuclear, because how do you compete (with) opportunities for coal-fired power, and more recent opportunities for developing the gas industry and now the renewable sector," he said.

The minister released the federal government's energy white paper in Melbourne earlier on Thursday, calling it a roadmap for a transformation of the sector.

Mr Ferguson said competitive pricing, efficient resource allocation and innovation were key elements of Labor's commitments to open and transparent energy markets.

"This is what will drive Australia's economic and income growth, while ensuring we protect those who are most vulnerable in our society," he told a business lunch.

Among the white paper's recommendations are price signalling for peak demand and tools like smart meters to influence consumers' decisions about their power use.

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Cockatoo, contentious moth back from brink

A STOCKY white cockatoo that came very close to extinction and a controversial moth have been removed from Western Australia's threatened species list.

WA's Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) on Thursday said the Muir's corella had been taken off the list, which had been updated following recommendations by the Threatened Species Scientific Committee.

The species is confined to the extreme southwest of WA, concentrated around the Lake Muir region, and has been threatened by habitat loss, and shooting and poisoning as it is considered to be a crop pest.

Population numbers severely declined in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and had at one stage declined to about 100 birds.

Its recovery was a conservation success story, DEC's Gordon Wyre said.

"While Muir's corella can no longer be considered threatened, there remains a need for the department, in co-operation with landholders, to carefully manage the species and its impact on agricultural production across its southwestern distribution," he said.

"Conservation status reviews have also demonstrated that the gouldian finch and the graceful sun-moth are now adequately conserved in the wild, with the sun-moth being found to occur over a wider distribution and wider host plant range on the Swan Coastal Plain."

WA Premier Colin Barnett has previously told WA Mining Club and Urban Development Institute of Australia functions that the ubiquitous sun-moth had stymied more developments than any other species, suggesting the Biodiversity Act needed to be updated.

He joked that it was a particularly unfortunate creature, born blind, with no mouth and obviously no meals over its short life span of up to 10 days.

Overall, the number of threatened fauna species on the DEC list has increased from 233 to 240 species.

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Man in court on $20 million fraud charge

A MAN accused of stealing more than $20 million from one of Australia's largest construction and infrastructure companies has appeared in court.

Damian Victor O'Carrigan, 58, of Moggill in Brisbane's west, allegedly took the money from Leightons Contractors over a 12-year period beginning in May 2000.

He was employed in a finance role with the company at the time of the alleged offences.

O'Carrigan has been charged with one count of fraud and one count of fraudulently falsifying a document.

He applied for bail in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday, but the application was adjourned part-heard and will resume on Friday.

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Smith talks security with Indian governor

DEFENCE Minister Stephen Smith has met the governor of India's fourth most populous state to discuss an expansion of Australia's security ties with the south Asian nation.

During the talks in Sydney on Wednesday, Mr Smith and West Bengal governor MK Narayanan, a former Indian government national security adviser, discussed Australia's bilateral relations with India and defence and security ties.

There was also talk about shared strategic and security interests, including maritime security, co-operation in the Indian Ocean and regional security.

Mr Smith said Australia and India were each committed to promoting regional and global security and shared a common commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

"We are jointly leading efforts to further develop the regional security architecture of the Indian Ocean, with a particular focus on maritime security," he said in a statement.

Last year, Mr Smith and Indian Defence Minister AK Antony agreed to boost co-operation on maritime security through multilateral maritime and other exercises.

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