Gillard mum on more Rudd axings

Julia Gillard won't say whether she thinks all of Kevin Rudd's ministerial supporters should fall. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has refused to say whether the bloodletting over the failed leadership coup will continue with the axing of the remaining Kevin Rudd supporters on her frontbench.

After the resignation of senior ministers Chris Bowen, Martin Ferguson and Kim Carr on Friday, questions have been raised as to whether fellow Rudd backers Anthony Albanese and Mark Butler should also quit, or be axed in next week's reshuffle.

Speaking to reporters in Murwillumbah on the NSW far north coast on Saturday, Ms Gillard would not respond to questions about the future of Mr Rudd's remaining frontbench supporters.

Asked specifically about Mr Albanese, she said the infrastructure minister and Leader of the House was "doing a good job, a fantastic job".

"He's a very valuable minister and I work very closely with him," she said.

Mental Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler was "a very able minister", she said, and "continuing to do very important work for us in some difficult areas".

Ms Gillard said despite the resignations of Mr Bowen, Mr Ferguson and Senator Carr, and the sacking of senior minister Simon Crean, she "absolutely" had enough talent at her disposal in deciding the makeup of her new cabinet.

"My problem when it comes to ministerial reshuffles is making the fine judgments about who to promote because there are so many possibilities and so many people with real ability who could step up and do the tasks before them."

Opposition leader Tony Abbott said the quartet of former ministers had "called it for Australia", showing they no longer have confidence in the Gillard government.

He again foreshadowed a motion of no confidence in the government when parliament resumes in May, but called Ms Gillard to call an election beforehand.

"It's pretty obvious that the Australian people no longer have confidence in this government," Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.

"It's pretty obvious that some of its senior members ... no longer have confidence in the current government.

"Martin Ferguson, Simon Crean and the others called it for Australia."

Key federal independent Andrew Wilkie said the Gillard government would struggle to survive a no-confidence motion if it did not get its act together.

Like fellow independent Bob Katter and Tony Windsor, Mr Wilkie said he had not made a decision on whether he would support the motion.

"(But) I tell you what, if the government doesn't start showing some stability and some competency I think it is going to struggle to get the numbers when that motion of no confidence does come up," he said.

"I'm keeping a very close eye on the government, all the time, but even more so now.

"And I want to see some stability and competence from this point in time."

Labor frontbencher Craig Emerson dismissed the suggestion that the government was facing defeat on the budget day confidence motion.

"The independents have indicated that they will take us, that is the government, right through to the next election," he told the Seven Network.

Greens leader Christine Milne told Mr Wilkie to "stop facilitating Tony Abbott", and instead focus on bedding down major changes such as the education reforms and tougher coal seam gas regulations.

"It would be a tragedy if Andrew Wilkie gives a leg-up to Tony Abbott and forces an early election and jeopardises all of those reforms that so many people have worked so long to achieve," Senator Milne told reporters in Hobart.

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Clean up after 'devastating' Vic tornado

Crews will work around the clock to clean up following a tornado that devastated Victoria's north. Source: AAP

MORE than 20 homes and 100 caravans have been destroyed - and many more badly damaged - after a tornado ripped through towns along the Victorian/NSW border.

Residents were allowed through the Denison County Caravan Park at Mulwala for the first time on Saturday, two days after scores of caravans were torn to pieces by winds of up to 300kph.

"Some of them are destroyed to the point of being completely unrecognisable," said Bernard Kates, SES NSW regional controller for the Murray Region.

"This tornado has kind of scored a bulls eye right on top of this caravan park and it's made a real mess.

"There is a fair bit of shock, a fair bit of amazement, and one or two people who were here when the tornado struck are thinking how lucky they were to escape without injury."

Mr Kates said it was fortunate the caravan park was mostly empty when the tornado struck around 8pm (AEDT) on Thursday.

Crews were now working to clean the debris, including asbestos.

Across the border in Victoria, more than 20 homes have been declared uninhabitable as SES crews work around the clock to remove debris and fallen trees.

SES spokesman Toby Borella said 15 properties had been identified as uninhabitable at Koonoomoo, along with seven at Bundalong and two at Rutherglen, while many others had been classified as significantly damaged.

Caravans, roofs and trees were sent flying as the category F3 tornado, packing winds of between 250 and 300km/h, ripped through the Murray River towns of Bundalong, Yarrawonga, Mulwala, Rutherglen, Koonoomoo and Cobram.

Twenty people were injured, including two men who were flown to Melbourne hospitals in critical condition.

All patients were now in a stable condition, said a spokeswoman from The Alfred and Royal Melbourne Hospitals.

Premier Denis Napthine said short-term accommodation and financial assistance was already being provided to those in emergency situations.

He said he would travel to the affected regions on Sunday morning.

"It's very fortunate that no lives were lost," Dr Napthine told reporters on Saturday.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard described the tornado as a "truly startling event and said federal disaster assistance had been activated for the devastated towns.

"People would have seen that 20 sustained injuries; there have been homes damaged, destroyed, trashed. Vehicles have been overturned," Ms Gillard told reporters in northern NSW.

"Our communities in Victoria ... are facing a very difficult day and our thoughts are with them and some practical assistance is available."

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Bangladesh storm kills 20

THE death toll from a tornado that ripped through 20 villages in eastern Bangladesh has climbed to 20 people, with another 200 hurt, a government official says.

Initial reports said at least 10 people were killed and a newspaper put the toll for the injured at 500 in the storm that lashed the distant villages in Brahmanbaria district on Friday.

On Saturday, local chief government administrator Noor Mohammad Majumder said the death toll had climbed to 20 people died, with another 200 injured in the powerful storm.

The local Prothom Alo newspaper reported that the 15-minute storm destroyed many homes and shops, and toppled a large number of trees and electricity poles.

Villagers and emergency personnel took the injured to hospitals, the reports said.

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WA's chat line killer loses appeal

A MAN who killed a woman a month after meeting her on a social media networking service has failed in an appeal against his 10-year sentence.

Matthew Shane Dodd, 27, was convicted last year of the unlawful killing of mother-of-four Shannon Pearce, 27, whose decomposed body was found in bushland near Geraldton on Christmas Day, 2010.

A jury accepted Dodd had savagely attacked Ms Pearce, leaving her with horrific injuries including a double fracture of her jaw, a broken nose and missing teeth.

The jury was told it appeared Dodd had attempted to have sex with Ms Pearce, whom he met through the phone-based social media network Divas Chat, despite abusing her physically and verbally as they travelled from Perth to Geraldton.

After she resisted his advances he lashed out, the court heard.

Ms Pearce's body was found a week after the attack.

Trial judge Justice Henry Wisbey said the unlawful killing was among the most serious of its kind and jailed Dodd for 10 years.

In appealing against the sentence, Dodd argued there was a lack of evidence as to Ms Pearce's specific cause of death, no weapon or depravity were involved, and the evidence did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that she died as a result of the assault.

On Friday, Justices Robert Mazza and Michael Buss in the WA Court of Appeal decided the sentence was fair.

"The appellant committed an unprovoked and savage attack upon a vulnerable, unarmed and defenceless woman," Justice Buss said.

After the attack, he had demonstrated "callous indifference" to her plight, he said.

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Gay marriage debate hits US Supreme Court

THE US Supreme Court will consider the divisive issue of legalising same-sex marriage, in a hotly anticipated hearing next week that could have historic consequences for American family life.

Although gay couples are barred from marrying in 41 out of 50 US states, including some where bans were enacted by popular vote, polls show more Americans than ever - 58 per cent in one recent survey - support same-sex marriages.

And, following the example of President Barack Obama, a number of influential politicians, economists, actors and athletes have come out in support of marriage equality.

Now, the country's top court has agreed to weigh in and will consider two key cases.

One is an appeal against California's gay marriage ban and the other challenges the national law that restricts federal benefits to heterosexual couples.

"Whatever they decide, it is going to be high-profile and it is going to get lots of attention," said Thomas Keck, political science professor at Syracuse University.

The top court will first look at a case that some experts say opens the path to legalising gay marriage at the national level.

The case centres on California's constitutional same-sex marriage ban, voted in by a referendum on "Proposition 8," which limits marriage to one man and one woman.

In the West Coast state, where same-sex marriage was briefly allowed, gays and lesbians can now obtain only civil unions, which offer the same state-level benefits as marriage.

The White House, while not directly involved, has urged the court to legalise gay marriage in California and in seven other states - and soon, a ninth, after a recent vote in Colorado - that allow civil unions.

"It's reasonable to conclude that the states are only withholding the label of marriage for same-sex couples in an attempt to stigmatise those couples on the basis of their sexual orientation," said lawyer Elizabeth Wydra.

Wydra - who works the Constitutional Accountability Center, which filed an amicus brief in support of gay couples - said the US Constitution prohibits such discrimination.

And she argued that it was possible "that the court will rule categorically that the Constitution guarantees marriage equality in every state, because the Constitution protects all persons from discrimination."

In the second case, to be heard Wednesday, the nine justices will take up the federal Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which since 1996 has defined marriage as a union "between one man and one woman."

Section three of the law bars any same-sex couple - even those legally married in the nine states and the US capital that allow it - from the rights afforded to heterosexual married couples, like those on inheritance.

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Many reasons Oz pays more for digital

Apple has blamed music labels and movie studios for the higher costs Australians pay for downloads. Source: AAP

BIG music labels, steep freight costs and import taxes are being blamed for the higher prices Australians pay for everything from software to songs.

Global technology giants Apple, Microsoft and Adobe copped a caning on Friday at a federal parliamentary inquiry for slugging Australians up to 80 per cent more for their products.

The tech giants offered a range of explanations but failed to impress, with more than one MP branding their responses "evasive".

Microsoft Australia managing director Pip Marlow said it was the global software giant's right to charge what it thought the market would bear for its products.

"We don't operate on a single global price because we don't believe every market is the same," she told the committee in Canberra.

"We believe we are competing lawfully to win our customers' business every day."

But committee deputy chairman, Nationals MP Paul Neville, accused Microsoft of charging what it could "get away with in any particular market".

"You haven't offered us any cogent reason other than your company policy why you are charging more in Australia," he said.

A recent study by consumer group Choice of 200 hardware and software products found Australians paid on average 50 per cent more that overseas customers.

Apple vice president for Australia, New Zealand and South Asia Tony King said what Australians paid to download digital songs, films and TV shows was determined by arrangements with the music labels, TV networks and movie studios.

Those content owners had different charges for content distributed in different countries.

"The cards, so to speak, are in the hands of the folks who own the content," Mr King said.

Mr King said Apple was more than aware Australians were angry about it.

"We are hearing comments in Australia that, frankly, make us uncomfortable," he said.

Mr King said exchange rates, local freight costs, import duties and local sales taxes also influenced the prices for computers, laptops, tablet and mobile devices.

Adobe's managing director for Australia and New Zealand, Paul Robson, said Australians were blocked from accessing the software company's US website - where prices are lower - to offer a more "personalised experience".

Allowing Australians to buy the cheaper, although identical, product from Adobe's US website would have an impact on global corporations' willingness to invest in this country, run local operations and employ staff, he said.

Both Adobe and Microsoft talked up the use of cloud computing products, saying they offered more similar pricing between Australian and US customers.

The three technology giants were all called to appear before the committee after refusing to give evidence voluntarily.

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SA department gets 51 misconduct claims

SOUTH Australia's education department handled more than 50 claims of serious misconduct by staff last year and is hiring two more investigators to process the claims.

Education Minister Jennifer Rankine told state parliament on Thursday that in 2012 there were 51 cases of which 24 were finalised during the year.

But she said that was the lowest number since 2008 when the department dealt with 70 cases.

Her comments followed claims from opposition education spokesman David Pisoni that the government had been caught out taking a casual attitude to child protection.

He could not say how many of the misconduct cases still under investigation involved sexual abuse by teachers.

"We're not sure how many of these investigations are related to child sex abuse or assaults on children but serious misconduct is serious misconduct and it's not acceptable," Mr Pisoni told reporters on Thursday.

Ms Rankine also told state parliament that the government had created a new position of deputy chief executive for child safety in the education department.

That person will be responsible for implementing recommendations from an ongoing inquiry into a series of sex abuse cases involving teachers.

"This appointment is an important step in restoring the confidence of parents in our public education system," she said.

"Children attending our schools and preschools need to be safe first and foremost before we can expect them to learn."

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Abbott asks the PM: Can the govt govern?

Tony Abbott has called on Julia Gillard to explain whether her government is unable to govern. Source: AAP

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott has called on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to explain whether her government is deadlocked and unable to govern.

Mr Abbott was on his feet moments after Ms Gillard announced to parliament a spill of Labor's leadership positions would take place at 4.30pm (AEDT) on Thursday.

"In the meantime, take your best shot," Ms Gillard told the opposition leader.

Mr Abbott asked the prime minister whether she agreed with Regional Australia Minister Simon Crean, who had said the government was deadlocked and no longer capable of discharging its duty to the Australian people.

"I most certainly do not and the suggestion is absurd," she responded, adding Mr Abbott well knew that she and he had been engaged in bipartisan and important business for the Australian nation.

Both leaders earlier on Thursday took part in the national apology to the victims of forced adoptions.

While all eyes had been on the media debate, the government had continued to govern in the interest of the nation by pursuing the legislation for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Ms Gillard said.

More than 70,000 jobs were created in the month, bringing to more than 900,000 the number of jobs created since Labor came to office.

"We are well on our way to creating a million jobs," the prime minister said.

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HSBC reports improved China manufacturing

Manufacturing activity in China improved in March after expanding at its slowest pace in February. Source: AAP

MANUFACTURING activity in China improved in March after expanding at its slowest pace in four months in February, according to an HSBC statement that has lifted hopes for a pick-up in the world's number two economy.

The British banking giant's preliminary purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 51.7 for the month, from a final 50.4 in February, which was the lowest reading since October.

PMI is a widely watched barometer of the health of China's economy, with a reading above 50 indicating expansion.

The uptick in March PMI was bolstered by stronger new orders and production growth, Qu Hongbin, a Hong Kong-based economist with HSBC, said in a statement on Thursday.

"This implies that the Chinese economy is still on track for gradual growth recovery," he said.

Both input and output price indexes decreased this month, the survey showed, indicating inflation was not yet an imminent concern.

"Inflation remains well behaved, leaving room for Beijing to keep policy relatively accommodative in a bid to sustain growth recovery," he said.

China's economy expanded 7.8 per cent in 2012, its slowest pace for 13 years, in the face of weakness at home and in key overseas markets.

But growth accelerated in the final three months of last year to 7.9 per cent, snapping seven straight quarters of weakening expansion.

However, the latest indicators from the government point to a slowdown in industrial production growth and retail sales last month, suggesting a budding recovery may be fragile.

China's inflation hit a 10-month high of 3.2 per cent in February, up from January's 2.0 per cent, data showed, as holiday season spending and rapid credit growth accelerated price rises.

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Volkswagen recall 384,000 vehicles

Volkswagen is set to recall 384,000 vehicles in China because of gearbox problems. Source: AAP

GERMAN auto giant Volkswagen will recall 384,181 vehicles in China over gearbox defects after state television criticised it over the issue.

In a company statement, Volkswagen said an electronic malfunction could cause cars to lose power while being driven.

"In isolated cases, an electronic malfunction in the control unit or a lack of oil pressure inside the gearbox mechatronics may result in a power interruption," the statement said.

Steering and braking would not be impacted, it added.

The vehicles affected include both imported models such as the Audi A3 and domestically-made ones, among them the Magotan and Passat, said the Chinese government's quality watchdog, which on Saturday had ordered the recall.

The move followed a year-long investigation, it added, and the cars involved came off the assembly line between December 2008 and early this month.

Volkswagen said it would replace components in the gearbox of affected vehicles for free.

The recall came after China Central Television alleged in an annual corporate malpractice programme that Volkswagen had used substandard gearboxes in some models, causing acceleration problems and accidents.

Volkswagen, which is Europe's biggest carmaker, said last week it planned to open seven more factories in China, the world's largest car market.

It currently has two passenger vehicle production joint ventures with China's SAIC Motor and FAW Group.

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