Vatican overturned bishop's ban on priest

Brian Lucas has been asked to explain why he didn't take notes when interviewing abusive priests. Source: AAP

IT took almost 20 years for the pope to defrock an Australian priest for allegedly indecently assaulting a boy, the royal commission into child sex abuse has heard.

AND when his bishop banned him from saying Mass in public after complaints against the priest, the Vatican overturned the decision.

John Gerard Nestor was found guilty in court but was later acquitted of indecent assault charges against the boy in the NSW parish of Wollongong.The commission is currently looking at how the Catholic Church under its own law - canon law - deals with priests or religious against whom allegations have been made, but no convictions obtained.In particular it is looking at the case of Nestor, 50, who was a priest in Wollongong when he was found guilty of indecent assault of a teenage altar boy in 1996.The priest admitted he had slept on mattresses on a floor with the boy and his younger brother in July 1991, but he denied assaulting the boy.He was acquitted on appeal in 1997.A series of investigations ensued, involving canon lawyers, Australian church processes, the NSW ombudsman and the highest echelons of the Vatican.Ultimately, Pope Benedict XVI dismissed Nestor from the priesthood in October, 2008.When more complaints emerged, Bishop Philip Wilson asked Nestor to stand aside from public ministry while the church's professional standards office assessed them.Nestor, who ran summer camps for altar boys, was alleged to have watched boys showering, and playing inappropriate games. One boy had complained that he had seen "Nestor touch his brother ... 'on the penis and the bum'".Bishop Wilson, who is now Archbishop of Adelaide, said Nestor rejected a recommendation by church assessors he go for psychological assessment.Bishop Wilson decreed Nestor not celebrate Mass publicly.Nestor challenged the decree and two years later, the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy ordered he be reinstated.The commission heard another Vatican judicial body, the Apostolic Signatura took five and a half years to consider an appeal to the finding."There was a lot of confusion about procedures within the church (at the time)," the bishop said in reply to a question about rights under canon law.Nestor asked Bishop Wilson to release him from the diocese so he could go elsewhere. Bishop Wilson said he refused and wanted Nestor to voluntarily stand aside from the ministry.Nestor went to the US and Africa without the bishop's permission.Earlier at Tuesday's hearing, Brian Lucas, the secretary-general of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference gave evidence of a confidential conversation with Nestor in 1993.Fr Lucas, who has been criticised by the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry for his failure to take notes when he interviewed alleged clerical abusers, did not take notes in the Nestor case.The senior cleric repeated on Tuesday this was because it helped the men he interviewed tell the truth.He said Nestor denied the allegations and said he experienced "a level of discomfort" about what Nestor told him about conversations of a sexual nature he had with boys.Nestor's explanation was he was teaching them about conscience.Fr Lucas may be asked to return to this hearing which is ongoing.

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Qld bikies can fill out 'resignation' form

QUEENSLAND bikies and their associates can fill out a form to declare they are no longer part of an outlaw group.

THE Queensland Police Service website has a questionnaire asking people to describe the steps they have taken to "disassociate".

The form asks participants to circle yes or no boxes to indicate if they have returned or destroyed their club colours, if they have a club tattoo, and whether it's been removed.They are also asked to declare if they are an office holder, general member or associate of a bikie chapter.New laws are coming into effect from July 1 banning bikies from working as used car sellers, security guards, locksmiths, tow truck drivers, bookmakers, pawn brokers, tattoo artists and bar workers.More than a dozen lines on the form are set aside so people can describe their future intentions with an outlaw group and the steps their organisation has taken to disassociate from them.A declaration section asks participants to give an undertaking to provide documents to the police within 10 business days.Earlier this month, Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie announced the government would delay a controversial plan to ban people with bikie links from working in the building industry.This means plumbers and electricians with suspected bikie links won't be banned from having a trades licence until July 2015, after a federal royal commission into unions.But new licensing requirements will apply to other industries under the Tattoo Parlours Act 2013.Bikies can call a police hotline for help on filling out the form, which is subject to the Information Privacy Act.The Queensland police website promises that applications to disown bike membership would be assessed "in a timely manner".But participants are advised that delaying a response to a letter could jeopardise their ability to hold an industry licence.The form has to be witnessed by another signature.Queensland police say two people have filled out the form to distance themselves from a bikie group since they were posted online on June 10.

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Senator breaks into song during farewell

Senator Ursula Stephens has burst into song during her valedictory speech. Source: AAP

LEAVING parliament may be a blessing in disguise for Labor Senator Ursula Stephens, who looks prepped to shine on another stage - in showbiz.

THE Irish-born Australian stopped short of doing a jig during her valedictory speech in the Senate on Tuesday, instead providing the house with a shaky duck analogy, a famous Australian poem and a wee Irish melody.

After tipping her glass to the Irish ambassador, Senator Stephens burst into song to bid farewell to her colleagues."For all the comrades e'er I had, they would wish me one more day to stay," she reverberated clearly across the chamber.A little less clear was the duck analogy which the senator used to back into her message about caring for the 51 million people displaced around the world.The story goes: Canberra traffic was banked up on Senator Stephens' way to work recently because a duck had been injured and another duck had stayed by its side."And I thought to myself, yes, even a duck looks after its mate," she said.That was followed by the senator reciting Dame Mary Gilmore's Nationality poem which famously declares "this loaf is my son's bread"."We must find a way to feed our own son and also look after our fellow human beings in need."Leader of the opposition in the senate, Penny Wong, congratulated Senator Stephens on her 12-year term and said ending in song was a nice touch.

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Tax, security info at cyber attack risk

TAX and social security records and national security information remains vulnerable to cyber attacks, a new report shows.

AN auditor-general review of seven major government agencies found that none complied with the required cyber security measures which were due to be in place by mid-2014.

The agencies included the Australian Tax Office, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Customs, Australian Financial Security Authority, the Department of Human Services and IP Australia.The agencies hold a wide range of personal, national security and economic information.The report said that in 2012 there were more than 1790 security incidents against Australian government agencies, of which 685 were considered serious.While the audited agencies had put in place internal security safeguards to protect their information "the selected agencies had not yet achieved full compliance with the top four mitigation strategies" mandated by the government in 2013.And none was on track to meet the mid-2014 compliance date.The agencies were found to have a "reasonable" level of protection from breaches from internal sources, but "vulnerabilities remain against attacks from external sources to agency systems"."In essence, agency processes and practices have not been sufficiently responsive to the ever-present and ever-changing risks that government systems are exposed to," the report concluded.The four strategies agencies have been asked to put in place include protections against malicious programs, security "patching" of applications, devices and operating systems and keeping administrative privileges to a small group of users.

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Bishop restates support for Fiji election

FOREIGN Minister Julie Bishop has been updated on Fiji's progress towards its first democratic elections in nearly a decade.

FIJI has promised to hold elections on September 17, the first since the country's leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama seized power in a military coup in 2006.

Fiji was suspended from the Commonwealth in 2009 after Commodore Bainimarama failed to meet a deadline to return it to democracy.But the federal government is keen to normalise Australia's frosty ties with Fiji, and started by lifting travel bans on senior military and government figures in March.Ms Bishop on Tuesday met her Fijian counterpart Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, where she emphasised Australia's "strong support" for the electoral process.Australia has accepted in-principle an invitation from Fiji to co-lead an international observer group to oversee the election, and is finalising the terms of reference for the mission.The two foreign leaders also discussed preparatory work to re-establish defence ties between the two nations.It's illegal under Australian law to sell weapons to Fiji or provide military advice.

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Vic firies will be paid for mine fire: MFB

Victorian firefighters have begun legal action to recover wages owed since the Hazelwood mine fire. Source: AAP

FIREFIGHTERS involved in battling Victoria's mine fire will be paid outstanding entitlements for their efforts this week, the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) says.

THE United Firefighters Union (UFU) has started Federal Court action against the brigade to recover wages owing since the 45-day fire at the Hazelwood coal mine began on February 9.

The legal action concerns 240 MFB firefighters, who are each owed an average $4000 out of a total overtime bill of more than $6 million.The MFB says all outstanding payments it is aware of will be paid this week."We have provided assurances to staff that everyone will be paid all of their entitlements," acting deputy chief officer David Bruce said in a statement on Monday.The UFU says firefighters worked up to 20-hour days on their days off during the Hazelwood coal mine fire but that the MFB is unable to account for who was there.However, Mr Bruce said it had taken considerable time and effort to recognise and verify attendance records, given the size and nature of the incident.The summer's fire season involved the largest deployment of firefighters outside the MFB's immediate area of responsibility, he said."Understandably, the MFB's focus at that time was to provide assistance to the community through efficient and effective deployment of resources across the state," he said.The UFU's Peter Marshall said the legal action for firefighters' entitlements would continue despite the MFB's assurances they would be paid this week."They've been saying that every week. Show me the money is the response to that," he said."If in the interim period they pay, that's good. but to date we ain't see the money despite many assurances."Firefighters shouldn't have to wait that long and the MFB should meet their legal requirements."

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Vic 'palm reader' jailed for assaults

A VICTORIAN man who used an offer to read women's palms as a ruse to sexually assault them while travelling on a train has been jailed for at least 10 months.

AJAY Chopra, 41, had pleaded guilty to all five charges relating to the assaults on five women over a three month period in 2011.

The Bendigo man targeted young women who were travelling alone on the Melbourne to Bendigo V/Line train, with each crime starting with an offer to tell their fortune."All of this was a ruse and what you were attempting to do was either to put their hand in your crotch area, or put your hand in their crotch area," Victorian County Court Judge Gerard Mullaly said.Jailing Chopra for 21 months, Judge Mullaly said his actions were shameful and dishonourable."The fact they were conducted on public transport adds to the unfortunate sense of fear that women have that public transport is not safe," he said."This fear is corrosive and impacts on women's rights to go about their lives freely."Prosecutor Neil Hutton said once Chopra had hold of a woman's hands he would resist any efforts by them to pull away.In one case, he held his hand under a woman's dress. In another, he held his victim's hand against his penis."She could feel the man's erect penis on the back of her hand," Mr Hutton said."This activity happened for most of the trip to Bendigo, where he got off the train."He turned and said `have a nice life` as he did so."Another incident was cut short - with Chopra moving to a different carriage - after the woman managed to make a mobile phone call.Defence lawyer Mark Hird tendered to the court character references which he said showed Chopra was a gentle person and the incidents were completely out of character.He said his client had entered an early plea of guilty to all charges - three counts of indecent assault, and two counts of attempted indecent assault."They are clearly quite serious offences ... and it is conceded they were carried out in circumstances of coercion," Mr Hird said.Chopra, who was supported in the court by his wife, was placed on the sex offenders register for life.

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Salvos sorry for abuse 'greatest failure'

The Salvation Army will again give evidence at the child sex abuse royal commission in Sydney. Source: AAP

THE Salvation Army says it is profoundly sorry for the abuse suffered by children in its care, and events revealed by the royal commission into child sexual abuse represent the greatest failure in its history.

HOWEVER, the organisation maintains sexual abuse was not widespread after the commission heard evidence of more than 100 cases of children suffering horrendous abuse in homes run by the Salvation Army in Queensland and NSW in the 1960s and 1970s.

As the royal commission moved to finalise its investigation into the church on Monday, counsel for the Salvation Army, Kate Eastman, challenged a statement from counsel assisting the commission that sexual abuse was "widespread" at boys' homes it ran.In an apology to survivors, Ms Eastman read a statement from the Salvation Army saying the organisation was "profoundly sorry for failing to care for you as you deserved, for the neglect, hurt, abuse and deprivation of human rights that all children are entitled to".Ms Eastman said the church "acknowledges that this is the greatest failure in its history in Australia".She said that in the 113 years from 1883 to 1996, the Salvation Army had 17,831 children in its care across four homes in NSW and Queensland and there had been 157 claims of abuse from children in that time.She said 115 of those children were from boys' homes and of 23 perpetrators identified, 19 were Salvation Army officers."We don't for one moment seek to diminish or oversimplify or justify by historical circumstances but we do submit that the total number of claims against the total number of children reflects a relatively small number of children reporting sexual abuse during their time at the home," Ms Eastman said.Counsel assisting the commission Simeon Beckett said the number of children abused in Salvation Army homes would never be known because many had not come forward or had not been able to speak out.The commission heard evidence from survivors of extreme sexual and physical abuse meted out by Salvation Army workers at homes in Indooroopilly and Riverview in Queensland, and Bexley and Goulburn in NSW.Hearings held in January and February heard evidence that the Salvation Army failed to investigate complaints that its staff were abusing boys and did not refer matters to police.Boys who did report abuse to officials were punished and many did not report abuse for fear they would not be believed and would suffer further punishment.Ms Eastman also revealed the Salvation Army has dismissed an officer accused of abusing children in the 1970s.John McIver was suspended by the Salvation Army in February after allegations he sexually abused two boys in a NSW home in the 1960s and 1970s, and whipped a boy with a strap and dislocated his arm during a beating at a home in Queensland in 1975.On Monday the commission heard McIver had been dismissed from the organisation in June and matters had been referred to police.The commission will now prepare its report into the events that occurred at Salvation Army homes in the 1960s and 1970s, and into separate events of alleged abuse that have occurred since 1993.

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Labor, coalition in cost of living battle

Prime Minister Tony Abbott will personally reintroduce a bill to axe the carbon tax. Source: AAP

LABOR and the coalition have traded blows over cost-of-living pressures as the government reintroduced its carbon tax repeal bills.

THE government is adamant the repeal will improve the cost of living for average families by $550 a year and drive down electricity bills.

But Labor has seized on new economic modelling which shows budget changes to welfare and seniors payments will erode family budgets by thousands of dollars each year.Prime Minister Tony Abbott intends to have the carbon tax repeal bills passed through the lower house this week, in time for a special four-day sitting of the new Senate from July 7.The government is quietly confident of securing six out of eight crossbench votes, including three Palmer United Party senators, to pass its legislation.PUP leader Clive Palmer will outline at a media conference in Canberra on Wednesday night what it will take for his senators to back the bills."He will be fully transparent on Wednesday," his spokesman told AAP.Mr Palmer also has concerns about pension cuts and the Medicare co-payment which he says will cost pensioners $2500 a year.Environment Minister Greg Hunt on Monday seized on statements by energy retailers AGL, Origin and Energy Australia that prices would come down once the carbon tax was abolished."AGL today confirmed that price reductions will flow through to residential and small business customers if the carbon repeal legislation is passed by the federal parliament," the company said, adding the cuts would start from July 1 regardless of when the laws passed.Mr Hunt said all six new senators had gone to an election promising to get rid of the carbon tax."All of the signs are that they will fulfil their commitment," he said.Opposition Leader Bill Shorten in parliament referred to new modelling showing a couple on a single income of $65,000 with two children would be $1700 worse off in 2014/15 and short-changed by $6300 in 2017/18."Why should Australian families have to pay for the prime minister's dishonesty?" he asked Mr Abbott in parliament.Mr Abbott told parliament Labor's family payments were unaffordable, but the government was still providing a generous system while getting the budget back under control.Meanwhile, defeated Labor leadership contender Anthony Albanese rejected reports he has been privately critical of Mr Shorten's handling of strategy, policy, communications and internal party reform."Bill has done a good job of holding the government to account," Mr Albanese said.Mr Albanese later told parliament the media reports were "absurd, wrong, without any attribution, unprofessional and contradicted by cursory examination of the facts and recent history".

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Peter Greste jailed for 7 years in Egypt

Tony Abbott has lobbied Egypt's new president for the release of journalist Peter Greste (pic). Source: AAP

AUSTRALIAN journalist Peter Greste and his Al Jazeera colleagues accused of aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood have been jailed for seven years in Egypt.

GRESTE and two other reporters working for Qatar-based Al-Jazeera English were among 20 defendants in a trial that has triggered international outrage amid fears of growing media restrictions in Egypt.

Since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, the authorities have been incensed by the Qatari network's coverage of their deadly crackdown on his supporters.They consider Al Jazeera as the voice of Qatar, and accuse Doha of backing Morsi's Brotherhood.Greste, Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and producer Baher Mohamed were tried with 17 others on charges of "spreading false news" and having Brotherhood links.The three have already been detained for nearly six months, along with six others.Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he spoke to Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi over the weekend."I assured him - as a former journalist myself - that Peter Greste would have been reporting the Muslim Brotherhood, not supporting the Muslim Brotherhood," Mr Abbott earlier told the Seven Network on Monday.Mr Abbott said the president understood Australia's position."I made my point. I made it as clearly as I could," he saidThe talks between the two leaders follow similar lobbying by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who spoke with her recently appointed Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukri over the weekend.In Canberra, parliamentarians made a bipartisan plea for Greste's release.Greste's two brothers were in court for Monday's ruling.Al Jazeera says only nine of the 20 defendants are on its staff, including two foreign reporters who are abroad.A Dutch journalist, who is not working with the channel, is also among the defendants.Sixteen are Egyptians accused of belonging to the Brotherhood, which the military-installed government designated a "terrorist organisation" in December.The four foreigners are also alleged to have collaborated with and assisted their Egyptian co-defendants by providing media material, as well as editing and broadcasting it.Prosecutors demanded the maximum penalty for all defendants.The 16 Egyptians could be jailed for 25 years, while the foreigners could get 15 years, their lawyers say.A Greste family spokesperson said an appeal would be considered."A number of contingencies have been put in place because we had to consider this option," Heidi Ross told the ABC."I'm not really at liberty to discuss them, they need to be gone through privately by the family."Different things have different implications for Peter."It's going to take a couple of days of sitting down and going through again all of the stuff for real this time, rather than just speculating and then to decide which tactic to take."An appeal is certainly on that list."

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Newman says ALP wrong on TAFE fee rises

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman says TAFE is being re-focused so it meets the needs of employers. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND'S premier has accused the opposition of playing Nostradamus over TAFE fee increases.

LITERACY and numeracy fees for disability pensioners have risen from $140 to $800 while tuition fees for a diploma in marketing have increased from $2400 to $6000, Labor says.

It predicts that fees will go up even more as previously subsidised courses incur full fees and a new Queensland Training Assets Management Authority makes TAFE campuses pay full commercial rent.But the Liberal National government insists there is no link between course costs and infrastructure arrangements.Premier Campbell Newman said hefty TAFE fee increases would be unlikely when asked about Labor's predictions."It's interesting to see they're playing Nostradamus," he told reporters on the Sunshine Coast on Sunday."I don't believe that's the case."TAFE is being re-focused so it meets the needs of employers so we create jobs."Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said the government had a secret agenda, after Labor uncovered leaked TAFE documents which say "costs could increase again for the start" of the first semester in 2015.They are answers to student questions and comments such as, "Are costs likely to increase next year?" and "I feel ripped off"."We've now heard of secret plans where TAFE fees are going to be skyrocketing in this state," Ms Palaszczuk told reporters.Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek insists fees aren't actually rising, with a spokeswoman explaining in a background statement to AAP that subsidies were being reduced to some courses that didn't align with skills shortage areas.

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Qld premier coy on chief justice pick

QUEENSLAND'S premier has held his first media conference in five days, but was coy when questioned about his government's controversial selection of Tim Carmody as the state's new chief justice.

SINCE Campbell Newman last stood before reporters, Judge Carmody's controversial addition to the Supreme Court has been approved by the state's governor.

Judge Carmody's meteoric rise has divided the judiciary, with critics arguing he's too inexperienced and too close to the government.But Mr Newman has declined to offer any new comment on the appointment of Judge Carmody, even though Court of Appeal justice John Muir has joined senior legal figures in slamming the appointment process."Go back to what I've said when I announced it about a week and a half ago," Mr Newman told reporters on the Sunshine Coast."You've got my comments."Late last week, Governor Penelope Wensley issued writs for the July 19 Stafford by-election, where the ruling Liberal National Party is considered the underdog despite its seven per cent margin.Asked why the media wasn't invited to that event, Mr Newman pointed to his June 5 speech to parliament."The announcement was made in parliament, look at the record," Mr Newman said, adding media weren't usually invited for by-election declarations."I've held many press conferences since I made the announcement in parliament."Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk accused the premier of hiding from voters during the past week, with Mr Newman's last media conference on Tuesday in Mount Isa."The premier has been in hiding now for over a week, afraid to front the music, afraid to talk to people in this state," she told reporters in Brisbane.The premier was on the Sunshine Coast on Sunday holding a community cabinet in Maroochydore, which is also in Clive Palmer's federal seat of Fairfax.A cabinet meeting is being held in the same beachside suburb on Monday.It would come three days after Mr Palmer lodged a defamation writ against Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney in the Supreme Court, after he alleged on the ABC that the mining tycoon had sought special favours for his Waratah Coal interests in the Galilee Basin in 2012.Mr Palmer is also suing Mr Newman for defamation after the premier claimed that he tried to "buy" the Queensland government.

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Abbott seeks al-Sisi talks over Greste

Julie Bishop says the government is lobbying in Egypt for the release of journalist Peter Greste. Source: AAP

TONY Abbott is attempting to contact Egypt's new president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to lobby for the release of Australian journalist Peter Greste.

GRESTE will learn his fate on Monday, when an Egyptian court issues its verdict in the case that's sparked international outrage.

Greste and two other reporters working for Qatar-based Al Jazeera English news network were arrested in December, and put on trial for spreading false news and supporting former prime minister Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.If convicted, the Australian journalist faces at least 15 years in jail.Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she had spoken overnight with recently appointed Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukri, and the prime minister was seeking similar contact with President al-Sisi."Our prime minister rang the interim president and I know he is seeking to make contact with the new president, President al-Sisi," Ms Bishop told ABC Television."So we are making representations at every level in the Egyptian government with a view to ensuring Peter Greste is home as soon as possible."

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GG visits Ord irrigation scheme

Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove has toured the Ord irrigation scheme near Kununurra. Source: AAP

GOVERNOR-GENERAL Sir Peter Cosgrove is hoping to shine a light on economic opportunities in agriculture and progress being made on indigenous issues during a tour of northern Australia.

SIR Peter said the second phase of the Ord irrigation scheme near Kununurra was beginning to come to fruition, largely due to Chinese investment.

"It's now possible to see, not just its future potential, but its present importance," he told reporters after a tour of the Ord Stage Two Development on Sunday."I hope that all the negotiations for the Ord River project phase two can continue and we can see waving fields of sugar, sorghum and other crops in this beautifully irrigated part of Australia."He said the area around Kununurra in north Western Australia could produce life saving food for international markets.Sir Peter is half way through a five day tour of the Northern Territory and north Western Australia, taking in the towns of Katherine, Kununurra and Wyndham as well as remote areas."I shine a light. I turn up to places where there is wonderful endeavour and it may not necessarily be solely economic, it might be more on social development or amenity for younger Australians," he said."Or it might be to watch indigenous Australians who, whilst acknowledging that there is a gap to be closed, are working hard with specific programs to enhance indigenous health and to extend life expectation, to reduce infant illnesses and keep kids in school."After planting a tree with Girl Guides and chatting to volunteers on Sunday morning he said regional communities such as Kununurra had a strong volunteering spirit."What I like about rural and regional Australia, the more remote in some ways the better, is you'll see the strength and interaction of communities," he said."In towns in rural and regional Australia you see the interaction up close."Sir Peter, also visited the Kimberley squadron of the Australian army's Norforce reserve unit."I've got a special place, I always will have a special place in my heart for people who put their country's uniform on. Military, navy, army and airforce, but police, SES, anybody who provides a sense of service before self who takes on burdens that are inconvenient and stressful and sometimes hazardous to help other people."However, Sir Peter, who was commander of defence forces when Australia deployed troops to Iraq 11 years ago, declined to comment on how he felt about a fresh batch of troops being sent to Baghdad."On those sort of issues which are contemporary I would say that's a matter for the government."Defence has sent a small unit of Australian Defence Force personnel to Baghdad to bolster security at the Australian embassy.In coming days Sir Peter will visit the TFS Sandalwood plantations, indigenous groups, schools and attend a football training session at the Clontarf Foundation, of which he is patron.

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Perth Zoo orangutan has Kidman fetish

Perth Zoo's alpha male orangutan reportedly has a fetish for actress Nicole Kidman. Source: AAP

PERTH Zoo's alpha male orangutan has a fetish for redheads - and he doesn't draw the line at his own species.

HSING Hsing, who celebrated his 39th birthday on Saturday, has a harem of in-house girlfriends but his roving eye means he is always on the lookout for attractive flame-haired females among the humans who come to see him.

Not only have keepers noticed he stares at such visitors, he's also ripped out pictures of Nicole Kidman from magazines put in his enclosure.Usually, the orangutans toss the paper around but Hsing Hsing pulls out photos of the Hollywood superstar to keep.Primate supervisor Holly Thompson says it's a case of "close enough" when the 95kg diabetic ape sees redheads like Kidman, who share 97 per cent of his DNA."He's definitely interested - it's amazing," Ms Thompson told AAP."He understands that he's attracted to a lovely redhead female orangutan and then he sees a lovely redhead in a magazine and goes, 'oh yeah, close enough - Nicole Kidman, I'm going to rip that page out and put it to one side'."Hsing Hsing demonstrates other behaviours rarely seen in orangutans. He'll share his food with his best friend Utama, a 35-year-old female orangutan with whom he has a purely platonic relationship.Ms Thompson said the sharing was touching as orangutans are highly food-motivated."Because he's a diabetic, we need to know what food he's having. If he misses some, we supplement it with some more, and so Utama knows how to work him."Ms Thompson, who has travelled to Indonesia to witness the destruction of orangutan habitat for palm oil, rubber and acacia plantations, says the plight of the orangutans is probably worse than imagined.While surveys of their night nests suggest as few as 6000 remain in the wild, orangutans often build several nests each day so these numbers may be inflated, she said.

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Royals defend apartment spending

Renovations of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's apartment will cost UK taxpayers STG4 million. Source: AAP

THE British royal family has defended spending a seven-figure sum refurbishing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Kensington Palace apartment.

THE taxpayer will foot the bill for extensive work on the property, including installing a new roof, overhauling the electrics and carrying out significant plumbing works.

A royal spokesman said repairs and refurbishments - reported to cost in the region of STG4 million ($A7.30 million), though this figure was not confirmed by the royal household - would also see a "significant amount of internal building" to "return the residence to function as a living space".William and Kate's Kensington Palace apartment was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and was the home of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon. Margaret remained there after their divorce and lived there until her death in 2002.The living space was last refurbished in 1963."This is the Duke and Duchess's one and only official residence. It is here that they plan to stay for many, many years to come," a royal spokesman said."We also had to take into account the fact that Kensington Palace is a scheduled ancient monument, and all elements of the refurbishment had to be agreed with English Heritage. Often this meant ensuring a high standard of work in line with the historical significance of the Christopher Wren building."He said William and Kate "paid privately" for all the internal furnishings, including carpets and curtains. They were also at pains to ensure that the specification is not extravagant."As with any other part of the estate, it was the royal household (TRH) who were responsible for the refurbishment of the residence - where they could in the course of the procurement process, TRH helped to bear down on cost," he added."The household oversaw the planning, tendering and project management of the refurbishment and were responsible for the budget and spend."

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Hendra virus kills NSW horse

Hendra virus has killed a horse in northern NSW, causing authorities to quarantine a property. Source: AAP

HENDRA virus has killed a horse in northern NSW, causing authorities to quarantine a property as they run tests on its stablemates and the five people who handled the animal.

IT'S the first case of Hendra discovered in NSW this year.

"The 31-year-old stockhorse gelding died overnight on Thursday after being found in a dam earlier that day and receiving treatment from a private veterinarian for very low body temperature," NSW deputy chief vet Therese Wright said in a statement."Three people who handled the horse plus the veterinarian and an assistant are being assessed and monitored by NSW Health."In recent weeks no horses have moved off the property, west of Murwillumbah, and there are no dogs or cats about, Ms Wright added.The paddock where the horse was kept "has regular flying fox activity," she said.Horses are believed to contract the Hendra virus from feed contaminated by urine, saliva or birthing fluids from flying foxes."Do not place feed and water under trees and cover feed and water containers with a shelter so they cannot be contaminated from above," Ms Wright said.Hendra virus was found in four horses and a dog across four separate mid-north coast properties last year."Winter is the season when horses have been infected with Hendra in NSW in the past so now is the time to get a vaccine booster for your horse," Ms Wright said.In Queensland four people have been killed by Hendra virus since 1994.And in December councils across the state were given permission to trim trees and use smoke, lights and loud noises to drive flying fox colonies away from urban areas without needing a permit."If a horse becomes sick, owners should contact their veterinarian immediately," Ms Wright warned.

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Pregnant woman airlifted to hospital

A PREGNANT woman has suffered serious head injuries after a car crashed into a northwest Sydney house, also injuring a teenage girl and another woman.

THE 25-year-old, who is four months pregnant, has been airlifted to Westmead Hospital with serious head and leg injuries, police say.

The girl, 14, also suffered head and leg injuries and was taken to hospital along with a 48-year-old woman, who sustained pelvic injuries."All three remain in a stable condition," police said.They were hit while standing on the front veranda of a Windsor Downs home on Saturday afternoon.The male driver was treated by paramedics and has been taken for mandatory drug and alcohol testing.His male passenger wasn't hurt.Police have established a crime scene and are investigating.

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Another Tamil man sets himself on fire

ANOTHER Tamil man has set himself alight, the latest in a spate of self-immolation cases involving asylum seekers who fear being sent back to Sri Lanka.

THE 40-year-old man splashed himself with petrol and ignited it, but his housemates intervened and managed to put out the fire.

It happened late on Friday at a home in the Melbourne suburb of Noble Park, according to a statement from the Tamil Refugee Council.There were similar incidents in May, when Leo Seemanpillai burned to death outside his Geelong home, and also in April when a Sydney-based Tamil man also set himself alight but survived with burns to 75 per cent of his body.In the latest case, the man suffered burns to his legs and was taken by ambulance to Dandenong Hospital."We are very lucky on this occasion that the man's housemates were aware of what he was planning to do otherwise we may have had another death on our hands," council spokesperson Sri Samy said."I have had seven young men tell me in the past few weeks that they are thinking of doing this."They are fearful of being sent back to Sri Lanka and say they would prefer to die here than be sent back to torture, which is what the Australian government is doing to many Tamil asylum seekers."The man involved in this latest case came to Australia by boat in 2012, and he was on a bridging visa awaiting assessment of his asylum claim.He fled Sri Lanka, leaving his wife and daughter behind, after security police broke his legs.The council said last week he had learned his brother, held in a Sri Lankan prison for four years, had disappeared and was feared dead.The man feared the same fate if returned to Sri Lanka."The previous Labor government, and the current Coalition government, have sent back more than 1000 Tamil asylum-seekers under an enhanced screening process," Mrs Samy also said."That does not allow time for proper assessment of asylum claims."She called on Immigration Minister Scott Morrison to alleviate fear among Tamil asylum seekers by granting protection to genuine refugees.* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467

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SUV carrying rapper ScHoolboy Q fired on

A gunman has fired on an SUV carrying rapper ScHoolboy Q after a concert in Colorado. Source: AAP

A GUNMAN with a rifle fired on an SUV carrying rapper ScHoolboy Q after a concert at the popular Red Rocks outdoor amphitheatre near Denver but he wasn't hurt.

THREE other people suffered non-life threatening injuries during the attack late on Thursday in a parking lot at Red Rocks.

Investigators speaking Friday did not release a possible motive for the shooting and said they do not know if ScHoolboy Q was targeted. No arrests have been made."We have a lot to learn," said Jacki Kelley, a spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.ScHoolboy Q, whose birth name is Quincy Matthew Hanley, is from Los Angeles. His most recent album, "Oxymoron," debuted at No. 1 earlier this year and reflects his life as a father and former gang member.He and Kendrick Lamar, who was nominated for seven Grammys this year, are members of Black Hippy.ScHoolboy Q said on Twitter Friday that he was OK."im str8...... dont trip," he wrote.Ray Alba, a representative for ScHoolboy Q, didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment.The rapper and at least four other people were in a white SUV that was fired on at the venue in the foothills west of Denver, authorities said.They drove themselves to a Denver intersection about 24 kilometres away, apparently in search of a hospital, before being stopped by Denver police and taken for medical attention, Kelley said.ScHoolboy Q and another uninjured person were briefly handcuffed while police assessed the situation, but no one in the vehicle was arrested. Kelley said ScHoolboy Q was not a suspect in the shooting.Nas and Flying Lotus also performed at the concert that benefited three groups, including the Gang Rescue and Support Project of Denver."We want to know what's going on so we can help out in any way," said Cisco Gallardo, director of the gang rescue group."There could have been (a) prior beef, prior problems."About 4500 people attended the concert at the amphitheatre, which seats as many as 9525 people.Promoters said the gang rescue group got five per cent of the profits. Two other groups also got five per cent each: Preserve the Rocks, which helps preserve the Red Rocks venue, and Helping Our People Excel, a Denver-area charity with a food pantry and other services.

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Baby gets HIV tests after given wrong milk

A THREE-WEEK-OLD baby is undergoing tests for HIV after being given breast milk from the wrong mother in a southeast Queensland hospital.

THE Metro North Hospital and Health Service says it is urgently investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, which occurred at Caboolture Hospital on Thursday.

It says it has also apologised "unreservedly" to the baby's parents and the donor mother."Medical advice, provided to the families, is because of the good health of those involved there is negligible risk of health impacts to the baby as a result of this incident," a spokesman told AAP."However as a precaution, to give peace of mind and certainty to the families involved, blood and milk samples have been taken for comprehensive testing."Results are expected to be available within a week, with a routine confirmation test to occur again in 12 weeks.The mix-up has caused a nervous wait for the baby's family.The baby's grandmother, who only identified herself as Peggy, rang Brisbane talkback radio in distress on Friday morning saying her grandson was being tested for HIV, as well as Hepatitis A, B and C."My son and daughter-in-law are beside themselves," the upset grandmother told 4BC."We're on tenterhooks and to have something like that happen at a hospital, who's not doing their job?"The grandmother said a nurse gave a bottle to her daughter-in-law only to return five minutes later and say it was the wrong one.The health service spokesman said any issues identified by a formal investigation would be addressed to prevent a recurrence.Staff involved in the incident had been counselled about the importance of following all protocols in relation to expressed breast milk, he said.

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Proudest mum sees top five graduate

SHE just had to be the proudest mother in the country.

FIVE of her own graduating on the same day, and they were five of the smartest, happiest and furriest graduates you will ever see.

Overjoyed mum Olwyn watched on as her top five; Rosie, Richie, Riley, Robbie and Ruby all graduated with flying colours as fully fledged Guide Dogs at the organisation's base in Glossodia in western Sydney on Friday.There wasn't a mortar board in sight, but plenty of tasty treats, sloppy licks and maybe a celebratory bark or two for some of the cleverest canines in the country.Make no mistake, after six months of extensive training, these gorgeous Labradors are the best of the best and with a bright, rewarding future ahead of them you couldn't stop mum's tail from wagging.It costs $30,000 to train up each dog and after graduation at 18 months of age, they are paired up with a suitable handler,There are 250 working guide dogs in NSW and 40 blind or vision impaired people waiting for a dog which makes Olwyn, a 'prize bitch' in any vernacular, even more valuable."Olywn has always been easy going and very calm, she is a great mother and she always keeps her pups under control," explains owner Sally Gorman."Maybe that is why the pups are so successful. We are extremely proud of her and her dogs."It is the perfect combination of having a dog and doing some good for us."Puppy Raisers, families who help prepare a puppy for its potential career as a guide dog, are almost as important as the dogs themselves."It's a good way to help out," says Rebecca Smith, 21, whose looked after Riley before his rise to a Guide Dog and whose current charge the sleepy-eyed Wayne is the eighth puppy her and her family have raised.The puppies join families at two months and stay for around a year."We had another dog and we felt like it needed some company and wanted to see how it would work out and it has obviously worked out really well."It is rewarding and a lot of fun that is why we continue to stay involved."Rebecca looks on as graduation photos are taken, and taken and taken.The bond between puppy raiser and puppy after a year obviously becomes a strong one. So how hard is it to give them back?"I remember the first one, me and mum got a bit teary, but as much as it is hard to say goodbye you know it is going to a good home, going to someone who needs it," Rebecca says.

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WA Police charge former hostel warden

CHILD abuse squad detectives have charged a 69-year-old West Australian man, who is currently in prison, with two additional charges relating to historic child sex offences.

POLICE allege the offences occurred between 1975 and 1988 when the offender was a warden at a regional WA hostel.

He is expected to appear in the Katanning Magistrates Court on July 15.

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Thai govt to mediate in Aussie's case

THAILAND'S foreign ministry is pressing for a mediated settlement in a bid to end a legal conflict between the Royal Thai Navy and an Australian journalist who faces a possible lengthy jail term over defamation charges.

ALAN Morison, originally from Melbourne, and Thai reporter Chutima Sidasathian face jail terms of up to seven years on the charges of criminal defamation and breaches of the Computer Crimes Act.

The charges came after Morison, editor of the online English language news service, PhuketWan, in July last year republished excerpts of a Thomson Reuters report alleging the involvement of Thai navy personnel in the trafficking of ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.The navy later launched a case against Morison and Chutima, but only recently began legal proceedings against Thomson Reuters and its reporters, who were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting.Morison and Chutima made brief court appearances last month, but no pleas were entered. Their next court appearance is scheduled for March 18, 2015.But a senior Thai foreign ministry official, Songsak Saicheu, director-general of the Americas Department, says the ministry is working closely with the Thai navy and the Australian embassy in a bid to settle the matter out of court.Mr Songsak told reporters the four-way consultations would include the navy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Australian embassy, and Morison."So the navy is ready to consider any possibility that if anything can be settled out of court, of both parties are satisfied with the conversation, with the deal, together it can be possible," Songsak said.Thailand's National Human Rights Commission had also taken steps to mediate between the journalists and the navy. But talks previously scheduled for May 23 were scuttled a day after the Thai military staged a coup d'etat.The foreign ministry's stance comes as Thailand is under pressure from the US over its rights and human trafficking performance in recent years, and faces a possible downgrade with the release of the State Department's 2014 "Trafficking in Persons" report.Morison welcomed the Thai ministry's intervention in the case."Any possibility of an outcome at which we could all walk away content would be excellent," Morison told AAP."It would be great. If the (Thai) foreign ministry is working behind the scenes and taken note of what's been said in Washington that would be fantastic. That's really good news," he said.The Thai National Human Rights Commission has rescheduled a mediation meeting of the parties for July 7.

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PM not concerned about ministers' safety

PM Tony Abbott says he's not concerned about the safety of his ministers during public protests. Source: AAP

THE government isn't concerned about the safety of its members, despite reports four ministers have had their security detail beefed-up, the prime minister says.

"VERY, very occasionally" some security would be required, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Friday, adding that people had the right to express their views and protest.

"Very, very rarely there are protests, occasionally those protests get ugly," he told reporters in Sydney.His comments come as Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was targeted by feisty protesters as she opened the C20 conference at the University of Melbourne on Friday morning."It shouldn't happen, I don't think it is a very Australian thing to do, to try prevent someone from speaking, to prevent someone from visiting some place where their duty calls them," Mr Abbott said.Protests, he said, should always be conducted in a "fair and respectful manner"."But it seems a few people did go over the top," he said, after a man was arrested for lunging at the car that Ms Bishop was travelling in.Treasurer Joe Hockey, Ms Bishop, Education Minister Christopher Pyne and Assistant Defence Minister Stuart Robert have been assigned extra protection from the Australian Federal Police, Fairfax reports.

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Family heartbroken after aged home deaths

THREE and a half years ago, Marie Darragh was frail, ill and on the brink of death.

SHE was placed in the St Andrews Nursing Home in Ballina as her family desperately hoped for the best.

Within years, her health had turned around.After giving up smoking, Ms Darragh turned to sugar to get her fix and earned the affectionate nickname "sugar fairy" for her fierce sweet tooth around the nursing home.It was this new-found health and happiness that made the 82-year-old's suspected murder in May all the more shocking."It's total heartbreak," daughter Janet Parkinson told AAP on Thursday."Because when she went in there she was ready to die. She was so frail and it has taken them three and a half years to get her where she was."They built her up and she had to go this way ... that's the heartbreaking thing."Ms Darragh and fellow resident and friend Isobella Spencer, 77, were found unconscious in their beds on May 10.They died hours later.The same night, a third woman was attacked at the home and admitted to hospital but survived.St Andrews Aged Care says she is in good health and is back at the facility.The fact Ms Darragh and Ms Spencer died unexpectedly, in the same location and on the same night, sparked a homicide investigation.Detectives believe they have a good idea of how both women died and have questioned nursing home staff."Obviously we are looking at the actions of staff members that night. However, we are keeping an open mind," Detective Superintendent Mick Willing said on Wednesday.Ms Parkinson said she had her own suspicions about what happened, but could not speak highly enough of the nursing home staff."Obviously I have missed something," she said.She said Ms Darragh, a grandmother to 11 and mother of three, "loved" living at the nursing home.Police have not disclosed any further details about the women's deaths but said there was no "existing threat" at the nursing home."I want to make it absolutely clear that we believe this is an isolated incident," Det Supt Willing said.In a statement, St Andrews Aged Care chief executive officer Pip Carter had no fears for the safety of residents."We understand the pain of losing a loved one and we are doing all we can to assist police," she said.

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Carr dishes up conundrum for NSW govt

EIGHT years after ending his reign over NSW, Bob Carr is still giving the state Liberals a headache.

THIS time, he's forced Premier Mike Baird to reconvene a "slimmed-down" joint sitting of parliament.

The procedure is so the former premier and foreign minister can be excused from the Senate and return to private life.Mr Baird was left with a conundrum after Mr Carr decided to retire from federal politics despite winning his Senate seat last year.The premier received legal advice that Mr Carr's resignation wasn't constitutional and a joint sitting of the NSW parliament was needed to replace him.But the problem was parliament was on Thursday preparing to close its doors for its winter recess and not planning to sit again until August, well after the July 1 date of the new Senate term.The premier eventually decided to hold a very short joint sitting session in July, which would only last a few minutes, to sort the issue out.Once that happens, Labor's Deb O'Neill will formally replace Mr Carr in the Senate.

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Labor, coalition fight for rural affection

IF you believe Labor, they are the party for farmers and rural Australia.

IF you believe the government, that's a complete joke.

Parliament took a country tone on Thursday when Labor's agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon brought on debate about the budget's impact on regional Australia.He was concerned about the fuel excise hike's impact on rural residents, which he says will go down as the Abbott government's "worst broken promise".Mr Fitzgibbon is behind Labor's new "country caucus" made up of regional MPs and senators who will influence party policy on rural issues.Labor has long been a champion of the bush, given it was partly born out of the shearing sheds of rural Queensland, Mr Fitzgibbon told AAP."Country Labor has been successful in NSW and it can be successful nationally," he said in a statement.But the coalition is having none of that.Liberal MP Dan Tehan derided Mr Fitzgibbon's topic for debate, given it came just after its country caucus was publicly announced."That's why we have this (debate) here today," he said."What an absolute joke."Mr Tehan said the country caucus came too late."You all should be ashamed of yourself, starting in the year 2014 a regional caucus and coming in here telling us who should stand up for regional and rural Australia."Nationals deputy leader Barnaby Joyce joined in the derision.If there was a friend for regional Australia, it was clear which side of the chamber they would find them in, he said.

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Ferry fraudster Smith 'had no choice'

A FORMER Sydney Ferries boss who racked up more than $200,000 on the company credit card says he felt he had no choice because he couldn't tell his emotionally fragile wife how desperate the family's financial situation had become.

FORMER naval admiral Geoffrey Smith on Thursday told his sentencing hearing he was hired to help turn the troubled transport company around in August 2006.

By early 2009, allegations of rorting had surfaced and he was brought up before the corruption watchdog.He has now pleaded guilty to one charge of cheating or defrauding the company he directed.Smith said two fatal crashes on Sydney Harbour in 2007 ushered in a five-month inquiry and intense scrutiny.On the home front, his wife - who had previously been hospitalised and subjected to electroconvulsive therapy in a battle with depression - was diagnosed with cancer."I'm deeply ashamed," Smith told the Sydney District Court."I've let down a lot of people and I've done something contrary to all the values I've lived my whole life."He said he always intended to reimburse Sydney Ferries for his personal expenses, and with a crippling monthly mortgage of $11,000 and medical bills stacking up, Smith says he knew he needed to sell his home in leafy northern Sydney.But he couldn't tell his wife.They'd been married for 26 of his navy years and moved 32 times."She never asked for anything except that when the time came for me to retire we would buy a house and settle down and have a semi-normal life," Smith said."I was intensely worried that if I spoke to her about selling the house it would have a profound impact on her."When he eventually spoke to his wife about the "parlous" state of the family books, the global financial crisis was in full swing, and the house's value had dropped from an estimated $2.2 million to $1.86m - too little to settle Smith's debts.But Crown prosecutor Sara Bowers said Smith was spending Sydney Ferries' money on extravagances including a family trip to New Zealand, jewellery, a new swimming pool and two BMWs, including one for his "bedridden" wife."Not the necessities of life, are they," she said."I didn't think I had a choice," Smith said.Smith says he still wants to pay the missing money back using earnings from his retail job at hardware chain Bunnings and his superannuation.Judge Michael Finnane has indicated he intends to sentence Smith to two years, but that this may be served in the community under an intensive correction order, rather than in jail.The hearing resumes in August.

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Psychiatric drugs soar among Aussie kids

ADHD medication-use in Australia has jumped 35 per cent in a four-year period. Source: AAP

THE use of powerful psychiatric drugs is soaring among Australian children as young as 10, research shows.

THE number of prescriptions for antipsychotic drugs jumped 49 per cent among 10 to 14 year olds over a four-year period, according to a study of government subsidised prescriptions.

The number of prescriptions for antidepressants increased by more than a third in that age group, according to figures for 2009 to 2012 published in the latest issue of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.Among people of all age groups, the study shows a 26 per cent increase in ADHD medication, a 23 per cent increase in antipsychotics and a 16 per cent increase in antidepressants.There has been a 35 per cent jump in the use of the ADHD medication Ritalin.Part of the reason for this is an increase in the number of teenagers and adults using the medication.The study shows ADHD medication increased 71 per cent for 20 to 24 year olds and 37 per cent for people aged 25 and older.The rise was 26 per cent for children aged three to nine, 15 per cent for 10 to 14 year olds, 33 per cent for 15 to 19 year olds.Research leader Professor Iain McGregor called for a discussion about whether the benefits of medication outweigh the hazards, particularly in children and in those suffering mild to moderate distress."We need to have a national debate about what is driving this phenomenon."Why are we so reliant on meds for our mental wellbeing?"Clinical Psychologist Andrew Fuller described the study as "massively" concerning, but not surprising."We seem to have a growing proportion of young people showing signs of vulnerability in terms of mental health issues.Some of the prescriptions could be partly because of the agitation of the patient or their parent, or anxiety of the doctor who wants to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, he says."Often the medication is seen as the solution. ADHD medication is highly prescribed, but sadly very rarely given together with other forms of treatment."For depression, talk therapy is very powerful. So is exercise or meditation techniques."These could be used on their own or together with medication, he says. But they take longer than medication to kick in.

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Therapy need sent abuser abroad: Marists

THE former head of the Marist brothers in Australia has denied he made a hasty decision to put a prolific child sex abuser on a plane to Canada three days after it became known police were investigating him.

ALTHOUGH he knew the brother had confessed to molesting a boy who later committed suicide, Brother Alexis Turton, the order's provincial in 1989, thought it best to get Gregory Sutton therapy at a Canadian centre for priest sex offenders.

He denied repeatedly at a child sex abuse royal commission hearing in Canberra on Wednesday that he sent Sutton to the Southdown centre near Toronto because police had begun asking questions.Sutton was extradited from Canada and jailed for 12 years in 1996 after pleading guilty to multiple charges of assaulting children in schools in NSW, ACT and Queensland from 1975 to 1986.He had quit the Marists in 1991 and Br Turton said he lost track of him after that.Br Turton said he sent Sutton to Canada because treatments in Australia had not worked.One Australian therapist had said he could not work "with this man (Sutton) because he does not have sufficient self awareness to have true therapy with me".A document dated August 31, 1989, produced at the commission showed that Sutton was telling people at the centre his provincial had sent him "due to the fact that investigations were occurring on himself for school activities five years ago regarding his child abuse."Br Turton said on Wednesday: "No. That is incorrect. That is wrong."When it was put to him that sending Sutton to Canada was first raised by him on August 15 and he was on a plane on August 18, Br Turton said: "I didn't see it as excessive haste, I saw it as continuing the process that we had been through to get him through to intensive therapy".At the time, parents of children at St Thomas More School in Campbelltown, NSW, had gone to police alleging Sutton had abused Year 5 girls.Simeon Beckett, counsel advising the commission, put it to Br Turton that his account to the commission of why he sent Sutton to Canada was false."That is not correct your honour," Br Turton said.He also denied writing a memorandum detailing Sutton's history of abusive behaviour with children going back to the 1970s.The document used a name other than Sutton's and Mr Beckett suggested the false name was an attempt to deceive readers such as police or civil litigants."I am totally mystified by this document. I can't make any other assessment of it," Br Turton said.He was also asked if it was Marist Brothers' practice to transfer a brother from a school where an allegation or admission of child sexual abuse had been made."I can't say it was the practice. Certainly we have a number of cases (where) that happened. Yes."The commission has been told that the order normally moves brothers around a lot.Br Turton said assurances by alleged offenders they would cease their inappropriate behaviour was often accepted when no complaint of specific sexual molestation was received.

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Australia 'on notice' to protect reef

Leonardo DiCaprio has spoken of the devastation he's witnessed on the Great Barrier Reef. Source: AAP

THE World Heritage Committee has given Australia seven months to prove it is protecting the Great Barrier Reef or risk having the reef listed as in danger.

UN cultural agency UNESCO warned Australia of the "serious decline in the condition" of the reef and said "a business as usual approach to managing the property is not an option".

UNESCO's annual World Heritage Committee meeting in Doha on Wednesday called on Australia to submit a report on its actions by February 1, 2015.A decision will be assessed on whether Australia has implemented a list of recommendations set out by the committee in 2012.In documents presented at the meeting on Wednesday, UNESCO raised particular concern about the approval in December of the Abbot Point coal port and allowing the dumping of three million tonnes of dredge waste within the marine park waters.Any in-danger listing for the reef would admit Australia to an undesirable club that includes the likes of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has all five of its World Heritage sites on the danger list.The committee welcomed progress made by Australia, specifically around water quality and its endorsement of a 2013 Reef Water Quality Protection Plan.Australia's intention to restrict future developments to current port blueprints along the Queensland coast was also commended.But the committee added that because the Queensland Ports Strategy could not be applied retrospectively, Australia needed to ensure developments outside these areas are not approved.It requested Australia ensure the decision to dump the spoil offshore wouldn't impact the reef's "overall universal value" and was the least damaging option available.WWF-Australia spokesman Richard Leck, who attended the Doha meeting, says the committee has effectively put Australia on notice to prove it is protecting the reef."The committee has stood firm on the need for stronger reef protection," he told AAP."They've really put the government on notice that they need to lift their game."Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche says the committee has delivered a vote of confidence in Australia's management of the reef."The decision is global acknowledgment that Australia is on track to deliver a long-term plan for conservation of the Great Barrier Reef's outstanding universal value," he said.Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the World Heritage Committee had recognised the significant work and progress made by the state and federal governments in managing and protecting the reef.He said protecting the reef was an "ongoing challenge" but he's confident Australia is up to the task.The state and federal governments jointly contribute $180 million a year to protecting the reef, including work toward improving water quality, he said.Mr Hunt said the decision to approve the Abbot Point project complied with Australia's obligations under the World Heritage Convention and was subject to rigorous environmental assessment.Australian Marine Conservation Society reef spokeswoman Felicity Wishart said Australia needed to take urgent and concrete action to ensure the reef wasn't put on the committee's list of shame."The first step must be to immediately ban the dumping of dredge spoil in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Area," she said.She said this was an outdated practice that polluted the reef waters.

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Burned Ukrainian boy jubilant he can walk

IHOR Lakatosh struggles to describe his life before surgery, when his severe burns went untreated for years in his native Ukraine, leaving him with one arm fused to his body, unable to walk and abandoned by his mother.

THE 11-year-old boy, however, smiles widely and repeatedly makes the sign of the cross when he describes how he feels now, after a series of surgeries and physical therapy at a Boston charity hospital.

"Thank you I can walk. Thank you I can walk. Thank you Lord, I can walk," he says through an interpreter.Ihor returned to Boston early this year for a second round of procedures, and has been spending time showing off his newfound ability to walk, take off his jacket and climb onto a bed.No one knows the details surrounding the fire that burned 30 per cent of Ihor's body when he was about three years old. He was severely malnourished and unable to walk or bend his arms when neighbours in Lviv, Ukraine, urged his mother to take him to a hospital in 2011, doctors said. She did, and never came back.The hospital couldn't pay for extensive treatment of Ihor. Staff there thought he was mentally impaired and took him to a special orphanage for children with cerebral palsy.The orphanage director contacted a Ukrainian burn physician, who got in touch with Boston-based anesthesiologist Dr Gennadiy Fuzaylov, also Ukrainian, and sent him a photo of the boy.Fuzaylov and plastic surgeon Dr Daniel Driscoll run a non-profit organisation, Doctors Collaborating to Help Children, which works to improve medical care for children in various countries. Through the organisation, they brought Ihor to Boston's Shriners Hospital for Children two years ago. The philanthropic hospital specialises in severe burns.He was about 8 or 9 years old when he arrived and weighed less than 13.6 kilograms, half the average weight for a boy his age. The boy hadn't walked since he was burned."His initial surgery was done to bring his arm away from his body where it had completely scarred to his torso. That was a big one," Driscoll said. Other operations gave Ihor the ability to bend his knees and each was followed by extensive physical therapy to straighten elbows, shoulders and legs.Physicians struggled to figure out why the boy wasn't eating properly, until they discovered 14 rotten teeth they had to extract.Doctors also determined that Ihor wasn't mentally impaired at all; he simply had never been to school and his time spent with mentally impaired children also undermined his development.Ihor was sent back to the orphanage in Ukraine after his first set of surgeries and will return there next month where he remains up for adoption.But for now, he is focused on enjoying his new life in his improved body, relishing his favourite food (chicken) and trying to entertain just about everyone around him. The painful surgeries and therapies have not diminished Ihor's enthusiasm to reclaim his childhood."I can do everything now. I can go to school ... I can go outside and play. I can eat by myself. I can go home and do my homework. I can go to bed by myself," he said through an interpreter. "I can do everything by myself. I can live a life now."

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ANAO says Customs missing most contraband

CLOSE to half a million prohibited items could have evaded Customs mail screening in 2012-13, allowing guns, drugs and quarantine risk items into the community.

THE Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) says Customs' seizure of 67,123 prohibited imports represented around 13 per cent of potential prohibited imports.

In a 2012 report on its own performance, Customs cited the increasing number of successful seizures of contraband and concluded that this demonstrated "low level of leakage of a small number of prohibited imports of a minor nature."But the ANAO said Customs really didn't know as it had never calculated its leakage rate - done by sampling cleared mail items.ANAO did its own calculations and estimated Customs missed 467,893 prohibited items in 2012-13."Customs' high estimated leakage rate, particularly in unscreened non-letter class mail would suggest that Customs' screening activities miss a large number of prohibited imports," it said.ANAO acknowledged screening was a challenging job.In 2012-13, Australia Post reported that around 180 million international mail items arrived in Australia. Over the last five years, parcels have increased 200 per cent with the rise in online shopping.Most pose no threat but some contain drugs, guns and risky plant or animal products.International mail arrives at four Australia Post gateway facilities in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth where it's screened by Customs and Agriculture visually and by x-ray scanners and sniffer dogs.Where previously everything was screened, it's now done according to risk assessment.Since 2006-07 the number of items screened by Agriculture has reduced by 76 per cent and 45 per cent for Customs. The government provided funding this year to increase the screening rate.ANAO said Customs described its targeting approach as "intelligence-led and risk-based".But in practice targeting decisions were often not documented and did not align with risk analysis, providing little assurance that it was adequately and consistently targeting high risk mail groups.Customs and the Department of Agriculture have agreed to ANAO recommendations to improve screening procedures.

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Slipper says he's been vindicated

James Ashby says he is ditching his case against former parliamentary Speaker Peter Slipper (pic). Source: AAP

FORMER house of representatives speaker Peter Slipper says sexual harassment claims by a former staff member caused enormous personal stress which require ongoing psychiatric treatment.

MR Slipper said he'd now been vindicated by the decision of James Ashby to drop his sexual harassment claim.

He said the impact of those allegations had been "immeasurable and irreparable.""The allegations brought by Mr Ashby have caused enormous personal stress which has required ongoing psychiatric and psychological treatment and many weeks of inpatient hospital care," he said in a statement on Wednesday."My mental illness is both ongoing and debilitating."Mr Ashby announced on Wednesday he would drop his legal action.That started in 2012 when he revealed lurid details of alleged sexual harassment by Mr Slipper, then the Labor government-appointed house speaker.His appointment was highly controversial as it had increased Labor's majority in the finely balanced parliament. At the height of the scandal, Mr Slipper stood down from the speaker job.In a scathing decision in 2012, Federal Court Justice Steven Rares threw out Mr Ashby's case, finding his main purpose was to pursue a political attack against Mr Slipper.However, the full bench of the Federal Court reversed that decision and the case was set to proceed on June 30.Mr Ashby said he was aware of reports Mr Slipper was mentally unwell and he did not want to continue lengthy proceedings that could cause further harm."After deep reflection and consultation with those close to me, I now have decided to seek leave to discontinue my Federal Court action against Peter Slipper," he said in a statement."This has been an intense and emotionally draining time for me and my family, taking its toll on us all."Mr Ashby also cited the potential costs, given the Abbott government had confirmed the Commonwealth continued to cover Mr Slipper's legal fees.He said this kind of "deep pocket litigation" was fundamentally unfair for an ordinary person seeking justice.Mr Slipper said the decision came as a complete surprise and it meant no court had ever found sexual harassment occurred."I very much regret that these horrendous allegations have meant that I was never able to complete my reform agenda for the House of Representatives," he said.However, Mr Slipper, 64, still faces three criminal charges relating to dishonest use of a taxpayer-funded Cabcharge card for trips to wineries near Canberra in 2010, before he became speaker.After failing in a Supreme Court bid to have those charges thrown out of court, he's now set to argue they should be dropped on grounds of his mental illness. That's listed for the ACT Magistrates Court for next Wednesday.

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Most trusted also the most abused

New figures show assaults on Australia's paramedics are set to reach record levels in 2014. Source: AAP

THEY have retained their status as Australia's most trusted professionals.

BUT paramedics are still among the most attacked and abused workers, according to new figures that show assaults on NSW ambos are set to reach record levels in 2014.

Since January 1, there have been 81 physical and verbal assaults on NSW paramedics - many of them carried out by boozed-up patients who lashed out at the very people trying to help them.The figures for the first half of 2014 are already well on course to surpass the 133 assaults on NSW paramedics recorded in 2013. There were 89 assaults in 2012.It comes as paramedics were named Australia's most trusted professionals for the 10th year in a row in Reader's Digest annual trust index, published on Monday.Firefighters were second, followed by rescue volunteers, nurses and doctors.But trust for paramedics is clearly not translating into respect from all quarters of the community.Among the more appalling attacks on paramedics in recent months, a female ambo was punched to the ground and kicked by a man she was trying to treat in Sydney's CBD in February.And in March, four paramedics were attacked in 24 hours.The incidents included a 50-year-old man who punched a paramedic in the face near Ryde and a man who punched a paramedic in the stomach after trying to break into an ambulance at Campbelltown.Two paramedics were threatened by a 33-year-old man who tried to punch them as they treated him at a Dee Why home.The Ambulance Service of NSW welcomed the retention of its `must trusted' status but said the attacks must stop."Even though the community trusts paramedics more than any other group of people, paramedics themselves can unfortunately be assaulted physically or verbally while trying to perform their job," it said.

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Bitcoin faces biggest threat yet

THE bitcoin digital currency system is in danger of losing its credibility as an independent payment system because of the growing power of a group that runs some of the computers behind it.

IN recent weeks, a British-based "mining pool" called GHash has amassed nearly half of the Bitcoin computing power and has briefly gone over 50 per cent. Miners operate the computers that keep track of bitcoins and create additional coins.

Miners pool their computing power to spread the financial risk of their operations. If GHash amasses more than half of the computing power devoted to bitcoin, it could in theory control the flow of transactions, freeze people out of the network and keep all future bitcoins for itself.Although GHash says it's committed to preserving bitcoin as a trustable technology, the mere fact that one player can amass majority control could undermine trust in the currency, which is worth only what people are willing to pay for it."The entire premise of bitcoin relies on the fact that no single authority would control the majority of the mining power," said Ittay Eyal, a Cornell University researcher who studies bitcoin vulnerabilities.The value of bitcoins has fallen 6 per cent in a week to around $US600 ($A649) as the threat posed by GHash has become clearer, although the decline is within the range of normal fluctuations for the volatile currency.Bitcoins allow people to send money over the internet without going through banks. This means transaction costs are low, but it also means they're useful for illegal activities such as money laundering and drug sales.Bitcoins have also become a target of speculators betting on a continued run-up in the currency. Its value has grown a hundredfold over two years.From a technical standpoint, bitcoins are sequences of numbers, painstakingly produced by computers churning through millions of calculations. Bitcoin transactions are recorded in a virtual public ledger, known as the blockchain. Miners are in charge of maintaining the blockchain. As their computers perform the calculations to do that, the process rewards them with newly minted bitcoins.A single mining computer might take years to produce a single block of coins, and there's no way to know when that might happen. In pools, miners divide the bitcoins they create among themselves in proportion to the work done, providing with them with a steadier stream of income. The pools aren't created to threaten the trust placed in bitcoin; it's a side effect of the pool's growth.GHash is controlled by a British company, CEX.IO Ltd. The company said in a statement on Monday that it wants to protect bitcoin, but it doesn't want to turn away people from the pool or impose other temporary solutions to back away from the 50 per cent threshold.GHash said it's arranging a "round table" meeting of key players in the bitcoin system in July to "with the aim of discussing and negotiating collectively ways to address the decentralisation of mining as an industry".

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French train workers clash with police

FRENCH riot police have fired tear gas at striking train workers, who hurled bottles and blocked traffic in anger over a bill to reform the state-run railway system.

A WEEK-LONG strike by French rail workers is heating up as the draft law goes to the lower house of parliament for debate on Tuesday.

Several hundred workers staged a protest near the National Assembly on Paris' Left Bank, waving red union flags. The bill would pave the way to opening up the railways to competition, and opponents fear it will lead to job losses and safety problems.The protesters blocked cars and tried to approach the parliament building, firing flares and throwing bottles. Officers responded with tear gas and wrestled a few protesters to the ground.

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Liberia links seven more deaths to Ebola

A HEALTH official says seven people believed to have the Ebola virus have died in recent days in the Liberian capital, in the first reported deaths in Monrovia.

DEPUTY Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah said on Tuesday that brings to 16 the number of people believed to have died from the virus in the West African country since the outbreak began.

The deaths are worrying because no new cases had been confirmed in Liberia in more than two months.The outbreak appears to have begun in neighbouring Guinea and has also spread to Sierra Leone. In all, the World Health Organisation says nearly 250 people have died of the virus, which causes severe bleeding and high fever.

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Double blow for Rebels bikie boss

Minister Scott Morrison has defended cancelling the visa of Rebels bikie gang leader Alex Vella (c). Source: AAP

REBELS motorcycle club leader Alex Vella has suffered a double blow with the cancellation of his Australian visa and loss of a close mate and fellow senior club member.

THE Rebels national president had planned to return from a visit to his native Malta when he discovered the federal government had cancelled his visa.

It was cancelled on character grounds last Friday, the Immigration Department says.Mr Vella, 60, is understood to be in Malta figuring out his next move.With the high profile leader gone, the Rebels club have taken another hit with the death of the club's Sergeant at Arms, Simon Rasic.Mr Rasic, son of former Socceroos coach Rale Rasic who guided the national team to the 1974 World Cup, died on Sunday night.Friend and Rebels member "Little Mick" Kosenko said Mr Rasic, who had been a club member for more than 20 years, died suddenly."It was very unexpected," the United Motorcycle Council Queensland spokesman told AAP on Tuesday."He was a very fit and healthy person. It's a great loss."Mr Kosenko said Mr Rasic, a father of four, died following complications from a recent operation.He said Mr Vella had already planned to cut his trip short to attend his sister-in-law's funeral on Tuesday prior to Mr Rasic's death.Mr Vella has struggled with his Australian visa since he was convicted in 1995 of possessing a trafficable quantity of cannabis.Supporters have leapt to Mr Vella's defence, painting the bikie boss as a churchgoing, motorcycle enthusiast."This man actually goes to church every week and is always willing to lend a helping hand, unlike the hypocrites that sit in government," Motorcycle Clubs Australia posted on Facebook."What has he done to deserve what they have been doing to him for so many years?"Everyone has a hobby in life and his is riding motorcycles."Speaking about the visa cancellation, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said it was his duty to respond to the work of state and federal law enforcement agencies.

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Ambulance Vic named in ATSB death report

A MAN who died after being crushed by a crane on a cargo ship lay injured while an ambulance trying to reach him was locked out of the port.

AMBULANCE Victoria had neglected to train officers in how to open gates at Portland - a massive multi-berth facility about 300km west of Melbourne - says a report into the incident.

A crew member telephoned for help for the ship's injured but conscious Chinese assistant electrician but the emergency operator at first could not find the port on a mapping system and so dispatched an ambulance to the general location.Paramedics faced a locked and unmanned gate, unaware that the ambulance service had been provided with swipe cards, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau reported on Monday.They drove to a second gate seeking access and then back to the original entry point where they were lucky to meet a staff member.Despite the hold-up, paramedics reached the man 13 minutes after they were called.Forty-nine minutes later, after a delay arranging to open the gates to leave, the ambulance arrived at Portland Hospital.Shortly afterwards the man died.The ATSB concluded the electrician had been working without proper approvals near an operating crane on the deck of the Singapore-based Toucan Arrow when he was crushed on October 7, 2013.A warning light in the area was inoperative and, because of background noise, he is unlikely to have heard the alarm warning of the crane's approach.Although no one witnessed the incident, a torn strip of his clothing was found on a hatch lid against which he is believed to have been pinned as the remote-controlled crane moved along the deck.The ATSB found the ship's master failed to alert port authorities and therefore an emergency response, including manning of port access gates, did not occur.The ambulance service had not taken up an offer by the port authority to take paramedics on a familiarisation tour of the port.In response, Ambulance Victoria said it was impractical to hold access cards for the variety of sites that may call on its services.Portland-based paramedics have since undergone retraining.

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NSW budget to return to surplus sooner

The Baird government is set to deliver a budget surplus one year earlier than previously predicted. Source: AAP

JUST two months into the job, Treasurer Andrew Constance is set to announce NSW's finances are heading toward surplus earlier than previously expected.

IT is understood Tuesday's budget, which is the last to be delivered by the Baird government before next year's March election, will predict a surplus by 2015/16.

That's one year earlier than forecast by former treasurer and now premier Mike Baird six months ago.Mr Constance is expected to deliver the good news in his first budget on Tuesday, which will mark the start of the Baird government's pitch to voters before next year's March election."We have a state economy that is going gangbusters, driven by our focus on housing and jobs," he told reporters in Sydney on Monday.Borrowing a phrase synonymous with US politics, Mr Constance said his "Super Tuesday" budget would focus on infrastructure, with more than $60 billion going toward roads, rail and hospitals over four years.But Opposition Leader John Robertson dismissed the announcement, saying NSW governments had always spent about $60 billion on infrastructure each budget.Meanwhile, the treasurer acknowledged the state's finances had been affected by cuts in federal funding and said there would be "challenges" in health beyond the forward estimates.It is understood an Abbott government decision to deliver a $703 million payment for the Pacific Highway upgrade this financial year is set to affect the 2014/15 bottom line, leaving it further in deficit.Mr Robertson expects the budget to be "built on cuts", despite "record revenue" from stamp duty and speed cameras."Mike Baird as treasurer has shown that when it comes to cutting, he can cut with the best of them with the deep cuts that we've seen for the last three years," Mr Robertson said.The treasurer is expected to spruik the government's plan to raise $20 billion from the sale of NSW's electricity assets in his budget speech.

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Lib pair making mischief in the Senate

Senator Cory Bernardi has refused to vote with the government in protest against the deficit levy. Source: AAP

REBEL Liberals Ian Macdonald and Cory Bernardi are unbending in their plans to frustrate some of their government's key budget measures.

SENATOR Macdonald has signalled he will side with the Greens when the upper house votes on a temporary tax levy the government wants to impose on high-income earners from July.

Senator Bernardi doesn't plan to go that far, preferring to abstain from the vote because the measure will pass the Senate with Labor's support.But neither senator was prepared to back a move by the Greens on Monday to make permanent the measure that increases for three years the top tax rate from 45 per cent to 47 per cent for income earned over $180,000.Senator Macdonald, who has threatened to cross the floor of parliament, argues the levy should apply to corporations as well as individuals."I don't think it goes far enough," he told parliament.Senator Bernardi's opposition to the levy comes from his belief that Australians are paying too much income tax now.Both senators are also likely to oppose the government's paid parental leave scheme, a move that threatens not only to embarrass its prime backer Prime Minister Tony Abbott but scuttle the scheme as well."My crossing the floor might be relevant on some occasion over the next year or so," Senator Macdonald warned.Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was keen to play up the pair's stance as a sign of disarray within government ranks.But he also took a pot-shot at the Liberal senators over their decision to stand up for the top one per cent of income earners."I just wish they would stand up for low-paid people with the same vigour," he said.Australian Greens leader Christine Milne isn't impressed with Labor's decision to support the levy."If ever there was a con job on the Australian people this is it," she said, adding her party couldn't support a temporary levy while the budget made an ideological attack on the welfare system.The government for its part is trying to play down any signs of an internal revolt, saying the burden of repairing the budget would have fallen on those receiving welfare payments if it hadn't imposed a levy on the rich."Of course that is not what we think would be right," Finance Minister Mathias Cormann told parliament.

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More care for lost phone than lost super

A survey has found Australians care more about a lost phone than tracking their missing super. Source: AAP

LOST superannuation? Whatever.

A Westpac survey shows 48 per cent of working-age Australians would do "everything they could" to find their lost mobile phone but just a third would be as vigilant about tracking down $2,500 of their missing super.Westpac retail banking general manager Gai McGrath said the figures reveal widespread apathy about superannuation."For someone in their twenties, $2,500 in super today could amount to more than $22,000 by the time they retire," she said."When you put it in these terms, you start to realise how much of an impact this money can have on your financial future."Ms McGrath said superannuation funds are usually lost as a result of moving to a different fund when a person changes jobs.The report showed more evidence of super apathy with 31 per cent of people saying they would prefer to find $200 in cash than $2,000 in lost superannuation.Nine out of 10 of those surveyed do not know whether they have any superannuation.Tracking down lost super is as easy as going to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) superseeker website and entering your name and tax file number."With $18.2 billion in six million lost and ATO-held super accounts across the country, we have heard amazing stories of people finding tens of thousands of dollars," Ms McGrath said."If the average mobile phone costs around $600 and the average lost super account is more than $2,000, you can see that it makes sense to put as much effort into finding your lost super as you would a lost phone."

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Indian students charged over PM in mag

Nine students in India are facing charges after allegedly defaming Indian PM Narendra Modi. Source: AAP

NINE students at a southern Indian college have been arrested for using "objectionable and unsavoury language" about Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a crossword puzzle in their college magazine, according to news reports.

THE nine students from Sree Krishna College in Kerala's Guruvayur town were charged with various offences, including defamation, the NDTV news channel reported, citing local police.

They were arrested and released on bail, police said.The students included the editor, subeditors and members of the editorial advisory committee of the magazine, which is an annual publication.The Guruvayur Sree Krishna temple-managing committee, which runs the college, asked its principal for an explanation, NDTV reported.This is the second such case reported from Kerala.The principal and some students of a state-run polytechnic college in Thrissur town were arrested and released on bail last week after the college magazine featured Modi in a list of "negative faces" along with Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, George W Bush and Indian sandalwood smuggler Veerappan.Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party were voted into power in recent elections in India. He took office May 26.Modi, who campaigned on reviving the economy and bringing development, has been criticised in the past for failing to control some of India's worst Hindu-Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002 while he was chief minister.More than 1000 people died in the month-long riots, most of them Muslims.

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Nicole Kidman for top Shanghai honour

Nicole Kidman is to be honoured at the Shanghai International Film Festival in China. Source: AAP

NICOLE Kidman is to be honoured with an outstanding contribution award at the Shanghai International Film Festival in China.

HUGH Grant and John Woo will present the Australian actress with her latest accolade at the opening ceremony on Saturday, while artist Qin Yi will honour actor and director Jiang Wen with the Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Film Award.

Kidman will be hoping the festival will be a better experience than her visit to Cannes last month, when her new film Grace of Monaco was savaged by critics.Kirsten Dunst, John Cusack, Hayden Christensen, Jackie Chan, Tony Leung, Li Bingbing and Korean superstar Rain are expected to attend the opening gala, according to The Hollywood Reporter.The film festival will open with a restored version of 1964 movie Two Stage Sisters and close with Transformers: Age of Extinction.A jury led by actress Gong Li will decide the winner of the Golden Goblet from the 15 films in competition.

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Firies cancer law not ruled out: Vic govt

Volunteer firefighters rally in Melbourne for access to compensation for cancer contracted at work. Source: AAP

THE Victorian government says it hasn't ruled out changing the way firefighters access cancer compensation as hundreds rallied in Melbourne to try to break down barriers to claims.

THE government says it simplified cancer claims for firefighters and encouraged both career and volunteer firefighters to lodge a claim if they believe they had contracted cancer as a result of their duties.

"The Victorian government is not ruling out presumptive legislation and will continue to consider new medical and scientific evidence as it becomes available," a government spokesperson said.Volunteer Fire Brigades president Bill Watson said firefighters wanted a law that lists the 12 typical "firefighter" cancers and presumes them to be work-related, providing the firefighter has enough years of service behind him or her and relevant risk exposure.Mr Watson said there is plenty of evidence firefighters are more likely to suffer certain cancers, but it can be difficult to prove which fire or chemical incident caused their illness."It's not like a broken bone where you know exactly when and where it happened," Mr Watson said."The burning car or house fire you attended today may cause a cancer that doesn't show up for decades, which makes it nearly impossible to prove it was work related."The federal government introduced presumptive legislation in 2011.Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia also have laws that recognise the link between firefighting and cancer.Mr Watson said any legislation would have to include eligibility guidelines."We're not after a free ride," he said."We just want to make sure they're looked after if they get sick."The Victorian government has been under pressure to make changes to the way compensation is accessed after a 2012 report found firefighters who trained at the CFA Fiskville site had been exposed to dangerous chemicals going as far back as the 1970s.Last year they introduced a review panel to assist both volunteer and career firefighters seeking compensation for cancer caused by their work.Opposition leader Daniel Andrews said Labor would introduce the legislation if elected in November."I have committed to the introduction of presumptive rights," Mr Andrews said.

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