Balmain Leagues Club decision Wednesday

A judge will soon rule on whether the Balmain Leagues Club will be placed into receivership. Source: AAP

WESTS Tigers fans will have to wait another day to find out whether the Balmain Leagues Club will be placed into receivership.

Developers Rozelle Village have applied to have receivers appointed to the club, claiming it has defaulted on loans among other issues.

On Tuesday afternoon, the NSW Supreme Court heard applications from Rozelle Village and the club which wants to stop the developer's action.

The leagues club has financially supported the Wests Tigers NRL club, and the injunction could hurt its ability to continue that support, the court was told.

Balmain spokesman Danny Munk said they had been given a fair hearing.

"We'll leave it in the hands of the judges. Unfortunately that's all we can say," he told reporters outside the court.

Judgment on the receivership matter is expected to be handed down on Wednesday afternoon.

Rozelle Village bought the site of the Balmain Leagues Club headquarters on Victoria Road, Rozelle to develop it into luxury apartments. The development is yet to receive state approval.

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Joyce fends off more jobs speculation

The opposition is holding off on a decision on Qantas law changes until an inquiry is tabled. Source: AAP

QANTAS chief Alan Joyce will not rule out sending more jobs offshore if able to do so under legislative changes being considered by federal parliament.

The airline is committed to slashing 5000 jobs as part of a $2 billion cost-cutting program, and as the coalition government proposes changes to the Qantas Sale Act, Mr Joyce will not forecast how many additional Australian positions could be lost.

"I'm not going to rule anything in or anything out," he told a Senate hearing in Canberra on Tuesday.

The airline boss faced repeated questioning about the impact on jobs of changing the Act, which would allow greater foreign ownership of Qantas's domestic arm.

But he said the airline has done no such modelling and refuses to deal in hypotheticals.

"We have no more plans on that," Mr Joyce said when asked of the jobs impact on different divisions of the company including maintenance, flight crew, catering and management.

Mr Joyce's position at the Qantas helm, which he has held since 2008, came under fire from Labor senator Sam Dastyari, who cited a drop in share price of more than 50 per cent since his appointment.

"If it was in the interests of shareholder value ... for you to resign would you do so?" Senator Dastyari asked.

Mr Joyce insisted that he has the support of the Qantas board.

"The important thing is to have the support of the shareholders and I continuously meet with the shareholders," Mr Joyce said.

A refresh of the Qantas board is the answer to the airline's problems, not legislative changes to the Act, Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association federal secretary Stephen Purvinas told the hearing.

"I would suggest that the government stop dealing with the current board of management until such time as they replace the CEO, they replace the chairman and they put someone with aviation background on the board," Mr Purvinas said.

He said the board is made up of bankers and people with corporate backgrounds, who lack an understanding of aviation issues.

Furthermore he said Qantas has purposefully lost money to back the federal government into a corner to change the Act.

"Qantas are intentionally creating this drama and all of the hype around them struggling internationally so that they can suck you guys into changing the Qantas Sale Act," Mr Purvinas said.

The Senate economics committee is due to report on March 24.

The ACTU forecast the number of Australian Qantas job losses would stretch to a five-digit figure under changes to the Act.

"If you add up the predictions that we have from affiliates generally in relation to Qantas group, a figure of 10,000 is obtained," union assistant secretary Tim Lyons told the same hearing.

He said staff morale at the airline was "sombre".

"The immediate impact if this bill was to go through ... would be a massive offshoring of the heavy maintenance base at Brisbane," Electrical Trades Union spokesman Matthew Murphy said.

Maintenance operations at Sydney and Melbourne would also be sent offshore, he added.

Mr Joyce labelled as "fear mongering" union claims that Qantas safety standards would be compromised if the Act was amended.

Both onshore maintenance operations and those based overseas had to be approved by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, he said.

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Buswell to take three more weeks off

Former WA Treasurer Troy Buswell is unlikely to return to parliament until at least April 10. Source: AAP

FORMER West Australian treasurer Troy Buswell is unlikely to return to parliament until at least April 10.

Mr Buswell stepped down from cabinet last week following revelations he was hospitalised for 10 days after a mental breakdown in the wake of a car crash in the early hours of February 23.

He had been at a wedding reception and had reportedly spent many hours drinking.

Police continue to probe the events that led to Mr Buswell's car crashing into the gates of his own house. They are also investigating damage to other cars and property in Subiaco.

Mr Buswell has not been sighted publicly since his enforced departure and the state government now needs to seek formal permission from the lower house for him to remain absent for more than nine consecutive sitting days, which will fall on Thursday.

The parliament was told on Monday that the government would apply for Mr Buswell to remain away from work until the second week of April.

It is the convention for the opposition not to oppose motions for MPs seeking a leave of absence for health reasons.

There has been no confirmation of Mr Buswell's future plans or whether he intends to remain an MP.

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Qld clan celebrate native title ruling

Native title over 20,000 square kilometres of land has been handed to Queensland's Gudjala people. Source: AAP

AS native title over her ancestral land is formally handed to her people, north Queenslander Elizabeth Santo-Dodds looks to the heavens.

"The fight was all for them," the 43-year-old traditional owner says, referring to relatives who began the battle for recognition two decades ago but have since died.

"That's who I'm thinking about today; those who couldn't be here and always stood proud and never gave up."

Native title over 20,000 square kilometres of land near Charters Towers, inland from Townsville, was officially handed to the Gudjala people on Tuesday.

Ms Santo-Dodds said the Federal Court determination brings closure to those who have fought for the right to claim the land as their own.

"We always knew who we were and where we came from and that this is our country," she told AAP following celebrations with relatives on Tuesday.

"It's about peace of mind that people can't question our authority or authenticity over this land."

Native title will allow the Gudjala people to enter into formal negotiations with landowners over future land use.

It also gives them greater access to the land to hunt, fish, camp and carry out ceremonies and will mean they have more say over how the land is protected.

Ms Santo-Dodds said native title isn't about financial gain but a chance to right wrongs and acknowledge traditional owners who are spiritually connected to the land.

"Just like many places in Australia this land doesn't have a very good history and we will never forget that," she said.

"All we wanted was to be known as the people from this area.

"It's been a long time coming and today finally we've got here."

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Shark attack may have been mackerel

A young girl injured in what was thought to be a shark attack may have been bitten by a mackerel. Source: AAP

A 10-YEAR-OLD girl injured in what was thought to be a shark attack may have been bitten by a mackerel.

The girl suffered "very minor injuries" to her hand when she was bitten on Tuesday afternoon while swimming off the main beach at Lennox Head, a spokeswoman at Lismore Base hospital told AAP.

Initially it was believed she had been attacked by a shark. But authorities say they aren't sure what is responsible for the injuries.

"They don't know if that's actually correct," the spokeswoman said of the shark attack theory.

Georgia Laddin, from the Lennox Head girls surfriders told News Corp Australia it wasn't a shark.

"It was a mackerel. She's been bitten by a fish," she said.

"She's fine, she's OK. She's one of the local girls who surfs down there."

A police spokeswoman told News Corp Australia the girl's thumb was scratched.

No further detail was available and the girl's family don't want to speak to media.

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Vic MP Geoff Shaw quits Liberal Party

Rebel Victorian MP Geoff Shaw has quit the state's Liberal Party days before a party meeting. Source: AAP

REBEL Victorian MP Geoff Shaw has resigned from the Liberal Party ahead of a meeting where he was expected to be kicked out.

The independent Frankston MP resigned from the parliamentary Liberal Party last March, but he was still a card-carrying member of the party's Victorian branch.

The balance of power MP confirmed his resignation on his website on Monday but said he looks forward to contending the November election as an independent.

His spokesman said he would not make any further comment on Monday.

Mr Shaw's resignation comes ahead of a meeting on Friday where Liberal Party members were expected to ask him to leave the party.

The party's state director Damien Mantach has confirmed Mr Shaw's resignation and said Friday's scheduled meeting was now not necessary.

It is understood the Victorian branch administration had become unhappy with Mr Shaw repeatedly voting with Labor in parliament last month.

Mr Shaw quit the parliamentary party last year after allegations he misused his parliamentary car and fuel card.

In December last year, dishonesty charges relating to these allegations were dropped.

Comment was being sought by Victorian Premier Denis Napthine.

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Govt to oppose super trawler challenge

The Abbott government will fight to uphold a ban that prevents super trawlers fishing in Australia. Source: AAP

THE Abbott government will fight in court to uphold a ban that prevents super trawlers fishing in Australian waters.

The federal court last month ruled against Seafish Tasmania, which was trying to overturn a two-year ban on super trawlers imposed by the previous Labor government.

Seafish Tasmania has lodged an application to appeal the decision, but Environment Minister Greg Hunt says the government will oppose it.

"The coalition government supports sustainable fisheries management and practices," he said in a statement.

Seafish Tasmania brought the factory freezer trawler Abel Tasman to Australia in 2012 to fish a 16,000-tonne quota of mackerel and redbait.

But that year it was banned by former federal environment minister Tony Burke for two years until its environmental impacts were assessed independently.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott recently told parliament the temporary ban on super trawler fishing in Australian waters would stay put.

The federal court has yet to appoint a date for the appeal hearing.

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Pistorius ordered six guns before shooting

Oscar Pistorius was in the process of buying six guns at the time he shot dead his girlfriend. Source: AAP

OSCAR Pistorius was in the process of buying six guns at the time he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, more than usually allowed under South African law, his murder trial has heard.

The order for three shotguns, two revolvers, and a rifle had already been invoiced to the athlete when he shot Steenkamp on February 14 last year, testified gun licensee Sean Rens on Monday.

"The transaction was cancelled a month post-incident," he said at the start of the third week of trial.

South African law allows non-collectors to possess only four firearms.

Rens said Pistorius "had a great love and enthusiasm" for firearms.

The licensee said Pistorius told him he once drew his gun inside his house at a suspicious noise, which turned out to be the washing machine.

"He went into what we call 'code red', or combat mode, in other words to draw his gun and go and clear his house," Rens testified on Monday.

Rens met the double-amputee in 2012 through a mutual friend. At the time Pistorius owned a 9 mm pistol and the pair visited a shooting range together around 10 times.

The state has drawn on previous gun incidents to depict the 27-year-old Pistorius as rash and trigger-happy, in support of the charge of premeditated murder.

The sprinter faces three additional non-related charges over firing a gun in a restaurant and from a moving car, and for the illegal possession of ammunition.

Licensing examination records showed Pistorius knew the country's gun laws well, the court heard.

He answered correctly that he could only shoot at a person if his life was directly threatened.

Asked if he could fire at burglars stealing a television from his house, Pistorius answered: "No. Life is not in danger," Rens said, reading from an answer sheet.

Pistorius says he shot dead Steenkamp, 29, through a locked toilet door when he mistook her for an intruder.

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TV chef Clarissa Dickson Wright dies

FORMER TV chef Clarissa Dickson Wright has died at the age of 66, her agents say.

The star, best known as one of the culinary duo Two Fat Ladies, died at Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary on Saturday.

Her agents, Heather Holden-Brown and Elly James, said: "Loved dearly by her friends and many fans all over the world, Clarissa was utterly non-PC and fought for what she believed in, always, with no thought to her own personal cost.

"Her fun and laughter, extraordinary learning and intelligence, will be missed always, by so many of us."

The broadcaster and food writer shot to fame with Jennifer Paterson, who died, after being diagnosed with cancer, in 1999, at the age of 71.

The duo travelled around in a motorbike and sidecar in the BBC series, which enjoyed success around the world.

James said Dickson Wright "hadn't been well for a little while" and had been in hospital since the beginning of the year.

Dickson Wright initially enjoyed a career as a barrister.

She and Paterson were put together for a BBC series in 1996, by producer Patricia Llewellyn.

She discovered Dickson Wright working in an Edinburgh cookery bookshop and decided to introduce her to Paterson, who said she had never had a cookery lesson.

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Religions join Forrest anti-slavery drive

CHRISTIANS and Muslims have joined to try to help free millions of men, women and children held in modern-day slavery, forced to work as maids, prostitutes, child soldiers and manual labourers.

Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest's Global Freedom Network was launched on Monday at the Vatican and aims to eradicate slavery by encouraging governments, businesses, educational and faith institutions to rid their supply chains of slave labor.

The initiative is the brainchild of Forrest, who founded the Walk Free Foundation in 2012 to mobilize a grass-roots movement to end slavery.

Forrest, ranked 270th on Forbes' list of the world's richest people, used personal contacts to bring the 1.2-billion strong Catholic Church, 85-million strong Anglican Communion and al-Azhar university in Cairo, the world's foremost seat of Sunni learning, on board with the initiative.

Representatives from all three gathered on Monday at the Vatican to sign an agreement to launch the project, which will be based at the Vatican and have a chief executive responsible for implementing a five-year business plan.

Objectives include getting the G20 to condemn modern-day slavery, persuading 50 major corporations to commit to slavery-proofing their supply chains and convincing 160 governments to endorse a seven-year, $US100 million ($A111.84 million) fundraising effort to implement anti-slavery programs globally.

In an interview, Forrest said it makes financial sense for countries to rid themselves of slave labor.

"We have absolute economic proof that once you take slavery out of a community, that community grows and grows and grows," he said.

The Walk Free Foundation in 2013 published the "Global Slavery Index," a country-by-country breakdown which found that some 29.8 million people were currently enslaved around the globe: child labourers harvesting cocoa in Ivory Coast, women sold for sex in Moldova, and Haitian children trafficked and forced into begging.

Everyday items used in the developed world - soccer balls, bricks, diamonds and flowers - are often produced or extracted using slave labor, the report said.

The presence of al-Azhar at the Vatican for the launch was particularly significant given that relations between the Holy See and al-Azhar collapsed during Pope Benedict XVI's papacy. Pope Francis has spoken out about human trafficking and was behind a November 2013 Vatican conference on modern-day slavery.

The International Labor Organisation has estimated that trafficking in human beings - just one segment of the slavery industry - generates $US32 billion in profits every year.

Forrest said representatives of other faiths were welcome to join the project's governing council.

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