Cops firing blanks in sex exemption debate

Police in Hawaii may lose a law that allows them to have sex with prostitutes while on the job. Source: AAP

POLICE in Hawaii are facing the prospect of losing an exemption that allows them to have sex with prostitutes while on the job.

The state's Senate Judicial Committee chairman, Clayton Hee, has announced plans to get rid of the exemption in Hawaii's prostitution law that permits police to have sex, so long as it's part of an investigation.

His announcement at a committee hearing this week followed expressions of outrage after police had lobbied to keep the exemption for the so-called morals officers who are charged with the responsibility of investigating prostitution.

"To condone police officers' sexual penetration in making arrests is simply nonsensical to me," Hee said.

State legislators have been working to revamp Hawaii's decades-old law against prostitution. They toughened penalties against pimps and those who use prostitutes, and they also originally proposed scrapping the sex exemption for officers on duty.

But Honolulu police said last month that they needed the legal protection to catch lawbreakers in the act. Otherwise, they argued, prostitutes would insist on sex to identify undercover officers.

The legislation was then amended to restore the protection and the revised proposal passed the House and is now before the Senate.

While police say the exemption is necessary, Myles Breiner, a former Honolulu prosecutor who now works as a defence lawyer, testified that some of his clients who are prostitutes often complained to him that police had sex with them before making an arrest.

"How do we expect people to follow the law when the police engage in criminal conduct," Breiner asked.

Police testified in writing and in person to the House Judiciary Committee in February that keeping the exemption protected undercover officers from being found out. They said internal department protocols protected citizens against abuses.

Law enforcement experts say there's never any need to have sex with a prostitute to make an arrest, because the agreement to exchange money for sex is sufficient evidence of a crime.

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Double bombing kills seven in Iraq

A DOUBLE bombing has killed seven people north of Baghdad.

Police say the attack happened on Saturday morning when a roadside bomb exploded in a commercial street in the city of Tikrit.

Minutes later, a car bomb struck officers arriving to inspect the first blast.

Officials say five policemen and two civilians were killed and 18 people were wounded in the bombings.

Violence has spiked in Iraq since last April, a surge unseen since 2008. The relentless attacks have become the government's most serious challenge.

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Road accident kills 35 in Pakistan

A COLLISION between two passenger buses and a petrol tanker killed 35 people in southwest Pakistan on Saturday, officials said, with many of the victims burning to death.

A bus travelling to Karachi collided with the tanker in the early hours of the morning in Gadani district on the coast of Baluchistan province, senior administration official Akber Haripal told AFP.

"The bus and the tanker had a head-on collision and the oil tanker turned over, but the situation got worse when a second passenger bus coming from behind rammed into the first bus as it skidded on the oil spilled on the road," he said.

The first bus then caught fire, he said, adding that 35 people were killed, most burning to death while trapped inside the bus, and 30 were injured.

Amir Sultan, another senior administration official confirmed the incident and toll and said the dead bodies were "beyond recognition".

"These passengers buses travelling between Baluchistan and Karachi have automatic hydraulic doors and their windows are sealed because the buses are air conditioned, so most of the passengers were trapped inside," he said.

Sultan said the injured were being taken to Karachi after receiving first aid at a government-run medical dispensary because there was no hospital in the area.

Pakistan has one of the world's worst records for fatal traffic accidents, blamed on poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.

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Vic man, 73, dies in bungalow fire

A 73-YEAR-OLD man has died in a bungalow fire in central Victoria.

A woman in her late 50s who was unaccounted for when police and fire fighters discovered the body has been found and is uninjured.

Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullens said the house in Maintongoon, about 100km northeast of Melbourne, was well-alight by the time emergency services arrived shortly after 5.30pm (AEDT).

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Farmers want fair deal from Japan FTA

Australia's peak farming body says a FTA with Japan needs to benefit the whole agriculture sector. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S peak farming body is urging the federal government not to be pressured by Japan's powerful agricultural lobby as it enters the final stage of negotiations for a free trade agreement.

The federal government is rumoured to be close to finalising a broad deal to liberalise trade and boost market access to Japan, Australia's second-largest trading partner.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has promised to sign an FTA with Japan by September, and is expected to advance talks significantly during a trip to Tokyo next month.

But the National Farmers Federation is concerned there could be carve-outs in the deal to appease influential Japanese groups determined to protect their key agricultural commodities from competition.

NFF president Brent Finlay said in his experience all meetings with Japanese trade groups - including a major delegation in Canberra this week - started the same way.

"They are very quick to reinforce the importance of their key five ag (agricultural) commodities, and that their government will not move on those ag commodities," Mr Finlay told AAP on Thursday.

Japanese agriculture groups have traditionally fought hard - and often successfully - to protect their rice, sugar, beef, diary, grain and pork sectors.

Mr Finlay said this wasn't surprising given the influence of massive agricultural lobby firms in Japan like JA Zenchu, worth an estimated $40 billion.

"That gives you an indication of the power that they wield," he said.

The NFF wasn't happy when rice was carved out of a recent FTA deal with South Korea, and expects more concessions being made to the Japanese as the Abbott government tries to wind up seven years of talks.

"We're saying to them not to pursue it at all costs," Mr Finlay said.

The federation says the tariff regime remains a "significant point of conjecture" with the Japan negotiations, and they want all Australian sectors - including rice and beef - to get improved market access.

Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said he was confident gains could be made on beef, but the Japanese delegation wasn't giving anything away in meetings this week.

"The Japanese, the one thing they are is extremely astute in their commentary," he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.

Japanese trade with Australia was worth $71.1 billion in 2012, and if successful the deal is forecast to add $39 billion to Australia's economy over 20 years.

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Nine killed in Turkey crash

Nine people are dead in a crash involving a passenger train and a minibus in southern Turkey. Source: AAP

AT least nine people are dead and five others have been left injured after a passenger train crashed into a minibus carrying workers to a factory in southern Turkey.

Local governor Basri Guzeloglu said on Thursday the train slammed into the vehicle at a level crossing near the Mediterranean port city of Mersin.

All the dead were in the vehicle. Three of the injured were said to be in a serious condition.

Guzeloglu said the cause of the accident would be investigated but media reports suggested a signalling fault that saw the crossing's barrier arms up at the time of the accident.

No one aboard the train, travelling from the southern city of Adana to Mersin, was hurt.

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NGA director Ron Radford retires

Director of the National Gallery of Australia, Ron Radford, has announced his retirement. Source: AAP

THE National Gallery of Australia's director has announced his retirement.

Ron Radford will have served close to a decade in the gallery's top job when he leaves at the end of September.

During his time as director, Dr Radford has overseen an extension of gallery buildings, appointment of indigenous curators, the transformation and revival of Asian and Pacific collections, and is credited with initiating numerous blockbuster exhibitions.

There is no link between his retirement and controversy surrounding the purchase of a bronze sculpture, titled Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja), dating from 11th-century India.

The gallery paid $US5 million in 2008 for the statue and in 2014 has launched legal action in the United States against the selling dealer, amid allegations the artwork was stolen.

"If we are a victim of fraud then we will act," Dr Radford has said.

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Man wedged between car and wall critical

A man who became wedged between his car and a wall in Sydney is in a critical condition in hospital. Source: AAP

A MAN is in a critical condition in a Sydney hospital after becoming wedged between his car and a brick wall.

The 50-year-old had been reversing from a driveway at a unit block on Shadforth Street, Wiley Park when he got stuck on Thursday morning.

CareFlight director Ian Badham told AAP a passerby rushed to the man's aid and pushed the car back about half a metre to relieve the pressure until emergency services arrived.

A doctor performed emergency surgery while NSW Fire and Rescue worked for 40 minutes to free the man, Mr Badham added.

He was taken to Liverpool Hospital with severe head and chest injuries and fractures.

A hospital spokesman said on Thursday night he was in a critical but stable condition.

Witness Moshi Ali told Network 10 he saw the incident unfold.

"I just heard a big bang then I looked from my balcony and I saw this guy trapped," he said.

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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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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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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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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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Modern workplace awards open for review

Pay and conditions of low-paid Australian workers are being reviewed by the Fair Work Commission. Source: AAP

THE Fair Work Commission has left the door open for workplace awards covering industries such as hospitality and transport to be overhauled.

The commission on Monday released its decision on the scope of a four-yearly review of the Modern Award system, which Labor in government created in 2010.

The commission will examine 122 modern awards as part of the review, covering a wide range of industries, including cleaning, hospitality, manufacturing, transport, mining and banking.

The review, due to be finished by mid-2015, will allow the commission to make decisions on varying award minimum pay and conditions.

Industry groups argue greater flexibility is needed in regard to part-time work and penalty rates.

The Abbott government has argued the commission should consider the softening economic environment and impact of employment costs when making its decisions.

But unions say the review needs to lead to better conditions for apprentices, improve rights for workers seeking to balance family commitments and set a base safety net of conditions and entitlements for casuals.

The commission said in its decision that the principle of a "fair and relevant minimum safety net of terms of conditions" could be broadly interpreted and depend on the industry to which it applies, as well as its historical context.

"There may be no one set of provisions in a particular modern award which can be said to provide a fair and relevant minimum safety net of terms and conditions," the decision said.

"There may be a number of permutations of a particular modern award, each of which may be said to achieve the modern awards objective."

The commission said some changes may be determined with "little formality", but others will require a more substantial "merit argument".

By law, modern awards can be varied if there is a "work value reason" for doing so.

Such reasons can relate to the nature of the work, the level of skill or responsibility involved and the conditions under which the work is done.

The commission will release a draft plan on how it will approach the review on April 14 and has scheduled a conference for May 13.

Labor workplace relations spokesman Brendan O'Connor said the government's involvement in the Fair Work Commission review process was a "dangerous cocktail for workers".

"This government can't help itself when it comes to undermining the pay and conditions of workers," Mr O'Connor said through a spokesman on Monday.

He said the coalition's policy of having an appellate jurisdiction over the commission would give that the power to overturn decisions of the full bench of the commission, including on the future of modern awards.

A spokeswoman for Employment Minister Eric Abetz said the minister encouraged anyone with a view on modern awards to make a submission to the review.

The commission's review upholds important protections, ACTU assistant secretary Tim Lyons says.

"Anybody wanting to make significant changes to awards - for example, by reducing or removing penalty rates - will be held to a high standard of argument and evidence," Mr Lyons told AAP in a statement.

The union also noted the commission's acknowledgment that there is no problem with current arrangements which provide different award provisions to different industries.

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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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