PM wants Monash to be household name

THE efforts of Australian General John Monash on the Western Front in World War I should be as widely recognised as the story of Simpson and his donkey at Gallipoli, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.

Mr Abbott revealed on Saturday a new memorial centre to be built in France would be named in honour of the Australian military leader, who is regarded as one of the great tacticians of World War I.

After joining world leaders at D-Day commemorations in Normandy on Friday, Mr Abbott turned his attention to the First World War as he visited the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux for the first time.

While not as famous as the Gallipoli campaign, the efforts of Australian diggers to stop German forces on the Western Front were critical to the outcome of the war.

Of the 295,000 Australians who fought there between 1916 and 1918, 46,000 never made it home and the prime minister is leading a push he believes will help improve a sense of national identity.

"No place on earth has been more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than these fields in France," Mr Abbott said.

"Australians should be as familiar with the story of the Western Front as we are with Gallipoli.

"Australians should be at least as familiar with the achievements of Monash as we are with the heroism of John Simpson Kirkpatrick (in Gallipoli)."

Sir John Monash was involved in the failed Gallipoli campaign but used his experiences to lead several significant battlefield victories, including the decisive Battle of Amiens.

Mr Abbott said he brought organisation and technology to the battlefield to "break the stalemate of trench warfare".

Attendances at the annual Anzac Day dawn service at Villers-Bretonneux have grown steadily in recent years, with the crowd this year surpassing that at Gallipoli.

Some predict it will become the nation's clear focal point of Anzac Day commemorations beyond next year's centenary in Gallipoli.

"Australians should congregate here, every April 25th, no less than at Anzac Cove," Mr Abbott said.

"And on Anzac Day four years hence, the centenary of the Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, I'm sure they will."

Mr Abbott said it was expected the new "interpretive centre", to be built behind the Australian memorial, would open in 2018 to coincide with 100th anniversary commemorations.

The "Sir John Monash" centre will help to better explain Australia's role in the final victories of World War I and the government will put up $6.9 million for the initial planning.

Mr Abbott later followed in the footsteps of former prime ministers by visiting the Victoria School, built in Villers-Bretonneux in 1927 with money donated by school children from the Australian state.

He chatted with schoolchildren and locals in the school's courtyard, where a prominent green and gold sign hangs permanently reading: "Never Forget Australia."

Mr Abbott then visited the memorial site at nearby Pozieres, the sight of a bloody 1916 battle where 23,000 Australians were killed in the space of just six weeks.

The prime minister was expected to meet with French President Francois Hollande on Saturday night before departing Paris on Sunday for Canada and the US.

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Alleged Sydney card skimmer charged

A man has been caught allegedly skimming money out of ATMs in Sydney's west using stolen card data. Source: AAP

A MAN has been caught allegedly skimming money out of ATMs in Sydney's west using stolen card data.

Police were contacted after the 27-year-old was seen acting suspiciously in Parramatta on Friday morning, walking from one ATM to another, allegedly making transactions with several cards.

Officers later detained and searched the man, finding 15 store cards, which are believed to have been encoded with stolen card data. He also had more than $4000 in cash on him.

The Fairfield man was charged with dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and two other related charges.

He was granted conditional bail and is due to appear at Parramatta Local Court on July 16.

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One dead, one hurt in SA speed boat crash

ONE person is dead and another has been rushed to hospital after a speedboat crashed on the Murray River in South Australia.

SA Police say Saturday afternoon's accident occurred during a competitive event.

"There were two victims, one is sadly deceased," an SA police spokesman said.

"The other has got some serious burns and has been flown to the Royal Adelaide Hospital."

The Adelaide Advertiser reported the victims were both male, but SA Police were unable to provide further details.

"It was a sad tragic way of ending the day's competition there," the police spokesman said.

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10 Islamists sentenced to death in Egypt

An Egyptian court has sentenced 10 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood movement to death. Source: AAP

AN Egyptian court has sentenced ten supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement to death in absentia on charges of inciting violence and blocking a road last July.

Judge Hassan Fareed on Saturday referred the sentence to the Grand Mufti, the highest Islamic authority in Egypt, a legal requirement usually considered a formality.

The remaining 38 accused in the case, including the Brotherhood's supreme guide and other senior members, will be sentenced at the next hearing on July 5.

The case is one of several ongoing mass trials of supporters of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Under Egyptian law, those sentenced in absentia will have a new trial if they are arrested or surrender to authorities.

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Moo-ving tale as cow saved from pool

A drowning cow has been saved from a backyard pool in the NSW Hunter Valley. Source: AAP

A COW has been saved from drowning by firefighters who helped it out of a backyard swimming pool in the NSW Hunter Valley.

A woman returned to her Maitland home on Friday afternoon to find her dogs barking at the cow after it wandered through a gap in the fence and fell into the pool.

Fire & Rescue NSW said the cow was treading water in the deep end with one of its legs snared in the plastic pool cover.

Firefighters put a rope around its neck to manoeuvre the struggling animal towards the shallow end.

"Once the cow had worked out it could stand and get out via the steps, firefighters stepped back as the bovine made a quick escape out through the property to her awaiting herd in an adjoining paddock," local station officer Chris Holderberg said.

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Gunman kills one, injures three in US

A suspect is in custody after four people were wounded in a shooting on a Seattle university campus. Source: AAP

A GUNMAN has killed one person and injured three others on a college campus in the northwestern US city of Seattle, the latest of what the mayor denounced as America's "epidemic of gun violence".

The most recent bloody rampage to shake the country came on Thursday, two weeks after an apparently mentally disturbed young man opened fire at a California university and killed six people.

The gunman opened fire in the lobby of a science building at Seattle Pacific University, killing a 19-year-old man and wounding three other people.

"Today should have been a day of celebration at the end of the school year. Instead, it's a day of tragedy and of loss," Seattle mayor Ed Murray told reporters after the shooting.

"Once again, the epidemic of gun violence has come to Seattle, the epidemic of gun violence that's haunting this nation."

The injured, including one who was in critical condition, were being treating in hospital.

"Police have one suspect in custody, an adult male who was subdued after being pepper-sprayed by a student security guard," a police statement said.

The gunman was identified as Aaron Ybarra, 26, and he was not a student at the university, the Seattle Post Intelligencer newspaper reported.

He was to make an initial court appearance on Friday on suspicion of murder, it said.

Blake Oliveira, a student, said he was in class when he heard gunfire and at first thought it came from a physics experiment. But then he heard screams, the Seattle paper reported.

The 21-year-old grabbed a metal pipe, as he and fellow students were locked in a physics lab.

Oliveira said he heard someone telling others to be calm, and then heard running.

Minutes later, he said, two police officers entered the lab and escorted everyone out.

"I took off my sandals, put them into my backpack in case I had to run," Oliveira said.

"This is all going down. I saw a cop with a shotgun and I thought, 'OK, this is kind of real right now'. And then I saw blood on the floor," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

Police spokesman Chris Fowler described how the young male gunman was taken into custody after opening fire in the lobby of a building on the campus.

He began to reload when a student who was monitoring the building "confronted the shooter (and) was able to subdue the individual", Fowler told reporters.

"Once on the ground, other students jumped on top of them and they were able to pin the shooter to the ground until police arrived."

Less than two weeks ago, a reportedly mentally unstable 22-year-old man killed six people before turning the gun on himself at a college campus in Santa Barbara, California.

School shootings have become a tragic periodic occurrence in the US in recent years.

They include the December 2012 massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 20 small children dead, and the Virginia Tech shooting in April 2007 in which 33 died, including the gunman.

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Smithsonian names Aussie museum director

THE Smithsonian has named Australian Melissa Chiu, a museum leader for the Asia Society in New York, as the next director of the Hirshhorn Museum for modern and contemporary art in Washington.

Darwin-born Chiu joins the Smithsonian in September. She succeeds Richard Koshalek who resigned last year after a dispute with the museum's board over funding to build an inflatable pavilion at the museum for special performances and programs.

Chiu has served as director of the Asia Society Museum since 2004 and previously was curator for contemporary Asian and Asian-American art.

Smithsonian officials say Chiu is a prolific fundraiser, securing 80 per cent of the Asia Society Museum's $US29 million ($A31.38 million) budget.

The Hirshhorn has an $US8 million budget, and the Smithsonian provides $US10 million in operating support.

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Police search new area for Madeleine

Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have focussed their attention to drains. Source: AAP

BRITISH police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are focusing their attention on a new patch of scrubland close to where she went missing in Portugal seven years ago.

Officers in Metropolitan Police uniform were seen on Friday studying a flat area of ground at the opposite end of the area which has seen activity over the past week.

The area of scrubland in Praia da Luz on the Algarve has been marked in various places with tape to highlight areas of interest to police.

Officers could be seen examining the uneven ground inside one marked-out area, which was covered with long grass.

The search entered its fifth day, with officers previously focusing on a hole which had been covered in undergrowth.

Forensics officers sifted through soil in large sieves inside a white tent set up to cover the void, which was thought to have been used as a children's den.

An item of clothing, believed to be a man's sock, was removed from the scene but was thought to have been ruled out of the investigation.

Madeleine's parents on Thursday said they were "encouraged" by the progress made by police as they search for clues as to what happened to her after she disappeared from the resort in May 2007, aged three.

Writing on the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page, Kate and Gerry McCann thanked their followers for the support they have received.

"We are being kept updated on the ongoing work in Portugal and are encouraged by the progress," the message said.

"Thank you for continuing to stand by us and supporting our efforts to get Madeleine home."

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Uproar over O'Neill plan

PAPUA New Guinea's opposition has lashed out at a plan by Prime Minister Peter O'Neill to restrict nominees for the top job to members of his own party in the event of a motion of no-confidence.

The government is planning to introduce legislation on June 24 restricting candidates to the office of prime minister to members of the largest parliamentary party, according to the Port Moresby-based Post Courier Newspaper.

Deputy opposition leader Sam Basil on Thursday attacked the plan, saying the move shows Mr O'Neill wants to ensure his party, the People's National Congress (PNC), can continue to protect him and his interests.

"What the Prime Minister Peter O'Neill is doing is just simply using the numerical strength that he amassed through political intimidation and (district fund) controlled support to pass yet another controversial law to protect his interests," Mr Basil said on Facebook on Thursday.

"After every general elections the Governor General calls for a political party that has the highest number of MP-elect to form the new government. That doesn't mean that this political party has the golden ticket to the Prime Minister's post."

Mr O'Neill, whose PNC is the largest party in the coalition government, is currently on his way back to Port Moresby from a bilateral visit to Japan.

Thursday's newspaper article, which appeared under the headline O'Neill-ocracy, cites a May 28 circular to MPs from the office of the clerk of PNG's national parliament.

It also quotes Mr O'Neill as saying that under the legislation if a party fails to secure the numbers to rule, Parliament can elect any MP from the floor to be PM.

He has recently come to loggerheads with the country's Ombudsman Commission over a controversial $A1.3 billion loan from Swiss investment bank UBS to buy back shares in Oil Search Limited.

After the watchdog announced it was investigating and ordered a freeze on the deal, Mr O'Neill publicly urged the ombudsman to back down on the grounds it would trigger a loan default - a move criticised on Thursday by former treasurer Don Polye.

Mr O'Neill has also been accused of authorising illegal payments to a controversial PNG law firm, Paul Paraka lawyers - a claim Mr O'Neill has strenuously, and repeatedly, denied.

The executive director of PNG's Institute of National Affairs, Paul Barker, told AAP that parliament should retain the right to remove an incompetent government with another that is more suitable.

"Although political stability is valuable, and frivolous votes of no-confidence should not be entertained, it remains a constitutional responsibility of the legislature to act as check and balance on the government of the day," he said.

He said there were two ways to look at Mr O'Neill's latest move.

On the one hand, Mr O'Neill may be trying to protect his party programs and legacy.

"More negative observers might suggest that there is much more at stake in terms of vested interests over retaining power," Mr Barker said.

"He's clearly afraid of something."

A spokesman for Mr O'Neill on Thursday night said the constitutional amendments were proposed by PNG's constitutional law reform commission and the registrar of political parties, and not by Prime Minister O'Neill or the PNC.

"The (news) story is not PO's (Peter O'Neill) or the PNC's initiative," he said.

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Nepal tree-huggers reach for record

MORE than 2000 people have gathered in Nepal's capital in a bid to set a world record for the largest tree hug.

Parliament members, students, office workers and even Buddhist monks took part in the attempt on Thursday, gathering at a park on the outskirts of Katmandu.

They said they were trying to set the record to celebrate World Environment Day by spreading awareness about the importance of trees.

"Our goal is to set a new world record and at the same time spread the message that trees are important for the environment and everyone," said Thaneswor Guragai, who co-ordinated the event.

The previous Guinness World Record for the most people hugging trees simultaneously was 936 people in Portland, Oregon, in July 2013.

Participants on Thursday held trees for two minutes as volunteers beat drums at the National Martyrs and Peace Park, on the northeast edge of Katmandu.

"We are gathered here in our attempt to save the forests and make people aware that trees and forests are important for human civilization," said Rajan KC, who was among the 20 Parliament members hugging the trees and monitoring the event.

Most of the participants were students in their school uniforms.

Ninth-grader Ganga Pandit said that while she had planted samplings in the past, she felt it was important for her to join the campaign to save existing trees.

The organisers of Thursday's event will send photos, video, a signed statement from the parliament members who were there and the names of the participants to Guinness, which will decide whether to recognise the feat as a record.

Guragai said it would take about two months to get a recognition certificate from Guinness.

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Thousands affected by Adelaide lockdown

A 13-hour siege caused a lockdown in parts of central Adelaide, causing disruption to thousands. Source: AAP

THOUSANDS of commuters, workers and residents were barred from several blocks in central Adelaide as dangerous fugitive Rodney Clavell was holed up in a nearby brothel.

The 13-hour siege caused major disruption in peak hour traffic, as trams, buses, cars and pedestrians were diverted from King William Street.

Four blocks south of Victoria Square were cordoned off, with reporters and camera crews placed in an area which gave no view of the building housing the massage parlour.

Replacement public transport went around the cordoned-off area, just up the road from the court precinct - a place not unfamiliar to Clavell, a former prison officer and prisoner.

A few interested members of the public waited at the cordon line.

The police regularly updated the media and pleaded with Clavell - who they believed had access to TV and radio - to end the siege peacefully.

Billie Morrison said she was riding her bike to the law firm where she works when she was told the area was cordoned off.

"It was very daunting and nerve-wracking, as you can see the streets are very empty and quiet," she said.

"There would be hundreds of offices closed down. There are barristers' chambers, there are medical centres, a chemist. There are a lot of buildings and businesses in this area."

Ms Morrison said she had never seen anything like it in Adelaide.

"You hear about it all over the world but you don't expect it to be at your doorstep first thing in the morning."

Just before 2pm it was over when police found Clavell's body and a firearm in the building.

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Red Cross staffer killed in Libya

ARMED men have killed a 42-year-old Red Cross staffer in the coastal Libyan city of Sirte, firing at his car after he left a meeting, the organisation says.

Michael Greub, a Swiss national, died in the attack on Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement on its website.

"We are devastated and outraged," said ICRC Director-General Yves Daccord on Thursday.

"Michael was a devoted humanitarian who spent many years of his life helping others."

Greub was in his car with his driver and another man, neither of whom were harmed, the Red Cross said.

Driver Ali Mohamed told The Associated Press that three masked attackers wearing civilian clothes stopped them at gunpoint at a checkpoint as they were on their way back from the meeting.

"They started shouting 'put your hands up,' and we put our hands up but they started shooting," he said.

"We just crumpled to the car's floor but all of the firing was at the back seat where Michael was sitting."

Since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, there has been a spike in targeted killings with attacks on government employees, activists, clerics and security officials.

It was unclear who was behind Wednesday's attack, but Libyan military officers have said that hard-line Islamic militias including the extremist Ansar al-Shariah have stepped up their presence in recent months in Sirte, once Gaddafi's stronghold.

Greub worked for the ICRC for more than seven years, with assignments in Iraq, Sudan, Yemen and Gazi. He had been head of the organisation's delegation in Misrata since March, the ICRC said.

The ICRC has had a permanent presence in Libya since 2011, providing humanitarian services for detainees, tracing missing persons and working with local organisations to help injured or displaced people.

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Putin slams Obama as he meets Poroshenko

PRESIDENT Barack Obama has met Ukraine's president-elect Petro Poroshenko, in a show of US support for Ukraine's right to chart its own future, before an encounter with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Obama sat down with Poroshenko on Wednesday in Warsaw, during a trip designed to assuage security concerns in eastern Europe following Russia's annexation of Crimea and what Washington says is an effort to destabilise Ukraine.

Obama said he had "been deeply impressed" by Poroshenko's vision for his troubled country.

"The United States is absolutely committed to standing behind the Ukrainian people not just in the coming days, weeks, but in the coming years," Obama told reporters.

The talks on day two of Obama's European tour come after the president met central and eastern European leaders in Warsaw and before he heads to a G7 summit in Belgium.

The summit takes place against a backdrop of signs that Western unity over how to handle Russia is fracturing.

Obama will come face to face with Putin during 70th anniversary commemorations of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France on Friday, but officials in Washington and Moscow say there are no plans for a formal meeting.

In contrast, the leaders of Britain, France and Germany will hold one-on-one talks with Putin, who said Wednesday he could not understand Obama's stance.

"It is his choice, I am ready for dialogue," Putin said in an interview with French broadcasters Europe1 and TF1 conducted at his dacha in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Putin went on to accuse the US administration of hypocrisy in its "aggressive" attempts to isolate Russia over its conduct in Ukraine.

"We have almost no military forces abroad yet look: everywhere in the world there are American military bases, American troops thousands of kilometres from their borders. They interfere in the interior affairs of this or that country. So it is difficult to accuse us of abuses."

The accelerating diplomacy over Ukraine comes as a seven-week pro-Russian insurgency in Ukraine's eastern rust belt grows only more violent after Poroshenko swept to power in a May 25 presidential ballot.

Hundreds of separatist gunmen on Monday attacked a Ukrainian border guard service camp in the region of Lugansk on the border with Russia.

Obama said Tuesday that US commitment to eastern European security was absolute.

"Our commitment to Poland's security as well as the security of our allies in central and eastern Europe is a cornerstone of our own security and it is sacrosanct," Obama said after inspecting a joint unit of Polish and US F-16 pilots.

He proposed a "European Reassurance Initiative" of up to $1 billion (730 million euros) to finance extra US troop and military deployments to "new allies" in Europe.

NATO defence ministers also agreed Tuesday a series of steps to bolster protection in eastern Europe after the Ukraine crisis, but insisted they were acting within the limits of a key post-Cold War treaty with Moscow.

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Economy has solid growth foundation:Hockey

A surge in economic growth in the first three months of the year has made Joe Hockey optimistic. Source: AAP

JOE Hockey is cautiously optimistic the unemployment rate will not hit the heights predicted in the budget.

The treasurer says the latest national accounts show the resilience of the economy, with growth at its strongest in about two years.

The economy expanded at 1.1 per cent in the first three months of 2014, lifting the annual rate to 3.5 per cent and above its long-term trend of 3.25 per cent.

Mr Hockey said the figures backed up the government's economic strategy.

"We have a very solid foundation for future growth," Mr Hockey told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.

"But as I've said on many occasions, future growth must be earned."

Mr Hockey's budget in May forecast a jobless rate of 6.25 per cent in the coming two years, a figure he says he inherited from Labor.

"I'm cautiously optimistic that we won't get there," the treasurer said.

The unemployment rate sits at 5.8 per cent.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia senior economist Michael Workman does not expect the strong growth reading to prompt the Reserve Bank to lift the cash rate any time soon.

"In our view, there is unlikely to be a policy change until we see a clear shift to lower unemployment rates," Mr Workman said, adding that would need to coincide with higher inflation in coming quarters.

Exports were the biggest contributor to growth in the March quarter, adding 1.4 percentage points.

This coincided with the extraordinary event that Western Australia was not hit by cyclones in the March quarter.

"Our miners are exporting their socks off," Mr Hockey said.

However, Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson is sticking with his budget forecast for economic growth to return to below trend for a while yet.

"That growth (in exports) won't be sustained," Dr Parkinson told a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday.

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said the national accounts highlighted the importance of the mining industry but economic policy must also focus on supporting growth in non-mining sectors.

"The budget has clearly hit household budgets and consumer confidence," Mr Bowen told AAP.

Mr Hockey dismissed the drop in confidence as not unusual after a budget.

Treasury's executive director for the macroeconomic group, David Gruen, went further, saying confidence readings were not particularly helpful in predicting consumption.

"It is something of interest, it certainly generates headlines in newspapers," Dr Gruen told the hearing.

"I'm not going to say it is of no value, but I am going to say that it contains relatively little information once you know what else is going on in the economy."

Provided the economy continued to do reasonably well, with good jobs growth, consumer confidence was likely to bounce back, he said.

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New home for Perth's wandering peacock

A YOUNG peacock found strutting his stuff in suburban Perth has a new home after doing time in an animal shelter.

He also has a new name: Gerald.

The juvenile bird was seen wandering in Westminster about a month ago and was cared for at the RSPCA Animal Care Centre in Malaga while the owner was sought.

On Wednesday, an animal lover who has a 4ha property in Wanneroo adopted the colourful bird.

"We are thrilled to hear he has found a loving new family," RSPCA WA chief inspector Amanda Swift said.

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PM runs late for important date with SBY

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott's meeting to repair the relationship with Indonesia had already been months in the making, before a problem with his plane delayed the highly-anticipated event a little more.

Mr Abbott left Canberra for Batam, Indonesia, more than two hours late on Wednesday, another bump on the road to reconciling with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The president last year learned Australia had tapped the phones of his wife and other confidants under the previous Labor government, but is keen to move on.

Mr Abbott, too, says he wants to make progress before Dr Yudhoyono leaves office later this year.

A meeting scheduled for last month was cancelled at the last minute.

Mr Abbott blamed budget commitments, but it's understood he changed his mind to avoid embarrassment over an asylum-seeker boat being turned back to Indonesian territory.

On Wednesday, he was delayed when his RAAF jet suffered a technical problem on the tarmac, forcing him to use a back-up aircraft for his 12-day overseas mission.

Indonesia has set a relaxed tone for the event, which will include an informal discussion in a beachside resort.

But on the eve of the meeting, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa dampened expectations of a quick fix.

He told an Indonesian parliamentary committee that even if a code of conduct on spying is signed within weeks, as expected, that's just one part of a "roadmap" towards resuming co-operation on areas frozen since last year.

Then, he says, there's still the problem of the Abbott government's policy of turning asylum-seeker boats back to Indonesia.

"For us, for Indonesia, these two problems must be managed before we can see some sort of normalisation," Dr Natalegawa said.

"And it's clear ... the cause of this problem is Australia."

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek meanwhile says it's an "overstatement" to say the meeting on Indonesian soil is a show of warmth, but she hopes a resolution is close.

"It is much more likely that we will be able to restore warm relations under this president than under any new president," Ms Plibersek told ABC radio on Wednesday.

Ms Plibersek has criticised the slow progress on the code of conduct, now expected to be finalised when the foreign and defence ministers meet for "2+2" talks.

Despite the pending no-spying agreement, a Lowy Institute poll has found many Australians approve of eavesdropping on our neighbour.

Out of 1000 people surveyed, 62 per cent thought it was acceptable to spy on Indonesia.

There was also broad support for turning back asylum-seeker boats - 71 per cent agreeing it should be done, where safe.

Mr Abbott's brief stopover in Indonesia is the first part of a trip to bolster Australia's business and security links.

From Indonesia, he will travel to France, Canada and the US, for talks with President Barack Obama.

"This is an important trip," he told reporters before leaving Canberra.

"It will be another opportunity for me to demonstrate that Australia is open for business."

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Westfield in court before restructure vote

WESTFIELD Retail Trust (WRT) shareholders are eagerly waiting for the outcome of a Supreme Court application over merger plans by the shopping centre giant.

Westfield is seeking approval to conclude an investor vote on a controversial proposed merger with the Australasian business of Westfield Group.

The planned merger hit a brick wall last week when the shareholder vote was postponed at the last minute amid heated debate about its merits.

WRT is in the Supreme Court in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon, seeking approval to send documents to securityholders ahead of a rescheduled vote.

Details of the date and venue for the conclusion of the meeting are included in the documents, which are likely to be made public soon after court approval is granted.

But a spokeswoman on Tuesday night said no date had been yet set for a fresh vote.

"I can confirm that we have not confirmed a date," the spokeswoman said. "When a date has been confirmed, we will send out a (media) release."

The spokeswoman's comments come despite a media report that June 20 had been set for fresh meeting and vote.

Under the restructure plan, Westfield's Australian and New Zealand businesses would merge with WRT to create a new entity, to be called Scentre.

Westfield Group's international business, which includes malls in Great Britain and at Westfield World Trade Center being built in New York, would become Westfield Corporation.

A significant number of WRT securityholders believe the proposed restructure favours Westfield Group to the detriment of WRT, and a number of proxy votes lodged last week by WRT securityholders in favour of the proposed merger fell just short of what was needed to push the restructure over the line.

Shortly before WRT investors were due to vote, Mr Lowy said Westfield Group would still seek to split its Australasian arm from its international business even if WRT securityholders did not approve the planned merger.

Proxies lodged before the original meeting will remain valid, but securityholders will be allowed to lodge new proxy votes if they have changed their view on the proposal, the company has said.

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Parents seek answers to son's Yemen death

THE parents of an Australian man killed in a US drone strike in Yemen want to know how their son died and what evidence the federal government has of his possible links to terrorism.

Christopher Harvard, 27, was killed in a US drone strike in Yemen on November 19 last year.

The Townsville man's parents, Neill and Bronwyn Dowrick, say they feel abandoned by the Australian government after being given conflicting information about his death.

"Every time we ask questions, they just won't answer," Mrs Dowrick told the ABC on Tuesday.

Mr Dowrick said it took at least a month after their son was killed before they were told.

First they heard he was killed in a Yemen government strike on a mosque, then in a car, then the federal government "changed the story every week".

Mr Harvard had told his parents he was going to Yemen to teach English after someone paid for his trip.

But the federal government apparently suspects he was linked to terrorism in Yemen and to the kidnapping of three Westerners in 2012.

Mr and Mrs Dowrick say they received a call in 2012 to advise their son's passport had been cancelled.

"So then he had to stay in Yemen," Mr Dowrick said.

The ABC showed freedom of information documents from Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's office that say Mr Harvard was being investigated for possible involvement in activities in Yemen linked to al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula, including the kidnapping of three Europeans.

Mr Dowrick says all that is hearsay and no one has ever given them any proof either way.

They want the truth.

"No lies, the straight-out truth," he said.

Mrs Dowrick said it has been a terrible ordeal.

"How do we move on? We have got no closure.

"We've got no proof of Chris's body, a death certificate or how he was actually killed," she said.

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8 cars earn top mark for collision warning

Eight cars have earned the highest safety rating in new tests of high-tech crash prevention systems. Source: AAP

THE 2014 Chevrolet Impala was the only non-luxury car to earn the highest safety rating in new tests of high-tech crash prevention systems.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested cars equipped with collision warning and automatic braking systems. It gave a "superior" rating to cars that both warned the driver of a potential collision and applied the automatic brakes to significantly slow the cars.

The BMW 5 Series, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Buick Regal, Cadillac CTS, Cadillac XTS and 2015 Hyundai Genesis also earned "superior" ratings in the test results released Thursday.

Collision warning and automatic braking systems use cameras, radars and lasers to determine if a vehicle is getting too close to the car in front of it. Most of the systems warn the driver - audibly, with vibrations in the seat, or both - and prepare the brakes to maximise their effect when the driver presses them.

In some cases, the vehicles brake themselves. That action may not prevent a crash, the institute said, but reducing the speed before the car hits something can help make crashes - and injuries - less severe.

The Impala's rating wasn't affected by a government investigation of one driver's report that the automatic braking system went off several times without warning, eventually causing an accident.

Insurance Institute spokesman Russ Rader said the group is aware of the investigation but had no issues with the Impala in testing.

The Arlington, Virginia-based institute, which is funded by insurers, began testing and rating the systems last autumn in hopes of pressuring automakers to adopt them as standard equipment.

The institute said 40 per cent of 2014 models now offer forward collision warning as an option, while 20 per cent offer automatic braking. Acura, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo offer the systems as standard equipment on some cars.

Tests are conducted at 20 kilometres per hour and 40 kilometres per hour. In the highest-rated cars, the brakes slowed the cars to 3 or 4 kph or less.

Thirteen 2014 models earned "advanced" ratings, meaning they warned drivers but their brakes reduced the speed only moderately. Those vehicles were: the BMW 3 Series, Buick LaCrosse, Lexus IS, Audi A3, Audi A6, BMW 3 Series, Dodge Durango, Lexus GS, Mercedes-Benz CLA, Infiniti QX50 and Infiniti QX70. The BMW 5 Series and BMW X5, which won superior ratings when equipped with a radar and camera, earned "advanced" ratings when equipped with City Brake, a camera-only system.

Three models earned "basic" ratings, meaning they warned drivers of a potential collision but reduced the car's speed by less than 8 kph. They were: the BMW 3 Series (without City Brake), the Infiniti Q70 and the Toyota Avalon.

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ABS controls fail to trigger insider alert

THE Australian Bureau of Statistics has admitted it is difficult to counter the threat of a trusted insider leaking market-sensitive information.

Former ABS public servant Christopher Russell Hill, 24, of Belconnen in the ACT is facing criminal charges over his role in an alleged $7 million insider trading operation.

Police allege Hill gave market-sensitive information to his university friend, National Australia Bank associate director Lukas Kamay.

Kamay, 26, allegedly used the labour force, retail and trade figures, which had yet to be publicly released, to predict fluctuations in the Australian dollar.

The activity generated about $7 million in profits between August 2013 and May this year.

At a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday night, ABS acting statistician Jonathan Palmer defended security protocols in place, describing the breach as unprecedented in the bureau's 100-year history.

"Fortunately in this case police were clear that this person acted alone," he said.

"That gives me some level of confidence."

The bureau has recruited Belinda Gibson, former deputy chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, to conduct a review.

Staff must sign undertakings and declarations when they begin employment to show they are aware they risk jail if they leak sensitive information.

Mr Palmer said there were strict access controls on sensitive information and the bureau reviews access logs.

The hearing was told the bureau's procedures did not trigger any alerts to the alleged criminal behaviour.

Mr Palmer said Hill had been a trusted insider.

"It's a very difficult threat to counter," he said.

"If someone has a trusted need to access the number and they only have to leak an aggregate number or communicate in some obscure way that the number is contrary to market expectations, there's no requirement for them to take [numbers] out of the building."

He said staff were not allowed access to their mobile phones in lock-ups but that control measure did not extend to the office.

Labor senator Mark Bishop asked whether it was possible to have a staff lock-up between the data being finalised and then released to the market in order to restrict access to phones and computers.

He pointed to the Canberra press gallery's six hour budget lock-up as an example.

But Mr Palmer said that was not practical because sometimes data reports were completed days in advance.

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Sydney woman arrested after terror hoax

A WOMAN has been accused of falsely reporting a terrorism plot targeting a plane at Sydney's international airport.

The 30-year-old, from Blacktown, allegedly contacted police on March 21, claiming to have overheard a conversation at Kingsford-Smith, where three people had discussed committing an act of terrorism.

An assessment of the threat was made by several agencies and deemed to be a hoax.

Following an investigation by officers from the Joint Counter Terrorism Team, the woman was located on Sunday at Wentworthville, charged with suppling false information and refused bail.

Police said she appeared at Central Local Court on Monday and would remain in custody until reappearing on Thursday.

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Qld mayor referred to corruption watchdog

Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale has been referred to Queensland's corruption watchdog. Source: AAP

IPSWICH Mayor Paul Pisasale has been referred to Queensland's corruption watchdog over revelations he received up to $150,000 in undeclared donations.

The state government has been investigating Mr Pisasale, but on Monday a local government department spokesperson said the matter had been referred to the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC).

Councillors don't need to declare donations to the Queensland Electoral Commission, but are legally required to update their register of interests.

Mr Pisasale's election campaign fund, Forward Ipswich, has reportedly received more than 30 separate donations worth $150,000 since the 2012 council poll.

None of those donations had been entered in his register.

Local Government Minister David Crisafulli last week said Mr Pisasale's register and the fund were being investigated.

Under state laws a councillor who fails to complete or update a register of interest can be fined up to $9350.

Those who intentionally fail to complete or update a register of interests can be fined up to $11,000 and be disqualified for holding office for four years.

Comment has been sought from Mr Pisasale.

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Fairfax scales back job cuts

Fairfax Media will push ahead with cuts to its staff but has scaled back the number. Source: AAP

FAIRFAX Media will push ahead with cuts to its staff but has saved some positions from the firing line.

Staff at Fairfax papers, including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review, walked off the job last month after learning 70 jobs would be axed.

Twenty-five positions were set to go in editorial production, 30 in photography and 15 in the Life Media division.

Fairfax Media confirmed to staff on Monday job losses would occur but the number of cuts had been scaled down.

However, 52 positions are still tipped to go.

Australian Publishing Media managing director Allen Williams said the company had reviewed and carefully considered alternatives put forward by staff and the media union.

In an email to staff, he said there would be 17 full-time equivalent positions made redundant in editorial production.

Thirteen positions would be cut from Life Media, down from 15 cuts foreshadowed last month.

In photographic, eight jobs have been saved with redundancies reduced from 30 to 22.

Photography will retain 28 staff.

"This follows the extensive consultation process undertaken over the past three and a half weeks with staff and MEAA (Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance)," Mr Williams stated.

Two "quality manager roles" in Sydney and Melbourne will be created and desk editor positions will be increased by six.

The voluntary redundancy program starts from Monday.

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Alleged freeze on asylum seeker's claim

REFUGEE supporters claim the immigration department had put a "freeze" on the application of a now-deceased Sri Lankan asylum seeker because he had reached the Australian mainland.

Leorsin Seemanpillai, 29, set himself alight on Saturday.

He was living in Geelong waiting for his application for a protection visa to be finalised.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has cautioned against drawing conclusions about what drove Mr Seemanpillai to self harm.

There had been no visa decision nor had he been told he was being deported.

"This is a terrible and tragic incident and none of us can know the mind of someone in this situation," he told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

But Asylum Seeker Resource Centre spokeswoman Pamela Curr blames processing delays on the application of Mr Seemanpillai, whose boat reached Darwin in January 2013.

Ms Curr understands all asylum seekers who made it to Australia after August 2012 but before the federal parliament passed laws to excise the mainland in May 2013 have had their applications frozen.

"We don't know but maybe Leo would still be alive if his claims were being processed in a timely way," Ms Curr told AAP.

"These direct-entry people were all frozen."

The no-advantage test introduced by the Gillard government in August 2012 did not apply to asylum seekers who reached the mainland.

It was aimed at ensuring those who arrived by boat were not advantaged over people waiting in refugee camps.

Ms Curr said it was six months before Mr Seemanpillai had been allowed to make his refugee status claim and after 18 months he still hadn't had an official interview.

A spokeswoman for Mr Morrison denied direct-entry cases had been frozen.

Australian Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the cruelty of the Abbott Government's refugee policy was pushing people to breaking point

"It's clear that Leo was a casualty of the system," Senator Hanson-Young said.

The minister hit back at what he considered the politicising of the death.

"If they are then that is a disgraceful and grubby and despicable thing for the Greens to do," he told Sky News.

Mr Seemanpillai had been receiving community mental health support "for some time" and was in contact with a case worker as late as last Friday.

There was nothing to indicate during those meetings he had intended to take his own life.

Mr Morrison said he was satisfied Mr Seemanpillai had received adequate assistance while on the bridging visa, with work rights and ongoing mental health support.

The department will conduct a review of the arrangements.

* 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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Shotgun fired at Hobart house

A SHOTGUN has been fired at a house in Hobart.

The occupants were home when the shot was fired on Saturday evening, police said.

Neighbours heard the blast but the occupants of the Bridgewater residence did not report the incident until the following morning.

Police said damage consistent with shotgun pellets was visible at the scene.

No one was injured.

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Qld still on track for surplus

Queensland premier Campbell Newman isn't phased by a massive increase to the fiscal deficit. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND is still on track for a surplus despite the budget deficit quadrupling to a projected $2.27 billion next financial year.

The mid-year budget update in December estimated the fiscal deficit would be $664 million for 2014/15, but a $600 million write down in coal royalties has worsened the bottom lime.

So too has a lag in natural disaster relief repayments from the Commonwealth.

Premier Campbell Newman doesn't see the loss as a budget deterioration, rather he insists it's an accounting problem.

"It's a timing issue," he said.

Two years of job and service cuts have given enough of a buffer to sustain the hit, with the state still on track for a surplus in 2015/16, as promised.

"It will be the first time in over a decade that Queensland taxpayers won't have to borrow money," Mr Newman said.

On Tuesday, the Newman government will hand down its third and final budget before next year's election.

It has all but confirmed it will sell assets, instead of increasing taxes and reducing services, to help pay down $80 billion debt and build new infrastructure.

Two ports could be leased and two electricity generators and the commercial parts of Sunwater sold.

"The only way we can build the new infrastructure is through cutting front line services, putting up taxes and charges, or asset sales," Mr Newman said.

On Sunday, it was announced that $6.5 million had been set aside in the budget to hire 70 child safety officers.

Another $25 million will be spent on child safety initiatives, such as more referral services, support for families to care for children at home instead of out-of-home care, and improved support for indigenous families.

Child Safety Minister Tracy Davis says $406 million will be spent over five years, to allow an overhaul of the child protection system.

The funding boost is in response to the Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry and the final report by Commissioner Tim Carmody QC.

He recommended keeping families together, with more prevention and early intervention services.

"Parents should be able to care for their own children at home safely, with early intervention services and support easily accessible for those families who need it," Ms Davis said.

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Aust pledges $100m for polio fight

Australia has pledged 100 million dollars to go towards eradicating polio in northern Africa. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA has pledged $100 million to help eradicate polio for good.

The funds will be spread over five years and will go towards making countries in northern Africa and the Middle East - where outbreaks have been reported - polio-free.

It will also help Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria, where the disease is endemic.

About $20 million will be provided over the next year to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative for immunisations to fight the disease's re-emergence.

Announcing the pledge on Sunday, Foreign minister Julie Bishop said Australia is committed to helping finish the job of eradicating polio.

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Bali flights under cloud but Darwin clear

Flights in Darwin are expected to resume later today as plumes from an Indonesian volcano dissipate. Source: AAP

FLIGHTS to and from Darwin have resumed after they were grounded by an ash cloud from an Indonesian volcano, as Jetstar grounds flights to Bali.

Darwin was cut off to all air services on Saturday as ash plumes billowed from the Sangeang Api volcano off the Indonesian island of Sumbawa. It erupted continuously after an initial blast on Friday afternoon.

The major plume affecting Australian aviation swept southeast over the west side of the Northern Territory and as far south as Alice Springs.

Cyndee Seals of the Bureau of Meteorology's Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Darwin said Australia was now clear but airlines were meeting to discuss an ash cloud near Bali.

"I can advise that the ash cloud across Australia is dissipating but there are still ash clouds southwest of the volcano and another to the east east-northeast from an earlier high eruption," she said.

The southwesterly ash cloud was nearing Bali but its effects on flights to Denpasar were not yet clear, Ms Seals said.

"Right now, unless the winds change - and they are a little variable - it will take the ash south of Denpasar, away from Bali," she said.

"The airlines are meeting about it."

On Sunday night Jetstar cancelled 12 flights in and out of Bali as the Sangeang Api cloud drifted towards Denpasar International Airport.

Qantas announced it had resumed its flights, while Virgin, Air Asia and Jetstar also resumed operations in and out of Darwin, Darwin International Airport spokeswoman Virginia Sanders told AAP.

But she urged travellers to stay in touch with their airline for updates on flights as some changes might be made.

"Flights are coming back on line but there are some scheduled changes so people still need to check with the airline with regards to what's happening with their particular flight," she told AAP.

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