Police minister slams 'gutless' critics

Queensland's police minister says a group that posted a video opposing anti-bikie laws is gutless. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND Police are investigating the source of an online video which warns premier Campbell Newman to "expect us".

The four-and-a-half minute clip was purportedly posted by activist group Anonymous Australia, who say the government's new anti-bikie legislation goes too far.

The clip, which has racked up 183,000 views and 1900 likes, is delivered by a person wearing the trademark Anonymous Guy Fawkes mask.

The clip is linked to the YouTube account of "Trojan Walker" which is linked to the Facebook account of a Daniel Walker.

At the start of the video, a pop up box emerges saying "expect us is out motto, not a threat".

Police have confirmed they are looking at the Anonymous threat, but wouldn't say if they are investigating Mr Walker.

Police Minister Jack Dempsey says the group has crossed the line.

"They are just gutless cowards, they have to hide behind a mask," Mr Dempsey told reporters.

"It is very disappointing and police will obviously investigate the matter thoroughly.

"I'm very confident with the police investigating the matter and we'll ensure the safety of everyone involved."

The international group of activists has targeted governments and multinational corporations and has been accused of hacking the FBI and ASIO.

AAP has sought comment from Mr Walker.

Trojan Walker says the media and Mr Newman's staff have turned the group's motto "expect us" into a threat.

"Okay, so what did we threaten to do? lol," he wrote on his YouTube account.

"I have never hurt anyone nor has anyone I associate with, but, we are watching, and he can expect his lies to be made public."

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Bird flu kills 12th person in Cambodia

A TWO-YEAR-OLD girl has become the 12th person to die of bird flu in Cambodia this year.

Cambodia's Health Ministry and the World Health Organization said in a joint statement Monday that the girl died from the H5N1 bird flu virus on October 26 after suffering from fever, difficulty in breathing and lethargy.

The statement said an investigation at the girl's village in western Pursat province revealed that two months before her illness, poultry had died suddenly at her grandparents' house, where she often stayed.

The H5N1 virus normally spreads between poultry but can sometimes spread from poultry to humans.

The number of deaths from bird flu in Cambodia this year is the highest since the disease surfaced in 2003.

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Buswell accused of abusing power

WA minister Troy Buswell has been accused of abusing his power to get a driving test for his son. Source: AAP

CONTROVERSIAL West Australian treasurer Troy Buswell has been accused of abusing his power by intervening to get his son an appointment for a driving test.

It emerged on Monday that Mr Buswell, who is also the state's transport minister, had tasked his office to ring the WA Department of Transport to arrange a driving test for his son.

They succeeded in getting an appointment last month, on a day when no regular driving tests were scheduled in his hometown of Busselton, according to the public sector union.

Opposition transport spokesman Ken Travers said Mr Buswell's actions were a breach of the Ministerial Code of Conduct and he should be sacked.

"Mr Buswell has faced repeated warnings for repeated transgressions and this should be the last straw," Mr Travers said.

"It is a clear abuse of ministerial power to get your own department to make sure a family member avoids the queue.

"There is no question that this is misuse and abuse of a minister's position."

Mr Buswell hit back, saying the public was quite within its rights to do the same as him, and ask his office to contact the department.

"My staff, my office made an enquiry, or a request of the Department of Transport," Mr Buswell said.

"Is that unusual? No. Can the public do that? Yes, yes they can."

And he was defended by Premier Colin Barnett, who said Mr Buswell was a father as well as a minister.

But Community and Public Sector Union branch secretary Toni Walkington said Department of Transport staff were angered by the revelation.

"They are annoyed this type of thing could happen when they are struggling to keep up with the workload because of budget cutbacks and public sector staff freezes," Ms Walkington said.

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Parties consider WA senate poll challenge

With the declaration of the WA senate result, the timer has started on a possible court challenge. Source: AAP

THE Abbott government is relishing the prospect of a fresh Senate election in Western Australia, claiming it will be a referendum on its carbon tax repeal legislation.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on Monday declared the final result with Liberal senators David Johnston, Michaelia Cash and Linda Reynolds and Labor senator Joe Bullock keeping the seats they won at the original count.

The Greens' Scott Ludlam and the Australian Sports Party's Wayne Dropulich claimed the seats which had been initially awarded to Labor's Louise Pratt and the Palmer United Party's (PUP) Zhenya Wang.

The official declaration starts a 40-day clock toward a possible challenge to the result in the Court of Disputed Returns, after 1255 formal ballots and 120 informal votes had disappeared between the original count and recount.

Former federal police chief Mick Keelty will on Tuesday start a two-week investigation into the missing ballots and his finding will underpin whether the AEC will challenge the outcome of the vote in court.

The AEC and other potential parties to the case, the ALP and the PUP, are also considering whether to petition the court.

The court could let the result stand or order a fresh election of all six Senate positions in WA.

Electoral commissioner Ed Killestyn appeared to concede this on Monday, saying there was a "nagging and almost irreconcilable doubt" about the outcome.

He apologised unreservedly to WA voters who had been "disenfranchised" by the loss of the ballots.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, a WA senator, said a fresh Senate election in his state - which has a massive mining and energy industry - would be another referendum on Labor's carbon tax.

"It will be another opportunity for the people of Western Australia to send a strong and clear message to Bill Shorten that they want the carbon tax gone," he said in Canberra.

The Labor opposition has said it won't repeal the bills unless the government agrees to proceed to an emissions trading scheme - an option the coalition has rejected outright.

"We will argue that case in any by-election, any general election that comes our way," opposition climate spokesman Mark Butler said.

A fresh election could allow the government to pick up an extra spot in the upper house, making it a little easier to push its repeal bills through after the Senate changeover on July 1.

But Labor could find itself embroiled in an internal battle over its candidate list.

Senator Pratt, who was controversially bumped to Labor's number two spot on the senate ticket behind Senator-elect Bullock, said she would stand if a new WA poll was called.

"There would have to be some flexibility about what political parties put forward for any prospective ballot. In some situations they would have to (change)," Senator Pratt said.

Senator Ludlam believes court action is almost inevitable and appropriate.

WA's chief electoral officer Peter Kramer said the commission was "horribly disappointed", but would be able to run any fresh election very quickly.

PUP leader Clive Palmer says the AEC is conspiring to deny his party the balance of power in the Senate after the recount cost Mr Wang his seat.

"It indicates our voting system isn't fair and it indicates the powers at be don't want to see someone else have the balance of power in Australia, that's what it boils down to," Mr Palmer told AAP.

Mr Palmer said his party was planning to lodge an appeal in the Court of Disputed Returns.

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LAX gunman planned to kill many agents

Los Angeles International Airport is returning to normal operations after a gunman sparked chaos. Source: AAP

THE gunman who allegedly killed a security officer at Los Angeles airport carried a note saying he planned to murder "multiple" agents, prosecutors said as they announced charges against him.

A prosecutor told how Paul Ciancia allegedly opened fire at "point-blank range" on Gerardo Hernandez, the first Transportation Security Administration agent killed since the office was created following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The dead officer's widow, meanwhile, said she was "truly devastated" by his death.

"He was a joyful person, always smiling and took pride in his duty to the American public," Ana Hernandez said.

Ciancia, who used a Smith & Wesson assault rifle and a large stock of ammunition in the attack, faces a possible death penalty on charges of murdering a federal officer and committing violence at an international airport.

The gun rampage on Friday triggered chaos at LA International Airport (LAX), disrupting more than 1500 flights. The airport only fully reopened more than 24 hours later.

Describing how the shooting started, a prosecutor said Ciancia pulled a ".223-calibre M and P-15 assault rifle out of his bag and fired multiple rounds at point-blank range" at Hernandez, 39.

The shots wounded the unarmed TSA officer but did not kill him. The 23-year-old gunman, dressed in black and wearing a bullet-proof vest, then went up a nearby escalator and came back down to "shoot the wounded officer again," US attorney Andre Birotte said.

Ciancia then proceeded further into the terminal, shooting four more people, including two other TSA officers, before being detained following a gunfight with airport police.

The alleged gunman, who remains in hospital and has not yet answered questions from investigators, carried a note in his bag indicating that "he targeted especially TSA officers," for whom he felt "anger and malice".

The handwritten note showed he "made a conscious decision to kill multiple TSA employees", said David Bowdich, the head of the FBI's Los Angeles office.

"In the note that was handwritten by the defendant, that was signed by the defendant, we found a statement where he made a conscious decision to kill multiple TSA employees," Bowdich said.

"He addressed them at one point in the letter, and stated that he wanted to 'instil fear into their traitorous (sic) minds'."

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Ciancia had a lot of ammunition when he was arrested.

During the shooting spree, which lasted less than 10 minutes, Ciancia approached a number of people cowering in the terminal and pointed his gun at them, asking if they "were TSA", according to the Los Angeles Times.

If they answered "no" he moved on, the Times reported, citing witnesses who said he cursed the TSA repeatedly.

While officials have not released details about the suspect's condition, the Times said he was hospitalised in a critical condition after being shot in the head and leg.

The FBI said Ciancia was a Los Angeles resident who was originally from the eastern state of New Jersey.

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Hawkesbury blaze under control

FIREFIGHTERS are expected to work through the night to mop up a bushfire that threatened about 50 properties at Lower Portland near the Hawkesbury River on Sunday afternoon.

More than 100 firefighters worked to quell the blaze, which reportedly crossed the river at one point, while six aircraft water-bombed the fire zone.

The fire was eventually brought under control around 7.30pm (AEDT) as cooler conditions had an impact.

Residents were allowed to return to their homes and no damage to property was reported.

A watch and act warning is now in place.

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Southern Highlands bushfire under control

A BUSHFIRE that threatened rural properties in the Southern Highlands is now under control.

An emergency warning was issued for a fire at Alpine, between the Hume Highway and the Old Hume Highway, at about 5.30pm (AEDT).

The fire was brought under control after about two hours and downgraded to a watch and act warning.

Sweltering conditions and strong winds fanned several blazes across the state on Sunday, until a cool change arrived in the late afternoon.

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Volcanic eruption displaces 1300 villagers

ABOUT 1300 villagers living at the foot of Mount Sinabung in Sumatra have been evacuated after an eruption, the National Disaster Management Agency said.

Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Sunday four villages situated within three kilometres of the volcano were evacuated.

"Tremors are still occurring and thick black clouds are still being spewed," he said by phone.

Authorities have raised the volcano status to the second-highest level.

Mount Sinabung had been dormant for 400 years before it erupted on August 2010. There are nearly 130 active volcanoes across the Indonesian archipelago.

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WA Senate result to be revealed

Greens senator Scott Ludlam says the AEC should hold off declaring the WA Senate election. Source: AAP

THE result of the West Australian Senate vote recount is set to be revealed this weekend amid concerns that more than 1300 missing ballots may mean the state has to go to a new election.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) directed a recount of some WA Senate ballot papers, prompted by the close result of just 14 votes for the sixth Senate seat and appeals by the Australian Greens and Australian Sports Party.

During the recount, that looked at informal votes and 1.2 million above-the-line ballot papers, 1375 votes which had been verified in the initial count could not be "located, rechecked or verified in the recount process".

The AEC apologised and has hired former Australian Federal Police commissioner Mick Keelty to independently, and urgently, inquire into the matter.

Meanwhile, the AEC WA manager Peter Kramer says the results of the recount and distribution of preferences will be known on Saturday afternoon and the candidates have been asked if they want to appoint scrutineers to observe the distribution of preferences.

But some politicians including Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam, and Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer have decried the process.

Mr Palmer believes the original election result should stand.

The initial result gave seats to the Palmer United Party's Zhenya Wang, Labor's Louise Pratt and Joe Bullock and the Liberals' David Johnston, Michaelia Cash and Linda Reynolds.

AEC spokesman Phil Diak said there was nothing to suggest an "untoward removal" of the ballot papers.

Special Minister of State Michael Ronaldson did not think it was an "issue of skulduggery", but said it was a disturbing development which required an inquiry.

Independent senator Nick Xenophon thinks there should be a fresh election in WA if the ballot papers cannot be found.

"Better to cost money now than have a result where there is a question mark over those that have been elected," he said.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said WA deserved an explanation and while there was a way to go with due processes, another election could not be ruled out.

"This is a very serious matter," he said in Canberra.

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School kids escape Sydney bus fire

School children have fled a burning bus after it caught fire on the M2 motorway in northwest Sydney. Source: AAP

DOZENS of children from rural NSW had a city excursion to remember, with their bus bursting into flames on a busy Sydney motorway.

All escaped uninjured, but a quick-thinking off-duty policeman who inhaled smoke as he attempted to douse the flames is in hospital under observation on Friday night.

The Transport Safety Bureau will investigate how the fire broke out on the bus as it travelled along the M2 at Baulkham Hills just after 3pm (AEDT).

Inspector Phil Brooks from the NSW Police Traffic and Highway Patrol Command said the officer was riding his motorcycle home from work when the bus burst into flames.

As teachers led about 35 school children away from the burning bus, the officer ran toward it with a small fire extinguisher.

"He was able to intervene very quickly, and we'll certainly look at acknowledging his efforts," Insp Brooks told the Nine Network.

He said the students and teachers were on their way back to Orange in central NSW after a school excursion.

A Fire & Rescue spokeswoman told AAP the engine compartment of the bus had caught fire and the first emergency call came in at 3.13pm.

Three fire crews extinguished the blaze.

A NSW Police spokeswoman said the Office of Transport Safety Investigations would look into how the fire started.

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