Stuntman-director Hal Needham dies

HAL Needham, a top Hollywood stuntman who turned to directing rousing action films including Smokey and the Bandit and The Cannonball Run, has died aged 82.

His business managers told the Los Angeles Times that Needham died on Friday in Los Angeles.

A former paratrooper, Needham appeared in thousands of TV episodes and hundreds of movies, performing and designing stunts and new equipment to execute them.

Needham jumped from planes, was dragged by horses and wrecked cars - breaking 56 bones in the process.

His best-known directing efforts involved 1970s Burt Reynolds action comedies, including Smokey, Cannonball Run and Stroker Ace. He also directed Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Villain.

In a Twitter posting, Schwarzenegger called Needham an icon.

Needham received an honorary Oscar last year.

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End failure mentality, PM tells Tasmania

Prime Minister Tony Abbott says Tasmania has to stop programming itself to fail. Source: AAP

TASMANIA needs to stop programming itself for failure, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has told the ailing island state.

In a clear reference to environmental standards, Mr Abbott has told Liberal members at the party's state conference Tasmania has set the bar too high.

"All too often, particularly here in Tasmania, we have programmed ourselves to fail," the prime minister said on Saturday.

"We have burdened ourselves with unnecessary taxes and regulations.

"We have set standards of perfection which no one can achieve instead of getting on with a reasonable job with a reasonable prospect of success."

Mr Abbott reminded members the state had the country's highest unemployment, lowest wages and lowest life expectancy.

"All that simply has to change," he said.

The prime minister received a standing ovation from around 200 members in a celebratory mood on his first visit to Tasmania since his election in September.

The state delivered massively for the coalition, dumping ALP members from three of its five seats in an 11.3 per cent swing against the government, the biggest of any state.

"It is so good to be here to savour success," Mr Abbott said.

The party looks likely to savour more success in a state election due next March.

Opposition leader Will Hodgman is riding high in the polls after 15 years of Labor government, the last four in coalition with the Greens.

Mr Abbott gave Mr Hodgman, the son of the late former federal minister Michael Hodgman, a ringing endorsement.

"What we need here in Tasmania is new will and new leadership and that's what is sitting right here beside me," the prime minister said.

Mr Hodgman will address the conference on Sunday.

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US citizen drowns off Tasmania

A UNITED States citizen has drowned while diving off Tasmania.

The woman was diving off the Tinderbox Marine Reserve south of Hobart when she was reported missing at about 1.15pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

Her diving companions located her a short time later lying in 12m of water.

Attempts to resuscitate her by her diving companions, police and paramedics were unsuccessful.

She was pronounced dead on arrival at Royal Hobart Hospital.

The diver was a 48-year-old United States citizen who was visiting Tasmania.

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Large shark bites diver's fin off WA

A LARGE shark is believed to have bitten part of a scuba diver's fin off Perth.

The diver said he saw a large dark shape in the water then noticed part of his fin was missing as he returned to his boat.

The man was diving near Little Island off Hillarys Boat Harbour at about 11am (WST) on Saturday.

WA Department of Fisheries Shark Response Unit manager Lisa Clack said the department's senior shark scientist had assessed the fins and was unable to confirm it was a shark bite.

"There are some marks which could have been caused by a shark bite, but other marks we would expect to see from a shark bite are absent," Ms Clack said in a statement.

"We are unable to confirm. While this could have been a shark, other large marine animals, particularly seals and sea-lions, are known to occasionally bite divers' fins."

Ms Clack said fisheries officers attended boat ramps in the area to advise water users that an incident was reported and that they should be extra careful.

Earlier on Saturday a series of tagged white shark detections were recorded along the Perth coast.

The detections occurred at the Swanbourne, Floreat and Scarborough receivers, with the first detection at 3:45am.

A Department of Fisheries spokesman said shark monitors in the area where the man reported the shark attack did not detect a shark, so the likelihood it was the same shark was distant.

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Roadside bombing kills 6 Afghan soldiers

A ROADSIDE bombing has killed six Afghan soldiers in the country's west, a military spokesman says.

Najibullha Najibi said on Friday that the six died when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the western Herat province's Adraskan district the previous day. The six were from a unit based at the Shindand military airport, Herat's largest.

Najibi, an Afghan National Army spokesman, says those killed in Thursday's incident included two officers and four soldiers.

In another incident on Thursday, Mhuklis Afghan, a spokesman for the governor of eastern Paktika province, says a tractor hit a road mine in the Jani Khil district, killing one person and wounding four.

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Aust publisher battles for Myanmar paper

STAFF members of the Yangon-based "Myanmar Times" newspaper house have appealed to a Myanmar court against a bid by the local partner to liquidate the company, overseen by Australian publisher, Ross Dunkley.

Dunkley, 55, is fighting to stave off legal challenges to his control over the company, that have been launched by the publishing house's partner, Dr Tin Tun Oo, now seeking to have the paper wound up in a bitter dispute over control.

In court reports, seen by AAP, a judge on Thursday accepted an affidavit from Zaw Myint, deputy editor in chief of The Myanmar Times, who acted as a representative of "a vast majority" of the 350 staff members employed by the paper.

The appeal claimed the staff opposed the application to wind up the paper as it occupied a "unique place in the publishing sector", with staff jobs at stake and how "it would be senseless to force it shut".

Tin Tun Oo presently holds a 51 per cent share in the parent company, Myanmar Consolidated Media, with the remaining 49 per cent held by Dunkley and associates, including Australian Mining magnate, Bill Clough.

Dunkley and Clough are also investors in the Cambodian-based Phnom Penh Post.

Dunkley is also facing law suits brought by Tin Tun Oo's wife, Khin Moe Moe, who alleges the Australian assaulted her son-in-law in an altercation at the newspaper's offices in January.

Dunkley dismisses the charge.

In turn Dunkley has filed counter suits against Khin Moe Moe.

In Thursday's hearing Dunkley's barrister, Aung Than Soe, told the court the application over the paper's closure should be dismissed, claiming the case lay outside the boundaries of company law, with inconsistencies in the plaintiff's claims.

Aung Than Soe also said the criminal charges laid against Dunkley by Khin Moe Moe were "personal grudges and not related to the law".

Earlier, the judge had dismissed a temporary injunction by Tin Tun Oo against the Myanmar Times to halt its publication, saying the injunction "had no merit".

Dunkley, in an earlier interview with AAP, had dismissed the bid by Tin Tun Oo, who has claimed a loan of $US100,000 ($A104,180) was outstanding and was threatening to close the paper.

"We are profitable and can pay any debt as and when it arises," he said.

The Myanmar Times, a weekly, began publishing in 2000 with the then backing of the powerful military intelligence chief, Khin Nyunt, with a senior intelligence officer, Thein Swe, appointing his son, Sonny Swe as Dunkley's partner.

But power struggles within the then military government led to Sonny Swe and other family members being jailed.

His shares were then sold to Tin Tun Oo.

The Myanmar Times has so far failed in its bid to be granted a daily newspaper licence despite the country's moves to greater media freedom.

Media analysts say the legal moves against Dunkley are a bid to force him out and allow new owners to take control of the publishing house against a backdrop of the present boom in media outlets in the country.

The judge adjourned the case for the next hearing on November 18.

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Car image released in Qld gunman hunt

POLICE are searching for a small aqua hatchback in their hunt for tattooed gunman who opened fire at a Sunshine Coast motel.

They have released a picture of an older model Ford Festiva with Queensland number plates and are asking anyone who has seen it to call Crime Stoppers.

The gunman remains on the run after reportedly threatening a 29-year-old woman with a firearm at the Buderim property on Thursday afternoon.

Police say when she ran out the back door of the room, he fired a shot through the front wall.

The gunman is described as Caucasian, in his early 20s, slim and about 180cm tall with short hair.

He was wearing a white t-shirt and dark coloured shorts, and has a tattoo across his back.

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Security giant Serco chief resigns

CHRISTOPHER Hyman, the chief executive of security giant Serco, which is facing an investigation after the British government was overcharged millions of pounds for electronically tagging criminals, has resigned, the company has announced.

Hyman quit as the firm attempted to rebuild its relationship with the government following controversies over its handling of key contracts.

"I have always put the interests of Serco first. At this time, nothing is more important to me than rebuilding the relationship with our UK government customer," Hyman said.

"In recent weeks it has become clear to me that the best way for the company to move forward is for me to step back. I have been fortunate enough to have had the privilege of working at a great company with extremely talented people. I wish everyone at Serco the very best for the future."

The firm faces investigation after the government was overcharged millions of pounds for electronically tagging criminals and there are also allegations of potentially fraudulent behaviour in the management of its STG285 million ($A482.64 million) prison escorting contract.

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NSW bushfire crisis refuses to let up

The RFS Commissioner became emotional as he spoke of the firefighter pilot who was killed in NSW. Source: AAP

A FIREFIGHTING pilot has become the second fatality of the NSW bushfire crisis as the biggest blaze in the state edged closer to homes.

The 43-year-old pilot was killed when his fixed wing waterbomber crashed in rugged country on the south coast on Thursday morning as he fought a blaze near Ulladulla.

Fires prevented rescue crews retrieving his body from the difficult terrain.

A day after lauding the great work of firefighters who averted the greatest threat of the week-long crisis on Wednesday, Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons became emotional as he spoke of tragedy.

"We've suffered a huge tragedy on one of our firegrounds today," said Mr Fitzsimmons, who lost his own father fighting a fire 13 years ago.

"It's a tragedy for the fire fighting community but first and foremost it's a tragedy for this man's family.

"He's a husband with young children and we're all acutely aware that there's a family suffering today because their dad didn't come home."

Mr Fitzsimmons said the father of three, who was a contractor for the RFS, was doing extraordinary work and "making a real difference to his community."

"It's a sober reminder just how dangerous fire fighting can be."

Some 60 bushfires continued to burn across NSW and tiny bush communities on the fringes of the Blue Mountains spent much of the day on emergency notice as the massive State Mine Fire flared up.

The State Mine Fire has burned through nearly 50,000 hectares since it was sparked during an army explosives training operation near Lithgow last week.

Waterbombing operations in the area have helped crews gain the upper hand and the fire was downgraded back to watch and act early on Thursday evening.

Mr Fitzsimmons said the tiny communities of Mount Irvine and Mount Wilson had been forced to shelter in place because fire had blocked major access roads, while residents from Berambing and Mount Tomah were able to flee east towards Bilpin.

The Department of Defence apologised on Thursday for starting the State Mine Fire, which has already destroyed three homes.

Acting Chief of Defence, Air Marshall Mark Binskin, said a small fire that started during a routine training exercise at Marrangaroo on October 16 was responsible for the blaze.

"I do apologise, because it has been identified that this fire was the start of this mine fire," he told reporters at RFS headquarters in Sydney on Thursday.

Defence has launched its own investigation into the incident.

Defence personnel acted quickly after an explosion sparked a small blaze but were hampered by the live ordnance around them.

"This was not deliberately starting a fire, this was an accident as part of a training activity on a day there wasn't a fire ban," Air Marshall Binskin told reporters.

He said Defence was "not shying from our responsibilities" but stopped short of offering compensation to those affected by the bushfire.

An RFS spokesman has warned there will be little respite for communities who have been on edge for over a week and for the 1400 firefighters still on the job.

He told reporters late on Thursday that high fire danger weather was likely to linger for at least the next three or four days.

He conceded any residents who are asked to leave their homes yet again may become "frustrated" but he's urged people in bushfire areas to continue to heed official warnings, saying the danger remains real.

Governor General Quentin Bryce will tour bushfire hit parts of the mountains on Friday.

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Former fiery killed in Vic plane crash

A FORMER senior Victorian firefighter who died in a light plane crash in the state's north has been remembered as a much-loved community member.

Peter Brereton from Euroa in north-east Victoria has been identified as the pilot who died after his light plane crashed in Victoria's alpine region.

The wreckage of the single-engine Cessna was found by a search helicopter about 20km west of Mt Hotham on Thursday morning.

Mr Brereton had been in the Country Fire Authority (CFA) for 39 years and was a former officer in charge of the Shepparton fire brigade.

He was on long-service leave pending retirement at the time of the crash, where he was understood to be doing private work to help out with the NSW bushfire effort.

CFA regional director for the Hume region, Peter O'Keefe, said Mr Brereton was highly regarded among his colleagues.

"He was one of our much respected senior officers in the CFA," Mr O'Keefe said.

"Peter was a very capable, thorough and much respected crew member, greatly experienced and a very thorough and thoughtful person.

"By virtue of his job, he was well known, well respected, much loved and he'll be sadly missed."

Mr O'Keefe said one of Mr Brereton's passions was flying and he was an experienced pilot.

"He did have that passion. He'd flown planes all around Australia," he said.

Mr Brereton's plane went missing after it took off from Moruya on the far south coast of NSW at 8.15am (AEDT) on Wednesday and never made it to its destination at Mangalore Airport, about two hours north of Melbourne.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating.

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