Abbott's plea to WA voters

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has pleaded for Western Australian voters to back Liberal candidates. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has made a last-ditch plea to West Australian voters as they head to the polls for a Senate election re-run.

Before jetting out of the country to Asia on Saturday, Mr Abbott recorded a message saying Labor and the Australian Greens in the Senate were standing in the way of his government's plan to repeal the mining tax and carbon tax.

"If you want to get rid of these anti-West Australian taxes ... that means voting Liberal," Mr Abbott said.

He said coalition candidates are "absolutely committed" to scrapping the taxes and the government hoped to get the numbers in the upper house from July to pass the repeal legislation.

"Send a strong message to Canberra, send a strong message to the Labor Party," Mr Abbott said.

"You can't say one thing in Perth and do the opposite in Canberra.

"That's my plea."

The outcome of Saturday's election is important for Australia's future, the prime minister added.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boy's parents located

POLICE have tracked down the parents of a young boy who was found wandering alone through suburban southwest Sydney.

Residents of Claymore called police after spotting the boy in the street wearing pyjamas about 7.30am Saturday.

Estimated to be aged two or three years old, the boy was cared for by officers until his parents were located and the search was called off.

The police thanked and updated the public about 2pm.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cyclone tipped to hit Queensland

Dramatic firsthand footage shows what it's like being in the different categories of cyclones. Produced by Christine Nestel.

A cyclone forming in the Coral Sea is expected to hit Queensland's Cape York Peninsula later next week.

The low pressure system which has brought torrential rainfall and flooding to the Solomon Islands -- killing at least 17 people and leaving thousands homeless – is forecast to intensify into a tropical cyclone, which will be named Ita, tomorrow.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Amber Young said the weather system was moving slowly south-west and expected to be about 750km north-east of Cairns by Monday morning.

"The conditions are very favourable for it to develop into a tropical cyclone,'' she said.

Information issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre yesterday indicated the system could become a category two cyclone by Monday, strengthening to a category three by Tuesday.

Most models indicated it would continue to edge closer to Australia, possibly crossing the northern Cape York coast on Thursday, although some suggested it could stall and even turn back out to sea.

Cook Shire Mayor Peter Scott said they keeping a close eye on the developing weather pattern.

"We keep our fingers crossed every time one looms.''

Cr Scott said Cooktown had been quite fortunate.

"The last time Cooktown was hit was 1949.  This one looks as if it might cross at Lockhart River or north.'

"I think we are as well prepared as we can be and the same goes for the other communities up the Cape. They all go through cycle preparation exercises every year.

"But if it brings the sort of rainfall that has hit Honiara, it would cause a lot of damage to our road network.''

Lockhart River Shire Mayor Wayne Butler was not available to comment.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Man shot as police swarm on suburban street

Police at the scene of a reported shooting in Dennison Court, Capalaba, in Brisbane. Picture: Sarah Orr Source: CourierMail

A MAN is in hospital tonight after he was shot twice in the stomach when he charged at police when a Taser did not work.

Police swarmed the Denison Court, Capalaba home around 7.25pm.

It is understood the man was shot twice by a female police officer after he charged her partner, when a Taser did not work.

The man was taken to Princess Alexandra hospital where he was last night in a serious condition.

Police sources said the man was shot twice in the stomach.

A police spokeswoman said officers were rushing to disturbance in Dennison Court, Capalaba after Triple Zero calls saying shots had been heard shortly after 7.30pm.

Neighbors have told The Courier-Mail they heard two loud bangs and a woman's scream before calling police.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

SA and Canberra closer on road plan

The SA and federal governments have held talks on Adelaide's north-south road corridor. Source: AAP

THE federal and South Australian governments have held talks aimed at overcoming disagreements on how to fully redevelop Adelaide's north-south road corridor.

The two governments had been at odds before the recent state election, with the Commonwealth wanting to start the project with an upgrade at Darlington in the city's south.

The state government maintained a section of the road further north should be the priority.

But a meeting on Thursday between federal Assistant Minister for Infrastructure Jamie Briggs and new SA Transport and Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan appears to have closed the gap.

Mr Briggs said he was now more confident about the project.

"We want to get the north-south corridor upgraded in a decade," he said.

Mr Mullighan described Thursday's meeting as productive.

"We've made very clear what our priority is and they've made very clear what their priority is," he said.

"What we're working on is how we can deliver both projects."

Mr Mullighan said talks would continue.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Safety overlooked in batts scheme rush

FORMER prime minister Kevin Rudd's "horrendous" timeline for the home insulation program denied bureaucrats adequate time to consider safety risks, an inquiry has heard.

Public servants were given five months to devise the $2.8 billion scheme.

Safety considerations were overlooked as they scrambled to have it up and running by July 1, 2009, a royal commission has been told.

Former environment department deputy secretary Malcolm Forbes, who oversaw delivery, says potential risks would have been properly considered if time wasn't so tight.

Commissioner Ian Hanger QC asked what was "so magic" about July 1, 2009.

"That's what the prime minster wanted," Mr Forbes replied.

Asked why nobody told Mr Rudd it couldn't be done, Mr Forbes said doing so would have gone against the public service culture, which was to remain positive and get the job done.

Mr Forbes said he did raise concerns about the challenging deadline with former co-ordinator general Mike Mrdak.

"We were flagging early that this was a significant challenge to us," he said.

A coronial inquest has already blamed the scheme's rushed rollout for the deaths of young Queenslanders Matthew Fuller, Rueben Barnes and Mitchell Sweeney.

NSW tradesman Marcus Wilson also died installing home insulation.

Mr Forbes said he had never, in his 33 years as a public servant, seen such a short gap between a government program being announced and rolled out, as occurred with the home insulation program (HIP).

"The HIP implementation timeline was horrendous," he said in a statement to the inquiry.

" ... some compromises were made that left risks remaining to achieve the timeline."

The scheme wasn't fully implemented until September 2009 but even then inspections were happening slowly.

While 400,000 homes had been insulated by October, only 172 roof inspections had taken place.

The inquiry resumes on Friday.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

'500 dolphins caught in WA nets' in decade

Western Australian scientists say methods to reduce dolphin bycatch are not working. Source: AAP

ABOUT 500 dolphins have been caught in the Pilbara trawl fishery in the past 10 years, West Australian scientists say.

Murdoch University PhD candidate Simon Allen and colleagues from the Cetacean Research Unit have made the claims based on independent observer data, which shows methods to reduce dolphin bycatch are not working.

"Independent observers reported bycatch rates of about 50 dolphins per year, which is double the number reported by the skippers of these vessels," Mr Allen said.

Under-reporting was not unusual around the world, especially where marine mammal capture was illegal, he said.

"This doesn't necessarily mean that skippers are deliberately under-reporting," Mr Allen said.

"Fishers are concentrating on the job at hand and may not see a dead dolphin fall out of the net on winch up."

A report by the WA Fisheries Department detailed similar findings, but instead suggested self-reporting mechanisms in place were accurate and the impact posed negligible risk, Mr Allen said.

But researchers said modified bycatch reduction devices with top-opening escape hatches could be more effective.

The scientists have also called for a reinstatement of independent observers and in-net video collection to accurately measure bycatch.

"The next step is to calculate the acceptable levels of human-caused dolphin mortality, which requires an estimate of the dolphin population size in the region," Mr Allen said.

"If the ongoing bycatch exceeds that threshold, switching to alternative, less destructive fishing methods, like trap or line fishing, should be considered."

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Second man charged on NSW double shooting

A MAN has been charged with attempted murder and several robbery offences for his part in a western Sydney double shooting that left a teenager and an innocent bystander in serious conditions in hospital.

Police had been looking for the man after he and three others ambushed three teenagers in their car last week, shooting one before running away and firing on an innocent bystander who confronted the group in the front yard of his Merrylands home.

They arrested the 23-year-old on a street corner at Guildford early on Thursday afternoon and charged him with shooting at with intent to murder, robbery armed with offensive weapon causing wounding or grievous bodily harm, assault with intent to rob while armed with an offensive weapon causing wounding and or grievous bodily harm and robbery while armed with dangerous weapon.

He was refused bail and is due before Parramatta Local Court on Friday.

After the bungled armed robbery, a 19-year-old man was rushed to hospital with chest, stomach and arm wounds and a 62-year-old man was left in a critical but stable condition from a gunshot to the chest.

Both shooting victims remain in hospital.

Police say the 19-year-old had gone to Merrylands with two mates, 17 and 18, late on the night of March 26 to buy a mobile phone advertised on a social networking site.

But they were stopped in their car on a residential street by two men.

Two more men appeared and a fight broke out.

The 19-year-old was shot after a man jumped into the teen's car allegedly demanding cash and property.

The two other suspects remain at large.

Yousiff Chami was last week also charged over the Merrylands shootings.

The 27-year-old, who's facing firearm and robbery charges, was remanded in custody until his matter appears before Parramatta Local Court on May 22.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Artist plants fake Bieber CDs in LA stores

AN artist is making it difficult to believe there's actually a copy of Justin Bieber's latest album for sale in Los Angeles stores.

Paz, a 25-year-old electronic musician and artist, says he planted 5000 copies of an album that appears to be Bieber's Believe but actually contains a copy of his own CD at retailers on Tuesday, April Fool's Day.

"We were meticulous," said Paz, who fancies the stunt as more of a performance art piece than an April Fool's gag. "We paid a lot of attention to detail because we wanted these to stay up on shelves as long as possible."

From the outside, the wrapped CDs resemble Believe right down to the bar code and silky Bieber portrait on the cover. However, Paz's artwork is inside the back cover, and the disc itself is slathered with images of cats, pizzas and a dog stuffed inside a taco. The CD contains the 13 tracks from Paz's synth-heavy independent release From the Bottom of My Heart to the Top of Your Lungs.

The Associated Press independently verified the stunt by purchasing random copies of what looked like Bieber's Believe from widely scattered LA area locations. In each instance, the CDs were scanned and paid for as if they were Bieber CDs. But when they were opened outside the store, each contained a copy of Paz's album, not Bieber's.

Why replace Bieber?

"The world won't really miss a Justin Bieber record," said Paz.

Paz, whose full name is Paz Dylan, said he wanted to use so-called "big-box retailers" as his artistic canvas by "droplifting" his music into the hands of consumers.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

PM labels PUP 'one man personality cult'

Labor MP Jason Clare (pic) says the coalition will regret its pre-election attacks on Clive Palmer. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has taken another swipe at Clive Palmer, dismissing his political outfit as "a personality cult for one person".

Mr Abbott has repeatedly accused Mr Palmer of trying to buy seats in parliament in a bid to further his own interests.

And on Wednesday, he asked what it meant for democracy when candidates were "a proxy for a minor party that is a personality cult for one person".

"It's something for voters to ponder in the lead-up to Saturday," he told ABC radio in Perth on Wednesday during the West Australian Senate election campaign.

On the party's appeal, Mr Abbott said: "I think there is a certain novelty value and obviously there has been a massive, massive, massive advertising spend.

"So far, the gentleman in question has spent - presumably from his own money - far more than the combined spending from both the Liberal Party and the Labor Party," he said.

But Labor deputy leader Tanya Plibersek, also campaigning in Perth on Wednesday, said it was up to each party to determine how much was spent on a campaign.

"We believe in a democracy," Ms Plibersek said.

"As long as a political party declares all its donations, as long as it abides by the rules, they've got every right to spend the money they raise."

Despite the Greens being the second biggest spenders in the re-run WA Senate election, leader Christine Milne said the party wanted to see expenditure on campaign ads capped in light of the Palmer United Party ad blitz.

"This is the first time in Australian politics where we've had a rich individual being able to so manifestly influence the vote," she said.

Greens Senator Scott Ludlam said his party's ad spending was different to PUP's because the funds came from a large amount of small donations.

Mr Palmer said PUP's advertising cash splash was his personal money to do with what he wished.

He said he had only spent a third of what the Liberal Party did at the 2013 federal election.

"No matter how much money you spend on advertising, if you have a bad idea people won't vote for you," Mr Palmer told Network Ten.

If PUP wins a WA Senate seat on Saturday, it will have three members on the upper house crossbench after July 1.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More