Sica trial hears family's 'dirty laundry' - Ninemsn

A couple went to the Gold Coast to meet other swingers in the month before their three children were murdered and dumped in a spa bath, a court has been told.

The Supreme Court in Brisbane on Monday heard some of the "dirty laundry" about the Singh family that the crown warned would be aired during the triple murder trial of Max Sica.

Sica, 41, is currently on trial for the murder of 24-year-old Neelma and her younger brother Kunal, 18, and sister Sidhi, 12.

Their bodies were found in the ensuite spa bath of their home in the outer Brisbane suburb of Bridgeman Downs on April 22, 2003.

Prosecutor Michael Byrne SC told the jury during his opening address last week that the sordid details of affairs and sexual liaisons provided some context to the complex relationships of those close to the three dead siblings.

The siblings' father, Vijay Singh, was on Monday questioned about his relationship with his wife, Shirley.

Mr Singh told the court he and his wife were swingers, and that they met like-minded men and women through a magazine.

He said he and his wife travelled to the Gold Coast for a sexual tryst in March 2003, but said they never allowed these swinging strangers in their own home.

Mr Singh told the court the liaison followed a tumultuous period in his relationship with his wife.

He admitted he had been having an affair with a woman in Fiji, Karun Singh, but that this had soured in January.

Under cross-examination by defence barrister Sam Di Carlo, Mr Singh said that Karun was jealous and possessive.

He said his wife often received phone calls from an unidentified person who would boast about the relationship between Karun and Mr Singh.

Mr Singh agreed it was likely Karun had paid someone in Fiji a "few dollars" to make the calls on her behalf.

"She wanted you. She was desperate to push Shirley and your family away and have you for herself," Mr Di Carlo said.

Mr Singh said he told Karun he would never leave his family for her but that he had never been threatened by anybody while he was in Fiji.

The trial continues.

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LNP government will fix CSG 'mess', Campbell Newman says - The Australian

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Homes and farms threatened by Northcliffe bushfire - ABC Online

Updated February 20, 2012 16:15:12

A fire burning out of control near Northcliffe, 350 kilometres south of Perth, is threatening farms on the outskirts of the town.

The blaze was started by lightning 10 days ago but escaped containment lines when it flared up yesterday afternoon.

The fire has burnt 28,000 hectares of bushland and forest.

Incident controller Drew Griffiths says strong south-easterly winds expected this afternoon could push the fire north towards properties.

"There would only be probably less than an hour before the fire reached the first properties so that's not enough time for people to get out, they need to get out now," he said.

Northcliffe's Community Resource Centre's Graham Evans has sent his staff home.

"At least one of my staff members is packing up and I'm packing up myself, packing up the household and there's an emergency evacuation centre set up in Pemberton sports club," he said.

"The Northcliffe vicinity is now on a watch and act notice so people are meant to be making decisions to basically adhere to their bushfire plans, stay or go."

Dairy farmer Dennis Smeathers says police arrived at his property last night about midnight local time and advised him to leave.

"My wife went but we stayed and got up early to milk the cows," he said.

The Northcliffe District High School has been closed for the day.

The Department of Environment and Conservation's Peter Keppel says the fire is eight kilometres from Northcliffe which is surrounded by marri, karri and jarrah forest.

A total of 138 firefighters are battling the blaze as well as 25 fire trucks and four water bombers.

A meeting to update residents on the situation is about to get underway.

An emergency warning remains in place for west of the Gardner River between Double Bridge Road and Summertime Track.

A watch and act has been issued for communities in the vicinity of Northcliffe, properties south of Boorara and Richardson roads and the settlement of Windy Harbour.

Mr Keppel says crews are fighting to keep the blaze contained.

"We'll be working very hard today to consolidate the work we've done overnight that will include continuing to burn back along those edges," he said.

"And, extensive use of water bombing including helicopter and water bombing aircraft, bulldozers and fire trucks."

Authorities warn the blaze is unpredictable and has the potential to travel at more than a kilometre per hour.

Topics: bushfire, fires, northcliffe-6262, wa

First posted February 20, 2012 06:44:16

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Support crucial for Australian super telescope - ABC Online

Updated February 15, 2012 23:22:00

Australian officials will soon learn whether they have gained key support for the rights to build the world's most powerful telescope.

Source: Lateline | Duration: 3min 13sec

Topics: telescopes, federal-government, astronomy-space, programs-and-initiatives, australia

Transcript

TONY JONES, PRESENTER: It will be the world's most powerful telescope and it could be built in Australia. Tonight officials will learn whether Australia will win key support for an independent scientific panel to host the Square Kilometre Array.

The telescope is touted as one of the biggest science projects this century. And as Amy Bainbridge reports, Australia is facing some stiff competition.

AMY BAINBRIDGE, REPORTER: In the remote inland of Western Australia scientists want to create an inland sea of satellite dishes. The Square Kilometre Array would cover 3,000 kilometres. Thousands of antennas linked electronically would allow scientists to see 10 times further into the universe than ever before using a radio telescope.

BRIAN BOYLE, PROJECT LEADER, CSIRO: We'll be looking at objects 13 billion light years away, or 13 billion years old. We'll be looking at some of the first objects in the universe forming.

We'll be able to track the whole history of cosmic evolution. We'll be able to answer questions like what is the nature of dark matter and dark energy?

CHRIS EVANS, SCIENCE & RESEARCH MINISTER: I mean, this will create all sorts of interesting developments in computing and engineering and obviously it may have other spinoffs that we don't even know about yet.

AMY BAINBRIDGE: The vast area of the Murchison Shire in WA is sparsely populated. Already it's home to the Pathfinder telescope. Scientists say it's one of the world's quietest places, exactly what's needed for the SKA project.

BRIAN BOYLE: The great enemy of radio astronomy is people, because people make radio noise. They make radio interference, whether it's through cars or mobile phones or TVs, they generate all this radio frequency interference that can drown out the very feeble signals from the cosmos.

AMY BAINBRIDGE: And to make all this work Australia will need to build a computer 100 times faster than any existing computer.

BRIAN BOYLE: All the signals from all those telescopes have to be brought back and the data communications is equivalent to 10 times the global internet traffic today.

AMY BAINBRIDGE: Senator Chris Evans will head a delegation to China and Italy leaving this Saturday to promote Australia's bid.

Australia is up against the South Africans, who say the telescope should be built in their Karoo Desert. They say it will create jobs and boost development in their region. And along with the Australians, they'll have their chance to make their final case over the next month.

CHRIS EVANS: To be brutally frank, there's a view among many in Europe that they ought to be doing more to assist development in Africa, and that will obviously be a consideration. I suppose our answer to that is you want to make sure that you've got the best possible outcome to get the best possible scientific results from the project.

AMY BAINBRIDGE: And it isn't cheap. Australia will be expected to pay a sizeable share of the $2 billion project split amongst 67 organisations in 20 countries. Perhaps what will make the most sense to those worried about how their taxes are being spent is this: the chance of detecting life in another galaxy.

BRIAN BOYLE: So we could in principle detect radiation from advanced civilisations, and wouldn't that be an earth-shattering discovery?

AMY BAINBRIDGE: The telescope is due to be operational by 2024.

Amy Bainbridge, Lateline.

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Julia Gillard denies her job is under threat, as Labor MPs urge her to ... - The Australian

Cookies must be enabled. | The Australian Skip to:Main ContentSite NavigationSite FooterSite SearchSite MapNetwork Navigation (other sites)news.com.auFox SportsCareerOneCarsguideRealEstateNews NetworkThe Australian NewsOpinionNational AffairsBusinessAus ITHigher EdMediaSportArtsJOBSLatest Jobscareerone.com.auJob SearchEmployment NewsSalary CalculatorAdvertise your JobMagazinesCareersSEARCH5 Minutes10 MinutesList StandardList ViewVideoNationalThe Australiannews.com.auThe PunchFOXSPORTSSportingPulseState and TerritoryThe TelegraphCourier MailHerald SunAdelaideNowPerth NowNT NewsThe MercuryRegional and CommunityTownsville BulletinCairns.com.auGoldcoast.com.auGeelong AdvertiserWeekly Times NowCommunity NewspapersClassifiedsClassifiedsPlace my adCareerOneCarsguideRealestate.com.auTrueLocalLifestyleVogueTasteKidspotbody+soulhomelifeMarketplaceMoshtixFoxtixGetpriceShopferretOurDealWeGo TravelLearning Seat LoginSign UpUser LoginUsername *Password *Forgot your password?Subscribe now to access The AustralianSubscribe Search for:

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Nurse in court over fatal nursing home blaze - ABC Online

By court reporter Jamelle WellsUpdated February 16, 2012 13:55:46

Prosecutors have been given more time to prepare their case against a man accused of deliberately lighting a fatal fire in a western Sydney nursing home.

Registered nurse Roger Kingsley Dean chose not to appear as his case was mentioned in Central Local Court this morning.

The 35-year-old remains in custody charged with 10 counts of murder over the fire at Quakers Hill in November.

Police have formally linked 11 deaths to the fire, but since November several other residents have died and further charges could be laid.

Today in court prosecutors were given another six weeks to prepare their case.

The court heard investigators are sifting through 2,700 pages of material and images.

The evidence in the case was described as "a literal mountain of material".

Relatives of one of the victims, 73-year-old Alma Smith, were in the public gallery.

Outside court her daughter Donna Austin said she is still coming to terms with the tragedy.

"We're just confused, frustrated, hurt," she said.

A spokesman for Domain Principal, the company that runs the home, was also in the public gallery.

He handed out copies of a statement confirming that sprinkler systems have now been fitted in the 59 homes the company runs across Australia.

Sprinklers were not installed when the Quakers Hill home was built in the 1980s.

The statement says the company has decided retrofitting the homes is the "right thing to do".

Systems are now required in new nursing homes in New South Wales, and the State Government is considering making them compulsory.

They have been mandatory in nursing homes in Queensland and Victoria for a decade.

Topics: courts-and-trials, murder-and-manslaughter, arson, police, quakers-hill-2763, sydney-2000

First posted February 16, 2012 11:24:05

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Tradie who clung to would-be thieves' car bonnet accuses driver of attempted ... - Herald Sun

UPDATE: A TRADIE who clung to the bonnet of a moving car has accused the driver of attempted murder.

Harry Hicks, 24, and his girlfriend Courtney Deacon, 21, were this morning recovering after Mr Hicks caught thieves attempting to steal tools from his Toyota Hilux tradesman’s trailer.

The Plenty man and his partner were returning to their Wallaby Court home just before midnight when they noticed a dark Holden Commodore vehicle parked beside his car.

The carpenter has declared his attackers “disgusting” and plans to press charges if police can find them.

“It’s just disgusting, I don’t have any time for these people,” he said.

“If they’d just stopped and said sorry mate it wouldn’t have been so much of an issue.

“What sort of trouble would you get into if you are a first time hit-and-run?”

“It’s quite a serious offence – it’s attempted murder,” he said.

The couple arrived back at Ms Deacon’s home around midnight last night to find some of his tool boxes on the ground next to his tool trailer.

When they stopped the car to investigate, a man hiding behind the trailer bolted across the road into a waiting Holden Commodore.

Mr Hicks said he acted on impulse by standing in front of the vehicle, and glared at the men inside.

“It was just more instinct, I just wanted to get my tools back,” Mr Hicks said.

The men initially accelerated towards him as he tried to block their escape, but stopped just in front of him when he refused to move.

But when they accelerated again Mr Hicks said he was forced onto the bonnet of the car and left clinging to the windscreen wipers.

“I just play it over in my head, over and over again – it’s pretty scare being on the bonnet of someone’s car who wants you off,” he said.

“I was on my knees on the bonnet holding on to the windscreen wipers and I was trying my hardest to rip the windscreen wiper off.”

Mr Hicks said he was on the car for about five seconds, but in that time was carried more than 50 metres up the road.

He said the car reached speeds of 50km/h while swerving violently to shake him off.

Eventually, about 20 seconds later, Mr Hicks realised the danger he was in and let go of the car.

“They were going faster and faster, we would have been going 50km/h when I jumped off,” he said.

And despite it being a snap decision, Mr Hicks said he would do exactly the same thing if confronted with the scene again.

“I don’t regret what I have done, I would do it again,” he said.

Mr Hicks estimates his tool collection cost him about $30,000.

“You definitely build a relationship up with your tools, there’s definitely sentimental value – they have much more sentimental value to them,” Mr Hicks said.

Nothing was stolen during the incident.

However, he did think that the knee imprints in the bonnet of the Holden Commodore would make the car stand out.

The male offenders are both believed to be in their mid 20s, with the driver described as having a slim build with brown collar-length hair.

Police are appealing for witnesses and anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.au.

- with Angus Thompson

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Gonski schools report calls for massive overhaul to bridge learning gap - Herald Sun

Julia Gillard and Peter Garrett with David Gonski (centre), who headed the review into school funding. Picture: Ray Strange Source: Herald Sun

DISADVANTAGED students will score extra funding in a $5 billion education shake-up designed to stop Australia falling behind.

The newly-released Gonski review into school funding recommends the country's best performing schools be studied to decide how much a good education costs per student.

That amount would be guaranteed per student, although how much governments contribute will be based on parents' ability to pay.

Extra money would be given to schools based on their remoteness and size and whether students are indigenous, have limited English, are disabled or are of a low-socioeconomic background to help them learn.

Government schools would be fully taxpayer-funded and non-government schools would receive 20 to 25 per cent of student's funding from governments.

Independent schools that cater to children with very high needs could also qualify for full government funding.

The levels protect a Gillard Government promise that no student would lose a $1 of funding.

The report also says all schools, especially government schools, should seek out philanthropic partners for money and expertise.

The new arrangements would cost about $5 billion per year more than current funding arrangements, with the Federal Government to bear 30 per cent of the increase.

The report suggested indicative amounts as a starting point for federal, state and territory governments to consider.

The resource standard would be around $8000 per primary student and $10,500 per secondary student.

"These indicative amounts provide a plausible and acceptable starting point for further work," the report said.

It said the reading skills of Australian school students have fallen to seventh in the world from equal second while students' maths skills have plummeted from fifth to 13th in the world.

And the gap in literacy between disadvantaged and advantaged students is equivalent to almost three years of schooling.

But it says changes to funding will not lift results alone and other reforms to address innovative learning and a culture of high expectations among teachers and principals.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said it was worrying that Australian children were not keeping up with their Asian neighbours and disadvantaged students were being left behind.

She said she wanted a national debate on the recommended changes to see real reform.

"Standing still with todays education system means we will fall further and further and further and further behind the standards of the world because other nations are not standing still," she said.

"So we will be there, with sleeves rolled up."

PM Julia Gillard holds a joint press conference with David Gonski and School Education Minister Peter Garrett (at left) following today's public release of the Gonski Review into schools funding. Picture: Ray Strange

School Education Minister Peter Garrett said work would begin immediately to develop and model elements of the proposed new funding system.

"We'll take a set of funding principles to be agreed at the next COAG (Council of Australian Government) and we'll begin working immediately with states and territories and non-government sectors to develop and test a new funding model," Mr Garrett said.

But the Government has already ruled out a significant expansion of the Commonwealth capital funding role.

"In some areas, the Australian Government believes that the scope of proposed new funding contributions may be too large," the Government's written response to the report said.

It said the Australian Government had recently completed the largest ever program of capital investment of schools and "we do not envisage the significant expansion of the Commonwealth's capital funding role".

Ms Gillard rejected a remark by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott that a new funding scheme would disadvantage independent schools, saying there was no "hit list".

She accused Mr Abbott of planning to cut more than $2 billion in funding for schools.

"He said, 'Get rid of computers in schools; get rid of trade training centres; get rid of investments in teacher quality, and get rid of investments in disadvantaged schools'," she said.

"So that's his pitch to the nation - cuts, cuts, cuts."

Mr Abbott told reporters today it was in Labor's DNA to attack independent schools.

- with AAP

marszalekj@heraldsun.com.au

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Mental patient wins access to education - Sydney Morning Herald

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Charges dropped against Sam Ibrahim and three others in kidnapping case - The Daily Telegraph

THE case against Sam Ibrahim and three others allegedly involved in a kidnapping plot has been dubbed "the work of a D grade detective" with police dropping all charges this morning.

The former bikie boss, his sister Armani Stelio, family bodyguard Semi 'Tongan Sam' Ngata and another woman Alicia Sutherland had been charged with kidnapping a man and driving him to a bank to order him to withdraw $100,000.

The case was set to go to a District Court trial, but Central Local Court was told this morning that all charges would be dropped.

Brett Galloway, the solicitor for Ibrahim, said outside court that the case was "the work of a D or E grade detective" and suggested police had made parts of the case up.

The group, who all spent some time in custody because of the charges, will now make an application for costs and damages.

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Ripe for success - Sydney Morning Herald

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Victim tells inquiry of abuse at WA hostel - Ninemsn

A victim of a convicted paedophile has given evidence to an inquiry that when he told his father about the abuse he was told to stop lying.

The inquiry is investigating allegations of sexual abuse against children at a state-run hostel in WA's south.

It follows the jailing of Dennis John McKenna, who sexually abused boys at St Andrew's Hostel in Katanning, where he was head warden from 1975 to 1990.

Kerryn Robert Stephens, now 52, told the inquiry on Monday that McKenna would entice him with whisky and would tap him on the feet to let him know that he should come to his room.

"He used to wait until everyone was asleep," he said.

Mr Stephens said when he told his father about the abuse, his father, who was a board member at the school, said he would speak to McKenna, but later told his son to stop lying and get on with completing his education.

"If I was a liar in my father's eyes, where would I go next?" he said.

Mr Stephens also described weekend trips to Perth when he and McKenna would stay at McKenna's parents' house and attend shows where men would dress as women.

He said he felt "special" to be on the trips but would have to share a single bed with McKenna.

Mr Stephens said after he told his father about the abuse, he never mentioned it to him again or spoke to anyone else about it.

"I just thought if my father wouldn't believe me, no-one else would," he said.

Earlier, during his opening address, counsel assisting the inquiry, Philip Urquhart, said McKenna was well respected in the local community and was a citizen of the year award winner.

He said evidence would be heard that complaints were made and concerns expressed by some teachers and parents, but all warnings were ignored because of McKenna's high standing.

"It was inconceivable that Dennis McKenna would be responsible for such conduct," he said.

Retired Supreme Court Justice Peter Blaxell is heading the inquiry to determine the extent of the abuse and whether there was a cover-up that allowed it to continue.

He is examining allegations that complaints against McKenna were dismissed by senior public servants in the 1970s and 80s.

The inquiry will examine when any allegations were made, who they were made to and what action was taken.

Mr Blaxell will present recommendations on any disciplinary action that should be taken against public officials, as well as any changes that should be made to the policies or procedures of government agencies as a result of the findings.

Any issues that relate to criminal behaviour during the inquiry will be referred to police.

Up to 40 witnesses will be called during the inquiry, including principals, teachers, board members, staff at the Department of Employment and Training, and a policeman.

McKenna was jailed for six years in October last year after pleading guilty to sexually abusing six boys, aged 13 to 15, in his care.

He was previously jailed for six years in 1991 for similar offences and may face more charges as other victims come forward.

Mr Blaxell will hold hearings in Perth and Katanning.

A hotline has been set up so that more victims can come forward.

The inquiry is expected to be completed by April, with a report presented by May 31.

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Union chief Kim Sattler allowed to keep her job - The Daily Telegraph

Kim Sattler at Unions ACT Headquarters in Canberra. Picture: Kym Smith Source: The Daily Telegraph

EMBATTLED union chief Kim Sattler has been allowed to keep her job after weeks of contradicting statements from her over her role in triggering the Australia Day controversy.

Unions ACT president Bob O’Neill today said Ms Sattler had the full support of the union to stay on as secretary after fronting a three-hour meeting of the executive this morning discussing the scandal.

The meeting in Canberra came after explosive video footage emerged this week showing Ms Sattler telling protestors at the Aboriginal tent embassy Opposition Leader Tony Abbott wanted to pull the site down.

The revelations undermined Ms Sattler’s claims she had only told the protestors that Mr Abbott had said it was time to “move on” after being tipped off about his location by Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s office.

Ms Sattler has detailed several different versions of events since January 26 – including initially denying any involvement – as Ms Gillard relied on her testimony to support her version of events.

Her contact, including text messages, with Ms Gillard’s press secretary Tony Hodges, who resigned over the affair, is now being investigated by the Australian Federal Police.

But in a 10-second press conference following the meeting today, Mr O’Neill said in a brief statement that Ms Sattler had the executive’s full support.

“Unions ACT is fully cooperating with the ongoing AFP investigation into the incidents of Australia Day,” he said.

“Given there is an ongoing investigation, Unions ACT will give no public comment until the AFP investigation has concluded.

“At today’s Unions ACT executive meeting a full and detailed discussion of the complex issues relating to the events surrounding Australia Day occurred. Following those discussions, the executive has determined that secretary Kim Sattler maintains the support of Unions ACT.”

Mr O’Neill and Ms Sattler refused to answer questions before going back into their offices.

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Bulli rapist walks free from prison - Sydney Morning Herald

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Consorting laws watered down: Robertson - Sydney Morning Herald

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Wife scuba murder trial: accused weeps - Sydney Morning Herald

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Man points handgun at five-year-old boy - NEWS.com.au

A MAN has pointed a handgun at a five-year-old boy and a woman during a home invasion in Perth's west.

Police said a man armed with a handgun and a knife entered a house in White Gum Valley, just east of Fremantle, around 8pm (WST) yesterday and threatened the occupants.

Three adults and seven children were in the house at the time.

It's understood the man was seeking another man who was not at the property and was not known by the occupants.

A police spokeswoman said the man pointed the gun at a woman and a five-year-old boy and threatened to return and damage property, before he left in a white Holden Commodore.

No one was injured during the home invasion.

The man is described as being fair-skinned, of short stature and with curly blond hair.

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Man jailed for assisting suicide - Brisbane Times

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Building watchdog break-up passes lower house - ABC Online

Updated February 16, 2012 12:44:04

Legislation to dismantle the Australian Building and Construction Commission has passed the House of Representatives.

The Government plans to replace the Commission with a new agency to oversee the building industry.

Unions are angry the new watchdog will still have coercive powers to compel workers to answer questions.

The legislation will now go to the Senate.

The Greens want the building industry watchdog scrapped altogether, but Greens MP Adam Bandt says he still voted for the bill.

"We were able to get some amendments which we think on balance are better than the status quo," he said.

"But we just need to be clear that we wanted to get rid of the coercive powers.

"The numbers were there in Parliament, and the only reason they've stayed is because Labor wants them."

Reacting to the bill's passage through the Lower House, Coalition Senator Eric Abetz said the new laws "will give the green light to illegality and thuggery at building sites around the country."

Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, industrial-relations, business-economics-and-finance, building-and-construction, australia

First posted February 16, 2012 12:39:33

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Teen saved by friend in near-death tubing accident - NEWS.com.au

Travellers relax and enjoy a drink before inner-tubing down a Laos river. Picture: Blackwing, Flickr Source: Supplied

Annika Morris (L) who came close to death after taking a potent whisky shot in Laos. Picture: Supplied
Source: Herald Sun

Annika Morris drinks a free shot of whisky while tubing Rushed to a local hospital as sight and hearing faded "Could be another story of some one found dead down the river"

A MELBOURNE teenager who almost died while tubing in Laos has her best friend to thank for saving her life.

Warrandyte 19-year-old Annika Morris's heart stopped multiple times in hospital after she drank a shot of free whisky at a Vang Vieng bar on Monday.

Annika's dad, Jeff, said his daughter and her friend Melba Blyth-Elvin were on a tubing trip when the drama unfolded.

He said if it wasn't for her friend's intervention, his daughter would be just "another statistic".

"She shouldn't really have survived, that's the sobering thing. She should've died on the river," Mr Morris said.

He said Ms Blyth-Elvin rushed Annika to a local hospital as her sight and hearing faded.

After local doctors tried to administer pennicillin, which Annika is alergic to, Mr Morris said a travelling German doctor intervened.

"He was performing a type of CPR.

"My undertsanding is her heart stopped on numerous occasions."

Mr Morris said Annika recovered after up to five hours of CPR.

He believes Annika drank a black-market concoction and that her drink wasn't spiked.

He said the German doctor said it appeared methamphetamines were in her system because of her dilated pupils.

Travel blogs refer to a popular Laotian whiskey called Lao-Lao whiskey, which is highly potent and can be infused with scorpions or snakes.

“I don’t believe her drink was spiked, it’s more likely the alcohol, which was a? black-market whisky, if anything.

“I think the free whisky is a real no-no because they’re using that to entice you into their bar, they’re not going to spend money on quality because they’re giving it away,” he said.

He said the girls were "shellshocked", arriving in Melbourne today after cutting their dream holiday short.

The near-tragedy comes after three young Australians died in Laos in recent weeks.

Yarraville man Alexander Lee, 22, was found dead with his dutch girlfriend in a Luang Prabang hotel room last week.

Sydney man Lee Hudswell, 26, and Daniel Eimutis, 19, died in separate incidents while tubing in Vang Vieng in January.

Mr Morris said Ms Blyth-Elvin, Annika's childhood friend, was a "legend'', and thanked the backpacker community for rallying around his daughter.

"If Annika had been by herself she could well have just floated down the river and could be another story of some one found dead down the river," he said.

Mr Morris said while he and his wife warned Annika of the perils of travelling, he never expected his daughter to fall ill through a toxic drink.

"Kids are always going to do this stuff - they're teenagers and they're high-risk animals. But I think they should be aware that anything like this that is free is probably highly dangerous,'' he said.

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Victoria's traffic chief retires - Ninemsn

The last deputy commissioner left untouched by an overhaul in Victoria's police command is retiring, completing a total renewal at the top of the ranks.

Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe, a respected officer with more than 40 years of service, made his retirement decision public on Tuesday.

"The time is right for me and for the organisation," he said in a statement.

"I will certainly be leaving with no regrets at all."

Mr Walshe's departure is the latest change at the top for a police force undergoing major renewal in less than a year.

Ten months ago, Simon Overland was in charge with three deputy commissioners: Sir Ken Jones, Kieran Walshe and Ken Lay.

But both Mr Overland and Sir Ken have resigned amid controversy, Mr Lay has been promoted to the top job and now Mr Walshe will leave also.

The retirement of the 60-year-old, however, is not seen as a surprise by fellow officers.

In 1968, he joined the force as a teenager and has since held positions in fields as diverse as counter-terrorism, emergency management and public order.

On February 7, 2009, he was given the grim task of conducting the first press conference that publicly confirmed the Black Saturday bushfires had killed more than 14 people.

That number would eventually balloon to 173 victims.

After being appointed as head of road safety last year, Mr Walshe revealed his own tragic connection to the state's road toll.

He had been driving a police vehicle in 1971 when it plunged down an embankment, killing his mate, a fellow police officer.

A coroner's inquest delivered an open finding but Mr Walshe said he had struggled with the tragedy for decades.

Police chief Ken Lay paid tribute to Mr Walshe in an email to staff upon news of his retirement.

"He has been a strong and forthright leader, he has been a supportive peer and a loyal deputy," the chief commissioner wrote.

The state government also thanked Mr Walshe for his dedicated service, noting he had carried out his duties "with great integrity".

He will remain the state's top traffic cop until his July 1 retirement.

Victoria Police is expected to announce its new confirmed line-up of deputy commissioners in the coming weeks.

It's not know if Mr Lay will retain three deputies or return to two, as was practice several years ago.

Meanwhile, a detailed report into the structure of police command has been handed into the state government but has not yet been released.

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Government confident private health changes to pass House tonight - ABC Online

Federal Government says it's quietly confident its proposed changes to private health insurance will pass the House of Representatives tonight. The government has promised an extra 165 million dollars for dental care for low income Australians, which has guaranteed the support of the Greens.

MARK COLVIN: The Federal Government says it's confident that its proposed changes to private health insurance will pass the Lower House tonight.

That's despite the independent Rob Oakeshott still refusing to say how he'll vote.

The Government has won the support of the Greens by promising an extra $165 million for dental care.

That's well short of the billion dollars the Greens had been calling for, but they say it is a good start towards setting up a system of universal dental care.

The Greens' support means that if the changes pass the House tonight, they're guaranteed to get through the Senate.

From Canberra, Naomi Woodley reports.

NAOMI WOODLEY: The Health Minister, Tanya Plibersek is confident she'll be able to deliver what the Parliament has twice blocked before, a means test on the private health insurance rebate, and an increase in the Medicare levy surcharge for wealthy Australians who don't take out private cover.

TANYA PLIBERSEK: This is a very big win for fairness. It means that low income Australians won't be subsidising the private health insurance rebates of much higher paid Australians and I'm very pleased that it's likely that this legislation will pass this evening.

NAOMI WOODLEY: The Greens were always expected to support the Government but their votes have been secured by an extra $165 million over three years for dental care.

TANYA PLIBERSEK: An additional terrific outcome is that we will see greater, better investment in helping the poorest Australians, the 20 per cent who are currently missing out on dental care, receive better dental care.

NAOMI WOODLEY: The agreement is well short of the billion dollars the Greens had been pushing the Government to include in this year's budget for dental care. But their Health spokesman, Richard Di Natale says it's still a significant investment.

RICHARD DI NATALE: And those people who can now go to the dentist who couldn't afford to do so previously will be grateful. But you're right, it's not enough. More needs to be done.

This, as far as we're concerned, is the start of a negotiation with the Government.

NAOMI WOODLEY: Tanya Plibersek says decisions on what other promises might be included in the budget haven't been finalised but she's playing down expectations of a large scale boost to dental funding.

TANYA PLIBERSEK: Adding dental to Medicare in the way that some people have suggested, including in the past the Greens have suggested, would be a cost of about $5 or $6 billion a year and we are certainly not in the position to add $5 or $6 billion a year to the health budget.

And in fact we wouldn't even have the dental workforce to meet that need, should we make that change overnight.

NAOMI WOODLEY: The Greens' Richard Di Natale, says they've always believed setting up a universal dental care system would take five years.

RICHARD DI NATALE: So we're still committed to the scale of investment in the order of a billion dollars.

We think that's what's necessary in the coming budget. We think that with a range of measures some new money and some reform of current dental spending that we can achieve it and that's what we'll be working towards with the Government.

NAOMI WOODLEY: The Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie has confirmed he will vote for the Government's measures, meaning the last crucial vote will belong to the New South Wales independent Rob Oakeshott.

Tanya Plibersek says the Government hasn't offered any extra inducements to win him over but she's quietly confident he's on side. Mr Oakeshott's office says he's consistently maintained his silence on how he'll vote.

Speaking before the Government's announcement, the Opposition leader Tony Abbott was still hoping to influence Mr Oakeshott's decision.

TONY ABBOTT: The matter is still before the Parliament. There is time for the independent members of this Parliament to stand up for their constituents. There is time for the independent members of this Parliament to keep the Government honest, rather than facilitating dishonesty.

NAOMI WOODLEY: If the changes go through they'll provide $2.4 billion over three years for the federal budget.

The Government is hoping to wrap the debate up tonight but it could spill over until tomorrow.

MARK COLVIN: Naomi Woodley.

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Children found, mother in custody - Sydney Morning Herald

Children found, mother in custody

Erik Jensen February 14, 2012

Two children allegedly abducted by their mother have been found by police in the Canberra suburb of Belconnen.

The children were found after a state-wide announcement from police alerted a driver who noted the car described in front of him.

In the statement, issued just before 6pm, police said they were ‘‘seeking urgent public assistance to help locate a four-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl who are believed to have been taken from the Central Coast today by their mother.’’

The statement said they had ‘‘grave concerns for their welfare’’.

The Herald understands the woman was from Tuggerah Lakes, but could not immediately confirm this.

The woman was driving a golden Mitsubishi Magna sedan with registration plates QVS 887. She is now in police custody.

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Gillard rejects Rudd plot claims - Sydney Morning Herald

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Murder-suicide dad who killed disabled sons 'had love and empathy' - NEWS.com.au

Loving father killed disabled sons in murder-suicide Sons had cerebral palsy and were profoundly deaf Coroner said dad's life revolved around his sons

MYSTERY surrounds the reason why an ailing yet loving father decided to kill his two disabled sons along with himself in a murder-suicide, the Deputy State Coroner has found.

Edo Travaglia, 54, had a past medical history of anxiety, depression and prostate cancer and a history of suicide attempts in the lead up to his own death and that of his adult sons on August 15, 2009.

His sons, Leigh and David, were born with cerebral palsy and were profoundly deaf.

“It appears that Mr Travaglia’s life revolved around the boys who required 24-hour care, with him doing everything for them,” Deputy State Coroner Iain West said in his finding this afternoon.

“(His separated wife) Katrina Blake subsequently told investigating police: ‘He did it with love, compassion and empathy’”.

Mr West said that from 2003, the Travaglia brothers lived in Department of Human Services (DHS) accommodation where they received adequate care until Mr and Mrs Travaglia perceived a drop in standards due to what they believed was cost cutting at the facility.

“This perceived lack of care greatly concerned Mr Travaglia, resulting in him raising numerous issues with the DHS which, in turn, he believed led to his boys being discriminated against at the facility,” Mr West said.

“Mr Travaglia felt he had failed as a father, blaming himself for the boys’ perceived lack of care.”

Mr West said another care provider was found and the brothers seemed extremely happy.

Mr Travaglia took his sons home to his Rosebud house on the night of August 15, 2009, telling staff he would be returning them the next day.

Friends found Mr Travaglia and his two sons, aged 30 and 27, dead in his car in his garage the following day.

A note was found on the dashboard.

All three had died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

“It is puzzling to know why Mr Travaglia decided to take his sons’ lives when they were finally enjoying the sort of quality of care he had fought so hard for,” Mr West said.

“Those closest to Mr Travaglia stated that he was a devoted father and, hence, a possible reason for his actions was that he couldn’t accept the prospect of leaving them behind if he wasn’t there to protect them.”???

Anyone with personal problems can contact Lifeline on 131 114, Mensline Australia on 1300 789 978,? Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 or the Victorian Statewide Suicide Helpline on 1300 651 251.?

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Woman charged over Broome man's death - Ninemsn

A 34-year-old man has died after being stabbed in the chest with a knife during a dispute in the Kimberley town of Broome.

Police said a 29-year-old woman was charged with causing grievous bodily harm following the stabbing at 8.35pm (WST) on Monday.

The woman, who was the man's de facto partner, was due to appear in the Broome Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

A police spokesman said the charges could be upgraded following a post-mortem examination.

The man died while being flown to Royal Darwin Hospital.

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Man fined £500 for mooning the Queen - Telegraph.co.uk

Liam Lloyd Warriner, a 22-year-old barman, said his act was a political protest to show his contempt for the monarch during her visit to Queensland last October. The court heard that he dropped his trousers and ran alongside the Queen’s motorcade for 50 metres, with an Australian flag clasped between his buttock cheeks. It is not clear whether the royal couple observed the buttock-borne flag.

"I'm a proud antimonarchist," he said outside the court. "What's uncivilised about it? We come into the world naked."

Warriner was sentenced today in a Brisbane court on a charge of creating a public nuisance. He said the Queen was not entitled to “granny status” and warned he would repeat the act if Barack Obama were to make another visit.

"Any self-important, self-propagating elitist, I will happily bare my buttocks to," he said.

"The Queen represents where people can be born into importance. I don't think that any one family should have any more importance than any other family on this planet."

Sergeant Troy Newman said crowds had lined both sides of the street to see the Queen when Warriner emerged from his workplace and dropped his shorts and underwear. He then lifted his shirt to expose his buttocks, ran with the flag and returned to his workplace but co-operated with police when they arrested him.

Sergeant Newman said Warriner had selfishly disrupted a formal and respectful occasion – and had also shown disrespect towards the flag.

"He's young but old enough to have known better," he said.

Warriner’s lawyer, John Paul Mould, said the incident would not have raised an eyebrow if it occurred outside a rugby league game. "It's really low-level stuff," he said.

Warriner pleaded guilty to the charge of public nuisance. Police dropped a second charge of wilful exposure prior to his sentence. Prosecutors had asked for a AU$1,000 fine.

The magistrate, Anne Thacker, criticised Warriner for disrupting the court proceedings.

"This is a civil society and when a lot of people gather in one place the grouping means there is a vulnerable position if even one person like yourself doesn't behave in a civil manner," she said.

No conviction was recorded against Warriner.

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Police Commissioner caught speeding - Brisbane Times

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'Balls-up': $3.1m Parliament House website a year late - Sydney Morning Herald

'Balls-up': $3.1m Parliament House website a year late

BEN GRUBB February 14, 2012

A "major breach" of Australia's Parliament House computer network partly contributed to a $600,000 cost blowout and 12-month delay in constructing the newly designed parliament website which is due to launch to the public this Friday evening.

The figure and breach was revealed in senate estimates yesterday by parliamentary librarian Roxanne Missingham and President of the Senate John Hogg,?who reported that the total cost of the new aph.gov.au site, which was meant to go live February 2011, had so far come to about $3.1 million.

The cost blowout and delayed launch follows a botched IT upgrade deployed in December, which brought the parliament site down for 3 days, and attacks on the website?by the loose-knit hacking collective Anonymous over Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's internet filtering policy.

The new site - which people inside parliament have had access to since the middle of January this year - replaces the current one which has been in place for 12 years, according to Missingham, and will offer "significant new functionality".

Such functionality will allow members of the public to track bills through parliament, be alerted when their local senator or member gives a speech in parliament, and allow for information on it to be found more easily, she said.

More below

But costs to get the new website up and running had blown out due to the "complexity of various aspects" such as "delays from undertaking security", Missingham revealed when questioned by Labor senator John Faulkner in senate estimates.

"In September we put in additional funding of $153,750 to upgrade the platform, complete system testing, do the security testing, and rework content and data," she said. "Additional funding was also allocated in May. That funding was $461,300."

She said there were a number of issues in "regression testing" that were found and that "reworking of aspects of the website" due to business requirement changes also contributed to the delay and cost blowout.?Three rounds of security analysis on the website were also done to "make sure that it will not be hacked".

"I think you could say that the delays and the additional costs were as a result of increased?complexity of the solution that we needed, increased security testing and an increase in the work that was done?compared with what we had anticipated when we initiated the project,"?Missingham said.

President of the Senate, John Hogg, said part of the delay and need for additional money to be spent on the new website was caused by "a major breach of the security of the system externally from [Parliament House]".

More below

"That occurred in December 2010," he said, and put "additional costs on IT right throughout [parliament]".

The major breach, which Hogg said was "well and truly beyond" parliament's control, was a "security intrusion into the system from an external source, and not just on one occasion but on a number of occasions".

"That caused grave concern about people's privacy with the information they have here and people's ability to access information into the system."

He said for some reason that he did not understand, it seemed that there were "a group of people out there who try to interfere in people's systems, not just here but in the corporate world as well, by hacking into the systems".?It was something he said he was "constantly raising with people from other parliaments" both when they visited Australia and when an Australian delegation was visiting them, "to see what attempts they are making to block unwarranted access to their information".

Senator Faulkner appeared unimpressed by the cost blowout and delay in launching the website, asking Hogg how "another balls-up" could be avoided. Hogg said he hoped that delays would not occur into the future by overcoming "security aspects" now.

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Schoolboy dies after hit by car in Sydney - Sydney Morning Herald

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Abbott comes up with another timetable for Coalition budget surplus - The Australian

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Afghanistan denies Taliban army infiltration systemic - ABC Online

Updated February 12, 2012 01:06:25

The Afghan government has downplayed a rogue soldier's claims that more Afghan army trainees are ready to launch deadly attacks against coalition soldiers.

In a video posted online by a jihadi network this week, Mohammed Rozi - an army trainee who shot and seriously wounded three Australians who were training him in Uruzgan province in November - said many of his colleagues dreamed of committing similar attacks.

Rozi, who escaped after the attack, falsely boasted in the video that he had killed 12 Australian soldiers.

But Afghan government spokesman Dr Hakim Asher says despite the claims in the video, the chances of similar attacks remains small.

"That is not a huge problem for Afghanistan. We believe that there were some mistakes and those mistakes are very few," he said.

International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) commander Brigadier General Carsten Jacobson agrees, saying such attacks are rare and are designed to breed mistrust.

"We have to take great care in recruitment in registering young men into the forces, but it is not systemic and it is not threatening and it will not stop our progress," he said.

Australian confidence in the mission in Afghanistan reached a new low last year when Rozi opened fire on the troops that were training him.

It was not clear what motivated the attack or whether he had been working with terrorist groups.

Now, the extensive video interview with Rozi answers some of these questions.

The video reveals the attack was carefully premeditated, with Rozi taking the time to watch his targets through binoculars before opening fire.

He said the Australian troops at the patrol base he shot were not armed.

He revealed he had initially been working alone, but was quickly taken in by the Taliban after fleeing the scene in a stolen humvee.

Rozi said he wanted to teach the troops a lesson and that Muslims in Afghanistan would not accept the presence of foreigners.

Speaking during a tour of flood-hit parts of Queensland on Saturday, Prime Minister Julia Gillard described the video as "disgusting propaganda".

"The fact that there's this disgusting anti-Australian propaganda anywhere in the world is offensive to me and to all Australians," she said.

"It's aimed at trust, that's exactly what it's aimed - at denting our will.

"Well no amount of propaganda is going to dent our will at getting this mission done."

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott also spoke out about the video, saying Australians have every right to feel disgusted by the boasting.

He described it as a message designed to undermine Australia's confidence.

"Our enemies are trying to exaggerate their strength," he said.

The attack on the Australian soldiers in November was the third by a Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier in 2011, and came 10 days after three Australians were killed and seven were wounded when another Afghan soldier turned his weapon on his trainers.

In May, one Australian soldier was killed when a member of the ANA opened fire.

Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, defence-and-national-security, defence-forces, army, world-politics, government-and-politics, afghanistan, australia

First posted February 12, 2012 01:02:41

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Labor Keeps Port Adelaide, Ramsay in South Australian by-elections - Herald Sun

LABOR has retained the two seats in the South Australian parliament vacated by retiring former premier Mike Rann and his former deputy Kevin Foley, despite a big swing against the party in Port Adelaide.

Labor was expected to win but faced stiff competition in Port Adelaide where Susan Close won Mr Foley's former seat despite a swing of more than nine per cent to the local mayor, independent Gary Johanson.

Provisional electoral commission figures had Dr Close on 53.2 per cent and Mr Johanson on 46.8 on a two party preferred basis.

Mr Foley had held the seat since 1993.

In Ramsay, tourism industry official Zoe Bettison retained the strong Labor seat that Mr Rann had held since 1993.

Ms Bettison, who had 54 per cent of first preferences, still had a strong buffer of 18 per cent after a 10 per cent swing against the ALP at the 2010 state election.

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Gillard Government cuts health insurance rebates - Razors Edge

High income earners face paying more for private health insurance if proposed legislation passes.

Health Minister Tanya Plibersek has introduced a bill to start means-testing the health insurance rebate in a bid to add $2.4 billion to the Government’s coffers.

The rebate, set up by the Howard Government, means a 30 per cent cut in the cost of health insurance for anyone who chooses it, regardless of income.

Under the new scheme, individuals earning over $83 000 and couples earning over $166 000 would have their rebate docked by up to 20 per cent.

2SER’s Sam Buckingham-Jones spoke to Michael Armitage, CEO of the Australian Health Insurance Association, about his reaction, and the future of private health insurance.

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Three men charged after fatal Sydney brawl - Sydney Morning Herald

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Flood evacuation ordered in Walgett - Sydney Morning Herald

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Katter's mob get down to work - WA today

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Australian reporter, US student held in Egypt: security - Herald Sun

An Australian journalist is under arrest in Egypt, accused of trying to bribe people to join a strike.

UPDATE: FEDERAL government officials have made contact with an Australian journalist arrested in Egypt and are seeking more information from local police on what charges he may face.

Egyptian authorities arrested 28-year-old NSW man Austin Mackell, US student Derek Ludovici and local translator Aliya Alwi in the industrial city of Mahalla al-Kobra overnight.

Security officials have accused them of trying to pay people to join a strike marking the first anniversary of Hosni Mubarak's ouster as the country's president.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it had been in contact with Mr Mackell.

"Consular officials from the Australian Embassy in Cairo have spoken to the man,'' a DFAT spokesperson said.

"He has confirmed he is being treated appropriately by local police authorities and that he intends to engage a legal representative.''

Embassy officials were now seeking advice from Egyptian police on possible charges arising from the arrest, the spokesperson said.

Ms Alwi posted details of the ordeal on her Twitter account, writing early today Australian time that she and Mr Mackell were being transported to a military intelligence office in the nearby city of Tanta.

A few hours earlier, she wrote: "Report against us filed now. Many witnesses saw us 'offering money to youth to vandalise and cause chaos'.''

Another tweet read: "Charges brought against of inciting protest and vandalism. Witnesses have been produced to confirm it.''

One of those witnesses was eight-years old, she wrote.

The trio apparently first believed the police were trying to protect them after they experienced some aggression from locals.

"Our car got rocked and beaten against the glass, got called a whore and all sorts of things. Police escorted us to station,'' Ms Alwi wrote.

An unnamed security official told the Associated Press the trio would be interrogated by the attorney general's office.

Cairo-based Australian journalist Jess Hill, who knows Mr Mackell, says he travelled to Mahalla to meet a trade union activist.

"What we know is that they were mobbed by residents,'' she told the ABC.

"Their car was attacked and they were taken to a police station and initially it looks like they were just being kept there for their safety, and then witnesses were brought in to attest to that charge about bribing locals to strike.''

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Police to work with DoCs on drunk kids - NEWS.com.au

THE Department of Community Services (DoCS) has been informed about several children who police found drunk and drug affected in Sydney.

A 14-year-old boy under the influence of drink and drugs was among 13 children detained by police in the inner city overnight.

The boy's carer thought he was in bed asleep.

Nine boys and four girls, mostly aged 14 or 15, were picked up by police on Oxford Street, George Street and around Central station because they were unsupervised, intoxicated, under the influence of drugs or in situations that put them at risk.

When police phoned their parents, not one of them came in from the suburbs to collect their child.

Instead, police officers drove the children home to suburbs as far away from the city as Mount Druitt, Quakers Hill, Hurstville and Earlwood.

Detective Inspector Stephen Crews said police were not a taxi service and parents needed to be more engaged with their children.

"The next step is for us to work closely with the Department of Community Services and see how we can support these kids.

"Each case has unique characteristics and we really do want to support them.

"The police aren't a taxi service. However, when we contact parents and carers and they're not prepared to come and collect their kids ... we have to get them home.

"I urge parents to please be a role model for their children."

Some of the parents were shocked to discover their children had lied about where they were going, he said.

Others could not be contacted when police or the children themselves tried to call.

NSW Police Minister Michael Gallacher said parents need to ask their children more questions about what they were up to.

"Ask more questions and make some inquiries to ensure that the knock on the door that you get at two or three o'clock in the morning isn't just a police officer returning your son or daughter home in an affected state," he said.

"But worse, you want to make sure that the knock on the door isn't from a police officer telling you to come down to the morgue."

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Eight men arrested over two Vic murders - Ninemsn

Eight men have been arrested in connection with two unrelated deaths in Victoria over the weekend.

Police arrested and charged six Horsham men with murder on Sunday after a 25-year-old man died following his bashing on a street in Victoria's north-west on Friday.

Shane Willshire, 24, Gavin Willshire, 27, Shane Campbell, 38, Matt Lovett, 21, Christian Pickering, 25, and Ryan Jones, 20, have been charged with one count of murder.

Emergency crews found the 25-year-old man suffering life-threatening injuries on Shirley Street in Horsham at 10pm (AEDT). He was raced to hospital where he later died.

Two men are also being questioned over the death of a man on a street in inner-Melbourne on Saturday afternoon.

Paramedics found the man's body when they were called to an address in Canning Street, North Melbourne, about 5.40pm on Saturday.

Police said the 31-year-old North Melbourne man suffered life-threatening injuries and was declared dead at the scene, but would not reveal how he received the injuries.

Police arrested a 39-year-old man in Fawkner, in Melbourne's north, around 2am Sunday, and a 24-year-old was arrested in Daylesford.

And police are still hunting the attackers of a third man, 41, who was found by his father with substantial injuries at a house in Endeavour Hills in Melbourne's southeast about 10.30am on Saturday.

He was assaulted by an unknown offender who was possibly armed, police said.

Homicide squad Detective Inspector John Potter said the man had been in custody with police the day before regarding a domestic dispute with his wife, but at this stage she wasn't a suspect.

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Bushwalkers hit by landslide, struck by lightning - ABC Online

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Public's right to know falls victim to political infighting - Sydney Morning Herald

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Bus driver's family gets condolences - Ninemsn

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Dam release jargon baffled Premier Anna Bligh's top bureaucrat Ken Smith - Courier Mail

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Flash flooding hits Penrith - The Daily Telegraph

I'm not kidding: Busta the goat is rescued from the flash flooding at Warrina Rd, Londonderry after a massive downpour. Picture: Bill Hearne Source: The Daily Telegraph

FLASH flooding inundated roads and houses in greater western Sydney after heavy rainfall last night.

Approximately 100mm of rain drenched the streets of Penrith, Londonderry, Cranebrook, Castlereagh, Kingswood, Jamisontown and Werrington about 8pm.

Homes were evacuated and drivers were forced to wade through waist-high flood water.

Julijana Matthews, 31, asked State Emergency Services if they could rescue her pet goat Busta from the backyard after residents from Warrina Street, Londonderry escaped the rising water.

"I told them (SES) that I had the goat stuck in the backyard and they were more than happy to go and grab him with the boat," she said.

"Busta doesn't really like water, (he) doesn't tend to go on many boat rides."

Mrs Matthews watched the water level rising during a torrential downpour that covered areas around Penrith and St Marys about 8pm.

"We were at home and the water just started rising and rising getting worse and worse, it was pouring," she said.

"It looks like everything is going under. The water is flowing through nice and quickly, probably just past ankle height now (inside the home) and that's happened in the last hour so it's rising really quickly."

Mrs Matthews has lived on the street for three and a half years and never experienced a flood like last nights.

"I had a cry in the middle of the street," she said. "I had a big sook and then decided that I've got to get on with it.

"(We) tried to get the cars out of the garage, tried to get the animals onto higher ground and then helped a few neighbours out."

Darrol Hancock, 56, raced to his home in Londonderry from work when he heard about the floods.

"It (water) was up to the fence and it's still rising."

"Last time we had a flood this bad it was 1990, but it didn't come as high as this."

Mr Hancock believes the area floods when Rickabys Creek can't cope with the rainfall.

State Emergency Services assisted in evacuations and road closures.

Police turned westbound traffic around on the Great Western Highway at Werrington.

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Suicide among children as young as 11 at alarming levels - The Canberra Times

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Senior bureaucrats stood down over disabled travel fiasco - Sydney Morning Herald

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Seeny forced to deny leadership ambitions - The Australian

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THE Coalition has denied speculation of an internal ban on social media. - NEWS.com.au

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Should the private health insurance rebate be means-tested? - Sydney Morning Herald

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Labor carbon tax ads broke rules - The Australian

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PM stresses support for blue collar jobs - Business Spectator

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has further entrenched her appeal to Australia's blue collar workers by reiterating her support for auto industry subsidies and saying her job is to run the economy “in the interest of working people”, while accusing the Coalition of supporting wealthy voters at the expense of blue collar workers, according to a report by The Australian.

Ms Gillard dismissed Coalition claims that Labor's carbon tax will hurt the country's already weakened manufacturing sector, calling it a “disgusting” example of scaremongering.

However, Coalition leader Tony Abbott's claims were supported by Alcoa managing director Alan Cransberg, who yesterday said the carbon tax would increase pressure on his company, which yesterday announced a review into the future of its Point Henry aluminium smelter at Geelong.

“Obviously post July 1 that will make life more difficult for us,” Mr Cransberg said, according to The Australian, referring to the carbon tax. “Post July 1 we have obviously got another challenge to overcome and we're very keen on doing that.”

But yesterday Ms Gillard insisted her government supporting the manufacturing sector.

“We, unlike Mr Abbott, believe that the economy should be run in the interest of working people, that we should have a diverse economy for the future, that manufacturing should take its part and that the car industry needs to be part of that.”

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Victorian man found dead in Laos hotel room - Ninemsn

The bodies of a young Melbourne backpacker and a woman have been found in a Laos hotel room.

Staff at a hotel in the central province of Luang Prabang came across the bodies at the weekend, a spokesperson from the Provincial Tourist Police told ninemsn.

It is believed the bodies had been in the room for several days before staff noticed and called police.

ninemsn has received unconfirmed reports the woman was his Dutch girlfriend.

The Dutch embassy in Bangkok indicated they were aware of reports of a missing person in Laos, but they would not provide further details.

"We can't give you any information about any person at this time because of privacy," a Dutch embassy spokesman said.

Do you know more? Let us know by sending an email to news.feedback@ninemsn.com.au

The 22-year-old is the third Australian to die in Laos in the past month.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade today confirmed the death but would not disclose how the man died.

"Consular staff in Australia are providing assistance to the man’s family," a spokesperson told ninemsn.

DFAT learned of the death yesterday from the Foreign Relations Office in Laos.

The family, who live in the inner western suburb of Yarraville, have been informed of the tragedy.

The death comes after 19-year-old Melbourne man Daniel Eimutis was found in a river three days after going tubing with friends in Vang Vieng two weeks ago.

Daniel, a strong swimmer, did not return to his guesthouse after he went tubing and is believed to have drowned.

Earlier in the month, 26-year-old Sydneysider Lee Hudswell was also killed while tubing in Vang Vieng.

It is believed he landed badly after jumping off a tower into the river.

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Land-rights protesters confront Premier - ABC Online

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Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 08/02/2012

Reporter:

Western Australia's Premier Colin Barnett has been confronted by about 50 protesters who describe a billion-dollar native title deal as a sham.

TONY JONES, PRESENTER: West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has been confronted by protestors opposing a prospective billion dollar native title deal.

About 50 protestors voiced their anger outside a meeting between the State Government and the South-West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council.

Protestors say the deal covering Perth and the state's south-west is a sham and won't benefit the majority of the region's Indigenous people.

Mr Barnett waited inside for half an hour due to security concerns before being escorted to his car.

PROTESTOR: In 10 years' time there'll be nothing for our generations after us.

COLIN BARNETT, WA PREMIER: Yes, there are protestors, there are people who don't agree. There are people in the white community, if you like, who don't agree with this settlement either, but the vast majority of people do support it.

TONY JONES: Some protestors carried a small tent which they later set up at state Parliament.

Today's events came just a fortnight after angry protests in Canberra about the future of the Aboriginal tent embassy.

Do you have a comment or a story idea? Get in touch with the Lateline team by clicking here.

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I'm not a wowser, Newman tells Christians - Brisbane Times

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Search for husband of dead Greta woman - Newcastle Herald

A MAJOR search is under way for the husband of a Hunter woman found strangled in the back shed of her grandmother’s house as investigators reveal they have no ‘‘formal’’ suspects in the murder.

Darren Fishburn, 42, has not been seen since the body of his wife, Tammy, was discovered by her daughter on the floor of the back shed of the Greta home on Tuesday morning.

The search is centred on bushland at the southern end of Lake Macquarie, near Wyee and Morisset, after Mr Fishburn’s mobile phone was tracked to the area.

The phone signal has not moved since it was discovered on Tuesday.

Mr Fishburn is a known four-wheel drive enthusiast and police are also seeking his missing red 1989 model Nissan Patrol with registration plates YAE-923.

Strike Force Wintervale detectives will only say they hold concerns for the welfare of Mr Fishburn after confirming they were now treating his wife’s death as murder.

Mrs Fishburn, whom relatives said also went by her maiden name of Sindermann, is believed to have been killed on Monday night and left on the property owned by her elderly grandmother, Irma Sindermann.

Mr and Mrs Fishburn had been living at the Wyndham Street property.

Early autopsy results have confirmed the 43-year-old was strangled.

Irma Sindermann, who has lived in Greta for more than 50 years, was found unharmed inside the house and is being cared for by relatives.

Hunter Valley crime manager Detective Inspector Trent King said it was too early to release how relatives had known to look in the shed for Mrs Fishburn or any motive for the murder.

Detective Inspector King said investigators were starting to take formal statements from relatives and friends.

They did not have any formal suspects.

The Polair helicopter joined members of the Public Order and Riot Squad and other police in searching bushland near the banks of Lake Macquarie near Wyee yesterday after failing to find any trace of Mr Fishburn on Tuesday afternoon. The riot squad was called as part of its charter of being search experts.

A triangulation of Mr Fishburn’s mobile signal identified an area around the south-western edge of Lake Macquarie and across the water to Swansea as being where the mobile could be.

Neighbours say the couple were friendly, with Mr Fishburn enjoying showing people his large live snake collection at the Greta property.

Information should be forwarded to Hunter Valley police or Crime Stoppers on 1800333000.

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Detention centre running costs reach $1bn - Sydney Morning Herald

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Defence apologises to whistleblowers - Adelaide Now

Defence Minister Stephen Smith said Defence secretary Duncan Lewis had written apology letters to the three. / AAP Source: AAP

DEFENCE has formally apologised to three whistleblowers who revealed how incorrect and even fabricated data was regularly inserted into security vetting applications.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith said Defence Department secretary Duncan Lewis had written apology letters to the three yesterday.

Those letters were either delivered or in the post, he said.

Mr Smith said the recommendation to apologise to the three defence officials was in his view absolutely correct.

"And that's been done," he told ABC Television.

The issue emerged last year when the three Defence Security Authority (DSA) workers from the vetting centre in Brisbane told the ABC they regularly faked information, such as addresses or previous workplaces, on security documents. Defence initially rejected these claims.

In a report tabled in Parliament yesterday, Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Dr Vivienne Thom confirmed that was exactly what happened.

The problems arose because security vetting forms required applicants to provide a very detailed account of their life, including full dates and details of education, previous employers and overseas travel.

Many applicants simply didn't know all this information and left fields blank.

However the electronic forms would not upload to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) unless all field were filled.

So vetting centre employees resorted to what were termed "workarounds", inserting their own data, sometimes moving dates to fill gaps or fabricating addresses or employers.

Defence is now undertaking the arduous task of checking all the applications for incorrect data.

Mr Smith said he could give no guarantee that someone had not slipped through the vetting process.

"My own judgment is in the high or top security levels, there is a low risk," he said.

"But that is not a risk that we can either be complacent about or take for granted and we simply have to go through security assessment by security assessment individually to ensure that each and every one are eliminated."

Mr Smith said 3100 of 5300 applications had been checked with no change to the outcome.

"I hope that is the outcome for all of them. My own judgment is we are dealing here with a low risk but it is a low risk which, if it comes to pass, there are high and adverse and serious consequences," he said.

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