Small steps to reconciliation on Oz Day

IT was a small step, but a significant one.

At around 8am (AEDT) on Saturday, before the obligatory family barbecues and citizenship ceremonies were under way across the country, the Aboriginal and Australian flags were slowly raised on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

It was the first time both flags have flown side by side atop the bridge on Australia Day.

But while the iconic bridge may have become a symbol of unity for the day, many Aboriginal people see little reason to celebrate January 26, which also marks 225 years since the First Fleet arrived.

About 50 people marked the day near Canberra's tent embassy by announcing the country's first Aboriginal political party, formed in the Northern Territory two years ago, would contest this year's federal election.

There were calls for people to stand up for their rights and end the NT intervention program, but no repeat of the angry protests that marred last year's Australia Day celebrations in the nation's capital.

In Sydney, NSW Governor Marie Bashir said Captain Arthur Phillip knew he was an intruder who would change the lives of Aboriginal people forever.

"We are walking together, I believe, as one people," she said of steps being taken toward reconciliation.

The message of "one people" rang true on Saturday for the more than 17,000 people from 145 countries who took the citizenship pledge to become freshly-minted Aussies.

At a ceremony in Canberra, National Australia Day Council chair Adam Gilchrist told a crowd new citizens will enjoy all the opportunities Australia can provide.

"There's no doubt we are richer, we are stronger and a more egalitarian country because they and many others choose to come here," he said.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who was born in the UK, said she was a proud member of the millions who had taken the pledge since 1949.

"As migrants - all four million of us - we did not just adopt a new country," she said.

"This is your new country, and you'll never want another. Welcome to citizenship. Welcome to Australia. Welcome home."

World-renowned British actor Miriam Margolyes, known for her roles in the television comedy Blackadder and as Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter films, was among those to take the pledge in Canberra.

"I'm just very happy to be here, and I will be with friends and the rest of my life will be joyous," she said.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott told an Australia Day breakfast and citizenship ceremony in Adelaide that new citizens are changing the country for the better.

Change should be welcomed "when it's in accordance with the customs and traditions of our people", he said.

Thousands of people turned out in Sydney's CBD to watch The Wiggles unveil their new line-up, as indigenous artist Jessica Mauboy performed on a floating stage in Sydney Harbour.

In Tamworth, country music fans lined the town's main drag for an annual cavalcade celebrating both Australia Day and the finale of the iconic 10-day country music festival.

There was less fanfare in Queensland, where Premier Campbell Newman warned Australia Day revellers to batten down the hatches as heavy downpours threatened parts of the state with flooding.

Gladstone was declared a disaster area, while mini-tornadoes damaged scores of buildings and injured up to 20 people in Bargara, Burnett Heads and other townships in the Bundaberg district.

Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan said the second anniversary of the Queensland floods this year reminded him of those who pulled together to help friends and strangers faced with losing everything.

"The Australian spirit is never stronger than when we face these kinds of events together," he said.

Victorians were reminded to remember the volunteers spending their Australia Day fighting blazes in some parts of the state and dealing with the aftermath of others.

Thousands of Tasmanians gathered for a concert at the same pub in Dunally, in the state's east, where ferocious bushfires tore through the region earlier this month.

Local Mayor Kerry Vincent said despite the horror the bushfires brought with them, the community was coming together in the spirit of solidarity.

In Western Australia, more than 2500 new citizens from 92 countries took the pledge at more than 80 citizenship ceremonies around the state, including the second-largest in the country, at Wanneroo in Perth's north.

In the United States, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wished all Aussies a safe and happy Australia Day and reiterated that the US remains a committed partner and friend.

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Militant groups clash kills 24 in Pakistan

PESHAWAR Jan 26 AP - A Pakistani official says clashes between two Islamic militant groups over control of a prized valley near the Afghan border have killed 24 people.

Arshad Khan of the Khyber tribal region says the clashes started on Friday when the main militant group Tehrik-e-Taliban captured a base of another militant group, Ansarul Islam, in the Tirah valley.

Ansarul Islam then tried to retake the base, with fighting continuing into the next day.

A military officer speaking on condition of anonymity said most of the dead were militants but some local tribesmen were also killed.

The remote and mountainous valley is valued by militant groups as a base.

It's difficult for the Pakistani military to enter and allows militants easy access to Afghanistan and other tribal agencies.

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Motorcyclist, 44, dead after hitting pole

A MOTORCYCLIST has died after he lost control and struck a power pole in Melbourne's outer southwest.

The 44-year-old man was travelling along Virgilia Drive at Hoppers Crossing when he lost control at a bend in the road and hit the pole at around 4.35pm (AEDT) on Saturday, police said.

Paramedics tried to revive the Hoppers Crossing man, but he died at the scene.

Police on Saturday also advised a Chinese woman had died in hospital after a car crash in Victoria's east earlier this month.

The 62-year-old had to be airlifted to Royal Melbourne Hospital after the car she was travelling in hit a tree at Noorinbee on January 7.

Police believe the driver, a 58-year-old man also from China, lost control of the vehicle. He suffered minor injuries.

Victoria's 2013 road toll stands at 14, compared to 24 at the same time in 2012.

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Buttrose named Australian of the Year

Ita Buttrose has been named Australian of the Year for her media career and health care campaigns. Source: AAP

PUBLISHING icon Ita Buttrose has been named Australian of the Year.

The 71-year-old was on Friday honoured at a ceremony in Canberra for her extraordinary and groundbreaking media career and role in raising awareness of health and media issues.

Ms Buttrose said she was honoured to follow in the footsteps of so many distinguished Australians.

"This is one of the proudest moments of my life," she said, her voicing quavering slightly.

"How wonderful to be honoured for doing something that I've thoroughly enjoyed doing for most of my life - being a journalist and working for causes for which I have a genuine passion and commitment."

Ms Buttrose said as Australian of the Year she would seek to promote a more positive approach to ageing by combating ageist attitudes.

She will also seek to promote preventative health strategies.

"I believe preventative health strategies need to begin in childhood and be followed all through life," she said.

Born in Sydney's Potts Point, Ms Buttrose began her career as a 15-year-old copy girl at the Australian Women's Weekly, before scoring a spot as a cadet journalist on the women's section at the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph.

She was appointed women's editor of the newspapers at just 23. But it was as founding editor of Cleo magazine that she shot to national prominence in the 1970s.

Cleo was an instant hit, becoming the top-selling monthly women's magazine in the country.

Three years later she was appointed editor of the Women's Weekly.

In 1980 she became the first woman editor of an Australian metropolitan newspaper - the Murdoch-owned Daily Telegraph, and later the Sunday Telegraph.

She was the first woman appointed to the News Limited Board in 1981.

Ms Buttrose has also used her prominence to raise awareness of health issues like breast cancer, HIV/AIDS and prostate cancer.

She has been National President of Alzheimer's Australia since 2011 and is also Vice President Emeritus of Arthritis Australia.

"I look forward to many more years to contributing what I can towards the health challenges facing our country," she said.

Last year Ms Buttrose was the subject of a television drama, Paper Giants.

Her children Kate Macdonald and Ben Macdonald were in the audience to see their mother honoured at the Canberra ceremony.

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Refugee is Young Australian of the Year

Akram Azimi was named the Young Australian of the Year for his work with indigenous communities. Source: AAP

HE fled Afghanistan with his mother and brother at the height of a bloody civil war, arriving in Australia a child refugee.

Now, 25-year-old Akram Azimi is the 2013 Young Australian of the Year.

"This country has been incredibly good to me," he said in a video presentation before the award was announced.

The West Australian local was on Friday awarded the honour in Canberra for his mentoring work with indigenous communities and people with disability.

He said Australia was "home to one of the world's oldest cultures" and he was lucky to be able to interact with that.

Mr Azimi was born in Kabul in 1987 and during his earlier years the Taliban viciously consolidated its power in the country through a vicious civil conflict involving warring tribal factions.

In 1999 he fled with his family, arriving in Perth and enrolling in Warwick Senior High School.

At first "an ostracised refugee kid with no prospects", Mr Azimi excelled academically and rose to become head boy of the school.

He also graduated school dux, topping his tertiary entrance exam scores among his classmates, and went on to study a triple major in law, science and arts at the University of Western Australia.

But it was his philanthropic work with the disadvantaged in the community that piqued the interest of those tasked with choosing an inspirational young Australian to receive the annual honour.

For three years, Mr Azimi mentored young indigenous Australians in the remote community of Looma in the Kimberley region, and primary school students in a small farming community in the WA wheat belt.

In 2011, he co-founded a student-run initiative to raise awareness about indigenous issues in universities, and has also worked with the True Blue Dreaming, a youth mentoring network.

Mr Azimi is also mentoring a Special Olympics athlete to raise public awareness about disability issues.

He lives with his family in the Perth suburb of Marangaroo.

Mr Azimi says he did not know the language or culture when he arrived in Australia but his family has thrived here and he has found a deep connection with the country.

He thanked his "family" in the Kimberley for mentoring him, as well as his mother, Afghan family and other Australians who have believed in him.

"This award isn't really about me, it is about you. Because without you I could not have done anything," he told the crowd.

He acknowledged the traditional custodians of "this living land".

"I pay my respects not out of protocol but out of the self-evident truth that the dreaming has not ended. It lives on. We are all a part of it."

He said the Kimberley and its red dirt and beautiful people had opened his heart until he began to see Australia through "indigenous" eyes.

"It is with these eyes that I see us all here ... sharing the sacredness of each other's stories," he said.

"Loving our indigenous heritage as we love our European heritage, Afghan heritage, Asian heritage, your heritage."

More than 700 people turned out in the warm weather to watch the award presentations in front of Parliament House.

Others, some flag-adorned, some waving flags, watched on from the nearby lawns.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the winners had done much to serve and enrich the nation.

Among the official guests were Nova Peris with her children, Brendan Nelson and Adam Spencer.

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Physician is Senior Australian of the year

INTERNATIONALLY recognised South Australian palliative care specialist Emeritus Professor Ian Maddocks has been named the 2013 Senior Australian of the Year.

Prof Maddocks, 82, was honoured on Friday for his work as a specialist and academic and his passionate advocacy for peace at the Australian of the Year awards ceremony in Canberra.

Receiving his award, Prof Maddocks said he was still keen to promote palliative care as a general part of medicine practice.

"We shall all die. Some of us will deny the approach of death. Some will experience difficult treatments and then be told there's nothing to be done," he said.

"Palliative care affirms that there is always something that can be done."

More than 700 people turned out in the warm weather to watch the award presentations in front of Parliament House.

Others, some flag-adorned, some waving flags, watched on from the nearby lawns.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the winners had done much to serve and enrich the nation.

An Emeritus Professor at Flinders University, the octogenarian from the Adelaide beachside suburb of Seacliff still provides care for the terminally ill and continues to supervise postgraduate students.

Prof Maddocks has been a key leader in the Medical Association for the Prevention of War and the Nobel Peace Prize winning group, the International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War.

The married father of three, and grandfather to five, was appointed Professor of Palliative Care at Flinders University in 1988.

Prof Maddocks was the first President of the Australian Association for Hospice and Palliative Care, and the first President of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Palliative Medicine.

He was also a specialist physician in the Australian Administration of Papua New Guinea for 14 years, and in 1971 became Foundation Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Papua New Guinea.

Prof Maddocks was born in Hamilton, Victoria, in 1931.

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Outback town braces for refinery news

THE Northern Territory outback town of Nhulunbuy is facing a devastating blow, as a government bid to save an alumina refinery may be too little too late.

Nhulunbuy, a satellite town of the Gove alumina refinery and bauxite mine, has been waiting anxiously for news of whether mining giant Rio Tinto will keep the operation going.

Analysts say the refinery has recently been losing $US30 million each month, or about $200 million in the past 12 months.

Western Australia state manager of Patersons Securities, Lewis Fellowes, expects Rio Tinto to mothball the site.

"Is Rio Tinto prepared to continue to operate on a plant that is currently losing $US30 million per month for at least the next 18 months in the current aluminium environment?"

"My answer to that is no," Mr Fellowes told AAP.

Independent gas analyst Peter Strachan said Rio Tinto under new managing director Sam Walsh would be more likely to shut down the site.

Once closed, it was unlikely Rio would ever re-open it, he said.

"It will be like a dog going back to its own vomit," he said.

The miner has said a report on the viability of the Gove operation will be completed before the end of January.

Rio Tinto subsidiary Pacific Aluminium that runs the Gove plant has sought assurances from the territory government that the diesel-fuelled plant can be converted to run on natural gas, but such a move could lead to a gas shortage in the NT.

The NT government on Wednesday came back to the company with a proposal that would involve giving them an allocation of gas, so long as reserves can be found elsewhere.

Mr Strachan said under the government's plan it would probably take at least two and a half years for any new gas discovery to be exploited, with a long lag before a pipeline could take the gas to Gove.

Rio Tinto has indicated it wants to write down $US14 billion ($A13.34 billion) in assets, mostly from its aluminium division, and an announcement on the writedowns is expected on February 14 when the company's annual results are released.

Dave Suter from the Nhulunbuy Chamber of Commerce and Industry said businesses in the town were concerned.

"If you take 800 men out of the refinery and the associated families, which is probably about 1500 or 1600 including kids, out of a town of 3500 people, then you have a bit of a crisis, so to speak," Mr Suter said.

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Tricia the Perth Zoo elephant turns 56

PERTH Zoo's beloved Asian elephant and longest resident Tricia has celebrated her 56th birthday in fitting style, with a jumbo cake.

The 1.5m frozen cake was made of Sultana Bran, some of her favourite fruits including watermelon and pineapple, and decorated with flowers and branches.

Tricia arrived in Perth from Singapore in 1963 and is the matriarch of the elephant herd, which also includes 23-year-old female Permai and 23-year-old male Putra Mas.

Zookeeper Kirsty Carey said the elephants were remarkable, intelligent and caring animals with individual personalities.

"Tricia is very relaxed and affectionate. She gives a little rumble when she is happy and when she is really excited she will roar," she said.

Ms Carey said Tricia loved her painting sessions, which were part of an enrichment program for the elephants to provide them with physical and mental stimulation.

"In terms of ageing, like people, Tricia sometimes pretends she can't remember when we ask her to do something," she joked.

Tricia now has less hair than younger elephants and she is on her sixth - and final - set of teeth.

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Cold water poured on WA jail needle trial

THE West Australian government has ruled out a needle exchange program in the state's prisons.

The government says while it will look at a trial of the program in a Canberra prison, that does not mean a similar trial will be implemented in WA.

Mental Health Minister Helen Morton was speaking at an alcohol and drug forum in Perth on Thursday when she acknowledged the high percentage of inmates at Bandyup Women's Prison with blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis C.

Asked whether she would consider a needle exchange trial similar to one about to begin in the ACT, Ms Morton said she had only recently become aware of the trial.

Ms Morton later told AAP the state government was not considering a needle exchange program in WA prisons.

"I understand there is a potential trial being undertaken in the ACT, and I would like to hear and understand a little bit more about the impact of that," she said.

"This in no way indicates we are considering a trial for WA."

Corrective Services Minister Murray Cowper said the government had a zero-tolerance policy towards drugs in WA prisons.

"We have an opportunity to break the cycle of drug use while prisoners are in prison, and a needle exchange program would simply condone and maintain their ongoing drug use," he said.

The WA Prison Officers' Union says it would not support such a program.

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Stem cells used to grow kidney tissue

RESEARCHERS in Japan have succeeded in growing human kidney tissue from stem cells.

Kidneys have a complex structure that is not easily repaired once damaged. The breakthrough is a step towards helping a diseased or distressed organ fix itself.

Kenji Osafune of Kyoto University said on Wednesday his team had managed to take stem cells - the "blank slates" capable of being programmed to become any kind of cell in the body - and nudge them specifically in the direction of kidney tissue.

"It was a very significant step," he told AFP.

Osafune and his team created part of a urinary tubule, a small tube in the kidney used in the production of urine.

While the research was not aimed at growing an entire working kidney, he said it may provide a source of cells for regenerative therapy.

"I would say that we have arrived at the preliminary step on the road to the clinical level," he said.

Osafune's research is published in online science journal Nature Communications.

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Crossin to seek preselection despite odds

Labor MPs have described the dumping of Northern Territory Senator Trish Crossin as "brutal". Source: AAP

LABOR senator Trish Crossin will fight for her seat despite the prime minister's "captain's pick" of Olympian Nova Peris unanimously receiving the national executive's stamp of approval.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday defended her endorsement of Ms Peris for the number one Senate ticket spot in the Northern Territory, as the Labor incumbent Senator Crossin vowed to fight for her job, arguing the NT branch should have been consulted.

Senator Crossin told reporters in Melbourne she thinks Ms Peris' name should be put to a rank-and-file ballot, along with anyone else who may nominate in the coming days.

However Labor's national executive unanimously accepted Ms Peris as a member and will consider her, Senator Crossin and other nominees for preselection, before making a decision next week.

Aboriginal sovereignty campaigner Michael Anderson condemned the choice of Ms Peris, Australia's first Aboriginal Olympic gold medallist, who could also become the first indigenous woman in federal parliament.

"Ms Nova Peris has not been involved in major political processes, rallies or otherwise," the founder of the tent embassy in Canberra said on Wednesday.

"I do not have confidence in her ability to stand up for and fight the hard fight that is coming our way.

"Ms Peris is only being used as a public relations exercise for Labor."

However fellow Aboriginal Olympic gold medallist Cathy Freeman tweeted: "Nova Peris - what a great ambassador she would be for all Australians, Indigenous people, women and NT."

Ms Gillard said it was time Labor had an indigenous person in federal parliament, stating she knew the decision would be "controversial".

However her pick also dashes the hopes of former NT education minister Marion Scrymgour, who was Australia's first indigenous female minister, and had put up her hand to run against Ms Crossin.

Ms Scrymgour believes her views on the federal government's intervention in Aboriginal communities had counted against her.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said he welcomed more indigenous people in national politics but questioned the sidelining of Senator Crossin and Ms Scrymgour, who "may well have been able to win a preselection legitimately".

Former Democrats NSW senator Aden Ridgeway, who was the only indigenous representative in federal parliament during the rise of One Nation, supported Ms Peris's tilt at politics but warned she would carry a heavy load.

"Being preselected in a mainstream political party will mean she will have to toe the party line on policy," Mr Ridgeway told ABC radio.

Labor left co-convenor Senator Doug Cameron described the move against Senator Crossin as "a night of the long knives".

However Ms Peris said the prime minister "handled it the way that she saw".

"If you look at the Northern Territory, Labor lost its last election ... there was lack of representation from Aboriginal women in the NT," she told the Seven Network.

Former ALP national president and Aboriginal leader Warren Mundine, who quit the party out of frustration last year, said he was glad Ms Gillard had intervened.

"You can't go on continuing to say you are the champion of the indigenous people when you don't have an indigenous person sitting next to you in the parliament," he said.

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WA coast feels fury of Cyclone Peta

WEST Australia's Pilbara Coast has felt the force of category one Tropical Cyclone Peta, which was expected to weaken late on Wednesday.

The major export operations at Port Hedland were to resume on Wednesday after temporarily closing when Peta hit to the east of Point Samson.

Port Hedland Port Authority said conditions had improved, with the swell and wind reducing enough to allow shipping operations to restart from 4pm (WST).

The Bureau of Meteorology's alert just before 3pm (WST) said a cyclone warning continued in coastal areas from Port Hedland to Dampier, including Karratha.

Gales with gusts to 100km/h are expected close to the cyclone centre over the next few hours, the bureau said.

Squally thunderstorms are expected while locally heavy rainfall is possible, prompting a flood watch for the Pilbara.

Mining giant Rio Tinto closed its Cape Lambert facility at Port Walcott and Dampier port on Tuesday as it prepared for the wild weather and expects most of its coastal operations will resume on Thursday morning.

The resumption of ship loading will depend on prevailing sea conditions, however.

Although the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Peta could move back off the west Pilbara coast later in the week, it was not expected to redevelop into a tropical cyclone.

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Desert trek to help high-care need youths

Six Sydneysiders are to undertake an eight-day, 300km trek across the Simpson Desert for Youngcare. Source: AAP

SIX brave Sydneysiders will face an eight-day, 300km trek across arid sand dunes this May to help better the lives of young people with high-care needs.

The 2013 Simpson Desert Challenge raises funds for Youngcare, a national charity aimed at giving such young people better care and housing options, rather than leaving them in aged-care facilities.

About 7500 young people in Australia are currently living in aged-care facilities,

Youngcare CEO Mark Foley said on Tuesday the desert was chosen to reflect the isolation and mental and physical hardships young people in aged-care face daily.

"Aged care is no place for a young person," he said.

"Every young person deserves a young life."

The goal of this year's trek is to raise $700,000 to help build age-appropriate housing for youths in need.

For the launch of the challenge on Tuesday, part of Sydney's Wynyard Park was transformed into a temporary desert, complete with camels, much to the surprise of passers-by.

Six Sydneysiders have signed on for the challenge and will complete an intensive 17-week training program with an adventure trekking group founded by former Australian Army personnel.

Trekkers carry all their supplies in a 15kg backpack every day.

Jock Watson, 30, has been in aged care since the age of 22 after a serious car accident, and in 2011 his younger brothers, Tom and Angus, completed the desert challenge in support of him.

This year, Jock's friend, Sarah Scott-Paul, has committed to the trek.

Jock's mother, Jane Watson, believes every effort is needed to raise funds for the charity.

"He's living in an environment where people die and don't have potential," she said.

"My son has potential. He deserves to have a dignified life and needs somewhere to stimulate him, rather than depress him."

Those wishing to support the trekkers can go to the website www.youngcare.com.au/simpsondesert.

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Bali court sentences UK woman to death

AN Indonesian court has sentenced a British woman to death for smuggling cocaine onto the resort island of Bali.

Prosecutors had sought a 15-year sentence.

Lindsay June Sandiford, 56, was found guilty by the Denpasar District Court and sentenced on Tuesday.

In its verdict, a judge panel concluded Sandiford had damaged the image of Bali as a tourism destination and weakened the government's drug prevention program.

Sandiford was arrested in May when customs officers at Bali's airport discovered 3.8 kilograms of cocaine worth $US2.5 million ($A2.4 million) in her luggage.

She told the court she was forced to take the drugs into the country by a gang that was threatening to hurt one of her children.

There are more than 114 prisoners on death row in Indonesia. At least 40 of them are foreigners, most of whom have been convicted of drug crimes, according to a March 2012 report by Australia's Lowy Institute for International Policy.

Five foreigners have been executed since 1998, all for drug crimes.

There have been no executions in the country since 2008, when 10 people were put to death.

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Three rescued from sea by Vic boaters

THREE people have been rescued by recreational boaters in Victoria after the seaplane they were in flipped over off the coast of Geelong.

The pilot of the chartered flight and his two passengers climbed onto the upturned craft as it floated upside-down about 400 metres off the coast of the bayside city, according to a Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman.

They were spotted by about three separate boaters who came to their aid about 3.25pm (AEDT) on Tuesday near Cunningham Pier.

"There were three boats in the area that responded and rescued the people," a spokeswoman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said.

"They were small recreational boats, like tinnies."

The three people on board the plane have been taken to Geelong Hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft flip upon landing in the waters, although police could not yet provide confirmation.

Television prankster Bam Margera also witnessed the incident.

"Just about to drive a motorbike off a pier & get on a seaplane but the plane just crashed," he wrote on Twitter.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said they were waiting on more information before they decided whether to investigate.

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Self-funded retirees to suffer big losses

Self-funded retirees look set to lose $30m after Wickham Securities went into administration. Source: AAP

MORE than 300 self-funded retirees look set to lose about $30 million after the financial services firm Wickham Securities went into administration.

The directors of the Brisbane-based company have appointed Grant Sparks and David Leigh of PPB Advisory as administrators, a media statement said on Monday.

The administrators will report to creditors later this month, and a creditors meeting will be held in Brisbane on February 6.

A recommendation on the future of the company will be presented to the February 6 meeting.

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Four Dutchmen avoid crocs but have an itch

Four men have been rescued after spending a night up a tree to evade crocodiles in Darwin Harbour. Source: AAP

FOUR Dutchmen had a harrowing night after scrambling up a tree to avoid a crocodile when their boat capsized in rough seas in Darwin.

The four men aged in their 30s were stuck for more than 20 hours in mangroves after their boat capsized while they were trying to catch mud crabs in Darwin Harbour about 11am (CST) on Sunday.

"There was one croc, but the sandflies, they really get you," one of the men later said.

Director of CareFlight, Ian Badham, said apart from being covered in insect bites, the men were in good health despite their ordeal.

"After their boat capsized they got themselves into the mangroves and spent the night in the tallest mangrove tree they could find," Mr Badham said.

"They were bitten savagely by sandflies and mosquitoes and were very worried about being eaten by larger things.

"They did see crocodiles, but they (the men) stayed out of the water," he said.

It was only on Monday just after 8am (CST) when the tide went out that the men were able to get back to their small craft and activate the emergency beacon, Mr Badham said.

The beacon alerted the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which alerted the Northern Territory Police, CareFlight and a commercial helicopter.

The commercial helicopter spotted the men and CareFlight then winched them up to safety and across to a sandbar to be checked out.

On Sunday night Darwin was buffeted by gusty winds up to 50km/h and up to 25mm of rain fell.

Larry Tessman from Jayrow Helicopters, the first to spot the men, said they were relieved to see his chopper.

"They were in the mangroves and mud, and one bloke came out and waved to us," he said.

"They did say there was a croc watching them," he added.

Mr Badham said the men were okay but feeling embarrassed.

"They kept a level head overnight, were sensible and because of that they are alive," he said.

"They are looking forward to cleaning up and having a shower and having a beer."

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Renters' reprieve: Sydney market eases

A survey shows rental vacancy rates have edged up to 1.9 per cent across Sydney in December. Source: AAP

SYDNEY renters looking for new digs have had some relief these holidays, with rental vacancy rates edging up to 1.9 per cent across the city in December.

The vacancy rate in the Hunter hit a two-year high of 2.1 per cent and in Coffs Harbour, renters could take their pick, with 3.7 per cent of rental properties empty.

But the Real Estate Institute of NSW, which released the December survey results on Monday, has warned the higher vacancy rates are unlikely to last.

"Traditionally January and February are peak periods for change all over the state as school leavers, university students and people moving jobs settle into new properties," REINSW president Christian Payne said.

"In 2013 we expect the vacancy rate to quickly reduce back to the tight levels seen in 2012 due to the rising population and lack of new housing developments."

The vacancy rate for Newcastle was 1.6 per cent in December, up from 1.2 per cent in November, while the Illawarra remained steady with a fall of just 0.1 per cent to 2.1 per cent.

There was no change for Wollongong at 2.5 per cent.

Outside Sydney, the hardest place to find rental accommodation was the mid-north coast, where availability fell 0.2 per cent to 1.8 per cent in December.

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Ned Kelly laid to rest 132 years later

Bushranger Ned Kelly has been laid to rest at a Victorian cemetery 132 years after he was hanged. Source: AAP

BUSHRANGER Ned Kelly's final wish has been realised more than 132 years after he was hanged.

Kelly was laid to rest on Sunday beside the unmarked grave of his mother at a cemetery in the tiny northeast Victorian town of Greta, not far from Glenrowan where he had his last stand in June 1880.

Kelly's burial brings about the realisation of his dying wish of a traditional Catholic burial in consecrated ground alongside his loved ones.

A marquee surrounded the gravesite during the burial which was attended by dozens of his descendants.

Kelly's great-grand-niece, Joanne Griffiths, said the family was happy to finally put things right.

"I think we all feel really relieved and proud after all the work to try and achieve this, that finally he was given his final wish," she said.

"Regardless of what people might think now ... this is not the day for judgment this is just the day for burying a family member.

"We are really, really happy to achieve that and at least put that part to rest, put things right."

The burial came after a funeral service in nearby Wangaratta on Friday.

More than 200 descendants, along with many interested members of the public attended the mass.

Kelly was hanged in 1880 after shooting dead three policeman.

His skull has been missing since 1978 when it was stolen from a display case at the Old Melbourne Gaol.

Reportedly, Kelly's remains will be encased in concrete to ensure his bones are not stolen.

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Uncontrolled fire burning in SA

AN uncontrolled fire burning in south eastern South Australia may threaten public safety, authorities have warned.

The bushfire at Greenways, south of Adelaide, is travelling in a northerly direction towards Cortina Station, the CFS says.

The fire is burning between Woodleigh Rd and Jorgensons Rd.

"The fire is not controlled and is burning in scrub and conditions are continually changing," a CFS statement said.

The CFS says it is attending the fire and has urged residents to follow their bushfire survival plans.

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Two NSW children approached by a man

A SISTER and brother have been approached by a stranger who tried to entice them into his car on NSW's midnorth coast.

The 12-year-old girl and five-year-old boy were playing in a vacant lot near their home in James Grimwade Place, East Kempsey, about 1.30pm (AEDT) on Sunday, police say.

A red Nissan four-wheel-drive with a silver bull bar stopped on the roadway, and a man with curly brown hair and a clean-shaven face called the children over.

They approached and the driver, aged in his mid to late 40s, asked them to get into the car.

The pair immediately ran home and told their mother what had happened.

Police are appealing or information about a man who may be able to assist with their inquiries.

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