Ex-Canada envoy offended by Affleck film

THE Canadian former ambassador to Iran who protected Americans at great personal risk during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis says it will reflect poorly on Ben Affleck if he doesn't say a few words about Canada's role if the director's film Argo wins the Oscar for best picture.

But Ken Taylor - who said he feels slighted by the movie because it makes Canada look like a meek observer to CIA heroics in the rescue of six US citizens caught in the crisis - is not expecting it.

"I would hope he would. If he doesn't than it's a further reflection," Taylor said.

"But given the events of the last while I'm not necessarily anticipating anything."

Taylor kept the Americans hidden at the embassy in Tehran and facilitated their escape by getting fake passports and plane tickets for them.

He became a hero in Canada and the US afterwards. The role he played in helping the Americans to freedom was minimised in the film.

"In general it makes it seem like the Canadians were just along for the ride. The Canadians were brave. Period," Taylor said.

Affleck's thriller is widely expected to win the best picture trophy.

Two other high-profile best picture nominees this year, Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty and Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, have also been criticised for their portrayal of some factual issues.

Affleck said in a statement on Friday night he thought his issue with Taylor had been resolved.

"I admire Ken very much for his role in rescuing the six houseguests. I consider him a hero. In light of my many conversations as well as a change to an end card that Ken requested I am surprised that Ken continues to take issue with the film," he said in a statement.

"I spoke to him recently when he asked me to narrate a documentary he is prominently featured in, and yet he didn't mention any lingering concerns."

Taylor noted that former US President Jimmy Carter appeared on CNN on Thursday night and said "90 per cent of the contributions to the ideas and the consummation of the plan was Canadian", but the film "gives almost full credit to the American CIA".

Carter also called Argo a complete distortion of what happened when he accepted an honorary degree from Queen's University in Canada in November.

"I saw the movie Argo recently and I was taken aback by its distortion of what happened because almost everything that was heroic, or courageous or innovative was done by Canada and not the United States," Carter said.

Taylor said there would be no movie without the Canadians.

"We took the six in without being asked so it starts there," Taylor said. "And the fact that we got them out with some help from the CIA then that's where the story loses itself. I think Jimmy Carter has it about right, it was 90 per cent Canada, 10 per cent the CIA."

He said CIA agent Tony Mendez, played by Affleck in the film, was only in Iran for a day and a half.

The movie also makes no mention of John Sheardown, a deputy at the Canadian embassy who sheltered some of the Americans.

Taylor said it was Sheardown who took the first call and agreed right away to take the Americans in. Sheardown recently died and his wife, Zena, called the movie disappointing.

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Griggs wins NT preselection

SITTING member Natasha Griggs will again contest the Lower House seat of Solomon in this year's federal election after winning party endorsement.

The Country Liberal Party (CLP) on Saturday voted to preselect Ms Griggs for the seat, which covers Darwin and the nearby city of Palmerston.

It had been expected the preselection contest would be tough, with Darwin doctor Peter Bourke up against Ms Griggs.

"I am absolutely delighted," Ms Griggs said from Tennant Creek where the CLP Central Council met to vote on the candidates.

"I am ready to once again take the fight to Labor for the people of the Territory," she said.

Following the announcement of her victory Ms Griggs spoke with Dr Bourke.

"He said he would support me and while he was disappointed he understands the party processes," she said.

Senator Nigel Scullion was again endorsed for the number one spot on the CLP's ticket for the Northern Territory, with Linda Fazldeen winning the second spot.

The CLP's Central Council meeting will wrap up on Sunday, with some in the party privately speculating a vote of no-confidence will be held in NT Chief Minister Terry Mills.

Mr Mills has angered some in the party because of recent decisions to raise electricity prices in the NT by 30 per cent.

After a big swing against the CLP in a recent by-election NT Attorney-General John Elferink began counting numbers for a possible leadership challenge to Mr Mills.

The challenge never eventuated and Mr Elferink offered his resignation, but Mr Mills allowed him to retain his portfolio.

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Two dead as storms rip through NSW

FLOODING in NSW has claimed two lives, cut roads and power and prompted evacuation orders for communities along the mid-north coast.

A 17-year-old boy died after being swept into a drainpipe on Friday night as he was collecting golf balls in waist-deep water in the town of Kew.

Early on Saturday afternoon the body of a man was found in his submerged car on a flooded road at Mylneford, about 20km northwest of Grafton.

NSW Police have urged motorists to avoid driving into floodwaters following the man's death and more than 20 rescues from floodwaters as a low pressure system tracked south bringing heavy rain and winds.

Evacuation orders were issued on Saturday for communities along the mid-north coast as rising rivers were predicted to overtop levees and cause flooding.

Kempsey's central business district was expected to be flooded late on Saturday night.

The flooding has forced roads closures, including parts of the Pacific Highway and other major routes, and the wild weather has cut power to thousands of residents.

Around 100 train passengers on the Countrylink XPT service from Sydney to Casino were trapped for nearly 17 hours after fallen trees, floodwaters and a landslide stopped the train three times before it reached Coffs Harbour at midday on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a Westpac Lifesaver rescue helicopter on Saturday afternoon flew a family of eight, including a newborn baby, to Port Macquarie from a farm cut off by floodwaters about 30km west of Wauchope.

The chopper was also diverted to rescue a woman trapped in her car by floodwaters.

On Saturday afternoon an evacuation order was issued for downtown residents and businesses of Kempsey as the Macleay River rose and was expected to flood the central business district on Saturday night.

Another evacuation order was issued for low-lying parts of Port Macquarie and surrounds while other communities, including around Grafton and Bellingen, as well as parts of Lismore in the state's north, were issued with warnings.

The Bureau of Meteorology predicted the Macleay River at Kempsey Bridge would peak near 7.3 metres at 6am (AEDT) on Sunday with further rises possible.

NSW's Transport Management Centre urged motorists not to travel on the mid-north or north coast because of closures in place on the Pacific and Oxley Highways and other major roads.

It said the New England Highway remained an alternative route to and from Queensland.

The State Emergency Service said that by mid-Saturday afternoon it had attended 2162 call-outs in storm-affected communities.

It said nearly 18,400 people and 7350 dwellings were subject to evacuation orders in northeast NSW and around 3700 people were isolated by floodwaters.

Up to 20,000 residents were affected by power cuts caused by storms.

The Bureau of Meteorology said the low would track slowly towards the southwest to be near Dubbo late on Saturday evening, with widespread rain expected in eastern NSW.

Gales were expected in coastal areas with damaging gusts and surf but conditions are expected to ease on Sunday.

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Industry exaggerated $1 bet-limit costs

THE gambling industry has exaggerated the costs of placing s $1 maximum bet limit on poker machines, a Productivity Commission expert says.

The Joint Select Committee on Gambling Reform held a hearing in Canberra on Friday to investigate the merits of a Greens private member's bill to restrict gambling losses to $120 an hour.

High-stakes poker machines can chew through $1200 an hour.

The Productivity Commission recommended in a 2010 report the $1 bet limit be phased in over time, along with mandatory precommitment technology.

However, assistant commissioner Dr Ralph Lattimore told the committee there had been "significant exaggerations of the real cost" of the proposal.

The gambling industry has estimated the cost of introducing $1 maximum bets at between $3 billion to $5 billion, while the Department of Community Services calculated the cost at $1 billion.

Dr Lattimore said those estimates did not take into account the depreciation of poker machines and were based on immediate timeframes rather than a gradual phase-in periods.

"The cost of doing it the way we proposed would be less than that," he said.

Under the watered-down measures against problem gambling passed by federal parliament last year, poker machines will have to be capable of carrying mandatory precommitment technology by 2018.

Asked whether machines could also be made $1 bet-ready, Dr Lattimore replied, "It wouldn't be difficult from a technological perspective."

"There is no reason you can't have a flexible machine ... it would be valuable from the point of view of lowering the costs of experimentation," he said.

Dr Lattimore said there would be "incremental" additional costs to have machines readied for both the $1 bet limit and mandatory precommitment.

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Volunteer firefighter dies in WA blaze

A VOLUNTEER firefighter has died while battling a blaze southeast of Perth.

The man was killed in a bushfire at Quindanning, near Williams, about 150km southeast of Perth, a Worksafe spokeswoman said.

Police can't access the area where he died because the fire is still burning and it's unsafe to do so, she said.

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Wanted man 'armed and dangerous'

Police are searching for an armed man in connection with the death of a Sydney factory worker. Source: AAP

POLICE are searching for an "armed and dangerous" man they believe killed a factory worker in a fit of rage outside his Sydney workplace.

Gordon Cramp, 37, has an arrest warrant out on him for murder following the death of a 65-year-old man in Dunheved on Thursday morning.

The victim's body was found in the yard of a factory on Links Road at 5.30am (AEDT).

Cramp is believed to be armed and dangerous and police are warning the public not to approach him.

He is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 165cm tall, with a thin build and short dark hair.

St Mary's Local Area commander Superintendent Ray Filewood told AAP on Friday that Cramp worked at the factory last year but was laid off.

It's thought he was looking for another man who held a senior position at the factory but instead attacked the 65-year-old man.

"It appears in a fit of rage he's fatally wounded this chap. There doesn't seem to be any provocation to it.

"That's why we have concerns for him being in the community," Supt Filewood said.

He said Cramp was known for carrying knives and in the past had possessed firearms.

Supt Filewood said Cramp was still believed to be in the area of St Mary's, Penrith, Mt Druitt or Hawkesbury.

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Alumina full year loss widens

ALUMINA says it needs to drive through change in its pricing structure after its full year net loss blew out.

The group's net loss for the 12 months to December 31 tripled to $US152.9 million ($A149.96 million) from $US47.3 million from $A45.91 million) in 2011.

Melbourne-based Alumina's only earning asset is its 40 per cent stake in Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals (AWAC), with operators Alcoa holding the remaining 60 per cent.

AWAC owns aluminium smelters at Portland and the struggling Point Henry plant, near Geelong, both in Victoria.

AWAC had two strategic initiatives to improve its financial results, Alumina chief executive John Bevan said.

"Firstly, to be successful, the market-pricing mechanism used by AWAC to sell its alumina needs to reflect the fundamentals of the alumina industry, not the (aluminium) smelting industry," he told an analysts' briefing.

"As a low-cost producer, this change will enable AWAC margins to reflect its market position in the medium term.

"This initiative started in 2011."

AWAC is changing its contracts to spot alumina prices so they are not linked to the aluminium price, with 48 per cent of shipments to reflect that in 2013.

China's overproduction of aluminium has driven down prices that were above $US3,000 a tonne before the global financial crisis and were trading around $US2,143 a tonne on Thursday, giving it access to cheaper input costs through the linked alumina price.

The results come a week after the Chinese government-owned CITIC took a 13 per cent stake in Alumina for $452 million, putting pressure on Alcoa to decide if it will bid.

Alumina's shares closed 3.5 cents down at $1.215.

Foreign exchange losses of nearly $US90 million ($A87.36 million) and other losses of the same amount contributed to Alumina's poor result.

Excluding those items, Alumina recorded a net loss of $US62.1 million ($A60.28 million) compared to a $US126.6 million ($A122.89 million) net profit in 2011.

Its underlying loss was $US52.5 million ($A50.96 million) compared to an underlying profit of $US128 million ($A124.25 million) previously.

Revenue fell to $US5.8 billion from $US6.7 billion ($A5.63 billion from $A6.5 billion).

Alumina cut its final divided to nil, from six US cents.

Mr Bevan said that while 2013 had begun on a positive note with prices recovering from 2012, uncertainty lay ahead.

"The outlook for the market in 2013 remains uncertain with macro-economic conditions, particularly in Europe, remaining difficult," he said in a statement on Thursday.

The AWAC joint venture recorded a net loss of $US91.9 million ($A90.13 million) in 2012, compared to a net profit of $US469.7 million ($A460.67 million) a year earlier.

"Despite the very difficult market conditions, we are heartened by the sound operational performance of AWAC and the progress made on important initiatives that will ultimately strengthen the company's position and improve returns to shareholders," Mr Bevan said.

Falling aluminium prices and the high Australian dollar have put Alumina under financial pressure.

Weaknesses in the global economy in 2012 have hurt demand for aluminium used in products such as aircraft, cars, drink cans and the construction industry.

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Aboriginal man did not assault police: cop

A POLICEMAN who admits he wrongly accused an Aboriginal man of assault says he and other officers shared their accounts of the incident before he prepared his official statement.

The young officer said he was taught the practice by his field training officer.

Constable Luke Mewing was giving evidence on Thursday before the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) in Sydney, which is inquiring into the arrest and prosecution of 24-year-old Corey Barker.

Mr Barker had been charged with intervening in a violent street confrontation between two of his friends and police at Ballina, on the NSW far north coast, in January 2011.

He was also charged that evening with punching Senior Constable David Hill at Ballina police station during a brutal struggle in which police kicked him in the head, kneed his torso and dragged him to a cell where he was left handcuffed for one hour and 40 minutes.

All the charges against Mr Barker were eventually dropped.

Both officers and four of their colleagues prepared written statements that Mr Barker started the fracas with a punch.

Four of them later confirmed that evidence in Ballina Local Court.

Cnst Mewing said it was standard practice in the Richmond local area command for officers to share their statements in preparing their evidence, and Sen Const Hill's statement had been emailed to him.

The PIC heard the officers' written statements were nearly identical in referring to offensive language Mr Barker had allegedly used before the police station incident.

Const Mewing said his field training officer had taught him to share statements among officers who were present at the same incidents.

"He told you that was the appropriate way to go?" Mr Rushton asked.

"I believe so," he responded.

Cnst Mewing was later shown CCTV evidence, previously thought to be damaged, which showed Mr Barker did not throw a punch.

On Thursday, Cnst Mewing admitted his written statement and court evidence were incorrect.

"That evidence was just wrong, wasn't it?" counsel assisting the PIC hearing Stephen Rushton, SC, said.

"I guess so," Const Mewing said.

"You knew that it was wrong when you gave it?" Mr Rushton said.

"I believed it at the time that I saw (the incident)."

He denied deliberately fabricating evidence.

Const Mewing said he delivered a "knee strike" to Mr Barker while he and four other officers had him pinned to the ground.

"It's a move, a weapons-control strike, for pain compliance," he told the PIC.

Statements from the officers said Mr Barker was dragged because he would not comply with a command to stand up.

Giving evidence previously, Const Mewing had admitted the prisoner would not have been able to stand up.

The inquiry continues on Monday with evidence from other officers involved in the incident.

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Two arrested after Brisbane shooting

A MAN and a woman have been arrested after a man was shot in the face in a south Brisbane street.

The 31-year-old was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital with a bullet wound to his mouth.

The injury is not life threatening and the victim is in a stable condition.

Police were called to Norton Street in Upper Mount Gravatt around 2pm (AEST) on Thursday.

A 24-year-old man ran into a nearby house but surrendered to officers a short time later.

The man, from nearby Wishart, and a 44-year-old woman from Upper Mount Gravatt are being questioned by police.

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Childcare costs too high: SA opposition

SPIRALLING childcare costs should be investigated, the South Australian opposition says.

Opposition frontbencher Martin Hamilton-Smith says child care costs are almost $110 a day and for two children in care that could present families with a $1000 weekly bill.

"Who can afford that?" he said on Wednesday.

Mr Hamilton-Smith wants the state government to support a bipartisan select committee to help struggling families.

"Over the years, governments of all persuasions have tied childcare providers up with wave after wave of regulations and red tape," he said.

"The worthy aim has been to lift the quality of care but the result has been to close down childcare places and push up the costs for parents."

Mr Hamilton-Smith's plan will be debated in state parliament on March 6.

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Young Indian sisters raped and murdered

POLICE say three sisters aged between six and 11 were raped and murdered before their bodies were dumped down a well in western India.

The bodies of the three schoolgirls were found last week, two days after they went missing on February 14 from their home in the Bhandara district of Maharashtra state, police superintendent Aarti Singh said on Wednesday.

"The bodies of the three young girls were found in a well, with their schoolbags and footwear," Singh told AFP by phone from Nagpur, adding they were aged six, nine and 11.

"The post-mortem has confirmed that the girls were raped and then murdered."

No arrests have been made but Singh said four people had been detained for questioning and investigations were still under way.

Family members said the girls went to look for their mother who was out of the house and no one heard from them again.

The incident led to protests by villagers, Singh said, echoing angry rallies in the capital New Delhi after the brutal gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in December.

That incident sparked a nationwide debate about the treatment of women and girls and their safety in India.

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Guns in parks on O'Farrell's head: Labor

Hunting in NSW national parks has not been delayed indefinitely, Premier Barry O'Farrell says. Source: AAP

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell should resign if someone is shot when the state's national parks are opened up to hunting, the NSW opposition says.

It says parents should "lock up their children" if the April school holidays usher in a new era of shooters sharing national parks with bushwalkers.

"Given that you are pressing ahead, despite strong warnings from your government's own risk assessment, will you resign if the unthinkable happens and someone is shot?" Opposition Leader John Robertson asked the premier during question time on Wednesday.

Mr O'Farrell, who failed to answer the question, instead attacked Labor for reintroducing duck shooting in 2008.

The government was also asked why exclusion zones weren't being considered as part of the hunting deal struck with the Shooters and Fishers Party in exchange for its support for the government's privatisation of electricity assets.

NSW Environment Minister Robyn Parker told parliament consultations were continuing over how the controversial move would be carried out, but it would not begin until late April or possibly May.

"When that risk assessment is complete then the controls in each park will be announced ... You just need to listen," she said during the first sitting week of the new parliamentary year.

Outside parliament, opposition environment spokesman Luke Foley said there was no right time to allow amateur hunters into national parks "but the very, very worst time is the school holiday period".

"It stands to reason that any new program ... is going to have flaws and problems in its early days.

"My message to parents (is) lock up your children."

Ms Parker confirmed late on Wednesday the program would cost taxpayers $19.1 million over five years.

Mr Robertson responded: "Taxpayers are being forced to foot the bill because of a grubby deal.

"They have a minister who is not across her brief, who is not implementing exclusion zones when it comes to roads and walkways ... when it comes to the distances between hunters and people using our national parks."

NSW Greens MP Cate Faehrmann said the premier was "throwing money" in a vain attempt to mitigate the risks that should be spent on weeds and feral animals.

"But what he should be doing is ripping up the deal and ending this embarrassing saga."

During question time in the upper house, Ms Faehrmann also called on the government to sack Game Council head John Mumford, after he admitted helping to produce flyers on behalf of a shooter's lobby targeting a rival pest control program.

"(He) has demonstrated a frightening lack of professionalism and judgment for someone in charge of a government body that dishes out hunting licences," Ms Faehrmann said in a statement.

"It's a bit like the roads minister saying that as a private citizen it would be okay for him to publish flyers that oppose drink-driving controls."

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Aboriginal man had police assault record

A YOUNG Aboriginal man who was allegedly bashed and falsely accused by police had assaulted an officer less than a year before, a police misconduct inquiry has been told.

The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) is looking at allegations that officers in Ballina, on the NSW far north coast, bashed Corey Barker in custody and later accused him of attacking them, after he intervened in an altercation between police and two of his friends in January 2011.

He was serving a nine-month suspended sentence for assaulting police at the time of the incident.

Mr Barker, now 24, pleaded guilty to the assault, resisting arrest and using offensive language in a street at nearby Byron Bay in 2010.

Court documents state that he pushed an officer when a wine bladder was pulled from his grip, then swung violently and swore, before a vicious struggle ensued on the ground.

He later spat on one officer but told the PIC it was an accident.

The inquiry was also told Mr Barker had been convicted in 2008 of bashing his best friend because he'd been talking to his girlfriend and that he'd had anger issues as a teenager.

CCTV footage showed him repeatedly punching Mitchell Clark in the head before flinging him to the ground and continuing the assault.

Mr Barker pleaded guilty and was given a 12-month good behaviour bond.

On Tuesday, lawyer Robert McIlwaine, representing one of the officers in the 2011 incident, asked Mr Barker if he had a problem controlling his anger.

"As a kid, yes," Mr Barker replied.

He said he had first sought counselling when he was 17 and was taking prescribed anti-depressants at the time of the incident.

"Once you were tackled from the side (by police), you lost your temper," Mr McIlwaine said of Mr Barker's intervention in the confrontation between police and his friends.

The case was referred to the PIC after CCTV footage from inside Ballina police station contradicted testimony from officers, and a magistrate found they had lied about the incident.

Mr Barker said when his mother visited him at the police station one officer made a lewd gesture while standing behind her.

"I saw an officer behind doing a gesture, pretending to squeeze her arse," he told the inquiry.

"They were just trying to aggravate me."

Four officers then attempted to move him from the cage to another room, intending to take him to a cell down the hall.

"They had shoved me through the door ... to provoke me," he said.

Police falsely claimed he had punched Senior Constable David Hill on the nose in that incident.

Senior Constables Hill and Ryan Eckersley and Constables Luke Mewing and Lee Walmsley gave court evidence about the punch.

The CCTV footage showed the officers wrestling Mr Barker to the ground, kicking him in the head and kneeing him in his side.

The officers handcuffed him and dragged him along the floor down to the cells with his arms in a vertical position.

"It had to be the top of the cake for pain in that incident," Mr Barker said.

He suffered injuries to his face, neck, arms and hips.

The inquiry continues on Wednesday.

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Shooting of Sri Lanka journalist condemned

THE "appalling shooting" of a senior reporter working for a privately-owned newspaper in Sri Lanka underscores the threats faced by journalists in the country, say media rights groups.

Paris-based Reporters without Borders (RSF) and Journalists for Democracy, a group of Sri Lankan reporters in exile, said the Friday night shooting of Faraz Shauketaly was the latest attempt to muzzle the country's independent press.

"This appalling shooting suggests that the enemies of media freedom are trying to silence those journalists who still dare to report the news freely," the two rights groups said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

Shauketaly, a 54-year-old investigative journalist at the Sunday Leader newspaper, had reported on alleged graft in Sri Lanka's energy sector.

He was moved to a private hospital after undergoing surgery at a state hospital to remove a bullet from his neck.

The newspaper said the shooting at Shauketaly's home in a suburb of Colombo brought back memories of the assassination of its founding editor, Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was gunned down in January 2009 while driving to work.

"Sri Lankan journalists are constantly the targets of threats and reprisals, often by the government," the rights groups said, adding that Sri Lanka was ranked 162 out of 179 countries in the RSF press freedom index.

Rights groups say at least 17 journalists and media workers have been killed in the country in the past decade. Many Sri Lankan journalists have also fled the island fearing violence.

Sri Lanka lifted a state of emergency in 2011, but media rights groups say journalists have been forced to self-censor their work due to fear of attacks.

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Turkey crackdown on bomb group

TURKISH police launched a massive nationwide crackdown against a radical Marxist group which claimed a suicide bomb attack against the US embassy this month, the state-run Anatolia news agency reports.

Police on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for 167 people in 28 cities as part of the operation against the Revolutionary People's Liberation Front (DHKP-C), which is classified as a terrorist organisation by the United States, Anatolia said.

A Turkish guard at the US embassy in Ankara was killed in the February 1 attack and three other people including a journalist were injured.

The outlawed DHKP-C has waged a string of attacks over the past few decades that have left dozens of people dead, including prominent political and military figures.

The fiercely anti-US group has threatened further attacks on other US diplomatic facilities in Turkey.

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One home lost, one damaged in Vic fire

ONE home has been destroyed and another damaged in out-of-control grassfires in Melbourne's northern suburbs.

Emergency warnings are in place for Epping and Campbellfield on both sides of the busy Hume Freeway, around 20km north of the Melbourne CBD.

A CFA spokeswoman said a large fire was affecting different areas.

"One house has been destroyed and one has been damaged in the Donnybrook-Kalkallo fire," the spokeswoman said.

A watch and act alert is in place for residents in parts of Epping, Lalor and Thomastown which are expected to be impacted by a fast-moving grassfire of 1600 hectares on Monday evening.

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BBC journalists strike over jobs cuts

BBC journalists will stage a 24-hour strike, threatening to disrupt the network's news programs. Source: AAP

BBC journalists on Monday began a 24-hour strike in protest at compulsory redundancies, causing possible disruption to the broadcaster's television and radio output.

Members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) walked out at midnight (local time and GMT) at the end of Sunday's programming, over job cuts which are expected to affect BBC Scotland, Five Live, the Asian Network and the World Service.

The strike was called after meetings failed to produce agreement over the redeployment of 30 employees facing compulsory redundancy. Nine of the 30 jobs are at BBC Scotland.

NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet explained: "NUJ members across the BBC are taking action to defend jobs and quality journalism at the corporation.

"They are angry and frustrated at the poor decisions being taken at the top of the BBC - decisions that are leading to journalists being forced out of their jobs and quality journalism and programming compromised."

A BBC spokesperson said the organisation understood "how frustrating and difficult situations involving redundancies can be," but said it was disappointed by the walkout.

"We are working hard to ensure that we succeed in getting staff redeployed wherever we can and will continue to work with the unions to ensure that their members receive the right redeployment support," added the spokesperson.

The NUJ said that 7,000 jobs had been lost at the BBC since 2004 and is demanding a six-month moratorium in redundancies.

The corporation is cutting around 2,000 jobs over five years as part of its Delivering Quality First program.

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APN's two big shareholders force out CEO

APN News and Media's two major shareholders have forced the resignation of the trans-Tasman publisher's chief executive, chairman and three independent directors.

The regional and New Zealand newspaper publisher said on Monday chief executive Brett Chenoweth and chairman Peter Hunt would leave the company.

Independent directors Melinda Conrad, John Harvey and John Maasland will also leave.

All resignations take effect from 19 February.

Independent director Kevin Luscombe will retire in April 2013 as previously planned.

The resignations came after APN's two largest shareholders, Ireland-based Independent News and Media (INM) and funds manager Allan Gray, which together hold a 51 per cent stake, expressed opposition to a proposed pro-rata capital raising being considered.

Earlier on Monday, INM issued a formal notice calling for a meeting to vote out Mr Chenoweth, Mr Hunt, Ms Conrad, Mr Harvey, Mr Luscombe and Mr Maasland.

INM said it was not calling for the removal of directors Paul Connolly, Peter Cosgrove, Vincent Crowley and Albert Harris "to ensure APN will continue to have a sufficient number of directors".

In a trading update on December 19, 2012, APN said it was expecting net profit for calendar 2012 of between $51 million and $54 million.

That would represent a decline of up to 34 per cent from the $78 million net profit in 2011.

The company is due to present its full year results on Thursday.

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Abbott uses WA to launch two election bids

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott has kickstarted two election campaigns in one, using the official launch of the Liberals' bid to retain power in WA to make his own pitch in the west.

In a speech of high praise for Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett, Mr Abbott also heaped gratitude on the state's economy for giving "inspiration and hope" to the rest of the country by turning rocks into riches.

And he used the dysfunction between WA's state Labor party and their federal counterparts to taunt Prime Minister Julia Gillard about her reluctance to come to Perth before the March 9 poll.

The audience of the party faithful was treated to a warm-up act by local member and deputy opposition leader Julie Bishop act, who used the Chinese New Year to laud the Liberal leaders, while poking fun at state Labor leader Mark McGowan about his birthdate in the Chinese year of the goat.

Mr Abbott was given a rousing welcome, and immediately returned the favour, saying he hoped to model himself and his potential prime ministership on Mr Barnett.

"How much I respect the premier of this state, how much I have learnt from him, how much I wish to model myself on him, should I get the opportunity to lead our country," Mr Abbott said.

"The Barnett government has become a model for all the governments that we run or hope to run. That's the kind of government that I wish to run in Canberra."

Making a clear appeal to the parochial WA electorate ahead of the federal poll in September, Mr Abbott said the rest of Australia owed the state for driving the nation's economy.

"All of us owe a debt to you. Every Australian owes a debt to Western Australia and in an important sense, West Australians are the best Australians," Mr Abbott said.

And with the mining tax and carbon tax both impacting WA's massive resources industry more than anywhere, Mr Abbott challenged the prime minister to come west.

"Don't be shy of coming to Western Australia. Justify the carbon tax. Justify the mining tax," Mr Abbott said.

Mr Barnett used his speech to recount the WA government's economic achievements, while announcing a $57 million election pledge to provide 155 new school nurses, guaranteeing every WA child a health assessment upon starting school.

The premier also continued his tough on crime stance, saying WA's worst hoons would lose their cars after one offence under tough new laws to be introduced if they are re-elected.

Labor earlier unveiled a plan to introduce the Western Australian Sentencing Commission, an independent body reporting to parliament to scrutinise sentencing and give the public a chance to comment.

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Sydney Water denies contamination cover up

The NSW Greens have called for urgent environmental law reforms after a Sydney water scare. Source: AAP

SYDNEY Water has denied covering up the cause of contaminated drinking water in Sydney's south, saying it has provided test results to the public.

A health warning was issued to residents in parts of southern Sydney in December last year after reports the water had a chemical or petrol taste.

Sydney Water says the contamination occurred when compounds from bitumen were let into a water pipe during routine maintenance.

But the incident has sparked claims the contamination could be linked to Orica's former ChlorAlkali Plant at Botany, with suggestions Sydney Water may have covered up the incident and botched test results.

Sydney Water denies those claims, saying there was never any threat to the public.

"There has been no cover up of any results," Sydney Water said in a statement on Sunday.

"Apart from some compounds which created changes to taste and odour in the water, results show the water met the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines."

The company said the NSW Department of Health had been given samples and agreed there was no risk to residents.

NSW Health said it was advised by Sydney Water that a water pipe had been returned to service after maintenance without being flushed.

The government department "considered that the most likely cause to be disturbance of the lining of the water main".

A sample of the water found chloroform and bromochloro methanes - which are not found in bitumen.

But NSW Health says the presence of those compounds is "not unexpected" because trace amounts are commonly found in drinking water supplies around the country.

"These compounds are examples of trihalomethanes that form when drinking water is disinfected with chlorine," NSW Health Director of Environmental Health Dr Wayne Smith said in a statement.

Despite the government labelling NSW Health the "independent water regulator" the department did not carry out independent testing.

"NSW Health asked Sydney Water to undertake testing to confirm the nature and extent of the contamination," Dr Smith said.

The incident has prompted the NSW Greens to call for the creation of an independent body that would "properly monitor pollution".

Greens MP and environment spokeswoman Cate Faehrmann said residents living around Orica's former ChlorAlkali Plant at Botany were "scared out of their brains" about contamination.

"The community is not trusting companies like Orica and now companies like Sydney Water to undertake their activities safely," she told reporters in Sydney.

"It's really important the community trust is restored."

The NSW opposition has joined the call for tougher action by the state government, demanding more transparency about the cause the pollution in this incident.

"Unfortunately there is a culture of cover-up by the bureaucrats at Sydney Water and the O'Farrell government must step in and order Sydney Water to detail what caused this incident," NSW opposition spokesman for water Walter Secord told the Macquarie Network on Sunday.

But NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has rubbished opposition claims there may have been a cover-up.

"The opposition is talking through an orifice that I won't mention," he told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.

Mr O'Farrell said he would happily drink from taps in Sydney's south because the health department had ruled there was no evidence the incident was linked to the Orica plant.

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Bushfire threatening Victorian town

FIRE crews are battling a blaze heading toward a small community in Victoria's southwest as hot, dry conditions make things tough for firefighters across the state.

An emergency warning remains current for residents in the town of Mirranatwa, west of Melbourne, where a 300-hectare fire burning in the Grampians National Park may impact their community.

"We've issued an emergency warning, it may impact the town," a CFA spokeswoman said.

The blaze, which was started by lightning on Thursday evening, is one of 387 new bush and grassfires that ignited between 3pm (AEDT) on Thursday and 11.30am on Sunday, many sparked by lightning, according to the state's head of fire services.

Twenty-six fires were still going about 5.30pm (AEDT).

"It has been a very active fire period in many areas of the state and the emergency services have been kept very busy," Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley said.

This activity has been driven by four days of hot, dry weather and tomorrow (Monday) is expected to be the worst day of the past week."

He said it was important for Victorians to remain vigilant as the hot weather was expected to continue for some while.

Mr Lapsley said up to 1075 firefighters, 240 vehicles and 64 aircraft have been active each shift over the past four days.

On Sunday afternoon, 108 fire fighters, 12 tankers and three helicopters were working to protect property in Mirranatwa.

"Right across the state thousands of people have been working incredibly hard, day and night, protecting their community," Mr Lapsley said.

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