ACT police seek help for Grosvenor murder

ACT police are seeking help for the murder of Kathryn Grosvenor, whose body was found 11 years ago. Source: AAP

CANBERRA police have again appealed for public help to solve the murder of Kathryn Grosvenor whose body was found in Lake Burley Griffin 11 years ago on Saturday.

Detective Senior Constable Sarah Casey said there was a $500,000 reward for information leading to the killer and that was a powerful incentive for potential witnesses to come forward.

Ms Grosvenor, 23, was last seen at her home in the northern Canberra suburb of Nicholls on March 3, 2002.

There were two unconfirmed sightings in the Gold Creek area that night, including at the George Harcourt Inn where she was thought to have purchased cigarettes between 9.05pm and 9.15pm.

Around 9am on Saturday March 9, 2002 a canoeist found her body in Yarralumla Bay in Lake Burley Griffin, weighed down by a concrete bollard.

Sen Const Carey said a witness came forward in March last year, describing two men loading concrete into a black utility vehicle on Anthony Rolfe Drive.

"I would like to appeal to those two men or the people who know them, to seriously consider this reward and contact Crime Stoppers, this amount of money could be life changing," she said in a statement.

The $500,000 reward is for information which leads to the apprehension and subsequent conviction of the person or persons responsible for Ms Grosvenor's murder.

Police will consider an appropriate indemnity from prosecution for any accomplice who first gives information.

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Malaysia detains 79 'Borneo intruders'

MALAYSIAN police say they've detained 79 suspects linked to Filipino intruders in Borneo as they intensify an operation to flush out members of a Filipino Muslim clan who took over a village last month.

The armed clansmen have caused political havoc for Malaysia and the neighbouring Philippines by trying to stake a claim to Malaysia's state of Sabah in Borneo.

National police chief Ismail Omar said 79 men and women, held without trial under a security law, were being investigated for their links to the gunmen.

He said they were detained outside the conflict zone but didn't give further details. The detainees are believed to be informants or food suppliers to the gunmen but it's unclear if they were Malaysians or Filipino nationals.

Ismail said a Filipino gunman was killed early Saturday after he tried to escape a police cordon, raising the death toll to 61.

The clansmen are led by a brother of Jamalul Kiram III, who claims to be the sultan, or hereditary ruler, of the southern, predominantly Muslim province of Sulu in the Philippines. Malaysia's government has rejected a call by Kiram for a ceasefire and urged the gunmen to surrender unconditionally.

International rights group Human Rights Watch on Saturday echoed a call by the UN's chief to ensure protection of civilians and for humanitarian access to help those affected by the violence.

"The situation on the ground in the conflict zone in Sabah is still quite murky and the government of Malaysia should provide clear and accurate information on what has occurred," said its Asia deputy-director Phil Robertson.

The New York-based group said it was concerned over the use of a new security law to detain dozens of suspects and urged the government to charge or release them.

Fifty-three gunmen and eight Malaysian policemen have died, mainly in shootouts between security forces and the Filipino group and their suspected allies.

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Three men drown at Victorian beaches

THREE men have drowned at Victoria's beaches, including a father who's believed to have been trying to rescue his son from a rip.

Paramedics were first called to a beach at Lorne, on the Great Ocean Road, about 12.30pm (AEDT) on Saturday, where surf lifesavers - helped by a surfer - had pulled an unconscious man in his fifties and a 12-year boy from the water.

CPR was performed on the man for some time, but he could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene, Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said.

The boy, believed to be the man's son, was taken to hospital in a stable condition, having swallowed water and suffered shock, Mr Mullen said.

The beach at St George River, southwest of Lorne's main beach, is not patrolled and features a permanent rip flowing out its narrow entrance, according to Life Saving Victoria (LSV).

At 2.30pm, paramedics attended a beach in Rye, on the Mornington Peninsula, where a man in his 30s, who had been snorkelling and was found unconscious in the water by friends.

Bystanders performed CPR and paramedics took over upon arrival, but couldn't revive him and he died at the scene, Ambulance Victoria's Ray Rowe said.

A third man died after being reported missing in waters at Golden Beach near Sale, in Victoria's Gippsland region.

Paramedics were called around 3.20pm, and at 6pm police confirmed a man's body had been found at the beach but had no further details.

LSV spokeswoman Jennifer Roberts said 57 beaches were patrolled across the state on Saturday.

She urged people to check signs and survey the risks at any beach before getting in the water, and never to swim alone.

"Every drowning death is a tragic occurrence," Ms Roberts said.

"Every beach is inherently dangerous."

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Portrait win saves artist from job queue

MELBOURNE photographer Janelle Low was just weeks away from joining the queues at Centrelink when she received a call telling her she had won the $25,000 National Photographic Portrait Prize.

"I was thinking of writing my resume, thinking I might have to put photography aside for a little while, but I won't have to now," the 22-year-old told AAP in Canberra.

"I'll be able to live and get by, have dinner every night, and take photos. That's the dream for me, to shoot all the time."

Ms Low's portrait Yhonnie and Indiana beat 52 others shortlisted for the prize, awarded by the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra on Friday.

Her small portrait of artist friend Yhonnie Scarce and her cat Indiana was described by gallery curator and judge Joanna Gilmour as "a tiny photograph that punches above its weight".

The picture, taken of a sick 18-year-old Indiana just days before she was put down, is a "very resonant little photograph about love and death and loss and attachment, and all those sorts of things we can relate to", Ms Gilmour said.

Ms Low said the shot was organised quickly after Scarce arrived late to one of her own art openings, having had to take Indiana to the vet.

"She just said, 'Would you mind if you took a portrait of us together really soon because I don't think she has long left,'" Ms Low said.

"I think a day or two later we took the shot, and a day or two after that she had to put Indiana down.

"It was very quick, very sudden thing."

The shoot was equally brief, Ms Low said.

"It was the middle of winter in Melbourne so it was grey, and the light just came out for a few minutes," she said.

"I knew I had it when I saw it in the back of the camera."

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Head of Qld's CMC stands down

THE head of Queensland's top crime fighting body, the Crime and Misconduct Commission, has stood down as he continues a long battle with cystic fibrosis, amid allegations he's failed the state.

CMC chairman Ross Martin resigned on Friday afternoon, revealing he's preparing to undergo a lung transplant.

He said he's been in hospital for the past 10 days.

"I no longer have the resources of health necessary to continue to perform the job," Mr Martin told reporters.

"I will not be coming back.

"I wish my successor and the CMC success in their vital work."

Mr Martin has been under fire from Premier Campbell Newman and Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie over a series of bungles involving confidential files.

The commission recently found out it had accidentally publicly released dozens of sensitive files from the 1989 Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption, and shredded dozens more.

The premier and attorney general said on Friday that Mr Martin should accept responsibility, as a minister would, and resign.

The bipartisan Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee (PCMC), which oversees the CMC, is investigating how the bungles happened and who is responsible.

Mr Martin said the attorney-general had spoken about ministerial responsibility as an informing principle in regard to his position.

"A principle similar to ministerial responsibility has force in the present context, whatever might emerge from the review," he said.

"That said, a CMC chair should not be too ready to resign, lest the organisation's independence be too readily undermined."

"The CMC chair's position has powerful statutory entrenchment to defend its security against political whim."

Assistant Commissioner Warren Strange will immediately assume the position of acting chair.

Mr Martin thanked his family and the officers and staff of the CMC for supporting him.

"My family have suffered my pursuit of a career for too long. They are entitled to as much of my time as I can give them," he said.

"I thank my staff for their dedicated, largely unsung, devotion to the virtues of fighting crime and of integrity.

"I will not be coming back. I wish my successor and CMC generally the very best in its vital work."

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Media law changes move closer

COMMUNICATIONS Minister Stephen Conroy says the government will bring forward media law changes before the September election - and the support of independent MPs will be crucial.

The government is running out of time to have parliament approve a package of reforms stemming from its media industry reviews.

It is understood cabinet could consider a number of measures on Monday, before parliament sits on Tuesday.

"We will be bringing forward a package," Senator Conroy told ABC radio on Friday.

"But we clearly have to get the support of the independents. There's clearly many contentious issues," Senator Conroy said.

One of the key changes is the removal of a rule that prevents any television network from broadcasting to more than 75 per cent of the Australian population.

The rule currently stops any one of the three major commercial networks from buying regional affiliates.

The proposed change would allow Nine Network to pursue a possible merger with Southern Cross Austereo.

Also being considered are a revamped press council, a tort of privacy, increased Australian content rules and a public interest test for prospective media owners.

To have any legislation pass the lower house, Labor will need the support of five crossbenchers.

Independent MP Craig Thomson said he would reveal his position on the changes next week when parliament resumes.

"I'll be talking to people involved in the industry on the effects that the legislation may have locally in this electorate," Mr Thomson told AAP on Friday.

Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce said his party members, who will meet on Monday, would have no problem "going to the barricades" to protect regional media services.

"Everyone (in the party room) will ask the same question: 'Is this the same swindle job where they promise the world but leave the services out?' and if it is, they can go jump in the lake," Senator Joyce told AAP.

"Without local news you have no local community," the senator from southwest Queensland said.

Nationals Leader Warren Truss said his party would be looking at the legislation very closely.

"We won't support anything that reduces localism and the capacity for local news and information to be supplied when it is needed, on a regular basis," Mr Truss told AAP.

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Miners' underground dance harmless: lawyer

A lawyer says 15 WA miners sacked for doing a dance routine underground did no harm. Source: AAP

THE lawyer for one of the sacked "Harlem Shake" miners who broke into a dance craze in a WA underground mine says the 30-second dance that cost 15 employees their lucrative jobs did no harm.

West Australian mining contractor Barminco made worldwide headlines earlier this week when it sacked more than a dozen workers from the Agnew gold mine after their YouTube version of the internet's latest dance craze went viral.

Citing safety issues, Barminco sparked a national debate as to whether they were heavy handed in sacking the employees, posting on its company Facebook page that "safety takes unconditional priority at all times ... and we will not make any exception to this".

Barminco said rigid safety rules were needed in the inherently hazardous underground environment.

It has been revealed one of the sacked miners, Stephen Dixon, had referred his case to Fair Work Australia.

His lawyer John Hammond has told Fairfax Radio his case will focus on whether the men breached safety regulations.

Those taking part had considered safety before making the video, and had performed it during a meal break, Mr Hammond said.

"Around town, opinion seems to be very, very split as to whether or not these miners should have been sacked," he said.

"In making these comments I am talking about what people think politically. Everywhere you go people are discussing whether it was right or wrong for the company to have sacked those who engaged in what was a 31-second dance.

"Mr Dixon did consider safety. They left their steel capped boots on, they left their headlamps on and left the self-rescuers on before they engaged in the Harlem Shake.

"Doing a dance on the spot, jumping up and down gyrating, to me personally, was not a harmful act."

Mr Hammond said 14 or 15 men had been sacked over the dance, eight who actually danced and six or seven who watched.

He said no one would disagree with Barminco that safety was paramount in mining, but it was yet to be seen whether the men contravened any safety requirements.

Mr Dixon told The West Australian newspaper he was a dedicated worker, not a clown, and the workers had been anxious about their job security when they performed the dance to "let off steam".

More than 10,000 Harlem Shake videos - based on the track by electronic musician Baauer - had been posted online by the middle of last month. The internet "meme" was originated by five teenagers from Queensland, registered on YouTube as TheSunnyCoastSkate.

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Another blunder by Qld corruption watchdog

QUEENSLAND'S Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) has admitted another gaffe involving confidential documents from the Fitzgerald inquiry into police corruption.

This time documents were shredded, state parliament heard on Thursday.

"The CMC has destroyed a number of confidential Fitzgerald documents," the chair of the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee, independent MP Liz Cunningham, said.

"The committee wants more information on what documents were destroyed, and how and why this occurred."

She said the files contained intelligence used by the Criminal Justice Commission to commence an investigation.

CMC chair Ross Martin had made the admission on Wednesday when he was being grilled at an urgent meeting with the parliamentary committee, which oversees the CMC, about another error, Ms Cunningham said.

Earlier this week it was revealed that potentially sensitive documents from the Fitzgerald inquiry had been made public at State Archives.

Records were supposed to be sealed for 65 years when the inquiry into police corruption ended in 1989.

Some uncontroversial documents were opened in February 2012, but the CMC said an oversight led to other documents also being released.

Ms Cunningham says Mr Martin has been unable to say how the mistake happened, what documents were released, or if they had been widely viewed.

The state archivist was also summoned before the committee to help find out who viewed the documents and if copies were made.

That hearing is continuing.

Ms Cunningham says the CMC was made aware in May 2012 that the records had gone public but didn't act to address the matter until September.

She's also concerned the parliamentary committee was informed of the mistake only this week.

"It is clear that the CMC did not act to ensure that the matter was appropriately addressed," she said.

"The committee will carefully consider its options in relation to the lack of governance within the CMC and the lack of accountability."

The matter has been referred to Parliament's Crime and Misconduct Commissioner Paul Favell for an independent investigation.

It was announced on Thursday that the ongoing review of the Crime and Misconduct Commission should look into the matter.

The CMC has declined to comment at this time.

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Senator ends filibuster of CIA pick

A REPUBLICAN senator seeking to block President Barack Obama's pick to lead the CIA over concerns about drone strikes on US soil completed a nearly 13-hour speaking filibuster.

In a remarkable display highlighting the partisan rift in Washington, Rand Paul led the filibuster of John Brennan's appointment after the White House refused to unequivocally rule out drone strikes on US soil.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, tried to bring the blocking tactic to a close, but Paul, a favourite of the Republican Party's conservative Tea Party faction, refused to stop.

His oratory held up any other Senate action as he railed against US policy on targeted killings from just before noon on Wednesday until nearly 1am Thursday.

During the marathon delaying tactic, Paul said he would be happy to yield the floor "if the president or the attorney general will clarify that they are not going to kill non-combatants in America".

The drone issue has gained fresh currency on Capitol Hill, with senators from both parties pressing Attorney General Eric Holder on whether the administration believes such drone attacks could be justified.

Paul demanded answers from President Barack Obama on the secret unmanned aerial drone program that has emerged as the most contentious element of Brennan's nomination to head the Central Intelligence Agency.

"I rise today to begin to filibuster John Brennan's nomination for the CIA," he said.

"I will speak until I can no longer speak. I will speak as long as it takes, until the alarm is sounded from coast to coast that our Constitution is important, that your rights to trial by jury are precious, that no American should be killed by a drone, on American soil, without first being charged with a crime, without first being found guilty by a court."

He finally yielded the floor at 12:38am on Thursday, to a round of applause.

"I've discovered that there are some limits to filibustering and I'm going to have to take care of one of those in a few minutes here," he joked.

Brennan's nomination easily cleared the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, despite fury from leading Republican lawmakers at what they said was a lack of disclosure over last year's attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four Americans, including US ambassador Chris Stevens.

The Senate Democratic leadership wanted to move this week on a confirmation vote for Brennan, but Paul was making Senate leaders sweat a little.

At close to the 12-hour mark, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell joined the filibuster, saying: "I intend to oppose the nomination and congratulate my colleague from Kentucky for this extraordinary effort."

Paul had earlier enlisted Republicans Mike Lee, Ted Cruz and Saxby Chambliss. Rising Republican star Marco Rubio also joined, as did Democrat Ron Wyden, who has long questioned White House power on national security issues.

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Air traffic controller 'poorly trained'

A PASSENGER jet was told to fly through the holding pattern of another aircraft because a Brisbane air traffic controller hadn't been given enough training, a report has found.

An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report into the incident says the Qantas and Virgin 737s were both headed for Brisbane airport on July 29, 2011.

The air traffic controller on duty told the pilots to enter similar holding patterns at a point 93km southwest of Brisbane Airport.

When directing one of the planes to land, the controller gave priority to the wrong aircraft.

The controller twice directed one 737 to descend through the holding pattern of the second.

But the crew of the plane queried those directions.

Realising the mistake, the flight controller was able to quickly direct the planes to recover separation - the minimum distance required between the planes to avoid risking a collision.

That distance is normally 9.3km, but the aircraft had came within 7.2km of each other.

The ATSB report found while there was no risk of an imminent collision the controller had received a reduced amount of on-the-job training, only four rather the usual six weeks, and didn't have enough experience in high workload situations.

In response to the incident Airservices Australia says it will change its controller training program.

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Visas blocking Aussie workers: Swan

FEDERAL Treasurer Wayne Swan says some Australians have trouble finding work because of business rorting of the 457 visa system, but industry fears the debate demonises companies and should be toned down.

The federal government is clamping down on the temporary foreign worker visa program saying it has to address abuses and ensure Australians get first preference for jobs.

However, it's been under pressure to provide evidence of rorts, with government advisors on skilled migration criticising the intervention and the opposition saying its argument is based on union rhetoric.

In Western Australia, Premier Colin Barnett said the foreign labour was essential to his state's $237 billion economy.

Earlier, Mr Swan had told reporters he had "personal evidence" the visa scheme was preventing local workers finding jobs.

"I'm frequently approached in my electorate by people who I know to be quite well qualified, hard working Australians, who are looking to get jobs in certain sectors," he said.

"My summation of this is that there is a bit of a problem in parts of mining sector, where Australians are not necessarily getting a look in first as they should, where they are appropriately qualified and willing and able to work.

"(But) it's not only the mining sector where this is an issue."

Multicultural affairs minister Kate Lundy says under the existing system, the government could not move against companies, such as one in Parramatta that brought in temporary workers described as program and project administrators and put them to work as security guards.

"These are examples of why we need to tighten guidelines," Senator Lundy said in Melbourne.

Liberal backbencher Josh Frydenberg said the government was responding to its trade union paymasters.

"The reality is that the nurses, the engineers, the doctors and the accountants who come to Australia under 457s are doing a lot to strengthen our economy," he told Sky News.

"There has been only one successful prosecution about 457s where they were abused."

Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said the debate should be paused.

"The debate over Australia's 457 visa system risks running completely off the rails and becoming an exercise in unfairly demonising companies that are compelled to use short term skilled foreign labour," he said in a statement.

"Only three companies have been prosecuted for misusing the system since 2009."

Australian National University demographer Peter McDonald, who sits on a ministerial advisory council on skilled migration, said rorting is "not of control".

"On the fringes maybe the system is being rorted and some of those jobs could be filled by Australians," he told The Australian Financial Review.

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Vic backbencher Shaw quits Liberals

INDEPENDENT MP Geoff Shaw says his decision to dump the Liberals reflects a loss of confidence all Victorians have in the state government.

The Member for Frankston holds the deciding vote in the Victorian parliament after his shock resignation from the Liberal Party on Wednesday.

"Labor left Victoria in a mess and Victorians elected a coalition government to fix the problems and build for the future," Mr Shaw said in a statement.

"While the government has made significant progress in that direction, I believe my actions reflect the general loss of confidence Victorians are feeling in the leadership of the government."

Mr Shaw did not say whether he would support the government on matters of supply.

"As always my focus is on how I can best represent the people of Frankston and at the moment I believe that is from the cross bench."

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Saudis urged not to execute young men

HUMAN Rights Watch and Amnesty International have urged Saudi authorities not to go ahead with scheduled executions of seven young men condemned for crimes they committed when they were minors.

The two rights groups said in separate statements that the men were convicted of armed robbery, a crime punishable by death in the kingdom which applies a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.

"All seven men were between 16 and 20 when authorities arrested them in 2006 for allegedly committing a robbery in 2005," Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.

"There is strong evidence suggesting that the trials of all seven men violated basic principles of the right to a fair trial."

HRW's Deputy Middle East Director, Eric Goldstein, said in a statement that "it will be outrageous if the Saudi authorities go ahead with these executions" planned for Tuesday.

He said: "It is high time for the Saudis to stop executing child offenders and start observing their obligations under international human rights law."

Amnesty International said the seven men were "tortured to make them confess" and sentenced to death following a "summary trial that was grossly unfair".

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Qld councillor not scared by arson attack

A BRISBANE City councillor says he doesn't fear for his safety despite a man trying to burn his office to the ground using a flaming truck tyre.

The intruder broke into the Cannon Hill office of Councillor Ryan Murphy at 2.30am (AEST) on Tuesday.

Mr Murphy says the attacker then rolled a truck tyre into the office, poured petrol on it and set it alight.

He then ran away, but was seen by police officers who were training dogs in a park across the street.

A dog was unleashed and chased the man, biting him on the calf and buttocks.

The 41-year-old was treated in hospital before being charged with arson, wilful damage, entering premises with intent, stealing and obstructing police.

The fire caused minor damage but Mr Murphy says it could have been a lot worse if police hadn't been nearby.

"We could have lost the entire building with the accelerant he used," Mr Murphy told AAP.

"I don't fear for my personal safety, no.

"But my staff are pretty shaken up."

He can't think of any motive behind the attack.

"Councillors deal with tough issues in the community at times but nothing we would do would warrant this kind of response," he said.

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Israel adds special buses for Palestinians

Israel has launched a bus service to transport Palestinians only, triggering accusations of racism. Source: AAP

ISRAEL has launched a special bus service to transport Palestinians from the occupied West Bank to work in the Jewish state, triggering accusations of racism from a local rights group.

The service to Tel Aviv and central Israel starts at the military post at Eyal - near the West Bank city of Qalqilya - where Palestinians with permits to enter Israel are checked before being allowed to board.

Israeli media said the service was launched in response to complaints from Jewish settlers in the West Bank who said sharing public transport with Palestinians was a security risk.

The transport ministry denied charges of segregation, saying there was no prohibition on Palestinian permit holders using regular Israeli public transport either to travel through the West Bank or within the Jewish state.

"The minister of transport directed the ministry's director-general to ensure that all announcements regarding the new lines that began operations today will be posted in both Hebrew and Arabic, and to ensure that the service will be unrestricted and equal for all populations," the ministry said in a statement.

"Palestinians can travel on all public transport lines in Israel, including Judaea and Samaria," it said, using the biblical term for the West Bank.

Israeli rights group B'Tselem was unconvinced.

"This is simple racism," spokeswoman Sarit Michaeli told AFP. "This bus segregation is appalling."

"They all have security clearance so arguments of security and their own comfort are simple a cover for simple racism."

One of the Palestinian passengers waiting to board on Monday, Tareq Salemeh, said the idea was a good one but more frequent service was needed to meet demand.

"It's very good, but there should be a bus every 10 minutes, because people have to wait a long time," he told AFP.

Some 360,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements, circled by about 2.5 million Palestinians.

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No proposals to roll back US spending cuts

US political leaders have failed to offer any tangible proposals for rolling back an automatic $US85 billion ($A83.7 billion) worth of spending cuts.

The White House and Republican congressional heads cast blame on each other on Sunday for the across-the-board cuts that took effect on Friday but gave little guidance on what to expect in the coming weeks.

Republicans and Democrats pledged to retroactively undo the massive reductions but signalled no hints as to how the process would start to take shape.

Republicans insisted there would be no new taxes and Democrats refused to talk about any bargain without them.

President Barack Obama and the Republicans have been fighting over federal spending since the opposition party regained control of the House of Representatives in the 2010 midterm elections.

The sequester - the term used in Washington for the automatic spending cuts - was designed in 2011 to be so ruthless both sides would be forced to find a better deal but they haven't despite having two years to find a compromise.

The $US85 billion in savings apply to the remainder of the 2013 fiscal year, which ends on September 30. But without a deal government spending will continue to be slashed by about $US1 trillion more over a 10-year period.

The public posturing by both sides in interviews aired on Sunday's television news shows indicated the spending cuts are here to stay for the near future.

The Senate's Republican leader Mitch McConnell called them modest. Republican House Speaker John Boehner isn't sure they will hurt the economy. The White House's top economic adviser, Gene Sperling, says the pain isn't that bad right now.

McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader, said on Sunday the first phase of the sequester that had just started to kick in was a step toward curing Washington of its "spending addiction".

"This modest reduction of 2.4 per cent in spending over the next six months is a little more than the average American experienced just two months ago, when their own pay went down when the payroll tax holiday expired," he said.

The payroll tax reduction was a temporary measure intended to stimulate the economy.

Boehner downplayed the dire warnings issued by Obama and Cabinet members about the impact of the spending cuts.

"I don't know whether it's going to hurt the economy or not," he said.

"I don't think anyone quite understands how the sequester is really going to work."

The latest bickering comes ahead of the US's next major budget hurdle, with less than a month to negotiate a funding plan to avert a government shutdown after March 27.

If the parties can manage to, though, yet another fiscal fight looms. In May, Congress will confront a renewed standoff on increasing the government's borrowing limit - the same debt-ceiling issue that, two years ago, spawned the law forcing the current spending cuts in the first place.

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Skull, bones found in Botany Bay mangroves

A KAYAKER has found a human skull in mangroves in Sydney's south, leading to the discovery of a number of other bones.

Police launched an investigation after the man saw the skull in shallow mangrove water while kayaking new Towra Point Nature Reserve in Botany Bay on February 28.

Marine Area Command officers searched the area on Monday and retrieved the skull and a number of other bones which were found in a remote section of the reserve.

Police from Miranda Local Area Command are investigating and the homicide squad and missing persons unit have been notified.

"As the bones were recovered today, it is too early to make any assumptions as to the cause of death or any confirmation of the identity of the person," Miranda Local Area Commander, Superintendent Greg Antonjuk, said.

"Investigators have, however, contacted the relatives of persons who have been reported missing in the local area over recent years."

A post mortem will be conducted and the bones will be forensically examined.

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Abbott will cost you, PM tells west Sydney

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has traded blows with the NSW government and the federal opposition on transport and taxes as she continues her campaign to reconnect with western Sydney voters.

Ms Gillard began the second day of her five-day tour of the region with a series of radio and television interviews to reassure its more than two million residents the government had not forgotten them.

Also on Monday, Treasurer Wayne Swan released government analysis arguing western Sydney families would be worse off under the policies of a Tony Abbott-led coalition government.

In his own round of interviews, Mr Abbott accused Ms Gillard of ignoring the area and rejected claims he would increase taxes and cut family support.

Ms Gillard, whose government faces the prospect of losing a handful of marginal seats in western Sydney to the Liberals, then picked a fight with the NSW government over funding for a major road project.

Trailed by six Labor MPs, Ms Gillard called on the state to resubmit its plans for the $13 billion 33km WestConnex road project and meet three conditions for federal funding.

She wants to ensure motorists on the M4 can travel into the Sydney CBD, that trucks with freight travelling on the M5 can get directly to and from Port Botany, and that there will be no new tolls on roads currently toll-free.

But NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell, while saying Labor's extra funding of at least $1 billion would be welcome, noted Mr Abbott had already committed $1.5 billion to the project.

"Coming in at five minutes to midnight on the eve of a federal election, when it hasn't been delivered in the past five years, does make people a bit sceptical," Mr O'Farrell told reporters.

Ms Gillard used the government analysis to accuse Mr Abbott of planning to take up to $2300 a year off the average family by scrapping some tax cuts and family payments.

Mr Abbott said it could not be assumed a coalition government would ditch Labor's decision in the last budget to triple the income tax-free threshold from $6000 to $18,200.

"We'll fund them out of savings to unnecessary and wasteful government spending, and we won't do it with a carbon tax," he said.

Ms Gillard insisted her Sydney visit was about "governing", but Mr Abbott said when the prime minister announced the September 14 election in January she had moved "from governing to campaigning".

"A prime minister who didn't have a problem wouldn't be acting in this way," he said.

The Queensland government asked why Labor had turned its back on the state in favour of must-win electorates in western Sydney.

"Ms Gillard needs to commit to the safety of Queensland motorists, not just look after her own political fortunes," Queensland Transport Minister Scott Emerson said.

Queensland wants Canberra to bring forward $4 billion worth of funding to fix the Bruce Highway, which stretches almost the length of the state.

Meanwhile, an Essential poll published on Monday found the coalition holds 56 per cent of the two-party vote and would win an election held now.

But 54 per cent of voters are still to make a "firm" decision on who to vote for, the poll found.

Ms Gillard will interrupt her Sydney visit on Tuesday, when she travels to Melbourne to attend the funeral of former Labor parliamentary Speaker Joan Child.

A 7News-ReachTEL poll of 11 western Sydney electorates found Mr Abbott was the favoured prime minister, with 39 per cent, followed by Kevin Rudd at 26 per cent, Malcolm Turnbull at 22 per cent and Ms Gillard at just 13 per cent.

Respondents overwhelmingly preferred Mr Rudd (75 per cent) over Ms Gillard (25 per cent).

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Rebels capture prison in northern Syria

JIHADIST rebels seized control of a prison in the northern Raqa province and freed "hundreds" of detainees overnight, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Sunday.

"Government forces pulled out of Raqa's central prison located in the northern part of the provincial capital after clashes that lasted days," the watchdog said.

Jihadist rebels from Al-Nusra Front and other insurgents took over the prison late on Saturday "and liberated hundreds of prisoners," it said, adding some detainees were transferred to nearby Tal Abiad to appear before a local Islamist court.

The prison takeover came as battles raged Saturday on the outskirts of the city of Raqa between rebels and Syrian troops, the Britain-based Observatory said.

Sixteen rebels and 14 government soldiers were killed in the fighting, which the Observatory said was "the most violent in the region" since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad erupted nearly two years ago.

The rebels, who control most of the countryside of Raqa, have been attacking army checkpoint on the outskirts of the provincial capital.

Elsewhere, rebel fighters and government forces fought for control of a sprawling police academy at Khan al-Assal in the northern province of Aleppo, the watchdog said.

On Saturday, rebels stormed the main building of the police academy.

In the oil-rich province of Hassakeh in northeast Syria, Kurdish militants opposed to the Assad regime captured the towns of Ramilan and Qahtaniyeh from government forces, the Observatory said.

At least 156 people were killed in violence across Syria on Saturday, including two Palestinians hanged at the Yarmuk refugee camp in Damascus on suspicion of aiding the regime, it said.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists and medics on the ground to collect information, circulated a picture of the hangings.

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Bernanke defends Fed's rate policies

Chairman Ben Bernanke has sought to calm fears that super-low rates risk igniting inflation. Source: AAP

CHAIRMAN Ben Bernanke is standing by the Federal Reserve's low-interest-rate policies, cautioning that any move to raise rates prematurely could derail a still-modest economic recovery.

Bernanke also sought to calm fears that super-low rates risk igniting inflation or rattling investors, during a speech late on Friday in San Francisco to an economic conference sponsored by the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank.

The central bank's low-rate policies are intended to encourage borrowing and spending to boost the economy. Higher rates would make borrowing more expensive.

Bernanke said the Fed's policies mirror what other central banks around the world are doing.

"Long-term interest rates in the major industrial countries are low for a good reason: Inflation is low and stable and, given expectations of weak growth, expected real short rates are low," he said.

"Premature rate increases would carry a high risk of short-circuiting the recovery, possibly leading - ironically enough - to an even longer period of low long-term rates," he said.

His comments amplified testimony he gave to Congress this week.

Critics, including some Fed regional bank presidents, have expressed concerns that the Fed may be raising the risk of inflation through its purchases of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities.

As he did in his appearance before House and Senate committees this week, Bernanke sought to provide reassurance that the central bank is closely monitoring developments in financial markets to guard against such risks.

He said 2010 financial regulatory overhaul has forced banks to boost the required capital on hand to cushion against losses. The Fed also conducts annual stress tests to make sure that the nation's largest financial institutions have sufficient resources to survive adverse economic conditions, he said.

"We pay special attention to developments at the largest, most complex financial firms, making use of information gathered in our supervision of the institutions," Bernanke said.

In December, the Fed set a goal of keeping its key short-term interest rate near zero until unemployment has fallen below 6.5 per cent. Unemployment in January stood at 7.9 per cent and many economists believe it will not drop below 6.5 per cent until late 2015 at the earliest.

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Car fires at Perth steel factory contained

THE threat of smoke and fumes from a blaze at a steel factory in Perth's east, where about 200 recycled cars were engulfed in flames, is now over.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) says the industrial blaze, near the intersection of Roe and Tonkin Highways in Kewdale, is now under control and contained.

There is no longer a large plume of smoke impacting the suburb of Wattle Grove, the DFES says.

The Department of Environment and Conservation's (DEC) pollution response unit also analysed the smoke plume and said it was not toxic.

Roads have now re-opened and residents have been told they can leave their homes and open their windows.

The fire was reported at 9.30am (WST) on Sunday, but the cause is still unknown.

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