Elderly man injured in garage explosion

AN elderly man is in hospital after a homemade device exploded in his garage in southwest Sydney.

The man, believed to be in his 70s, alerted emergency services to the incident at about 3.20pm (AEDT) on Saturday following the explosion in Barry Crescent, Padstow Heights.

Police said the man suffered injuries to his right hand after "playing around with some sort of homemade device".

"It looks like he might have been tinkering around with something that perhaps he should not have and it's caused something to explode," a police spokesman told AAP.

There was no damage caused to the property, which specialist police are now surveying.

Officers will speak to the man after he has undergone surgery for his injuries.

The incident is not being treated as suspicious.

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Challenge likely to US state abortion ban

THE cold, thinly populated state of North Dakota is trying to enact the toughest abortion restrictions in the US but it may soon find itself in a costly battle over legislation that opponents describe as blatantly unconstitutional.

Legislators on Friday took a step toward outlawing abortion altogether in the state by passing a resolution that says a fertilised egg has the same right to life as a person. The approval sends the matter to voters, who will decide whether to add the wording to the state's constitution in November 2014.

It's one of several anti-abortion measures to pass the Legislature. Most are awaiting the signature of Republican Governor Jack Dalrymple, who hasn't yet indicated whether he supports them. Even if he vetoes them, some could have enough support for the Legislature to override him.

Supporters of the measures hope to challenge the US Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973 that legalised abortion up until a foetus is considered viable, usually around 22 to 24 weeks into a pregnancy. They also acknowledge they want to shut down the state's only abortion clinic for its 700,000 residents.

"I'm from the group who hates voting on abortion issues and who don't like to play God," said state Sen. John Andrist, a Republican who describes himself as "moderately pro-life" and has voted for some but not all of the restrictions North Dakota has taken up this year. "But we have some strong-willed people in this state who do."

One bill would prohibit abortion if a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can happen as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. Another would make North Dakota the only state to prohibit women from having the procedure because a fetus has a genetic defect, such as Down syndrome.

Though similar proposals in other states have faced fierce opposition, almost all of the anti-abortion measures in North Dakota this year have passed with little debate and with overwhelming support.

The possibility of constitutional challenge is happening now in North Dakota partly because of the disintegration of an anti-abortion group of legislators that used to take the lead on introducing bills aimed at the procedure.

Longtime Senator Tim Mathern, a Democrat who once led the group, said it favoured a more gradual approach to ending abortion in the state, focusing on measures it thought would withstand legal challenges.

Without the group, some of the Legislature's most ardent abortion opponents are taking up the cause, introducing bills crafted by out-of-state organisations or from examples found on the internet.

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Cambodia French family deaths not suicide

FRENCH and Cambodian investigators have ruled out suicide in the deaths of a Frenchman and his four young children whose skeletal remains were found in a submerged car last year.

Ten French investigators, including a judge and scientific and forensic police, arrived in Cambodia earlier this month to probe the deaths of widower Laurent Vallier, 42, and his young children.

"This (investigation) has led to very significant breakthroughs which are now ruling out the possibility of a suicide," the French embassy in Phnom Penh said in a statement on Saturday.

The family's badly decomposed bodies were discovered inside Vallier's white 4x4 vehicle after it was retrieved from a large pond behind his house in southern Kampong Speu province in January last year.

Vallier and his two sons and two daughters, thought to have been aged from two to nine, had been missing since September 2011.

Chhim Rithy, a Cambodian investigating judge at Kampong Speu who was working with the team, said they had found some blood stain stains inside Vallier's house and on a rope.

"It is not the case of suicide. It could be a murder case," he told AFP, adding investigation in the case was still ongoing.

Vallier, who according to his relatives worked as a tour guide, is understood to have moved from France to Cambodia around 13 years ago, arriving in Kampong Speu in 2007. His Cambodian wife died in childbirth in 2009.

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Drugs seized in WA bikie property raid

A MASSIVE quantity of drugs has been seized from a factory in Perth's north with alleged links to a bikie gang.

Gang Crime Squad detectives raided the Malaga factory, connected to the Comancheros bikie gang, on Friday.

Police confirmed drugs had been seized from the property but were still examining them.

Media reports had suggested the drugs were a 13kg mixture of methamphetamines, heroin and cocaine.

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US Marine kills person at base: reports

A US Marine shot and killed at least one person at a military base in Virginia and has barricaded himself inside a building.

US media said the shooting happened Thursday night at Marine Base Quantico in the state bordering Washington, DC.

The base went into lockdown immediately after the shooting, but this has since been lifted.

Police are in a standoff with the shooter.

The suspect is a Marine who attended officer candidate school at the base, CBS News reported.

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Ex Vic union boss joins Katter party

Bob Katter's party has recruited former Electrical Trades Union Victorian secretary Dean Mighell. Source: AAP

FORMER union boss and ousted Labor Party member Dean Mighell is joining independent MP Bob Katter's party to handle its industrial relations policy.

Just weeks after announcing his decision to quit as the Victorian secretary of the Electrical Trades Union, Mr Mighell announced he had accepted the leadership of the Katter's Australian Party's IR wing on Friday, flanked by Mr Katter.

"It's a great opportunity to work with Bob Katter in an emerging new party that can help redefine Australian politics for working people," he said.

"We need a strong voice. We haven't gotten that with Labor."

Mr Mighell was booted from the Labor Party under former prime minister Kevin Rudd after a tape emerged of him swearing and boasting about his negotiations with bosses.

He and Mr Katter shared concerns about the growing number of international workers on 457 visas, he said, adding that his first task will be to draft a "pro-union" IR policy for the party.

Mr Katter said Mr Mighell's philosophical underpinning in politics was identical to that of his party.

"Dean has the reputation as one of the most aggressive and successful trade union leaders in this country and that is why we have come to him," he said.

Mr Mighell faced internal union discipline over his support for Katter's Australian Party ahead of the last Queensland election.

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Indon plan to acquire Aussie cattle farms

INDONESIA is pressing on with plans to buy cattle breeding operations in Australia to help counter supply problems and surging beef prices.

Budi Perbawa Aji, a spokesman for the state-owned agriculture company Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia, confirmed on Thursday that a delegation was set to go to Australia to size up farms.

"At the moment, we're just waiting for implementation and technical guidance from the ministry," Mr Budi told AAP.

"Once we've got it, then we can go to Australia to make some assessments."

Indonesia insists it will maintain cuts to its cattle import quota, which it has slashed by about 80 per cent since 2010.

It's unclear whether cattle raised on Indonesian-owned farms in Australia would be counted as part of the import quota, potentially further damaging Australian beef producers hurt by the 2011 suspension of live exports

Indonesia's State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, who raised the idea of producing stock abroad earlier this week, said it was aimed at helping the country achieve its aim of self-sufficiency in beef production by 2014.

Australian producers have said they believe Indonesia no longer sees them as reliable suppliers because of the suspension of live trade two years ago.

The Australian government suspended live exports after footage was aired on the ABC's Four Corners of animal cruelty in Indonesian abattoirs.

The new plan has the support of Indonesia's Meat Producers and Feedlot Association.

"In the field of breeding, they are superior. They can breed cattle cheaper there," the association's director Joni Liano said.

"But on the other side, in the feedlot business, we can do it better."

He said the plan would be an important step forward in terms of Indonesia being able to meet its domestic demand for beef.

"Basically, the problem is supply. As long as it adds number to supply, then we can meet our demand to make reasonable price," Mr Liano said.

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Racist remarks no excuse for murder: judge

A YOUNG man who murdered a man who racially abused him has been jailed for at least 17 years after a NSW Supreme Court judge found he acted out of an "uncontrollable passion for revenge".

The racist remarks directed towards Douglas Barlow, 26, of Ballina were no excuse for him to commit murder, Justice Ian Harrison said as he handed down a maximum 23-year sentence in the Supreme Court at Lismore on Thursday.

On the first day of his trial on Monday, Barlow pleaded guilty to murdering 40-year-old David Newport at a hotel in Ballina on July 17, 2011.

The court heard the two men were involved in an altercation outside the Henry Rous Hotel and Mr Newport punched Barlow.

The court heard there was unchallenged evidence that Mr Newport made "offensive and racially derogatory remarks to him and told him he wanted him out of the town", the judge said.

Mr Newport also later boasted about the fight and described Barlow, who is Aboriginal, as a "black ****".

A couple of hours later, an intoxicated Barlow returned to the hotel with a steak knife and stabbed Mr Newport four times in the chest.

Mr Newport died later in hospital and Barlow handed himself in to police that evening.

Justice Harrison noted Barlow's action was "largely an anger-fuelled response to the earlier events".

"It was borne of what appears to have been an uncontrollable passion for revenge," he said.

He noted the murder took place in a public area in full view of hotel patrons and Barlow made no effort to disguise his appearance.

It was "an ill-considered, irrational and possibly even frenzied assault", the judge found.

Barlow gave evidence about the murder and apologised to his victim's family in what Justice Harrison described as "an unguarded and patently honest fashion".

However, he noted Barlow had a number of previous convictions, including for assault causing actual bodily harm.

"The racial abuse and assault of an offender by the victim amounts neither to an excuse to murder him nor to a rational or acceptable reason for doing so," he said.

Taking into account time already served, Barlow will be eligible for parole in July 2028.

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NSW introduces anti-bikie laws

BIKIE gangs could be declared criminal organisations in NSW within months, with the state government hoping to get its modified anti-gang legislation in place by Easter.

NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith said the laws recognised the "growing threat of criminal organisations".

The amended legislation adopts crucial elements of a Queensland law, which declared a chapter of the Finks motorcycle club a criminal organisation.

The High Court last week upheld the law after the Gold Coast chapter of the Finks bikie gang argued it was unconstitutional and denied procedural fairness.

"The amendments should also give the community extra confidence that due process is being followed in these applications," Mr Smith told parliament after introducing the bill on Thursday.

He said the "hybrid" laws also included parts of the state government's previous legislation, which was defeated by NSW bikies in a 2011 court case.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said the laws gave police the power to protect the public from criminal gangs.

"We're determined to get these tough new laws in place by Easter," he said.

"We did the prudent thing, waited for the High Court ruling on the Queensland laws. After careful examination, we've modified our bill.

"The NSW government is determined to have outlaw motorcycle gangs declared criminal organisations."

The amended legislation adopts the Queensland model in allowing for the Supreme Court, rather than an eligible judge, to make decisions on applications to declare an organisation a criminal organisation.

The Supreme Court would also decide what is criminal intelligence.

"A court will now need to be satisfied that members of an organisation in NSW associate for the purposes of serious criminal activity, and the continued existence of the organisation poses an unacceptable risk ... to the community," Mr Smith told parliament.

Shadow attorney-general Paul Lynch said the opposition would not oppose the bill "if it does what the government says it will do".

"We have not had time to read it yet," he told parliament.

"We are entirely committed to this legislation working."

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced plans to implement national anti-gang and asset seizure laws.

She said she would ask the premiers and chief ministers at April's Council of Australian Governments meeting to refer some of their powers to the commonwealth.

Anti-bikie legislation in South Australia was successfully challenged in the High Court.

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Melb hospital joins PM in adoption apology

A Melbourne hospital has issued a formal apology for forced adoptions ahead of the PM's apology. Source: AAP

A MELBOURNE hospital has apologised to women who were forced to give up their babies for adoption over a 30-year period.

Monash Health chief executive Shelly Park said she was truly sorry for the pain and loss so many experienced through past adoption practices at the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital in the 30-year period up to the late 1970s.

"I recognise that many women, particularly young single women, experienced grief, pain, anger and loss, some of which have continued to the present time," Ms Park said on Wednesday.

"For this, I apologise unconditionally."

From the 1950s to the 1970s, about 150,000 unwed Australian mothers had their babies removed by churches and adoption agencies.

A number of states, including Victoria, have apologised to mothers who had to relinquish their babies during this time.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Julia Gillard will make a formal apology in Canberra.

The Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital was one of the major maternity hospitals in Melbourne for several decades.

"On behalf of Monash Health, I acknowledge that many past adoption practices, particularly when considered against today's standards, were clearly misguided; often based on societal attitudes and pressures rather than the best interests of mother and child," Ms Park said.

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Two WA men acquitted of insider trading

TWO Perth men have been acquitted of 28 insider trading charges but still face a further five offences after a jury failed to reach a verdict on all the counts.

Roberto Gerald Catena and Flemming Hood Nielsen were accused of engaging in unlawful conduct while possessing inside information on a possible takeover of Vision Systems Limited (VSL).

A WA Supreme Court jury returned not-guilty verdicts on 28 out of 33 counts in the indictment but were not able to reach verdicts on the remaining counts.

Catena, 46, was charged with 20 counts of insider trading between July and August 2006 when he was a broker with Citigroup Wealth Advisers and advised five clients, including Nielsen, to purchase VSL shares.

Nielsen, 56, faced 13 counts of insider trading for the same period while he was a client and received the inside information and purchased VSL shares through Citigroup and CommSec.

Catena and Nielsen were granted bail to reappear in the WA Supreme Court on April 8 to face the remaining five counts.

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Labor hosing down leadership speculation

Backers of a return to Kevin Rudd are split over whether to take on the PM in the next two days. Source: AAP

SENIOR Labor figures are talking down the prospect of a leadership change, despite a key Kevin Rudd supporter saying caucus members are concerned about the federal government's re-election hopes.

Parliament will rise on Thursday for a seven-week break before the May 14 federal budget.

Leadership speculation has been ripe this week, after reports - later denied - that Foreign Minister Bob Carr and Mental Health Minister Mark Butler had switched allegiance away from Ms Gillard.

Chief government whip Joel Fitzgibbon, a key Rudd backer, told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday it was "stating the obvious" that there were concerns in the caucus about the prospect of an election "wipeout" in September.

But he also said numbers were not being counted and no caucus meeting was being planned.

"Anyone who is talking to the media about numbers is just misleading," he said.

"No one knows what the numbers are because no number counting has been done."

He also said, "MPs are talking to one another about the state of our position in the polls and an election looming and what we are going to do to make ourselves more competitive."

Mr Fitzgibbon said Ms Gillard would have his support for as long as she held the support of the majority of the caucus.

He repeated his earlier statement that if leaders stayed unpopular for long enough "they won't lead the party".

In a separate interview with Fairfax Media, Mr Fitzgibbon said any suggestion of a leadership ballot between budget day and the September election was a "silly concept".

Mr Rudd - who heads overseas next week on a trip taking in Korea, China and North America - issued a brief statement on Wednesday, standing by his commitment not to challenge.

"Unlike others who have used the phrase, when I say will not challenge for the leadership, I mean it. That means Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or beyond," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan said Ms Gillard was "as tough as they make them".

"She's going to beat Tony Abbott because she's focused on the big reforms for the future," he said.

Labor MPs were keeping their heads down on Wednesday evening, with all caucus members including the prime minister declining an invitation from ABC's 7.30 program to be interviewed.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, asked whether he was getting nervous about Mr Rudd's possible return, told reporters in Canberra, "What Australians want is strong and stable government.".

"They were gathering three years ago on Kevin Rudd and now they are gathering again on the current prime minister," he said.

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SA backs wind farm developments

SOUTH Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has reaffirmed his government's support for wind energy and will seek a vote in parliament on Wednesday backing the renewable energy sector.

Mr Weatherill said recent suggestions of a moratorium on future wind farm developments was putting investment in the industry at risk.

"The government remains committed to providing ample opportunity for investment in wind energy in South Australia," the premier told state parliament on Tuesday.

"Every megawatt hour of wind energy cuts about one tonne of greenhouse gas emissions.

"Apart from the environmental benefits, wind farms also bring in vital investment to our state."

Mr Weatherill said South Australia had already attracted about $3 billion in wind energy investment, creating 842 direct jobs.

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Breakthrough in Vic teachers pay dispute

THERE has been a major breakthrough in the long-running Victorian teachers' pay battle, with the government backing down on performance pay.

The union says it is a sign the new Premier Denis Napthine is prepared to listen to teachers' concerns but the parties are yet to agree on salaries, contract teaching and several other issues.

Government and Australian Education Union (AEU) negotiators are due to meet again on Wednesday afternoon.

Dr Napthine said the government remained committed to performance pay but was willing to cut that aspect out of enterprise bargaining negotiations with the union in a bid to resolve the long-running dispute.

"We seek to deal with the issue of performance pay outside the EBA process," he told parliament on Tuesday.

"I call upon the teachers' union to accept this act of good faith."

AEU Victoria president Meredith Peace said the union would never accept performance pay because it did not lead to better student outcomes.

She said the government's move was a positive, small step but the union wasn't celebrating yet.

"It shows that the new premier is prepared to listen to our profession," Ms Peace said.

"This is a small step in the right direction but there is still much work to be done."

Ms Peace said the outstanding issues included salaries, workloads, class sizes and the high level of contract employment.

The union revised down its pay claim last November to a 12.6 per cent increase over three years, while the government's wages policy was 2.5 per cent plus extra for productivity gains.

"We actually now need to see what they are prepared to offer," Ms Peace said.

Former premier Ted Baillieu promised, before the coalition won government, to make Victoria's teachers the best paid in Australia.

Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said Dr Napthine should become personally involved in negotiations rather than grand stand in parliament.

"Instead of these faux concessions, the mock drama on the floor of the parliament, Mr Napthine should get in a room and get a deal done," he said.

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US backs Aust and NZ's Antarctic plans

The US is backing a proposal by Australia and NZ to set up marine sanctuaries in Antarctica. Source: AAP

HAILING the waters of Antarctica as a living laboratory, the United States has joined Australia and New Zealand in appealing for the creation of marine sanctuaries in the most remote and pristine part of the world.

The United States and New Zealand have drawn up a proposal for a marine sanctuary covering 1.6 million square kilometres of the Ross Sea, which would be the world's largest reserve.

Nations led by Australia, France and the European Union also want to protect 1.9 million square kilometres of critical coastal area in the East Antarctic.

But the proposals were blocked when talks in November at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) - comprising 24 countries and the European Union - ended without resolution amid concerns from Russia and China.

Now the nations in favour are boosting their efforts to get the two sanctuaries approved at a special meeting of the group in Germany in July.

"Antarctica is a collection of superlatives. It's the highest, coldest, the windiest, the driest, the most pristine and the most remote place on Earth," US Secretary of State John Kerry told a gathering organised by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

"And it has beguiled humankind for centuries as people have sought to understand it," he added, arguing that the waters of the Southern Ocean, home to 16,000 species, are a "living laboratory."

Kerry told the gathering at the National Geographic Society he believed the world can "work together to ensure that Antarctica remains a place devoted to peace and devoted to expanding human understanding of this fragile planet."

"This is one of the last places we could do this, and I think we owe it to ourselves to make it happen."

But conservationists argue the proposals do not go far enough to protect marine life - notably the Antarctic toothfish, which is fished in huge quantities and served as Chilean sea bass on restaurant tables around the world.

The Ross Sea proposal, while creating a reserve to protect Adelie and emperor penguins, as well as killer whales and Weddell seals, would still allow some 3,000 tonnes of toothfish to be commercially caught each year.

"We wanted New Zealand to come up with a much stronger proposal, and they just didn't, and they dug their heels in, and basically the US had to go for New Zealand's proposal," documentary film-maker Peter Young said.

"It doesn't matter how sustainable this quota is, we shouldn't be in the last place. We don't take buffalo from Yellowstone. We don't take kiwi from the forests in New Zealand. We should not fish from the Ross Sea."

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Anti-fracking artists 'fail' to register

DOZENS of celebrities may be running foul of US law as they unite under the banner of one group that is seeking to prevent a method of gas drilling in New York state.

Artists Against Fracking opposes hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and boasts members including Yoko Ono and actors Mark Ruffalo and Susan Sarandon.

The group says forcing water and chemicals deep into shale deposits to extract gas threatens drinking water and the environment. The group's website implores, "Tell Governor Cuomo: Don't Frack New York."

But the group and nearly 200 entertainers who are gaining attention and support in the dispute, which is splitting New Yorkers, aren't registered lobbyists, according to a search by The Associated Press of the database of the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics.

State law is designed to disclose who is trying to influence government action, how much money they are spending and where the money's going.

"You spend money lobbying, you have to register," said David Grandeau, former executive director of the state lobbying commission and now an lawyer representing lobbyists and clients.

There's no public record of how much money Artists Against Fracking has spent, but its website contains links for visitors to make donations, which are directed to the Sustainable Markets Foundation. Although the foundation is an established charitable organisation and its donations are recorded publicly, it isn't registered with New York as a lobbying client, either.

Under New York law, however, it appears Artists Against Fracking is required to be a registered lobbyist because the law hinges on spending over $US5,000.

The group hasn't filed lobbying reports, so the amount it has spent and what it was spent on isn't known publicly. Experts in Albany say the website and public events appear to have cost well over $US5,000.

The group hasn't responded to requests for comment in the past two weeks. The group's account executive at its public relations firm, Fenton of New York City, didn't respond to a request for comment.

The group includes Ono and Sean Lennon, the widow and son of musician John Lennon. They recently attended an anti-fracking event in Albany with Ruffalo, actors Zooey Deschanel, Alec Baldwin and Hugh Jackman, and singer Lady Gaga, along with other longtime activists such as David Crosby and Paul McCartney. None of them are registered to lobby in New York.

A week ago, Artists Against Fracking widely released a music video done through Skype from various locations featuring dozens of entertainers singing a Sean Lennon song, "Don't Frack My Mother." In it, Ono sings part of the chorus, "Don't frack me!"

Failing to register as a lobbyist is not a criminal offence. Commonly, when a person new to lobbying is believed to have failed to lobby as required by law to track the influence of money on public policy, that person is given a chance to submit a lobbing form and pay a $US200 fee.

One of the main players supporting fracking, the Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York, is registered.

Lobbying is big business in New York. The New York Public Interest Research Group reported that more than $US220 million was spent lobbying in 2011 - and that was before the fracking debate really heated up.

The biggest penalty for failure to follow the lobbying law resulted in a $US250,000 fine against Donald Trump and others over casinos in 2000, and the Philip Morris tobacco company was hit with a $US75,000 fine in 1999.

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Aussie man, 93, on Thai child rape charges

LAWYERS for a 93-year-old Australian are arguing he is too ill to face charges of sexually assaulting children in Thailand.

German born Karl Joseph Kraus, from Western Australia, is accused of abusing four sisters for almost two years. The youngest was aged five when the alleged abuse began.

Kraus will ask a Thai court for freedom on Monday.

At the time of his arrest almost three years ago, police said they found more than 100 photos of naked children on the hard drive of his computer.

Kraus pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault and was granted bail of 400,000 baht (A$12,000).

In mid-2012 he fled to neighbouring Myanmar (Burma) before being arrested and sent back to Thailand.

Lawyers say Kraus has several health issues, including dementia and cancer.

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Alleged gunman charged over Sydney siege

A siege in Sydney's southwest is over with a man led away in handcuffs. Source: AAP

A MAN will face court charged with holding his ex-partner's elderly mother in a southwestern Sydney home during a six-hour siege.

Police charged the 56-year-old man with detaining for advantage, assault and possessing an unregistered firearm after the siege in Raby on Monday.

They say they were called to the home in Avro Place shortly before 7.30am (AEDT) by a woman who said she'd been threatened by a man armed with a gun.

The woman had managed to escape, but her 74-year-old mother remained inside with the armed man.

Police will allege he held the elderly woman against her will in the home in Avro Place until about 1pm (AEDT), when he allowed her to leave.

Inspector Greg Inger said the woman was shaken but unhurt.

"She was obviously upset about what had happened, but she was fine," he told reporters at the scene.

The gunman surrendered about 15 minutes later.

Up to 40 police, including negotiators and officers from the highway patrol and the Tactical Operations Unit, worked to resolve the stand-off.

Neighbours described their shock and fear after seeing snipers take up positions near the house in a leafy cul de sac.

One resident said she had woken to a loud bang shortly after 7am followed by a woman screeching and dogs barking.

"Obviously I thought the worst," the woman, who identified herself only as Lina, told reporters.

"You don't expect it, this is a really calm area. You don't expect it to happen in your own backyard, so it is pretty scary, pretty unreal."

Police also allegedly found a 12-gauge single-barrel shotgun and a box of shotgun ammunition in the house and a speargun in the man's car.

He will remain behind bars until he appears at Campbelltown Local Court on Tuesday.

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China's Xi calls for 'great renaissance'

President Xi Jinping has promised to pursue the Communist Party's "Chinese dream" of prosperity. Source: AAP

CHINA'S new President Xi Jinping says he will fight for a "great renaissance of the Chinese nation", as the world's most populous country completed its once-in-a-decade power transition.

In his first speech as head of state, Xi called for "the continued realisation of the great renaissance of the Chinese nation and the Chinese dream", laying out a vision of a stronger military and ever-higher living standards.

The 25-minute speech closed a parliament sitting which named Xi as head of state and Li Keqiang as premier, four months after the pair took the top two posts in the ruling Communist Party - the real source of their power.

Both Xi and Li stuck to the party's long-held consensus on the need for economic reforms to ensure growth, while increasing military power and avoiding political change that could threaten its grip on power.

Analysts said Xi's concept of a "great renaissance" was a slogan designed to have broad appeal, without any firm commitments to specific reforms.

Xi has close ties to China's expanding military - which put its first aircraft carrier into service last year - and he called for the armed forces to strengthen their ability to "win battles".

Beijing is embroiled in a bitter territorial row with Japan over islands in the East China Sea, and with neighbouring nations over claims to the South China Sea. Tensions with the US have increased over reports of army-organised hacking.

Newly appointed Premier Li Keqiang sought to play down such conflicts in a press conference, saying that Beijing would not "seek hegemony" as it became stronger and denying allegations that China engages in hacking.

Li called the accusations "groundless", days after President Barack Obama weighed in on the issue. He said China's relationship with Washington was vital and their mutual interests outweighed their differences.

"Conflicts between big powers are not inevitable," Li said.

Li, now in charge of the day-to-day running of the government, said that "maintaining sustainable economic growth", with an annual GDP increase of around 7.5 per cent over the coming decade, would be his administration's top priority.

But ensuring such a performance would be difficult, he said. China recorded its slowest growth for more than a decade last year amid weakened demand in key export markets.

"What the market can do, we should release more to the market", he said without giving details of specific economic reforms.

Both leaders reiterated the party's repeated pledges to fight corruption, with Li saying that the government had an "unshakable resolve" to do so.

Speaking in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, Xi stressed continuity with previous Chinese leaders and thanked outgoing president Hu Jintao, who stood and bowed as China completed the transition of its top leaders.

Neither Xi nor Li mentioned systematic political reform. But Li said China would release a plan for unspecified changes to its controversial "re-education" labour camp system, in which people can be incarcerated for up to four years without trial.

"The tone is definitely conservative," Joseph Cheng, a China politics expert at Hong Kong's City University, said of Xi's speech. "It is difficult to anticipate serious political reforms in the near future.

"What we see here is a very balanced approach not to alienate any vested interests and to continue to do something popular like combat corruption, combat lavishness and pomp and so on, and appeal to patriotism."

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Man under police guard over two Vic deaths

THE son of one of two brothers found dead in a country Victorian property has been arrested and remains under police guard in hospital.

Ross Streeter, 30, is the son of Douglas Streeter, who police believe was shot dead along with his brother John Streeter, at their property at Natte Yallock, near Avoca, on Thursday evening.

Mr Streeter was arrested at Avoca in connection with the deaths on Saturday.

Paramedics found him near a water tower in Cambridge Street with self-inflicted injuries, an Ambulance Victoria spokesman said.

The man was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious condition under police escort.

Police said the man's injuries were not life-threatening, but he is expected to remain in hospital for at least another day.

He is yet to be interviewed by police.

Police have said it appeared the men, both aged in their 60s, had been shot.

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Vic police call for stabbing witnesses

A man has died after being stabbed multiple times in the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy. Source: AAP

MYSTERY surrounds the death of a young man who was stabbed multiple times in inner Melbourne.

A passing council worker found the man in distress in Fitzroy about 5am Sunday (AEDT), police said.

The worker gave the man first aid and called 000 but paramedics were unable to revive the young man.

Detective Sergeant Allan Birch said police are still trying to establish what happened to the man.

"It would appear he had a number of stabbing injuries," he told reporters.

"We don't know what happened ... we don't know exactly how the injuries were inflicted."

Police were initially unable to identify the man, but now say he is a 21-year-old from Werribee.

The man was found in Johnston Street near the intersection of Fitzroy Street.

On Sunday morning a small lane way was draped with a tarpaulin as crime scene examiners combed the area.

Det Sgt Birch said police are not aware of any witnesses besides the council worker and urge people with information to come forward.

He said the homicide investigation is very wide, given the lack of information.

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