Malala gets Harvard award

The Pakistani girl who survived being shot by the Taliban has been honoured by Harvard University. Source: AAP

A PAKISTANI girl who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban has been honoured as Harvard University's humanitarian of the year.

Malala Yousafzai, an outspoken proponent for girls' education, was at Harvard on Friday to accept the 2013 Peter J Gomes Humanitarian Award. Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust said she was pleased to welcome Malala because of their shared interest in education.

Malala was shot in the head last October. Militants said she was attacked because she was critical of the Taliban, not because of her views on education.

The 16-year-old said she hopes to become a politician because politicians can have influence on a broad scale.

She spoke nostalgically about her home region, the Swat Valley, and said she hopes to return some day. She called it a "paradise" but described a dangerous area where militants blew up dozens of schools and sought to discourage girls from going to school by snatching pens from their hands. Students, she said, reacted by hiding their books under their shawls so people wouldn't know they were going to school.

"The so-called Taliban were afraid of women's power and were afraid of the power of education," she told hundreds of students, faculty members and well-wishers who packed Harvard's ornate Sanders Theater for the award ceremony.

Malala highlighted the fact that very few people spoke out against what was happening in her home region.

"Although few people spoke, but the voice for peace and education was powerful," she said.

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Massive bikie crackdown on Gold Coast

Queensland police are set to flood into the Gold Coast to crack down hard on bikie gangs after two brawls.

QUEENSLAND police have launched a zero-tolerance crackdown on bikie gangs on the Gold Coast.

Police Minister Jack Dempsey directed police on Saturday to immediately respond after two overnight bikie brawls in two hours.

Mr Dempsey says Gold Coast police will be given whatever additional resources, including extra officers and vehicles, they need..

"They have no more chances," Mr Dempsey told reporters.

Queensland police have launched a zero-tolerance crackdown on bikie gangs on the Gold Coast.

"Enough is enough."

Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said that extra officers specifically targeting bikie gangs would be on Gold Coast streets within hours.

They would have a zero-tolerance approach to bikies, he added.

"There are those still who think they are above the law in this state and that is unacceptable," Mr Stewart told reporters.

"We will go after these people hard."

Attorney General Jarrod Bleijie supported further legal action against bikie gangs, saying the government was already working to have the Finks bikie gang declared a criminal organisation.

"I would support any move to have that declaration extended to other outlaw motorcycle gangs as well," he said.

"This government will do whatever is necessary to respond to this engaging in criminal activities in this state."

Two bikie gang brawls on the Gold Coast on Friday night - one outside a restaurant and the other hours later outside a police station - led to eight people being arrested and four officers being injured.

A total of 18 people were charged in relation to the fights, with offences including causing a public nuisance, assault, obstructing police, assaulting police, acting disorderly on licensed premises and an unrelated stealing matter.

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Full briefing needed on boat tragedy: ALP

Labor says the coalition must provide a full briefing of the latest asylum seeker tragedy off Indonesia.

THE federal government must provide a full briefing of the latest asylum seeker tragedy off Indonesia, in which at least 22 people are believed drowned, Labor says.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott, in Melbourne for the AFL grand final breakfast on Saturday morning, declined to comment on the disaster to waiting reporters.

However, acting Labor leader Chris Bowen called on the government to provide a full briefing.

"There are very concerning reports of another tragedy in Indonesia," Mr Bowen said.

Labor is calling on the government to provide full details of the latest asylum seeker tragedy.

"It appears that the Royal Australian Navy may have been involved in two rescues, although of course details are very, very sketchy.

Indonesian authorities hold grave fears for up to 70 asylum seekers still missing, feared drowned, after the boat sank en route to Australia in rough seas off the coast of Java on Friday.

One of the passengers, a Lebanese man, had reportedly lost his pregnant wife and eight children.

Just 25 of those aboard were rescued before efforts to locate survivors were postponed due to failing light, with the effort scheduled to resume early Saturday morning.

"Of course, days like this, all our thoughts go to those who've lost their lives and we give our support to the rescuers," Mr Bowen said.

The government needed to be clear with Australians about what role the Royal Australian Navy and others have played, Mr Bowen said.

"The government has previously said that when there was a tragedy or a significant event at sea, then they would provide briefings," he said.

"I would call on the government, through the home affairs minister or the immigration minister, to provide those briefings to the Australian people today.

"This can't wait for Mr Morrison's weekly briefing. These updates should be provided as and when the government can."

Mr Bowen said a statement by Indonesia's foreign minister on Friday showed that government's "heightened level of concern" about the turn-back-the-boats policy.

"That is a matter in Australia's national interest which must be dealt with as a matter of some urgency."

The tragedy comes as Julie Bishop prepares for her first visit to Indonesia as foreign minister.

Ms Bishop will join a ministerial delegation accompanying Mr Abbott to Jakarta on Monday, where the issue of asylum seekers is expected to feature heavily in bilateral talks.

The foreign minister will then visit New Zealand to meet with her foreign counterpart, before returning to Southeast Asia for talks with senior leaders in Singapore.

Her trip finishes back in Indonesia, where she'll join trade and foreign ministers in Bali for the two-day APEC Ministers' Meeting.

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UK poll finds pilots have slept in flight

56% of pilots have fallen asleep on the flight deck, according to a survey by a UK pilots union. Source: AAP

MORE than half of pilots have fallen asleep on the flight deck, according to a survey by UK pilots' union Balpa.

And of the 56 per cent who admitted nodding off, as many as 29 per cent said they awoke to find the other pilot asleep.

The findings come after it emerged both pilots on an Airbus passenger plane were asleep at the same time with the UK-operated aircraft flying on autopilot.

One of the pilots indicated in a report to the UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) that the pair nodded off after both had only five hours sleep in the previous two nights.

Details of the August 13 incident come as UK pilots' organisation Balpa is unhappy at proposed European changes to flight-time regulations.

Of the 500 commercial pilots polled for the survey, 43 per cent said they believed their abilities had been compromised at least once a month in the last six months by tiredness, with 84 per cent saying it has been compromised at some stage during the past six months.

Also, 31 per cent did not believe their airline had a culture that lent itself to reporting tiredness concerns, with only half (51 per cent) saying they believed their airline chief executive would back them if they refused to fly because of tiredness.

Unprompted, 49 per cent said pilot tiredness was the biggest threat to flight safety - three times more than any other threat.

The poll results come ahead of a European Parliament vote on new EU rules on pilot flying hours next Monday.

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Boats will be a 'passing irritant': PM

Tony Abbott says the asylum seeker boats issue will be but a "passing irritant" with Indonesia. Source: AAP

THE asylum seeker boats issue will be but a "passing irritant" with Indonesia, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.

Mr Abbott says Australia's relationship with Indonesia is strong and close and he wants it to be more so in the months ahead.

"The last thing that anyone should want is to have Australia's relationship with Indonesia defined by this boats issue which I am sure will be but a passing irritant," he told Fairfax Radio in Melbourne on Friday.

"That's one of the many reasons why it is so important to stop the boats, because I don't want what is in so many respects our most important relationship to be needlessly complicated by this."

The comments come after Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa warned that his country won't accept violations of its borders under the Abbott government's plan to turn back asylum seeker boats.

He said the move could damage relations between the two neighbours.

But Mr Abbott said Australia will work closely with Indonesia to stop the flow of boat arrivals in a way which fully respects Indonesia's sovereignty.

"We will do strong and sensible things which build on the strong relationship we already have with Indonesia," he said.

"It's in the interests of both countries that we stop these boats as quickly as possible."

Mr Abbott said there had been a "couple of hundred" asylum seeker arrivals on boats since the government was sworn in, but he didn't have exact numbers.

"The key change since the swearing in is now anyone who gets here illegally by boat is out of the country to Nauru or Manus within 48 hours and they're never coming back," he said.

The asylum seeker issue will be high on the agenda when Mr Abbott and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hold bilateral talks next week.

Interim Labor leader Chris Bowen said Mr Abbott's description of the issue as a "passing irritant" and Ms Bishop's lack of transparency about her meeting with Dr Natalegawa, showed poor judgment.

"It takes a special effort to endanger such an important bilateral relationship in the first week of office before Mr Abbott and Mr Yudhoyono have even met," Mr Bowen told reporters in Sydney.

Mr Bowen said Mr Abbott needed to distance himself from comments by former foreign minister Alexander Downer that the Indonesians were engaging in "pious rhetoric" over the boat issue.

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Bishop takes UN council helm, and praise

Julie Bishop took the role of "president" on the UN Security Council and the glory from Kevin Rudd. Source: AAP

IT was Kevin's vision but Julie got the glory.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd endured criticism, even ridicule, when he initiated Australia's campaign for a seat on the United Nations Security Council in 2008 and was lambasted for spending "millions" in order to make it a reality.

But as warm applause rang around the genteel chamber housing the Security Council on Thursday and representative after representative congratulated Australia for its leadership on a landmark small arms resolution, it was Julie Bishop who accepted the praise.

In October 2012, as then prime minister Julia Gillard celebrated Australia's impressive victory in the vote for a two-year stint on one of the most effective UN bodies, Ms Bishop dismissively suggested there was "a limit to what can be achieved as a temporary member on the United Nations Security Council".

Tony Abbott, perhaps churlishly, declared it an "expensive victory".

But that was then.

Now, Ms Bishop, as Australia's new foreign minister, has taken the role of "president" and chair of the council, and urged it to continue to make crucial, life-saving decisions such as backing the control and proliferation of illicit small arms and weapons.

She proudly presided over the debate and vote on the resolution, securing 14 yes votes.

There were no votes in the negative and Russia was the only country that failed to back the measure by opting to abstain.

The resolution is designed to regulate international arms transfers and prohibit shipments to governments that fail to conform with the UN Charter.

"The treaty will also help address weapons diversion from government stockpiles - a growing and disturbing source of arms for pirates, rebels and warlords," said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

An estimated 500,000 people die annually as a result of the use of small arms, many of them civilians.

"These weapons pose a grave threat to civilians, to peacekeepers, to humanitarian workers and to civil society organisations," Ms Bishop said.

"Their proliferation and misuse can undermine the rule of law and human rights, and destroy efforts to rebuild broken societies."

During the discussion, Ms Bishop noted the resolution had particular relevance for the countries in Australia's region, recalling the key role the surrender and confiscation of more than 4000 weapons had in the Australian-led push to stabilise the Solomon Islands over the past decade.

She urged the Security Council to revisit the issue on a regular basis.

Implementation of the "treaty" is still a way off. Fifty countries need to formally ratify the resolution for it to come into effect - only seven have done so to date, while 110 UN states have signed it.

Ms Bishop took the helm at the council as part of Australia's two-year stint as a non-permanent member.

The minister's visit to the UN for Leaders' Week coincides with Australia's month-long assignment in the Security Council presidency role, which is awarded on a revolving basis.

It is the first time since 1985/86 that Australia has presided over the council.

The vote was precisely what Australia was seeking although the gathering didn't go without a hitch - the minister stumbled over the name of the Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and the lights in the ornate room went out briefly as the United States delegate Samantha Powell began to speak.

While she lingered in the council for a time after the meeting, Ms Bishop opted not to discuss Australia's rare venture into the global political and diplomatic spotlight with the media.

During a busy week in New York, it has become increasingly difficult for the Australian media to secure time with the minister, especially since her recount of a bilateral meeting on Monday with her Indonesian counterpart sparked fresh controversy over the Abbott government's policy on asylum seekers.

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Greenpeace activists to face Russian court

A RUSSIAN court has begun considering whether to prolong the detention of 30 Greenpeace activists suspected of piracy after they held a high seas protest on an Arctic oil platform.

The Lenin district court in the northern city of Murmansk on Thursday morning opened a hearing into the activists, which includes an Australian resident among 26 foreigners, who launched a protest on an oil rig from Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise ship.

Russian investigators said they would ask the court to rule that all the activists be kept behind bars as the piracy case is investigated further.

They have been held in detention in Murmansk since late Tuesday.

The hearing began shortly after 11am in Murmansk (1700 AEST), Greenpeace Russia wrote on Twitter.

"The hearing will be open... They will start with citizens of France, Canada and Russia," Greenpeace said.

It said that activists were brought into the court building in handcuffs.

"Today the investigation intends to ask for the Lenin district court of Murmansk to hold all the 30 suspects in custody," the Investigative Committee, which probes major crime cases in Russia, said on its website.

The Russian authorities by Thursday evening must either charge the activists, release them or apply for their detention to be extended without them being charged, Greenpeace spokesman Aaron Gray-Block said in an emailed statement.

He said the activists had all been interviewed with a lawyer and some with a diplomat from their country also present.

The Investigative Committee said that all the activists, who come from 18 different countries including Britain and the United States had cited their right to remain silent under the Russian Constitution.

Russian border guards took control of the Greenpeace ship and locked up the activists after they last week attempted to scale state energy giant Gazprom's Prirazlomnaya oil platform in protest at oil exploration in the Barents Sea.

The border guards, who had seized the vessel after descending on it on ropes from helicopters, then towed the ship to Murmansk, where the activists were held for questioning.

Russia has opened a case into piracy, although President Vladimir Putin took a milder stance on Wednesday, telling an international Arctic forum that "of course they are not pirates."

This has raised hopes that even if they are eventually charged, it will be under a less grave article than piracy.

But Putin said the activists had broken international law by approaching dangerously close to the oil platform.

Greenpeace denies that the activists committed piracy, saying that this only applies to ships and that they held a peaceful protest.

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Hornet attacks kill at least 18 in China

AN unusual spate of hornet attacks in central China has killed at least 18 people.

Zhou Yuanhong, a health official in the Angkang city area of Shaanxi province, said on Thursday that more than 100 people in the area had been stung by swarms of the insects in recent months and treated in Ankang City Central Hospital, and that 18 of them died.

The local state-run newspaper Huashangbao said 21 had died in hospitals.

Zhou said that a handful of people were killed every year in the region by hornets, especially in forested areas, but that this year had been unusually severe, possibly because of weather changes.

In the affected village of Sanping, local official Wang Zhengcai said people had been warned "'to be very vigilant while in the woods".

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Man fined over Rudd protest

A protester (pic) who stormed into Kevin Rudd's Brisbane office has denied assaulting a staffer. Source: AAP

A PROTESTER has been fined $300 for assaulting a female staffer of Kevin Rudd at his Brisbane office.

Wayne Morris Wharton, 54, was taking part in a sit-in protest at Mr Rudd's Brisbane electorate office on February 6, 2013.

Wharton told the court he demanded to speak with Mr Rudd, his local member, to convince him to oppose a bill being debated in federal parliament which sought to recognise indigenous Australians in the constitution.

Mr Rudd was not in his office at the time.

After being rebuffed by Rudd staffers several times, Wharton said he noticed someone leaving the secure part of the office and ran in to pull open the security door.

The court heard that staffer Fleur Foster tried to pull the door shut, but Wharton pulled harder the other way and she fell forwards through the door.

Wharton and his group then ran into the office where they held a sit-in until police arrived and removed them.

Prosecutor Gerrard Elmore had argued that Wharton shoulder barged Ms Foster. Wharton pleaded not guilty to the charge.

But in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday, Magistrate Noel Nunan ruled that it was foreseeable Ms Foster could have fallen over as a result of Wharton pulling the door open.

"You were forcing your way into an office, I accept there was no direct application of force," he told the court.

"But I found you guilty on the basis that it was a reasonably foreseeable consequence that a smallish woman on the other side would've fallen over."

Magistrate Nunan convicted Wharton and fined him $300.

Outside court Wharton said he was considering an appeal.

"The original charge was that I physically pushed the complainant, there were sworn statements in court that I did that, and I proved that that assault never happened," he told AAP.

Wharton said the whole incident had stemmed from Mr Rudd's "failure to keep in touch with the community".

"Aboriginal people have no voice in cabinet," Wharton, who is indigenous, said.

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Police move in to Central Station

NSW Police Minister Mike Gallacher has opened a new police command in Central Station. Source: AAP

SYDNEYSIDERS can expect an increased police presence on public transport with the opening of a new command in the heart of the city.

The Police Transport Command at Central Railway Station will control transport operations in Sydney's central and northern suburbs, as well as acting as a base for 120 officers.

At the official opening on Wednesday, NSW Police Minister Mike Gallacher said the public would welcome more police on public transport.

"The winners, of course, will always be the travelling public," he told reporters.

"The losers are going to be those people who, for far too long, have embarked on criminality and thought that the public system was theirs to abuse."

NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said she could rest easier knowing police were in charge of security throughout the entire network.

The Police Transport Command has made almost 2900 arrests since it started in May last year.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said police and government were on track to have 610 frontline officers across the entire network by the end of next year.

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Greenpeace members in 'serious' situation

Russian agents will detain the "most active" of the protesters on the Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise. Source: AAP

RUSSIAN authorities have put 30 arrested activists from environmental group Greenpeace in pre-trial jails after questioning several campaigners over a protest against Arctic oil exploration, the group says.

On Tuesday, Russia opened a criminal probe into suspected piracy by four Russian and 26 foreign Greenpeace activists who could face up to 15 years in jail if the case comes to trial.

They had been on board the group's Arctic Sunrise icebreaker, which the Russian security service seized last week and towed to the far northern port city of Murmansk with all 30 activists under arrest.

However they were taken ashore Tuesday evening for questioning and then put in detention centres where suspects are held before trial, known in Russia as Investigative Isolators (SIZO).

"They have been transferred to pre-trial detention centres," Yevgenia Belyakova, a Greenpeace activist, said on Wednesday.

The 30 activists have been taken to various detention centres in and around Murmansk after being questioned until the early hours of Wednesday, she said.

A representative of the regional investigators in Murmansk confirmed to AFP that the activists had been questioned on Tuesday night.

The official requested anonymity as the high-profile case was overseen by Moscow-based colleagues.

"That means it is all very serious," she said.

Greenpeace confirmed its activists had been interrogated Tuesday night after the team was first questioned by investigators aboard the Dutch-flagged vessel.

"The Greenpeace International activists and crew came off the ship at the end of the day and were taken by two buses to the offices of the Investigative Committee in Murmansk," another Greenpeace spokesman, Aaron Gray-Block, said in emailed comments.

"Only five crew were interviewed before a halt was called for the night. No formal charges have been laid yet."

The group had been trying to highlight the dangers of Russian-led efforts to develop the Arctic as ice floes break up due to global warming.

It sent a team of inflatable boats to the Gazprom platform in the Barents Sea earlier this month from the Arctic Sunrise icebreaker and hitched two activists to the side of the rig.

The icebreaker is anchored off the coast of Murmansk after being towed from the scene of the incident by Russian border guards, in a voyage lasting several days.

Greenpeace has condemned Russia's actions and said its supporters had already sent more than 415,000 emails and letters of support for the "Arctic 30" to Moscow's embassies around the world.

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Tributes for rider killed in WA rally

A MAN in his early 40s has been killed in a long-distance off-road rally in Western Australia's north west.

The moto competitor in stage one of the Australasian Safari had an accident at 9.30am (WST) on Wednesday, about 50km east of Minilya.

Emergency services were quick to assist the man, but he died at the scene.

An Australasian Safari spokeswoman said the remainder of the leg had been cancelled and an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death had begun.

Organisers had also arranged for a pastor and counsellors to be available at the bivouac, she said.

Police have seized the bike and crash investigators will examine it.

Although the man has not yet been formally identified by police, tributes have been posted on the Australasian Safari's Facebook page.

Kevin O'Bryan wrote: "One of the most respected desert racers Australia wide."

James Arnold posted: "Condolences... R.I.P. you mad man, will be missed."

Karlie Conner wrote: "A safari legend who will be missed by all."

The WA government sponsors the Australasian Safari through Eventscorp, a division of Tourism WA.

It is an annual off-road rally for four-wheel drives, side by sides, motorbikes and quad bikes.

Considered Australia's toughest motorsport challenge, the event began on September 19 and runs until September 29.

It covers 3000km including Geraldton, the Gascoyne region, the Kennedy Ranges, Carnarvon and Kalbarri.

The extreme motorsport event attracts competitors from countries including China, France, Sweden, UK, Thailand, South Africa, Botswana, US, Italy and Germany.

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NT men unite against domestic violence

IN the face of shocking domestic abuse statistics in the Northern Territory, indigenous men from the Tiwi Islands to Alice Springs have signed a memorandum of understanding to say enough is enough.

In front of Parliament House in Darwin on Monday, they declared their intention to fight family violence by entreating other men to tackle the problem.

"Aboriginal men have been disenfranchised since colonisation," said Deputy CEO of the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Des Rogers.

He pointed to statistics showing the NT homicide rate is five times the national average, and Aboriginal women are 80 times more likely to be hospitalised due to assault.

The group, drawn from five regions, has been galvanised by NT Chief Minister Adam Giles' announcement last month that he wants to be an ambassador for the effort.

"I believe some Aboriginal men need a greater supportive framework in place to help them break away from welfare, stay out of the justice system and avoid alcohol abuse," he said in a statement.

Indigenous men's campaigner Charlie King said the commitment had buoyed the group.

"You try to get men to fix men's problems and they can do it; you try to fix it from outside, it doesn't get fixed," he told AAP.

"We want to change the attitude of men to say, 'this is unacceptable behaviour, this is not what men do'."

Mr Rogers said indigenous men were often left out of community programs, which necessarily tend to focus on women and children.

"In order to stop it we need to empower men to do more about it, we can't leave them out of the picture," Mr King said.

The group have declared their intention to bring men together to reduce family violence, and engage with educational, medical and social support providers.

"We think the Territory can lead the way here, we want to surf in front of the wave if we can," Mr King said.

He will convene a forum of men's groups representatives in Darwin in October.

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Discussion over Boston bomber's penalty

LAWYERS for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will ask a judge to discuss the timeline and procedure for prosecutors to decide whether to seek the death penalty.

A joint status report filed in court says the defence wants the court to address "the death penalty protocol" in federal court on Monday.

US Attorney General Eric Holder will ultimately make the decision about whether to seek the federal death penalty, but the US attorney's office in Boston will make a recommendation. Tsarnaev's lawyers also have the right to make the case against the death penalty.

Tsarnaev, 20, is accused in twin bombings that killed three people and injured more than 260 others at the April 15 marathon. He's also accused of killing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer while on the run three days later.

Prosecutors say Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan, built and planted pressure cooker bombs near the finish line of the marathon.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died following a shootout with police several days later. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was wounded in the shootout and later captured hiding in a bloodstained boat in a suburban backyard after a manhunt that paralysed much of the Boston area. He has pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges, including using a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death and 16 other charges that carry the possibility of the death penalty.

Massachusetts does not have a state death penalty.

Prosecutors say Tsarnaev, an ethnic Chechen from Russia, wrote about his motivation for the bombing on the inside of the boat, scrawling that the US government was "killing our innocent civilians." Authorities say he also wrote: "We Muslims are one body, you hurt one you hurt us all."

Tsarnaev isn't expected to be in court for Monday's status conference.

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Excess stock saga claims Treasury Wine CEO

Treasury Wine Estates has ousted its CEO over the poor performance of the company's US division. Source: AAP

TREASURY Wine Estates has no intention of selling off its US business, despite ousting its chief executive David Dearie over the poor performance of the division.

The company that owns brands such as Penfolds and Wolf Blass shocked the market on Monday by announcing Mr Dearie's immediate departure.

Investors punished the wine maker, pushing its shares 29 cents lower, or six per cent, to $4.46, their lowest level in more than a year.

Treasury chairman Paul Rayner said the board had decided to search for a new chief executive in the wake of major writedowns, including a controversial decision to pour more than $35 million worth of aged or excess stock down the drain.

"The recent inventory issue in the USA significantly dented our overall performance for fiscal 2013 and was a key factor in this decision," he told investors.

He praised Mr Dearie's contribution to the company since his appointment as chief executive in May 2011, immediately prior to its demerger from Foster's Group.

"But the board believes the company now needs a chief executive with a stronger operational focus and the right balance of skills to deliver our ambitious growth targets."

Despite criticism from investors, Mr Rayner said Treasury will not sell off the US business, centred around Californian winemaker Beringer, which has underperformed since Foster's acquired it for $2.6 billion in 2000.

"The US business is an integral part of our operation," he said.

The company has appointed board member Warwick Every-Burns as interim CEO while it searches for a permanent replacement.

In July, Treasury said it would destroy more than $A35 million of aged and excess stock in the US, and offer major discounts, after admitting it overestimated the amount of wine needed to supply the market.

The discounts and excess stock destruction were part of a broader $A160 million writedown relating to the continued weakness of the US business.

CMC Markets chief analyst Ric Spooner said Treasury was capable of turning around its fortunes in the next few years, despite its current woes.

"The Australian dollar is going to move lower over time and we can expect some sort of pickup in the economic cycle around the world over the next year or two," he said.

"That would all lead into improvements in that premium wine market."

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Labor's backdown too little too late: mums

LABOR'S mea culpa on welfare cuts to sole parents has come too little too late for single mothers battling to survive on $35-a-day dole payments.

The two men vying for the federal Labor leadership - Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese - have admitted the party did the wrong thing when it implemented welfare cuts this year.

They say the party needs to revisit its policy stance, but single mothers say it's cold comfort.

In January, tens of thousands of single mothers, many working part time, were shifted off parenting payments and onto the unemployment benefit, Newstart, leaving many between $60 and $100 a week worse off.

The decision was to save taxpayers $728 million over four years.

Mr Shorten, as employment minister in the Gillard government, was responsible for introducing the changes.

"We sent all the wrong messages out about sole parents," Mr Shorten told Network Ten on Sunday.

"I think the measures we took have had the wrong consequences."

He said there were legitimate grievances and Labor needed to make it clear it was in the single mothers' corner.

"We respect you, we support you and we cherish you," he said.

Mr Albanese, who grew up in a single-parent home, said single parents had told him the decision showed a lack of respect.

"Labor must always be the party of the disadvantaged," he told ABC TV.

"We must be very clear about our values and what we stand for as a framework."

But he wouldn't blame anyone for driving the policy, saying it was time Labor stopped "finger-pointing".

"We have to take collective responsibility," he said.

"I was a member of the government and I don't seek to blame any individual."

Terese Edwards from the National Council for Single Mothers and their Children said the admission Labor had made a mistake wasn't enough.

"We welcome the courage in saying they got it wrong," she told AAP.

"But it must go beyond that and they must show how they are going to champion the cause, what are they going to do from opposition."

Ms Edwards said it was an uphill battle to get the welfare cuts reversed because the coalition supported the policy and had been responsible for the first wave of welfare changes to single parents in 2006.

She also questioned Mr Shorten's motivation for highlighting the need to tackle the scourge of domestic violence on Sunday.

"The Labor party, should, have and always will stand up for the dispossessed, the disempowered and the voiceless," Mr Shorten told a rally in Ipswich, Queensland.

Ms Edwards said she was aware of three cases of single mothers and their children having to return to domestic violence situations or face homelessness as a direct result of poverty they experienced from the welfare changes.

"There's absolutely no question about the correlation between trying to be safe and also having enough to live on," she said.

A spokesman for Mr Shorten said he had a "longstanding interest in combating violence against women".

A spokesman for new Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews said Labor's admission the parenting payment changes were a mistake was little comfort to those affected.

But he wouldn't say whether the Abbott government would consider reversing the policy.

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Suicide bomber kills 25 at Pakistan church

OFFICIALS say a suicide bomber has attacked a historic church in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least 25 people.

Policeman Mohammad Noor Khan says the bomber struck as worshippers were coming out of Sunday services at the church in the city's Kohati Gate district.

He said the attacker's severed legs were found.

Peshawar commissioner Sahibzada Anees says another 45 were wounded in the blast.

Hard-line militants have been blamed for previous attacks on Pakistan's Christian minority, as well as Muslim groups they consider heretics.

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Boat tally rises to eight since poll day

The federal government is expected to cut-back on briefing media about asylum seeker boat arrivals. Source: AAP

THE first asylum seeker boat has arrived since the coalition government introduced a new media blackout protocol, bringing the tally to eight since the federal election.

A suspected asylum seeker boat arrived at Christmas Island carrying about 30 people on Sunday afternoon,

Christmas Island shire councillor Gordon Thomson told AAP.

The passengers were expected to disembark at Christmas Island at 3.30pm (local time).

He said there were women and children on board who were very thirsty and drinking lots of water.

HMAS Maitland escorted the boat to the island, Mr Thomson said.

Customs and Boarder Protection declined to provide official confirmation as a result of the coalition government ending the practice of announcing boat arrivals as they happen.

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison also refused to comment on the boat arrival and said information would be provided at a briefing on Monday.

Mr Morrison and deputy chief of army Angus Campbell will give weekly media briefings about Operation Sovereign Borders, the coalition's asylum seeker and border protection exercise.

The Abbott government says it won't constantly update the public on boat arrivals because it wants to starve people smugglers of information.

"Taking control of how that information is released denies people smugglers the opportunity to exploit such information," Mr Morrison told AAP in a statement on Sunday.

"Labor was impotent in response to arrivals. All they could do was announce them and run a water taxi service."

Briefings will be weekly initially, but this could change "based on operational considerations".

Extra briefings would be given when necessary about specific events. This could include instances of boats sinking.

The new protocol for releasing information was agreed to on Thursday after the minister's first meeting with Lieutenant General Campbell.

The government will also provide monthly updates on detention and bridging visa statistics for asylum seekers who arrive by boat.

Mr Morrison's cabinet colleague Greg Hunt says there will be "regular, continuous, full disclosure" about boat arrivals, but it will be in line with military operational procedure.

Labor leadership hopeful Bill Shorten said it was a disgrace if the government planned to not disclose details of drownings.

"I can't imagine who dreamed that up, not telling anyone about deaths at sea," he told the Ten Network.

"If a boat sinks ... and people drown, I don't think the government has a right to not tell people that this tragedy has occurred."

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