Military joins police raids on Vic bikies

Victorian Police called in the army to help raid a property linked to the Hells Angels bikie gang. Source: AAP

THE military has become involved in the latest Victorian police raid on a Hells Angels bikie gang property.

Police said on Saturday morning they were seizing a large prime mover from Craigieburn in Melbourne's north and Australian Defence Force personnel were assisting in the raid.

Police believe parts of the prime mover are stolen.

Earlier this week authorities seized guns, ammunition, drugs and $50,000 cash and arrested 13 people as part of a crackdown on the Hells Angels.

More than 700 police, including federal and customs officers, were involved in the raids on Thursday morning.

Police had hoped to find a high-powered AK-47 and a M1 carbine assault rifle used in recent drive-by shootings by Hells Angels members at rival clubhouses, but they were unsuccessful in locating the weapons.

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Bali victims remembered 11 years on

The 88 Australians who died in the first Bali bombings 11 years ago have been remembered in Sydney. Source: AAP

LITTLE children clambered around the Bali bombing memorial in Sydney on Saturday, knocking the flowers laid by the friends and family of those killed.

One boy asked his new playmate, "Which one is yours?"

And she, a girl no older than seven, pointed to one of the names of the dead and said "He was my uncle".

They were not yet born when the bombs exploded at Paddy's Bar and the Sari Club on October 12, 2002, but they have grown up in the shadow of the attacks.

Eighty-eight Australians were among the 202 people killed in the attacks on Bali's tourist hub Kuta, and 43 of the dead were from NSW alone.

"The Bali bombing was our September 11," Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in a message read out to the hundreds who gathered at Coogee to mark the 11th anniversary of the blasts.

Randwick mayor Scott Nash said 20 of the dead came from Sydney's eastern suburbs, from Bondi to Malabar, and few locals had not been touched in some way by the attacks.

"The beautiful people that we lost were sons, mothers, fathers, daughters and friends," he said.

"Tough times often bring out the very best in humanity and we can see that today, as we see it each year."

Waves crashed and tourists frolicked on the beach below as mourners gathered at the Dolphins Point headland observed a moment's silence.

Among them was Kristie McKeon, who was just 12 when her mother, big sister and several family friends were killed in the bombings.

She and her father were injured but escaped with their lives.

"It was our last night in Bali," the 23-year-old recalled.

"I remember the bomb going off, being on the floor and trapped under the roof, escaping in panic through a hole and then reaching the back wall and being hoisted over as the fire grew."

The graphic designer said she had been forced to grow up without the two most important women in her life to guide her.

They will not be here to watch her marry next year.

"Family is something I lost, but something I look forward to finding again," she said.

"My only wish is that my mum and sister were here to be a part of it.

"I will never forget.

"I will always remember."

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ALP leadership contest drawing to a close

Mark Latham believes Anthony Albanese (pic) will emerge the victor of the Labor leadership contest. Source: AAP

LABOR has called it historic, democratic and energising, but in less than a day the month-long leadership contest between Anthony Albanese and Bill Shorten will be just one thing - over.

Both the party caucus and rank-and-file members have cast their vote for the next parliamentary leader, with ballots now closed and counting underway before Sunday's announcement.

ALP members and supporters will be the first to know the result when party headquarters sends out an email at about 2pm.

Under reforms introduced by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, caucus and members are given a 50-50 say in determining who will lead the fight against the Abbott government from opposition.

Mr Shorten is believed to have won the caucus vote and is "quietly confident" grassroots members will back him, while Mr Albanese will be hoping his popularity among the rank-and-file gets him over the line.

After a month of friendly debates and largely similar campaigns, both potential leaders laid low on Saturday ahead of learning their fate.

But former Labor leader Mark Latham had no qualms offering his tips, saying he believed Mr Albanese would prevail.

"I voted for Bill Shorten in the ballot and I'm hopeful he might win tomorrow, but on the balance, probably Anthony Albanese will get the job," he told the Seven Network on Saturday.

"The important thing is for Labor to get behind one leader who will be there at the next election."

Sunday's victor will be the party's seventh leader in four years, but it's hoped the new leadership process will stabilise Labor and end the revolving door of leadership.

Mr Latham said the process was designed to put the "sub-factional warlords" who control Labor's caucus out of business.

Shadow parliamentary secretary Matt Thistlethwaite, who backed Mr Shorten, said the caucus vote had been genuinely open and free of factional interference.

He didn't know who would emerge the victor, but said that was the "great beauty" of the new-look process.

"What we now can say is the Labor Party has a much more democratic, transparent and accountable system for electing our leader," he told Sky News on Saturday.

"I think overall it's been a win for the Labor Party."

About 30,000 of the party's 43,000 members are believed to have voted under the new rules, which senior Labor figures credit with renewed interest in the party in the wake of their election defeat.

ALP president Jenny McAllister said the leadership contest had been "incredibly energising".

"In the process we've also had about 4500 people make inquiries about how to join," she told the Seven network.

"People like to see us talking in positive ways about what we could contribute to the Australian public rather than tearing ourselves apart."

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Foul play ruled out in US hospital death

INVESTIGATORS have ruled out foul play in the disappearance and death of a San Francisco woman whose body was found in the stairwell of a hospital where she was a patient, a family spokesman says.

While the coroner hasn't established a cause or time of Lynne Spalding's death, investigators don't think the 57-year-old native of England was the victim of an attack, family spokesman David Perry told reporters at the hospital on Thursday.

Spalding's body was found on Tuesday in a fire exit stairwell at San Francisco General Hospital, 17 days after she went missing. She was admitted to the city-owned hospital with an infection on September 19 and reported missing from her room two days later.

Meanwhile, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced on Thursday he was hiring an independent consultant to investigate the hospital's security and patient safety protocols.

"This should not have happened, we all agree," Lee told reporters at a hospital news conference. "And we want to prevent it from ever happening again."

The investigation is separate from the probe into Spalding's death being done by the San Francisco police and from the internal investigation of hospital security measures by the San Francisco Sheriff's Department.

"A thorough independent review is required, and we will do that," Lee said. "I will say this: The city is responsible for what happened here."

Lee, who was director of public works and city administrator for San Francisco before he was elected mayor, said that on Thursday he visited the floor where Spalding had been staying, both to comfort hospital staff members and to get a sense of the layout.

Lee said the hallway that runs from Spalding's room to the fire exit stairway passes elevators, a hallway leading to another wing and a number of doors. The area right by the door to the stairwell "seems a little bit isolated. You could turn the corner and nobody would see."

He said he opened the door to the stairwell and an alarm went off as it was supposed to, but that it may have been hard to hear elsewhere on the busy floor.

Perry, the family spokesman, said Spalding's family welcomes the mayor's promise of a thorough investigation.

"At this point, the real issue is not the reason she was in the hospital but how a search by the San Francisco Sheriff's Department failed to find her," Perry said. "Obviously a more thorough search should have been done if a woman's body was here for 17 days."

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Sydney city bank robbed on closing

A SYDNEY city bank has been robbed in broad daylight.

NSW Police say two men held up the Bendigo Bank branch on Harris St at Pyrmont around 5pm (AEDT).

One was armed with a sledgehammer and they made off with a small amount of cash, police say.

A man whose daughter was a witness told Fairfax Radio a car was driving erratically down Harris St before the men got out and went into the bank.

"Next thing they drive up onto the footpath, they back up so the car was ready to get away," he said.

"I think it was three people raced into the bank ... they were only in there for about 30 seconds and they came out and screamed off into the car and nearly knocked over a couple of pedestrians and a cyclist."

Police say a dark blue Subaru WRX was last seen heading south on Harris Street.

No one was injured during the robbery.

The hold-up comes weeks after a Porsche Cayenne ram-raided a CBD bank in the middle of the day.

Three masked men crashed the luxury 4WD into an ATM outside a Westpac bank on Kent Street just before midday on September 13, causing the outer wall to collapse.

Armed with sledgehammers, the bandits then entered the bank through the opening and took money from the tellers.

They escaped in a blue Subaru sedan that was waiting outside with a getaway driver.

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US woman sues Fed over Goldman Sachs

A FORMER employee has sued the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, saying she was wrongfully terminated because she refused to change the results of her investigation into the banking firm Goldman Sachs.

Carmen Segarra filed her federal lawsuit against the New York Fed on Thursday in Manhattan.

Segarra's lawsuit says the New York Fed interfered with her examination of Goldman Sachs' legal and compliance divisions and directed her to change her findings. She says she refused and was fired three days later, in May 2012.

The firing caused her career in banking to be "irreparably damaged," says her lawsuit, which seeks her reinstatement to her position as senior bank examiner, back pay, compensation for lost benefits, compensatory damages, lawyer's fees and other expenses.

Segarra's finding led to the New York Fed's Legal and Compliance risk team to approve downgrading Goldman's annual rating pertaining to policies and procedures, the lawsuit said.

It's not clear if the approval led to an actual rate change, but the lawsuit said two Fed officials, named as defendants in the lawsuit, were concerned that a downgrade would hurt the Wall Street bank financially.

A spokesman for the New York Fed declined to comment on the specifics of the lawsuit but said its personnel decisions "are based exclusively on individual job performance and are subject to thorough review."

"We categorically reject any suggestions to the contrary," spokesman Jack Gutt said.

Goldman Sachs said it had no knowledge of internal Fed discussions "nor the matters raised by Ms Segarra."

"Goldman Sachs has a comprehensive approach to addressing conflicts through firmwide and divisional policies and infrastructure," Goldman Sachs spokesman Michael DuVally said.

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Qld plan could force people to the regions

BRISBANE Oct 10 AAP - Half of Queensland's population and half of its public servants should live outside the southeast if the state is serious about regionalisation, Premier Campbell Newman says.

Mr Newman says changing Queensland's population dynamic will likely be a major objective in the state's comprehensive 30-year plan.

"It stands to reason that government must reflect that by having services out in the regions," Mr Newman told reporters at the Queensland Plan summit in Brisbane.

"If that's decided on, then I'm happy to say the government should commit to a long-term plan to actually have half of the public service outside southeast Queensland."

Mr Newman anticipates there will be about 200,000 Queensland public servants by 2043.

"That would mean you would have to have well and truly 100,000 people (government employees) outside southeast Queensland," he said.

Projections show Queensland's total population will increase to 7.8 million by 2043.

This means the population of regional Queensland will have to grow from 1.7 million to about 4 million over the next 30 years, Mr Newman said.

"We then have to craft policy and incentives right across the state to encourage that to occur," Mr Newman said.

He said tax breaks weren't necessarily the answer and local governments would have to work with the state to create jobs.

Delegates at the summit were also keen to see the capacity of the Bruce Highway increased.

Mr Newman said they wanted a four-lane highway from Brisbane to Cairns, with the section between the capital and the Sunshine Coast doubled to eight lanes.

Increasing life expectancy by 10 years in Queensland and improving older people's participation in the community are also likely to be among the targets in the blueprint.

The Queensland Plan will cover the economy, the environment, population growth, health, transport, communications and a range of other policy areas.

The plan is being shaped by 680 delegates who have travelled to Brisbane for the summit.

They have developed 39 goals, which will be reduced to 10.

Targets which don't make the top 10 will still be captured in the plan, Mr Newman said.

The blueprint is set to be drafted this year before being put to parliament in 2014.

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Abbott warns of South China Sea risks

Prime Minister Tony Abbott says there's still a risk of conflict between China and its neighbours. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has warned there's still a risk of conflict between China and its neighbours in the South China Sea, one of Australia's major trading routes.

China's festering territorial disputes with Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei were once again a key focus of the East Asia Summit, which brings together 18 regional nations.

Mr Abbott joined with other leaders in calling for a clear code of conduct to help ensure no conflict erupts over the oil and gas-rich waters.

He says that would be a disaster not only for the countries directly involved but also the wider region, including Australia.

"Almost 60 per cent of our trade goes through the South China Sea, so strategic stability is very important," Mr Abbott said on Thursday at his second international summit since becoming prime minister.

He warns the risk of conflict has not entirely receded.

"There's some risk, no doubt about that. But I think it's a risk that's reducing because of the kind of work that is happening at a conference such as this."

Mr Abbott's comments came after a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in which he expressed support for Abe's plan to amend Japan's pacifist constitution so it can build a bigger military - something China opposes, and has the potential to increase tensions in the region.

"As time goes by, and as Japan puts the wounds and the scars of World War II increasingly behind it, and other countries put the wounds and the scars of World War II behind them, Japan is going to play a more important part and, dare I say it, a more normal part in the life of the world," he said.

"And that's encouraging. Japan's a democracy, it's been a stable democracy for 60-odd years now."

Mr Abbott left Brunei on Thursday after five days of international talks. He earlier attended the APEC trade talks in Bali.

Mr Abbott confirmed he also wants free trade deals with Japan and South Korea sealed in the same ambitious 12-month timeframe he's attached to the Australia-China Free Trade Agreement.

"If you don't set some kind of a target you don't have the incentive to get things done," he said, adding the other leaders were "receptive" to his timetable.

He admitted he did not raise human rights concerns in his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, nor the issue of Japanese whaling during his meeting with Mr Abe.

But China knows how Australia feels about the rule of law, Mr Abbott said.

"We will say our piece when there are major human rights abuses taking place but, generally speaking, it's not the job of the Australian prime minister to stand up and give lectures to the wider world."

Mr Abbott's due back in Canberra on Friday.

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Vic bikie raids don't find military rifles

Police have raided every Hells Angels property in Victoria, including clubhouses and private homes. Source: AAP

POLICE are yet to recover two high-powered assault weapons used in recent drive-by shootings despite raiding Hells Angels clubhouses and homes across Victoria.

Guns, ammunition, drugs and cash were seized and 13 people arrested when more than 700 police, including federal and customs officers swooped on Thursday morning.

All of those arrested have significant roles within the Hells Angels and include office bearers, police say.

They include Hells Angels sergeant at arms Peter Hewat, 58, who faces 13 charges after $47,000 in cash and weapons were allegedly seized from his Craigieburn business and Mickleham home.

So much ammunition was uncovered at one clubhouse a trailer was needed to remove it.

The raids were the largest operation targeting a single bikie gang in Victorian history.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay is concerned they haven't found the military weapons - a high-powered AK-47 and a M1 carbine assault rifle - which were used in a number of recent drive-by shootings by Hells Angels members at rival clubhouses in Hallam, Dandenong and Clayton South.

He has vowed to track them down and put pressure on the gang.

"We haven't recovered those firearms so we will continue our operation, we will continue our work until we get those guns," he said.

"It is totally unacceptable that criminals have access to these firearms and we'll continue to push and push very hard until we have those firearms in our possession."

Police say the operation is ongoing and they will continue to target bikie gangs.

Mr Lay is also said he was ready to use new anti-fortification laws that came into effect last Sunday.

"We're preparing some affidavits now for a number of premises, we'll progress that matter to court definitely in the next little while and that will see another lot of action by Victoria Police to enforce those laws," he said.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Steve Fontana said they had not met any resistance from club members in the "high-risk operation".

"We've been working on this for a while, we're extremely concerned about these weapons, we're extremely concerned about the intel we've got about the tensions and the intentions of these clubs and so we thought it necessary to make a pretty strong stance here," he said.

Mr Fontana said Victoria Police was starting to work more closely with interstate and national counterparts.

"Victoria's not the only jurisdiction (affected by bikie gangs) and we're getting fed up with it and we're going to take them on," he said.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Tess Walsh rejected suggestions that such a large operation was unnecessary given what police found.

She said the indiscriminate use of firearms over the last fortnight was unacceptable and a swift and serious response was required.

Hewat was denied bail in an out-of-sessions court hearing on Thursday night after a police search of his home and towing business.

Hewat, who described the charges as "junk" when they were read to him during the hearing, will appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday.

A 27-year-old Campbellfield man was charged with possessing a drug of dependence and has appeared in court.

Police said further people were expected to be charged.

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Monster truck driver charged

THE driver of a monster truck that careened into a crowd of spectators, killing nine, has been charged with manslaughter.

Chihuahua state prosecutors read the charges against Francisco Velazquez Samaniego during a hearing on Tuesday in which they also listed the names and injuries of the people killed.

"He didn't meet the age and health requirements needed to be part of the show," prosecutor Gerardo Carbajal said. He didn't say what those requirements are.

Velazquez Samaniego, 51, appeared before a judge wearing a neck brace as another person died at a hospital, raising the death toll from Saturday's incident to nine. At least 80 people were hurt during the monster truck exhibition in the northern city of Chihuahua.

Velazquez Samaniego said in court that his helmet came off as the truck bounced over old cars and he lost consciousness when his head hit metal bars inside the cabin.

"I was driving to one side and then I turned around and drove to the other side, my helmet came off and I hit my head and lost consciousness," he said. "I wasn't conscious when the truck fell" on the people.

Organisers of the event have said hundreds of people gathered without permission in the pit area of a makeshift arena in a park.

Veteran monster truck show organisers said spectators should never have been standing that close to the arena floor unprotected, regardless of the trajectory of the truck. They said properly organised shows take place in an arena with a safety zone separating spectators from the trucks, which the Chihuahua city show lacked.

Authorities have made no other arrests in the case.

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Morrison warns detainees of tough policy

IMMIGRATION Minister Scott Morrison has informed asylum seekers on Nauru they were told a bunch of lies by people smugglers and should tell their family and friends not to believe the same things.

In his first official trip to the island nation as minister, Mr Morrison visited all three immigration detention centres.

He spoke to asylum seekers in the camps with the help of an interpreter.

"People smugglers told you lies and you should tell your friends and families not to believe those lies because you will not get what you came for," he said, according to a statement from the Nauruan government.

Mr Morrison also explained the government's tough policy not to resettle any refugees arriving by boat in Australia, and to prosecute anyone found helping to arrange these voyages.

Nauru's Minister for Justice and Border Control David Adeang, Australian High Commissioner Bruce Cowled and Australia immigration officials accompanied Mr Morrison.

The delegation also inspected construction work, met with local government officials and members of the Nauruan opposition.

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Man dies in NSW diving accident

A MAN has died following a diving accident at Tathra on the NSW far south coast.

Surf Life Saving Far South Coast duty officer Andrew Edmunds says emergency services were called to the Bega River Mouth at 4.30pm (AEDT) on Wednesday on reports of a diving accident.

He said a group of five divers got into trouble, but three of them managed to get to shore safely.

Police, marine rescue and lifesavers launched a search for the other two.

One man made it out of the water safely, sustaining minor cuts on the rocks.

A second man was found by police and surf lifesavers, Mr Edmunds said.

He was winched into the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter, which landed at a nearby oval.

Officers performed CPR on the man for more than an hour but he couldn't be revived.

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Qld Premier unapologetic over bikie laws

The Queensland government says a proposed ban on bikies riding in groups is aimed at criminal gangs. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND premier Campbell Newman says some inconvenience to citizens is necessary in the state's battle against motorcycle gangs.

Mr Newman's government is drafting several pieces of legislation aimed at eliminating criminal gangs from Queensland.

Among laws being proposed is a ban on criminal bikie gang members from riding in groups of three or more.

The proposed law has drawn criticism from recreational motorcyclists, who claim they will have their hobby disrupted by police.

Mr Newman was unapologetic on Tuesday, saying the community would understand some disruption to their lives if it meant ridding the state of criminal gangs.

"There may be people who are apprehended by police initially to check whether they are members of a criminal gang," he told reporters.

"The price of dealing with this is a bit of inconvenience ... the alternative is completely unthinkable.

"We cannot have scenes like we saw four years ago at Sydney airport where a bloke was bashed to death."

Mr Newman said he'd spoken about the issue with the prime minister as well as the NSW and Victorian state premiers. He also said Attorney-General Jarrod Bleije would present Queensland's solution to his state counterparts at a meeting next week.

"We'll be putting on the table the measures that we're taking," he said.

Mr Newman was speaking alongside Treasurer Tim Nicholls and Tourism Minister Jann Stuckey at the launch of a $15 million advertising campaign featuring the Gold Coast's theme parks.

He said the new campaign hadn't been constructed in response to last month's brawl involving bikies at Broadbeach and was about promoting the Gold Coast as a family holiday destination to potential tourists in the southern states and New Zealand.

Police Commissioner Ian Stewart says police now have the resources to deal with bikie gangs once and for all.

"I think for the first time ever we have the opportunity to actually make a huge difference and get these people out of Queensland," he told ABC Radio after the meeting.

Motorcycle Riders Association of Queensland president Chris Mearns had earlier branded the draft laws ridiculous.

He said Queensland's 500 social rider groups, and 160,000 law abiding riders, shouldn't have to suffer under the crackdown.

"A considerable number of these regularly go for rides with their group and friends and should not be subjected to such unwarranted interference," he said.

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Two more Qld bikies arrested over brawl

Queensland police have arrested three more Bandidos in an ongoing crackdown on criminal bikie gangs. Source: AAP

ANOTHER two bikies have been arrested over a brawl which sparked a police crackdown on Queensland motorcycle gangs.

One of them is a 25-year-old Beaudesert man, back behind bars after a return to prison warrant was issued when he was charged over his involvement in the brawl outside a Broadbeach restaurant.

Police also arrested a 25-year-old man from Bethania, near Logan, for rioting. He will appear in the Southport Magistrates Court on October 23.

Earlier on Tuesday, three Brisbane men were charged with rioting over the September 27 brawl.

Another three men, all allegedly linked to the Bandidos, were also arrested.

One more man, 20-year-old Andrew Smith, appeared in Southport Magistrates Court on Tuesday to face drugs charges, but his case was adjourned until Wednesday.

Another 20-year-old man who was arrested alongside Smith is due to face drugs charges on October 22.

About 30 people have now been charged in relation to the brawl, most of them Bandidos.

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Petrol shortages hit Vic, NSW hardest

The public is being urged not to panic-buy fuel as grounded Cootes trucks may cause fuel shortages. Source: AAP

FUEL supplies are expected to run low at southern Australian service stations for days while hundreds of Cootes Transport vehicles are grounded or forced to undergo repairs.

A massive audit of the trucking company's fleet was launched in NSW and Victoria following last week's horrific tanker crash in Mona Vale, Sydney, which killed two people.

By Tuesday, authorities had grounded 79 Cootes trucks in Victoria and 23 in NSW.

Petrol companies say some fuel deliveries have been affected but motorists are urged not to panic buy.

Navi Kahlon, an attendant at a petrol station in the Melbourne suburb of Balaclava, told AAP several kinds of petrol were running low.

"It has been very busy and the customers have been very angry," she said.

"I just say to them, 'have you seen the news?'"

VicRoads inspectors have now completed their four-day audit of 205 Cootes vehicles in that state, issuing 181 defect notices.

"With regards to when the grounded vehicles will return to operation, that is largely dependent on the company, on the nature of the faults and how quickly the company can organise for repairs to be carried out," VicRoads Chief Operating Officer Peter Todd said.

VicRoads is now reviewing the company's heavy vehicle accreditation.

In NSW, Roads and Maritime Services and police have launched the second phase of their audit, ordering the Cootes LPG tanker fleet and all the company's remaining heavy vehicles off the road for inspection.

About half the 53 defect notices issued so far are for major problems including brake failures, suspension and steering faults.

NSW inspectors handed down 174 notices during the first stage.

A BP spokesman told AAP the company was operating at 64 per cent of its normal capacity.

"With so many vehicles off the road, our distribution networks have been disrupted, particularly in Melbourne and Sydney," he said.

"If it would normally take three days to fulfil an order, it's now taking four days."

He said it was "regrettable" but the company was doing everything it could to get supply moving again, including diverting some of its own trucks from regional areas.

Shell Australia said customers in NSW and Western Australia shouldn't be affected.

"Customers in Victoria, southeast Queensland and Adelaide may see some temporary periods of fuel availability at a small number of Shell service stations until fresh deliveries are made," spokesman Paul Zennaro said in a statement.

A Caltex spokesman said supply of all fuel products was "more than adequate to meet demand" and distribution disruptions would have a limited impact on customers.

One in 10 Caltex-supplied Melbourne metro servos have experienced petrol or diesel shortages, he said.

The company is not expecting any more petrol or diesel disruptions in NSW or the ACT but some LPG deliveries have been disrupted there.

LPG supplies have also been affected in South Australia.

Colin Long of the NSW Service Station Association said some stations were starting to run out of certain fuel types and one in the Blue Mountains had run out of everything.

But he said there was no cause for alarm.

"There's no reason to panic buy because we anticipate within a few days those deliveries will be back to normal," he told AAP.

A Cootes spokeswoman could not confirm how many trucks remained off the road.

In a statement she said "once any issues identified have been addressed the vehicles are being returned to service".

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Paramedics praise Sydney crowds

NSW Ambulance has urged event-goers to keep up the stellar behaviour during navy fleet review. Source: AAP

ONE person was hospitalised for intoxication, another fell overboard and more than 30 were treated by paramedics.

But with a million people descending on Sydney Harbour on Saturday, NSW Ambulance have called it a crowd success.

Now they are just asking event-goers to keep up the stellar behaviour.

Paramedics treated 38 people and transported 17 to hospital during Saturday's Fleet Review festivities, Chief Superintendent Joel Bardsley said on Sunday.

Among those hospitalised was a man, aged about 50, who fell from a moored vessel at Rose Bay and was later rescued by NSW Water Police.

Chief Supt Bardsley said most of the treatments involved slips, trips and falls, particularly during the evening fireworks.

"With one million people moving from one spot to another, people are going to have mishaps," he said in a statement.

"When you have as many people in the city as we did, and 38 people being the only number of event-related incidents, you can certainly say the crowds were there for all the right reasons and behaved themselves," he said.

Chief Supt Bardsley asked people to continue with the same safe approach on Sunday, as thousands land at Sydney Olympic Park for the NRL Grand Final, two One Direction concerts and the EB Games Expo.

With temperatures heading into the 30s, he urged everyone to bring plenty of water.

"Bring your sunscreen and your floppy hat, look after each other and behave so that everyone can have a good day," he said.

An extra 250 paramedic shifts, 36 senior supervisors and 30 extra triple zero (000) call takers have been rostered on in preparation for the long-weekend's festivities.

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Tiger attacks worker at US animal park

A US animal park worker has suffered severe damage to her arm after a tiger clawed her. Source: AAP

A WORKER has suffered severe damage to her left arm after she stuck it in a tiger enclosure at a US animal park and couldn't withdraw it before the animal clawed her.

Owner of the central Oklahoma park Joe Schreibvogel said the attack occurred about 10am on Saturday and the woman was in surgery several hours later.

He said doctors are trying to save her arm.

Schreibvogel, owner of the Garold Wayne Interactive Zoological Park in Wynnewood, said the arm was still attached and the young woman was conscious and able to talk and move her fingers when she was airlifted to an Oklahoma City hospital.

He didn't release the woman's name because her family hadn't been notified of the incident.

Schreibvogel said the worker violated protocol by sticking her arm into the cage.

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Sydney Water rejects beach pollution claim

Some of Sydney's prime swimming spots have had their water quality ratings downgraded. Source: AAP

POLLUTION on Sydney's beaches is not due to job cuts or untreated waste water being pumped into the ocean, Sydney Water says.

The latest State of the Beaches report released on Sunday found that the water quality at formerly top-ranking beaches has dropped over the past year.

While 81 per cent of swimming locations reviewed across the state achieved very good or good gradings, only eight Sydney beaches are rated as very good - down from 15 last year.

The NSW opposition blamed the drop in water quality on job and budget cuts at Sydney Water.

It also pointed to a record number of bypasses at waste-water treatment plants.

"We are returning to the bad old days when it was unsafe to swim on the beaches due to overflows," opposition water spokesman Walt Secord said in a statement.

"The O'Farrell government cannot blame rain as NSW has experienced its warmest January to September period on record. NSW has had its mildest winter in more than 150 years."

But Sydney Water rejected the comments, saying they were untrue.

"The Beachwatch 2013 Report released today shows that 37 out of 38 ocean beaches in Sydney were graded as good or very good, despite a wet summer in 2012/13, which is an outstanding result," Sydney Water said in a statement.

According to the report, among the best swimming spots in Sydney are Palm Beach, Whale Beach and Avalon on the Northern Beaches.

But neighbouring beaches Dee Why, South Curl Curl and Mona Vale have all been downgraded from the very good rating they secured last year to good.

The report states while Dee Why is suitable for swimming most of the time the water is susceptible to pollution from several sources of faecal contamination, including stormwater.

South Curl Curl and Mona Vale are also susceptible to pollution following rainfall.

Boat Harbour near Cronulla was rated poor this year for the first time.

The report linked major rainfall events over the last couple of years as a major driver of pollution to recreational waters.

Six ocean beaches impacted by contamination - including discharge from lagoons and estuaries - were graded as poor including Killick Beach at Crescent Head and Terrigal Beach on the Central Coast.

NSW Services Minister Andrew Constance said any suggestion that raw sewage was being pumped onto Sydney beaches was "an outrageous lie".

He described the city's beaches as some of the cleanest in the world.

"During rain events wastewater undergoes wet weather treatment, in which 90 per cent of the treatment processes are completed," Mr Constance said in a statement.

He rejected Labor's job cut claims, but did say Sydney Water's ageing workforce meant staff numbers were decreasing significantly through natural attrition.

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