Cheney feared heart device hacking

FORMER US Vice President Dick Cheney says he once feared terrorists could use the electrical device that had been implanted near his heart to kill him and had his doctor disable its wireless function.

Cheney has a history of heart trouble, suffering the first of five heart attacks at age 37. He underwent a heart transplant last year at age 71.

In an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes," Cheney says doctors replaced an implanted defibrillator near his heart in 2007. The device can detect irregular heartbeats and control them with electrical jolts.

Cheney says that he and his doctor, cardiologist Jonathan Reiner, turned off the device's wireless function in case a terrorist tried to send his heart a fatal shock.

Years later, Cheney watched an episode of the Showtime series "Homeland" in which such a scenario was part of the plot.

"I found it credible," Cheney tells "60 Minutes" in a segment to be aired Sunday. "I know from the experience we had, and the necessity for adjusting my own device, that it was an accurate portrayal of what was possible."

Cheney and Reiner are promoting a book they co-authored, "Heart: An American Medical Odyssey."

In the "60 Minutes" interview, Reiner says he worried that Cheney couldn't stand the pressure that came on Sept. 11, 2001.

The day terrorists attacked the US, medical tests seen that morning showed Cheney had elevated levels of potassium in his blood, a condition called hyperkalemia, which could lead to abnormal heart rhythms and cardiac arrest.

Reiner says he watched news coverage of the day's events on television and thought, "Oh, great, the vice president is going to die tonight from hyperkalemia."

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Barking dog saves SA woman from fire

MAN'S best friend has been credited with saving a South Australian woman from being seriously injured in a house fire.

The dog started barking when a blaze erupted in the Hillbank home, north of Adelaide, on Saturday and alerted the woman to the growing danger, a Metropolitan Fire Service spokesman said.

"(It) may well have been instrumental in sparing this resident from more serous injury," he said.

The woman managed to escape the blaze with minor burns to her arms and needed to be taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.

The fire is believed to have started in the garage when a lit cigarette accidentally came into contact with a rolled up synthetic lawn.

The roof and ceiling collapsed before fire crews could put out the blaze, causing about $250,000 in damages.

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fight to save homes in Blue Mountains

NSW firefighters are struggling against a large bushfire in the Blue Mountains as they try to save homes in an area where almost 200 properties have already been destroyed.

Authorities have assessed 95 per cent of the affected area at Springwood and Winmalee, confirming 192 properties have been destroyed and another 109 damaged.

The Rural Fire Service (RFS) warns the number of damaged or destroyed properties may rise.

A hospital at Springwood was on Saturday evacuated ahead of an expected worsening in conditions on Sunday, with temperatures in the low 30s expected for parts of NSW.

Patients were taken to the Nepean Hospital in Penrith and are expected to stay there until at least Wednesday.

Firefighters had hoped calmer and cooler temperatures on Saturday would help control fires across the state, but blazes in and around the Blue Mountains have flared up.

Two emergency warnings, the highest level of alert, were issued by the RFS on Saturday.

One was for a fire at Lithgow covering more than 32,600 hectares and the other for about 2150 hectares at Springwood.

Roads have been closed in both areas.

A watch and act alert remains in place for a fire burning across more than 1000 hectares at Mt Victoria and a blaze at Balmoral in the Southern Highlands spanning more than 9300 hectares.

A fire that's burnt through almost 2730 hectares of scrub at Ruttleys Road, near Wyong on the Central Coast, was on Saturday afternoon downgraded to an advice warning.

Fire caused about $4 million damage to the Blue Mountains' historic Zig Zag Railway, which was close to reopening after being closed in June last year for safety upgrades.

Ten carriages, accommodation carriages, historic sleeping carriages, a meeting room, workshop, office and sleepers are among the items damaged.

Elsewhere, crews have been redirected from back-burning operations to protect more than 100 homes near Lithgow in Bell, Dargan, Berambing and Bilpin that were now under threat, RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said.

"This fire is by no means contained," Mr Rogers said.

The RFS advises people in the area to seek shelter.

Mr Rogers described conditions as "okay", but said it would likely warm up on Sunday and winds could strengthen on Monday.

No reprieve is expected until at least Tuesday, when showers may fall across the central and southern coasts.

Meanwhile, the defence department is investigating whether there's a link between the Lithgow fire and an explosives training exercise at the Marrangaroo training area on Wednesday.

An RFS spokesman told AAP there were no fire bans in place during the training exercise and that it occurred a day before extreme conditions were expected.

Premier Barry O'Farrell said "there was no suggestion" that the explosives testing had sparked the blaze.

The premier also had to deal with other explosions.

While visiting the RFS command centre in Wyong, he was confronted by an angry resident who said she almost died in a bushfire due to insufficient back-burning.

"Excuse me Mr O'Farrell, I almost died on Thursday night, the reason being National Parks and Wildlife does not do perimeter burning on their property," Crangan Bay resident Sandra Kay said.

Mr O'Farrell said he would take her concerns to the local council and to parliament.

On the Central Coast, firies were drinking for free after managing to save the much-loved "Catho pub" at Catherine Hill Bay.

No one was injured, but an historic home was lost when a bushfire hit the town on Friday.

"It's beers all round. I've told the RFS that the beers are on me today," publican Dean Beevor said.

The Salvation Army is asking for people to donate cash, rather than goods, to its bushfire appeal. More than $300,000 dollars has already been raised.

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

RBA says US default would have hurt growth

A US debt default would have hurt the world's largest economy but it is unclear what the wider impacts would have been, the head of the Reserve Bank of Australia says.

Failing to raise the US government's borrowing limit would have hurt economic growth because drastic spending cuts would have been needed, RBA governor Glenn Stevens said.

"Most of us would have worked out a few contingencies but the truth is we really don't have much idea how that would have gone," he told an Australian British Chamber of Commerce Business lunch in Sydney.

"It isn't difficult to contemplate ways in which it would have gone very very badly, but we really shouldn't be in a position of ever finding out, and I hope we won't be."

The US congress has passed a budget that allows the government to operate until early 2014, raising its borrowing limit and ending a partial US government shutdown.

Mr Stevens said the two week shutdown would have only a short term impact on the US economy.

"The shutdown itself probably had some dampening impact, but my guess would be that probably won't linger once everybody is back to work and in many instances people will be back-paid," he said.

"I don't think there should be a big impact on demand in the US resulting from that."

Mr Stevens also told the business function that post-global financial crisis reforms should not be taken lightly.

Since 2008, the Group of 20 nations has agreed on a series of banking and financial reforms in an effort to prevent another financial crisis.

"Let me be clear this is not a call for current reform efforts to stop, or to be watered down," he said.

"It is about ensuring we focus our finite energies and resources on the most important problems, and getting industry to do the same."

Mr Stevens said the most important reforms are the Basel III international banking rules.

Among other things, they require banks to have sufficient high-quality assets, such as government bonds, which they can sell when funds are needed.

Other significant measures, Mr Stevens said, are the oversight of institutions outside normal banking regulations, known as shadow banking, and addressing the problem of institutions that are "too big to fail".

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bikies charged under new Qld laws get bail

TWO bikie gang members arrested for gathering at their clubhouse in Queensland have been granted bail.

Peter Johnson and Mark Filtness, both 47, were arrested in Cairns on Friday morning and charged with offences under the state's new anti-bikie gang laws.

The pair were granted bail in the Cairns Magistrates Court about 4.30pm (AEST) on Friday.

The men must surrender their passports and are due to reappear on November 1.

They were arrested on Friday morning and each face one charge of being a participant in a criminal organisation entering a prescribed place.

The court heard that the pair told police they had been members of the Odin's Warriors for 20 years.

Their lawyer, Philip Bovey, said the pair had been at the gang's clubhouse as both of their flats were located on the same property.

He said the men were arrested shortly after Johnson visited Cairns Police Station to ask whether it was against the law for him to be living on the same property as the clubhouse.

Mr Bovey argued the men didn't pose a flight risk or a threat to the community.

He said Johnson had no criminal history, while Filtness had only been convicted on minor charges in 2000 and in the 1980s.

Johnson works as a diesel fitter in Weipa on Cape York and Filtness is a truck driver.

Police prosecutors opposed bail, saying the men were a flight risk as the club could provide financial assistance.

They argued that the pair could flee as they face a mandatory six month jail term if convicted.

But Magistrate Trevor Black granted both men bail, saying they would not be a flight risk.

He also indicated he needed time to read over and understand the new laws before the proceedings continued.

"I just downloaded something off the internet to try to catch up with this legislation," Mr Black said.

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

NSW firefighters battle to control blazes

Authorities are fearing more fatalities, after the NSW bushfires claimed their first life. Source: AAP

ONE man has died and authorities fear more fatalities will be discovered in the hundreds of homes destroyed by some of the most destructive bushfires NSW has seen.

NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons says the fight to get the blazes under control on Friday is far from over, with 94 fires burning across the state - 27 of which are uncontained.

A 63-year-old man died defending his house at Lake Munmorah on the NSW central coast, while the Blue Mountains, Lithgow and the Southern Highlands are also under attack from blazes which have torn though around 91,000 hectares throughout the state.

As residents and emergency services begin to return to affected areas, Mr Fitzsimmons said more casualties may be discovered.

"There is a possibility that we might find people who haven't been able to get out of harm's way," he told reporters.

Crews were working on Friday afternoon to take advantage of the milder weather, before conditions are set to deteriorate on Sunday.

The fires were "some of the most damaging (and) destructive ... in the history of NSW," Mr Fitzsimmons said.

After losing possibly hundreds of homes on Thursday, the community of Springwood in the Blue Mountains was again on high alert when the blaze sparked up on Friday, forcing the evacuation of Springwood High School and the historic Norman Lindsay Gallery which houses many rare and significant artworks.

In the Southern Highlands, west of Wollongong, Mr Fitzsimmons said a blaze in Balmoral, which had burnt through 8000 hectares was "spreading rapidly" and increasing in strength.

An emergency warning is in place at Leppington, in Sydney's southwest where there are fears homes may come under threat.

Meanwhile, further north in Wyong, where an emergency warning remains in place, properties are being threatened and an historic building has been destroyed, with multiple spot fires burning in the area.

Residents of heritage seaside town Catherine Hill Bay have described the scene as "apocalyptic".

A bushfire ripped through the quaint village near Lake Macquarie on Thursday, burning five historic buildings.

The 63-year-old man at nearby Lake Munmorah suffered a heart attack while he was fighting a fire at his home on Thursday afternoon.

Attempts were made to resuscitate him at the scene but he died at Wyong hospital.

Premier Barry O'Farrell said the man's death was the worst possible scenario.

"That's the worst that anyone wants to happen and we send our sympathy to his family," Mr O'Farrell said at RFS headquarters in Sydney.

But he said it was important to remember the good job firefighters had done.

"During crises like this we understandably tend to focus on what's been lost," he said.

"I think we should pause and think about what's been saved, what's been protected because of the extraordinary work of firefighters over the last 24-48 hours."

Mr Fitzsimmons became visibly emotional as he addressed the media, and had to pause to compose himself as he praised the work of firefighters.

"We have the best firefighters in the world," he said.

Two fire fighters are in hospital with burns and a man from Winmalee in the Blue Mountains is being treated for smoke inhalation.

Almost 200 interstate firefighters have been brought in to help the more than 1400 already on the ground.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott, an RFS volunteer himself, thanked those working on the NSW emergency.

"I just want to say how sorry we are on behalf of the people and the parliament of Australia for the heartache which so many hundreds of people in NSW are currently dealing with, but how proud we are of the thousands of volunteers and full-time professionals (fire fighters)," he said at Winmalee fire station.

The losses were calculated by a multi-agency team that was assessing buildings around Springwood and Winmalee on Friday, The Rural Fire Service (RFS) spokesman said.

But with only 30 per cent of the area so far being inspected, the RFS expects the numbers to rise.

Following a ferocious fire on Thursday, the community of Springwood was again placed on emergency alert on Friday when the blaze sparked and forced the evacuation of Springwood High School.

The evacuation meant school was basically out in the region, with an additional seven schools in the Blue Mountains and one in Lithgow remaining closed throughout the day.

Meanwhile fire crews were stationed around the historic Norman Lindsay Gallery in the afternoon, ready to protect the precious National Trust building if necessary.

One local, Helen Walton, who has lived through three major bushfires since moving to the mountains said the fire - which scorched almost 2000 hectares - was by far the worst she had seen.

Her house remains standing but her prize backyard has been reduced to ashes.

But she wasn't letting the blaze scare her off.

"We'll stay. Of course we'll stay. We might have to re-landscape, though," she told AAP.

The mayor of the Blue Mountains praised the resilience of residents who lost their homes in Thursday's bushfires.

"The Blue Mountains has experienced bushfire before, but nothing like this," Cr Greenhill told the Seven Network.

"We spent the evening ... comforting residents who had lost everything. This has been a very tough 24 hours for the community of the Blue Mountains."

By Friday afternoon, an emergency warning which was in place for a fire at Springwood was downgraded to watch and act.

Firefighters are continuing to patrol and monitor the fire, which has affected areas around Winmalee, Warrimoo and Yellow Rock.

A number of evacuation centres remain open.

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

War not over on workers' comp changes

Hundreds of people rallied at Queensland parliament to protest reforms to workers' compensation. Source: AAP

ATTORNEY-GENERAL Jarrod Bleijie may have won the battle to water down Queensland's workers' compensation rights, but unions say the war is far from over.

Parliament was asked to pass controversial laws on Thursday, just two days after they were introduced.

Under the laws workers won't be able to seek compensation if they're injured on the job and their impairment is less than five per cent.

Bosses will also have access to a job applicant's injury history and workers who lodge fraudulent compensation claims face tougher penalties.

The government says the changes are designed to crack down on "ambulance-chasing lawyers" and protect businesses from outlandish claims and skyrocketing premiums.

But the Queensland Council of Unions says the government is pandering to big businesses, which could see their insurance premiums drop by 15 per cent.

"It's a few extra dollars out of the pockets of employers, but it will be at the expense of workers who will lose tens of thousands of dollars," QCU president John Battams says.

About 500 workers protested loudly outside parliament waving banners and calling the attorney-general a liar: "Bleiar, Bleiar, Bleiar."

Unions say they'll campaign in Mr Bleijie's Sunshine Coast electorate to unseat him at the next state election.

A new poll commissioned by the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) shows the government's plans are out of step with community expectations and Premier Campbell Newman risks losing his seat.

Lawyers vowed to campaign against the changes at the next election.

The amendments would see Shine Lawyers' profits slip $2.5 million this financial year as the number of common law claims dramatically drop.

ALA spokesman Rod Hodgson said WorkCover is profitable and there's no reason for change.

"Lawyers who are members of the LNP themselves and have been lifelong LNP voters are deeply concerned," he said.

"I expect that lawyers individually and collectively will be expressing concerns on an ongoing basis including though to the next election campaign."

The Australian Industry Group, Master Builders, Queensland Trucking Association, and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland (CCIQ) say the current system is too costly, and is open to double-dipping and rorts.

About 81 per cent of the state's businesses support the new injury threshold, the CCIQ says.

Spokesman Nick Behrens says employer premiums would be reduced on average by 15 per cent, which would save businesses $290 million a year.

"Queensland will restore its status as having the lowest compensation premiums in Australia," he said.

Queensland Trucking Association CEO Peter Garske said his industry was crippled by premiums, which have increased by 34 per cent in the last three years.

"An impairment to continued and future employment is employees who are prepared to shop and see, with the help of their lawyers, to see how much they can screw out of the system," he said.

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bodies found after Laos plane crash

Six Australians were among those killed when a Lao Airlines plane crashed into the Mekong River. Source: AAP

DIVERS are searching for bodies after a Lao Airlines plane believed to be carrying 49 people, around half of them foreigners including Australians, plunged into the Mekong River during stormy weather.

Six Australians, seven French citizens and five Thais were among those thought to have been killed when the turboprop ATR-72 came down on Wednesday near Pakse airport in Champasak province.

Debris was seen floating in the river at the scene of the disaster, while suitcases were wedged in mud on the riverbank, according to an AFP reporter.

Backpacks, an aeroplane propeller and passports were among the debris scattered on the riverbank where the Lao Airlines turboprop plane apparently hit hard before skidding into the water and sinking on Wednesday, AP reported.

Around a dozen rescuers were using a crane perched on a floating platform in the middle of the Mekong on Thursday to try to winch the submerged aircraft from the river, which was swollen by a recent tropical storm.

Divers from a Thai rescue team were on the scene to assist in the operation.

State-owned Lao Airlines said more than half of the 44 passengers and five crew on board were foreign nationals.

Citizens from up to 11 countries were reported to have been on the flight from the capital Vientiane.

"So far eight bodies have been found. We don't yet know their nationalities, said Yakao Lopangkao director-general of Lao's Department of Civil Aviation, who was at the crash site in Pakse, in southern Laos.

"We haven't found the plane yet. It is underwater. We're trying to use divers to locate it," he told AP.

He ruled out any chance of finding survivors. "There is no hope. The plane appears to have crashed very hard before entering the water."

Some bodies were found as far as 20 kilometres from the crash site, he said.

"We have asked villagers and people who live along the river to look for bodies and alert authorities when they see anything," he told AP.

Fleets of small fishing boats and inflatable rafts plied the muddy, vast waterway as part of the search with men in life vests peering into the water. After storms on Wednesday, the search took place under sunny blue skies.

Some of the bodies were taken to a mortuary at a Chinese temple in Pakse.

Three bodies draped in blue plastic sheets were seen in the building, which was guarded by about 10 policemen, some armed, who turned away onlookers.

"They are foreigners from the crash," staff at the centre told AFP, adding that their nationalities were unknown.

Lao Airlines said the aircraft hit "extreme" bad weather, while witnesses described seeing the aircraft buffeted by strong winds.

"The plane was about to land but appeared to be hit by a strong wind, causing its head to ascend and pushing it away from the airport area and out of reach of the air traffic control radar," state-run Laos news agency KPL quoted a witness as saying.

According to a passenger list published by Thai media, people from the US, China, Taiwan Vietnam, Canada, South Korea and Malaysia were also on the flight.

The six Australians killed comprised two families - Gavin Rhodes, 39, his wife Phoumalaysy (Lea) Rhodes, 35, and their children 17-month-old Manfred Rhodes and three-year-old Jadesuda Rhodes; and a father and son, Gordon Creighton, 71, and Michael Creighton, 42.

France said it was rushing embassy officials to the site of the crash.

French President Francois Hollande learned of the disaster "with profound emotion and great sadness" and offered "sincere condolences" and full support to the victims' families, his office said in a statement.

Thailand said five of its nationals had died.

Three South Koreans were also among the victims, according to the Transport Ministry in Seoul.

Taiwan said one of its citizens was killed while Beijing's official Xinhua news agency said one Chinese was on board. It said an earlier figure of two had included the Taiwanese victim.

Flight QV301 set off from Vientiane on time at 2.45pm (1845 AEDT) on Wednesday and was supposed to arrive in Pakse just over an hour later.

French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR said the twin-engine turboprop aircraft was new and had been delivered in March.

The director-general of the country's Department of Civil Aviation, Yakua Lopangkao, told the Vientiane Times newspaper that the accident may have occurred because of bad weather triggered by tropical storm Nari.

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

NSW firies concede tens of homes lost

IT will be miraculous if no lives are lost to bushfires on a difficult and dangerous night ahead in NSW, Premier Barry O'Farrell says.

Hundreds of properties are feared destroyed in bushfires around the state, with up to 30 known to be lost at Springwood, in the Blue Mountains.

Mr O'Farrell said that despite a change cooling the weather where fires were burning, the danger was not over.

"It has been a difficult, damaging and dangerous day and these conditions are not going to be over quickly," he told reporters at Rural Fire Service headquarters in Sydney on Thursday.

"Weather conditions are changing, it will take some days until we see the end of these fires.

"And I suspect that if we get through that without the loss of life we should thank God for miracles."

More than 90 fires were burning across NSW at 6.30pm (AEDT), 36 of them uncontained.

Six fires were of most concern, burning aggressively and causing destruction, RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.

"We have many hours yet still to run," he said.

"It is going to be a long, difficult and dangerous evening ahead for firefighters and obviously the communities in the path of these fires."

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

NSW roads assessor bankrupt before bribes

A ROGUE heavy-vehicle assessor was bankrupt before he started soliciting bribes of up to $2000 to falsify log books that let truck drivers gain their licence.

Christopher Binos has been blatantly open about the deals, which are the subject of an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) inquiry.

ICAC is investigating allegations Mr Binos accepted kickbacks for entering false log-book entries to show that aspiring truck drivers had completed a competency assessment when in fact they had not.

Counsel assisting ICAC, David McLure, told the public inquiry on Wednesday that evidence would show Mr Binos falsely certified at least 91 people as competent to drive heavy vehicles.

Mr Binos became an accredited assessor in 2004 and was suspended by Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) in April this year.

He admitted to the inquiry he had used a registration from a vehicle on carsales.com.au in a false log-book entry.

On another occasion a registration falsely showed an applicant had completed an assessment, when it actually belonged to a ute in northern NSW.

Asked if he had a usual charge for making false log-book entires, Mr Binos said: "$1500 ... sometimes more, sometimes less".

Mr McLure put it to Mr Binos he would make the legitimate way of going through a competency assessment seem longer and more expensive.

"Correct," Mr Binos replied.

But he said the prospective truck drivers who came to him "pretty much knew what they were coming for".

The inquiry heard Mr Binos went bankrupt in July 2011, although he claimed it was 2012.

He allegedly raked in his kickbacks between 2012 and 2013.

This was revealed after he offered to falsify a log book in exchange for $2000 to Simon Hay, who rejected the proposal and reported it.

Jacqueline Riley told the inquiry she contacted Mr Binos after hearing about an assessor who could be paid extra for a truck licence.

When asked what she meant by pay extra, Mrs Riley replied: "That I wouldn't have to take a test".

Mrs Riley met with Mr Binos in December 2012 and gave him her log book.

"(He said) he would send me the log books. I paid him $1500 or $1600," she said.

Mrs Riley received her log books days after the meeting and eventually went to the traffic authority and received a truck licence.

As part of gaining a heavy vehicle licence, applicants must undergo a 30-minute final competency drive.

A competency assessor then reports to RMS and signs off the applicant's log book.

A lawyer for Roads and Maritime Services indicated the authority would consider voiding the ill-obtained licences.

The inquiry continues.

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wheels fly off truck on Sydney freeway

A truck has been issued with a defect notice after two of its wheels flew off on a Sydney motorway. Source: AAP

A TRUCK has been issued with a defect notice after two of its wheels flew off on a Sydney motorway.

Police saw the incident on Tuesday during a patrol of the M7 at Horsley Park, in Sydney's west, and say the truck driver is very lucky to be alive.

The tyres were flung into north and southbound traffic, narrowly missing oncoming vehicles.

"It was quite fortunate one of our traffic and highway patrol cars was stationed on the M7 at the time and was able to assist in containing the situation very quickly," acting assistant police commissioner Stuart Smith said in a statement.

The 35-year-old driver was issued with a defect notice, which prevented him from driving away the truck.

The news comes two weeks after a fuel tanker, owned by Cootes Transport, crashed in Mona Vale, in Sydney's north, killing two people.

NSW Roads and Maritime Services has grounded 10 vehicles and issued the company with 244 defect notices during inspections.

Mr Smith urged truck operators to ensure their vehicles were regularly maintained.

"Your actions can have serious implications for others, so it is vital that the utmost care is taken when travelling on our roads," he said.

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Row grows over Qld sex offender jail terms

QUEENSLAND Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie is on a collision course with civil libertarians and lawyers after announcing plans to strip courts of the power to set indefinite jail terms for some sex offenders.

He wants to rush through parliament, as early as Thursday, changes that would give him the power to say which sex offenders should be locked up until they die.

Mr Bleijie has the backing of child protection advocate Hetty Johnston, who says judges worry too much about offenders' civil rights.

"Unfortunately it is the civil rights of sex offenders that take precedence over the rights of the community and children to be safe," the Bravehearts founder said.

But Australian Council for Civil Liberties president Terry O'Gorman said the move was "legislative lunacy" and urged a judicial rebellion.

Queensland Law Society (QLS) president Annette Bradfield also questioned the move and other legislation recently rushed through parliament in the dead of night.

Mr Bleijie insists it is legislation of last resort that would only be used to keep the worst of the worst in jail.

"Some of these people just can't be rehabilitated. They should never be released from prison," he said on Wednesday.

Mr Gorman accused the attorney-general of dictating to judges and called on the judiciary to stand up to him.

"This is the latest piece of legislative lunacy from an attorney-general who refuses to consult with anyone other than those who agree with his views," he told AAP.

Mr O'Gorman said it was the second time in two days that Mr Bleijie had ridden roughshod over Queensland's judicial system.

Laws passed by parliament on Wednesday morning mean judges now have to sentence bikies convicted of serious crimes to years of additional jail time, simply because they are gang members.

Ms Bradfield said the QLS was concerned at the lack of consultation over proposed legislation and at the executive wielding powers to give criminals added jail time.

"Judges are trained to make those determinations and politicians simply don't have the qualifications or the experience in those regards," she said.

Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk has accused Mr Bleijie of wanting to be "judge and jury" and called for him to quit.

"Yet again we are seeing the arrogance of this government, which wants to do anything and everything with its massive majority," she told parliament.

"Democracy is under direct attack."

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sydney car fire serves as costly warning

A SINGLE cigarette may have cost Sydney families tens of thousands of dollars, since many of the cars incinerated in a freak blaze were uninsured.

Police are reviewing CCTV footage as they investigate the cause of a fire on Sunday that tore through the Sydney Aquatic Centre car park, destroying 47 cars, damaging another 33 and forcing mass evacuations.

Firefighters say the conditions were horrendous with temperatures of 36 degrees, five per cent humidity and winds gusting to 70km/h.

"In 42 years, I've never seen fire moving through cars like this," NSW Fire and Rescue Commissioner Greg Mullins told reporters on Monday.

"The fire was leaping from car to car, being driven by the wind.

"It was quite random, there was no visibility here. Thick black smoke, towering flames, incredible heat."

He said investigators' "strong speculation" was that an errant cigarette butt sparked the blaze.

It's believed a smoker may have thrown a smouldering cigarette onto the tinder-dry grass in the parking lot, despite a total fire ban in place across the state.

An NRMA Insurance spokeswoman said the extent of the damage was not yet known because many drivers were yet to regain access to their cars.

"We're currently working with our impacted customers to give them the support they need," she said.

But a number of uninsured car owners have already emerged.

Idesa Vincent from the Ryde-Carlile swimming club, which was holding its annual meet at the centre, lost her car.

"The alarms went, they were basically herding us out of the front entrance as quickly as possible. They got everyone outside and across the road. The police were on hand straight away," she told the ABC.

Ms Vincent said she could hear what sounded like explosions and quickly realised her car - which only had third party insurance - would not escape unscathed.

"I don't even want to think about that part," she said.

Another unlucky motorist, Vahid Noshahr, told News Corp Australia his uninsured 2008 Toyota was destroyed.

"It's terrible. It is a new car. I had been saving up and only bought it last year," he said.

"It cost me $10,000 and I cancelled the insurance because I was going to sell it."

The Insurance Council of Australia has urged people affected by the Homebush fire to get in touch with their insurers.

Depending on their policy, some may be covered for the fire even if they did not have comprehensive car insurance.

"Each insurer's policy is different and has its own terms and conditions," a spokeswoman said.

Mr Mullins said authorities were frustrated that individual smokers continued to flout warnings not to throw away still-lit butts, even on extreme fire danger days.

"It's just stupid," he said.

"The median strip fires that we regularly have on bad hot windy days, they're all caused by cigarette butts."

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sparking power lines caused NSW bushfire

A southerly change has helped firefighters get the upper hand on blazes on the NSW mid-north coast. Source: AAP

A BUSHFIRE that destroyed a number of properties in the NSW area of Port Stephens was started by sparking power lines, firefighters say.

Six homes were destroyed when fire tore through the area between Salt Ash and Tanilba Bay in Port Stephens on Sunday.

Initial investigations suggest the fire, which burned out more than 50 hectares, was caused by power lines sparking in the high winds, the NSW Rural Fire Service says.

Investigators are still trying to find out what started fires at Fingal Bay and the Heatherbrae area, also in Port Stephens.

More than 177 hectares were burned out near Fingal Bay.

"Anyone that might have seen something, no matter how small that piece of information may be, please share it with Crime Stoppers," RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told ABC radio.

"It could be the piece of the jigsaw puzzle that they're looking for to piece together how the fire started."

A southerly change overnight ended 24 hours of extreme conditions and brought rain to some areas of the Hunter region.

That allowed firefighters to downgrade fires in Port Stephens on Monday from "watch and act" to "advice".

But it came too late for the mayor of Port Stephens, who claims fire-affected residents weren't allowed to carry out hazard reduction burns.

"I believe several houses have been lost, which is a disaster as far as I'm concerned," Bruce MacKenzie told ABC radio.

"The Rural Fire Service, the politicians and the greenies have a lot to bloody answer for."

But Premier Barry O'Farrell, who visited the area on Monday, said last financial year about 280,000 hectares were subject to hazard reduction.

That compared to 117,000 hectares in 2010/11, the year leading up to his government's election.

"We committed ourselves to increasing hazard reduction across the state by 45 per cent in our first term," he told reporters.

"We're on track to do that."

A grassfire near Kempsey, on the mid-north coast, was one of those downgraded on Monday.

Michelle Armson, who owns the Bellbrook General Store, says the usually quiet village was transformed by the sound of sirens.

The fire was less than a kilometre from her shop.

"It's the talk of the town," she told AAP.

"We were a little concerned but we had people telling us not to worry about it, that they had it under control."

She said Bellbrook public school was evacuated because of smoke.

The Bureau of Meteorology says temperatures in the Hunter region could reach as high as 37C again on Thursday.

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

O Minerals shares fall on revised targets

OZ Minerals shares slumped more than nine per cent after it cut its copper production targets due to a continued slowdown in operations.

Copper production for 2013 is now expected to be around 70,000 tonnes to 75,000 tonnes, down from 82,000 to 88,000 tonnes.

Shares in Australia's third largest copper producer fell 41 cents, or 9.3 per cent, to $3.99.

OZ Minerals said it did not achieve its expected September quarter production levels of gold and copper at its Prominent Hill operation in South Australia following a landslip earlier in the year.

Managing director Terry Burgess said the company had now decided to adjust the current 2013 production targets in favour of a long-term approach.

"Mining is to continue in the areas with lower grade while we progress to the most efficient mine plan rather than attempting to mine ore in advance of plan," Mr Burgess said.

He expects mining unit costs to decrease as the company focuses on efficiency.

OZ Minerals produced 28,177 ounces of gold and 17,390 tonnes of copper in the September quarter.

Lower than expected grades of ore were returned as the company worked to remediate the damaged wall.

"This saw production lower than expected," OZ Minerals said in a statement.

Meanwhile, cash costs were $US2.058 per pound for the September quarter.

Gold production targets were unchanged at 120,000 ounces to 130,000 ounces.

Mr Burgess said a pre-feasibility study at Carrapateena is due to be completed in the first half of 2014.

Shares in OZ Minerals have almost halved over the past year as the price of gold and copper waned.

The company suffered a $268 million loss in the first half of 2013, due to a writedown of Prominent Hill following a landslip which hurt production during the June quarter.

The company said guidance for 2014 will be reported after the 2013 reserve statement is completed in December.

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Property damage reported in NSW fire

PROPERTIES have reportedly been damaged and there are fears some may have been lost as an out of control bushfire continues to blaze in the NSW Hunter region.

The NSW Rural Fire Service says it has received unconfirmed reports that properties have been burned in Port Stephens.

A scrub fire is burning the Tilligerry State Conservation area between Salt Ash and Tanilba Bay and in the Fingal Bay area, also in Port Stephens.

Authorities have set up an evacuation centre at a community hall in Williamtown.

An emergency warning has also been issued for Singleton, where residents are being advised to shelter as the fire-front approaches.

It was 32C in Sydney at 5.45pm (AEDT) on Sunday and the temperature was rising toward the forecast of 36C.

A change sweeping through the state is expected to drop temperatures by as much as 10 degrees when it reaches Wollongong by 6pm and Sydney by 9pm.

The Bureau of Meteorology says the strong cold front will bring damaging winds of around 50 km/h with peak gusts of 90km/h.

The NSW Rural Fire Service has banned the lighting of fires for Sunday in large parts of NSW, including greater Sydney.

Meanwhile, a grass fire near Sydney Olympic Park has been extinguished.

The fire in Homebush in Sydney's west destroyed over 40 cars, Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Ian Krimmer told AAP.

Three people have been treated for smoke inhalation and 1500 were evacuated from a nearby aquatic centre.

Superintendent Krimmer says there are "hundreds and hundreds" of cars parked in the carpark.

Authorities will allow people to access their cars once the area has been declared safe.

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

China pledges to close 2000 mines

China has pledged to shut down 2000 coal mines in a bid to improve safety standards. Source: AAP

CHINA says it will shut down at least 2000 small coal mines by the end of 2015 as it tries to improve safety standards in its deadly industry.

China's Cabinet says it will target mines with annual output of less than 90,000 tons, and those that fail to adhere to safety rules.

The statement late Saturday also said it will end approval for new coal mines with an annual capacity of less than 300,000 tons.

China's mines are the deadliest in the world. According to the official Xinhua News Agency, 1384 people were killed in coal mine accidents in 2012.

Safety improvements have reduced deaths in recent years, but regulations are often ignored and accidents are still common.

China has deep reserves of coal and 12,000 coal mines.

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ballot brings renewal for Labor: Shorten

Bill Shorten says he has "things to learn" after winning federal Labor's historic leadership ballot. Source: AAP

BILL Shorten says he has "things to learn" after winning federal Labor's historic leadership ballot despite being backed by just 40 per cent of the party's grassroots members.

While the new leader won the backing of his parliamentary colleagues, the party's rank and file overwhelmingly backed his rival Anthony Albanese.

The membership tally was 60-40 per cent in favour of Mr Albanese, but Mr Shorten took the top job after caucus backed him by 55 votes to 31.

"This ballot shows that there are still things for me to learn," Mr Shorten told reporters in Canberra.

"The party has spoken and what I undertake to do is to learn, is to listen but also to help the process of rebuilding Labor with good policies."

The ballot marked the start of "the renewal of Labor" as an alternative government.

Despite the ballot numbers, the Right faction powerbroker said he knew of moderate members who voted both for and against him.

Mr Shorten played down his perceived lack of parliamentary experience, citing his battle as trade union leader against the Howard government's WorkChoices industrial relations laws before he entered parliament in 2007.

"I do believe that Australians in the Labor movement contribute through a variety of ways, not just through parliament," he said.

When quizzed about his role in the downfall of two Labor prime ministers in three years, Mr Shorten said people would see him as someone who would always work in the best interests of the nation before he considered his party.

He vowed not to be as "relentlessly negative" as Prime Minister Tony Abbott was in opposition.

Labor will meet on Monday to decide its shadow ministry and name a deputy opposition leader, likely to be Mr Shorten's pick Tanya Plibersek.

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More