Schoolies trapped in elevator

Schoolies madness has begun, with 23 teens trapped in a Sunshine Coast elevator. Source: The Courier-Mail

On the first afternoon of the annual Schoolies festival, 23 teens became trapped in an overloaded lift in a Surfers Paradise highrise.
The teens wedged themselves in to an elevator at the Skyline North Tower at Chevron Renaissance about 4pm.
Police, ambulance and fire rescue crews rushed to the scene, with the group freed about 20 minutes later.
There were no reported injuries.
The incident sets the tone for the rest of the week, where Year 12 graduates famously let their hair down in a seven-day party.
Officials expect about 28,000 schoolies to enter the Surfers Paradise party, before a similar number arrive from southern states next week.

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Large hailstones pummel southeast Qld

Hailstones the size of tennis balls have pelted parts of southeast Queensland. Source: AAP

HAILSTONES the size of tennis balls have pelted parts of southeast Queensland as severe thunderstorms sweep through the area.

A Bureau of Meteorology severe weather warning is in place for Redland, North Stradbroke Island, parts of the Gold Coast, Logan, Gympie and the Sunshine Coast.

The storms, which battered other parts of the region earlier on Saturday, are moving in a east-northeast direction.

The bureau says "very dangerous" thunderstorms are expected to hit Double Island Point, Rainbow Beach, the Wide Bay, Mount Cotton, Macleay Island and Victoria Point by 3pm on Saturday.

Destructive winds and large hailstones are likely.

Tennis ball-sized hail has been reported at Buderim on the Sunshine Coast and there have been reports of large hail battering Mooloolah Valley, Maroochydore and Greenbank.

Ian Masterman, who runs The Attic Cafe on the Sunshine Coast, says hailstones the size of golf balls hit the area early Saturday afternoon.

"I've never seen anything like this before," the 51-year-old, who has lived on the Sunshine Coast since 2000, told AAP.

"They were bouncing off the ground and we were worried they were going to smash the windows.

"You could hear windows on the cars smashing outside."

Mr Masterman says the hailstones fell for about 15 minutes and he's preparing for another battering.

"We've brought the garden pots inside," he said. "I don't think it has ever hailed the whole time we've been here."

A Department of Community Safety spokeswoman told AAP about 100 storm-related calls had been made to the State Emergency Service by 3pm on Saturday.

Most of the calls related to damage to homes from hail or heavy rain.

Emergency Management Queensland is advising residents to move cars under cover and secure loose outdoor items.

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Elderly man dies in country NSW crash

A man has died and another man has been airlifted to hospital following a crash in northern NSW. Source: AAP

AN elderly man has died in a car crash in northern NSW.

The collision, involving a Toyota Hilux and Volvo sedan, happened on the Oxley Highway near Gunnedah shortly before 3pm (AEDT) on Saturday, police say.

The Volvo driver, aged in his 80's, died at the scene.

The other driver was trapped in his car before he was released and airlifted to Tamworth Base Hospital.

The highway is expected to remain closed for a number of hours.

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Abbott urges inclusion for Sri Lanka

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has urged Commonwealth leaders to engage and not isolate countries such as Sri Lanka as they emerge from civil strife.

Mr Abbott, Prince Charles and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa delivered opening ceremony addresses to kick off the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo on Friday.

The summit was mired in controversy after the leaders of Canada, India and Mauritius - the next host country - boycotted it over concerns about Sri Lanka's human rights record after almost three decades of civil war.

Mr Abbott instead urged a "spirit of encouragement, not isolation".

"Sri Lanka's willingness to host this Commonwealth shows its commitment to democratic pluralism and freedom based on law and ought to assure all its citizenship that just as today is better than yesterday, tomorrow will be better than today," Mr Abbott said.

Mr Rajapaksa's government faces global calls for an independent inquiry into alleged human rights breaches and atrocities in the dying months of the war.

Mr Abbott said the peace achieved in Sri Lanka had brought more freedom and prosperity.

"So we are here to praise as much as to judge," he said.

The Sri Lankan president launched a passionate defence of his country's new era of "peace, stability and renewed economic opportunities".

"We asserted the greatest human right - the right to life," he said of how the civil war was brought to an end.

Prince Charles, standing in for the Queen, who is scaling back her international travel, said the Commonwealth was about creating a better future.

"Each one of us is here because of the hope and the trust we place in the Commonwealth to bring that touch of healing to our troubles and deliver the very best future for our people," he said.

Mr Abbott met with British Prime Minister David Cameron and plans bilateral meetings with the leaders of Nauru and Pakistan during the summit, which ends on Sunday.

Human rights advocates say Mr Abbott is toning down his criticism so as not to jeopardise a potential deal with Sri Lanka on stopping people-smuggling.

"So far Australia has forcibly returned well over 1000 Sri Lankans," Emily Howie, of the Human Rights Law Centre, told AAP.

"Australia is failing human rights on two levels: we are failing to speak up for the protection of Sri Lankans' rights and we are doing so in order to cruelly and unlawfully return them to Sri Lanka."

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Vic speaker should resign: experts

THE only way to overcome the stand-off in Victoria's parliament is for Speaker Ken Smith to quit, political experts say.

Premier Denis Napthine blamed a "childish stunt" by Labor for Mr Smith's decision to shut down parliament on Thursday, after Labor repeatedly tried to expose the Speaker's lack of support on the lower house floor.

But Labor says it will not back down in maintaining Mr Smith has lost support of most lower house members and should resign.

Mr Smith suspended parliament until November 26 in a day of drama which came after former Liberal turned independent MP Geoff Shaw, who holds the balance of power in the lower house, sided with Labor on Tuesday to stall government business and express no confidence in the Speaker.

Dr Napthine says he expects Labor will "do the right thing" and get on with the business of parliament once it resumes.

"What we had yesterday is a crude political stunt, a hijacking of democracy by political stunt," he told ABC radio on Friday.

When asked if he was prepared for the Speaker to suspend parliament again when it is due to sit next, Dr Napthine replied it is not his role to tell the Speaker how to act.

Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews accused Mr Smith of shutting down parliament to save his own skin.

"It's my hope that when we return to parliament on the 26th of November, the Speaker has considered his position. That is his position is untenable and he should go.

"We will stand our ground."

Former Victorian parliamentary Speaker Ken Coghill says it is hard to see Mr Smith's position will be any more tenable once parliament resumes.

"If the house resumes with things unchanged, then there's no reason to think the parliament will be workable, so sooner or later the Speaker either leaves of his own volition or is forced to leave," Mr Coghill told ABC Radio.

Monash University politics expert Dr Zareh Ghazarian says the events are a major headache for the government, which appears to have lost control of the parliament.

"It just seems they're unable to once and for all deal with essentially the thorn in their side and that is of course Mr Shaw," he said.

Dr Ghazarian says the best option is for the Speaker to quit.

"This is very useful tactics by Labor, aided by the Frankston MP, to really rattle the government, and it's working.

"If it comes to the ultimate point then he would probably have to resign to get around the political impasse."

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Anyone could be a danger to kids: Qld cops

PEDOPHILES no longer fit the common image of an old man living alone, meaning anyone could be a danger to children, Queensland police and child advocates warn.

Federal police swooped on 65 Australian men, charging them with involvement in the Canadian website that allowed customers to trade and purchase sex images and videos of young males from the Ukraine, Romania and Germany.

Queensland police arrested 32 of those men, including four teachers, a student, a bank manager, a nurse, an accountant and a number of tradesmen.

Detective Senior Sergeant Cameron Harsley says that offenders ranged in age between 22 and 76, with most towards the younger end of the range.

"The idea of an old man living alone is gone, they are young offenders," he told reporters on Friday.

"Those that were downloading these images are just as guilty as those who were procuring these boys.

"People in (positions of) trust, we put a higher value on their morals.

"It's very important to risk manage the contact your children have with members of the public or anybody, it's very important to communicate with your child every night."

Child protection advocacy group Bravehearts said stranger danger was coming back via the internet and mobile phones.

"It makes it very difficult, it makes people scared of every new person in their life really," the organisation's founder and executive director Hetty Johnston told AAP.

No Queensland children were exploited by the international ring, but Det Sgt Harsley said it could have easily gone that way.

"Where there's a market, there's a will for children, so I'm confident that if the opportunity existed for these people to exploit children in Queensland, they would," he said.

"I think the market is flourishing, I think we have got to be vigilant all the time."

But law enforcement officials and parents can only do so much.

Most of the men charged have already appeared in court and are due back in the dock over the next two months.

One, a bank manager from northern Brisbane, has already faced court and was fined $1000 with no conviction recorded.

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Perth beach re-opens after shark sighting

A PERTH beach has been re-opened following the sighting of a great white shark close to shore.

Surf Life Saving WA (SLSWA) tweeted on Tuesday afternoon that a four-metre shark was sighted by a surfer 50m off shore at Trigg beach.

A helicopter was sent to investigate, but did not see a shark so the beach was re-opened, SLSWA said.

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International aid pours in for Philippines

INTERNATIONAL aid is pouring in for the Philippines as authorities step up efforts to reach survivors driven to looting after one of the world's strongest typhoons devastated their towns.

About $A100 million in emergency assistance has been pledged so far, and more is on its way as the country struggles with the destruction from Typhoon Haiyan, which killed at least 1774 people.

Australia is sending a 36-member medical team, and equipment and supplies with the capacity to treat up to 4000 patients over a two-week period in a temporary 50-bed hospital, Health Minister Peter Dutton said.

This was in addition to $A10 million in disaster relief announced on Monday by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. NSW has also pledged $A500,000 in aid.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered the aircraft carrier USS George Washington and other American ships to head to the Philippines.

The carrier, which has 5000 sailors and more than 80 aircraft aboard, was expected to arrive from Hong Kong within two days. It would be accompanied by the cruisers USS Antietam and USS Cowpens, and the destroyer USS Mustin while the USS Lassen, also a destroyer, was also on the way. A supply ship, the USNS Charles Drew, was already under way.

The carrier group has helicopters while the US Marine Corps was sending four MV-22B Ospreys and three KC-130J Hercules planes to the disaster zone.

The US had earlier said it was providing $US20 million ($A21.3 million) in humanitarian aid as well as additional troops - it has 90 soldiers on the ground at present.

The United Nations had allocated $US25 million in emergency relief fund and $US2 million from the UN World Food Program. UNICEF was airlifting 66 tons of emergency supplies from Copenhagen including water purification systems, storage equipment and sanitation supplies.

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron pledged STG10 million ($A17.17 million) worth of humanitarian aid, and was deploying a Royal Navy warship and Royal Air Force military transport aircraft to help in relief efforts.

The European Union, which already sent 3 million euros ($A4.33 million) for relief, was allocating another 10 million euros for rehabilitation efforts, Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said in Manila on Tuesday.

"There is a need to increase humanitarian support for the operations in the affected areas," he said.

"The extent of the damage is not fully known, but what we clearly know is that they are in a state of calamity."

Piebalgs said an EU humanitarian assistance team has been trying to send help to areas not yet reached by aid agencies, but access has been impossible.

"We don't know at this stage what the needs will be, it can take weeks or months, but I think the 10 million euros is a rather solid support at this stage," he added.

Germany said early on Tuesday that it would increase its aid to the typhoon-stricken Philippines to 1 million euros, up from the 500,000 euros announced at the weekend.

China had pledged $US100,000, Japan $US10 million, and Taiwan, $US200,000.

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Vic independent MP sides with opposition

INDEPENDENT Victorian MP Geoff Shaw has sided with the Labor opposition to stall government business and express no confidence in the Speaker.

Mr Shaw sided with the Labor Party in parliament on a vote which means government business cannot proceed and legislation cannot be put or passed this week.

"I think parliament's been degraded by people in this place, by the opposition, but by the person who runs it the most, the position of speaker," Mr Shaw told parliament on Tuesday.

Jacinta Allan, manager of opposition business, said the vote is unprecedented and the Napthine government is paralysed and in disarray.

"For the first time ever the government has lost a vote on the introduction of a government business program," she said.

"It's clear the government Denis Napthine leads doesn't have the support of the parliament."

Ms Allan said the Speaker, Liberal MP Ken Smith, does not have the support of the majority of the house and has no option but to consider his position.

Labor has for some time raised concerns about the Speaker's conduct in his role.

Mr Shaw made it clear to the opposition before the vote about losing confidence in the office of Speaker, Ms Allan said.

But manager of government business Louise Asher said she was "completely relaxed" about the situation and it simply means the lower house will now operate as the upper house.

"The house will have to handle each bill, bill by bill, and if necessary clause by clause."

Ms Asher says the Speaker will remain as there was no vote in relation to him.

"The real issue for the government is how Mr Shaw will vote on the bills.

"The situation is the Speaker is still in the chair and the government will debate a series of bills throughout the week and the lower house will have to behave like the upper house."

Debate is continuing in the parliament on the first bill and a vote will be taken when all MPs who want to have spoken on it.

Mr Shaw controls the balance of power in the Victorian parliament.

He quit the Liberal Party in March and moved to the crossbenches. His vote keeps the government in power.

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Fourth man charged over anti-semitic brawl

A FOURTH man has been charged over an alleged anti-Semitic attack in Sydney's east last month.

About 12.30am (AEDT) on Saturday, October 26, four men, aged 66, 48, 39, and 27, and a 62-year-old woman were walking at Bondi when they passed a group of men, police say.

The men allegedly made derogatory comments towards the group and assaulted them until police arrived.

Three men were arrested a short distance away.

About 10.30am on Monday, a fourth man was arrested at a Maroubra home.

The 26-year-old was later charged with affray, possessing a knife in a public place and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

He was refused bail and will appear at Waverley Local Court on Tuesday.

The others charged were two 17-year-old youths, who fronted the children's court, and a 23-year-old man who is due to appear at Waverley Local Court on December 3.

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Outpouring for ex-homeless US man

A homeless US man had his benefits cut after money he found and gave to police was returned to him. Source: AAP

OFFERS of support have been pouring in from around the US for a formerly homeless man whose good deed proved costly.

James Brady of Hackensack, New Jersey was notified recently that his government benefits were being suspended after he failed to report as income the $US850 ($A902) he had found on a footpath and handed in to police.

Brady, who was homeless when he found the money on a sidewalk in April after leaving a local shelter, turned the cash over to police. He was allowed to keep it six months later after no one claimed it during a mandated waiting period.

But the Hackensack Human Services Department denied him General Assistance and Medicaid benefits through December 31 because he failed to report the cash as new income. The director of human services said the agency was just following the rules.

The 59 year-old Brady is a former photographer and market data analyst who has suffered from depression since losing his job a decade ago, according to The Record of Woodland Park newspaper.

Brady told The Record that he hadn't realised he was required to report the money. Formerly homeless, he had recently found housing and was seeing a therapist and a psychiatrist and taking medication, but was unsure he'd be able to afford continuing care after his benefits were cut off.

The newspaper says offers of support for Brady have been pouring in from readers.

Bergen County's United Way has also set up an account specifically for Brady through its Compassion Fund.

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First declaration in new Qld council votes

THE first official results in elections for four reformed Queensland councils have been declared.

Noosa, Livingstone, Mareeba and Port Douglas voted in March to reform their old councils after forced amalgamations with larger councils five years ago.

Noel Playford, who was mayor of Noosa before its forced marriage with the Sunshine Coast regional council, was declared as the new mayor on Monday after polling 78.5 per cent of votes.

"I'm really proud to be part of this community, and I'm really proud there are so many people who are so determined to get back what they lost six years ago," he said in a video posted on Facebook.

Official declarations for results for the other three mayors and council seats are expected to follow soon.

In Port Douglas, Julia Leu looks likely to be officially declared mayor after polling 60 per cent of votes.

The other two were a bit closer.

Tom Gilmore scooped rival Mick Borzi by just 146 votes in Mareeba, near Cairns, according to the Electoral Commission of Queensland.

In central Queensland, Bill Ludwig looks likely to be the new Livingstone mayor with 41 per cent of the vote.

The smaller councils are due to take charge of local affairs on January 1.

The government of former Labor premier Peter Beattie more than halved the number of councils from 157 to 73 in 2008 to cut costs.

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UK MP pledges stables energy bill payback

British MP Nadhim Zahawi (R) says he will pay back an expenses claim he made for his energy bills. Source: AAP

A CONSERVATIVE MP has apologised and promised to repay part of a STG5822.27 ($A9,970) expenses claim for his energy bills - after it emerged taxpayers were paying for the electricity supply to his stables.

Nadhim Zahawi, a founder of market research firm YouGov, said he was "mortified" to discover the error which came to light after he was among politicians criticised over subsidised energy bills.

The Stratford on Avon MP claimed the most, with a bill totalling STG5822.27 to cover electricity and heating oil for his estate in Warwickshire.

In a statement posted on his website, he said: "Since last week's coverage of my energy bills I have been looking into them further and can confirm that all claims for heating fuel relate purely to my second home.

"However I have made a mistake with my electricity claims.

On investigation I have discovered that the electricity supply for a mobile home located in the stable yard and for the stables themselves was linked to my house.

Gillard regrets failed refugee policy

JULIA Gillard has opened up about some of her regrets in high office, including her government's handling of asylum seeker policy.

Sarah's mum rallies for justice

GRIEVING mum Noelle Dickson has marked the first anniversary of her daughter Sarah Cafferkey's murder with a protest march through Melbourne.

"Whilst a meter was installed in the stable yard I have only been receiving one bill, it was wrong to assume I was receiving two and to have not checked this sooner.

"I am mortified by this mistake and apologise unreservedly for it.

"I will obviously be paying back any money that was wrongly claimed immediately and have already contacted IPSA (Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority) regarding the correct procedure."

Some 340 MPs, including government ministers, have used the parliamentary expenses system to recoup the cost of heating their second homes, it was reported.

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Jetski rider dies after Gold Coast crash

A MAN has died after a jetski crash on a Gold Coast river.

Police say the 22-year-old was riding the jetski on the Coomera River at Paradise Point at about 5.45pm (AEST) on Saturday and initial reports suggest he collided with a small boat.

"The occupants of the boat immediately recovered the man from the river and provided medical assistance before emergency crews arrived," police said in a statement.

He was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

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Ex-Sydney priest among Philippines dead

An Australian man, believed to be a former priest, has been killed by a typhoon in the Philippines. Source: AAP

A FORMER Sydney priest who secretly married a woman he met in the Philippines is among the hundreds killed in the typhoon that has devastated the archipelago nation.

Kevin Lee, a whistleblower on child sex abuse in the Catholic church, was defrocked last year after he went public about his 2011 marriage and admitted to having had girlfriends during his 20 years as a priest.

Mr Lee founded the Padre Pio parish in Glenmore Park, in western Sydney, but moved to the Philippines after leaving the ministry.

It's been reported he went swimming as part of a religious ritual, as Super Typhoon Haiyan lashed the Philippines with winds of around 315km/h.

On Sunday the Bishop of Parramatta, Anthony Fisher, paid tribute to the late father and husband.

"I extend my deepest sympathy to his widow Josefina and her children during this time of personal tragedy for them and devastation for the people of the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan," he said.

Gillard regrets failed refugee policy

JULIA Gillard has opened up about some of her regrets in high office, including her government's handling of asylum seeker policy.

Sarah's mum rallies for justice

GRIEVING mum Noelle Dickson has marked the first anniversary of her daughter Sarah Cafferkey's murder with a protest march through Melbourne.

He also expressed his condolences to Mr Lee's parents and family in Australia and paid tribute to the work Mr Lee did for his parish.

"Last year, Kevin left his ministry as a Catholic priest in very public circumstances and was recently 'laicised' at his request," Bishop Fisher said.

"He had made a new life with Josefina and they recently celebrated the birth of a daughter.

"Difficult as was the mode of his departure, we honour the work Kevin did as the founding parish priest of Padre Pio Parish, Glenmore Park, and his ministry as a chaplain with NSW Police."

Ray King, who as a former Fairfield police commander was once a colleague of Mr Lee's and, more recently, beat him to a Liberal party pre-selection for a tilt at federal MP Chris Bowen's seat of McMahon, has described his death as a shock.

But he said it was "fairly reckless" for Mr Lee to go swimming during the storm, ABC Radio reports.

"Kevin had a choice when he went into the surf," he told the broadcaster.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed the death of a 50-year-old NSW man in the typhoon but declined to name him.

"Consular officials are providing assistance to his family," a DFAT spokesperson said.

Officials fear the death toll in the Philippines could reach 10,000 people after Haiyan tore into the eastern islands of Leyte and Samar on Friday.

The Abbott government has pledged nearly $400,000 worth of emergency aid to devastated communities and says it stands ready to do more.

DFAT says Australians concerned for the welfare of family and friends in the region should first attempt to contact them directly.

If unsuccessful, they should call DFAT's 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135 or +612 6261 3305.

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