Khodorkovsky starts life as a free man

Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky has arrived in Germany after being freed from a Russian prison. Source: AAP

RUSSIA'S most famous prisoner, Kremlin critic and former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has begun life as a free man in Germany after his surprise pardon by President Vladimir Putin.

After spending more than 10 years behind bars, Russia's former richest man was quietly escorted from his prison in northwestern Russia on Friday and boarded a plane to Berlin in an operation worked out behind the scenes with the German government.

The lightning speed of his release led some observers to suggest that Khodorkovsky might have flown into forced exile but Putin's spokesman dismissed such suggestions.

"He is free to return to Russia. Absolutely," Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday. He declined however to say whether any conditions were attached to his release or whether he would be free to participate in politics.

Putin had stunned Russia on Thursday by saying his fierce critic had asked for clemency on humanitarian grounds as his mother was ill.

"Guided by humanitarian principles," the Russian strongman signed a pardon decree on Friday.

In his first remarks since his release, Khodorkovsky said in a statement on Friday he did ask Putin for a pardon but his request did not amount to an admission of guilt and thanked Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Germany's foreign minister from 1974-1992, for helping negotiate his release.

"I am very much looking forward to the minute when I will be able to embrace my loved ones," the father of four said, without specifying his future plans.

Khodorkovsky's 79-year-old mother Marina, who has cancer, was expected to fly out to Berlin, where she had undergone treatment before, to see her son.

The Russian opposition magazine The New Times, for which Khodorkovsky wrote a column about his prison life, said the former tycoon called the editorial office to express gratitude for support.

"The most important today is Freedom, Freedom, Freedom," the magazine quoted him as saying.

"A lot lies ahead, the release of those hostages who still remained in prison, first and foremost Platon Lebedev," he said, referring to his jailed business partner.

Genscher said he was unaware if Khodorkovsky planned to remain in Germany: "I think that he wants to take a deep breath and wait to take his family in his arms tomorrow."

Interviewed on CNN television, Khodorkovsky's son Pavel, said he was in a state of "happy shock" following his father's release, adding that they had spoken on the phone.

"He's doing very well, sounds certainly very good and very happy."

Pavel said he "didn't think" his father would seek political asylum in Germany.

Khodorkovsky's release coincided with an amnesty for prisoners convicted of non-violent crimes that is expected to free the two jailed members of Pussy Riot band, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, just as the Kremlin readies to host the Winter Olympics in February.

Thirty foreign and Russian Greenpeace activists including an Australian man, arrested on hooliganism charges after their protest against Arctic oil drilling, are also expected to escape prosecution.

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Homicide cops investigate Rosebud body

A WOMAN'S body has been discovered in a home on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.

The body was found at a property on William Crescent, Rosebud West, about 1.30pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

Homicide Squad detectives were en route to the scene on Saturday evening and the circumstances surrounding the death were being investigated.

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Gay couples wed in Utah after ruling

A US judge has struck down Utah's same-sex marriage ban in a decision that marks a drastic shift towards gay marriage in a conservative state where the Mormon church has long been against it.

Friday's decision set off an immediate frenzy as the clerk in the state's most populous county began issuing marriage licences to dozens of gay couples while state officials took steps to appeal the ruling and halt the process.

Cheers erupted as the mayor of Salt Lake City led one of the state's first gay wedding ceremonies in an office building about three miles from the headquarters of the Mormon church.

Deputy Salt Lake County Clerk Dahnelle Burton-Lee said the district attorney authorised her office to begin issuing licences to same-sex couples but she couldn't immediately say how many had been issued.

Just hours earlier, US District Judge Robert Shelby issued a 53-page ruling saying the constitutional amendment Utah voters approved in 2004 violates gay and lesbian couples' rights to due process and equal protection under the 14th Amendment. Shelby said the state failed to show that allowing same-sex marriages would affect opposite-sex marriages in any way.

"In the absence of such evidence, the State's unsupported fears and speculations are insufficient to justify the State's refusal to dignify the family relationships of its gay and lesbian citizens," Shelby wrote.

The decision drew a swift and angry reaction from Utah leaders, including Republican Governor Gary Herbert.

"I am very disappointed an activist federal judge is attempting to override the will of the people of Utah. I am working with my legal counsel and the acting attorney general to determine the best course to defend traditional marriage within the borders of Utah," Herbert said.

Late on Friday, the state filed both a notice of appeal of the ruling and a request for an emergency stay that would stop marriage licences from being issued to same-sex couples. It's unknown when the judge will make a decision on whether to grant the stay.

If the ruling stands, Utah would become the 18th state to allow gay marriages, said Jon Davidson, director of Lambda Legal, which pursues litigation on LGBT issues nationwide. That's up from six before the US Supreme Court last year struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. The District of Columbia also allows same-sex marriage.

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Australians brave in rescues: Minister

CUSTOMS and navy officers showed extraordinary bravery during their search and rescue attempts to save asylum seekers from capsized boats, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says.

Nine asylum seekers heading for Australia drowned in June after a boat believed to be carrying up to 70 people sank off Christmas Island.

A baby boy died on July 12 when Siev 784 sank but 88 people were saved. A few days later, another four people died off Christmas Island after an asylum-seeker boat carrying about 150 passengers capsized in rough seas.

Key findings from internal reviews into all three search and rescues were that the Australian agencies involved complied with relevant policies, processes, and procedures, Mr Morrison said.

"These reports chronicle extraordinary acts of bravery by Customs and Border Protection and Royal Australian Navy officers under extreme conditions," he said in a statement.

The review of the incident on the Siev 784, available on the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service website, acknowledged the bravery and professionalism of border protection personnel in preventing further loss of life.

The reviews made a number of recommendations around administrative and technical processes, which are all being implemented.

None of the matters identified for improvement had a material impact on the outcome of each search and rescue, the minister said.

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Palmer's Qld coal project gets green light

CLIVE Palmer's $6.4 billion coal project in Queensland's Galilee Basin has received environmental approval from the federal government.

Waratah Coal plans to build a thermal coal project near Alpha, west of Emerald in the state's central west, plus a rail line linking the project to a proposed port at Abbot Point.

Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt on Friday approved the environmental impact statement for the project.

The approval is subject to 49 conditions that will avoid, mitigate or manage the impacts on the environment, most notably on water resources, his department said.

The proposed mine will have a life of approximately 30 years.

Waratah Coal managing director Nui Harris says it's hoped the mine will open in late 2016 or early 2017.

"It's taken a full five years and a lot of resources to get to this stage of the project," he told AAP.

"We've been working closely with the Commonwealth government over the last 18 months and in particularly the last six months to see this end result."

Environment groups have slammed the decision, saying large tracts of bushland including the Bimblebox nature refuge will be destroyed.

"We are deeply disappointed with this decision," Bimblebox co-owner Paola Cassoni said in a statement.

"Minister Hunt is clearly kowtowing to mining interests over the conservation outcomes we have been working towards for years."

Greenpeace said the approval was likely a Christmas gift for the influential new federal MP Mr Palmer.

"It's one that will destroy the Bimblebox Nature Refuge and cause more emissions than many small countries," spokeswoman Louise Matthiesson told AAP.

"We are seriously concerned there's a conflict of interest with Clive Palmer having such a sway over the Senate and it's reasonable to suspect it might have influenced (Minister) Greg Hunt's decision."

The Lock the Gate Alliance said the mine would also have unacceptable impacts on groundwater and the communities that depended on it.

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Perth policeman charged with child sex

A Perth policeman is expected to appear in court on charges of having sex with an underage girl. Source: AAP

A 44-YEAR-OLD Perth policeman has been stood down from duty after he allegedly sexually assaulted a child.

West Australian police said the senior constable, from the East Metropolitan District, had been charged by the Internal Affairs Unit with two counts of sexual penetration of a child over 13 years and under 16 years.

The alleged offences involved a 15-year-old girl.

The officer is due to appear in the Midland Magistrates Court later on Friday.

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Boy critical after 'horror' Sydney crash

A young boy is in a critical condition after a crash involving a cement truck in Sydney's southwest. Source: AAP

A SIX-YEAR-OLD boy is in a critical condition after being thrown from a van in a "horror crash" involving a cement truck in Sydney's southwest.

Police said the Toyota Tarago was stopped in a breakdown lane on the Hume Highway just before noon (AEDT) on Thursday when the cement truck crashed into its rear.

The boy, who was sitting in a rear booster seat, was thrown some 10 metres from the van by the force of the crash and suffered head, chest and pelvic injuries and leg fractures, CareFlight said.

The green van was left a mangled and crushed wreck.

Describing it as a horror crash, CareFlight said one of its trauma doctors performed emergency roadside surgery on the boy.

The six-year-old was then placed in an induced coma before being flown by helicopter to Westmead Children's Hospital in a critical condition.

His 13-year-old sister, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the van, sustained minor injuries including cuts and abrasions and was also taken to Westmead.

Their mother, standing outside the van at the time of the crash, suffered suspected pelvic injuries and was taken to Westmead Hospital for treatment, police said.

The driver of the cement truck and his passenger were trapped in their vehicle before being freed by emergency services and taken to hospital.

The truck driver, believed to be in his 30s, is undergoing mandatory blood and urine tests.

Southbound lanes of the motorway have been re-opened.

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Korean man's body believed to be in grave

Police will dig up a shallow grave in Brisbane as they search for a missing South Korean man. Source: AAP

MIN Tae Kim went to exchange his hard-earned Australian savings for South Korean money for his return home but he may never get there.

Police have found a shallow grave on a vacant property in southwest Brisbane they believe could contain the 28-year-old South Korean man's body.

Detective Inspector Kemp says two men and a woman are being held over his disappearance.

Blood was found around the grave site, in Algester, and forensics officers are preparing to exhume the contents.

They hope to know by Friday if it is Mr Kim's remains.

"We're not sure what is in that grave at this time," Det Insp Kemp told reporters.

"It could be a dog, we do have fears that is human though and it could be the missing person."

Det Insp Kemp said Mr Kim had been working hard at a local abattoir to build up his savings before his planned return to South Korea next month.

But he needed to change $15,000 cash into South Korean won and put an ad on the Gumtree website to get a cheaper exchange rate.

Mr Kim left his Cannon Hill share house with his cash to do a deal with an unknown person about 2pm Monday.

It was the last time he was seen alive.

"We feel that he may have met with foul play, we don't know," Det Insp Kemp said.

Mr Kim's disappearance comes after 22-year-old South Korean woman Eunji Ban was allegedly bashed to death while walking to work in Brisbane's CBD last month.

The Council of International Students Australia president Thomson Ch'ng said the incidents would rock people's confidence in Brisbane being a safe place to study.

"Two incidents within three weeks is not good for Brisbane and Australia," he told AAP.

"The fact is, international students are important bridges between Australia and the international community and whatever happens here (in Australia), the world is watching."

Det Insp Kemp said it would be a very unfortunate if Mr Kim became the second South Korean murdered in Brisbane in less than a month.

"If it is and if he has been brutally murdered, it's a shocking thing for us and a concern for us, most certainly," he said.

Police expect to find out the results of forensic testing on the gravesite on Friday.

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US 'regrets' Indian diplomat's treatment

THE US has voiced regret to India over the treatment of a diplomat whose account of being stripped and cavity-searched triggered outrage as the prosecutor in charge of the case defended the arrest.

With New Delhi vowing to "restore the dignity" of diplomat Devyani Khobragade, Indian media reported that the 39-year-old was being moved from her post as deputy consul general in New York to the UN mission in a bid to thwart her prosecution.

In a strongly worded statement, Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said the diplomat had "clearly tried to evade US law designed to protect from exploitation the domestic employees of diplomats and consular officers".

Khobragade is free on bail after her December 12 arrest in New York for allegedly paying a domestic worker a fraction of the minimum wage and for lying about the employee's salary in a visa application.

Bharara, who was born in India, stressed that the employee allegedly worked "far more" than the 40 hours a week in her contract and visa application.

The worker is said to have been paid just $US3.31 an hour - well below New York's required $US7.25 - despite signing a contract to pay her three times that amount for childcare and other services.

"Is it for US prosecutors to look the other way, ignore the law and the civil rights of victims (again, here an Indian national), or is it the responsibility of the diplomats and consular officers and their government to make sure the law is observed?" Bharara asked.

While India retaliated against American diplomats in the usually US-friendly country, Secretary of State John Kerry tried to end the row in a telephone call to India's national security adviser, Shivshankar Menon.

Kerry "expressed his regret, as well as his concern that we not allow this unfortunate public issue to hurt our close and vital relationship with India", in a call to Menon, the State Department said.

State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said it was "particularly important to Secretary Kerry that foreign diplomats serving in the United States are accorded respect and dignity just as we expect our own diplomats should receive overseas".

The fury in India grew after an email from Khobragade in which the diplomat said she had been repeatedly stripped and cavity-searched by the US authorities after her detention.

"I must admit that I broke down many times as the indignities of repeated handcuffing, stripping and cavity searches, swabbing, in a hold-up with common criminals and drug addicts were all being imposed upon me despite my incessant assertions of immunity," she said in the email.

But Bharara, the US attorney, insisted that Khobragade was arrested in the "most discreet" way possible, was never handcuffed or restrained and was searched by a female deputy marshal in a "private setting".

"One wonders why there is so much outrage about the alleged treatment of the Indian national accused of perpetrating these acts, but precious little outrage about the alleged treatment of the Indian victim and her spouse?" he asked.

But the diplomat's allegations of harsh treatment at the hands of the US has caused huge offence in a country that sees itself as an emerging world power.

In an address to parliament, Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid said it was his "duty to bring the lady back.

"We have to restore her dignity and I will do it at any cost," he said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh termed the diplomat's arrest "deplorable".

Bulldozers dragged away concrete barricades that had been set up outside the US Embassy.

And US consular officials have been told to return identity cards that speed up travel into and through India, with their import clearances for duty free alcohol and other goods suspended.

State Department No.3 Wendy Sherman spoke to Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and voiced hope that Indian authorities "will continue to fulfil their host government obligations regarding the safety and security of our personnel and mission premises", Harf said.

Harf said the State Department had not received any notice that India wanted to change Khobragade's credentials to the UN mission.

Such a move "would have to be approved by all appropriate authorities" at the UN and State Department, she said.

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State Mine Fire inquiry hearings wrap up

A COMMISSION of inquiry has finished public hearings into how an extensive fire was sparked by a botched explosives exercise at a Defence Training area near the NSW city of Lithgow.

But the inquiry report and recommendations may remain under wraps if Defence chiefs so decide.

The fire that started on October 16 grew into the destructive State Mine blaze, which tore through more than 50,000 hectares and destroyed five houses, a Rural Fire Service (RFS) investigation found.

The fire broke out during a live explosives exercise at the Marrangaroo Training Area near Lithgow.

Defence apologised for starting the fire and appointed an inquiry headed by former Sydney judge John O'Meally, assisted by Brigadier Jane Spalding and Air Commodore David Steele.

Eight days of public hearings finished on Wednesday.

During the hearings the inquiry learned that despite RFS recommendations, hazard reduction burns at the training ground had not been carried out for nearly two decades.

It also emerged that equipment at the site was inadequate to cope and exploding ordnance hindered efforts to control the blaze.

A lack of co-operation between Defence and the RFS was also exposed at the hearings.

A Defence spokesman told AAP the inquiry panel would prepare a report for Defence and submit it within a month or so.

The Defence department would then consider the report and its recommendations.

It would be up to the Chief of the Defence Force and the Secretary of Defence to determine whether the report would be released publicly, the spokesman said.

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Cars seized from Fast and Furious hoons

THREE hoons who allegedly drove recklessly during a car club cruise dedicated to the memory of Fast and the Furious actor Paul Walker have had their cars seized.

Perth's Unforgotten Car Club organised and promoted a memorial cruise following the death of Walker, who died last month when the powerful Porsche he was being driven in crashed into a tree in California.

Police issued more than 180 traffic infringements to participants and investigations were launched after video footage of the driving was supplied by the public.

On Wednesday, WA police said they had seized three cars and impounded them for 28 days.

A 19-year-old man from Bicton was charged with creating excess noise and smoke and had his Mitsubishi Mirage impounded.

A 21-year-old man from Mirrabooka has been charged with reckless driving and had his Holden Commodore impounded.

A 19-year-old man from Kenwick has also been charged with reckless driving and had his Holden Commodore Ute impounded.

Inquiries into other vehicles involved in dangerous driving behaviour are continuing, while all three men charged will appear in court at a later date.

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School in shock after boy dies in crash

A six-year-old boy has died after he was hit by a car outside a child-care centre in Sydney. Source: AAP

A SYDNEY school community is in shock after a young boy on holidays from Malaysia died after he was hit by a car on the last day of the school year.

The six-year-old was struck as he was walking with his mother and two female cousins, aged four and five, near Carlingford Public School on Rickard Street, Carlingford in Sydney's northwest on Wednesday morning.

The car, with a woman and two children inside, was turning into the driveway of a child-care centre when it ploughed into them as they were walking past.

The boy died at the scene.

The Nissan Dualis sedan also hit his four-year-old cousin who is in The Children's Hospital at Westmead with pelvic injuries.

The boy's 38-year-old mother, a Malaysian national, was taken to Westmead Hospital with non life-threatening injuries while the other young girl was not injured.

Parents rushed to the school on Wednesday afternoon to find most of the street being cordoned off by police tape.

Magdalena Kowalska, a mother of three children at the school, went to pick up her children about lunchtime after hearing the news.

"I was at work and heard about it ... I thought I'd come and check on the children and collect them from school," she said.

"There was counselling inside just to reassure them that everything is fine."

Her son Alex, 11, said school staff had talked to students about the accident.

"I just heard someone died in a car crash and was pretty sad about it."

The driver of the car, a 46-year-old Carlingford woman, was taken to hospital suffering shock.

Police said she would undergo mandatory blood and urine testing.

Superintendent John Duncan, from Ryde Local Area Command, said the driveway where the accident happened was not a designated drop-off area, and it was still too early to tell what caused the accident.

"This is a tragic incident, it's a week before Christmas, it's the last day of school," Supt Duncan said.

"It's a timely reminder for everybody to just take your time on the roads."

Police are yet to formally interview the driver or the mother of the boy who died.

The Department of Education has organised counselling for teachers and students.

Premier Barry O'Farrell said it was a terrible day for the entire school community.

"It's a shock to everybody," Mr O'Farrell said.

"A shock, not least because this, the last day of school, is normally a day full of excitement for students and school communities.

"A shock because for all of us in this country, schools are happy, safe, learning environments."

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

The latest school death comes one year after five-year-old Kevin Quintal was struck on his way to kindergarten at a school in Kingsgrove in Sydney's south.

The driver, Lidija Sutevska, was found not guilty of negligent driving occasioning death in November with the magistrate saying it was "a series of unfortunate events".

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Funds cut for mandatory efficiency program

ENERGY efficiency groups are livid the government has cut funding to a John Howard-era program that makes it mandatory for large energy-using businesses to improve their efficiency.

The midyear budget review on Tuesday says funding for the Energy Efficiency Opportunities program will terminate from July as part of the government's moves to abolish the carbon tax.

The program was set up in 2006 and makes it mandatory for companies who are large users of electricity, gas or diesel to improve the identification, evaluation and implementation of cost-effective energy savings opportunities.

The Energy Efficiency Council says the surprise cut has created huge uncertainty in the sector.

The council represents electricity generators and providers, and energy-efficiency product manufacturers, suppliers and installers.

"The government haven't scrapped the Energy Efficiency Opportunities program, because it's legislated, but they've cut funding to administer the program," chief executive Rob Murray-Leach said.

"People are confused and very, very angry."

A statement on the program's website says it will continue in its present form until June 30, 2014.

It says the government is consulting on how to optimise energy efficiency policy through its energy white paper.

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More indigenous in jail without legal aid

CUTTING Aboriginal legal aid will further entrench Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders as second-class citizens in their own country, a legal body says.

The Abbott Government is set to announce the cutting funding of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS), and of all law reform and policy officer positions within each state and territory to make an annual saving of $3 million for the next three years.

At a time when indigenous incarceration rates are alarmingly high and rising, cutting the funding such services is short-sighted, says NATSILS chairman Shane Duffy.

"More people are going to end up in prison, it's as simple as that," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Justice-related costs are spiralling out of control around Australia, and removing the ability of front-line services to provide government agencies with accurate policy advice will only serve to make our system more ineffective, inefficient and increasingly costly."

The money saved will be a fraction of the damage done to Aboriginal families by neutering the legal peak body that represents them, said Gary Highland, national director of Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR).

Aboriginal people are 18 times more likely to be imprisoned than other Australians, which is a major factor preventing participation in the workforce, he said.

"We won't give Aboriginal children a good education, while they are 25 times more likely to be incarcerated than other Australian children," he said.

Both men said cutting the funding made no sense.

"The funding cuts directly target our ability to work with governments to address the underlying causes of why (indigenous) peoples are so disproportionately represented in our justice system," Mr Duffy said.

"There's no one else to fulfil this role if we are prohibited from doing so."

He didn't understand why funding for indigenous legal services has been excluded from the prime minister's Indigenous Advisory Council review of all government expenditure on indigenous programs.

The fact that the government had pre-empted the review calls into question Prime Minister Tony Abbott's commitment to indigenous issues, he said.

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Dimmeys fined $3m over safety breaches

DISCOUNT retailer Dimmeys has been fined $3 million for selling toys, swimwear and basketball rings that breached Australian safety laws.

Consumer Affairs Victoria took the company to the Federal Court alleging that the products - girls' swimwear, baby bath toys, cosmetics and basketball rings - breached safety standards.

The products were on sale between January 2011 and March 2012.

Consumer Affairs Victoria alleged the girls' swimwear and basketball rings did not have adequate safety warning labels, the baby bath toys were choking hazards and the cosmetics - shower gift sets - did not list ingredients.

The Federal Court has also fined Starite, the company which supplied the goods to Dimmeys, $600,000.

Dimmeys and Starite were also banned from selling any goods which were subject to safety standards for six years.

The director of both Dimmeys and Starite, Douglas Edward Zappelli was fined $120,000. He has also been disqualified for six years from managing corporations.

The Federal Court ruled the $3 million penalty was adequate given the need for general deterrence when dealing with the safety of products used by children.

The court also ordered that the goods be destroyed and disposed of at the expense of Dimmeys, Starite and Mr Zappelli.

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Vic Great Ocean Rd upgrade to begin 2014

A planned $50m upgrade to Victoria's Great Ocean Road will begin after the peak tourist season. Source: AAP

A $50 million upgrade to the Great Ocean Road in Victoria will begin next year after the peak summer season.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced resurfacing works will begin in Anglesea, one of the first towns along the iconic tourist drive, with an $1.8 million upgrade.

"The better the roads, the better the infrastructure, the easier it is for people to do business, the easier it is for people to live their lives," he told reporters in the town on Monday.

The upgrades will begin in early in 2014 after the peak season, when up to 16,000 vehicles a day cruise along the iconic 240km stretch of coastal scenery.

The federal coalition pledged $50 million towards the Great Ocean Road during the election campaign, with half the money coming from the state government.

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Qld govt eyes NGO role in child protection

Queensland will look to non-government organisations to rescue the state's child protection system. Source: AAP

THE number of Queensland children in out-of-home care will increase by 40 per cent in the next decade if the Queensland government doesn't act.

The government has adopted most of the recommendations from the Carmody commission of inquiry, which found the system was under significant stress.

It has committed to focus on more early intervention strategies and will turn to the non-government sector to help prevent children from entering the child protection system.

In severe cases, toddlers will be routinely considered for adoption to give them a better chance of bonding with new families.

Extremely troubled teenagers would as a last resort be placed in institutions and boarding schools will become official carers.

The mandatory reporting of domestic violence incidents in homes where children are present will end, because it's putting too much pressure on the system.

The government will still respond to the most serious cases of maltreatment but there will be new strategies to deal with lower-level situations.

Overworked frontline staff will be relieved of some of their workloads and non-government organisations could play an expanded role in case management and casework.

The Carmody inquiry pointed to a system struggling under the weight of its workload, with the number of children in out-of-home care doubling over the past decade and the length of stays increasing.

There are currently 8,600 Queensland children in out-of-home care - more than the state's adult prison population - costing the state $820 million each year.

Child Safety Minister Tracy Davis says if action wasn't taken, in a decade that number could rise by 40 per cent to 12,000 children, and cost $1.5 billion a year.

"It's about moving away from statutory responses to community based responses," she said.

"Parents still love their children, but some don't have the skills to keep them safe at home."

Foster Care Qld's Bryan Smith says carers would welcome extra support from NGO providers and the opposition says the government's response must be backed by adequate resources.

Since taking office, the LNP has sacked 385 people in the Department of Communities and slashed departmental funding to non-government organisations by $65 million a year, Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mulherin says.

"The LNP's track record of cuts to frontline services and cuts to frontline community groups cannot be allowed to be repeated when it comes to looking after vulnerable children," he said.

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Family reunions recommended in WA prisons

WESTERN Australia's prison inspector has recommended male and female inmates from the same family be allowed to visit each other in jail - despite serious reservations of guards.

In a report into young female prisoners in WA, Inspector of Custodial Services Neil Morgan revealed a "wish list" of teenaged girls being held at Banksia Hill young offender's prison in Perth's south.

As well as asking for a water fountain in the prison's outdoor area, many of the girls said they wanted the ban lifted on visiting male family members in the same jail.

Mr Morgan concluded it was a good idea.

"During the 2013 inspection no such interaction was occurring at all," Mr Morgan wrote.

"The female detainees said that they would like to be able to have visits with male relatives at Banksia Hill ... however no such visits were occurring or seemed even to be under management consideration.

"The apparent perception of some staff being that interaction between male and female detainees should be avoided at any cost."

Despite this, Mr Morgan recommended the Department of Corrective Services should introduce inter and intra-prison visits for detainees and their family members, a recommendation the report says has been supported by Banksia Hill.

Mr Morgan also recommended that some adult female prisoners be housed alongside younger girls at Banksia Hill, to make education and training courses more economical.

"This recommendation is not made lightly, for ... the Young Offenders Act, in line with the provisions of United Nations conventions, is premised on the separation of adults and children," Mr Morgan said.

"However, in the interests of the community, more needs to be done for incarcerated young women and girls."

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Qld lifts pokies ban on big notes

Poker machines in Queensland's pubs, clubs and casinos will now accept notes bigger than $20. Source: AAP

INCREASING the value of notes Queensland's poker machines can accept is a bad move that will escalate problem gambling, critics say.

For the past 12 years, electronic gaming machines in the state's pubs, clubs and casinos were restricted to accept nothing larger than $20 bills.

Queensland Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie has approved a change to allow $50 and $100 notes.

The move, lobbied by major casino owner Echo Entertainment, was condemned by charities and counselling services, which say it will have a negative effect on problem gamblers.

Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mulherin says the government's own discussion paper on lifting the restriction identified that limiting the size of notes to $20 prevented gamblers from making "large spontaneous bets".

A state government discussion paper in February also said the note-size limit was reviewed in 2003, Mr Mulherin said.

"That review found the policy was working and had succeeded in 'adjusting the behaviour of people who were at risk of developing a gambling problem'."

He accused the government of giving in to the gambling industry.

"The slipshod process for deciding on new casino licences is proof of that," he said.

"Even before any community consultation has been undertaken, the government has decided new licences will be available just because groups like the James Packer-led Crown casinos want one."

Premier Campbell Newman says the poker machine changes will have little effect on problem gamblers.

"This is a change about the notes you can use - no changes to the limit," he said.

"There's a $100 limit, which puts a real lid in terms of problem gamblers."

Mr Newman says the limit in NSW is $10,000.

"We've got some tight controls here and we haven't slackened them off."

The lifting of the ban on $50 and $100 notes was among recommendations by a government-appointed expert panel that reviewed the state's gambling laws and policies.

Controversial proposals being considered include doubling the maximum of each poker machine bet to $10 and allowing gaming at pubs and clubs before 10am.

The government is expected to release its full response next year.

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Eight more dead in Bangladesh riots

10 people have been killed in Bangladesh's violence over the execution of an Islamist party leader. Source: AAP

EIGHT more deaths were reported in Bangladesh in intensified riots and protests sparked by the execution of a top Islamist leader, as the prime minister warned of a crackdown on the violence.

Police said Islamist supporters torched houses and fought running street battles with officers in towns and cities during a third day of unrest over the execution of Abdul Quader Molla for war crimes.

Two people were killed on Sunday in the northern town of Patgram and another six elsewhere overnight, police said, as Islamist supporters enforced a nationwide strike over the execution of Molla, a senior leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party.

"Police fired shotgun pellets to disperse the Jamaat protesters who torched at least 20 houses belonging to ruling party supporters," government administrator Habibur Rahman told AFP of the violence in Patgram.

Molla's hanging on Thursday night triggered fresh unrest in the impoverished country, already reeling from political violence in the build-up to a deeply divisive national election scheduled for January 5.

Twenty people are now known to have died and dozens more have been injured in the clashes since Thursday between outraged Jamaat activists and police and between the activists and supporters of the ruling Awami League.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina warned of strong action against the rioters, saying "we have shown enough patience. We will not tolerate anymore."

"People of the country know how to reply to these atrocities (the latest violence), we (government) also know how to respond to, control you (the rioters)," she told a rally late on Saturday to commemorate those killed in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

Molla, 65, became the first person to be executed for his role in that war. Jamaat called the hanging a "political murder" and said it would avenge it.

Molla had been found guilty in February by a much-criticised domestic tribunal of having been a leader of a pro-Pakistan militia that fought against the country's independence and killed some of Bangladesh's top professors, doctors, writers and journalists.

He was convicted of rape, murder and mass murder, including the killing of more than 350 unarmed civilians. Prosecutors called him the "Butcher of Mirpur", a Dhaka suburb where he committed most of the atrocities.

Of the six killed overnight, police said three died in the southern town of Companyganj, two in the northern town of Ramganj and one in the coastal town of Laxmipur.

At Companyganj, an opposition bastion, police fired rifles to disperse at least 8,000 rampaging Jamaat supporters who torched four government offices and attacked officers with crude bombs and guns, a senior police officer said.

In Ramganj, activists of Jamaat and its main ally, the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, attacked a convoy of ruling party lawmakers, leaving two people dead, sub-inspector Ershadul Alam told AFP.

Molla was one of five Islamists and other politicians sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal, which the opposition says is aimed at eradicating its leaders.

The sentences have triggered riots and plunged the country into its worst violence since independence.

Some 250 people have now been killed in street protests since January, when the first verdicts were handed down.

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Red-suited revellers hit NY bars

The costumed New York pub crawl known as SantaCon has seen thousands of Santa's partying in bars. Source: AAP

SANTA Claus came to town despite snow and widespread criticism of the costumed New York pub crawl known as SantaCon.

New York City's SantaCon started on Saturday morning in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. Thousands of red-suited revellers then spread out through the city's bars and snowy streets.

This year's SantaCon takes place in New York amid criticism that the event has become too rowdy. SantaCon participants were told to make charitable donations and encouraged to bring small gifts to bestow on one another and passers-by.

Organisers say similar events were set for more than 100 other cities worldwide on Saturday, including San Francisco; Portland, Oregon, Newport Beach, California and Vancouver, British Columbia.

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