Change family violence system: Vic police

FAMILY violence victims are being let down by the system, senior Victorian police concede.

Acting Assistant Commissioner for crime command Rod Jouning says a one-size-fits all approach to family violence is not working and police are looking at ways to target those at higher risk.

Police and agencies, including the justice system and human services department, also need to work together better to share information to protect victims, he said.

His comments follow two family violence incidents over the past week that claimed three lives.

A man has been charged with the murder of his daughters, aged three and four, on Easter Sunday and a mother of four was allegedly killed by her de facto partner in a busy Melbourne shopping strip last Wednesday.

Mr Jouning said police will drive changes to have a joined-up response, rather than agencies working in isolation, for violence victims.

"I don't think we do that as well as we could," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"We need to be wrapping the services around the victim themselves.

"We don't need victims to be navigating through a system."

Targeting those at higher risk could also include better monitoring. This meant identifying triggers that led people's violent behaviours to escalate, prompting a need for more intensive intervention.

Victoria records about 60,000 family violence incidents a year. There were 29 murders related to family violence in the last financial year.

This figure was slightly under half - 43 per cent - of all murders committed in the state, Mr Jouning said.

"While we've got deaths, we're not doing it properly," he said.

"If we put people in the system to protect them, those support services need to be around to pick up those people."

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'Put war veterans before monuments': Rev

THE needs of emotionally wounded returned soldiers should take priority over the building of more Anzac monuments, a Brisbane Anglican church leader says.

For the first time in more than a decade, Australia is holding dawn services without a large number of overseas troops on the frontline.

Australia's withdrawal from Afghanistan late last year also means a large contingent of returned soldiers are suffering from post traumatic stress.

The Very Reverend Peter Catt says he's alarmed by reports that the number of Aussie soldiers who have taken their lives since returning from Afghanistan is about three times higher than the 40 who have died in the conflict.

Mr Catt, the dean of St John's Cathedral in Brisbane, says Anzac Day should make national leaders focus on the welfare of young war veterans instead of expensive plans to commemorate the 1915 Gallipoli landing.

"Certainly we should be looking after veterans' needs first," he told AAP.

"They put their lives on the line ... and they come home and pay a dreadful consequence for it."

Mr Catt says Australia can't afford not to have a conversation about the post-traumatic stress dogging soldiers, especially when it can afford to spend some $300 million on commemorating the centenary of the Gallipoli landing.

A dawn service is being held at Brisbane's Anzac Square on Friday followed by a parade in the city centre.

On the Gold Coast, 20 surfboat crews will raise their oars to scatter veterans' ashes in the waves off Elephant Rock during a dawn service.

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Sydney neighbourhood dispute ends in court

AN ugly 20-year feud involving laser beams, stones being thrown and a shouting match between neighbours from an upmarket seaside hamlet north of Sydney has finally come to an end.

The dispute made it all the way to the NSW Supreme Court, where a judge on Wednesday dismissed proceedings by ruling against the couple who started the lawsuit.

In 2010, Jean Luc Clavel and Sarah Clavel sued their former Great Mackerel Beach neighbours, Kim and John Savage, for damages they say arose from the Savages' intentional infliction of emotional distress.

But the feud began long before the case was brought before the state's highest court.

The Clavels moved to the beachside village on the shores of Pittwater in 1994, where they lived in a two-bedroom house next door to the Savages.

However, tensions soon flared over building work and tit-for-tat verbal arguments that escalated into alleged threats and intimidation.

Justice Stephen Rothman on Wednesday found the Savages were not responsible for the psychiatric damages the Clavels claim they suffered, and ordered the Clavels pay some of the Savages' legal costs.

"If psychiatric damages were suffered by Mr or Mrs Clavel, it was occasioned by events at Mackerel for which neither Mr or Mrs Savage can be held responsible," he said.

The Clavels cited three specific incidents in their lawsuit, including one where Mr Savage allegedly threw stones onto the Clavels' roof in 1999.

"Such conduct is plainly childish and discloses a significant immaturity of approach by Mr Savage," said the judge.

But they were not the cause of Mr Clavel's post-traumatic stress disorder, or Mrs Clavel's depression, he said.

In another incident, Mr Savage was accused of yelling at Mr Clavel and calling him a "sick man" and suggesting he take medication.

Justice Rothman said the Clavels' evidence did not satisfy case law that required proof of psychiatric injury in order to successfully obtain damages.

He also disagreed with their claim that a laser beam allegedly shone into their lounge room to scare them had caused depression, but conceded it had distressed the Clavels, who thought the beam was attached to a gun.

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Royals quiet day makes news

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will spend a day of rest in Canberra before heading north. Source: AAP

THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were supposed to be having a day free of official engagements, spending the day in Canberra but it proved too tempting for the paparazzi.

The royal couple and their baby were photographed unawares in the ground of Government House at Yarralumla, with vision making news broadcasts across the country.

Kate was filmed taking a stroll with her son in the grounds, with the images showing Prince George being carried on his mother's shoulders, pushed in a buggy and on Kate's lap as the pair played together.

William and Kate were also filmed without their knowledge walking hand in hand along the foreshore of Lake Burley Griffin, casually dressed in shirts, jumpers and jeans. At one point, Kate is captured giving an odd little kick.

The pictures taken on a rest day during their tour Down Under may be seen by aides as an intrusion into the couple's privacy.

Although there has been no official word from Kensington Palace, it was tweeted that the palace has requested that the media refrain from intruding on the family's privacy.

On Tuesday, William and Kate will tour Uluru.

The visit will be only their second night away from their son during their 19-day tour of Australia and New Zealand. George, who turns nine months on Tuesday, is expected to remain in Canberra with his nanny.

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Share not shift asylum seeker issue: Indon

Indonesia has called for Australia to share not shift responsibility for asylum seekers. Source: AAP

INDONESIA has called for politics to be taken out of the approach to asylum seekers, urging its neighbours including Australia to share - not shift - responsibility.

Representatives from 16 countries and the UNHCR are attending a Jakarta workshop to look at ways to better protect asylum seekers, including with more timely search and rescue at sea.

Indonesia, which is troubled by the Abbott government policy of turning back asylum seeker boats, will meet with Australian representatives on the sidelines.

Opening the workshop on Monday, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said nations must focus on "shared responsibility, not shifting of responsibility".

"In managing the irregular movement of people at sea, we must ensure that their humanitarian needs are addressed ... no matter their legal status," he said.

"The only relevant status is that they are human beings."

The minister told reporters his comments were not targeted at Australia.

"Essentially we need to take the politics out of this whole endeavour," Dr Natalegawa said.

"When we underscore the point that our perspective must be protection-oriented, it's not meant to be directed at any one particular country."

The UNHCR says 10,623 asylum seekers and refugees are in Indonesia, but the number of people registering in Jakarta has slowed from 100 per day before the Abbott government policy was enacted, to 100 people per week.

Dr Natalegawa would not comment on whether this meant the policy was successful, saying he would leave experts like the UNHCR to judge.

Meanwhile, Dr Natalegawa says a code of conduct designed to get Indonesia and Australia working together again after co-operation halted over last year's spy scandal, is progressing.

The code will reiterate the basic principals of the bilateral relationship and include a commitment not to use intelligence "in a manner that would be inimical to the other", he said.

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Six rescued during Vic fishing trip

SIX people have been rescued from their sinking fishing boat in south west Victoria.

The crew raised the alarm about 3pm off Portland, south of Cape Nelson, when their five-metre vessel started taking on water.

The coast guard found the crew and is towing them to the harbour, with all on board reported safe and well, a spokeswoman said.

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'Lucky' boy falls 200m, fractures leg

AN eight-year-old boy has being hailed as "incredibly lucky" after he survived a 200m fall and suffered only a fractured leg.

The boy fell from a viewing platform at Dangars Falls, near Armidale, and slid 200m down a slope, after climbing through the cordoned area to retrieve a personal item on Saturday.

"Just below the platform is a walkable area, but he's slipped again somehow," NSW Ambulance duty operations manager Inspector Neale Waters said in a statement.

"It was a slide and roll affair and the momentum kept him going.

"He came to rest about 200m from the viewing platform. What's stopped him from falling to the bottom, I don't know. It's about a 300m drop so there was another 100m to go."

Insp Waters described the boy as "incredibly lucky".

A NSW Ambulance paramedic went to the boy's aid, taking a splint "because we were told the patient had a fractured femur before we went down to him".

"(The boy) had a talk to mum and dad," Insp Waters said.

"There were civilians down there who had a CB radio which helped us a lot. We had no communication."

A helicopter winched the boy out after five hours.

The boy was flown to Tamworth airport before being taken Tamworth Base Hospital. He is in a stable condition.

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Picture perfect royals visit the zoo

IT was the picture perfect moment the world had been waiting for.

Royal baby Prince George giggled, smiled and played his way through just his second public engagement - a trip to the zoo with his parents Prince William and Kate on Sunday.

The trio arrived at Sydney's Taronga Zoo to visit the bilby enclosure named after Prince George as part of Australia's gift marking his birth on July 22 last year.

It was just the fifth time the royal tot, who is almost nine months old, had been seen in public on this trip.

Dressed in royal blue shorts and a striped, light blue shirt and blue shoes and socks, he appeared to wriggle mischievously in Kate's arms as the family strolled to the bilby enclosure.

For much of this royal tour of New Zealand and Australia, the eyes of the world have been trained on Kate and her fashion choices.

For the zoo, she had changed out of the dove-grey Alexander McQueen outfit she had worn to an Easter church service, into a lemon cream broderie anglaise dress.

At the enclosure, George met a bilby - also called George, then helped his parents unveil a plaque, renaming the enclosure the Prince George Bilby Exhibit.

Bilby keeper Paul Davies said the royal couple were relaxed with George inside the enclosure.

"All of a sudden they were just a family in the zoo," Mr Davies said.

He said at one point George wanted to grab the bilby's ear.

"I said 'he can touch the bilby', but they said no, he (the bilby) will have one ear less," Mr Davies said.

After the bilbies, George returned to Admiralty House and William and Kate viewed other animals at Taronga.

They fed tree kangaroos, strolled past giraffes, enjoyed a bird show, and took in the rhino conservation display.

At the bird show, the couple had galahs and owls swooping just centimetres above their heads.

Taronga Zoo bird trainer Brendan Host presented the bird show, before introducing the duke and duchess to two echidnas, a quokka and a koala named Leuca.

"I think Kate was very taken with Leuca," Mr Host, 27, told reporters after the show.

"She didn't realise the koala would smell the way it did because they eat eucalyptus leaves.

"I think she just really enjoyed the moment."

The royals posed with Leuca and the echidnas with iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House in the background.

This was Australia - as much as the royals - on show.

As he touched the koala, William commented: "This is the moment everyone's been waiting for."

The couple also heard about a number of Australia's endangered species at the bird show - and appeared to take a keen interest.

Taronga Zoo volunteer Meghan was in the audience at the bird show and said the duchess looked "incredible".

"She's stunning, she's perfectly put together, there's never anything out of place."

Michael, 49, at the zoo with his three-year-old son Jimmy, described George as "quite a handsome little man.

"And the duke and duchess; they're a beautiful couple of course."

He said Jimmy "wanted to have a little bit of a play" with the young prince, adding that he hoped the royals had a "great day out" at the zoo.

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George makes light of royal duties

FINALLY it was Prince George's turn to be the star of the Royal Show Down Under.

Dressed in dark blue shorts, a striped blue-collared shirt, dark socks and shoes, and wriggling in his mum's arms, he made his much anticipated Australian debut on day five of the Cambridges' visit.

But he had to compete with a bilby, also named George, for the cutest in show.

The occasion was the naming of the bilby enclosure at Taronga Zoo's Australian Nightlife Display in honour of the young prince, part of Australia's gift after his birth in July last year.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge played second fiddle to their little man on Sunday as he undertook his first official engagement, albeit away from the loud and large crowds that have been flocking to see the royals.

Dad William worked his magic to get the two Georges to overcome their initial shyness, encouraging bilby George with some food while mum Kate held the prince close to the glass divider.

Before long, the curious prince was quite taken with the bilby.

Keeper of Australian Fauna Paul Davies took them on a guided tour of the indoor display, which included echidna, spinifex hopping mice and feather-tailed gliders well as bilbies.

"It was awesome. They were just like any other family," Mr Davies said after.

"Prince George was so lively. So many kids of that age don't like the dark - it is like moonlight in there - and run out screaming. Not Prince George."

Afterwards, George helped unveil the plaque and accepted presents - the beginning of a long career of officiating at similar ceremonies for the near nine-month-old - before returning to Admiralty House.

It was his second public function of the three-week tour of Australia and New Zealand, where he "hosted" a play group event with other babies his age at Government House.

He has been kept on the sidelines for much of the visit - still too young for the full rigour of the tour.

His parents, however, have been undertaking a hectic schedule with visits to the Opera House, Blue Mountains, Royal Easter Show and Manly Beach in Sydney, and a whirlwind trip to Amberley RAAF base and Brisbane on Saturday.

It continued on Sunday with the duke and duchess continuing the visit to the zoo, feeding tree kangaroos, walking past giraffes, enjoying a bird show, and taking in the rhino conservation display.

Kate wore a pretty, deep lemon/cream broderie anglaise dress by an independent designer who didn't want to be named, and sky high tan wedge sandals, and William was in blue jeans and a blue check shirt with his sleeves rolled up.

They posed with the echidnas with William commenting: "This is the moment everyone's been waiting for."

The royal couple started Easter Sunday at a church service at St Andrew's Cathedral and will end the day by flying to Canberra, where they will be based for the rest of the tour that ends after Anzac Day services on Friday.

They'll have a rest day on Monday. On Tuesday, they'll be in Yulara and visit Uluru in the Northern Territory.

Another picture perfect moment on what has been a picture perfect trip so far.

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Rockfall traps Vic pair on ledge

A ROCKFALL has trapped two men on a mountain ledge in Victoria.

A search helicopter and specialist rope teams have been sent to Mt Sturgeon, in the state's west, in a bid to rescue the pair.

Police received a mobile phone call from the men, aged 36 and 26, after the fall occurred about 1.30pm (AEST).

It is understood they do not have climbing harnesses.

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