SA backs wind farm developments

SOUTH Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has reaffirmed his government's support for wind energy and will seek a vote in parliament on Wednesday backing the renewable energy sector.

Mr Weatherill said recent suggestions of a moratorium on future wind farm developments was putting investment in the industry at risk.

"The government remains committed to providing ample opportunity for investment in wind energy in South Australia," the premier told state parliament on Tuesday.

"Every megawatt hour of wind energy cuts about one tonne of greenhouse gas emissions.

"Apart from the environmental benefits, wind farms also bring in vital investment to our state."

Mr Weatherill said South Australia had already attracted about $3 billion in wind energy investment, creating 842 direct jobs.

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Breakthrough in Vic teachers pay dispute

THERE has been a major breakthrough in the long-running Victorian teachers' pay battle, with the government backing down on performance pay.

The union says it is a sign the new Premier Denis Napthine is prepared to listen to teachers' concerns but the parties are yet to agree on salaries, contract teaching and several other issues.

Government and Australian Education Union (AEU) negotiators are due to meet again on Wednesday afternoon.

Dr Napthine said the government remained committed to performance pay but was willing to cut that aspect out of enterprise bargaining negotiations with the union in a bid to resolve the long-running dispute.

"We seek to deal with the issue of performance pay outside the EBA process," he told parliament on Tuesday.

"I call upon the teachers' union to accept this act of good faith."

AEU Victoria president Meredith Peace said the union would never accept performance pay because it did not lead to better student outcomes.

She said the government's move was a positive, small step but the union wasn't celebrating yet.

"It shows that the new premier is prepared to listen to our profession," Ms Peace said.

"This is a small step in the right direction but there is still much work to be done."

Ms Peace said the outstanding issues included salaries, workloads, class sizes and the high level of contract employment.

The union revised down its pay claim last November to a 12.6 per cent increase over three years, while the government's wages policy was 2.5 per cent plus extra for productivity gains.

"We actually now need to see what they are prepared to offer," Ms Peace said.

Former premier Ted Baillieu promised, before the coalition won government, to make Victoria's teachers the best paid in Australia.

Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said Dr Napthine should become personally involved in negotiations rather than grand stand in parliament.

"Instead of these faux concessions, the mock drama on the floor of the parliament, Mr Napthine should get in a room and get a deal done," he said.

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US backs Aust and NZ's Antarctic plans

The US is backing a proposal by Australia and NZ to set up marine sanctuaries in Antarctica. Source: AAP

HAILING the waters of Antarctica as a living laboratory, the United States has joined Australia and New Zealand in appealing for the creation of marine sanctuaries in the most remote and pristine part of the world.

The United States and New Zealand have drawn up a proposal for a marine sanctuary covering 1.6 million square kilometres of the Ross Sea, which would be the world's largest reserve.

Nations led by Australia, France and the European Union also want to protect 1.9 million square kilometres of critical coastal area in the East Antarctic.

But the proposals were blocked when talks in November at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) - comprising 24 countries and the European Union - ended without resolution amid concerns from Russia and China.

Now the nations in favour are boosting their efforts to get the two sanctuaries approved at a special meeting of the group in Germany in July.

"Antarctica is a collection of superlatives. It's the highest, coldest, the windiest, the driest, the most pristine and the most remote place on Earth," US Secretary of State John Kerry told a gathering organised by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

"And it has beguiled humankind for centuries as people have sought to understand it," he added, arguing that the waters of the Southern Ocean, home to 16,000 species, are a "living laboratory."

Kerry told the gathering at the National Geographic Society he believed the world can "work together to ensure that Antarctica remains a place devoted to peace and devoted to expanding human understanding of this fragile planet."

"This is one of the last places we could do this, and I think we owe it to ourselves to make it happen."

But conservationists argue the proposals do not go far enough to protect marine life - notably the Antarctic toothfish, which is fished in huge quantities and served as Chilean sea bass on restaurant tables around the world.

The Ross Sea proposal, while creating a reserve to protect Adelie and emperor penguins, as well as killer whales and Weddell seals, would still allow some 3,000 tonnes of toothfish to be commercially caught each year.

"We wanted New Zealand to come up with a much stronger proposal, and they just didn't, and they dug their heels in, and basically the US had to go for New Zealand's proposal," documentary film-maker Peter Young said.

"It doesn't matter how sustainable this quota is, we shouldn't be in the last place. We don't take buffalo from Yellowstone. We don't take kiwi from the forests in New Zealand. We should not fish from the Ross Sea."

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Anti-fracking artists 'fail' to register

DOZENS of celebrities may be running foul of US law as they unite under the banner of one group that is seeking to prevent a method of gas drilling in New York state.

Artists Against Fracking opposes hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and boasts members including Yoko Ono and actors Mark Ruffalo and Susan Sarandon.

The group says forcing water and chemicals deep into shale deposits to extract gas threatens drinking water and the environment. The group's website implores, "Tell Governor Cuomo: Don't Frack New York."

But the group and nearly 200 entertainers who are gaining attention and support in the dispute, which is splitting New Yorkers, aren't registered lobbyists, according to a search by The Associated Press of the database of the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics.

State law is designed to disclose who is trying to influence government action, how much money they are spending and where the money's going.

"You spend money lobbying, you have to register," said David Grandeau, former executive director of the state lobbying commission and now an lawyer representing lobbyists and clients.

There's no public record of how much money Artists Against Fracking has spent, but its website contains links for visitors to make donations, which are directed to the Sustainable Markets Foundation. Although the foundation is an established charitable organisation and its donations are recorded publicly, it isn't registered with New York as a lobbying client, either.

Under New York law, however, it appears Artists Against Fracking is required to be a registered lobbyist because the law hinges on spending over $US5,000.

The group hasn't filed lobbying reports, so the amount it has spent and what it was spent on isn't known publicly. Experts in Albany say the website and public events appear to have cost well over $US5,000.

The group hasn't responded to requests for comment in the past two weeks. The group's account executive at its public relations firm, Fenton of New York City, didn't respond to a request for comment.

The group includes Ono and Sean Lennon, the widow and son of musician John Lennon. They recently attended an anti-fracking event in Albany with Ruffalo, actors Zooey Deschanel, Alec Baldwin and Hugh Jackman, and singer Lady Gaga, along with other longtime activists such as David Crosby and Paul McCartney. None of them are registered to lobby in New York.

A week ago, Artists Against Fracking widely released a music video done through Skype from various locations featuring dozens of entertainers singing a Sean Lennon song, "Don't Frack My Mother." In it, Ono sings part of the chorus, "Don't frack me!"

Failing to register as a lobbyist is not a criminal offence. Commonly, when a person new to lobbying is believed to have failed to lobby as required by law to track the influence of money on public policy, that person is given a chance to submit a lobbing form and pay a $US200 fee.

One of the main players supporting fracking, the Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York, is registered.

Lobbying is big business in New York. The New York Public Interest Research Group reported that more than $US220 million was spent lobbying in 2011 - and that was before the fracking debate really heated up.

The biggest penalty for failure to follow the lobbying law resulted in a $US250,000 fine against Donald Trump and others over casinos in 2000, and the Philip Morris tobacco company was hit with a $US75,000 fine in 1999.

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Aussie man, 93, on Thai child rape charges

LAWYERS for a 93-year-old Australian are arguing he is too ill to face charges of sexually assaulting children in Thailand.

German born Karl Joseph Kraus, from Western Australia, is accused of abusing four sisters for almost two years. The youngest was aged five when the alleged abuse began.

Kraus will ask a Thai court for freedom on Monday.

At the time of his arrest almost three years ago, police said they found more than 100 photos of naked children on the hard drive of his computer.

Kraus pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault and was granted bail of 400,000 baht (A$12,000).

In mid-2012 he fled to neighbouring Myanmar (Burma) before being arrested and sent back to Thailand.

Lawyers say Kraus has several health issues, including dementia and cancer.

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Alleged gunman charged over Sydney siege

A siege in Sydney's southwest is over with a man led away in handcuffs. Source: AAP

A MAN will face court charged with holding his ex-partner's elderly mother in a southwestern Sydney home during a six-hour siege.

Police charged the 56-year-old man with detaining for advantage, assault and possessing an unregistered firearm after the siege in Raby on Monday.

They say they were called to the home in Avro Place shortly before 7.30am (AEDT) by a woman who said she'd been threatened by a man armed with a gun.

The woman had managed to escape, but her 74-year-old mother remained inside with the armed man.

Police will allege he held the elderly woman against her will in the home in Avro Place until about 1pm (AEDT), when he allowed her to leave.

Inspector Greg Inger said the woman was shaken but unhurt.

"She was obviously upset about what had happened, but she was fine," he told reporters at the scene.

The gunman surrendered about 15 minutes later.

Up to 40 police, including negotiators and officers from the highway patrol and the Tactical Operations Unit, worked to resolve the stand-off.

Neighbours described their shock and fear after seeing snipers take up positions near the house in a leafy cul de sac.

One resident said she had woken to a loud bang shortly after 7am followed by a woman screeching and dogs barking.

"Obviously I thought the worst," the woman, who identified herself only as Lina, told reporters.

"You don't expect it, this is a really calm area. You don't expect it to happen in your own backyard, so it is pretty scary, pretty unreal."

Police also allegedly found a 12-gauge single-barrel shotgun and a box of shotgun ammunition in the house and a speargun in the man's car.

He will remain behind bars until he appears at Campbelltown Local Court on Tuesday.

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China's Xi calls for 'great renaissance'

President Xi Jinping has promised to pursue the Communist Party's "Chinese dream" of prosperity. Source: AAP

CHINA'S new President Xi Jinping says he will fight for a "great renaissance of the Chinese nation", as the world's most populous country completed its once-in-a-decade power transition.

In his first speech as head of state, Xi called for "the continued realisation of the great renaissance of the Chinese nation and the Chinese dream", laying out a vision of a stronger military and ever-higher living standards.

The 25-minute speech closed a parliament sitting which named Xi as head of state and Li Keqiang as premier, four months after the pair took the top two posts in the ruling Communist Party - the real source of their power.

Both Xi and Li stuck to the party's long-held consensus on the need for economic reforms to ensure growth, while increasing military power and avoiding political change that could threaten its grip on power.

Analysts said Xi's concept of a "great renaissance" was a slogan designed to have broad appeal, without any firm commitments to specific reforms.

Xi has close ties to China's expanding military - which put its first aircraft carrier into service last year - and he called for the armed forces to strengthen their ability to "win battles".

Beijing is embroiled in a bitter territorial row with Japan over islands in the East China Sea, and with neighbouring nations over claims to the South China Sea. Tensions with the US have increased over reports of army-organised hacking.

Newly appointed Premier Li Keqiang sought to play down such conflicts in a press conference, saying that Beijing would not "seek hegemony" as it became stronger and denying allegations that China engages in hacking.

Li called the accusations "groundless", days after President Barack Obama weighed in on the issue. He said China's relationship with Washington was vital and their mutual interests outweighed their differences.

"Conflicts between big powers are not inevitable," Li said.

Li, now in charge of the day-to-day running of the government, said that "maintaining sustainable economic growth", with an annual GDP increase of around 7.5 per cent over the coming decade, would be his administration's top priority.

But ensuring such a performance would be difficult, he said. China recorded its slowest growth for more than a decade last year amid weakened demand in key export markets.

"What the market can do, we should release more to the market", he said without giving details of specific economic reforms.

Both leaders reiterated the party's repeated pledges to fight corruption, with Li saying that the government had an "unshakable resolve" to do so.

Speaking in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, Xi stressed continuity with previous Chinese leaders and thanked outgoing president Hu Jintao, who stood and bowed as China completed the transition of its top leaders.

Neither Xi nor Li mentioned systematic political reform. But Li said China would release a plan for unspecified changes to its controversial "re-education" labour camp system, in which people can be incarcerated for up to four years without trial.

"The tone is definitely conservative," Joseph Cheng, a China politics expert at Hong Kong's City University, said of Xi's speech. "It is difficult to anticipate serious political reforms in the near future.

"What we see here is a very balanced approach not to alienate any vested interests and to continue to do something popular like combat corruption, combat lavishness and pomp and so on, and appeal to patriotism."

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Man under police guard over two Vic deaths

THE son of one of two brothers found dead in a country Victorian property has been arrested and remains under police guard in hospital.

Ross Streeter, 30, is the son of Douglas Streeter, who police believe was shot dead along with his brother John Streeter, at their property at Natte Yallock, near Avoca, on Thursday evening.

Mr Streeter was arrested at Avoca in connection with the deaths on Saturday.

Paramedics found him near a water tower in Cambridge Street with self-inflicted injuries, an Ambulance Victoria spokesman said.

The man was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious condition under police escort.

Police said the man's injuries were not life-threatening, but he is expected to remain in hospital for at least another day.

He is yet to be interviewed by police.

Police have said it appeared the men, both aged in their 60s, had been shot.

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Vic police call for stabbing witnesses

A man has died after being stabbed multiple times in the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy. Source: AAP

MYSTERY surrounds the death of a young man who was stabbed multiple times in inner Melbourne.

A passing council worker found the man in distress in Fitzroy about 5am Sunday (AEDT), police said.

The worker gave the man first aid and called 000 but paramedics were unable to revive the young man.

Detective Sergeant Allan Birch said police are still trying to establish what happened to the man.

"It would appear he had a number of stabbing injuries," he told reporters.

"We don't know what happened ... we don't know exactly how the injuries were inflicted."

Police were initially unable to identify the man, but now say he is a 21-year-old from Werribee.

The man was found in Johnston Street near the intersection of Fitzroy Street.

On Sunday morning a small lane way was draped with a tarpaulin as crime scene examiners combed the area.

Det Sgt Birch said police are not aware of any witnesses besides the council worker and urge people with information to come forward.

He said the homicide investigation is very wide, given the lack of information.

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Cameron at odds with Pope over Falklands

Britain's PM David Cameron says he disagrees with the new Pope over the Falkland Islands. Source: AAP

BRITAIN'S Prime Minister David Cameron says he disagrees with the new Pope over the future of the Falkland Islands.

Pope Francis, who is the first Argentinian pontiff and a former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, has previously described the disputed islands as "Argentinian soil" which was "usurped" by Britain.

But Mr Cameron on Friday urged all world leaders, including the Pope, to respect the overwhelming 99.8 per cent vote in this week's Falklands referendum in favour of remaining a British Overseas Territory.

In a reference to the method used by the Vatican to announce a decision on the identity of the new Pope, he said: "The white smoke over the Falklands was pretty clear."

Asked at a media conference in Brussels whether he agreed with Francis on the issue of the Falklands, Mr Cameron said: "I don't agree with him - respectfully, obviously.

"There was a pretty extraordinarily clear referendum in the Falkland Islands and I think that is a message to everyone in the world that the people of these islands have chosen very clearly the future they want and that choice should be respected by everyone."

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