Defence paper will be realistic: Carr

FOREIGN Minister Bob Carr says the new Defence white paper will be a realistic assessment of Australia's place in the world and its security for decades to come.

Senator Carr said the document, to be released in Canberra on Friday, would be long ranging.

"It will be a realistic assessment of where Australia stands in the world ...(and) ... the greatest question that faces the Australian people, our security," he told Sky News on Thursday.

A range of security threats confronting Australia were canvassed in the recent national security strategy document, with cyber attack high on the list.

Senator Carr also hinted the new white paper would adopt a more conciliatory approach to China than the 2009 document.

"I believe the rise of China is good for the world, good for Australia. I believe that China's aspirations, economic growth, security and China's modernisation of its armed forces are not a threat to Australia," he said.

Lowy Institute defence analyst James Brown said this was likely to be the "Diet Coke of defence white papers," paring back on the ambitions for a muscular defence force outlined in the 2009 Defence white paper.

He said there would be some spending decisions as the government needed to show that it was doing something about defence, although a fourth air warfare destroyer was looking less likely.

Decisions were looming on issues such as defence's 25,000 properties around the nation in places that were useful in World War II, but not now.

The government was also likely to proceed with plans to buy another 24 Super Hornet aircraft.

He said he did not expect Defence would get back any of the $5.5 billion funding removed at the budget last year.

"The defence force that we were promised in 2009 will still be under-funded. The government really should tomorrow be outlining what reduced options the military will have," he told Sky News.

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WA man remanded for assaulting child

A MAN has been remanded in custody accused of seriously assaulting a 22-month-old girl in the southern West Australian town of Mount Barker.

Philip Morphett, 22, is alleged to have broken the child's arm, finger and foot in an assault on Saturday.

He appeared in Albany Magistrates Court on Thursday, charged with two counts of aggravated assault causing bodily harm, and one of aggravated assault.

He is also alleged to have assaulted the girl's mother, his partner, two days later.

The young girl was taken to Albany Regional Hospital, and later flown to Princess Margaret Hospital for treatment.

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WA prison officers accept pay deal

PRISON officers in Western Australia have provisionally agreed a pay deal which will give them a wage increase of 12.75 per cent over the next three years.

The long-running dispute, which peaked during the state election campaign, had seen almost 2000 prison officers in the state go on strike for 24 hours.

The WA Prison Officers Union (WAPOU) said it had reached an in principle wage deal on Thursday.

"The wage deal bargained between the union and state government will deliver real benefit for the prison officers of WA," union secretary John Welch said.

"Our delegates are pleased with the outcome of negotiations and are confident that what we have on the table is the best deal possible at this time."

The new pay deal comes after Premier Colin Barnett intervened to commit to a 14 per cent pay rise over three years for WA's nurses during the state election campaign.

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Barnett again baulks at signing up to NDIS

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has again stalled at signing up to the existing NDIS. Source: AAP

WEST Australian Premier Colin Barnett has again baulked at signing up to the national disability care scheme, saying the increased Medicare levy is the "easy" part of funding the plan.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday announced a 0.5 per cent Medicare levy increase, to start on July 1 next year, to raise money for the DisabilityCare Australia scheme.

Mr Barnett thinks WA will eventually be part of a national scheme but he wants greater flexibility and a more decentralised model before he commits to it.

"We're not going to sign up to a take-it or leave-it proposal," Mr Barnett told ABC radio.

"Part of the federal government model is that they take over state funding and spend it out of Canberra and I don't think that is going to be good with people with a disability in this state."

Ms Gillard warned the additional Medicare levy would not fund the full cost of the scheme and there would be no "free ride for states and territories".

Mr Barnett said the cost of the scheme could top $22 billion and that was unaffordable.

"I will not sign up for a scheme that is not even funded," he said.

"The PM is assuming the rest of the money is going to come from the states but what capacity do the states have to increase a tax to pay for our share?

"I hesitate to promise people with a disability something that at the moment neither the commonwealth or the state has got the money to pay for."

WA Labor leader Mark McGowan said the levy hike was a "brave move" so close to an election.

"It is an insurance policy for all of us if we suffer from a catastrophic injury, or in fact we suffered from it from birth," he said.

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Cyclone Zane may start to weaken off Qld

TROPICAL Cyclone Zane is waxing and waning as it nears the far north Queensland coastline, forecasters say.

The storm was predicted to develop into a category three cyclone but Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Bill O'Connor says it is beginning to weaken.

"We're going through a wax and a wane," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"It looks like at the moment it should ease back but there is the potential as it gets close to the coast that it will kick up."

A cyclone warning is still in place across much of Cape York with gales up to 150km/h and up to 150 millimetres of rain expected to batter some areas.

The cyclone was 300 kilometres northeast of Cooktown on Cape York late on Wednesday and will make landfall at Lockhart River about 9am (AEST) on Thursday.

Strong winds are predicted for coastal areas from Lockhart River to Cooktown on Wednesday evening and the western side of the cape, north of Mapoon, on Thursday.

Heavy rain, which may lead to flash flooding, is expected in areas north of Cooktown from Wednesday evening.

Coastal residents between Orford Ness and Cape Melville are being warned that a dangerous storm tide is likely to come in as the cyclone crosses the coast.

"It does have the potential to just be a tropical low as it moves onto the coast," Mr O'Connor said.

"But there still will be a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall and wind gusts associated with thunderstorms through the area."

Lockhart River Mayor Wayne Butcher says residents spent the day securing items that could be picked up by high winds.

"We're glad that the cyclone has slowed down a bit," he told AAP.

"It's not something new, it's probably our fourth one in 10 years, so people are pretty cyclone savvy."

Disaster management groups, led by local mayors, have been activated along the far North Queensland coastline.

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One dead in Myanmar anti-Muslim riots

ONE person has been killed and nine injured after mobs attacked mosques and burned homes in central Myanmar (Burma), authorities say, in the latest religious unrest to erupt in the nation.

Riots sparked on Tuesday in the small town of Oakkan, about 100 kilometres north of Yangon (Rangoon) after a woman accidentally knocked into a young monk, authorities said on Wednesday, amid acute Buddhist-Muslim tensions following a series of attacks in March.

"A man died in hospital of his injuries this morning," a police official said.

Authorities have arrested 18 people after some 77 homes in four villages in the region north of the commercial hub Yangon were burned on Tuesday evening, president's spokesman Ye Htut said in a Facebook update.

Terrified villagers of both faiths said police were not there to protect them when a crowd attacked a local mosque in Mie Laung Sakhan village.

"About 200 to 300 people arrived in our village on motorcycles and destroyed the mosque. All the villagers ran away. We were scared and didn't resist. They destroyed until they were satisfied," said Soe Myint, 48, a Muslim in Mie Laung Sakhan village.

The village mosque was seriously damaged and around 10 homes burned, according to an AFP journalist at the scene. No security presence was visible until late morning, when about 30 police arrived.

"We heard rumours that the mob will come and attack again this afternoon. Even we were threatened to be killed. We are also scared. We need security urgently," Than Soe, a Buddhist, said.

A heavy security presence was visible on Wednesday morning in Oakkan, where some 30 shops in the market had been destroyed and a mosque damaged.

Religious unrest has exposed deep fractures in formerly junta-run Myanmar and cast a shadow over reforms under a quasi-civilian regime that took power two years ago.

At least 43 people were killed and thousands were left homeless in March, which saw some monks involved in clashes. Other clerics are behind a nationalistic campaign calling for a boycott of Muslim-owned shops.

Last year around 200 people were killed in clashes between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya - a minority treated with hostility by many Burmese who see them as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

Rights groups have accused authorities of standing by during previous attacks on Muslims or actively participating in some cases. The government rejects allegations that it is complicit in the violence.

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Cyclone watch issued for far north Qld

A CYCLONE watch has been issued for far north Queensland, on the day that a third of the state was placed under drought declarations.

The weather bureau says communities between Thursday Island and Cooktown have been put on alert for gale force winds on Wednesday.

The bureau says a deepening tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to make landfall near Lockhart River around midday on Wednesday as a category one or very low-grade category two cyclone.

On Monday evening, the system was 1000 kilometres east of Lockhart River and 890 kilometres northeast of Cairns and moving towards the coast at six kilometres an hour.

Heavy rain and flash flooding has been forecast for far north Queensland from late Tuesday.

Earlier on Monday, the state government declared 13 shires, covering a third of the state, as drought-affected.

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Parents ignore speech problems: study

SIGNS of delayed language skills development are often missed in preschool children, putting them at risk of long-term educational and mental health problems.

A study of 900 pre-schoolers has found half of those with communication issues are missing out on help from a professional.

The study by the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Melbourne found pre-schoolers were nine times more likely to get help if their parents were concerned.

But many parents may find it hard to believe warnings from teachers and other professionals. Many others seek help even though their child does not need it.

Professor Melissa Wake says children who have delays in the ability to make themselves understood or who have difficulties in understanding what is said to them are a major concern.

"There is a need for greater action. But it isn't always that obvious. Children with low language are not children with no language."

The researchers say it is easy not to notice a language delay or to not give it the attention it deserves.

"Children with low language skills are the ones we are really worried about. More so than some disorders like a lisp or problems with certain sounds, which usually go away on their own," says Prof Wake.

The researchers are also worried that seven per cent of children who do not need help are sent for unnecessary assistance.

They urge parents to have their child assessed if they have concerns or if they are alerted to possible issues.

"Our study provides evidence that communication problems are often silent disabilities, potentially under-recognised and under-prioritised," says researcher Dr Jemma Skeat.

"Clearly, getting the right children to appropriate services requires more than informing parents of a likely problem."

Children who miss out on early intervention are at risk of ongoing problems that affect school success, behaviour and even mental health, she says.

The study is published in the journal Child: Care, Health & Development.

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Aussie woman raped at knife-point in Bali

AN Australian woman assaulted as a knife was held to her throat during a violent robbery in Bali is believed to be the latest victim of a serial rapist.

The 28-year-old from Perth was attacked in the early hours of Saturday morning after being woken by an intruder who had entered her room at Villa Damais in Kerobokan where she was staying with family.

Details of the horrific assault emerged on Monday with the woman telling police she was first forced to open a safe in her room, before being raped while a knife was held to her throat.

The attack occurred as seven other members of her family, including children, slept in rooms inside the rented villa on the popular holiday island.

"The victim was then threatened with knife by the perpetrator," a spokesman with the North Kuta police, Reinhard Habonaran Nainggolan, told AAP.

"His right hand held the knife while his left hand held a flashlight.

"She was under threat of knife that she could not make a sound."

The woman was treated at a local hospital and returned to Perth with her family on Sunday.

Police said that the woman's description of her attacker matches that of a man believed to have carried out previous rapes.

A number of people were involved in the robbery.

"They entered the villa by jumping on to the wall," Mr Reinhard said.

Three iPads, two mobile phones and about Rp1.5 million ($A150) in cash were stolen.

It is the latest in a spate of violent incidents in an area of Bali popular with tourists, especially Australians.

In March, Mercedes Corby was bashed by a gang in Kuta as she returned home from a party.

The older sister of convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby needed minor surgery after suffering a broken nose and bleeding to the cornea during the assault.

In January, a West Australian man was stabbed multiple times in the back while fighting off armed robbers at his Bali villa.

Bali's Governor Made Pastika said at the time he was concerned that the island's image as a holiday destination was being tainted.

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UK PR guru Max Clifford vows to clear name

UK prosecutors have charged celebrity publicist Max Clifford with 11 counts of indecent assault. Source: AAP

PR guru Max Clifford has vowed to clear his name in court as he was charged with 11 historic counts of indecent assault against teenage girls.

The 70-year-old, famed for representing celebrities including Simon Cowell and Jade Goody, said he has been "living a 24/7 nightmare" since his arrest in December.

Clifford was charged with offences linked to girls aged from 14 to 19 between 1966 and 1985 and will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on May 28, Scotland Yard said.

He was arrested as part of Operation Yewtree, the national police inquiry sparked by allegations of abuse against Jimmy Savile.

Clifford told the Press Association: "The allegations in respect of which I have been charged are completely false and I have made this clear to the police during many, many hours of interviews.

"Nevertheless a decision has been taken to charge me with 11 offences involving seven women, the most recent of which is 28 years ago and the oldest 47 years ago.

"I have never indecently assaulted anyone in my life and this will become clear during the course of the proceedings."

Clifford has made a career of taking on some of the most talked-about celebrity stories in the last few decades.

The public relations veteran notably represented OJ Simpson and was behind the rumours that sparked the tabloid headline "Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster".

Clifford said: "I am naturally disappointed about today's decision, particularly because of the distress it has caused my wife, Jo, my daughter, Louise, and all those close to me.

"However, at least I will now be in a position to fully consider all the evidence against me and to answer the evidence in public and ultimately clear my name in a court of law.

"Since last December I have been living a 24/7 nightmare."

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