ACT police seek help for Grosvenor murder

ACT police are seeking help for the murder of Kathryn Grosvenor, whose body was found 11 years ago. Source: AAP

CANBERRA police have again appealed for public help to solve the murder of Kathryn Grosvenor whose body was found in Lake Burley Griffin 11 years ago on Saturday.

Detective Senior Constable Sarah Casey said there was a $500,000 reward for information leading to the killer and that was a powerful incentive for potential witnesses to come forward.

Ms Grosvenor, 23, was last seen at her home in the northern Canberra suburb of Nicholls on March 3, 2002.

There were two unconfirmed sightings in the Gold Creek area that night, including at the George Harcourt Inn where she was thought to have purchased cigarettes between 9.05pm and 9.15pm.

Around 9am on Saturday March 9, 2002 a canoeist found her body in Yarralumla Bay in Lake Burley Griffin, weighed down by a concrete bollard.

Sen Const Carey said a witness came forward in March last year, describing two men loading concrete into a black utility vehicle on Anthony Rolfe Drive.

"I would like to appeal to those two men or the people who know them, to seriously consider this reward and contact Crime Stoppers, this amount of money could be life changing," she said in a statement.

The $500,000 reward is for information which leads to the apprehension and subsequent conviction of the person or persons responsible for Ms Grosvenor's murder.

Police will consider an appropriate indemnity from prosecution for any accomplice who first gives information.

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Malaysia detains 79 'Borneo intruders'

MALAYSIAN police say they've detained 79 suspects linked to Filipino intruders in Borneo as they intensify an operation to flush out members of a Filipino Muslim clan who took over a village last month.

The armed clansmen have caused political havoc for Malaysia and the neighbouring Philippines by trying to stake a claim to Malaysia's state of Sabah in Borneo.

National police chief Ismail Omar said 79 men and women, held without trial under a security law, were being investigated for their links to the gunmen.

He said they were detained outside the conflict zone but didn't give further details. The detainees are believed to be informants or food suppliers to the gunmen but it's unclear if they were Malaysians or Filipino nationals.

Ismail said a Filipino gunman was killed early Saturday after he tried to escape a police cordon, raising the death toll to 61.

The clansmen are led by a brother of Jamalul Kiram III, who claims to be the sultan, or hereditary ruler, of the southern, predominantly Muslim province of Sulu in the Philippines. Malaysia's government has rejected a call by Kiram for a ceasefire and urged the gunmen to surrender unconditionally.

International rights group Human Rights Watch on Saturday echoed a call by the UN's chief to ensure protection of civilians and for humanitarian access to help those affected by the violence.

"The situation on the ground in the conflict zone in Sabah is still quite murky and the government of Malaysia should provide clear and accurate information on what has occurred," said its Asia deputy-director Phil Robertson.

The New York-based group said it was concerned over the use of a new security law to detain dozens of suspects and urged the government to charge or release them.

Fifty-three gunmen and eight Malaysian policemen have died, mainly in shootouts between security forces and the Filipino group and their suspected allies.

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Three men drown at Victorian beaches

THREE men have drowned at Victoria's beaches, including a father who's believed to have been trying to rescue his son from a rip.

Paramedics were first called to a beach at Lorne, on the Great Ocean Road, about 12.30pm (AEDT) on Saturday, where surf lifesavers - helped by a surfer - had pulled an unconscious man in his fifties and a 12-year boy from the water.

CPR was performed on the man for some time, but he could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene, Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said.

The boy, believed to be the man's son, was taken to hospital in a stable condition, having swallowed water and suffered shock, Mr Mullen said.

The beach at St George River, southwest of Lorne's main beach, is not patrolled and features a permanent rip flowing out its narrow entrance, according to Life Saving Victoria (LSV).

At 2.30pm, paramedics attended a beach in Rye, on the Mornington Peninsula, where a man in his 30s, who had been snorkelling and was found unconscious in the water by friends.

Bystanders performed CPR and paramedics took over upon arrival, but couldn't revive him and he died at the scene, Ambulance Victoria's Ray Rowe said.

A third man died after being reported missing in waters at Golden Beach near Sale, in Victoria's Gippsland region.

Paramedics were called around 3.20pm, and at 6pm police confirmed a man's body had been found at the beach but had no further details.

LSV spokeswoman Jennifer Roberts said 57 beaches were patrolled across the state on Saturday.

She urged people to check signs and survey the risks at any beach before getting in the water, and never to swim alone.

"Every drowning death is a tragic occurrence," Ms Roberts said.

"Every beach is inherently dangerous."

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Portrait win saves artist from job queue

MELBOURNE photographer Janelle Low was just weeks away from joining the queues at Centrelink when she received a call telling her she had won the $25,000 National Photographic Portrait Prize.

"I was thinking of writing my resume, thinking I might have to put photography aside for a little while, but I won't have to now," the 22-year-old told AAP in Canberra.

"I'll be able to live and get by, have dinner every night, and take photos. That's the dream for me, to shoot all the time."

Ms Low's portrait Yhonnie and Indiana beat 52 others shortlisted for the prize, awarded by the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra on Friday.

Her small portrait of artist friend Yhonnie Scarce and her cat Indiana was described by gallery curator and judge Joanna Gilmour as "a tiny photograph that punches above its weight".

The picture, taken of a sick 18-year-old Indiana just days before she was put down, is a "very resonant little photograph about love and death and loss and attachment, and all those sorts of things we can relate to", Ms Gilmour said.

Ms Low said the shot was organised quickly after Scarce arrived late to one of her own art openings, having had to take Indiana to the vet.

"She just said, 'Would you mind if you took a portrait of us together really soon because I don't think she has long left,'" Ms Low said.

"I think a day or two later we took the shot, and a day or two after that she had to put Indiana down.

"It was very quick, very sudden thing."

The shoot was equally brief, Ms Low said.

"It was the middle of winter in Melbourne so it was grey, and the light just came out for a few minutes," she said.

"I knew I had it when I saw it in the back of the camera."

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Head of Qld's CMC stands down

THE head of Queensland's top crime fighting body, the Crime and Misconduct Commission, has stood down as he continues a long battle with cystic fibrosis, amid allegations he's failed the state.

CMC chairman Ross Martin resigned on Friday afternoon, revealing he's preparing to undergo a lung transplant.

He said he's been in hospital for the past 10 days.

"I no longer have the resources of health necessary to continue to perform the job," Mr Martin told reporters.

"I will not be coming back.

"I wish my successor and the CMC success in their vital work."

Mr Martin has been under fire from Premier Campbell Newman and Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie over a series of bungles involving confidential files.

The commission recently found out it had accidentally publicly released dozens of sensitive files from the 1989 Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption, and shredded dozens more.

The premier and attorney general said on Friday that Mr Martin should accept responsibility, as a minister would, and resign.

The bipartisan Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee (PCMC), which oversees the CMC, is investigating how the bungles happened and who is responsible.

Mr Martin said the attorney-general had spoken about ministerial responsibility as an informing principle in regard to his position.

"A principle similar to ministerial responsibility has force in the present context, whatever might emerge from the review," he said.

"That said, a CMC chair should not be too ready to resign, lest the organisation's independence be too readily undermined."

"The CMC chair's position has powerful statutory entrenchment to defend its security against political whim."

Assistant Commissioner Warren Strange will immediately assume the position of acting chair.

Mr Martin thanked his family and the officers and staff of the CMC for supporting him.

"My family have suffered my pursuit of a career for too long. They are entitled to as much of my time as I can give them," he said.

"I thank my staff for their dedicated, largely unsung, devotion to the virtues of fighting crime and of integrity.

"I will not be coming back. I wish my successor and CMC generally the very best in its vital work."

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Media law changes move closer

COMMUNICATIONS Minister Stephen Conroy says the government will bring forward media law changes before the September election - and the support of independent MPs will be crucial.

The government is running out of time to have parliament approve a package of reforms stemming from its media industry reviews.

It is understood cabinet could consider a number of measures on Monday, before parliament sits on Tuesday.

"We will be bringing forward a package," Senator Conroy told ABC radio on Friday.

"But we clearly have to get the support of the independents. There's clearly many contentious issues," Senator Conroy said.

One of the key changes is the removal of a rule that prevents any television network from broadcasting to more than 75 per cent of the Australian population.

The rule currently stops any one of the three major commercial networks from buying regional affiliates.

The proposed change would allow Nine Network to pursue a possible merger with Southern Cross Austereo.

Also being considered are a revamped press council, a tort of privacy, increased Australian content rules and a public interest test for prospective media owners.

To have any legislation pass the lower house, Labor will need the support of five crossbenchers.

Independent MP Craig Thomson said he would reveal his position on the changes next week when parliament resumes.

"I'll be talking to people involved in the industry on the effects that the legislation may have locally in this electorate," Mr Thomson told AAP on Friday.

Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce said his party members, who will meet on Monday, would have no problem "going to the barricades" to protect regional media services.

"Everyone (in the party room) will ask the same question: 'Is this the same swindle job where they promise the world but leave the services out?' and if it is, they can go jump in the lake," Senator Joyce told AAP.

"Without local news you have no local community," the senator from southwest Queensland said.

Nationals Leader Warren Truss said his party would be looking at the legislation very closely.

"We won't support anything that reduces localism and the capacity for local news and information to be supplied when it is needed, on a regular basis," Mr Truss told AAP.

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Miners' underground dance harmless: lawyer

A lawyer says 15 WA miners sacked for doing a dance routine underground did no harm. Source: AAP

THE lawyer for one of the sacked "Harlem Shake" miners who broke into a dance craze in a WA underground mine says the 30-second dance that cost 15 employees their lucrative jobs did no harm.

West Australian mining contractor Barminco made worldwide headlines earlier this week when it sacked more than a dozen workers from the Agnew gold mine after their YouTube version of the internet's latest dance craze went viral.

Citing safety issues, Barminco sparked a national debate as to whether they were heavy handed in sacking the employees, posting on its company Facebook page that "safety takes unconditional priority at all times ... and we will not make any exception to this".

Barminco said rigid safety rules were needed in the inherently hazardous underground environment.

It has been revealed one of the sacked miners, Stephen Dixon, had referred his case to Fair Work Australia.

His lawyer John Hammond has told Fairfax Radio his case will focus on whether the men breached safety regulations.

Those taking part had considered safety before making the video, and had performed it during a meal break, Mr Hammond said.

"Around town, opinion seems to be very, very split as to whether or not these miners should have been sacked," he said.

"In making these comments I am talking about what people think politically. Everywhere you go people are discussing whether it was right or wrong for the company to have sacked those who engaged in what was a 31-second dance.

"Mr Dixon did consider safety. They left their steel capped boots on, they left their headlamps on and left the self-rescuers on before they engaged in the Harlem Shake.

"Doing a dance on the spot, jumping up and down gyrating, to me personally, was not a harmful act."

Mr Hammond said 14 or 15 men had been sacked over the dance, eight who actually danced and six or seven who watched.

He said no one would disagree with Barminco that safety was paramount in mining, but it was yet to be seen whether the men contravened any safety requirements.

Mr Dixon told The West Australian newspaper he was a dedicated worker, not a clown, and the workers had been anxious about their job security when they performed the dance to "let off steam".

More than 10,000 Harlem Shake videos - based on the track by electronic musician Baauer - had been posted online by the middle of last month. The internet "meme" was originated by five teenagers from Queensland, registered on YouTube as TheSunnyCoastSkate.

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Another blunder by Qld corruption watchdog

QUEENSLAND'S Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) has admitted another gaffe involving confidential documents from the Fitzgerald inquiry into police corruption.

This time documents were shredded, state parliament heard on Thursday.

"The CMC has destroyed a number of confidential Fitzgerald documents," the chair of the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee, independent MP Liz Cunningham, said.

"The committee wants more information on what documents were destroyed, and how and why this occurred."

She said the files contained intelligence used by the Criminal Justice Commission to commence an investigation.

CMC chair Ross Martin had made the admission on Wednesday when he was being grilled at an urgent meeting with the parliamentary committee, which oversees the CMC, about another error, Ms Cunningham said.

Earlier this week it was revealed that potentially sensitive documents from the Fitzgerald inquiry had been made public at State Archives.

Records were supposed to be sealed for 65 years when the inquiry into police corruption ended in 1989.

Some uncontroversial documents were opened in February 2012, but the CMC said an oversight led to other documents also being released.

Ms Cunningham says Mr Martin has been unable to say how the mistake happened, what documents were released, or if they had been widely viewed.

The state archivist was also summoned before the committee to help find out who viewed the documents and if copies were made.

That hearing is continuing.

Ms Cunningham says the CMC was made aware in May 2012 that the records had gone public but didn't act to address the matter until September.

She's also concerned the parliamentary committee was informed of the mistake only this week.

"It is clear that the CMC did not act to ensure that the matter was appropriately addressed," she said.

"The committee will carefully consider its options in relation to the lack of governance within the CMC and the lack of accountability."

The matter has been referred to Parliament's Crime and Misconduct Commissioner Paul Favell for an independent investigation.

It was announced on Thursday that the ongoing review of the Crime and Misconduct Commission should look into the matter.

The CMC has declined to comment at this time.

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Senator ends filibuster of CIA pick

A REPUBLICAN senator seeking to block President Barack Obama's pick to lead the CIA over concerns about drone strikes on US soil completed a nearly 13-hour speaking filibuster.

In a remarkable display highlighting the partisan rift in Washington, Rand Paul led the filibuster of John Brennan's appointment after the White House refused to unequivocally rule out drone strikes on US soil.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, tried to bring the blocking tactic to a close, but Paul, a favourite of the Republican Party's conservative Tea Party faction, refused to stop.

His oratory held up any other Senate action as he railed against US policy on targeted killings from just before noon on Wednesday until nearly 1am Thursday.

During the marathon delaying tactic, Paul said he would be happy to yield the floor "if the president or the attorney general will clarify that they are not going to kill non-combatants in America".

The drone issue has gained fresh currency on Capitol Hill, with senators from both parties pressing Attorney General Eric Holder on whether the administration believes such drone attacks could be justified.

Paul demanded answers from President Barack Obama on the secret unmanned aerial drone program that has emerged as the most contentious element of Brennan's nomination to head the Central Intelligence Agency.

"I rise today to begin to filibuster John Brennan's nomination for the CIA," he said.

"I will speak until I can no longer speak. I will speak as long as it takes, until the alarm is sounded from coast to coast that our Constitution is important, that your rights to trial by jury are precious, that no American should be killed by a drone, on American soil, without first being charged with a crime, without first being found guilty by a court."

He finally yielded the floor at 12:38am on Thursday, to a round of applause.

"I've discovered that there are some limits to filibustering and I'm going to have to take care of one of those in a few minutes here," he joked.

Brennan's nomination easily cleared the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, despite fury from leading Republican lawmakers at what they said was a lack of disclosure over last year's attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four Americans, including US ambassador Chris Stevens.

The Senate Democratic leadership wanted to move this week on a confirmation vote for Brennan, but Paul was making Senate leaders sweat a little.

At close to the 12-hour mark, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell joined the filibuster, saying: "I intend to oppose the nomination and congratulate my colleague from Kentucky for this extraordinary effort."

Paul had earlier enlisted Republicans Mike Lee, Ted Cruz and Saxby Chambliss. Rising Republican star Marco Rubio also joined, as did Democrat Ron Wyden, who has long questioned White House power on national security issues.

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Air traffic controller 'poorly trained'

A PASSENGER jet was told to fly through the holding pattern of another aircraft because a Brisbane air traffic controller hadn't been given enough training, a report has found.

An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report into the incident says the Qantas and Virgin 737s were both headed for Brisbane airport on July 29, 2011.

The air traffic controller on duty told the pilots to enter similar holding patterns at a point 93km southwest of Brisbane Airport.

When directing one of the planes to land, the controller gave priority to the wrong aircraft.

The controller twice directed one 737 to descend through the holding pattern of the second.

But the crew of the plane queried those directions.

Realising the mistake, the flight controller was able to quickly direct the planes to recover separation - the minimum distance required between the planes to avoid risking a collision.

That distance is normally 9.3km, but the aircraft had came within 7.2km of each other.

The ATSB report found while there was no risk of an imminent collision the controller had received a reduced amount of on-the-job training, only four rather the usual six weeks, and didn't have enough experience in high workload situations.

In response to the incident Airservices Australia says it will change its controller training program.

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