ANC conference starts with Zuma under fire

SOUTH Africa's ruling ANC kicked off what promises to be a contentious five-yearly party conference on Sunday, with embattled President Jacob Zuma facing a leadership challenge from his number two.

Thousands of singing and dancing ANC members clad in party colours and regalia descended on the city of Bloemfontein for the five-day conference, which will go a long way toward deciding who will lead South Africa until the end of the decade.

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe is hoping to wrest control of the party from Zuma.

Should he succeed, the ANC's commanding electoral standing means he is almost certain to become the country's next president.

But Zuma -- despite being marred in a series of financial scandals and leading the party to its most serious crisis in decades -- is expected to prevail.

Preliminary voting has put the incumbent well ahead of his rival in the leadership stakes, and he remains the odds-on favourite to remain in power after the 2014 elections.

But with the party in the kind of crisis seldom seen since it was banned by the apartheid government in 1960, Zuma could be in for a rocky ride.

The conference will cap a horrendous year for the storied revolutionary movement.

Despite the cadres' best efforts, 12 months of celebrations to mark the party's 100th year have been drowned out by allegations of corruption, flashes of authoritarianism and economic mismanagement which critics say borders on gross negligence.

Zuma is expected to address some of those issues in a speech later on Sunday, before candidates for key party posts are named.

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Union warned about WA dock's standards

A KARRATHA man's arm was crushed as he worked at the dock supplying Chevron's massive Gorgon LNG project in Western Australia on Saturday, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) says.

The man was airlifted to a Perth hospital after his arm became trapped between the dock and a barge at the Mermaid Marine Supply base in Dampier, which is used exclusively by Chevron.

MUA WA secretary Chris Cain described Chevron and its contractor as "cowboys", saying poor safety standards had been a problem at the Mermaid Marine Supply base for months.

"It's becoming clearer and clearer that Chevron and their contractors like Mermaid are cutting corners to make up time and money on the Gorgon project," Mr Cain said.

The union said WorkSafe WA had been warned that poor training and management made an accident "inevitable".

Safety representatives had arranged for WorkSafe WA inspectors to visit the site on Friday.

"We've got serious issues when the day after WorkSafe says there's no problem, ambulances are called to an accident of the type exactly predicted by health and safety representatives," Mr Cain said.

The union said the accident raised serious questions that need to be answered, such as why WorkSafe was called to investigate the accident hours after it happened.

WorkSafe and Mermaid Marine have been contacted for comment.

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Three boats intercepted in past 24 hours

THREE boats carrying a total of 214 people have been intercepted off Australia's north-east coast since Friday.

The boats were carrying between 54 and 101 people each.

HMAS Maryborough, operating under the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC), helped a vessel that sought assistance north-east of Christmas Island early on Saturday.

The vessel had earlier been detected by a Customs and Border Protection surveillance aircraft.

Initial indications suggest 54 passengers were on board.

On Friday a boat carrying 101 people was intercepted north of Christmas Island by HMAS Pirie, operating under the Border Protection Command, after being detected by an RAAF maritime patrol aircraft.

Border Protection Command said 97 passengers and four crew were on board.

A third boat carrying 56 passengers and three crew was intercepted by HMAS Bathurst northeast of the Ashmore Islands, also on Friday.

Passengers from all three boats will be transferred to Christmas Island for the usual security, health and identity checks.

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Two dead after shooting at US hotel

US police say a man and woman are dead after a shooting at a hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.

Las Vegas Police Lieutenant Ray Steiber said the shooting happened at about 8.30pm on Friday at the Excalibur hotel-casino.

Steiber said a man shot a woman near the front entrance of the high-rise hotel and the man then turned the gun on himself and was found dead at the scene.

Steiber said the woman was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Neither the gunman nor the victim was identified.

However, Steiber said the woman worked as a vendor at the hotel's concierge desk, where tourists can get show tickets and restaurant reservations.

He said the relationship between the shooter and the victim wasn't immediately clear.

No one else was injured.

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Gillard planting budget bombs: Baillieu

VICTORIAN drivers will pay more for licences as the state government claws back $750 million in revenue, and the premier has accused Prime Minister Julia Gillard of budget sabotage.

Delivering a slim $137 million surplus forecast for 2012/13, Premier Ted Baillieu said $1 billion had been wiped from the state's bottom line since this year's budget, largely due to a weak property market.

Estimated stamp duty revenue has been revised down by an average of $293 million a year over the next four years.

Vehicle taxes are also predicted to be $40 million less than forecast in the May budget.

Victorians will pay for the revenue downgrade with more expensive driver's licence fees and a tightening of eligibility for the $7000 first home owner grant.

Three-year driver's licence fees will be $20 more expensive from April next year and 10-year permits will be $70 higher.

To qualify for the $7000 first home owner grant, buyers will have to live in the property for a minimum of 12 months, instead of just six months.

The government is expecting to raise $75 million by selling off state-funded aged care places to private providers in Melbourne.

Government departments will be expected to trim $290 million in spending through a two per cent efficiency dividend to start from January 1, 2014.

Treasurer Kim Wells did not rule out further public sector job cuts on top of the 4200 already announced.

He said the current voluntary redundancy program was ahead of schedule, with 2300 already accepted.

Mr Wells said the states were facing sharp revenue falls but he did not support raising the rate of the GST or broadening its base.

Mr Baillieu said the federal government was to blame for a significant part of the state's revenue woes.

He said the commonwealth had announced major policies such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the Gonski education reforms that would deliver a nasty blow to the states' finances.

"It is a real problem, it's a real challenge," he told reporters.

"You can't have all of these noble initiatives without having revenue streams to be able to pay for them.

"There are time bombs being planted into the forward estimates of the commonwealth budget and state budgets and they are being planted by the commonwealth."

Shadow treasurer Tim Holding said the government was reducing services to families and was formulating a plan to increase taxes.

"The government is clearly hatching a secret plan to dramatically increase the tax burden on Victorian families and it's always someone else's fault," he told reporters.

Community and Public Sector Union Victorian secretary Karen Batt said the government was rehashing the Kennett era strategy of privatising services.

"They say it won't affect services but believe me it will," she told reporters.

"It will have a direct impact on the ability of this state to provide for our aged parents into the future."

Opposition aged care spokeswoman Jenny Mikakos said once aged care beds moved to the private sector there was no guarantee services would be available to families across Victoria.

"Once the beds get sold there is no guarantee that these private providers will keep the same number of beds open in any particular location," she told AAP.

Comment was being sought from Aged Care Minister David Davis.

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Russia denies saying Assad may fall

RUSSIA'S foreign ministry has denied that a top diplomat said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is losing control of his country.

It said in a statement on Friday that Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov "has not made any statements or special interviews recently" on Syria, but was simply citing the stance of the Syrian opposition while giving a speech on Thursday.

Russian state-owned news agencies had quoted Bogdanov as saying that rebels might win the civil war, a comment that appeared to dramatically shift Russia's stance on Syria.

The US later on Thursday commended Russia for "waking up to the reality" by acknowledging the regime's impending fall.

Analysts viewed the diplomat's statement as Russia's attempt to begin positioning itself for Assad's eventual defeat.

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Afghan interpreters get pathway to Aust

AFGHAN interpreters and others working with Australian troops and government agencies can now seek resettlement in Australia if they believe they are in danger from the Taliban.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith said this reflected Australia's view it should help current and former employees who have provided valuable support to Australia's efforts in Afghanistan.

"Australia regards itself as having a moral obligation to those Afghans who made a contribution as locally engaged employees, who may be at risk in the future when transition occurs and the Australian and international security assistance forces draw down," he told reporters in Perth on Thursday.

This has been welcomed by the opposition and Greens and follows a similar move in 2008 to allow some 600 Iraqis, who helped Australian troops in Iraq, to emigrate to Australia.

Mr Smith said those helping the Australian mission, including interpreters working with Australian soldiers - referred to by the troops as terps - employees of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, AusAID or the Australian Federal Police, would be considered for resettlement "in the usual way" under the nation's humanitarian program.

The minister said decisions would be made on a case-by-case basis and it was hard to tell how many would be accepted.

"Potentially we're looking at hundreds," he said.

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the coalition welcomed the decision.

The Afghan employees had risked their lives and those of their families by supporting Australian troops in Afghanistan and deserved to be offered protection, he said.

But he believed the government should have made the offer sooner.

"These friends of Australia should never have been asked to continue to risk their lives each day under the uncertainty caused by the delay in the government making this important decision to grant them entry to Australia," Mr Morrison said.

"The coalition today welcomes the end of that uncertainty."

Greens immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said the party had spoken out on behalf of the brave men and women who worked with Australian soldiers in Afghanistan for some time.

She said the Greens had even introduced a private member's bill seeking to allow Afghan staff to come to Australia.

"It is great to see that they will finally receive the recognition they deserve," she said in a statement.

"By offering these people, who risk their lives to help our troops, safer pathways to Australia it will stop them from having to risk dangerous boat journeys to get the protection they deserve."

Refugee Council of Australia chief executive Paul Power also welcomed the announcement, but had reservations.

"While our preference would be for these places to be in addition to the 20,000 places under the Refugee and Humanitarian Program, as was the case in 2008 when additional places were offered to Iraqis who worked with Australian troops in Iraq, we recognise that Australia's Refugee and Humanitarian Program is larger now than it was in 2008," he said.

"What is most important is that the Australian government has recognised its responsibility to protect Afghan people who have put themselves at risk to support Australia's activities in Afghanistan."

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Coastal drowning deaths rise

NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner is urging parents to be vigilant of their swimming children. Source: AAP

THERE has been a rise in coastal drowning deaths in Australia, which have hit their highest level in years.

Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) said the drowning toll was unacceptable.

From July 2011 to June 2012, 119 people drowned off the nation's coast, far higher than the eight year average of 92, according to SLS.

"This figure is significantly higher than last year's 70 coastal drowning deaths, indicating that there is significant work ahead of us to reduce the drowning toll - every life lost is one life too many," said SLSA chief executive Brett Williamson.

He said the task of ensuring the safety of all those visiting Australia's 11,912 beaches was "extremely challenging".

"Despite this extensive network of services, coastal drowning deaths are still at unacceptable levels," he added.

SLSA wants to help reduce drowning deaths by 50 per cent by 2020 - saying it is an ambitious but achievable task.

Of the drowning deaths last year, 89 per cent of the victims (106 people) were male. While 29 per cent, 35 people, were in the 15 to 29-year-old age group, the National Coastal Safety Report found that the highest drowning rate was in the 70 to 74-year-old age group, with 1.2 deaths per 100,000 population.

A total of 45 per cent of the drownings happened at a beach, with 56 per cent of people drowning within 5km of a lifesaving service.

SLS manager for NSW Dean Storey said the new figures were concerning.

"We have more people and more assets than ever before patrolling longer and further, we are investing heavily in new technology, public education campaigns and safety awareness initiatives, however we are seeing the drowning toll continue to rise," he said.

Mr Storey called on people to become more aware of coastal safety.

"With a small amount of planning and effort these tragedies could be avoided," he added.

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Hewson to join board of PNG miner Larus

Former opposition leader John Hewson will join the board of oil and gas explorer Larus Energy. Source: AAP

FORMER opposition leader John Hewson will join the board of oil and gas explorer Larus Energy as a non-executive director.

Dr Hewson will join the Papua New Guinea focused company as it develops its PNG oil and gas project.

Dr Hewson said there was considerable potential within Larus Energy's asset in PNG.

"The company is well positioned to develop and commercialise its assets," Dr Hewson said.

Dr Hewson is currently working alongside local financial interests and banks in bidding to build a gas fired power plant and a biochar project in PNG.

Larus Energy's chairman Kay Philip will step down from the board at the end of 2012.

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Russia 'deeply regrets' N. Korea rocket

RUSSIA says it deeply regrets North Korea's long-range rocket launch, and warns it would do nothing to help regional stability.

"Russia deeply regrets the new rocket launch undertaken by North Korea in defiance of international opinion, including calls by Moscow," the foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The launch would "not help the strengthening of stability and would have a negative effect" on the situation in the region, it added.

Russia said it was "unacceptable" that the launch flew in the face of UN Security Council resolution 1874 that bans North Korea from the use of ballistic missile technology in rocket launches.

It called on North Korea to refrain from any new steps that would contradict UN Security Council resolutions but also urged "other sides" not to take actions that could further raise tensions.

The defence ministry said that trajectory of the rocket had not taken it over Russian territory.

"Experts are now looking at data to determine whether a new satellite is in orbit," the spokesman of the defence ministry's airspaces forces Alexei Zolotukhin told Interfax.

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Respected police officer to be farewelled

Slain police officer Bryson Anderson will be remembered at a public service in Sydney on Wednesday. Source: AAP

FAMILY, friends, dignitaries and the public will gather on Wednesday to honour the life of a respected Sydney detective killed in the line of duty.

Bryson Anderson, a 45-year-old father of three, will be farewelled at a full police funeral at St Patrick's Cathedral in Parramatta.

"We'll no doubt mourn (him)," Commissioner Andrew Scipione told the Fairfax Radio Network on Tuesday.

"We'll cry hard but we'll also remember the fine things he's done. We'll acknowledge him, the leader he was in communities."

Detective Inspector Anderson was stabbed after responding to a neighbour dispute at Oakville, in Sydney's northwest, on Thursday.

He worked as a duty officer at Hawkesbury local area command and recently turned down a promotion in order to continue in the job he loved.

"He was larger than life," Mr Scipione said.

"Having said that, he was well-respected. There were people that looked up to him. He always brought a laugh to any conversation. On top of that he was compassionate and caring."

VIPs including Premier Barry O'Farrell, Governor Marie Bashir, Parramatta Lord Mayor John Chedid and Mr Scipione will attend the service.

Bishop Anthony Fisher will preside over the church proceedings that are expected to last two hours.

Mourners will hear eulogies from Insp Anderson's wife, Donna, his brother Warwick, who is a retired police officer, and another brother Damian.

Mr Scipione invited the public to attend and said overflow arrangements would be in place for those to listen to the proceedings from outside the cathedral.

Afterwards, a roadside guard and marching escort will proceed along Victoria Road between Marist Place and O'Connell Street.

Participants will include the Mounted Unit, Police Band and uniformed officers, as well as visiting interstate commissioners and deputies.

The procession will also include the hearse carrying Insp Anderson's coffin, and his pallbearers.

Motorists are advised Victoria Road will be closed between Church and O'Connell Streets from 3pm until 6pm.

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High Court hears landmark Palm Island case

A LANDMARK case before the High Court about the validity of alcohol restrictions for indigenous people on Palm Island could have broader implications for programs that target only Aboriginal people.

On Tuesday, the High Court in Canberra began hearing an appeal from indigenous woman Joan Monica Maloney who was convicted of alcohol possession on Palm Island in 2010.

Ms Maloney is challenging the Queensland law that restricts alcohol on Palm Island on the basis that it contravenes the Racial Discrimination Act and constitution.

The alcohol restrictions are considered "special measures" under racial discrimination laws.

The High Court accepted an application from the peak indigenous body, the National Congress of Australia's First People, to make submissions as a friend of the court.

Congress spokeswoman Jody Broun said "special measures" were used across Australia to enact laws for the "advancement" of indigenous people without any yardstick for their effectiveness, duration or community support and acceptance.

"The legal principles, rather than the details of this case, provide the opportunity for a watershed moment in Australian history," she said in a statement.

Ms Broun said the case went to the heart of the nation's conversation on constitutional reform, in light of moves to recognise Aboriginal people in the constitution and scrap race-based sections.

"Is there any place in a modern Australia for race-based laws which do not treat everyone equally under the law," she asked.

The Palm Island alcohol management plan has attracted controversy since it was introduced in 2006.

The Townsville Bulletin reported last year, that one-third of the island's adult population was in court for breaching the alcohol restrictions on a single day in September 2010.

The Human Rights Law Centre is assisting the Congress on a pro-bono basis.

"If the government is genuinely committed to making a positive difference for Aboriginal communities, it must respect and empower those communities, not impose predetermined solutions," law centre spokesman Ben Schokman said.

AAP understand that, if successful, Ms Maloney's case could potentially have broader implications including for the ten year extension of the Northern Territory Intervention, depending on how the High Court defines special measures, advancement and consultations.

In its submissions to the court, the Congress argues special measures must be designed and implemented on the basis of prior consultation and active participation of the communities affected.

The Federal Attorney General and state counterparts from Western Australia and South Australia have filed submissions to intervene in the case.

Lawyers for the Federal Attorney General have argued in submissions that the appellant's reliance on the UN declaration of the rights of indigenous people concerning "free, prior and informed consent" is flawed.

The submission notes there is a lack of international consensus about meaning of this term.

Although Australia supports the declaration, it is not binding, the submission says.

The High Court is likely to hand down a decision on the case early next year.

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Taliban attack Pakistan police station

TALIBAN militants armed with a rocket, hand grenades and automatic weapons have attacked a police station in northwestern Pakistan, killing six people, police say.

The attack occurred on Monday in the city of Bannu, which serves as a gateway to the North Waziristan tribal area, the main sanctuary for Taliban and al-Qaeda militants in Pakistan. The city has been hit by repeated attacks over the year.

The militants began the attack by firing a rocket at the gate of the police station and tossing hand grenades, triggering a battle with police last lasted over an hour, said senior police officer Wagar Ahmed.

Three policemen and three civilians were killed in the attack, said Ahmed. The civilians were coming out of a nearby mosque when they were shot by the militants. Eight people were wounded, including three policemen and five civilians.

Three militants were killed during the attack and one escaped.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to The Associated Press from an undisclosed location.

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Sydney bombing investigation leaps forward

POLICE have made a series of breakthroughs in their investigation of the terrorist bombings of the Israeli consulate and a Jewish club in Sydney 30 years ago.

Operation Forbearance has leapt forward since the NSW Police, Australian Federal Police (AFP), NSW Crime Commission and ASIO reopened the case in August.

Police have established the gas cylinders that formed part of the car bomb that exploded on December 23, 1982, at the Hakoah Club, at Bondi, had been stolen from Sydney's Central station.

They have also identified a third person of interest, a woman, and two more vehicles linked to the two attacks.

They are consulting with the FBI and the Israeli police to compare the components used in the Hakoah bomb with devices used in similar bombings around the world in that era.

Terrorism Investigation Squad commander Wayne Gordon told reporters the cylinders - once used to fuel motorised luggage trolleys on the platforms at Central station - were traced back to the former State Rail Authority using the latest forensic technology.

"The investigation has progressed," he told reporters in Sydney on Monday.

"And the jigsaw and the pieces of it are starting to come together."

He said Forbearance was the first cold case involving terrorism in Australia that had been reopened.

Police released an image of a woman they suspect was involved in buying the vehicle used in the Hakoah Club attack.

They also released a photo of a silver 1979 Chrysler station wagon, believed to be the type of vehicle used to transport the woman and her co-offenders, previously identified as two men.

The three were in their 20s at the time, police believe, and may have been linked to the May 15 Organisation, a pro-Palestinian terrorist group.

Police also believe the three are still alive and some could be living in Australia.

Authorities have interviewed a number of witnesses and people of interest relating to the attacks.

Police also issued photos of a 1970 green Ford Falcon, the same make, model and colour as a stolen vehicle found burned out after the attack.

The stolen Falcon's number plates had been removed and attached to a 1970 green Valiant sedan used in the Hakoah Club bombing.

The bombing at the Israeli consulate general in William Street earlier on December 23 injured two people and caused significant damage.

Only one of the two gas cylinders in the Hakoah Club attack exploded, damaging only the underground car park where the vehicle was parked and other vehicles.

"It was quite clear that the intent was to drop that building," Det Chief Supt Gordon said.

He also asked that anyone with information come forward.

"We are confident people in the community know (something)," he said.

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