Ash grounds flights to Darwin, Bali

A massive ash cloud from an Indonesian volcano may disrupt aviation in parts of Australia. Source: AAP

DARWIN remains cut off to all air services until Sunday, and flights from Australia to Bali are now affected, as three separate ash plumes billow from an Indonesian volcano.

A meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology's Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Darwin, Tim Birch, said the Sangeang Api volcano off the Indonesian island of Sumbawa is now erupting continuously after an initial blast on Friday afternoon.

Darwin International Airport was closed to all inbound and outbound flights on Saturday, and Mr Birch said Bali's airspace is now also affected.

The major plume affecting Australian aviation is sweeping southeast over the west side of the Northern Territory as far south as Alice Springs, Mr Birch said.

The plume that is affecting Darwin will be around for the next 18 hours. We will see the plume here start to move east will start to move out of the Northern Territory and move steadily east in the location of Mount Isa (in Queensland) and it will start to dissipate," he told AAP.

This would affect Darwin flights on Sunday and is likely to dissipate, Mr Birch said.

A second, hovering north of Darwin between 9.5km and 16km in the air, may cause problems for flights between Australia and Malaysia and Singapore, he said.

A third, lower-level plume is drifting west from the volcano and is within 100km of Bali.

"The volcano is still erupting as it has done for most of the day, but not as violently as initially erupted but there is a steady plume," Mr Birch said.

Virgin Australia spokeswoman Jacqui Abbott confirmed two Saturday afternoon flights to Denpasar - one from Adelaide and on from Melbourne - have now been cancelled.

Qantas Group spokeswoman Kira Reed said Jetstar has cancelled an Adelaide-Denpasar flight that went via Darwin, and all its services to and from Darwin remain grounded.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said it may be days before flights through northern Australia return to normal.

"Depending on wind and other weather conditions, the ash has the potential to affect flights to and from other airports, including Brisbane, during coming days. This is currently being fully assessed," he said.

"Passengers are advised to check with their airlines for further information."

Airservices Australia has begun diverting international flights around the ash cloud.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority says volcanic ash can affect all aircraft with piston or jet engines at all flight levels.

Fine particles of pulverised rock consisting mainly of silica contained in volcanic ash clouds can be highly abrasive and damage aircraft engines, structures and windows.

00.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

One dead and six injured in NSW crash

A MAN is dead and six people, including two children, have been injured in a head-on collision at Coffs Harbour on NSW's north coast.

The 58-year-old was killed when a Nissan Pulsar and Ford Falcon collided on Hogbin Drive just before 1pm on Saturday, police say.

The man, a rear passenger in the Falcon, was taken to Coffs Harbour Health Campus but died a short time later.

The driver of the Pulsar - a 31-year-old woman - was taken to hospital with leg and wrist injuries.

Among her passengers, a nine-year-old girl and five-year-old boy were also hospitalised with serious injuries.

The 59-year-old female driver of the Falcon suffered multiple fractures to her arms and legs.

And a 19-year-old man, a passenger in the Falcon, was taken to hospital with internal injuries.

An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash is underway with police urging witnesses to come forward.

00.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Seven years' jail for Halloween killer

NEARLY four years ago, Ardavaz Delir lost his son in a way no parent would want to imagine.

Eden Delir was 17 when he was surrounded by a group of gatecrashers at a Sydney Halloween party, savagely bashed and struck on the head with a wine bottle with such ferocity it smashed.

Eden was found lying unconscious and covered in blood beside a nearby house, where he ran to try to save himself before collapsing.

He never regained consciousness and died in hospital a week later from head injuries.

On Friday, the teenager who delivered the fatal blow was sentenced to at least seven years jail for manslaughter.

The 18-year-old, who cannot be named because he was 15 at the time, was handed a maximum jail term of 10 years.

Last November, he had been found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.

Ardavaz Delir said he knew the sentence would not bring back his son, but he was glad Eden's life had been given a value by the court system.

"Two or three years, that would have been a slap in the face," he said outside the NSW Supreme Court.

"When you see in the media what's happening with some unrealistic sentences, we are pleased by it."

In handing down the sentence, Justice Peter Hall told the court the attack was unprovoked and brutal.

The offender sat impassive in the dock as Justice Hall acknowledged the "exceptionally painful and tragic" ordeal Eden's parents continued to endure.

Eden's mother, Dorothy, who sat next to her husband, held her hand to her mouth for the entire proceedings.

The court heard that soon after the gatecrashers arrived at the party, they recognised Eden as someone they had once robbed, with one of the six young men pointing at him and saying, "That's the guy that snitched."

The boys, one of whom a witness said wielded a tubular metal pole, surrounded the 17-year-old, punched him to the ground and kicked him in the head and body.

The offender then smashed the glass bottle over his head.

Justice Hall said the fact the young men outnumbered Eden without any warning and continued to inflict blows even after he fell to the ground outlined the "complete callousness" of the crime.

The teenager will serve the beginning of his sentence in a juvenile facility, and will be transferred to an adult jail when he turns 21.

He will be eligible for parole in October 2020.

00.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Zuckerberg donates $A130m to schools

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly donating $A130 million to US public schools. Source: AAP

FACEBOOK CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are donating $US120 million ($A130 million) to the San Francisco Bay Area's public school system.

The couple's gift will be spread over the next five years and is the biggest allocation to date of the $US1.1 billion in Facebook stock the couple pledged last year to the nonprofit Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

"Education is incredibly expensive and this is a drop in the bucket. What we are trying to do is catalyse change by exploring and promoting the development of new interventions and new models," Chan, said in an interview at Facebook's Menlo Park, California headquarters.

The first $US5 million will go to school districts in San Francisco, Ravenswood and Redwood City and will focus on principal training, classroom technology and helping students transition from the 8th to the 9th grade. The couple and their foundation, called Startup: Education, determined the issues of most urgent need based on discussions with school administrators and local leaders.

Zuckerberg and Chan, a pediatrician, discussed the donation in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press.

It was Chan's first significant step into the public spotlight and the couple's premier interview together.

The two met while studying at Harvard and married in their Palo Alto backyard on May 19, 2012 - the day after Facebook's stock began publicly trading in a rocky initial public offering that now seems a distant memory. In 2010, they joined Giving Pledge, an effort led by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett to get the country's richest people to donate most of their wealth.

"I'm really focused on connecting the world. That's my main thing, and you're primarily focused on children," said Zuckerberg.

Chan, 29, and Zuckerberg, 30, have made philanthropy a central theme of their life together. The two made the largest charitable gift on record for 2013. That $US1.1 billion donation was on top of another $US500 million the couple gave a year earlier to the Silicon Valley foundation, which helps donors allocate their gifts.

00.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aquila takeover wins FIRB approval

CHINESE steelmaker Baosteel and Australian rail operator Aurizon have moved a step closer to sealing their $1.42 billion takeover of Aqulia Resources.

The Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approved the deal on Thursday.

The offer still needs approval from Aquila's shareholders before it can go ahead.

Aurizon boss Lance Hockridge and Baosteel's chairman Zhihao Dai welcomed the FIRB's decision.

Aquila said shareholders should take no action until the company's independent board sub-committee comes up with a formal recommendation on the offer.

The Chinese steelmaker Baosteel and Aurizon plan to kickstart the stalled $10 billion West Pilbara Iron Ore Project if they succeed in their joint takeover bid.

Aquila Resources holds a 50 per cent stake in the project.

Analysts have said the deal is attractive for Aquila shareholders, but major hurdles remain for the completion of such a large-scale mine, rail and port project.

Aquila shares closed one cent higher at $3.52 while Aurizon was flat at $4.94.

00.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Search for man missing in Melbourne

POLICE are appealing for public help to find a Melbourne man missing since Friday.

Toni Rabottini, from Sandhurst, was last seen in Dandenong about 9am on May 24.

The 49-year-old suffers from a medical condition and police and family members are concerned for his welfare.

Investigators believe Mr Rabottini may be frequenting the Carrum Downs area.

He is described as Caucasian and about 165cm tall, with a solid build and short dark hair.

Anyone who sees Mr Rabottini is urged to contact triple zero immediately.

00.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Work-for-the-dole scheme returns

Young people in areas of high unemployment will have to work 15 hours a week to get the dole. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has urged young Australians not to waste their lives as the government unveiled details of its revamped work-for-the-dole scheme.

From July, unemployed people aged 18 to 30 in 18 areas who have been receiving Youth Allowance or Newstart for 12 months or more will have to work 15 hours a week to get the dole.

"What we have said to the young people of Australia is don't waste your life - leave school and either improve your education or get a job," Mr Abbott told parliament.

But welfare groups say restarting work for the dole will be less effective than wage subsidies.

The areas targeted in the first phase have high youth unemployment, which has averaged 13 per cent nationally since the September 2013 election.

The government will not need to change legislation to restart the program initiated under the Howard government.

The National Welfare Rights Network said work for the dole had proven ineffective in the past as a way of getting people into long-term jobs.

Programs should focus on new skills, providing work activities that offer a better chance of getting into long-term jobs and increasing and indexing payments.

Network spokesman Gerard Thomas said previous studies of work for the dole found many people had less time to look for work and wage subsidy programs had a better success rate.

A government study showed 47 per cent of extremely disadvantaged job seekers in wage subsidy programs were still in work after six months - more than double that under the previous work-for-the-dole program.

Labor employment services spokeswoman Julie Collins said that while the government was rolling out work for the dole it was cutting other programs which had been proven to work.

"They need meaningful work and meaningful training to connect them with the work," she said.

Australian Council of Social Service chief Cassandra Goldie said the focus should be on joint ventures with business leaders, investors, communities and social services.

"A first step would be to increase the availability of places in cost-effective wage subsidy programs, mentoring, career counselling and vocational programs," she said.

Ms Goldie said the government had accepted the value of work subsidies in announcing in the budget a $10,000 payment to employers who hired workers over the age of 50.

00.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Katter party MP moves for son

Katter Party state leader Ray Hopper has switched seats for his son Ben to run in his old one. Source: AAP

KATTER'S Australian Party's Queensland leader Ray Hopper has moved to a new electorate ahead of the state election to make way for his son.

Ben Hopper will now contest the seat of Condamine, while his father will stand in the neighbouring electorate of Nanango against the Liberal National Party's Deb Frecklington.

Premier Campbell Newman has described the move as "musical chairs", while his deputy Jeff Seeney said Mr Hopper Sr was a joke.

"He's jumped around from party to party, from issue to issue and he's made himself completely irrelevant to Queensland politics," Mr Seeney said.

Mr Hopper Sr said he and his son would be two of 10 KAP candidates who would fight for outback Queensland electorates that used to be Nationals territory, but had been abandoned.

He said it would be stupid for his party to go against the Palmer United Party in other seats, so it was pooling all its resources into the 10 regional seats, which would also include Dalrymple, Mount Isa and Gympie.

Mr Hopper said his son, a labourer, used to "hold his breath until his face turned blue" and would be just as determined in parliament.

"God help them if they had two Hoppers sitting up there," he said.

Mr Hopper Jr said his dad, a former LNP MP, did the right thing by defecting from the party, particularly after it reneged on a promise not to push ahead with expansion of the Acland coal mine near Toowoomba.

"He had to do it," he said.

"It comes down to a man's integrity I suppose."

00.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Three-year-old girl dies in Mount Isa

AN investigation is under way to determine how a three-year-old girl died in an outback Queensland home.

Police say the toddler was driven from a home in Mount Isa to the mining town's hospital, where she was declared dead about 7.30pm on Monday.

No other information has been released.

00.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Frail, dazed Rogerson put behind bars

Former NSW cop Roger Rogerson (C) has been taken away for questioning over the murder of Jamie Gao. Source: AAP

HE was once considered one of the toughest cops in a tough town.

But former Sydney detective Roger Rogerson cut a frail, dazed figure as the 73-year-old was frogmarched from his modest suburban home to police custody on Tuesday.

A media pack surrounded Rogerson's Padstow Heights home waiting for a glimpse of the man for whom police had searched interstate.

Rogerson had been in Queensland on Monday for a speaking event, work in which he has dabbled since his departure from the police force in the late 1980s.

Sydney's detectives had flown to Brisbane on Monday to talk to Rogerson about the murder of Jamie Gao, 20, a week before.

But it seemed the former detective had found his own way home to Sydney's southwest.

Around 11am Tuesday, an hour before Rogerson had agreed to attend the Sydney Police Centre, several detectives arrived at his home.

Two targeted the side gate, with one effortlessly leaping over into Rogerson's side yard.

Up to four others banged on the front door, before walking in and intervening on a meeting between Rogerson and his lawyer Paul Kenny in the home's office.

Rogerson's wife was also home and the pet dog barked incessantly as the drama unfolded.

Less than 10 minutes later, an incensed Mr Kenny came out blazing and deploring the behaviour of the arresting officers.

A rattled Rogerson, who clutched a jacket in his cuffed hands, faced a wall of cameras outside his home minutes after.

As microphones were thrust in his direction and reporters tripped over each other to get a question in, Rogerson got a final word before he was led into a waiting undercover car: "We're back to the Gestapo days now."

Mr Kenny was left in his client's front yard, pacing back and forth and labelling the surprise detective visit an "absolute disgrace".

00.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Speaker stands by fundraising event

Speaker Bronwyn Bishop must explain what took place in her suite on budget night, says Labor. Source: AAP

SPEAKER Bronwyn Bishop has refused to reveal details of how her parliamentary office was used for a Liberal Party fundraising event.

Labor says a $2500 a head budget night function in the speaker's Parliament House office - revealed in weekend newspaper reports and not denied by Ms Bishop - is unprecedented and breaches the independence of the role.

Ms Bishop told parliament on Monday that all members of parliament were entitled to use their suites "for their own purposes, but not for illegal purposes".

The opposition asked her to reflect on her ruling, but she stood by her statement.

When Labor asked for the matter to be referred to the privileges committee for investigation, the government voted down the motion.

"This is a motion about smear and innuendo directed at the speaker's office," Leader of the House Christopher Pyne said, noting political fundraising events were held in Parliament House all the time.

As long as the costs were covered privately or by a political party there was no breach of the rules, he said.

Opposition frontbencher Tony Burke said the speaker's suite was a special case and the fundraiser represented "improper interference" in the independence of the office.

"This is not an ordinary venue," he told parliament.

"Your job is not owned by the Liberal Party."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who is understood to have attended the fundraiser, told parliament Labor was looking for distractions from its lack of policy.

"They worry about what might be in what room at what time in this parliament," he said.

Taking aim at Labor leader Bill Shorten the prime minister said: "Really and truly, this man is no Bob Hawke - he is no leader."

Labor has been critical of Ms Bishop's appointment from an early stage, especially in her handling of question time and biased language.

She has suspended 101 opposition MPs from parliament, but none from the government.

That image was reinforced when Ms Bishop said, after Mr Burke finished his speech: "I find it a bit rough to be lectured on morality from you."

Earlier, the secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services, Carol Mills, told a Senate estimates hearing she was unaware of any rule preventing such a use of the speaker's suite.

"It is up to the speaker, president or the other holders of special suites to decide how to use them," she said.

Greens senator Lee Rhiannon asked for a list of events held in Parliament House over the past three years to ascertain how many were party fundraisers.

Two previous speakers, Anna Burke and Harry Jenkins, have said they never used the suite for political fundraising events.

00.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Qld ministers livid with dissenting ex-MP

A FORMER Queensland government MP says "very senior" ministers wanted to hurl something at the TV when he gave interviews criticising new laws on political donations.

Chris Davis quit parliament on Friday, saying he could not support the Newman government's decision to dramatically increase the amount of money individuals can donate, in secret, to political parties.

The former member for Stafford says "very senior colleagues" told him they wanted to throw something at the TV when he criticised the government's contentious electoral reforms.

"When one has tried to debate these sensibly ... that to me is pretty intolerant," Dr Davis told Fairfax Radio on Monday.

"When you've got to play the person, you've really lost the debate and ... I couldn't work within that sort of culture."

The former geriatric medicine doctor said Premier Campbell Newman was fostering a culture of intolerance within the Liberal National Party.

"It's a broad culture and in my experience of leadership roles, it starts at the top," he told the ABC.

"And so I assume if we're going to have a change, it would have to start in the top leadership group. I think self-evidently with the leader."

But the LNP's Rob Cavallucci said MPs had every opportunity to raise issues of concern with the premier.

"Primarily there is the party room, where everyone can have free and open debate. We have enormously robust debate within the context of the party room," the Brisbane Central MP told the ABC.

"Any of us can call the premier at any time of the day or night, and he'll always be happy to receive the call, as will other ministers."

Dr Davis has ruled out running as an independent, and said he had received offers from other political parties including the Greens.

Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie said he never made any comments about wanting to throw something at the TV when Dr Davis was on air.

Although Mr Bleijie said it was unfortunate Dr Davis chose to air his concerns publicly.

"There are numerous avenues for MPs to have their say or raise concerns about policies including party room, backbench committees or simply contacting the relevant minister," he told AAP.

"Unfortunately, Chris never came to me with any of his concerns."

But deputy premier Jeff Seeney hasn't denied Dr Davis' allegation.

When asked whether he said he wanted to throw something at the TV while Dr Davis was giving an interview, Mr Seeney told AAP: "Debate is essential in the parliamentary party room and it is something that is encouraged."

00.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Australian snorkeller dies off Fiji resort

A 36-year-old Australian man has died while snorkelling off Fiji's coral coast. Source: AAP

A 36-YEAR-OLD Australian man has died while snorkelling off Fiji's coral coast.

The man was staying with a friend at a five-star resort on the west coast of the main island Viti Levu when he went snorkelling alone on Saturday.

He was reported missing by the resort, Outrigger on the Lagoon Fiji, about 7.45pm when he hadn't returned his snorkelling equipment and his belongings were found on the beach.

"The person in question was snorkelling late in the evening and did not return to his accommodation," general manager Peter Hopgood said.

Resort staff and local fishermen searched until after midnight and were back out again at first light on Sunday.

The man's body was found by locals from a neighbouring village at 9.50am on Sunday, washed onto the coral reef.

His body was taken to a morgue at nearby Sigatoka.

The resort's management extended "heartfelt condolences" to the man's family and friends.

In a letter to guests, it asked them to "refrain from entering the ocean after dark".

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was in contact with the man's family.

"The department is providing consular assistance to the family of a 36-year-old man who died in Fiji," a DFAT spokesperson said.

It's the second death of an Australian in Fiji this month.

Ten days ago, Sydney father-of-three Mark Hardaker, 40, was killed in a collision between two boats while holidaying with his family.

00.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shorten denies role in PM family attacks

Margie Abbott (pic) does not do enough charity work says former first bloke Tim Mathieson. Source: AAP

LABOR has angrily denied suggestions that Opposition Leader Bill Shorten orchestrated a series of attacks against Prime Minister Tony Abbott's family in the media.

Mr Abbott's family was thrust into the spotlight this week, with criticisms made about his wife's charity work and allegations of favouritism involving two of his daughters.

The prime minister accused some media outlets for "dirt digging", but one of his senior government ministers has now blamed federal Labor leader Bill Shorten for orchestrating the "repugnant" attacks.

Health Minister Peter Dutton accused Mr Shorten of withdrawing from the media at the same time his office "quite deliberately" launched these attacks against the Abbott family.

"I believe very strongly that this is an orchestrated attack by Bill Shorten and it needs to stop," Mr Dutton told Network Ten on Sunday.

Mr Shorten's office has rejected the allegations, calling them "wrong, hurtful and completely without foundation".

"Bill has made his position very clear that families should not be dragged into the political debate," a spokesman for Mr Shorten told AAP in a statement.

"This shows the government will stoop to any low it can to distract from its budget failure."

AAP understands the prime minister's office was contacted by Mr Shorten on Wednesday when questions started being asked about a $60,000 scholarship awarded to Mr Abbott's youngest daughter Frances.

It's understood Mr Shorten told the office Labor was not behind the story and believed families should be kept off limits.

A subsequent story carried complaints about the appointment of Mr Abbott's eldest daughter Louise to a government job in Geneva.

Yet another story published on Sunday aired criticisms from Julia Gillard's partner Tim Mathieson about Margie Abbott's commitment to charity.

A spokeswoman for the prime minister declined to comment on Mr Dutton's allegations, saying the stories about the Abbott family were of a personal nature and a distraction from the budget.

00.51 | 0 komentar | Read More