Hard line on boats paying off: Morrison

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says the government's tough stance on asylum seekers is working. Source: AAP

NO people-smuggling venture had succeeded in landing asylum seekers on Australia for more than four months, the government says.

In the latest update on Operation Sovereign Borders, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday that vigorous border protection activities was deterring illegal boat arrivals, even into the post-monsoon period when weather conditions usually improve.

Mr Morrison said the practice of turning back unauthorised boats remained in effect.

"Anyone seeking to enter Australia illegally by boat will be faced with the same policies those who previously attempted illegal entry met," he said in a statement.

Mr Morrison said no one had reached Australia since December 19 and that continued this month. But 3351 on 47 boats arrived in April 2013 under the former Labor government.

The latest Operation Sovereign Borders operational update says there are now 1281 in the processing centre on Manus Island and 1177 on Nauru, making a total of 2458.

Another 1405 remain on Christmas Island. During the last week, eight asylum seekers were transferred to Nauru.

Seven unauthorised maritime arrival transferees were voluntarily returned to Iran.

Since Operation Sovereign Borders started on September 18, 220 asylum seekers have voluntarily returned to their home countries.

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Magnitude 6.5 quake strikes off Tonga

A STRONG 6.5-magnitude earthquake has struck off the Pacific nation of Tonga, the US Geological Survey says, but there has been no immediate tsunami warning or reports of significant damage.

The undersea quake hit 71 kilometres northeast of the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres on Saturday, the USGS said.

Residents reported a "short, very violent" jolt at around 0600 GMT (1600 AEST) that knocked items off shelves and sent people fleeing for higher ground, though there was no indication of a tsunami.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue an alert, and the USGS said there was a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

Geoscience Australia estimated the tremor at a magnitude 6.3 and said it was likely to have been felt within a wide radius but damage was unlikely.

Tonga sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a region of frequent seismic activity due to collisions between continental plates.

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More peace, less Simpson says Tas governor

TASMANIAN Governor Peter Underwood has told Hobart's Anzac Day ceremony Australia needs to understand the truth of its involvement in war.

Mr Underwood has called for peace studies centres to be funded and for the Anzac centenary in 2015 to be a designated Year of Peace.

The governor is renowned for his strongly worded anti-war Anzac Day addresses, and last year implored Australians to avoid glorifying the centenary.

More than six thousand people have attended Hobart's dawn service while seven thousand in Launceston didn't let near-freezing temperatures deter them.

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Smaller crowd falls silent at Gallipoli

THIS year's dawn service at Gallipoli was billed as a dress rehearsal for the 2015 centenary but a smaller-than-expected turnout made it a very intimate affair.

Some 4400 mostly Australian and New Zealand pilgrims were at North Beach 12 months out from the 100th anniversary when 10,500 people will be crammed on to the site.

The crowd on Friday was reminded that reverential silence on the often eerily quiet Turkish peninsula is a tribute to the diggers who died in 1915.

Veterans' Affairs Minister Michael Ronaldson said the soldiers who landed at Anzac Cove 99 years ago were, by their own admission, ordinary men.

"They did not seek glory, nor did they want their actions to be glorified - for it was they who quickly came to know the true horror of war," the minister said as the sun rose over the Gallipoli cliffs.

"That these ordinary men, however, did extraordinary things is beyond doubt."

Senator Ronaldson said the Anzacs left a vanquished fighting force but "were victorious in helping forge the identity of our two new nations".

"As the dawn of this new day breaks over the peninsula our tribute to the spirit of Anzac is a reverential silence," he said.

Some 8700 Australians died during the eight-month campaign alongside 2700 New Zealanders.

It's estimated up to 87,000 Turks lost their lives.

The modern Turkish nation, too, was built partly on the back of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's success as a commander at Gallipoli. He went on to become the republic's first president in 1923.

Young Australian Erinn Cooper camped out overnight to represent her father and grandfather at the dawn service.

The 22-year-old comes from a military family - her father served in East Timor and Iraq while her grandfather fought in World War II.

"It's really mind-blowing to be here," she said.

"Anzac Day is our biggest day of the year. It's a really big thing in our family."

Ms Cooper considered applying for the centenary in 2015 but decided the ballot was too risky.

"Coming this year was something we could actually make happen."

Organisers saw this year's service as a dress rehearsal for 2015.

But while the crowd will be much bigger next year, it will also potentially be more manageable.

Authorities know exactly who's coming because the event is ticketed.

Further, the pilgrims will be older on average because 1600 passes were set aside for direct descendants and veterans.

In 2015, only 25 per cent of visitors will be under 35, whereas usually 60 per cent are in that age group.

Australian authorities think it's likely Prince Charles will attend the centenary service in Gallipoli although his spokeswoman has told AAP it is "too early to say".

Prince William this week revealed he was looking forward to "taking part in next year's Gallipoli centenary" along with wife Kate and brother Prince Harry.

That led to speculation they'd be at North Beach but a palace spokesman has clarified they could attend any number of Anzac ceremonies anywhere in the world.

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Franklin says crash 'just an accident'

Swans player Lance Franklin says he is truly sorry for crashing into five parked cars in Sydney. Source: AAP

AFL superstar Lance Franklin says he wasn't on the phone or speeding when he crashed into four parked cars and he admits he's frustrated at being back in the spotlight for another off-field incident.

Franklin has been fined $405 and lost three demerit points over the crash, but Sydney won't be taking action against their $10 million recruit.

The Swans forward says he didn't see a car parked on the left as he drove his girlfriend's sponsored 4WD through the Sydney suburb of Rose Bay on Wednesday night, clipped it and then slammed into three other cars after the airbags went off.

"I wasn't texting at all. I wasn't doing anything. I wasn't speeding," he said before Swans training at the SCG on Thursday.

"It was just an accident, accidents happen and as I said I'm so great (sic) that no one was hurt in this case and for the people's cars that were hit, we can get them fixed up as soon as possible and move on."

He said he was shocked and shaky after the accident, but also annoyed at himself.

"Obviously there's frustration, more for myself than anyone," he said.

"I don't want to see myself in the spotlight. Obviously I've found myself in it again but I just want to move forward as quickly as possible and get on to this week's game."

Police interviewed Franklin at the scene on New South Head Road and gave him a breath test, which returned a negative reading, before issuing him with a ticket for negligent driving.

Sydney coach John Longmire said the club accepted Franklin's explanation and he'll play against Melbourne on Saturday.

"Ultimately he's here to play football and it was a really unfortunate thing that happened last night but we're here to prepare today and prepare for Melbourne this week and that's what we'll continue to do," Longmire said.

"The police spoke to him for half an hour after the incident and they're satisfied with what Lance said as well. So we'll get into football mode."

He was driving his model girlfriend Jesinta Campbell's $77,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee, given to her as part of her role as a brand ambassador for the carmaker.

The car was towed away with significant damage to its front end and there's speculation the incident may affect Ms Campbell's deal with Jeep.

Franklin was on the other end of an accident involving a borrowed car in March when he lent his Mercedes to teammate Dan Hanneberry who crashed it.

Full forward Franklin, 27, moved from premiers Hawthorn to Sydney last October in a nine-year deal that raised eyebrows.

He is yet to capture the dominant form that made him such a success at Hawthorn, while Sydney has denied reports he has not settled into the club's culture and is a bad influence on their young players.

News Corp reported in February that paramedics were called to Franklin's Bondi flat on January 3, after he collapsed because of an apparent seizure.

In 2012, Franklin lost his licence for six months after he was caught speeding 40km/h over the limit in Melbourne's Brighton East.

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Whitehaven cuts coal guidance

WHITEHAVEN Coal shares have fallen after the miner cut its full year production guidance by up to eight per cent due to operational problems.

The northern NSW miner revised its guidance from 10.7 million tonnes of saleable coal to between 9.8 million and 10 million tonnes.

The company has had to stop production in a section of its key Narrabri mine due to safety issues relating to roof supports.

A return to production is still two to three weeks away.

Production had also been hampered by previously disclosed geotechnical challenges at another mine, Rocglen, the company said.

Whitehaven shares dropped 4.5 cents, or 2.8 per cent, to $1.56.

Whitehaven had some good news last week when the Commonwealth Department of the Environment found the company's biodiversity offsets package for its controversial flagship Maules Creek project complied with approval conditions.

Development of the Maules Creek mine has been met with vocal criticism from locals.

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Brisbane man's death not suspicious

Streets have been shut down after a man's body was found on a Brisbane road after a violent assault. Source: AAP

THE death of a man whose body was found on a Brisbane street is not considered suspicious.

An east Brisbane suburb was locked down on Wednesday morning after the 51-year-old's body was discovered following a domestic dispute which involved an assault.

Officers were called to Idamea Street at Carina Heights after reports of a fight about 2.30am.

The man's body was found a few blocks away a short time later.

Investigators shut off streets and set up crime scenes where the body was found, as well as at the scene of the earlier assault.

But Queensland police said later in the day the man's death was no longer being treated as suspicious.

The dead man and the victim of the assault, a woman in her 40s, were known to each other.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978.

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Titanic boost in search for MH370

A SONAR tracking system similar to that used to find the Titanic almost 30 years ago may be deployed in the hunt for MH370 with a mini-submarine involved in the search so far failing to discover any trace of the plane.

The autonomous underwater vehicle Bluefin-21 has scoured more than 80 per cent of the search area, which on Wednesday was centred about 855km northwest of Perth, with no sign of the missing Boeing Boeing 777 that disappeared on March 8 with 239 people aboard.

Authorities in Australia on Wednesday said the area where the search is focused remains the best lead, but they may soon deploy more powerful towed side-scan sonar equipment, similar to that which found the Titanic in 3.8km-deep waters in the Atlantic Ocean in 1985.

The same system was used to find HMAS Sydney in 2008, which was located north of the MH370 search area.

The development came as Prime Minister Tony Abbott insisted the search would continue while there was a reasonable hope of finding something.

"Australia will not rest until we have done everything we humanly can to get to the bottom of this mystery," he told reporters in Canberra.

The Bluefin-21 is focusing on a circular area with a radius of 10km where the second acoustic signal was picked up by a towed pinger locator on April 8. Acoustic signals were also picked up in the vicinity on April 5.

Defence Minister David Johnston on Wednesday said that if the current search turned up nothing, the operation would move to the next phase, using more advanced sonar technology.

The side-scan sonar would be able to go deeper than the Bluefin-21, which loses some effectiveness beyond 4500 metres.

Senator Johnston said Australia was consulting with Malaysia, China and the United States on the next phase of the search.

While the Bluefin 21 had less than one-fifth of the seabed search area to complete, Senator Johnston estimated its mission would take another two weeks.

The Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre (JACC), led by former Australian Defence Force chief Angus Houston, said the zone where the search was focused remained the best lead.

"It is important this lead is pursued to its completion so we can either confirm or discount the focused underwater area as the final resting place of MH370. This is clearly of great importance to the families of those on board," JACC told AAP.

Mr Houston recently said that alternatives to the Bluefin-21, including devices that can go deeper, were "being looked at", but gave no specifics.

One of the US Navy's Orion-towed search systems is available and can send back real-time data, unlike the Bluefin-21.

And some search experts say a REMUS 6000 autonomous underwater vehicle, used to find Air France flight 447 after it went down in 2009, would be more suitable.

The aerial search for floating debris was suspended on Wednesday for the second straight day due to poor weather associated with an ex-tropical cyclone.

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Baird unveils 'experienced' NSW ministry

NSW Premier Mike Baird says the decision to drop Greg Smith (pic) from his cabinet wasn't easy. Source: AAP

NSW Premier Mike Baird says his new-look cabinet has the hunger and experience to transform the state.

Mr Baird on Tuesday dumped four O'Farrell ministers and promoted five new young faces into his ministry.

"It is a group that brings experience but, just as importantly, it brings a hunger," Mr Baird told reporters.

"A hunger to transform New South Wales."

Opposition Leader John Robertson slammed the reshuffle for rewarding bad ministers and for under-representing women.

Rising star Andrew Constance emerged as one of the clear winners in the new line-up, being appointed treasurer.

Pru Goward becomes planning minister, replacing Brad Hazzard who was given the role of attorney-general.

The announcement came an hour after veteran north coast MP Don Page, grandson of former prime minister Sir Earle Page, said he was retiring from politics.

Mr Baird confirmed the Nationals MP had been demoted from local government minister and paid tribute to his service to the state.

Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner said he wouldn't be surprised if George Souris - another Nationals MP who has also been demoted - would also step away from parliament before the next election.

Greg Smith was dumped as attorney-general and Robyn Parker lost the environment portfolio.

Mr Baird described Mr Smith as a "good man and a good friend", but stood by his decision to replace him as attorney-general.

Troy Grant, Paul Toole, Rob Stokes, Dominic Perrottet and Jai Rowell, who are in their 30s and 40s, were also promoted to the ministry.

Meanwhile, the reshuffle hands the Hunter ministry to Gladys Berejiklian, who represents the Sydney electorate of Willoughby, in addition to her transport portfolio.

Northern beaches MP Mr Baird replaces Mr O'Farrell as minister for Western Sydney.

He said it was "entirely appropriate" he represented the west given the many infrastructure projects being built there.

"I'm going to be there a lot," the premier said.

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Climbers cancel Everest expeditions

An appeal has been launched to help the families of sherpas killed in an avalanche on Mt Everest. Source: AAP

DISTRAUGHT Nepalese guides and climbers have cancelled expeditions on Mount Everest after at least 13 colleagues died in an avalanche.

At the same time anger is mounting over poor payments for sherpas who take huge risks on the world's highest peak.

Sherpas, already grief-stricken over the loss of colleagues, have told AFP they are considering whether to halt climbs to protest at pay and poor welfare provisions.

The bodies of 13 local sherpa guides have been pulled from the snow and another three are thought to be still buried in the avalanche which hit on Friday morning, the worst single accident in the mountain's history.

Another nine were rescued alive from the avalanche, which struck the group of sherpas as they hauled gear up the mountain for international climbers who were waiting at Everest base camp below.

Seattle-based Alpine Ascents International, which lost four sherpas in the accident with another still missing, has decided to cancel its expedition, according to its sirdar (sherpa captain).

"We have lost five members of our team. To respect them, we will not be going ahead with our expedition," said Lakpa Rita Sherpa, who has summitted Everest 17 times.

"This was one of the worst days on the mountain and all those who died are sherpas, so many of those left don't want to go ahead," Lakpa said on Monday from base camp.

US-based Discovery Channel also cancelled an expedition after losing its team of sherpas in the accident, it said in a statement.

The channel was planning a live broadcast of the first winged jumpsuit flight off the summit.

Other teams still at base camp are weighing up whether to go ahead with their expeditions, with many too distraught to climb.

Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, said sherpas want the government to set up a welfare fund for guides and their families, using part of the fees paid by clients.

"It's not about stopping expeditions. But they have demands that need to be fulfilled," Ang, whose national body represents tourism promoters, told AFP.

Some of the sherpas and their families are angry about the Nepali government's offer of 40,000 rupees (about $A440) to pay for the funeral expenses of those killed, calling it a disrespectful gesture.

Sherpas, an ethnic group known for their skills on the mountain, earn between $A3,211 to $A6,423 a season. But life insurance payments currently only go up to $A10,706.

The disaster underscores the huge risks borne by sherpas who ascend the icy slopes, often before dawn and usually weighed down by tents, ropes and food for their clients, who pay tens of thousands of dollars to scale the mountain.

The cancellations are likely to have an impact on the impoverished Himalayan country's economy. It relies on tourism for revenue, earning millions of dollars in annual climbing fees from Everest alone.

More than 300 people, most of them local guides, have died on Everest since the first ascent to the summit by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.

The previous worst accident on the 8,848-metre peak was in 1996 when eight people were killed during a storm.

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