Talks fail to end Cambodia stalemate

CAMBODIA'S king has brought Prime Minister Hun Sen face to face with the head of the opposition for the first time in years, urging the political rivals to find a peaceful solution to their post-election stalemate for the sake of national stability.

No agreement was reached at the brief meeting on Saturday at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, but Hun Sen is expected to meet opposition leader Sam Rainsy again Monday for further talks, opposition officials said.

Sam Rainsy's party says it would have won had the July vote been fair and has vowed to stage a new wave of protests on Sunday unless an independent committee investigates its claims of widespread voting irregularities.

The government has rejected the demands, and there are fears the protests could trigger violence.

As the two looked on, King Norodom Sihamoni read a statement saying he was "begging the leaders of the two parties to cooperate" to overcome their political differences in the interest of "maintaining peace and stability" in Cambodia.

Sihamoni urged all elected MPs to attend the opening session of parliament, which he will preside over on September 23.

The opposition has vowed to boycott the legislative session unless the dispute is resolved.

Saturday's talks lasted about 20 minutes, and Hun Sen left without commenting. Asked by reporters what had come out of the meeting, Sam Rainsy replied simply: "No, no, there is nothing."

Sam Rainsy's party made major gains in the July vote, although the ruling party retained a majority of legislative seats.

Official results ratified last weekend gave Hun Sen's party 68 seats in the National Assembly and Sam Rainsy's 55.

As the post-election standoff has dragged on, hopes had risen that Sihamoni could serve as a mediator, a role often played by his father.

The late Norodom Sihanouk helped broker an end to civil war in 1991 and arrange power-sharing agreements after the 1993 and 2003 elections.

Sihamoni, who took over the throne in 2004, has so far taken a less active role.

The meeting comes a day before the opposition has planned another mass protest in Phnom Penh.

Opposition leaders have said they expect 20,000 people to turn out again to demand an investigation into the election results.

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Qld jail in lockdown over roof protest

A BRISBANE prison is in lockdown after two inmates climbed on the roof to protest a third prisoner being placed in solitary confinement.

The men climbed on top of a building at Brisbane Correctional Centre at Wacol in the city's west just before noon (AEST), a corrective services spokesman said.

They had been returning from the oval, he said.

The spokesman said the inmates had reportedly damaged CCTV cameras, but there was no threat to public safety.

The facility would remain in lockdown until the men came down, he said.

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Uni downplayed nepotism scandal: report

THE University of Queensland put its reputation above the public interest by downplaying a scandal in which the vice-chancellor's daughter was given a scholarship ahead of worthier candidates.

The Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) says the daughter of former Vice-Chancellor Paul Greenfield was awarded a place in the medical school over 343 more suitable applicants, despite failing a qualifying exam.

The watchdog released its review of Ms Greenfield's admission on Friday.

The scandal forced the resignation of Prof Greenfield and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Keniger in late 2011.

University staff did not immediately report their nepotism concerns because Mr Greenfield himself was the public official charged with reporting such matters to the CMC.

CMC acting assistant commissioner Kathleen Florian says the university then played down the scandal in public statements in order to protect its reputation.

"The right balance was not struck between the public interest on the one hand, and protecting the reputation of the university and the reputations of the two most senior officers on the other," she told reporters.

"After the university publicly stated that the two officers were standing down on the basis of generalised accountability rather than personal responsibility the CMC asked the university to bring forward their resignations and ultimately the university agreed."

However, the CMC found nothing to implicate Ms Greenfield in the scandal and she's still enrolled in the course.

The university admitted on Friday it should have been more open from the beginning and that the UQ senate's decision not to reveal the reasons for the resignations was difficult.

But it said the senate had to weigh up competing interests.

"... the avoidance of operational disruption and reputation damage on the one hand, and the promotion of transparency on the other hand," it said in a statement.

"The university accepts, however, that its response was not well handled and acknowledges that it lacked the transparency called for in the circumstances."

The university said it had noted the CMC's conclusions and had been working on more transparent systems to manage issues of integrity and misconduct.

Ms Florian said the public must be able to have faith that decisions on university places are based on merit and equity, but that had not happened.

She said that state laws should be changed to allow a greater number of staff in public institutions to report misconduct and corruption to the CMC.

"I encourage all public sector agencies to read this report to consider how they could manage conflicts of interest and misconduct involving senior management thus ensuring merit, equity and transparency remains core to decision making," Ms Florian said.

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William's mind on baby George

Kate and William have left baby George with his nanny for their first night out since his birth. Source: AAP

PRINCE William has joked about spending his first night away from baby son Prince George while he attended a black-tie awards ceremony in London.

William and wife Kate were guests of honour at the inaugural Tusk Trust awards, a UK-based African wildlife conservation charity of which he is patron.

William joked that he might be seen checking his mobile phone to make sure all was well back home with his son, who was in the care of William's former nanny, Jessie Webb.

It is believed Ms Webb, 71, is looking after the baby when the couple need her and is not working for them full-time.

William started his speech with a reference to seven-week-old Prince George.

"As you might have gathered, Catherine and I have recently become proud parents - of a baby who has a voice to match any lion's roar.

"This is actually our first evening out without him, so please excuse us if you see us nervously casting cheeky glances at our mobile phones to check all is well back home.

"Like any new parents, our thoughts inevitably turn to the world that our child will inherit. It is unfathomable to imagine a world in which children who have been born in the past couple of months may grow up in a world in which rhinoceros have ceased to exist in the wild."

Kate dazzled in a silver sequinned Jenny Packham dress and told Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who asked who George took after: "Like most babies, he's got a mix of both of us."

The Cambridges' night out came after William announced that he had given up his operational career in the military and was now considering options for future "public service".

This year will be a "transitional" one for William and he will be expanding his core charitable interests - including his passion for conservation - as he carries out his normal royal duties, which are not expected to increase.

In a sign of the direction his public life may take, it was also announced earlier that William had become president of a new umbrella conservation organisation he has formed called "United for Wildlife".

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Labor at odds over carbon tax repeal

A Labor backbencher says his party should allow the incoming government to scrap the carbon tax. Source: AAP

CRACKS have emerged in federal Labor ranks with two party MPs conceding the incoming government's plan to scrap the carbon tax should be allowed to pass parliament.

Backbencher Nick Champion and Richard Marles, Labor's most recent trade minister, on Wednesday broke the party line which has promised to block moves in parliament to repeal the impost on emissions.

"We do need to acknowledge the fact that Tony Abbott won the election, and we lost," Victorian MP Mr Marles told Sky News.

The coalition classified Saturday's election as a referendum on climate change and say they come to power with a mandate to remove the tax.

"If the majority of people vote for bad policy, then they simply need to see that experiment fulfilled," Mr Champion told ABC radio.

"It's not our job to save the Liberal Party from bad policy and it's not our job to save the Australian people from bad policy if that's what they choose and vote for in an election."

Incoming climate action minister Greg Hunt welcomed the "good sense" of the Labor duo.

"There can be no reason and no excuse for the ALP not to honour a fundamental, central referendum question," Mr Hunt told reporters in Canberra.

But others in Labor remained steadfast in their opposition of the coalition's intention to shift to a direct action plan to combat climate change.

Sydney MP Michelle Rowland said the plan, which includes using soil and trees to soak up emissions, is an "absolute figleaf".

"I'm not voting for a policy about planting trees and magic soil," she said.

Mr Champion did not agree with the coalition policy and said it should be opposed in the lower house, but allowed to pass the Senate, to expose the shortcomings of the incoming government.

"In effect, I think the Liberal Party want to hang themselves," Mr Champion said.

"Well, we should give them as much rope as they need."

Asked if the coalition would push ahead with its threat of a double dissolution election to see its policy pass the parliament, Mr Hunt said "there is a long way to travel" before reaching that consideration.

When Labor came to power in 2007 Mr Hunt said the coalition accepted and honoured the new government's mandates including signing the Kyoto Protocol, shifting away from WorkChoices and the government apology to indigenous Australians.

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Gas explosion fire deliberate: WA police

AN explosion and fire at a house in Perth's northeast that burned a man was deliberately lit, police say.

The man, believed to be aged 46, was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital but police say his burns are not as serious as first thought.

Police, St John Ambulance and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services responded to calls about an explosion and an ensuing blaze at a house on Park Road, Hovea, at around 8.40am (WST) on Wednesday.

Arson Squad detectives have now confirmed initial reports that the explosion was caused by a gas cylinder.

The injured man will remain in hospital overnight and is assisting police with their investigation.

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Coalition ahead in 86 seats: AEC

BILLIONAIRE Clive Palmer is on track to enter federal parliament.

The latest round of vote counting shows the Liberal-National coalition ahead in 87 seats.

Labor is ahead in 57 seats, with the Greens' Adam Bandt holding Melbourne, Bob Katter retaining his seat of Kennedy, and independent Andrew Wilkie returning in Denison.

The Australian Electoral Commission on Monday afternoon posted two-candidate preferred counts on its website for the seats of Fisher, Fairfax, Indi and Mallee.

It shows Mr Palmer is ahead of his Liberal National Party rival Ted O'Brien by 1920 votes in the Queensland seat of Fairfax.

Liberal frontbencher Sophie Mirabella trails independent Cathy McGowan in the Victorian seat of Indi by 1754 votes.

Former Howard government minister Mal Brough is 1521 votes ahead of Palmer United Party's Bill Schoch in Fisher.

The Nationals' Andrew Broad looks set to take the Victorian seat of Mallee, leading his Liberal rival Chris Crewther by 785 votes.

Among the seats listed as "close" is the NSW seat of Barton, with Labor candidate Steve McMahon 79 votes ahead of the Liberals' Nic Varvaris.

In Eden-Monaro, former Labor minister Mike Kelly is 616 votes behind Liberal candidate Peter Hendy.

Labor MP John Murphy is trailing Liberal challenger Craig Laundy by 652 votes in the NSW seat of Reid.

In Victoria, Labor MP Rob Mitchell is 72 votes ahead of the Liberals' Donna Petrovich in McEwen.

Labor candidate Peter Freeleagus is 141 votes ahead of the Liberal National Party's Michelle Landry in the Queensland seat of Capricornia.

The seat of Petrie was moved out of the "close" category on Monday afternoon. Former parliamentary secretary Yvette D'Ath is 809 votes behind the LNP's Luke Howarth in the Brisbane-based seat.

The Liberals will pick up a Senate seat in the ACT.

Liberal candidate Zed Seselja achieved just over 33 per cent of the vote in counting on Monday afternoon, pushing him ahead of the Greens' Simon Sheikh.

Labor's Kate Lundy has already retained her seat.

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Finance data show housing market improving

The number of home loans approved rose for the seventh month in a row, official figures show. Source: AAP

HOME loans approvals have risen for the seventh month in a row, and the housing sector is expected to strengthen further in the coming months.

The number of home loans approved in July rose 2.4 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said, which was better than the market forecast of a 2.0 per cent rise.

CommSec chief economist Craig James said he expects the housing market to make more gains as consumer and business confidence improves now that the federal election is out of the way.

"What we would hope that, in a more settled environment, people will start spending, investing and hiring," he said.

"Of all the sectors in the economy, clearly one of the healthiest is housing.

"Housing is best placed to take over the leadership role from mining as the nation's key economic driver.

Loans made for the purchase of new dwellings rose 5.9 per cent in the month but loans for the construction of dwellings fell 2.1 per cent.

"While construction loans fell, it was only the first fall recorded in eight months," Mr James said.

"Low interest rates and the skewing of state government grants to new building should continue to support the outlook for building material stocks and developers.

"Certainly we should have construction rising at a faster rate than established dwellings, so we don't get caught with unsustainable growth."

Mr James said the data and continued signs of strength in the housing sector will ensure that the Reserve Bank will hold off on another interest rate cut until 2014.

Total housing finance by value rose 1.1 per cent in July, seasonally adjusted, to $24.180 billion.

JP Morgan economist Ben Jarman said that although the figures came in stronger than expected, the rise was being driven by investors rather than first-home buyers, who typically take out bigger loans.

"Average loan sizes are falling," Mr Jarman said.

"At the same time, what you're getting is activity that is tilted more towards the investor and less toward the first-home buyer, so you're not getting that uplift in overall credit growth that you get when first-home buyers come into the market.

"It seems like there's a lot of turnover happening in housing but not enough homes being built and not enough credit growth to make it genuinely stimulatory.

"Without that piece of the puzzle moving we don't think this will really change the path of the real economy."

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US wildfire burns into fourth week

A wildfire in the US near the Yosemite national park is burning into its fourth week. Source: AAP

THE cost of fighting the wildfire burning in and around Yosemite National Park has risen to more than $US89 million ($A98.01 million) as the blaze enters its fourth week.

The US Forest Service reported on Saturday that the Rim Fire has burned 1020 square kilometres, 28.5 more square kilometres than the day before when it became the third-biggest wildfire in modern California history.

It remains 80 per cent contained.

The fire started in the Stanislaus National Forest on August 17.

There are still more than 3400 people fighting it as hotter and drier weather arrived on Saturday.

Officials say it could cost tens of millions of dollars more to restore damaged habitat and waterways before the fall rainy season.

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Palmer a new king maker in Aussie politics

Clive Palmer says his party's preferences handed Tony Abbott victory. Source: AAP

CLIVE Palmer already sees himself as a kingmaker, poised to win himself a seat in the lower house and claiming Tony Abbott would not have won the federal election without his help.

The eccentric entrepreneur stands a strong chance of winning the Queensland Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax on preferences, which would make him Australia's richest federal MP.

With his party's star Queensland Senate candidate, rugby league great Glenn Lazarus, also on track for a win, Mr Palmer expects to be a political kingmaker in Canberra.

The Palmer United Party leader said his group's strong primary vote had helped deliver victory for the coalition in a number of seats.

"We had six per cent and we preferenced the Liberal Party. The swing against Labor was 4.5 per cent," Mr Palmer told AAP.

"Without Palmer United's preferences, Tony Abbott would not be prime minister."

He also predicts his party will win up to three seats in the lower house and another three Senate spots, possibly giving them a share in the balance of power from July next year.

Palmer preferences could also decide knife-edge seats in Queensland.

Just 600 votes separate the two major parties in the Labor-held northern Brisbane seat of Petrie, and the Liberal National Party's Luke Howarth is hopeful Palmer preferences will help him beat incumbent Yvette D'Ath.

In Rockhampton-centred Capricornia, LNP candidate Michelle Landry says she had underestimated the popularity of Mr Palmer.

"They were more voting for Clive than anything else. They certainly weren't voting for the candidate," she told AAP.

Mr Palmer believes his party will win the Sunshine Coast seat of Fisher, which former Howard government minister Mal Brough is confident he's bagged for the coalition.

He also claims Senate candidate Jacqui Lambie will win a spot in Tasmania, as will Dio Wang in Western Australia.

And he says his party has a chance in the Bundaberg and Hervey Bay-based seat of Hinkler.

Mr Palmer said that like Mr Abbott, he would have some sway over any Palmer party candidates elected to the Senate.

"Well I am the parliamentary leader of the party, just like Tony Abbott is the leader of his party, and my relationship will be similar to his relationship with his senators," Mr Palmer said.

The Palmer party, formed four months ago, had outpolled the century-old Nationals, said Mr Palmer, who once worked as a media adviser for the late Queensland premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

Peter Beattie, another former Sunshine State premier and failed Labor candidate for Forde, said Mr Palmer was sure to shake up parliament.

"No one will be able to ignore Clive," he said.

"If Clive has got the balance of power (in the Senate), all I've got to say to all of you is you're gonna have to say a big prayer. But you're going to have a lot of fun."

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