Apartment blocks evacuated in east Sydney

ABOUT 60 people have been evacuated from two apartment blocks in Sydney's east after a fire broke out at an electrical substation.

The apartment blocks in Maroubra have been evacuated as a precaution after the adjoining substation caught fire.

The fire is not spreading, but the 15 firefighters at the scene can't enter the substation until energy authorities kill power, an emergency services spokesman told AAP.

"We're not going to send anyone in because all sorts of nasty things can happen at a substation," he said.

There's no indication of what caused the blaze at this stage, but it's not belive to be deliberate.

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14 Sri Lankan asylum seekers sent home

A MAN making his second bid for asylum was among 14 asylum seekers sent home after allegedly hijacking a ship off the coast of Sri Lanka, the federal government says.

Speaking in Sydney, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said the 14 asylum seekers left Cocos Islands on a plane bound for Sri Lanka at 1pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

He said the group, which also included three children, had all been on the Chejan - a fishing trawler that was allegedly hijacked on October 13 off the Sri Lankan coast.

The boat had been missing until it was intercepted on Thursday north-west of the Cocos Islands by ACV Hervey Bay.

He said the government had decided to remove all but one of the alleged 15 hijackers because they faced "serious charges in Sri Lanka".

"The government took the view that it's appropriate that they face those charges and the removal occur as soon as possible," Mr Bowen told reporters.

"The Australian government took the view that the Sri Lankan government should be able to cooperate and these people should be able to face these charges."

He said the government was not pressured by Sri Lanka to remove the group and did not say why one of the alleged hijackers had not been expelled.

He also denied the government had acted overly secretively on the issue.

"I don't think there's been secrecy, we've been progressing their removal and that entails conversations with other governments and it entails steps being put in place," he said.

The group included one man who had already been removed from Australia after a previously failed asylum bid, Mr Bowen said.

"I'm very clearly now, we are showing that if they return again we have steps available to us which we will implement," he said.

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the Chejan should never have reached Australian waters.

"Labor has gambled on our borders by allowing alleged pirates to enter our waters and be given the opportunity to make a protection claim," he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship confirmed on Saturday that seven more Sri Lankan men had returned home voluntarily from Christmas Island.

They departed Perth on Friday on a commercial flight for Colombo.

Mr Bowen said he expected even more people return home in the future as the government's policy of offshore processing takes effect.

People who opt to depart voluntarily can receive individual reintegration support to assist with their return through the International Organisation for Migration.

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Aust sharemarket closes lower

THE Australian share market has closed lower on fears that US markets will react badly to the latest earnings figures from iPad and iPhone maker Apple.

At 1615 AEDT on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had dropped 38.1 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 4,472.4 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index had fallen 37.2 points, or 0.82 per cent, to 4,496.3 points.

On the ASX 24, the December share price index futures contract was 34 points lower at 4,465 points, on volume of 22,856 contracts, according to preliminary calculations.

On Thursday, Apple missed Wall Street earnings expectations for the second straight quarter, as iPad sales fell short of analyst forecasts.

IG Markets market strategist Stan Shamu said investors on Friday had found no reason to drive the local market higher.

"Some will point to Apple's disappointing result and, obviously, fears that US markets will trade lower once re-opening," he said.

"Apple is a good bellwether for the market, and with such a negative result some just feel that there is no way the US (market) will take it lightly later on.

"That's probably one of the main drivers for the weak sentiment."

Among the major banks, ANZ lost 15 cents to $25.23, Commonwealth Bank was off 45 cents at $56.85, National Australia Bank slipped 10 cents to $25.90, and Westpac surrendered seven cents to $25.19.

Investment bank Macquarie Group jumped $1.04 to to $30.85 after job cuts and lower costs helped it deliver a rise in first half profit.

Wealth manager AMP sagged 16 cents to $4.53 despite increasing its cash flows in the third quarter of calendar 2012 due to growth in self-managed superannuation funds.

In the resources sector, BHP Billiton retreated 51 cents to $33.86, and Rio Tinto reversed $1.05 to $56.45.

Whitehaven Coal dumped 15 cents, or 4.69 per cent, to $3.05 as the shares came out of a trading halt and the company said thermal coal prices had plunged to below the cost of production.

Acer Energy added 0.5 cents to 29 cents as directors advised shareholders to take no action in relation to a takeover offer from Drillsearch Energy.

Among other stocks, transport and logistics firm Toll Holdings nudged up one cent to $4.28 as it said it wants to take a greater share of the parcel delivery business from Australia Post.

Shopping centre operator Westfield Group scraped off one cent to $10.57 as it said it had been appointed to develop, design, construct and manage a shopping centre in northern England.

Preliminary national turnover was 2.06 billion securities worth $5.6 billion, with 571 stocks down, 385 up and 345 unchanged.

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$A down on regional market moves

THE Australian dollar has fallen more than half a US Cent, amid weaker performances on regional equity market and ahead of a much-anticipated reading of US gross domestic product (GDP).

At 1700 AEDT on Friday, the local currency was trading at 103.12 US cents, down from 103.76 cents on Thursday, which was its highest position for a week.

Commonwealth bank currency strategist Joseph Capurso said a sluggish performance from regional markets and currencies pushed the Aussie dollar down.

"Part of the story is commentary from New Zealand's new Reserve Bank governor," he said.

"That pushed the New Zealand dollar down, and it took the Aussie dollar down as well.

"Equity markets in Asia have also been pretty weak - the US currency has increased against most currencies today, so the Aussie dollar is part of that move."

In his inaugural speech on Friday, Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor Graeme Wheeler said he would like a lower New Zealand dollar without having to resort to unorthodox policy that may disrupt his efforts to contain inflation.

Mr Capurso said markets would now turn their attention to the US.

"If the US GDP number tonight is a good one, the Aussie might get a little bit of support," he said.

"However I don't think it's going to be by a great deal."

The data is expected to show an annual growth rate of 1.9 per cent for the third quarter in the US.

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Qld premier won't confirm casino talks

QUEENSLAND Premier Campbell Newman's office won't confirm a senior minister discussed the idea of a second casino in Brisbane with Echo Entertainment.

Echo chairman John O'Neill says the gaming group has plans to spend $1.3 billion in Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

But answering questions from shareholders on Thursday, Mr O'Neill said money would be better spent on building a new casino in Brisbane rather than on renovating the Treasury casino, housed in a 123-year former Queensland government treasury building.

"In terms of the existing buildings in Brisbane they offer not a lot of prospect for growth in our business," he said.

Mr O'Neill also flagged the idea of adding boutique hotels and restaurants in the Treasury complex if Echo was granted permission to operate a second casino in Brisbane.

At a media conference afterwards, he confirmed he had held talks last week with senior Queensland government ministers and officials.

"We are having some good discussions with the Queensland government about the potential for a big spend in Brisbane and here on the Gold Coast," he said.

"I fronted the meeting, yes. I'm not going into the attendance register."

Mr Newman's office told AAP on Friday it understood Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney, who is also state development minister, had met with Echo management.

"The premier has not met with Echo, but I understand the deputy premier has," a spokeswoman said in an email.

Less than a month ago Singapore's Sembawang Corporation blacklisted Mr Newman, accusing him of favouring Echo after he declined to discuss a casino development proposal for the Gold Coast.

A spokesman for Mr Seeney declined to comment on the discussions held with Echo.

"We don't comment on meetings the deputy premier may or may not have," he said.

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Qld govt faces test over Caltabiano

QUEENSLAND Premier Campbell Newman is in crisis management as a senior public servant he hand-picked is investigated for allegedly misleading parliament.

Michael Caltabiano on Thursday stood down on full pay from his $500,000-a-year post as transport and main roads director-general over concerns he may have misled a budget estimates hearing last week.

Political analyst Dr Scott Prasser says Mr Caltabiano, having been a Liberal state MP, a Liberal Brisbane city councillor and a Liberal party president, isn't "any old public servant".

"He has strong political links, so this is a very challenging situation," Dr Prasser, a former Australian Catholic University academic, told AAP.

"How he is dealt with if he is guilty will show us how far the Newman government's standards of integrity go.

"They can give in to politics and give him a slap on the wrist and say 'naughty boy', or decide that he should be made an example of like they did with former police minister David Gibson."

Mr Newman dumped Mr Gibson as police minister in April over unpaid speeding fines.

Mr Caltabiano was among Mr Newman's first appointments, sparking accusations he was creating jobs for mates.

Dr Prasser said the appointment had been doomed to fail.

"He probably had a falling out with the transport minister because you can't have two political people running a department," he said.

Queensland Transport Minister Scott Emerson took the unusual step of referring his own director-general to parliament's ethics committee.

Mr Newman told reporters on Friday he and Mr Emerson had concerns about Mr Caltabiano's testimony.

"And we made the decision to refer the matter," he said.

Mr Emerson said while he had the premier's support, it was "my decision to send it to the Speaker Fiona Simpson, asking her to refer the matter to the ethics committee".

He said he had asked Mr Caltabiano about apparent discrepancies between what he told the estimates hearing and what the media reports had said.

When asked about his relationship with departmental liaison officer Ben Gommers - the son of Arts Minister Ros Bates - Mr Caltabiano told the hearing he had known him personally, not professionally.

But subsequent media reports allege Mr Caltabiano was named, alongside Mr Gommers, on the register of lobbying firm Entre Vous.

Mr Gommers, who earns up to $105,000 a year, is currently the subject of a Crime and Misconduct Commission investigation into his employment at Mr Caltabiano's department.

The Parliamentary Ethics Committee is now investigating Mr Caltabiano as well.

The committee can only make recommendations. It's up to the LNP-dominated parliament to decide what action, if any, will be taken.

Ethics committee chairman and LNP MP Alex Douglas said it was rare for parliament not to follow the committee's recommendation.

And while the committee is headed by an LNP member, he said it was bipartisan.

"People should be reassured that the ethics committee, which is one of the instruments of how parliament manages itself, takes itself really seriously and is impartial," Dr Douglas said.

The Newman government reintroduced laws making it a criminal offence, punishable by up to seven years' jail, to lie to parliament.

The Beattie government removed the legislation in 2006 when former health minister Gordon Nuttall was accused of misleading a parliamentary committee.

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Victoria retains AAA credit rating

VICTORIA has retained its triple-A credit rating, with the state's financial outlook listed as stable.

Treasurer Kim Wells welcomed the report from ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) on Thursday, saying the announcement endorses the hard work the government has done to put the state's finances on a sustainable level.

"S&P have noted the coalition government's preparedness to take the right financial decisions to ensure Victoria's finances are strong and our economy is positioned for growth," Mr Wells said in a statement.

S&P said Victoria's ratings were backed by "capable and conservative management, the state's resilient and diversified economy, and its robust operating position".

"The Victorian government continues to demonstrate fiscal discipline through its response to the state's ongoing revenue challenges," it said in its summary.

"The government has demonstrated its willingness to make difficult political decisions, including containing wage growth and reducing the number of public servants.

"We don't expect the commitment to fiscal discipline to change over the life of the current parliament."

Mr Wells said the ratings endorsed the government's economic strategies and acknowledged the difficult decisions taken by the coalition.

"Victoria is one of just three Australian states to have a triple-A credit rating, and this gives Victoria a key competitive edge in funding new infrastructure," he said.

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Novartis posts 3Q profits

SWISS pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG has posted third-quarter profits virtually unchanged from the comparable period a year ago.

The Basel-based company says it had profits of 2.48 billion Swiss francs ($A2.57 billion) between July and September, compared with $US2.49 billion ($A2.42 billion) in the third quarter of 2011.

Novartis said in a statement on Thursday before the opening of the Zurich exchange that its recent product launches had offset patent expirations such as hypertension drug Diovan, which faces generic competition in the United States.

Chief Executive Joseph Jimenez said "pharmaceuticals had another solid quarter" bolstered by approvals for Afinitor for treating advanced breast cancer, which the company expects to help push sales of the drug above the $US1 billion mark.

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WA economic outlook doesn't bother Buswell

WESTERN Australia should maintain its AAA credit rating if steps being taken by the Barnett government are as effective as hoped, Treasurer Troy Buswell says.

Mr Buswell made the comments after ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) revised downwards its outlook for the WA economy from stable to negative and warned that there was a one-in-three chance of a ratings downgrade in the next two years.

S&P said the revision reflected its expectation that the state's balance sheet could weaken as a result of lower mining royalties, which would take some time to be reflected in its share of GST revenues.

WA's budget had become increasingly reliant on the royalties, which were volatile as commodity prices fluctuated, S&P said.

The WA government currently receives 20 per cent of its revenue from mining royalties.

Mr Buswell downplayed the outlook downgrade, saying S&P's comments were consistent with his own commentary on the state economy.

He said he was confident the steps the government was taking would ensure WA maintained its AAA rating.

In response to a recent plunge in iron ore royalties and a strong Australian dollar, Mr Buswell last month announced sweeping public-sector cost-cutting measures in a desperate bid to keep the budget in surplus.

But on Thursday, he warned the government against responding "too harshly" to a "cyclical movement" in exchange rates and commodity prices.

"It's still my view that we're dealing with a cyclical set of events in and around a high dollar and a relative fall in commodity price," he said.

While revenues from stamp duty and GST had fallen, and notwithstanding short-term fluctuations in commodity prices, mining royalties were on an uptrend, he said.

But they were almost at their peak.

The value of mining royalties would start to plateau at around $6 billion per annum, compared to a projected $4.8 billion in 2012/13, he said.

Even after mining royalties plateaued, there would be continued growth from property and GST as the population continued to rise, he said.

Mr Buswell also confirmed the state government would announce more cost cutting at the forthcoming Mid-Year Economic Review, as flagged last month, to combat the state's vulnerability to exchange rate and commodity price fluctuations.

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Qld close to apology over forced adoptions

THE Queensland government says it is close to joining the growing list of states and territories that have apologised to victims of forced adoption.

Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu on Thursday apologised in parliament for the practice, which was widespread across Australia from the 1950s to the 1970s.

An estimated 150,000 babies around the country were taken from their mothers, who were mostly young and single.

NSW, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the ACT have formally acknowledged the hurt caused by forced adoptions.

Queensland Communities Minister Tracy Davis says her government will announce the date of its apology in coming weeks.

"Public submissions are being carefully considered and event planning around the apology is under way," Ms Davis said in a statement to AAP.

The acknowledgement will be read out during a sitting of the Queensland parliament.

All those affected by forced adoptions will be invited to attend but Ms Davis said seats would be limited.

People will also be able to watch the occasion live online.

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Business tax group fails on corporate tax

A BUSINESS tax working group says a cut of two to three percentage points to the company tax rate could be funded through changes to the tax treatment of interest, capital allowances and research and development spending.

However the group, set up by the Gillard government after the Tax Forum in October 2011, said despite consultation with 20 groups and receiving more than 80 submissions it could not recommend a specific revenue-neutral way to lower the company tax rate.

"It was clear to the working group that there was not agreement in the business community to broaden the business tax base to fund a cut in the company tax rate at this time," the report found.

Lower corporate tax would increase Australia's ability to attract foreign investment and have other economic benefits in terms of higher profits and real wages and lower prices, the final draft report by the working group released on Wednesday says.

The group said the cut should be made "as economic and fiscal circumstances permit".

"This would need to be considered against other budget priorities and should take into account the overall mix of business taxation," the report said.

A one percentage point cut in the company tax rate could raise GDP and real wages by around 0.2 per cent, the group said.

Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey says it shows Labor's tax reform is in chaos.

"The business tax working group was set an impossible task to find a way of hiking taxes to fund a cut," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

"How can the business community have any confidence in a government that blindsided them on Monday when Wayne Swan lacked the courtesy to even consult with the Business Tax Working Group over the changes to company tax schedules announced in the Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook?"

Mr Hockey said a genuine company tax cut is one funded from savings in the budget not by raising other taxes to pay for it.

The tax institute also said they were disappointed by the end of the opportunity for company tax reform.

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Fake real estate agent charged over fraud

A FAKE real estate agent has allegedly swindled almost three-quarters of a million dollars from a Sydney home buyer.

Police in Sydney's southwest on Wednesday charged a 36-year-old man over the allegations relating to the purchase of a property in Edmondson Park.

They say between April 2007 and January 2010, a 52-year-old Hinchinbrook man deposited $730,000 into an account belonging to a man claiming to be a real estate agent who was representing the owner of the property.

The man has been charged with obtaining benefit by deception and will appear in Campbelltown Local Court on November 14.

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EU, US warn of Lebanon political vacuum

THE United States and the European Union have expressed concern at the political situation in Lebanon, where the opposition has called for the premier to step down over a deadly blast blamed on Syria.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Tuesday cautioned against a political vacuum in Lebanon at the end of a visit to the country, echoing comments from the US State Department.

Ashton also warned that "there are some who are trying to divert attention from the situation in the region by causing problems in Lebanon", without saying who, Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Her concerns were highlighted when an opposition MP said he and four colleagues had received texted death threats from a Syrian telephone number before and after Friday's car bombing in Beirut.

The blast killed police intelligence chief General Wissam al-Hassan, who had led a series of investigations linking the regime of President Bashar al-Assad to political assassinations in Lebanon.

"This attack is a terrible thing; we are concerned about the stability of Lebanon," Ashton was quoted as saying after meeting Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Washington backed efforts by President Michel Sleiman and other leaders to build an effective government.

"President Sleiman is engaged in discussions with all parties to form a new government," she said. "We support that process.

"In the interim, we don't want to see a vacuum," she added.

Ammar Houry, an MP with the fiercely anti-Assad opposition movement of Saad Hariri, said on Monday that "on the eve of the attack, we received an SMS from a Syrian number that read: 'Sons of bitches, we will get you one by one'."

They did not pay much attention to it until Hassan was killed, he added.

Afterwards, "we received a second SMS that read: 'Congratulations, the countdown has begun. One of 10 eliminated.'"

Hassan's murder has sparked fears of new sectarian strife in Lebanon, where much of the Sunni Muslim community opposes Assad's regime and most Shi'ites support him, while Christians are divided.

Since Friday's bombing, at least 11 people have been killed in fighting between pro- and anti-Syrian camps in the northern city of Tripoli, including a woman who died on Tuesday.

The city is a bastion of anti-Assad sentiment but also home to a minority of Alawites, who belong to the same offshoot of Shi'ite Islam as Assad.

There has also been scattered violence in Beirut since the bombing, with a Palestinian youth killed, but the capital was calm on Tuesday.

Hariri and other opposition figures have blamed Damascus for the assassination of Hassan and demanded the resignation of Mikati, whose cabinet is dominated by the Syrian-backed Hezbollah.

Mikati expressed a desire to step down but said on Saturday he would stay at the request of Sleiman in the "national interest".

In a separate meeting with Sleiman, Ashton expressed her concerns of a possible political vacuum and the EU's commitment to the "sovereignty, independence and stability of Lebanon," the NNA said.

Ashton also met parliament speaker Nabih Berri and former premier Fuad Siniora, who heads Hariri's parliamentary bloc, before flying out at the end of a visit that had been planned before the Beirut bomb blast.

On Monday, the ambassadors of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States expressed their "unequivocal condemnation of any attempt to destabilise Lebanon through political assassination".

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Missing tot's dad joked about cashing in

THE father of missing Sydney toddler Rahma El-Dennaoui repeatedly joked about collecting the reward offered for information about the child's disappearance, an inquest has heard.

A secretly-taped telephone conversation between the girl's father, Hosayn El-Dennaoui, and his brother-in-law and cousin, Said Dennaoui, was played in Glebe Coroner's Court on Wednesday.

The 19-month-old was last reported seen at her parents' home in Lurnea, in Sydney's southwest, in the early hours of November 10, 2005.

Police began intercepting relatives' phone calls before an inquest began in April this year and continued until at least June.

Earlier on Wednesday, an aunt of the toddler, Rouba Dennaoui, admitted she referred to the inquest using the phrase "cutting the grass" during phone conversations with Hosayn El-Dennaoui because she "had a feeling" her calls could have been intercepted.

In one call, Hosayn El-Dennaoui is heard talking to his brother-in-law Mr Dennaoui in Arabic about the "150,000, they haven't transferred them to me".

He then suggests that another relative should confess and "we'll collect half the reward money".

Under questioning from counsel assisting the coroner, Peggy Dwyer, Mr Dennaoui admitted this was a reference to the $250,000 reward offered by the NSW government for information about Rahma's disappearance.

Mr Dennaoui said the "jokes" were "very stupid and silly" and that Mr El-Dennaoui was a grieving father.

"He's very upset. He want to know what happened to his own child," he said.

The court heard Mr El-Dennaoui was a strict father who tried to "teach the kids the right way".

But Mr Dennaoui said he had never seen Mr El-Dennaoui lose his temper or demand silence from his many children.

The court also heard that telephone charge sheets showed Mr Dennaoui and his wife Wahede Dennaoui called each other on the night of November 9, 2005, when Mr Dennaoui said he was home and believed his wife to be home.

The court had previously heard from two witnesses, neither of whom can be named for legal reasons, that Wahede Dennaoui had stayed at the El-Dennaoui house until about 2am on November 10, 2005, and that the toddler had been sick with a high fever.

Earlier on Wednesday, Rouba Dennaoui told the court that any suggestion her husband, Ahmed Dennaoui, had gone out for hours on the night of Rahma's disappearance was untrue.

She told counsel assisting the coroner, Robert Bromwich, SC, she was a light sleeper and would have woken if her husband had left the house during the night.

Mr Bromwich told her that by referring in a "secretive" way to the rumour that Ahmed Dennaoui had some involvement in the toddler's disappearance, she appeared concerned "not that it is untrue, but that it's true and you want to suppress it".

The inquest continues before Deputy State Coroner Sharon Freund.

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Stocks to watch at close on Tuesday

STOCKS to watch on the Australian stock exchange at close on Tuesday:

AGK - AGL ENERGY LTD - down 26 cents at $14.70

AGL Energy chief executive Michael Fraser has faced shareholder anger over the development of NSW coal seam gas assets.

DML - DISCOVERY METALS LTD - eight cents at $1.73

Chinese suitors chasing Discovery Metals have made a formal takeover offer for the minerals explorer at the same price already rejected by the Discovery board.

FXJ - FAIRFAX MEDIA LTD - up 1.5 cents at 38 cents

Fairfax Media chief executive Greg Hywood says the embattled media group has investigated a breakup of its assets and found the numbers didn't stack up.

IAG - INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LTD - up three cents at $4.57

Insurance Australia Group (IAG) says it is on track to achieve its full-year financial forecasts after its first quarter performance.

MGR - MIRVAC GROUP - steady at $1.515

Property giant Mirvac and mining magnate Nathan Tinkler are in settlement negotiations over a failed multi-million-dollar agreement to buy industrial land for a new coal terminal in the NSW Hunter region.

OZL - OZ MINERALS LTD - up 16 cents at $8.45

Oz Minerals says it remains on track to meet its full-year guidance despite posting a fall in copper and gold production during the September quarter.

PBG - PACIFIC BRANDS LTD - down 2.5 cents at 53 cents

Clothing and homewares retailer Pacific Brands says sales have been down so far this financial year and the company doesn't expect significant improvement.

SPN - SP AUSNET - down 0.5 cents at $1.065

The federal government is considering joining a Black Saturday bushfire class action in a step that could dilute payments to victims, a court has heard. Electrical company SP AusNet is being sued over the February 2009 Kilmore East bushfire which killed 119 people and destroyed more than 1000 homes.

TEN - TEN MEDIA HOLDINGS LTD - up 0.5 cents at 30.5 cents

Ten Network Holdings has received a reduced offer for its outdoor advertising business Eye Corp from its private equity suitor.

WPL - WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD - down nine cents at $35.52

Energy giant Woodside Petroleum is looking to expand its operations to Israel.The company on Tuesday said it was bidding for an interest in two petroleum licences in the Mediterranean sea off of Israel.

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O'Farrell must stop Fisheries closure: MPs

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell must reverse a decision to shut down the Cronulla Fisheries Research Centre and consider sacking Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson over the debacle, members of a parliamentary committee say.

In its scathing report, the upper house inquiry said the decision to close the centre in southern Sydney and move jobs to regional NSW was "an example of how not to undertake decentralisation".

The relocation, part of the government's drive to decentralise services, has triggered anger among more than 100 Cronulla staff opposed to moving to new headquarters in Port Stephens, Nowra and Coffs Harbour.

Inquiry chairman and parliamentary veteran Fred Nile said he had never "seen a matter so badly handled from day one".

Mr Nile was particularly critical of the government's failure to consult with staff and its failure to undertake "any kind of economic appraisal" before deciding to close the centre.

A cost-benefit analysis was completed only hours before hearings in September - 12 months after the decision to relocate the facility was publicly announced.

"I suggest to the government they should print a manual on how they conducted this issue and give it to public servants and say this is how you do not do it," he said.

"It broke almost every rule in the book. There was no consultation in any way with the staff. There was no consultation with the chief scientist, Professor Steve Kennelly. There was no business plan prepared.

"I believe it is so important an issue that (Mr O'Farrell) should take a role in this now and not leave it to the minister."

Labor committee member Steve Whan described the relocation as a "political fix" to back the government's decentralisation policy, and said Mr O'Farrell should not "accept a minister who has been so demonstrably incompetent".

Fellow committee member, the Greens' Cate Faehrmann, also called on Mr O'Farrell to intervene and halt the "absolutely disgraceful" relocation.

"If the minister does not reverse this decision, the premier should ask the minister to step down from this role," Ms Faehrmann said.

Mr Nile, asked if he agreed Ms Hodgkinson should be sacked, said: "I think it is something the premier should seriously consider."

But Ms Hodgkinson said she would ignore the committee's recommendation to halt the research centre's closure.

"A Decade of Decentralisation... was always going to involve tough decisions but the government has never wavered or created any public doubt about the decision to decentralise NSW Fisheries services," she said in a statement.

Assistant Secretary of the Public Service Association, Shane O'Brien, said Mr O'Farrell should "take responsibility and fix this".

"The staff will be relieved that finally there's been somebody prepared to listen," he said.

"The real test for staff will be what the government does in response. If there is no corrective action, then really it's a hollow victory."

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Obama's 'horses and bayonets' go viral

CAVALRY comments galloped online as a shot by President Barack Obama about "horses and bayonets" became the most talked about moment of the final presidential debate on Twitter.

Online sparring between supporters of Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney spiked during Monday's debate after Romney derisively remarked that "our navy is smaller now than (at) any time since 1917".

Obama countered that Romney didn't understand the modern military, saying "we also have fewer horses and bayonets" to laughter from the audience.

"We have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines," he said, adding that analysing military capabilities was not "a game of Battleship".

The exchange quickly trended on Twitter as #horsesandbayonets and within minutes of the debate's close a CavalrymenForRomney.com website featured a forlorn warrior on horseback holding a Romney banner on a pike.

"So much sass I was not ready to handle," one online comment read. "OMG, that's a double burn."

Obama's shot echoed at Tumblr.com where artists posted cartoons and playfully doctored images poking fun at a Romney military based on outdated equipment like horses.

A freshly-launched "Horses and Bayonets" page at Facebook with a charging US cavalry photo bore the mocking message: "I stand with Mitt Romney. We must buy more horses and bayonets to strengthen our military."

The Facebook page racked up more than 3500 "likes" shortly after launch.

Obama's "horses and bayonets" barb caused Twitter message volume during the debate to hit a peak of 105,767 tweets, according to the popular San Francisco-based micro-blogging service.

"While it was a busy evening with several events competing for viewers' attention, the political conversation on Twitter remained strong, with 6.5 million tweets sent about the 90-minute debate," the firm said in a blog post.

A Twitter user thrilled that hashtag #horsesandbayonets caught on quickly as a trending topic and said she was eager to see what parody was in store at US television comedy show Saturday Night Live.

"Bayonets and horses will go down in the history books," Golden Globe winning actress Bette Midler said in a tweet.

Another message spoke of the potential for "a dressage-based foreign policy: equestrian fetishism in the Romney White House", referring to the horse-dancing Olympic event that a mare owned by Romney's wife Ann takes part in.

A social networking denizen chimed in to say that his family still has his great-grandfather's bayonet from serving in the US cavalry during World War I and that the government could have it back if it was needed.

Someone with the screen name ifdreamstherebe insisted that the jokes obscured the larger point.

"Sure, we can arm all of our military forces to the hilt, with any and everything they could possibly need... But, do we have to?"

Other users saw Obama's comments as a rare "smackdown" moment in the debate, with one joking that the president should have "picked up a mic and dropped it" after delivering the line.

Some users felt Obama's response was too sarky, with Charles Lane saying the president had a "mocking and belittling tone".

"I still like my bayonet. But what do I know. I only served in two wars," wrote Kurt Schlichter.

Other critics pointed out that Marines are still issued bayonets and tweeted pictures of modern-day US soldiers armed with them.

"To Republicans countering Obama's bayonet lines by talking about how Marines still use bayonets: Stop. You're embarrassing yourselves," tweeted one user.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

$A treading water ahead of inflation data

THE Australian dollar is marking time ahead of the release of key inflation data.

At 1700 AEDT on Tuesday, the Australian dollar was trading at 103.19 US cents, down slightly from 103.26 cents at the end of Monday's local session.

Since 0700 AEDT on Tuesday, the currency has traded in a tight range of between 103.14 US cents and 103.40 cents.

National Australia Bank currency strategist Emma Lawson said a lack of major economic data on Tuesday meant traders were staying on the sidelines, awaiting the release of September quarter Australian consumer price index data (CPI), a measure of inflation.

"There isn't a great deal to say, there hasn't been a lot in terms of new information today," she said.

"That leaves the Aussie dollar a little bit lacklustre awaiting tomorrow's CPI."

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the CPI data on Wednesday.

If the data shows inflation remains at, or below, the bottom end of the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) two to three per cent annual target, it may increase the chance of an official interest rate cut in November.

Ms Lawson said traders would be looking for a September quarter inflation figure of around 0.6 per cent to justify expectations of a rate cut by the RBA.

"Traders will be looking for a 0.6 (per cent) or lower number to validate what has already been priced in, but if it comes in higher than expected then that will be a strong positive for the currency."

At 1700 AEDT, the Australian dollar was at 82.44 Japanese yen, up from 82.16 yen on Monday, and at 79.08 euro cents, up a notch from 79.07 euro cents.

Meanwhile, Australian bond futures finished lower on Tuesday.

At 1630 AEDT on Tuesday, the December 10-year bond futures contract was trading at 96.900 (implying a yield of 3.100 per cent), down from 96.935 (3.065 per cent) on Monday.

The December three-year bond futures contract was at 97.470 (2.530 per cent), down from 97.540 (2.460 per cent).

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Kangaroo on the hop at Melbourne Airport

TOURISTS hoping to see kangaroos bounding around Australia's main streets need only go as far as the Melbourne Airport car park.

A kangaroo somehow ended up on the fifth level of the airport's undercover long-term car park, near the terminals.

The airport was alerted to its unexpected guest on Monday morning via Twitter, complete with a photo.

"Hey @Melair there's a kangaroo in your carpark. I applaud your efforts to welcome international visitors!"

A wildlife officer tranquilised the kangaroo, which was taken to a vet.

The roo was in good health, albeit with sore toenails from the concrete and a little distressed by the experience.

"My understanding is he's actually doing very well," an airport spokeswoman said.

"He's really only got some sore paws and some sore toenails but he's fine."

The kangaroo was spending the night at the vet before being released back into the wild.

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Federal govt to continue belt tightening

THE latest round of budget cuts probably won't be the last if the federal government is intent on returning a surplus in the 2013 election year.

Treasurer Wayne Swan announced on Monday an extra $16.4 billion of budget savings over the next four years to keep its promised surpluses largely intact, after a troubled global economy took a further toll on tax receipts.

Mr Swan's mid-year budget review predicts a $1.1 billion surplus in 2012/13, down from the $1.5 billion surplus forecast in the May budget.

But it would still be a massive turnaround from a final $43.7 billion deficit for 2011/12.

The economic growth forecast for this financial year in the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (MYEFO) was also marked down to three per cent, from the 3.25 per cent trend pace previously.

"It's pretty obvious to all that ... this mid-year review has been put together amid storm clouds which are hanging over the global economy," Mr Swan told reporters in Canberra.

"This lower global growth outlook has had another very big whack at government tax revenues and has made it harder to deliver a surplus."

The latest round of savings includes a cut in the baby bonus from $5000 to $3000 for second and subsequent children from mid-2013, further changes to the private health insurance rebate and increased visa application costs.

"Our savings send a very clear message to the world that we have world-beating public finances," Mr Swan said.

"That is very important given global economic uncertainty."

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said all the "incredible shrinking budget surplus" showed was that Labor's economic management was a failure.

"This is a government that will never, ever deliver an honest budget surplus," Mr Abbott told reporters in Canberra.

Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia head of leadership Yasser El-Ansary said the budget forward estimates for revenue collections were probably still too optimistic.

"In early 2013, the government's razor gang is probably going to have to do some more work on spending cuts and tax increases if they want to deliver a budget surplus," Mr El-Ansary said in a statement.

Business groups were unhappy about the surprise announcement that companies will progressively shift to remitting taxes to the government each month, instead of quarterly, starting from 2014.

This will deliver a revenue gain of $8.3 billion over four years and make the system "more accurate, more timely and more clear", Mr Swan said.

"It's not an increase in tax. It's simply a change in the timing of it."

But the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry saw this as business having to do the "heavy lifting" again to get the budget back to surplus.

The chamber's director of economics and industry policy, Greg Evans, told reporters this came as a "double blow", after business missed out on a tax cut in the May budget.

The Tax Institute's tax counsel Deepti Paton said the change would result in an artificial spike in revenue and deliver minimal long-term benefits.

"Such tinkering is a missed opportunity for real, necessary tax reform," Ms Paton said in a statement.

"For some businesses, the measure will increase compliance costs and cause cash-flow difficulties in an already difficult economic environment."

Economists expect the MYEFO outcome will put a greater onus on the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to lower interest rates to underpin economic growth.

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Cup Day rate cut now more certain

THE onus on the central bank to keep the economy growing, and prevent the jobless rate spurting higher, just got heavier.

Faced with a still-turbulent global economy, which has hit forecasts for tax revenues and trimmed domestic growth expectations, the federal government turned the fiscal screw even tighter with another round of savings in its mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (MYEFO) on Monday.

But Treasurer Wayne Swan is doggedly sticking to his aim of returning a budget surplus in 2012/13, and at least over the next three financial years, albeit slightly smaller than predicted five months ago.

One economist described it as a "crazy-brave goal" of delivering a surplus this financial year, despite delivering a whopping $43.7 billion deficit in 2011/12, the third-largest deficit in Australia's history.

However, at $1.1 billion rather than $1.5 billion, the predicted surplus has become even more wafer-thin.

The surplus prediction comes while domestic economic growth is expected to shift slightly below trend, commonly seen at 3.25 per cent, but the jobless rate is seen at 5.5 per cent both this financial year and next, and only just above where it is now.

That suggests the government is relying on the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to do the heavy lifting.

The chance of a Melbourne Cup Day rate cut at the RBA's board meeting in November has grown that more certain, even before key inflation numbers for the September quarter are released on Wednesday.

And beyond November, financial markets are now fully pricing in a further two 25-basis-point reductions by mid-2013, which would take the cash rate to 2.5 per cent.

Business believes it is also doing the heavy lifting in helping return the budget to surplus through changes to tax payments from quarterly to monthly, raising $8 billion.

That said, and despite the brouhaha over the mining tax, the revenue take from the super profits from iron-ore and coal miners has become even smaller amid falling commodity prices.

The minerals resource rent tax will now rake in $9.1 billion instead of $13.4 billion over the forward estimates.

And this is clearly only an estimate, because the 30 per cent impost only started on July 1, and the first receipts were only being paid on Monday.

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Tokyo stocks end mixed

TOKYO stocks have ended mixed as late bargain-hunting recouped some of the morning session's losses, which followed a sharp fall on Wall Street last week and poor September trade figures.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Monday edged 0.09 per cent, or 8.03 points, higher to 9,010.71, while the Topix index of all first-section issues slipped 0.09 per cent, or 0.67 points, to 753.72.

The Nikkei opened 1.4 per cent lower after official data showed Japan logged a $US7.0 billion ($A6.82 billion) trade deficit in September, hit by the global slowdown and fallout from a bitter territorial spat with its biggest trading partner, China.

It was Japan's worst September trade figure in more than 30 years, with exports falling 10.3 per cent on-year. Exports to China tumbled 14.1 per cent.

"The weak Japan September trade numbers were horrible, while Mitsubishi Corp's forecast cut is also weighing heavily on the market," CLSA equity strategist Nicholas Smith told Dow Jones Newswires.

Hopes for further easing by the Bank of Japan pushed down the yen, boosting exporters with bargain-hunting helping erase some of the early losses and send the Nikkei index into positive territory before the closing bell.

Exporters had a mixed session with Toyota rising 0.31 per cent to Y3,150 while Sony dipped 0.40 per cent to Y979.

Mitsubishi lost 1.81 per cent to Y1,404 as the trading house slashed its profit forecast for the fiscal year to March 2013 after markets closed on Friday.

The company said it now expects a Y330 billion ($A4.06 billion) net profit, down from an earlier Y500 billion forecast. It blamed the change on a fall in global commodity prices and a prolonged strike at its Australian coking coal subsidiary.

Electronics giant Sharp Corp rose 7.38 per cent to Y160 following reports that it is in talks to ink long-term LCD panel supply deals with computer giant Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard and Dell.

On currency markets the dollar rose to Y79.64 from Y79.32 in New York late on Friday, while the euro bought $US1.3055 and Y103.98 in Tokyo, against $US1.3067 and Y103.31 in New York late on Friday.

US markets sank on Friday with the Nasdaq pulled down by a tech stock rout led by Apple and Microsoft as a series of disappointing earnings and trimmed forecasts spooked investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 1.52 per cent at 13,343.51 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gave up 2.19 per cent to end at 3,005.62.

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Several injured in Sydney market crash

A MAN is being questioned by police after he lost control of his car and crashed into a Sydney trash and treasure market, injuring several people, including a child.

A 69-year-old man got into his car parked amongst market stalls on Reservoir Road, Blacktown, at about 10.10am (AEST) Sunday.

The car shot forward twenty metres and hit a seven-year-old boy, his 40-year-old father, and three other men, before coming to a halt.

"We don't know (what caused him to lose control)," said Chief Inspector Wayne McMahon of Mount Druitt police station.

He said officers had seized the Subaru Forrester for forensic examination, the results of which would not be known for several weeks.

The boy and his father were taken to Westmead Hospital for treatment of minor head injuries.

A 30-year-old man was taken to Blacktown Hospital with head injuries and a 60-year-old man sustained leg injuries. The driver is assisting police with their inquiries and was not injured.

"He's just shaken up," Chief Inspector McMahon said.

He added police were hopeful all those injured would make a full recovery.

"They're all satisfactory with non-life-threatening injuries, and we're hopeful from the ambulance assessment at the scene that there'll be no permanent problems for any of them," he said.

Anyone who witnessed the crash is urged to contact Blacktown Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Japan saves 64 Chinese seamen

JAPAN'S coast guard has saved 64 Chinese seamen from their burning cargo ship despite the two nations remaining locked in an acrimonious dispute over contested islands.

The coast guard was alerted by Taiwanese authorities late on Saturday about a fire on the 12,700-tonne Ming Yang and sent patrol vessels and aircraft to the scene, about 150 kilometres southeast of Okinawa.

By 2.30am on Sunday (local time), a Japanese coast guard ship had saved 21 people who escaped on a life raft, while 43 others remained on the deck of the burning freighter, registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

All of the Chinese seamen were rescued by 3:47am, with three of them suffering minor injuries, the coast guard said.

It said the ship's chief engineer had reported hearing sounds resembling an explosion from the main engine on Saturday evening.

The Japanese coast guard has been busy kept busy monitoring waters around disputed islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, far to the west of the burning freighter.

The coast guard said four Chinese official vessels were in contiguous waters around the islands on Sunday.

Such vessels have been spotted in waters off the islands as the dispute escalated over the past two months, with the boats at times entering a 12-nautical-mile territorial zone.

Tensions between the two nations peaked in mid-September after the Japanese government bought a number of the disputed islands.

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Girl, 7, suffers burns from campfire

A YOUNG girl has suffered serious burns to her legs and feet after falling onto a smouldering campfire northwest of Sydney.

The seven-year-old was enjoying a day out with her family at Lower Portland, on the banks of the Hawkesbury River, when the accident happened just after 2pm (AEDT) on Sunday.

The youngster, from Clovelly in Sydney's eastern suburbs, was running through parkland when she fell onto the smouldering remains of the fire.

She was flown to the Children's Hospital at Westmead with burns to her legs and feet.

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Russian troops strike at militants

RUSSIAN troops have reportedly killed 49 militants in a massive security sweep that followed angry comments from President Vladimir Putin about raging violence in the troubled North Caucasus.

The National Anti-Terror Committee said the operation was conducted across several republics of the volatile Muslim region and resulted in the removal of some of the most "odious" guerrilla commanders and their followers.

"The coordinated action helped terminate the activities of several odious gang leaders, gang members and their associates, substantially damaging the system under which the bandits operate," the Interfax news agency quoted a committee statement as saying.

The committee said the "large-scale and massive" raids involved both local and federal troops and that 90 militia bases had been destroyed.

However, it gave no details about the timeframe for the operation or when it started.

Putin held a meeting on Friday on the North Caucasus in which he berated officials for failing to do enough to bring the region under full control after it witnessed two post-Soviet wars against pro-independence rebels in Chechnya.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More