Iron Butterfly bassist Lee Dorman dies

LEE Dorman, the bassist for psychedelic rock band Iron Butterfly, has died at age 70.

Orange County sheriff's spokeswoman Gail Krause says Dorman was found dead in a vehicle on Friday morning. A coroner's investigation is under way, but foul play is not suspected.

Krause said Dorman may have been on his way to a doctor's appointment when he died.

Iron Butterfly was formed and rose to prominence in the late 1960s. Its second album, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, sold more than 30 million copies, according to the band's website.

The title track's distinctive notes have been featured in numerous films and TV shows including The Simpsons, That '70s Show and in the series finale of Rescue Me.

Douglas Lee Dorman was born in September 1942 and had been living in Laguna Niguel, a coastal city in Southern California, when he died.

A message sent through the band's website was not immediately returned.

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Sydney Harbour heliport plans put on hold

The company that was set to run a heliport in Sydney Harbour says it is putting the project on hold. Source: AAP

THE company that was set to run a heliport in Sydney Harbour says it is putting the project on hold to consider the operation's "feasibility".

Newcastle Helicopters, which was set to operate a floating heliport to provide for quick transfers to and from Sydney airport and scenic flights over Sydney harbour, announced on Saturday that it would be halting the plans until further notice.

"Effective immediately, Newcastle Helicopters has put the project of the Sydney Harbour Floating Heliport on hold until further notice, in order to consider the feasibility of the operation going forward," it said in a statement.

"It is Newcastle Helicopter's intention to address the relevant concerns and queries with thoroughly considered and accurate information, and is taking the appropriate steps to do so."

The announcement comes after Fairfax media reported on Saturday that the Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) landing barge in Sydney Harbour was reportedly approved two weeks before it had asked about air safety or air traffic control regulations.

In a series of tweets earlier this week, Malcolm Turnbull also criticised the operation, saying he was told the decision to approve the helicopter service from a barge in Sydney Harbour was made by the RMS without consulting the premier or cabinet or community.

"Frankly what troubles me most is safety, summer afternoon, harbour full of boats, most with kids, noreaster ......," the federal member for Wentworth tweeted.

On Saturday, Mr Turnbull posted further tweets, urging people opposed to the heliport to sign a petition.

"So the NSW Govt Maritime Services dept only start to think about safety AFTER they have issued the helipad licence," he tweeted.

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US judge approves settlement in BP lawsuit

A FEDERAL judge has given final approval to BP's settlement with businesses and individuals who lost money because of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP PLC has estimated it will pay $US7.8 billion ($A7.47 billion) to resolve economic and medical claims from more than 100,000 businesses and individuals hurt by the nation's worst offshore oil spill. The settlement has no cap; the company could end up paying more or less.

US District Judge Carl Barbier, who gave his preliminary approval in May, made it final on Friday in a 125-page ruling released Friday evening.

"None of the objections, whether filed on the objections docket or elsewhere, have shown the settlement to be anything other than fair, reasonable, and adequate," he wrote.

BP and lawyers for the plaintiffs said they were pleased.

"We believe the settlement, which avoids years of lengthy litigation, is good for the people, businesses and communities of the Gulf and is in the best interests of BP's stakeholders," company spokesman Scott Dean said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. "Today's decision by the Court is another important step forward for BP in meeting its commitment to economic and environmental restoration efforts in the Gulf and in eliminating legal risk facing the company."

A statement from plaintiffs' lawyers Steve Herman and Jim Roy praised the settlement program's administrator, Pat Juneau.

"This settlement has - and will continue to - bring the people and businesses of the Gulf the relief they deserve," the lawyers wrote.

The April 2010 blowout of BP's Macondo well triggered an explosion that killed 11 rig workers and spilled more than 757 million litres of oil into the Gulf, closing much of it for months to commercial and recreational fishing and shrimping.

There is still a lot of litigation left, including a trial to identify the causes of BP's blowout and assign percentages of fault to the companies involved, Barbier wrote. That trial is scheduled next year.

Still unresolved are environmental damage claims brought by the federal government and Gulf Coast states against BP and its partners on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, and claims against Switzerland-based rig owner Transocean Ltd. and Houston-based cement contractor Halliburton.

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Supermarket looting spreads in Argentina

LOOTERS have ransacked supermarkets in several Argentine cities, causing two deaths and evoking memories of widespread theft and riots that killed dozens during the country's worst economic crisis a decade ago.

Santa Fe Province security minister Raul Lamberto described the attacks on Friday on stores as simple acts of vandalism and not social protests.

Lamberto said two people were killed by a sharp object and gunfire after attacks early Friday on about 20 supermarkets in the cities of Rosario and Villa Gobernador Galvez. He said 25 people were injured and 130 arrested during the looting about 190 miles (305.71 km) northeast of Buenos Aires.

Closer to the capital, riot police fired rubber bullets to drive off a mob that was trying to break into a supermarket in San Fernando, a town in Buenos Aires province.

A police lieutenant was hit on the head with a crowbar and suffered severe injuries during the clashes in San Fernando, authorities said. Officials said 378 people had been arrested in those confrontations.

Some shops closed in several cities despite the busy Christmas shopping season, worrying that the looting might spread.

The troubles followed a wave of sporadic looting that began on Thursday when dozens of people broke into a supermarket and carried away television sets and other electronics in the Patagonian ski resort of Bariloche. The government responded by deploying 400 military police to that southern city.

The unrest brought back memories of violence during Argentina's economic crisis in 2001, when jobless people stormed supermarkets, shops and kiosks.

Former President Fernando de la Rua resigned on Dec. 20, 2001, after days of protests against his handling of the crisis amid rioting that caused dozens of deaths and injuries.

The National Security Secretariat said this week's looting in at least six Argentine towns was the act of "vandals" instigated by union leaders who oppose President Cristina Fernandez.

With inflation running at about 25 per cent a year, Argentines have sought to change their pesos for dollars, but the government has cracked down on such trades and made it nearly impossible to obtain dollars legally.

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Caterpillar lays off 50 workers: union

A union has slammed machinery maker Caterpillar's decision to lay off 50 workers ahead of Christmas. Source: AAP

THE Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union says mining equipment manufacturer Caterpillar has laid off up to 50 workers at its operation in Tasmania.

Union state secretary John Short says the workers will be cut loose from the company's manufacturing plant in Burnie.

"It's a pretty mean-spirited act to lay off workers on the eve of Christmas," Mr Short said in a statement.

"It will take the merriness out of the family time meant to be enjoyed for these workers.

"The dedicated and skilled workers here in Burnie deserve better than this."

Mr Short said the company had started building machinery at a new plant in Thailand.

"When you add in job lay-offs before Christmas and the commencement of operations in new premises in Thailand, I think workers and the Burnie community have every right to know what Caterpillar's real plans are," he said.

Caterpillar did not immediately respond to AAP's inquiry.

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Fiji's military to 'monitor' parliament

FIJI'S ruling military has warned it will closely monitor parliament when the coup-plagued nation finally elects a new government, as officials wrapped up work on a draft constitution.

Military leader Voreqe Bainimarama, who seized power in a 2006 coup and tore up the last constitution, has pledged to hold elections in 2014 after introducing reforms he said were needed to make the country a proper democracy.

However, the role of the military, a key political player in the Pacific nation that has endured four coups since 1987, remains contentious, with the author of the draft constitution calling for it to stay out of politics after 2014.

But in a submission to the commission tasked with working on the new constitution, the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) indicated it had no intention of restricting its role after the elections.

The military exists "to deal with both internal security situation and external threats," said the submission, which was seen by AFP.

"The forces cannot and will not be complacent in dealing with situations that undermine national interest."

The military said it would not allow any government that won office in 2014 to undermine its reforms.

"The RFMF will monitor the ongoing situation in the parliament and in Fiji, ensuring that what it had adopted since 2006 ... is fully implemented," it said.

Kenyan academic Yash Ghai, the head of the five-person Constitutional Commission that handed the draft document to the government on Friday, said the military should be subject to parliamentary oversight and focus on national defence.

"We think the professional military, their conscience should be to defend Fiji against external aggression and we would rather the police handle internal disorder issues," he told Radio New Zealand.

"We feel that the military must be responsible to the government and to parliament and they have to act within the confines of the constitution."

The new constitution is intended to guarantee, through a People's Charter, principles such as one-person-one-vote, an independent judiciary and transparent governance, as well as establishing a secular, corruption-free state.

The draft constitution is scheduled to be formally adopted by the end of March.

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Boom state WA forecasts budget deficit

THE West Australian government has flagged the boom state's first deficit in 13 years, sparking calls for a complete review of capital expenditure programs.

In its Mid Year Economic Review, released on Friday, the state's books were tipped to slide into the red by $187 million in 2013/14 with the softening in mining royalties expected to continue.

That would follow an expected surplus for the current financial year of $140 million, down $56 million from budget estimates.

Treasurer Troy Buswell said it had become increasingly evident the WA economy was faced with "structural challenges" in commodity and foreign exchange markets - so much so that it had changed its forecasting methodology.

For instance, the WA government previously assumed the iron-ore price would return to its long-term average within four years but had stretched that out to 10 years, and believed commodity price volatility had become the new norm.

Mr Buswell said he was confident that the looming deficit could be avoided - if revenue projections proved too pessimistic and if spending was curbed - but opposition treasury spokesman Ben Wyatt said it was impossible.

"There's no way he's going to correct it in just one (financial) year," Mr Wyatt told reporters.

Mr Wyatt was also damning of the state government's projected steady rise in net debt over the forward estimates to $24.76 billion in 2015/16 - despite its previously stated pledge to cap debt at $20 billion.

"Troy Buswell has presided over average expense growth of 10 per cent every year that Colin Barnett has been premier," Mr Wyatt said, adding that it was time for the scandal-prone minister to go.

"When a treasurer can stand up during one of the state's great boom times and produce books that forecast a deficit in two years' time, it's time for that treasurer to acknowledge and for the premier to acknowledge that he's not focused on the job, he's more interested in part-time gags.

"I think every Western Australian who will be paying for this set of financial books for a long time yet were expecting a lot more."

Mr Buswell said the higher debt levels were needed to meet the infrastructure and services demands of a growing population, with some 1500 new arrivals in WA each week, and that managing expense growth was a core priority.

But the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA's chief economist John Nicolaou said the next WA government - given the state election was set for March - should commit to doing a full review of capital expenditure programs "to ensure the lion's share of the burden of balancing the books isn't left to business".

"Efficiency dividends will only go so far before a complete review of programs is required," Mr Nicolaou said.

"Net debt levels will remain a key challenge facing an incoming government, to ensure WA retains its AAA credit rating and the ability to fund election priorities."

Ratings agencies on Thursday warned that the state was at risk of losing its AAA credit rating due to high debt levels.

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Police warn of High Court case scam

POLICE are appealing for victims of a widespread fraud which they say has seen Australians hand over more than $2 million.

NSW Police said on Friday that they had launched an investigation into the allegedly fraudulent scheme, which asks people to provide funds for a supposed High Court case.

People are being told the case relates to "national security" and is shrouded in secrecy.

"They are promised a higher return on any investment or payment they make towards the cause," police said in a statement.

"Consequently, these victims have deposited funds into a bank account."

So far, police believe more than $2 million has been lost to the fraud.

Since 2007, funds have been provided by a number of victims at a range of financial institutions in NSW, Victoria, the ACT, Queensland and South Australia.

"We would urge anyone who is approached along these lines to be cautious and not hand over any money, it's a fraud," Detective Senior Constable Nathan Hogg, from Albury Criminal Investigation Unit, said.

"Also, we need anyone who has knowledge of this fraud or is an existing victim to contact Crime Stoppers immediately."

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Fire threatens homes in Sydney suburb

A WARNING is in place for residents of the south western Sydney suburb of Airds where firefighters are fighting to contain a blaze that is threatening homes.

Inspector Ben Shepherd of the Rural Fire Service said firefighters were getting the upper hand on the fire but residents should remain vigilant.

The fire is burning at Georges River Parkway reserve behind Greengate and Woolwash roads.

"The fire activity has settled down somewhat ... but we still need people just to be vigilant," he said.

A number of fire trucks and aircraft are fighting the fire.

The fire is being treated as suspicious.

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Europe launches British military satellite

A EUROPEAN rocket has launched a major satellite designed to expand telecommunications for the British military from the Kourou space base in French Guiana, flight operators say.

Skynet 5D - the fourth in Britain's new generation of Skynet military satellites - was taken aloft by a heavy Ariane 5 at 2149 GMT on Wednesday (0849 AEDT on Thursday), Arianespace said in an internet feed of the launch.

The 4.8-tonne satellite was partnered by a second payload, Mexsat Bicentenario, a 2.9-tonne telecoms satellite for the Mexican government.

The Skynet system is a public-private arrangement between Britain's Ministry of Defence and the space firm Astrium, which builds the satellites.

Under it, British forces pay an annual charge for which they are guaranteed bandwidth for their communications, and any surplus is sold to fellow NATO countries or other allies.

Skynet 5D is designed to provide coverage over the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

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Sudan bus collision kills 33 people

THIRTY-THREE people have been killed and 24 injured when two inter-city buses collided in Sudan, in one of the country's worst road accidents in years.

The crash between a full-sized passenger bus and a minibus occurred late on Wednesday near the small community of El Kamlien, about halfway between Khartoum and Wad Medani.

"The minibus tried to overtake another vehicle and then collided with the bus," which was travelling in the opposite direction, a police statement said.

Deadly road accidents, often involving buses, are relatively common in Sudan, where driving skills are poor.

The latest follows complaints by city bus drivers in Khartoum that Sudan's surging inflation and sinking currency have driven maintenance costs out of control.

In October, 13 people died and 26 were injured when a passenger bus blew a tyre and collided with a minibus on the road to Wad Medani southeast of the capital, official media reported at the time.

Twenty-one people died in April 2009 when a bus and a truck collided south of Khartoum.

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Banks shocked by rate manipulation

LIBOR governs the price of more than 500 trillion US dollars worth of loans and transactions around the world, including household mortgages.

So when Barclays was fined hundreds of millions of pounds for trying to rig the London Interbank Offered Rate interest in the rate spread far beyond the trading floor.

And in the wake of the scandal lawmakers are pressing ahead with far-reaching reforms which will make it a criminal offence to manipulate rates such as Libor.

Barclays was fined 290 million pounds for manipulating Libor in June, sending shockwaves throughout the banking industry.

A number of traders were found to have rigged rates to boost profits and bonus rewards, while the bank was also accused of lowering submissions in a bid to alter the perception of the lender's finances.

The claims ultimately led to the resignation of Barclays boss Bob Diamond, sparked a criminal investigation and became the focal point of a bitter row in Westminster over ethics in the banking sector.

Libor is considered one of the most important figures in finance, governing the rates at which banks are prepared to lend to each other in the wholesale money markets.

Financial Services Authority (FSA) managing director Martin Wheatley reviewed the Libor system and produced a 10-point plan to stamp out rate manipulation.

And Financial Secretary to the Treasury Greg Clark said Wheatley's recommendations would be accepted in full, including ditching the British Bankers' Association (BBA) as the group in charge of running Libor.

A new administrator is now being sought to run Libor in place of the BBA, while a code of practice will also be drawn up for banks submitting lending rates.

The BBA came under heavy criticism for being "careless" and having "clearly failed" in overseeing Libor, the Wheatley review said.

The lasting impact of Libor on banks and wider financial stability is likely to be felt for some time.

The Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee (FPC) recently said lenders were understating the amount of capital they held to protect against future financial shocks by not fully recognising the impact of past failures, including Libor manipulation.

The FSA is as a result expected to start immediately asking banks to increase their capital buffers, which act as a cushion against shocks in the financial system and future crises.

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Gunmen target Pakistan polio workers again

GUNMEN in Pakistan have opened fire on health workers carrying out polio vaccinations in three new attacks, after the killing of six people involved in the campaign.

Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio is still endemic.

However, efforts to stop the highly infectious disease have been hampered by resistance from the Pakistani Taliban, who have banned vaccination teams from some areas.

Six people working to immunise children against the crippling disease have been shot dead in Pakistan since the start of a UN-backed three-day vaccination campaign on Monday.

Two workers were giving out polio drops in a suburb of Peshawar, in the northwest, when gunmen on a motorbike rode up and sprayed them with bullets, Janbaz Afridi, doctor in charge of the immunisation campaign in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said.

One of the workers was in a critical condition in hospital after the attack, Afridi said.

Senior police official Asif Iqbal confirmed the attack and said police were investigating the motive and who was behind it.

Two other polio teams were targeted in similar attacks in the towns of Nowshera and Charsadda, police and health officials said, but the polio workers escaped unharmed.

One passer-by was slightly injured in Nowshera.

Violence has blighted every day of the polio campaign so far: one health worker was shot dead in Karachi on Monday and four more were killed in the city with another gunned down in Peshawar on Tuesday.

After Tuesday's attacks, the government of Sindh province, of which Karachi is capital, halted the immunisation drive, and Afridi said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would have no choice but to follow suit.

"We are holding an emergency meeting with our donors and we have no option but to postpone the vaccination campaign for the time being. We will formally announce it after the meeting," he said.

Rumours about polio drops being a plot to sterilise Muslims have long dogged efforts to tackle the disease in Pakistan, but suspicion of vaccination programs intensified after the jailing of a doctor who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden in 2011 using a hepatitis vaccination program.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the polio worker attacks, but in June the Pakistani Taliban banned immunisations in the tribal region of Waziristan, condemning the polio campaign as a cover for espionage.

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Police raid Perth Glory owner's businesses

SEVERAL companies associated with Perth Glory owner and businessman Tony Sage have been raided by federal police.

It is understood the Australian Federal Police (AFP) spent several hours in the soccer club's Leederville building as well as at the office of mining company Cape Lambert Resources, which Mr Sage chairs.

An AFP spokeswoman said she could not comment on an ongoing investigation but did confirm several commercial and residential premises were raided in Perth and Sydney on Wednesday.

"The AFP can confirm that today a number of search warrants were executed on commercial and residential premises in Perth and Sydney," she said in an emailed statement.

The searches were part of an ongoing AFP investigation in partnership with commonwealth agencies including the Australian Crime Commission, Australian Tax Office, and Australian Securities and Investments Commission, she said.

"The investigation is ongoing, therefore it is not appropriate to make any further comment at this point in time," she said.

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Xie to stand trial for Lin murders

LIAN Bin 'Robert' Xie will stand trial in the Supreme Court next year charged with murdering five members of his wife's family in their Sydney home.

If convicted of the 2009 Lin family murders, Xie, 48, faces life imprisonment, Central Local Court heard on Wednesday.

Following lengthy committal proceedings, Magistrate John Andrews ruled there was enough evidence against Xie to put the case before a Supreme Court jury.

Xie applied for bail immediately after the decision was handed down, which was opposed by the Crown on the basis that if convicted, he faces life imprisonment.

Xie's wife, Kathy Lin, who has supported him throughout the proceedings, wept in court as she pledged to give in her passport as well as her husband's if he was granted bail.

Xie also started crying as he witnessed his wife's distress.

He is accused of murdering his brother-in-law, Min "Norman" Lin, 45, Mr Lin's wife, Yun Li "Lily" Lin, 43, her sister, Yun Bin "Irene" Yin, 39, and two boys, aged nine and 12, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Their bodies were found in a North Epping house, in Sydney's northwest, on July 18, 2009.

They had been beaten to death in their bedrooms with a hammer-like object, while the cause of death for four of the victims also included asphyxia.

During four weeks of hearings, the Crown alleged there was a "compelling" case Lin murdered the family in a crime of "extreme hatred and hostility".

Crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC said the prosecution case against Xie was a circumstantial one that rested on "looking at all of the strands of information" that pointed to him being the killer.

This included DNA evidence in the form of a spot, which was found on the floor of his garage.

Mr Tedeschi submitted it contained the DNA of at least four different people and could "only be blood" taken from the crime scene.

He conceded, however, the case in relation to Xie's motive was "weak".

Defence barrister Graham Turnbull SC said the case against Xie was based almost entirely on speculation and he had no chance of being convicted.

He argued the DNA evidence would be inadmissible at trial.

Opposing bail, Mr Tedeschi said Xie had strong financial and family links to his native China and posed a significant flight risk.

Lester Fernandez, representing Xie, said the prosecution case was weak and Xie had strong community ties that would prevent him from fleeing.

Mr Andrews will hand down his decision on bail on Thursday.

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US concerned for 'detained' Laos activist

POLICE in Laos have detained a prominent development campaigner, a source close to the activist says.

Footage from closed circuit cameras revealed that Sombath Somphone, who went missing on Saturday in Vientiane, "was taken away by plainclothes policemen", according to a person familiar with the case who asked not to be named.

It was unclear why he was detained.

Laos officials were not immediately available to comment.

United States officials on Tuesday said diplomatic and aid agency representatives had been in contact with Sombath's wife, adding that they had "concerns for his well-being and safety".

"We have registered our concern with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Laos and encouraged them to make every effort to locate him and figure out what's happened here," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told journalists.

Sombath won the 2005 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership for his work in poverty reduction and sustainable development in one of South-East Asia's poorest countries.

A member of the activist's Participatory Development Training Centre (PADETC) said that Sombath's family was searching for the activist.

"I am still shocked and everybody here is praying about it," the aid worker said.

Laos is a one-party communist state which exerts total control over the media and does not tolerate criticism of its institutions.

Earlier this month authorities expelled the outspoken country director of Swiss charity Helvetas, Anne-Sophie Gindroz, for criticising the Laos government.

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Aust to help Fiji in wake of Cyclone Evan

The federal government is giving Fiji immediate humanitarian assistance in the wake of Cyclone Evan. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA will give Fiji and Samoa an initial $1 million worth of emergency assistance each to help recover from Cyclone Evan.

The cyclone has left a swathe of destruction after battering Fiji for more than 12 hours, destroying homes, flooding rivers and stranding thousands of tourists.

Western parts of main island Viti Levu bore the brunt of the cyclone's fury but there are no reports of deaths. About 8500 locals sheltered from the cyclone in evacuation centres.

The head of AusAID in Fiji, John Davidson, says Australia is giving Fiji 1000-plus family care packages as a first step.

"We will continue to monitor the situation very closely," he told AAP from Suva on Tuesday.

"The response we've provided so far is very much an immediate response to help the people of Fiji.

"I would expect it would be a much larger response once we're able to ascertain the full extent of the damage."

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said the government was sending two disaster relief experts to assess the damage, and an extra foreign affairs official to give consular help to Australians.

"The Australian Civilian Corps is also on standby for early deployment," he said in a statement.

Mr Davidson said further assistance could include water purification, hydration, soap, tents and school infrastructure.

AusAID may also provide vaccinations and mosquito nets to prevent typhoid and dengue fever outbreaks, Mr Davidson said.

Evan killed five people when it pummelled Samoa late last week. The Australian High Commission in the capital Apia reopened on Tuesday after closing due to storm damage.

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Aust stocks closes at 16 month high

THE Australian market finished on a 16-month closing high as US politicians appeared to make progress on their budget negotiations .

At close on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 21.8 points, or 0.48 per cent, at 4,595.2 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index had risen 22.5 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 4,610.5 points.

On the ASX 24, the December share price index futures contract was 29 points higher at 4,602 points, with 167,860 contracts traded.

Australian Stock Report head of research Geoff Saffer said the Australian market had its highest close since late July 2011 after US politicians appeared to be making progress on their "fiscal cliff" negotiations.

Just two weeks remain before tax increases and government spending cuts, referred to as the fiscal cliff, start taking effect in the US if no deal is reached.

"I think it was mainly widespread buying today on hopes that US politicians will reach a compromise before the end of the year," he said.

Mr Saffer said the Reserve Bank of Australia's minutes of its December board meeting also suggested that the cash rate could be cut further in 2013 which prompted investor buying.

The Australian market recorded gains across the board with mining, utilities and healthcare the best performing sectors.

BHP Billiton jumped 31 cents to $36.66, Rio Tinto soared $1.18 to $64.70 and Fortescue gained 13 cents to $4.60.

The four major banks all finished in positive territory.

ANZ was up two cents to $24.51, National Australia Bank gained 12 cents to $24.60, Westpac added six cents to $25.81 and Commonwealth Bank jumped 16 cents to $61.45.

The spot price of Sydney gold closed at $US1,702.59, up $US10.84 from Monday's close of $US1,691.75.

Market turnover was 1.77 billion securities worth $4.99 billion, with 536 stocks up, 434 down and 352 unchanged.

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Aust bonds lower after RBA minutes

AUSTRALIAN bond futures prices were lower after the release of the minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's latest board meeting reduced traders' expectations of future interest rate cuts.

RBC Capital Markets fixed income strategist Su-Lin Ong said local bond futures prices fell following the release of the RBA's minutes at 1130 AEDT.

"The minutes from the December meeting suggested it was quite a close decision and I guess the interpretation is that with the cash rate down to three per cent the hurdle to cut further may be quite high," she said.

"So that weighed quite high on fixed income markets."

The RBA cut the cash rate to three per cent in December, from 3.25 per cent previously.

Ms Ong said developments in negotiations on the 'fiscal cliff' of tax hikes and spending cuts due to apply in 2013, unless US political leaders can agree to alternative measures, was likely to drive bond markets over the coming days.

"I think most attention is on these fiscal cliff negotiations, we have had some progress since the weekend and I think there is an expectation that we are inching closer to both a compromise and agreement," Ms Ong said.

US President Barack Obama has offered a proposal to House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner which would raise revenue by $US1.2 trillion ($A1.14 trillion), and cut spending by the same amount.

At 1630 AEDT on Tuesday, the March 10-year bond futures contract was at 96.640 (implying a yield of 3.360 per cent), down from 96.670 (3.330 per cent) on Monday.

The March three-year bond futures contract was trading at 97.220 (2.780 per cent), down from 97.235 (2.765 per cent).

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Man faces 10 years jail over flight abuse

AN international flight was diverted after a drunken Perth man allegedly tried to smoke a cigarette on the plane before punching and spitting on crew members.

The 34-year-old man was taken off the flight, enroute from Sydney to Japan on Monday night, when it was diverted to Cairns.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) allege the man was heavily intoxicated and was abusive towards the crew and other passengers.

He had to be forcibly restrained by the crew and was arrested when the plane landed in Cairns, police said.

Assistant commissioner Shane Connelly said the public needed to remember that when they travelled on an aircraft their behaviour was subject to Australian laws.

"Enough is enough. An aircraft captain and co-pilot can ill-afford to be distracted from their duties of safely flying an aircraft by having to deal with drunk, violent or disorderly passengers," he said.

"The cabin crew are there to make your flight safe and enjoyable.

"They should not have to restrain violent passengers, be abused or assaulted, or be interfered with in conducting their duties."

AFP responded to more than 1000 alcohol-related incidents at Australia's 10 major airports during the 2011-12 financial year.

Out of those incidents, 145 were for offences related to offensive and disorderly behaviour and excessive alcohol consumption.

AFP said the plane was forced to dump its fuel load when it diverted to Cairns and the airline would seek to recover significant costs.

The man was due to face Cairns Magistrate Court on Tuesday charged with smoking in an aircraft, disorderly and offensive behaviour on board an aircraft, and interfering with crew or aircraft.

The offences carry a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment.

He will also be charged with assaulting crew general, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.

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Shot fired outside Gold Coast home

Police are trying to track down a group who fired a shot outside a Gold Coast home. Source: AAP

POLICE are trying to track down a group who fired a shot outside a Gold Coast home.

The four men and one woman tried to force their way into the Chevron Island home on Saturday evening, as a group of people were socialising on the front balcony.

The group couldn't bust through the door but became involved in a verbal fight with those on the balcony.

As they were leaving, one of the men fired a shot at the rear of the house.

No-one was injured.

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ANC conference starts with Zuma under fire

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Union warned about WA dock's standards

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WorkSafe and Mermaid Marine have been contacted for comment.

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Treasurers meet to discuss tax reform

TAX reform will top the agenda when Treasurer Wayne Swan meets his state and territory counterparts on Monday but his government is holding firm against any major changes to the GST.

The Standing Council on Federal Financial Relations is expected to discuss stamp duty on home sales and the recent GST review led by former premiers Nick Greiner and John Brumby when it meets in Canberra.

Mr Swan said on Sunday that tax reform isn't the exclusive job of the federal government.

"All levels of government must do their share of the heavy lifting - a point I'll be making to my state and territory counterparts tomorrow," the treasurer said in his weekly economic note.

Mr Swan singled out state stamp duties on home sales for particular scorn, saying they discourage people from relocating for work and make it harder for people to upsize or downsize as their families change.

But Mr Swan has made it clear the government remains opposed to raising the rate or broadening the base of the goods and services tax.

"It's wrong to pretend that jacking up the GST is the holy grail of tax reform," he said.

"While it has become an accepted part of the tax mix and its integrity should be protected, the fact is it is a regressive tax - those on lower incomes pay a larger proportion of their incomes on it than those on higher incomes."

Extending the tax on food, health and education would hit those on the bottom 20 per cent of incomes much harder, he said.

The GST rate has been 10 per cent since it was introduced in mid-2000, and fresh food, education and health products are exempt.

The GST review proposed a number of refinements to the tax's distribution arrangements.

Queensland, NSW, Victoria and WA put in a joint proposal to the review arguing for a population-based distribution of GST funds, which would slash money going to smaller states.

The federal government's Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) will also be on the treasurers' agenda.

Mr Swan has also called on Australians to submit their ideas and priorities for next year's budget.

But people should keep in mind the pressures on government revenue, he said.

"That means proposals for budget spending should ideally be accompanied by proposals for equivalent savings," he said.

Submissions should be sent to Treasury's Budget Policy Division or emailed to prebudgetsubs@treasury.gov.au no later than January 31.

The budget will be handed down on May 11.

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