No timeframe for Antarctic reserves

THE head of the United States' scientific program in Antarctica isn't committing to a timeframe for an agreement to create the world's largest marine reserve.

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which regulates the seas around Antarctica, missed its 2012 target for creating a network of marine reserves around the entire continent.

New Zealand and the US could not agree over what areas in the Ross Sea should be included in the reserves, with conservation groups saying not enough species-rich areas were part of New Zealand's proposal.

The US National Science Foundation's polar program director Kelly Falkner dismissed a suggestion there was any bad blood over the failure.

Speaking to visiting reporters on Ross Island in Antarctica on Saturday, Dr Falkner said New Zealand and the US had since been able to thrash out their differences.

"We have the first steps of consensus between us... if we didn't work together it wouldn't bode well for the world, so I am really glad we have taken that first step because there are many more countries that we have to bring on board."

Dr Falkner would not commit to a timeframe to broker an agreement.

The next CCAMLR meeting is in Germany in July.

Meanwhile, NZ Prime Minister John Key, who visited the McMurdo Station just 3km from New Zealand's Scott Base on Saturday, praised the American efforts in Antarctica.

Mr Key was grateful the Americans had decided to stay in Christchurch, where the International Antarctic Centre is based, after the 2011 earthquake.

"We couldn't operate without the Americans. They do a lot of the heavy lifting here in Antarctica, they dedicate enormous resources. We rely on them for logistics and movements very often," he said

New Zealand's role in the deal could involve processing waste, wind farm technology and support with flights, Mr Key said.

The prime minister is still hoping to make a quick visit to the South Pole, after the weather stopped him flying there on Saturday.

It was very disappointing to miss the chance to get to the pole and see the US work on astrophysics and one of the most powerful telescopes in the world, he said.

"We haven't completely closed off the opportunity of getting there on Monday, but obviously in the lap of the gods when it comes to the weather. This is a very extreme environment, you have got to kind of expect that."

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WA enviro groups launch election campaign

ENVIRONMENTAL groups have begun a campaign of door-knocking and advertisements in Western Australia as the state prepares for an election in March.

In an effort they say is unprecedented in WA, the Wilderness Society and Conservation Council of Western Australia (CCWA) have joined forces to lobby political parties on environmental policies.

On Saturday they began door-knocking in Premier Colin Barnett's Cottesloe electorate and say ads will soon appear on television and in print.

"This is a very important time during an election period when all Western Australians have a unique opportunity to influence the policies that the next term of government will put in place," CCWA director Piers Verstegen said.

"I think people will resonate with that when we contact them and get involved in the campaign."

Mr Verstegen says the focus is to push for policies to protect the Kimberley, increase recycling and prevent uranium mining.

He warned the political parties that Western Australians had a history of voting for environmental protection.

"Western Australians have an important connection with the natural environment and certainly they think about it when they go and cast their vote," he said.

Peter Robertson from the Wilderness Society said the rapid growth of mines across the state would cause irreversible damage to the environment.

"Our state's iconic areas - the Kimberley, Great Western Woodlands, marine environments and south west forests - may be lost or damaged forever if our next state government does not take strong steps to protect them," he said.

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Greens warn against drug company influence

THE Australian Greens say drug companies should be banned from paying doctors to attend work conferences.

Greens senator Richard Di Natale will introduce new legislation to ban the practice, in a move he says will lead to greater transparency for patients.

"(The bill) would ban the practice of flying doctors to five star resorts in places such as Hawaii under the guise of education, and it would also ensure that any payments to doctors who consult for drug companies or speak at conferences are disclosed," he said in a statement on Saturday.

Senator Di Natale, a former GP, said it was important that patients believed they were getting advice that had not been compromised by a doctor's commercial relationship with a drug company.

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Japan vows to sign child abduction treaty

JAPAN'S foreign minister says his country's new government will join a treaty that allows action on child abductions, addressing one of the few rifts in relations with its main ally the United States.

Japan has not signed or ratified the 1980 Hague Convention, which requires the return of wrongfully held children to the countries where they usually live, despite a previous left-leaning government saying it planned to do so.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, whose conservative Liberal Democratic Party returned to power last month, said on a visit to Washington that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government would take the same stance.

"The government of Japan is intending to go through the necessary procedures for early conclusion of the treaty," Kishida told a news conference with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Clinton said she hoped that Japan's parliament would pass legislation on the Hague treaty during its upcoming session.

Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Masaru Sato, asked about the timeframe urged by Clinton, said the government was serious about taking action.

"We will make our best efforts - all we can - so that early conclusion of the convention will be able to be achieved," Sato told reporters in Washington.

Japanese courts virtually never grant custody to foreign parents or to fathers, leaving few legal avenues for fathers whose former partners have fled to Japan with their children.

Hundreds of US parents have complained that they have no recourse to see their half-Japanese children. At least 120 have filed cases in Japan, usually to no avail.

The US Congress has repeatedly pressed Japan to address the issue, with one politician last year proposing counter-measures such as cancelling official visits or refusing export licences for products if Japan does not act.

The previous Japanese government's position had initially heartened US officials, but their hopes dimmed as Tokyo delayed action on the Hague treaty and indicated that a ratification would only apply to future cases.

Japanese critics of the Hague convention have previously argued that the country needs to protect women from potentially abusive foreign men.

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Two homes destroyed in Bega Valley fires

TWO homes and two sheds have been lost in the NSW Bega Valley as a bushfire west of Merimbula burns out of control.

The RFS says the two properties and the two sheds were lost in the blaze, in the Millingandi area, which has burnt 150 hectares.

There are 100 firefighters are on the ground, while three aircraft will work until nightfall to try to contain the blaze, which crossed the Princes Highway earlier on Friday and was impacting on local properties.

Residents were being advised to head north to Bega or South to Merimbula if they wished to leave the area.

No mandatory evacuation order has been put in place.

Meanwhile, a fire has broken out in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park in north Sydney.

An RFS spokesman said the fire was not threatening any properties, but would be visible to those living in the northern suburbs.

A helicopter is assisting crews to contain the fire.

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Heat to recede after day of blazes

Temperatures are expected to plunge across Australia's bushfire-ravaged southeast this weekend. Source: AAP

TEMPERATURES should plunge across Australia's bushfire-ravaged southeast this weekend, bringing rain and relief after another day of destructive blazes destroyed homes and and left hundreds of people displaced.

Rural Victoria became the leading trouble spot for emergency services on Friday, with the Gippsland region, 270km east of Melbourne, affected by a 45,000-hectare fire.

It torched land and property in Seaton, Heyfield, Lake Glenmaggie, Dawson and Glenmaggie.

The blaze started at Aberfeldy on Friday morning and quickly grew three times larger than the size initially predicted by Victoria's Country Fire Service, fanned by gusty winds and heatwave conditions.

Hundreds of residents were evacuated and at least five homes were destroyed.

The fire is expected to burn for a fortnight.

Sixty children and 15 adults were whisked away from a holiday park at Licola, a small village at the southern gateway to the Alpine National Park, before Licola was surrounded by fire.

Four firefighters had to shelter in their truck at Glenmaggie, north of Heyfield, as fire passed over them.

"They are all okay," a State Control Centre spokeswoman told AAP.

"They would have been working around the fire front and just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

In NSW, the picture was just as grim.

There were 95 fires burning, including 14 that were uncontrolled.

Older blazes continued to flare and several major new fires sparked safety concerns as temperatures soared well into the 40s.

There have been no reported fatalities from any of the recent bushfires.

A large grass fire about five kilometres southwest of Boorowa, east of Young, was moving rapidly northeast on Friday evening.

The Rural Fire Service said it may reach the outskirts of Boorowa, population about 1000, unless it was contained.

New fires were burning out of control at Campbelltown, southwest of Sydney, Millingandi, on the south coast, and near Watershed Farm, a thoroughbred horse breeding business at Young.

The Milligandi fire in the Bega Valley reached properties on a number of roads on Friday afternoon, and residents were advised to flee north to Bega or south to Merimbula.

A week-old bushfire at Yarrabin, in the Cooma-Monaro area, was upgraded to a watch-and-act status, putting residents on high alert to evacuate.

Residents near the 45,000-hectare blaze in the Warrumbungle National Park, west of Coonabarabran, were also warned they might have to leave.

The blaze, said to be the most destructive in NSW in a decade, has destroyed 51 properties and after breaking containment lines was bearing down on several rural homes at the southern end of its reaches.

At least 51 people have been made homeless by the Coonabarabran fire, and on Friday more than 60 people visited a recovery centre to access aid and care.

A fire, sparked by a torched car at Aberdare, in NSW's Hunter Valley, threatened several homes before being contained.

Part of the problem for NSW emergency services was the higher-than-expected temperatures.

Sydney recorded its hottest day in history, with the mercury hitting 45.8C, exceeding the previous record of 45.3C set on January 14, 1939.

Areas from the Hunter Valley down to the Victorian border and from the NSW south coast inland to the Riverina were all given extreme fire danger ratings as temperatures rose well into the 40s.

But the heat is set to recede in many parts of south and east Australia over the weekend.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said a cold front moved up through Victoria on Friday, would reach NSW late on Friday night before fizzling out around the state's mid-north coast.

The southern two-thirds of the state should be "quite cool" on Saturday, and Sydney should record a temperature of about 25C.

Victoria and South Australia should also experience cooler temperatures, the BoM said.

Rain is forecast across most of NSW and northeast parts of Victoria between Friday and Monday.

Relatively heavy rain is forecast for northeast NSW.

Monsoonal rains are forecast for Australia's north, which may help cool other parts of the continent depending on wind directions.

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Exhausted firefighters battle fires, heat

Firefighters have struggled to cope with new fires as record temperatures hit New South Wales. Source: AAP

FIREFIGHTERS have collapsed, residents have been advised to leave their homes and properties are under threat as fires burn across NSW, fanned by extreme weather conditions.

On Friday exhausted firefighters struggling to cope with dozens of major new fires were praying for a slight reprieve over the weekend, with lower temperatures and rain predicted for some regions.

A number of firefighters collapsed as they worked to protect homes from blazes which sprang up across the state, whipped by gusty winds and record temperatures.

"We're pretty much we're having fires popping up all over the state," Rural Fire Service (RFS) Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said.

"We've had a number of firefighters collapse with heat exhaustion.

"It's been incredibly hot for them.

"Combine that with the furnace-like heat of the fires, it is really taking its toll."

Sydney recorded its hottest day ever - 45.8C at 2.55pm (AEDT) - exceeding the previous record of 45.3C set on January 14, 1939.

Temperatures elsewhere were well into the 40s, sparking a number of blazes, including a fast moving grassfire at Boorowa, east of Young.

The RFS said there were concerns the fire may reach the outskirts of Boorowa, a town with a population of about 1000, unless it was contained.

"Firefighters are making progress on that fire but the danger has by no means passed," Mr Rogers said.

There were also new, out-of-control fires at Campbelltown, southwest of Sydney, Millingandi, on the south coast and near Watershed Farm, a thoroughbred horse breeding business at Young.

All up, there were 95 fires burning in NSW, including 14 that were uncontrolled.

A bushfire west of Merimbula was among those threatening properties on the south coast.

The RFS said the fire, in the Millingandi area about 2km west of the Merimbula bypass, crossed the Princes Highway and was impacting properties, sparking warnings for residents to head north to Bega or south to Merimbula.

Also of concern was a fire started by a torched car near Cessnock, in the Hunter region, which caused the evacuation of some residents.

Older fires were also still causing problems.

More than 170 firefighters continued to battle the 46,000-hectare fire in the Warrumbungle National Park west of Coonabarabran which is burning close to rural properties.

A Recovery Centre opened in Coonabarabran on Friday to assist the local community with basic needs, such as clothing, food and emergency accommodation.

NSW Emergency Services Minister Michael Gallacher said it was heartening to see volunteers banding together to help affected residents.

"The strength and resilience of these communities is inspiring," Mr Gallacher said.

Meanwhile a bushfire in the Deans Gap area of Morton National Park near Sussex Inlet, covering 9114 hectares, remains uncontained and the RFS said it may jump containment lines.

But there was some respite in sight.

The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a cool change for much of NSW over the weekend, bringing much lower temperatures and a strong chance of rain.

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Clinic protects flying foxes from the heat

ONLY a few days old Olivia, the flying fox, weighs 54 grams and is one of the youngest survivors of NSW's scalding and fiery summer.

At the South Coast Wildlife Rescue, her carer Michelle Carlile is giving her the "premature baby treatment".

Ms Carlile uses a syringe to give Olivia water to cool her down on this 48 degree day.

The mother-of-five is an old hand at baby rearing, but her children are now all grown up in their 20s.

"Olivia is very much the same as a human infant," she told AAP "But there's no nappies or screaming."

Olivia fell off her mother's back and was found on the ground edge of a known bat colony near Nowra.

"She shouldn't have been born yet," Ms Carlile said, adding that she still had her cord attached to her belly button.

"Her mother's given birth from the heat stress." Olivia's eyes haven't opened yet.

"She's like a puppy," Ms Carlile said, adding that her eyes won't open for a week or ten days.

Olivia is fed every three hours on a milk supplement and will stay with her carer for 13 weeks before she's strong enough to go in a cage with other juvenile bats.

She's curled up in a handkerchief and fanning herself with her wings.

The rescue centre will release her in a year.

The grey-headed flying fox is a threatened species and the sole pollinator of the eucalypt forest.

Their preferred food is blossom from eucplytus trees but they also eat fruit.

The wildlife rescue bat clinic is looking after a hundred flying foxes who eat 10kg of fruit a day.

An estimated 3000 bats from Olivia's flying fox colony have died from heatstroke in the past week.

Wildlife rescuers warn people who find flying foxes in distress, not to handle them because of the disease risk. It's better to phone qualified rescuers who have been vaccinated.

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UK, Aust to deal with Middle East crises

AUSTRALIA'S "remarkably durable relationship" with the UK will be the key to dealing with a number of potential crises in the Middle East in 2013, British Foreign Minister William Hague says.

Mr Hague has pointed to Australia's elevation to the United Nations Security Council as evidence that the two allies will be standing shoulder-to-shoulder during a "crucial year in the Middle East".

"We could see a perfect storm of crises converging if the conflict in Syria continues, the Middle East peace process remains stalled and if Iran will not enter into meaningful negotiations over its nuclear program," Mr Hague told an audience in Sydney on Thursday.

"We may well have to face all these things side by side at the UN Security Council, as well as dealing with so many unexpected crises."

Mr Hague, in Australia to deliver the fourth John Howard address at the Menzies Research Centre, said the common ground on foreign policy proved that the relationship between the two countries was not "based purely on history".

"To anyone who says Britain and Australia are facing in different directions, I say we've more work on our hands than ever before."

He said Australia did not have to choose between its neighbourhood and its traditional alliances, saying Britain was "a partner of Australia in the Asia Pacific as well as globally".

Mr Hague said Britain was "looking East as never before in modern times", setting sights on economic and diplomatic opportunities in Asia.

He said this would reinforce the nation's partnership with Australia.

"Ours is a remarkably durable relationship, one I can confidently say has its best days and its greatest opportunities still to come."

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott had earlier introduced Mr Hague's speech, saying Australia would do well to strengthen ties with Britain.

Australia and Britain shared an "enduring community of interest and values", he said.

"Both countries appreciate that you do not win new friends by losing old ones."

Britain was the second-largest direct foreign investor in Australia, the nation's largest trading partner in Europe and the sixth-largest economy in the world.

Mr Abbott said Mr Hague, a former conservative opposition leader, was a role model for him in a similar way to former Australian prime minister John Howard.

He said Australia's Liberal party and Britain's Conservative Party shared the same approach to government.

"Our two political movements instinctively support policies which protect the family, which support small business and which uphold traditional institutions," Mr Abbott said.

"The liberal part of our soul wants smaller government, lower taxes and greater freedom.

"The conservative part cherishes the family and values the institutions that have stood the test of time."

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Feds blame Qld for jobless increase

THE federal government has blamed Queensland for the jump in Australia's jobless rate, while the state's treasurer blamed global factors for a spike in unemployment.

Queensland's unemployment rate jumped to 6.2 per cent in December as the national level rose to 5.4 per cent, giving the state Australia's second highest jobless rate after Tasmania.

Acting Employment Minister Kate Ellis blamed Queensland for the national unemployment increase, reflected in Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

"Regrettably, more than 22,000 Queenslanders found themselves out of a job this Christmas (while) across the rest of the country, jobs grew," she told reporters in Adelaide.

"Were it not for the Queensland job losses, the unemployment rate today would have actually fallen to 5.2 per cent rather than slightly rising."

But state Treasurer Tim Nicholls said global factors, and political deadlock in the US over debt, caused Queensland's jobless rate to increase.

"A weaker global outlook, including certainty about the US 'fiscal cliff' and a decline in commodity prices, has seen business remain cautious which has led to a weakening in labour market conditions in Queensland," he said in a statement.

"This is reflected right across Australia, with 5500 jobs lost nationwide in December."

The news comes just days after Queensland Premier Campbell Newman vowed not to sack any more public servants, beyond the 14,000 made redundant last year.

Ms Ellis said that since the election of the Newman government, 65 jobs losses have been lost each day.

The unemployment rate in Queensland stood at 5.5 per cent when the Liberal National Party came to power in March 2012.

But Ms Ellis acknowledged the national unemployment rate was expected to rise as the rest of the world grappled with the effects of the GFC.

State Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said Queensland's jobless rate increase showed the Newman government was struggling to deliver on its promise of four per cent unemployment.

"The four per cent jobless commitment the premier made to Queenslanders at last year's election means he must create jobs at the rate of 200 a day, or 420,000 new jobs over six years," she said.

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Bushfire under control in WA's Rockingham

FIREFIGHTERS are winning the battle against a bushfire in the east of Rockingham, south of Perth, which was started by a car set on fire at the end of an urban crime spree.

WA's Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) has downgraded a watch and act alert in the area bounded by Dixon Road, Darile Road and Lawson Road.

DFES say there is now no threat to lives or homes but there is a lot of smoke in the area.

Seventy firefighters from Hope Valley, Rockingham and Success Fire Rescue Service and volunteer firefighters from Baldivis, Kwinana South, Mandogalup Bushfire Brigades and Rockingham Volunteer Fire Rescue Service are on the scene strengthening containment lines.

Three Helitacs and one aerial intelligence helicopter which assisted firefighters have now been released.

Firefighters used a loader to build mineral earth breaks to contain the fire, and will continue to monitor the area overnight.

WA Police are also in attendance.

DFES confirmed the cause of the fire is believed to have involved a vehicle fire, which was begun by a teenager who was allegedly part of a crime spree overnight.

Detectives in Armadale are interviewing six juveniles following a 40-minute police chase, which followed an alleged robbery in East Victoria Park, an assault in Seville Grove, a bashing of a 67-year-old man in Champion Drive and the theft of a 2010 Toyota LandCruiser.

As police caught up with the gang, two of them allegedly attempted to escape in a stolen Toyota Camry used in the first robbery, which was then dumped and set on fire - starting the Rockingham blaze.

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Qld cops 'not disciplined properly'

THE Queensland Police Service has been accused of failing to adequately discipline a Gold Coast police officer who knocked a watchhouse prisoner unconscious and then strip-searched him while he was out cold.

Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) documents show Sergeant Shaun Groufsky was cleared of misconduct in relation to allegations of using improper force at the Southport watch house in March 2009 after arguing he believed he was about to be assaulted.

However, Sgt Groufsky had his pay docked and was ordered to undergo counselling for the indignity of the search.

Queensland's corruption watchdog, the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC), has appealed the outcome of the investigation leniency of the punishment, arguing it does not adequately reflect the gravity of the actions.

The case is one of four QPS disciplinary matters being challenged by the CMC.

Another Gold Coast police officer, Constable Anthony Richard Francis, was dealt with after a four-year streak of bad behaviour which included improperly accessing and distributing confidential information, investigating and arresting a man over a break-in at his own home, and urinating on a police vehicle he was using as a 'blue light taxi' after a boozy event at the Burleigh Heads station.

He was also disciplined for buying dog food and a bowl as a Secret Santa gift for a colleague he believed had reported him over disciplinary matters.

In his ruling, Deputy Commissioner Ross Barnett acknowledged police on the Gold Coast were exposed to a level of temptation not found in other districts, but said the constable should have behaved in a manner more suitable to his position.

The CMC claims Mr Barnett did not go far enough when he temporarily suspended Const Francis and cutting his pay.

Also subject to the appeal is disciplinary action taken against Sergeant Andrew Ernest Thomas, who failed to take appropriate action when he was told of an abandoned vehicle at Wyandra, in Queensland's southwest, in late 2009.

Sgt Thomas did not report the phone call for four days, by which time the occupant, 64-year-old Barry Powell, had perished.

Though the QPS found there was insufficient evidence to link Sgt Thomas's actions with Mr Powell's death, the CMC has argued a pay cut and suspended demotion were an inadequate penalty.

The matters will be finalised through QCAT later this year.

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Victoria faces another bushfire test

Victoria is at "considerable risk" of bushfires amid high temperatures over the next couple of days. Source: AAP

VICTORIA is again facing testing bushfire conditions, with hot and dry weather putting authorities on high alert.

Temperatures on Thursday are expected to reach the low 40s in northern Victoria, and the high 30s across Melbourne and southern Victoria.

A total fire ban has been declared for the Wimmera, central, north central and southwest districts for Thursday, while the CFA warns of a very high danger level for the remainder of the state.

"The next couple of days will be a test for Victorians," Premier Ted Baillieu told reporters in Melbourne on Wednesday.

"With the high temperatures over the next couple of days, that means there will be considerable risk of bushfires in many parts of Victoria."

Mr Baillieu said those on holiday across the state should be especially careful.

"Those who are holidaying around Victoria should take particular care to look after their own circumstances and make sure they stay in touch," he said.

About 8000 firefighters are on standby across the state.

Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley said crews had worked hard to bring all current fires under control in an effort to free up resources.

"We move into Thursday with no significant fires on the board that we have got major resources at," he said.

He said farmers should avoid using machinery in the open air during the next two days.

Mr Lapsley said the FireReady App and CFA website, which crashed under unprecedented demand earlier this month, had been upgraded and could now handle much higher volumes of traffic.

"I encourage people to use those two sites ... we have done some significant work over the last 10 days, we have improved the technology and increased the bandwidth," he said.

"The worst case scenario may be that it slows, but we hope that not to be the case."

Mr Lapsley said Victoria's iconic firefighting helicopter Elvis, which had to undergo engine repairs this week, was ready for action and back at Essendon Airport.

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Tas fire remains a threat as mercury rises

Tasmanians have been warned to stay vigilant as the state faces possible hot and dry conditions. Source: AAP

A BUSHFIRE that destroyed homes in southern Tasmania is still causing concern for authorities as temperatures again heat up.

Areas around Hobart are predicted to reach above 30C on Thursday, with hot and dry conditions forecast for most of south eastern Australia.

Fire crews have spent the past week backburning and building containment lines around several major bushfires across the state, especially the Forcett fire that tore through areas east of Hobart almost two weeks ago.

More than 130 homes and buildings were lost at Dunalley and the Tasman Peninsula on January 4, when southern Tasmania experienced its hottest day on record.

Tasmania Fire Service spokesman John Holloway said fire conditions for Thursday were not likely to be as bad as initially predicted.

"We were expecting to have much more dangerous weather, but it is still quite hot," he told AAP.

"The wind is in a different direction, so we've got a bit of a reprieve, but we're still asking people to keep vigilant."

However, Mr Holloway said the Forcett blaze, which is not yet fully contained, could again cause problems.

"People around Eaglehawk Neck and Doo Town are the ones we are most concerned about but that risk appears to be reducing a little," he said.

The state's Bushfire Recovery Taskforce held its first formal meeting on Wednesday, after the state and federal governments announced grants for the massive clean-up and rebuild.

Up to $25,000 will be available to eligible small businesses, not-for-profit organisations and primary producers in the Sorell, Tasman and Glamorgan-Spring Bay local government areas.

Energy supplier Aurora said around 500 customers remained without power in Tasmania's southeast as a result of the January 4 fires.

The Insurance Council of Australia says insured private losses from the fires have reached $69 million.

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Don't change national parks laws, Qld told

QUEENSLAND conservationists and tourism experts are urging the state government not to change national parks laws.

A proposal to allow ecotourism facilities to be built in parks is being examined by a parliamentary committee which heard from tourism advocates, analysts and conservation groups on Wednesday.

The Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) was the only supporter of the changes, which it says will generate jobs for Queenslanders and give it a platform to promote conservation.

QTIC's Daniel Gschwind claims national parks can't be visited in a meaningful way without accommodation options being available within park boundaries.

"People actually want to be inside a park to witness the action, to witness the experience," he told the committee.

Mr Gschwind said the industry had a symbiotic relationship with national parks and sustainable tourist facilities inside parks were possible.

"We see the natural environment as our key asset that we sell to our visitors," he said.

"We have a fundamental and material interest in protecting that asset."

But conservationists and analysts roundly condemned the suggested changes.

Dr Aila Keto, from Australian Rainforest Conservation Society, told the committee that parks existed primarily to protect nature, not to entertain tourists.

She said it was important to keep "infrastructure outside and experience inside".

Dr Keto, who runs two ecotourism businesses herself, said about 85 per cent of public submissions opposed the changes and pushing ahead with them showed the government was pandering to private interests.

"The role of a parliamentary committee is to protect the public interest, not private interests," Dr Keto said.

"Changing the laws will sow the seeds of unsustainability."

Griffith University tourism analyst Professor Ralf Buckley can't understand why the laws need changing when tourists can already take part in many ecotourism activities inside parks.

"The issue is, do they need to stay inside parks to do these activities?" he said.

The professor doesn't believe demand is strong enough and warned that the changes could pave the way for large-scale developments.

"This legislation is extremely weakly drafted," Prof Buckley said.

Paul Donatiu, from the National Parks Association of Queensland, said the changes would allow private operators to cordon off sections of parks for the exclusive use of their customers.

"This directly contradicts the state government's goal of making national parks more accessible to the public," he said.

Mr Donatiu said parks took up only five per cent of Queensland's land area and many other areas were available for new resort-style developments.

"I urge you not to destroy the goose that laid Queensland's tourism golden egg," he said.

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Chinese revolutionary Yang Baibing dies

YANG Baibing, a veteran Chinese revolutionary and strong proponent of economic liberalisation, has died. He was 92.

Along with his more famous half-brother, former Chinese president Yang Shangkun, Yang had been among the most powerful leaders in China. However, he was forced into retirement in 1992 and his supporters were purged from the officer corps by former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, who feared the Yang brothers were accumulating too much power.

Yang joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1938 and battled both Japanese invaders and Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists before the communist seizure of power in 1949.

A powerful backer of the bloody military crackdown on 1989 pro-democracy protests centered on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, Yang later stood by Deng in his struggle against conservatives opposed to further economic reforms.

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Woman blows eight times the limit

AN Adelaide woman has been taken to hospital after blowing an astonishing eight times over the legal alcohol limit.

Police say the 56-year-old woman was stopped at suburban Blakeview on Monday afternoon because of the way she was driving.

She blew 0.408, more than eight times the legal limit of 0.05.

The woman immediately lost her licence for 12 months and had her car impounded for 28 days.

She was taken to hospital for assessment and will appear in court at a later date.

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Obama staff sell seats at inauguration

FOR $US100,000, donors will receive a package of tickets that include a candlelight reception at the posh National Building Museum.

For $US250,000, there's a star-studded children's concert.

And for $US1 million, there are reserved seats for a parade.

The gift list at Neiman Marcus? Hardly. It's the price list for some of the star-studded events of the 57th inauguration celebration, five days of brunches and balls, concerts and receptions that will kick off Thursday.

It's all built around the inauguration of President Barack Obama for a second term next Monday.

The taxpayers will pick up the tab - as they do every four years - for the official swearing-in ceremony on the steps of the Capitol, a luncheon with congress and extra security.

The rest comes from contributions. Obama supporters - individuals and corporations - are helping to raise the millions of dollars, sometimes in ways that alarm government-watchdog groups.

It's not all for and by the wealthy. Donations are being supplemented by sales of souvenirs: $US5 buttons, $US150 cufflinks. But they also include $US7500 medallion sets featuring the likenesses of Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

And the nearly 1000 donors identified so far include well-connected companies and individuals who have done business with the Obama administration, attended White House functions or backed the president in his re-election bid last year, according to an incomplete list of contributors released by the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

Donors include Centene Corp, a health care company that will benefit from the Affordable Care Act; Financial Innovations, a company that sold promotional merchandise to the campaign; and Irwin Jacobs, a founder of tech giant Qualcomm, who gave millions of dollars to an independent group that supported Obama last year.

"The American people have a right to expect something other than an inauguration brought to them by AT&T," said Robert Weissman, the president of Public Citizen, which had called on Obama to refuse corporate funding for the inauguration.

"Every corporation's donations create a conflict of interest, because they all have business before the government in one way or the other."

The Presidential Inaugural Committee spent $US53 million for the 2009 festivities, when a record 1.8 million people filled the National Mall to see the nation's first black president take the oath of office. Fewer than half that are expected for a scaled-down celebration this year, which will bring down the cost, though organisers have released no estimate.

Four years ago, Obama refused to take money from corporations and he limited contributions to $US50,000, pledging to change business as usual in Washington.

This year, he scrapped the limits on companies and dollars, though he still is declining money from lobbyists, political action committees, foreign corporations and entities that benefited from government bailouts. There also won't be any sponsorships, so don't expect to see signs for the AT&T parade or Microsoft brunch.

Donations of $US10,000 to $US1 million are being rewarded with packages named after the founding fathers - Madison, Jefferson, Adams and Washington - that include access to exclusive events, some with the president and first lady Michelle Obama.

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Teen charged over $3.5m Target fire

A 14-YEAR-OLD boy has been charged with arson over a $3.5 million fire in the Target Country Store at Port Lincoln, on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula.

The blaze on Sunday was initially thought to have been caused by a faulty light fitting but that was discounted on Monday, police say.

On Tuesday, detectives arrested the Port Lincoln teenager and spoke to a nine-year-old boy who has not been charged.

The investigation into the fire continues, with detectives seeking a man in a red car who may have seen two youths while driving past the store on Sunday afternoon.

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Tokyo stocks close at 32-month high

TOKYO stocks rose 0.72 per cent on Tuesday to a 32-month high, but the benchmark index gave up some early gains as the yen rebounded on warnings from Japan's economy minister over its decline.

The Nikkei 225 gained 77.51 points to 10,879.08, finishing at its highest level since April 30, 2010, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares climbed 0.84 per cent, or 7.53 points, to 906.22.

The yen, which fell in morning trade on easing speculation, rebounded after Economy Minister Akira Amari said the yen's sharp decline could hit consumers by making imported goods more expensive as the economy stumbles.

"Obviously, an excessively weak yen will be reflected in import prices," Amari told a regular Tokyo press briefing.

"It might help exports, but it could also have negative effects on the lives of the public."

A weakening yen tends to boost the local stock market because it makes Japanese exporters' products more competitive overseas.

The dollar - which changed hands at 89.56 yen in morning trade - dropped to 88.74 yen, while the euro was lower at 118.47 in late afternoon Tokyo trade, from 119.93 yen on Tuesday morning.

The yen had initially weakened after Bank of Japan (BoJ) governor Masaaki Shirakawa said the central bank would pursue "aggressive" monetary easing to boost the world's third-largest economy.

While his comments are not new, they fuelled speculation of more policy moves - which tend to weaken the yen - after the BoJ's meeting on next week.

The Tokyo market has been winning support as Japan's new government vows to fix the long-suffering economy with its extra budget expected to be approved later on Tuesday after a holiday-extended weekend.

"There was quite a bit of pent-up demand for stocks over the long weekend," said an equity trader at a foreign brokerage.

"Traders are eyeing US corporate earnings this week, while awaiting the Abe Cabinet's supplementary budget approval, which adds a bit of realism to Prime Minister Abe's aggressive pledges to help the economy."

Tokyo has unveiled a $US226.5 billion ($A215.29 billion) stimulus plan in the latest bid to boost the world's third-biggest economy, with plans to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, rebuild disaster-hit areas and beef up the military.

In Tokyo trade, Sony was up 1.22 per cent at 995 yen, Takeda Pharmaceutical advanced 2.57 per cent to 4,380 yen while investment banking giant Nomura Holdings added 0.81 per cent at 494 yen.

Toyota ended 0.11 per cent higher at 4,265 yen, with Japan's biggest automaker boosted by news it surpassed General Motors to regain top spot in the global carmakers' sales table.

All Nippon Airways was up 0.54 per cent at 185 yen while Japan Airlines was down 0.68 per cent to 3,610 yen after the carriers suffered a string of recent safety incidents involving Boeing's flagship Dreamliner aircraft.

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Fallen Vic firefighter was 30-year veteran

HIGHLY experienced and passionate about firefighting, Victorian firefighter Peter Cramer died doing what he'd devoted half his life to.

The 61-year-old, from Tyers in Victoria's Gippsland region, was one of more than 70 Victorian emergency services workers sent to Tasmania on Thursday to help fight the state's devastating fires, which have destroyed more than 130 homes since January 4.

Mr Cramer died on Sunday at Taranna, east of Hobart, while working on foot to identify potential containment lines on the southern boundary of the Forcett fire, about 2-3 kilometres from the active fire edge.

He was to have returned home on Tuesday, but was found dead at 5pm (AEDT) on a bush track after he failed to make a scheduled call-in.

Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) chief fire officer Alan Goodwin said Mr Cramer had been a DSE firefighter for more than 30 years and a CFA volunteer for more than two decades.

A well respected firefighter, he was a DSE training co-ordinator who also volunteered his time to train CFA volunteers.

"As training co-ordinator he loved teaching and passing on his knowledge and had a passion for fire and land management," Mr Goodwin told reporters in Melbourne on Monday.

His wife Julie and family remembered him as a "tremendous husband, father, brother and mate" who loved helping people.

"We knew that firefighters were his second family," a family statement said.

"Peter truly believed his work made a difference to the community. He was a truly dedicated firefighter."

They also remembered a man with a great sense of humour and larrikin charm who was known for his cheeky smile and kind words.

Mr Goodwin first met Mr Cramer on a deployment to the US in 2003, which his family said was a career highlight.

"He was always fun, he greeted you with a smile and a solid handshake, and that's how I will remember him," Mr Goodwin said, echoing the family's sentiments.

Mr Goodwin said the cause of death was unknown and Mr Cramer had recently passed a fitness test.

"Certainly all our firefighters that we send away, all our firefighters go through our fit-for-fire program, through medical testing and so forth, and Peter was certainly part of that," he said.

David Hamilton, president of the United Firefighters Union Victorian branch, said Mr Cramer's death highlighted the strenuous conditions and mental and physical demands placed on firefighters.

"These things can always be done better, and if, unfortunately, these high dangers and situations are occurring, I think the agencies and government probably should look at managing it better or increasing firefighter numbers," Mr Hamilton said.

Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley said losing a firefighter came as a shock.

"To lose someone in active duty is something you don't plan for," he said.

"We take our caps off to what Peter has done in three decades of service to Victoria through firefighting."

A CFA spokesman said Mr Cramer was well known and well regarded in the Gippsland region and his colleagues at Swifts Creek and Tyers, where he was a member, were devastated by the news.

Mr Cramer would volunteer his time to work with "dozens and dozens and dozens" of new recruits, he said.

"He was a pretty remarkable person," the spokesman said.

The Tasmanian and Victorian premiers have sent their condolences to his family.

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Kimberley the place to be in 2013

WESTERN Australia's remote Kimberley has been recommended by the New York Times as one of the best places on the globe to visit.

And while one of the world's great newspapers has raised fears about the industrialisation of the vast area, WA Premier Colin Barnett says they're unfounded.

In the Times' list of The 46 Places to Go in 2013, the Kimberley region was cited as finally being open to the travellers "willing to trade big bucks for land-based access to some spectacular spots".

Naming The Berkeley River Lodge, Kuri Bay, and El Questro as potential spots for the adventurous, the paper also warned visitors "the region was loaded with iron, and mining companies will continue to go after it".

Woodside's Browse joint venture project, which controversially proposes bringing gas and condensate onshore for processing at a planned gas hub at James Price Point, 60km north of Broome, is the major proposed industrial development in the area.

But Mr Barnett says despite vocal opposition, the vast landscape still remains largely untouched.

"I think people are discovering the Kimberley and it is one of the world's great wilderness areas," he said on Monday.

"The Kimberley is twice the size of the state of Victoria. It is a vast area, and this government has created four new marine parks, one new major terrestrial park and also spent around $60 million on conversation protection.

"There has been a lot of debate about James Price Point. I understand that and I respect people's point of view.

"But that is a tiny area of the Kimberley - if the Kimberley was the MCG then James Price Point would be one seat."

BHP Billiton exited the controversial $30 billion Browse LNG project late last year, while legal action has been launched over the environmental approval process surrounding the project.

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Climate change talk 'convenient': Newman

Qld premier Campbell Newman (R) says it's "convenient" to blame climate change for the bushfires. Source: AAP

THE Queensland premier says it's "very convenient" to blame climate change for conditions that have always occurred in Australia.

Campbell Newman made the comment after federal Nationals Leader Warren Truss said it was "utterly simplistic" to draw a link between climate change and Australia's recent heatwave and bushfire crisis.

But last week, the federal government's Climate Commission said the heatwave and bushfires had been exacerbated by global warming.

On Monday, Mr Newman was asked if he believed there was a link between the bushfires, the heatwave and climate change.

"It's very convenient to blame things that have happened in this country for millennia on climate change," he replied.

He quoted poet Dorothea Mackellar's poem My Country.

"Remember 'I love a sunburnt country' ... it talks about 'flooding rains, fires' and all those sorts of things. Nothing new.

"Any such comments are still open to question.

"I believe we can leave to the experts to make the debate about whether that's the case."

Mr Newman on Monday said the Queensland government would give $200,000 to the Red Cross Tasmanian Bushfire Appeal fund.

Mr Newman spent some of his childhood in Tasmania.

The Australian Conservation Foundation hit out at Mr Newman's comments, saying the judgments should be "left to the experts".

"The Climate Commission says climate change is making heatwaves more frequent and making it more likely they will stay for longer," spokesman Tony Mohr said in a statement. "The same body of climate experts expects extreme fire danger days to rise more than 15 per cent in most of eastern Australia."

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Observatory fire threat a 'deja vu' moment

THE fire threat at Siding Spring Observatory in NSW was a case of deja vu for Australian National University (ANU) professor John Morris.

Nearly a decade ago Prof Morris was acting as director of the Australian National University's astronomy and astrophysics research school when the university's Mount Stromlo Observatory (MSO) fell victim to Canberra's firestorm.

He was acting in the same role on Sunday when he learned fires were heading for Siding Spring Observatory in NSW.

It was "deja vu", he told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

The Siding Spring Observatory was officially opened in 1964 because urban light pollution was making stargazing more difficult at the Mount Stromlo facility in Canberra.

It has since become Australia's premier facility for optical and infrared astrophysics observations, where observing international astronomers come to stay.

Dr Amanda Bauer, a Super Science Fellow at the Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO), said it housed one of the world's most innovative and productive telescopes.

Sitting atop a 1164m hill, the four-metre telescope - maintained and operated by AAO - gives astronomers a look at the magnificent sights space has to offer, including the Southern Cross and the Milky Way.

"The view of the southern hemisphere night sky is the most spectacular anywhere that I have seen it," Dr Bauer told AAP on Monday.

Technology developed there included a robotic optical-fibre positioning system, which is now being used in Chile, she said.

According to ANU the observatory has witnessed a number of major discoveries.

In the early 2000s, the four-metre Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) completed a survey of more than 200,000 galaxies.

By measuring their distance the survey was able to confirm the existence of dark energy, which led ultimately to the 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics being awarded in part to ANU professor Brian Schmidt.

Prof Morris said the AAT was the site's major research instrument, but the Skymapper built after the 2003 Mount Stromlo fire was now providing important information to researchers.

There are also six or seven client telescopes at the site.

"We're interested obviously in the way in which the universe operates," Prof Morris told reporters.

"It's probably no exaggeration to say that the suite of telescopes at Siding Spring played a role in Brian Schmidt, our Nobel laureate, deciding to come and work in Australia.

"He spent a lot of time at Siding Spring and he's been watching what's been going on with great interest."

Schmidt was tweeting about the fire's movements and tweeting pictures of the devastation provided by the Rural Fire Service.

"The observatory seems to have largely survived, which is good news for a change, but many lost their homes," he tweeted on Monday.

Much been learnt from the telescopes at the site about individual galaxies, including the Milky Way and its stars.

Prof Morris said researchers tune their ideas using the Siding Spring telescopes, making hypotheses before using telescopes in Chile and Hawaii to test their theories.

In August 2007, during "routine observations" at the observatory, ANU astronomer Robert McNaught discovered a 10km-wide comet.

"It was the brightest comet in more than 40 years and was easily visible to the naked eye for observers in the southern hemisphere," ANU said in a statement.

Dr Bauer said work had been done at Siding Spring Observatory over the past decade to make it fire-ready, following the 2003 firestorm that engulfed Mt Stromlo in Canberra, completely destroying five of its historic optical telescopes.

The damage was so bad, authorities considered abandoning the Mount Stromlo site.

There are no longer working research telescopes at MSO - but it houses an advanced instrumentation technology centre.

ANU's acting director of facilities and services Wayne Ford said the Siding Spring Observatory was always going to be a bushfire risk.

"It borders a national park and it's heavily forested ... it's actually located on a mountain and fires like going up mountains," Ford said.

The devastation at Mount Stromlo provided many lessons.

A concerted effort had been made to improve fire trails near Siding Spring and to clear surrounding bush to protect it in the event of a bushfire.

"It's difficult land to do anything further than what we did, and we think our preparation was excellent," Ford said.

Prof Morris said it could take some time before the impact of the extreme heat and embers on the telescopes was assessed.

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Qld child protection inquiry resumes

The Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry is set to hold hearings this week. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND'S child protection inquiry will examine the over-representation of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the state's child protection system this week.

The Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry, headed by former Family Court judge Tim Carmody SC, held its first round of hearings in July 2012.

It is reviewing the adequacy of government responses to allegations of historical abuse in youth detention centres and will make recommendations to reform the system.

The Brisbane hearing has called on nine witnesses, including indigenous elders, parents, academics and representatives from service and legal providers, to give evidence.

Witnesses have already told the inquiry Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are nine times more likely than other children to be subject to a protection order or an out of home care order in Queensland.

The proceedings will open in the Brisbane Magistrates Court at 10am (AEST) on Monday and be streamed live on the inquiry's website.

The 10-month inquiry has already held hearings in Brisbane, Ipswich, Rockhampton, Mount Isa, Beenleigh, Townsville, Cairns and Aurukun.

It will hand down recommendations on April 30.

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Six arrested in new India bus rape

Six men have been held over the rape of a passenger on a coach in northern India, police say. Source: AAP

SIX men have been arrested over the rape of a passenger on a coach in India, police say, weeks after the gang-rape and murder of a student on a bus in New Delhi sparked nationwide protests.

The victim had boarded the service to her in-laws' home in the northern state of Punjab when she was abducted and driven to a house in a district bordering the city of Amritsar, local police officer Raj Jeet Singh said on Sunday.

Five men joined the driver and conductor and took turns to rape the victim before dropping her off near her in-laws' village on Saturday morning, he said.

"Six men have been arrested on allegations of having raped a 29-year-old woman ... after forcibly taking her to an unknown location on the night of January 11," the policeman told AFP, adding that a seventh suspect was being hunted.

The attack echoes the December 16 gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student in Delhi, with five men on trial in the case, which has fuelled anger across India over the treatment of women.

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Japan extends sympathies over bushfires

JAPAN'S Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has expressed his country's sympathies to Australia over the recent bushfires.

Mr Kishida arrived in Sydney on Sunday as part of his first overseas trip since the new government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office late last month.

He told reporters after meeting Foreign Minister Bob Carr that he expressed his "heartfelt sympathy" to those affected by the recent bushfires.

"I'm reminded once again of the feelings of appreciation to the friendship and support extended to Japan by the Australian people at the time of the great East Japan earthquake," he said.

"On that basis I would like to express my heartfelt sympathy on behalf of the people of Japan and the Japanese government for the people who have been affected by the bushfires."

Senator Carr said Australia and Japan had a history of thinking of one another when disasters struck.

He thanked Mr Kishida and his visiting team for visiting Japan so early in his country's new administration.

"I thanked them as well for the language used by Prime Minister Abe when he said in announcing the importance of this part of the world that Japan sees the need to co-operate with Asian countries like Australia," he said.

"That's how we like to be described following the the Australia in the Asian Century white paper."

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Tas fire crews dig in ahead of Thursday

Police are planning to reopen the Arthur Highway on the bushfire-ravaged Tasman Peninsular. Source: AAP

TASMANIAN fire crews have made solid progress on consolidating containment lines around bushfires still burning ahead of higher fire danger conditions forecast for Thursday.

Tasmania Fire Service spokeswoman Shannon Fox said the watch and act message for the uncontained 24,040-hectare blaze at Forcett would be reviewed later on Sunday.

Firefighters had been strengthening containment lines around Bream Creek and Marion Bay and also at Lagoon Bay, but had to eventually pull out due to increased winds, she said.

"In Taranna, we've got a good, strong containment line in but we're working on looking after some hot spots that are within the already burnt out areas," she told AAP.

"What we are really trying to do is be prepared for Thursday when we expect fire danger ratings to increase again."

At Lake Repulse, fire crews consolidated containment lines to the south of Brown Mountain and New Zealand firefighters worked on containment lines at the Broad River Valley, Ms Fox said.

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