Final Japanese body returns from Algeria

THE body of the last of 10 Japanese nationals killed in the Algerian hostage crisis has arrived in Japan as the prime minister proposed setting up a security council to deal with future threats.

The body of Tadanori Aratani, 66, a former vice president of engineering firm JGC, arrived at Tokyo's Narita airport on a commercial flight on Saturday, accompanied by vice foreign minister Minoru Kiuchi.

The seven Japanese survivors of the siege at the In Amenas gas plant in the Sahara desert and the bodies of nine of the 10 dead arrived a day earlier as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke of the nation's "deepest grief".

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida was at the airport on Saturday, along with JGC officials, to welcome back the body of Aratani.

Flowers were laid on the coffin and mourners offered a one-minute silent prayer.

Dozens of foreigners were killed during a four-day standoff that ended in a bloody showdown with Algerian commandos last week, with reports of summary executions.

JGC employed, directly or indirectly, all the Japanese caught up in the siege.

Japan's body count of 10 is the highest of any nation whose citizens were caught up in the crisis and an unusual taste of Jihadist anger for a country that has remained far removed from US-led wars in the Muslim world.

Abe, at a meeting of his senior ministers on Friday, said the nation was in mourning for those killed, while at JGC headquarters in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, mourners paid respects in front of a makeshift altar.

In an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun published on Saturday, Abe proposed setting up a national security council to enable the government to take swifter action in times of crisis.

The plan to set up a Japanese version of the US National Security Council comes after the government struggled to collect information on the fate of Japanese nationals during Algeria siege.

"The function of the prime minister's office as a control tower should be strengthened," Abe said, adding that his government may submit legislation to parliament by July.

The aim is to improve the gathering of information relating to national security, enabling the government to take swifter action to reduce potential risks to national interests and its citizens overseas.

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Small steps to reconciliation on Oz Day

IT was a small step, but a significant one.

At around 8am (AEDT) on Saturday, before the obligatory family barbecues and citizenship ceremonies were under way across the country, the Aboriginal and Australian flags were slowly raised on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

It was the first time both flags have flown side by side atop the bridge on Australia Day.

But while the iconic bridge may have become a symbol of unity for the day, many Aboriginal people see little reason to celebrate January 26, which also marks 225 years since the First Fleet arrived.

About 50 people marked the day near Canberra's tent embassy by announcing the country's first Aboriginal political party, formed in the Northern Territory two years ago, would contest this year's federal election.

There were calls for people to stand up for their rights and end the NT intervention program, but no repeat of the angry protests that marred last year's Australia Day celebrations in the nation's capital.

In Sydney, NSW Governor Marie Bashir said Captain Arthur Phillip knew he was an intruder who would change the lives of Aboriginal people forever.

"We are walking together, I believe, as one people," she said of steps being taken toward reconciliation.

The message of "one people" rang true on Saturday for the more than 17,000 people from 145 countries who took the citizenship pledge to become freshly-minted Aussies.

At a ceremony in Canberra, National Australia Day Council chair Adam Gilchrist told a crowd new citizens will enjoy all the opportunities Australia can provide.

"There's no doubt we are richer, we are stronger and a more egalitarian country because they and many others choose to come here," he said.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who was born in the UK, said she was a proud member of the millions who had taken the pledge since 1949.

"As migrants - all four million of us - we did not just adopt a new country," she said.

"This is your new country, and you'll never want another. Welcome to citizenship. Welcome to Australia. Welcome home."

World-renowned British actor Miriam Margolyes, known for her roles in the television comedy Blackadder and as Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter films, was among those to take the pledge in Canberra.

"I'm just very happy to be here, and I will be with friends and the rest of my life will be joyous," she said.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott told an Australia Day breakfast and citizenship ceremony in Adelaide that new citizens are changing the country for the better.

Change should be welcomed "when it's in accordance with the customs and traditions of our people", he said.

Thousands of people turned out in Sydney's CBD to watch The Wiggles unveil their new line-up, as indigenous artist Jessica Mauboy performed on a floating stage in Sydney Harbour.

In Tamworth, country music fans lined the town's main drag for an annual cavalcade celebrating both Australia Day and the finale of the iconic 10-day country music festival.

There was less fanfare in Queensland, where Premier Campbell Newman warned Australia Day revellers to batten down the hatches as heavy downpours threatened parts of the state with flooding.

Gladstone was declared a disaster area, while mini-tornadoes damaged scores of buildings and injured up to 20 people in Bargara, Burnett Heads and other townships in the Bundaberg district.

Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan said the second anniversary of the Queensland floods this year reminded him of those who pulled together to help friends and strangers faced with losing everything.

"The Australian spirit is never stronger than when we face these kinds of events together," he said.

Victorians were reminded to remember the volunteers spending their Australia Day fighting blazes in some parts of the state and dealing with the aftermath of others.

Thousands of Tasmanians gathered for a concert at the same pub in Dunally, in the state's east, where ferocious bushfires tore through the region earlier this month.

Local Mayor Kerry Vincent said despite the horror the bushfires brought with them, the community was coming together in the spirit of solidarity.

In Western Australia, more than 2500 new citizens from 92 countries took the pledge at more than 80 citizenship ceremonies around the state, including the second-largest in the country, at Wanneroo in Perth's north.

In the United States, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wished all Aussies a safe and happy Australia Day and reiterated that the US remains a committed partner and friend.

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Militant groups clash kills 24 in Pakistan

PESHAWAR Jan 26 AP - A Pakistani official says clashes between two Islamic militant groups over control of a prized valley near the Afghan border have killed 24 people.

Arshad Khan of the Khyber tribal region says the clashes started on Friday when the main militant group Tehrik-e-Taliban captured a base of another militant group, Ansarul Islam, in the Tirah valley.

Ansarul Islam then tried to retake the base, with fighting continuing into the next day.

A military officer speaking on condition of anonymity said most of the dead were militants but some local tribesmen were also killed.

The remote and mountainous valley is valued by militant groups as a base.

It's difficult for the Pakistani military to enter and allows militants easy access to Afghanistan and other tribal agencies.

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Motorcyclist, 44, dead after hitting pole

A MOTORCYCLIST has died after he lost control and struck a power pole in Melbourne's outer southwest.

The 44-year-old man was travelling along Virgilia Drive at Hoppers Crossing when he lost control at a bend in the road and hit the pole at around 4.35pm (AEDT) on Saturday, police said.

Paramedics tried to revive the Hoppers Crossing man, but he died at the scene.

Police on Saturday also advised a Chinese woman had died in hospital after a car crash in Victoria's east earlier this month.

The 62-year-old had to be airlifted to Royal Melbourne Hospital after the car she was travelling in hit a tree at Noorinbee on January 7.

Police believe the driver, a 58-year-old man also from China, lost control of the vehicle. He suffered minor injuries.

Victoria's 2013 road toll stands at 14, compared to 24 at the same time in 2012.

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NT government fights for Gove deal

THE Northern Territory government says it is still fighting to broker a deal to save an alumina refinery that supports an outback town.

With less than one week until the January 31 deadline imposed by mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd, no deal has yet been brokered to take natural gas to Gove.

"We are in the game zone," NT Chief Minister Terry Mills said on Friday.

"The pressure is still on and we are still fighting," he said.

Rio Tinto subsidiary Pacific Aluminium has said if it can't run the Gove alumina refinery on natural gas it may shut the plant, which could see 800 people lose jobs.

Currently the plant runs on diesel, which is expensive to transport and buy.

The job losses would devastate the small community of Nhulunbuy that has about 3500 residents, most of whom depend on the Gove operation to survive financially.

Analysts have speculated that a proposal unveiled by the NT government recently to secure a deal on taking gas to Gove will fall short.

There have been fears that allocating Pacific Aluminium enough gas to power the Gove refinery move could lead to a gas shortage in the NT.

Rio Tinto has flagged it will engage in $US14 billion ($A13.45 billion) in asset write downs in February, most of which will be from its aluminium assets.

Analysts say the refinery has recently been losing $US30 million ($A28.82 million) each month, and about $US200 million ($A192.13 million) in the past 12 months.

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Indigenous leader is Australia's hero

Indigenous leader Shane Phillips was named Australia's 2013 Local Hero for his community leadership. Source: AAP

INDIGENOUS leader Shane Phillips has been named Australia's 2013 Local Hero for his community leadership, particularly in his local area of Redfern in inner-Sydney.

The 48-year-old father of three, who is a respected member of the Redfern community, received the honour at the Australian of the Year awards ceremony in Canberra on Friday.

Addressing the crowd, Mr Phillips said he would share the award with his community.

"It's a community at work," he said.

"We're not being reactive, we're being proactive.

"This goes out to a lot of kids, and our elders, who have written themselves off or have been written off.

"Anything's possible! You are the answer."

Mr Phillips is regarded as a man of integrity and a community voice on issues such as juvenile justice and Aboriginal deaths in custody.

He still lives in Redfern, where he was born and raised.

Mr Phillips is chief executive of the Tribal Warriors Association, a non profit organisation that offers job training and emergency relief for struggling families.

He also runs a mentoring program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth based on guiding by example and which helps young people form good habits and acknowledges achievements.

Improvements in relationship between the Redfern local community and local police in Redfern has also been credited to Mr Phillips.

The number of robberies by local youth in Redfern has dropped by 80 per cent since 2009, following the introduction of a program, called Clean Slate Without Prejudice, run in collaboration with police.

"It has helped each side under stand and appreciate the other," he said

More than 700 people turned out in the warm weather to watch the award presentations in front of Parliament House.

Others, some flag adorned some waving flags, watched on from the nearby lawns.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the winners had done much to serve and enrich the nation.

Among the official guests were Nova Peris with her children, Brendan Nelson and Adam Spencer.

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Physician is Senior Australian of the year

INTERNATIONALLY recognised South Australian palliative care specialist Emeritus Professor Ian Maddocks has been named the 2013 Senior Australian of the Year.

Prof Maddocks, 82, was honoured on Friday for his work as a specialist and academic and his passionate advocacy for peace at the Australian of the Year awards ceremony in Canberra.

"There are still many in our community who die in discomfort - we can surely do better," he said in a video presentation.

An Emeritus Professor at Flinders University, the octogenarian from the Adelaide beachside suburb of Seacliff still provides care for the terminally ill and continues to supervise postgraduate students.

Prof Maddocks has been a key leader in the Medical Association for the Prevention of War and the Nobel Peace Prize winning group, the International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War.

The married father of three, and grandfather to five, was appointed Professor of Palliative Care at Flinders University in 1988.

Prof Maddocks was the first President of the Australian Association for Hospice and Palliative Care, and the first President of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Palliative Medicine.

He was also a specialist physician in the Australian Administration of Papua New Guinea for 14 years, and in 1971 became Foundation Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Papua New Guinea.

Prof Maddocks was born in Hamilton, Victoria, in 1931.

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Refugee is Young Australian of the Year

HE fled Afghanistan with his mother and brother at the height of a bloody civil war, arriving in Australia a child refugee.

Now, 25-year-old Akram Azimi is the 2013 Young Australian of the Year.

"This country has been incredibly good to me," he said in a video presentation before the award was announced.

The West Australian local was on Friday awarded the honour in Canberra for his mentoring work with indigenous communities and people with disability.

He said Australia was "home to one of the world's oldest cultures" and he was lucky to be able to interact with that.

Mr Azimi was born in Kabul in 1987 and during his earlier years the Taliban viciously consolidated its power in the country through a vicious civil conflict involving warring tribal factions.

In 1999 he fled with his family, arriving in Perth and enrolling in Warwick Senior High School.

At first "an ostracised refugee kid with no prospects", Mr Azimi excelled academically and rose to become head boy of the school.

He also graduated school dux, topping his tertiary entrance exam scores among his classmates, and went on to study a triple major in law, science and arts at the University of Western Australia.

But it was his philanthropic work with the disadvantaged in the community that piqued the interest of those tasked with choosing an inspirational young Australian to receive the annual honour.

For three years, Mr Azimi mentored young indigenous Australians in the remote community of Looma in the Kimberley region, and primary school students in a small farming community in the WA wheat belt.

In 2011, he co-founded a student-run initiative to raise awareness about indigenous issues in universities, and has also worked with the True Blue Dreaming, a youth mentoring network.

Mr Azimi is also mentoring a Special Olympics athlete to raise public awareness about disability issues.

He lives with his family in the Perth suburb of Marangaroo.

More than 700 people turned out in the warm weather to watch the award presentations in front of Parliament House.

Others, some flag-adorned, some waving flags, watched on from the nearby lawns.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the winners had done much to serve and enrich the nation.

Among the official guests were Nova Peris with her children, Brendan Nelson and Adam Spencer.

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'Oil in five years' from SA shale deposit

SIGNIFICANT oil could be flowing within five years from a huge shale oil deposit in South Australia, regardless of the ultimate size of the resource, an exploration company says.

Brisbane-based company Linc Energy is looking to develop the Arckaringa Basin in South Australia in what could be a transformative project for the area around Coober Pedy, about 1000 kilometres north of Adelaide.

Linc shares closed 51 cents, or 23.6 per cent, higher at $2.67 on Thursday.

The company has received two independent assessments on the size of the resource.

The more optimistic one says it could contain up to 233 billion barrels of oil, and the other suggests it could yield 3.5 billion barrels.

Finalising the ultimate size of the deposit will depend on more drilling to determine at what rate the oil will flow.

Linc chief executive Peter Bond says "either way it's massive", and oil production could start in 18 to 20 months and reach "reasonable" levels within two to three years.

"In four or five years you can have a big commercial operation," he said.

"Once you prove these things up and they start to flow oil, it truly flows like it's hard to imagine."

Mr Bond said the company would then expect to be drilling wells in the field for the next 20 to 30 years.

South Australian Resources and Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the Linc development was evidence of the state's vast natural resources.

"All these (developments) are luck and risk, but what we're seeing up there is a very, very big deposit," he said.

"If it comes off you'll see energy security and independence for Australia for a long time into the future."

Coober Pedy Mayor Steve Baines said the project had the potential to provide a major and long-term economic boost to the area and to local employment.

"They've got to source their labour from somewhere, and a project such as what Linc are proposing would need a huge workforce," Mr Baines said.

The local council has already been involved in talks with the company, and the mayor said they would continue as the development progressed.

"I've no doubt that they will be sourcing labour primarily from Coober Pedy where they can," he said.

Mr Bond agreed the employment potential was huge.

"You've got transportation, you've got support, you've got drilling, you've got piping, you've got cooks and cleaners and maintenance people ... the list goes on," he said.

Based on the latest assessments, Linc is working with Barclays Bank to secure an investment partner.

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Pre-dawn fire threat for eastern Victoria

VICTORIA'S two largest bushfires burning in rugged parts of the state's east could deliver their greatest threat under the cover of darkness.

Warm temperatures and very strong winds forecast before dawn on Friday (AEDT) are expected to spur on the two fires, which are burning in the state's alpine area and the Gippsland region, east of Melbourne.

Residents in the alpine towns of Hotham Heights and Harrietville were urged to activate their fire plans and leave before Thursday evening, but only if it was still safe to do so.

The fire threatening Gippsland towns, which has already killed one man, destroyed 22 homes and burned through 67,000 hectares, is expected again to cause trouble on Friday.

Lee Miezis at the State Control Centre said the fires could do damage in a number of towns, including Heyfield, Toongabbie and Maffra, and crews were particularly worried about the Erica and Briagolong communities.

"We're potentially looking at quite broad impacts from this fire," Mr Miezis told AAP.

A Bureau of Meteorology spokeswoman said winds would reach their peak at around 5am (AEDT) on Friday, before changing direction later in the day.

"The southwesterly change is not expected to reach the Gippsland coast until around 2pm and later further inland from the coast," she told AAP.

A total fire ban has been declared for the Mallee, Wimmera, South West, North Country, Central, North Central and West and South Gippsland fire districts.

Heyfield incident controller Dennis Matthews said crews were preparing to fight fires during the night, which could prove difficult.

"We will have a potential run of fire in hours of darkness," he told reporters.

"During the night we can't water bomb. Darkness stops all that."

Mr Matthews said the fire's immense front was intimidating.

"We're dealing with a fire that's grown really quickly," he said.

"There's 200km of edge here, particularly the southern part of that, the bottom edge which might be 100km, 80km."

Leigh Clarke, who has lived in Glenmaggie for eight years, says many in the area have decided to leave.

"When you have a week like last week, complacency doesn't come into it," she told AAP.

Heyfield resident Traci Grogan, who evacuated her three children to Sale last week because of the same fire, said she was preparing to do the same again.

"It's the uncertainty. It's the anxiety. You don't know what to pack. You don't know if it's coming back," she told AAP.

Last week, the flames came within 15 metres of the Grogans' house, burning out their paddocks.

Mrs Grogan and her husband have watered down their property and moved their animals into a single paddock.

"My husband's prepared to fight any spot fires or embers," she said.

"If it gets a bit hairy, we're out of there."

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu on Thursday announced low-interest loans of up to $200,000 would be available to businesses affected by the fires.

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Shackleton Antarctic voyage launched

A team of six have set sail to replicate Sir Ernest Shackleton's historic Southern Ocean crossing. Source: AAP

AN Australian adventurer and his crew retracing Sir Ernest Shackleton's audacious 1916 crossing of the Southern Ocean have set sail.

The team of six took off in a small lifeboat from Elephant Island, in the South Shetland Islands, about 6am (AEDT) on Thursday, Sydney time.

They are bound for South Georgia in the Southern Atlantic, about 800 nautical miles across the fearsome Southern Ocean, following the course of the explorer's perilous voyage.

Sir Ernest's crossing took 17 days with a three-day trip across South Georgia.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard offered the expedition her best wishes on Thursday.

"On behalf of our nation and in the warm spirit of Anglo-Australian friendship - I wish you well in the challenging days ahead," she said in statement.

Leading the crew aboard an exact replica of the 6.9-metre whaler James Caird is 46-year-old Adelaide environmental scientist Tim Jarvis.

"Clearly there are inherent dangers involved in attempting an expedition of this magnitude," Mr Jarvis said shortly before taking off on Thursday.

"Shackleton's journey certainly defied the odds."

"I hope this expedition not only does his memory justice but also reminds us all of how incredibly beautiful, yet fragile, this part of the world is."

The crew's boat has been renamed the Alexandra Shackleton after the explorer's granddaughter.

"The expedition will be incredibly demanding both at sea and on land," Ms Shackleton warned on Thursday.

In the final leg of the journey the crew plan to use only the equipment and food available to Shackleton during a two-day climb to 900 metres over the mountainous, crevassed interior of South Georgia.

Shackleton set off from Elephant Island in April 1916, after his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition's vessel, Endurance, became stuck in ice and was abandoned.

He made it to South Georgia and raised the alarm at a whaling station, and rescuers were eventually able to save the stranded party without loss of life.

Shackleton died of a heart attack off South Georgia in 1922 during his fourth Antarctic expedition when he was trying to circumnavigate the continent.

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Freed Frenchwoman heads home from Mexico

A FRENCHWOMAN who spent seven years in a Mexican jail is flying home after her kidnapping conviction and 60-year sentence were overturned.

Florence Cassez's trial made her a cause celebre in France, where two consecutive presidents called for her release. Anti-crime activists in Mexico vigorously opposed the decision to free her.

Cassez's flight left Mexico City at 9.25pm on Wednesday (1425 AEDT Thursday) and was expected in Paris about 10 hours later.

Cassez, 38, was arrested in 2005 and convicted of helping her Mexican former boyfriend run a kidnapping gang.

Relatives of kidnap victims angrily shouted "killer!" as a police convoy with sirens and flashing lights escorted a 4WD away from a prison.

In France, Cassez's mother, Charlotte, said: "I'm crazy with happiness. I can't say anything else. I'm still struggling to believe it."

A Mexican Supreme Court panel voted 3-2 to release Cassez because of procedural and rights violations during her arrest, including police staging a recreation of her capture for the media.

The judges did not rule on her guilt or innocence, but said the violations of due process, the right to consular assistance and evidentiary rules were so grievous that they invalidated the guilty verdict.

"I want to recognise the Mexican justice system because it put the law first," French President Francois Hollande said on television. "That was the trust we put in it. And today we can say that between France and Mexico, we have the best relations that it is possible to have."

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said in a statement that he "absolutely" respected the court's decision.

Agustin Acosta, a lawyer for Cassez, called the ruling "a resounding message in favour of justice and respect for human rights".

The wife of one kidnap victim showed up on Wednesday as reporters gathered outside the prison where Cassez had been held. Michelle Valadez said her husband, Ignacio, was kidnapped and held for three months by Cassez's boyfriend's gang in 2005.

"We paid the ransom, but they killed him anyway," she sobbed. "It's not fair what they've done to us. It's not fair they're freeing her."

Mexico has one of the world's highest kidnapping rates, and there has been increasing public pressure to halt what is seen as widespread impunity for criminals.

At least one victim identified Cassez as one of the kidnappers, though only by hearing her voice, not by seeing her.

It was not immediately clear how the ruling might affect the case against Cassez's ex-boyfriend, Israel Vallarta, who is charged with leading the gang and is being tried separately.

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$A lower on inflation figures

Australias CPI rose 0.2 in Dec qtr

THE Australian dollar is lower, but has largely held its ground in response to weaker-than-expected domestic inflation figures.

At 1700 AEDT on Wednesday, the Australian dollar was trading at 105.39 US cents, up from 105.55 cents on Tuesday afternoon.

Commonwealth bank currency strategist Peter Dragicevich said the currency lost ground following the release of consumer price index (CPI) data at 1130 AEDT.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed the country recorded CPI inflation of 2.2 per cent in the 12 months to December, below economists' expectations of a 2.5 per cent rise.

Mr Dragicevich said while the figures meant the Reserve Bank of Australia had more room to move on interest rates, they did not significantly increase expectations of a rate cut in February.

"The Aussie dollar had the initial dip after the CPI numbers but I think people were just looking through the detail and it showed that," he said.

"If the RBA's outlook has changed then they may look to ease policy, but at this stage market pricing hasn't really moved for a February rate cut."

The RBA, which has a target range for inflation of two to three per cent, will hold its first board meeting of 2013 on February 5.

Mr Dragicevich said the main driver for the Australian dollar on Thursday would be the release of HSBC's flash PMI manufacturing data for China.

"We're expecting that to lift once again in the month, which will just reiterate that the Chinese economic cycle is gathering further momentum," he said.

"So that should be supportive for the Aussie (dollar)."

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Royal commission urged to report quickly

FORMER head of the Uniting Church in Australia James Haire says the royal commission into child sex abuse must move as quickly as possible.

Reverend Professor Haire, who is now the executive director of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture in Canberra, says the inquiry will be a good opportunity to get to the heart of criminal behaviour.

"We have to clean the thing up," he said on Wednesday.

"It's criminal behaviour on behalf of the perpetrators and it's criminal behaviour on behalf of any of those who at any time tried to hide it or not let the public gaze in."

He said it was important that the commission moved quickly.

"I hope the government keeps the pressure on because I don't want to end up with what I call 'analysis, paralysis' where we keep on analysing things and nothing happens," Prof Haire said.

"We need a report quickly, even if it's only an interim report."

Justice Peter McClellan, who heads the commission, has indicated that the evidence gathering process would take months.

The commission is expected to provide an interim report by the end of June 2014.

Prof Haire acknowledged there were mixed reactions to the royal commission within churches.

"Some of them are utterly in favour with just getting on with it.

"There are some who are frightened and there are some who have joined it reluctantly - they've almost been forced into it."

He implored church leaders to trust the commission and to cooperate as much as they can.

Prof Haire was president of the Uniting Church in Australia from 2000 to 2003 and National Council of Churches in Australia president between 2003 to 2006.

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Stem cells used to grow kidney tissue

RESEARCHERS in Japan have succeeded in growing human kidney tissue from stem cells.

Kidneys have a complex structure that is not easily repaired once damaged. The breakthrough is a step towards helping a diseased or distressed organ fix itself.

Kenji Osafune of Kyoto University said on Wednesday his team had managed to take stem cells - the "blank slates" capable of being programmed to become any kind of cell in the body - and nudge them specifically in the direction of kidney tissue.

"It was a very significant step," he told AFP.

Osafune and his team created part of a urinary tubule, a small tube in the kidney used in the production of urine.

While the research was not aimed at growing an entire working kidney, he said it may provide a source of cells for regenerative therapy.

"I would say that we have arrived at the preliminary step on the road to the clinical level," he said.

Osafune's research is published in online science journal Nature Communications.

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Crossin to seek preselection despite odds

Labor MPs have described the dumping of Northern Territory Senator Trish Crossin as "brutal". Source: AAP

LABOR senator Trish Crossin will fight for her seat despite the prime minister's "captain's pick" of Olympian Nova Peris unanimously receiving the national executive's stamp of approval.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday defended her endorsement of Ms Peris for the number one Senate ticket spot in the Northern Territory, as the Labor incumbent Senator Crossin vowed to fight for her job, arguing the NT branch should have been consulted.

Senator Crossin told reporters in Melbourne she thinks Ms Peris' name should be put to a rank-and-file ballot, along with anyone else who may nominate in the coming days.

However Labor's national executive unanimously accepted Ms Peris as a member and will consider her, Senator Crossin and other nominees for preselection, before making a decision next week.

Aboriginal sovereignty campaigner Michael Anderson condemned the choice of Ms Peris, Australia's first Aboriginal Olympic gold medallist, who could also become the first indigenous woman in federal parliament.

"Ms Nova Peris has not been involved in major political processes, rallies or otherwise," the founder of the tent embassy in Canberra said on Wednesday.

"I do not have confidence in her ability to stand up for and fight the hard fight that is coming our way.

"Ms Peris is only being used as a public relations exercise for Labor."

However fellow Aboriginal Olympic gold medallist Cathy Freeman tweeted: "Nova Peris - what a great ambassador she would be for all Australians, Indigenous people, women and NT."

Ms Gillard said it was time Labor had an indigenous person in federal parliament, stating she knew the decision would be "controversial".

However her pick also dashes the hopes of former NT education minister Marion Scrymgour, who was Australia's first indigenous female minister, and had put up her hand to run against Ms Crossin.

Ms Scrymgour believes her views on the federal government's intervention in Aboriginal communities had counted against her.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said he welcomed more indigenous people in national politics but questioned the sidelining of Senator Crossin and Ms Scrymgour, who "may well have been able to win a preselection legitimately".

Former Democrats NSW senator Aden Ridgeway, who was the only indigenous representative in federal parliament during the rise of One Nation, supported Ms Peris's tilt at politics but warned she would carry a heavy load.

"Being preselected in a mainstream political party will mean she will have to toe the party line on policy," Mr Ridgeway told ABC radio.

Labor left co-convenor Senator Doug Cameron described the move against Senator Crossin as "a night of the long knives".

However Ms Peris said the prime minister "handled it the way that she saw".

"If you look at the Northern Territory, Labor lost its last election ... there was lack of representation from Aboriginal women in the NT," she told the Seven Network.

Former ALP national president and Aboriginal leader Warren Mundine, who quit the party out of frustration last year, said he was glad Ms Gillard had intervened.

"You can't go on continuing to say you are the champion of the indigenous people when you don't have an indigenous person sitting next to you in the parliament," he said.

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Desert trek to help high-care need youths

SIX brave Sydneysiders will face an eight-day, 300km trek across arid sand dunes this May to help better the lives of young people with high-care needs.

The 2013 Simpson Desert Challenge raises funds for Youngcare, a national charity aimed at giving such young people better care and housing options, rather than leaving them in aged-care facilities.

About 7500 young people in Australia are currently living in aged-care facilities,

Youngcare CEO Mark Foley said on Tuesday the desert was chosen to reflect the isolation and mental and physical hardships young people in aged-care face daily.

"Aged care is no place for a young person," he said.

"Every young person deserves a young life."

The goal of this year's trek is to raise $700,000 to help build age-appropriate housing for youths in need.

For the launch of the challenge on Tuesday, part of Sydney's Wynard Park was transformed into a temporary desert, complete with camels, much to the surprise of passers-by.

Six Sydneysiders have signed on for the challenge and will complete an intensive 17-week training program with an adventure trekking group founded by former Australian Army personnel.

Trekkers carry all their supplies in a 15kg backpack every day.

Jock Watson, 30, who has been in aged care since the age of 22 after a serious car accident, completed the 2011 Simpson Desert Challenge with his younger brothers, Tom and Angus.

This year, Jock's friend, Sarah Scott-Paul, has committed to the trek.

Jock's mother, Jane Watson, believes every effort is needed to raise funds for the charity.

"He's living in an environment where people die and don't have potential," she said.

"My son has potential. He deserves to have a dignified life and needs somewhere to stimulate him, rather than depress him."

Those wishing to support the trekkers can go to the website www.youngcare.com.au/simpsondesert.

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Bali court sentences UK woman to death

AN Indonesian court has sentenced a 56-year-old British woman to death for drug smuggling on the resort island of Bali.

"We found Lindsay Sandiford convincingly and legally guilty for importing narcotics... and sentenced the defendant to death," judge Amser Simanjuntak told Denpasar district court.

Prosecutors had earlier recommended a 15-year jail sentence.

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Three rescued from sea by Vic boaters

THREE people have been injured after a seaplane flipped over near a beach on the Victorian coast.

Paramedics say nobody was seriously injured when the plane turned upside down in the water off the shores of Geelong beach.

The incident happened about 3.25pm (AEDT) near Cunningham Pier.

A spokesperson for Ambulance Victoria said the three people who were on board the plane were being taken to Geelong hospital for treatment.

A local businessman said the aircraft had simply flipped over in the water.

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WA ports close for cyclone threat

RIO Tinto is closing its Cape Lambert and Dampier ports in Western Australia's Pilbara region to prepare for a low-pressure weather system that could become a tropical cyclone on Wednesday.

The miner said harbour masters were expected to close the Cape Lambert facility at Port Walcott and Dampier port later on Tuesday afternoon to allow ships to move outside the affected area.

"Operations are continuing at this stage, but preparations are commencing to secure port and associated coastal infrastructure ahead of expected deteriorating conditions this evening," the company said in an emailed statement.

The Port Hedland harbour, Australia's highest-tonnage port, is also being evacuated for closure.

The last vessel will set sail from its inner harbour at 3.30pm on Tuesday.

The low-pressure system brought heavy rain overnight and on Tuesday across the region and is expected to continue into Wednesday.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) estimated around midday that the tropical low was 160km northeast of Port Hedland and 340km east northeast of Karratha, and moving west southwest at 12km/h.

If the system reaches cyclone intensity, gales with wind gusts to 100km/h could develop between Pardoo and Dampier on Wednesday, possibly extending west to Onslow late in the day, the BoM said.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has issued a blue alert for people in or near communities between Pardoo and Mardie, including Port Hedland.

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WA economy strong but housing a worry: ALP

HOUSING is set to be a big issue in the coming West Australian election, with the opposition saying a fall in dwelling starts amid a rising population shows the government has failed to manage the boom.

While a report by equities trader CommSec on Monday ranked WA in first place for retail trade, equipment investment, completed construction work and population growth, it placed the state fifth for starting new home construction.

Overall, the report showed the state's economy was still in positive territory, opposition treasury spokesman Ben Wyatt said, but a rapid increase in home rental prices and a fall in housing approvals was concerning.

"When you get massive population growth and yet the government fails in respect of new housing, that ensures that Western Australians aren't getting benefit from our good economic times and are in fact being punished by the poor management of our boom by the Barnett government," Mr Wyatt told AAP.

"In 2012, we had 11,000 housing approvals and compare that to 2007/08 when we had 18,000.

"It's not sustainable and more Western Australians will end up having year-in, year-out increases in their rent by over 13 per cent, which is what we had in 2012."

Mr Wyatt said land releases needed to be sped up and made more efficient to help relieve WA's housing pressure.

Separately, Treasurer Troy Buswell said it was no surprise the CommSec report tipped the state to remain the nation's strongest through 2013, largely driven by high levels of business investment.

WA had far eclipsed other states and territories in equipment investment, while high migration rates pointed to confidence in its current economic conditions and future prospects, Mr Buswell said.

While WA is one of three Australian states - alongside NSW and Victoria - to hold a AAA credit rating with Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service, the ratings agencies warned in December that the mining state was at risk of a downgrade because of high debt levels.

The Colin Barnett-led government warned in its Mid Year Economic Review last month that the state's books should slide into the red by $187 million in 2013/14 because of softer mining royalties.

It expects a surplus of $140 million for the current financial year, down from the budget estimate of $196 million, although prices for iron ore - WA's main revenue source - have since improved.

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Inquiries begin into youth prison riot

THREE separate inquiries will examine a riot at Western Australia's only juvenile detention centre that caused millions of dollars in damage and led to dozens of teenage offenders being moved to an adult prison.

Three inmates climbed onto the roof of the Banksia Hill detention centre at Canning Vale in Perth just before lockdown on Sunday evening, sparking a mass riot in which 60 youths armed themselves with rocks and other improvised weapons and smashed up nearly 100 cells.

The damage left more than half the prison's cells uninhabitable, so 73 young offenders had to be moved in darkness to nearby Hakea prison.

WA's Corrective Services Commissioner Ian Johnson admitted having massive concerns about child offenders being housed alongside adult remand prisoners.

Corrective Services Minister Murray Cowper said the violent outbreak had not been a security risk.

That was despite some young prisoners apparently having broken others out of their cells by smashing their way in, before the mob went on the rampage.

"There was no security issues yesterday. The detainees were detained within the precincts," Mr Cowper said.

"When you are dealing with highly volatile situations, it does not mean you lose control. It was brought under control after three hours.

"Detainees participated in riotous behaviour, but it is unknown at this stage what sparked the disturbance.

"But we will ensure the perpetrators of this incident face the full extent of the law."

Mr Cowper ordered an independent inquiry to be carried out by WA's prisons inspector Neil Morgan, which will report back to parliament.

An internal Corrective Services inquiry and a criminal police investigation are also under way as the damage to Banksia Hill is fully assessed.

Police, police dogs, emergency services, the police helicopter and two fire trucks were called in to help staff quell the riot, which began about 6.30pm.

The mob armed themselves with rocks and 'adapted weapons', including smashed glass wrapped in material, Mr Johnson said. No staff were injured, but one detainee needed treatment for a gash to his leg.

The government only recently spent $27 million upgrading the young offenders' facility, and Mr Johnson said he feared the purpose-built improvements had been damaged in the outbreak.

"We are not dealing with choirboys; we are not dealing with angels," Mr Johnson said.

"The three instigators at some stage assisted others. I sincerely hope they have been identified."

WA Prison Officers' Union secretary John Welch said Hakea Prison was already understaffed and under pressure, with seven assaults of prison officers occurring in December alone.

"We have major concerns that we ended up in a situation where the only possible response was to shift children as young as 14 into an adult prison full of serious offenders," Mr Welch said.

"Putting children into an adult prison should never been an option. The fact that the children have had to be placed at a maximum-security prison is proof that our correctional system is in dire crisis."

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Vic crews work to control massive blaze

EFFORTS to control a massive bushfire burning in eastern Victoria continued as a Gippsland community remembered a firefighter who died while helping his colleagues in Tasmania.

Fire crews backburned around the 59,000 hectare blaze, burning about 200 kilometres east of Melbourne on Monday, in preparation for warmer temperatures and strong winds forecast for later in the week.

The fire last week claimed the life of 84-year-old Seaton man Stan Hayhurst as he was driving his car and has destroyed at least 21 homes in the region.

The blaze sent a thick smoke haze as far away as Melbourne's western suburbs, prompting warnings from health authorities urging those with respiratory illnesses to stay indoors.

Investigations are continuing into the cause of the fire, which began last Thursday in the Baw Baw National Park.

Residents have been allowed to return to the fire-hit communities of Seaton, Glenmaggie and Glenmaggie Point, while the only access road to the small town of Licola - Licola Road - was partially reopened on Monday.

Smaller fires ignited across the state on Monday, with paramedics responding to a report of two people with burns to their hands and faces at Bald Hills, near Ballarat, in connection with a grassfire.

Police say two other small fires lit in Melbourne's far southeastern suburbs of Dandenong and Doveton on Monday afternoon are suspicious, and officers are now searching for five to eight men seen in the area.

A separate fire at Wallan, 50 kilometres from Melbourne, briefly put homes under threat on Monday and prompted an emergency warning from the CFA.

But Kilmore deputy incident controller Greg Murphy said fire crews were confident of bringing the blaze to heel before it could reach homes.

Meanwhile, under hazy skies at Traralgon, family, friends and colleagues of fallen firefighter Peter Cramer said goodbye to an unconventional larrikin.

Mr Cramer, 61, died on January 13 at Taranna, east of Hobart, while working on foot to identify potential containment lines on the southern boundary of the Forcett bushfire.

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Steak and red wine for rescued sailor

RESCUED French sailor Alain Delord has recuperated with steak and red wine aboard the Antarctic cruise ship Orion as he heads to Hobart to be reunited with his family.

Mr Delord is expected to arrive in Hobart on Tuesday morning after he was picked up by the 4000-tonne cruise ship in a dramatic operation 500 nautical miles south of Tasmania.

The 63-year-old solo round-the-world yachtsman was rescued by a Zodiac inflatable launched from the liner on Sunday night after spending three nights adrift on a raft.

He is in good spirits and health with only superficial injuries to his hands, an Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokesperson (AMSA) said, and will be welcomed to Hobart by family who are believed to be flying in from France.

"Alain has had a good night resting," Orion expedition leaders Don and Margie McIntyre posted on the ship's Facebook site.

"He has ordered a steak for lunch!!

"His hands are a slightly swollen and some joints a little stiff, but he is walking around his suite."

Earlier, Mr Delord enjoyed French onion soup and red wine for the first time since he set sail last October.

The Orion, which reached him after an alert 53 hours before, launched its rescue boat in swells up to four metres and poor visibility after an AMSA-organised Hercules aircraft had dropped flares to help guide the crew.

"It was unbelievable how difficult he was to see," Orion captain Mike Taylor told the ABC.

AMSA praised the crew of the ship, which diverted its 100 passengers from their trip to Macquarie Island to exercise its international obligations by going to the yachtsman's aid.

"The Orion crew and the master displayed exemplary seamanship by effecting this rescue," spokesperson Jo Meehan told AAP.

"They were in a vessel that is not designed for search and rescue, they were in pretty rough conditions, they were coming to the end of the daylight and they were pretty much looking for a needle in a haystack."

Ms Meehan said the Orion had been the closest ship to respond to the emergency call.

She said AMSA flights had attempted to find a closer vessel but could not confirm a possibility Chinese fishing boats were in the area.

"At no point can we suggest they deliberately ignored us," Ms Meehan said.

AMSA is yet to calculate the cost of the rescue but said it fell within its budget for search and rescue operations.

"AMSA is funded for search and rescue. It's an Australian government international obligation that we meet," Ms Meehan said.

"We don't take into account cost while we're trying to save somebody's life."

The Orion will not receive any compensation for its efforts.

Mr Delord abandoned his yacht Tchouk Tchouk Nougat after the mast broke into four pieces and its hull was damaged in rough weather.

The yachtsman had received an air drop of food, water, communications equipment and a survival suit while he waited for rescue.

"He has just one personal item left - a small knife, and of course his thermal underwear, but no passport but Immigration should understand!!" the Facebook post said.

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Mild NSW weather helps RFS fight bushfires

FIREFIGHTERS are taking advantage of milder conditions to carry out containment work on more than 80 blazes that continue to burn across NSW.

There are hopes that many of the hundreds of firefighters who have been working around the clock battling the state's bushfires will soon be able to return home to their families.

On Sunday evening 84 bushfires remained in NSW, of which eight were uncontained.

None were directly threatening properties. The fire danger has now been downgraded to low to moderate across the state.

The Rural Fire Service said the cooler conditions had given firefighters some respite.

"We are taking advantage of these cooler weather conditions to get some consolidation works done, constructing containment lines to ensure there's no flare up from winds forecast in the coming days," an RFS spokesman told AAP.

However, he warned that NSW would remain at risk of fire danger throughout the remainder of summer.

"It only has to have a few days of warm, dry, windy weather and those fire grounds will be susceptible to fire again."

More than 300 firefighters continue to battle an uncontained blaze in northwest NSW, where 53 homes were destroyed last week.

Light rain near Coonabarabran overnight has helped bring about a reduction in fire activity, in what has been the state's most destructive bushfire for more than a decade.

As well as the 53 homes, 113 outbuildings, livestock and farm machinery were lost in the fire, which has burnt through more than 54,000 hectares and has an 180km perimeter.

In the coming days, firefighters will scour the area in an attempt to eradicate any smouldering remnants that could reignite.

"They'll be looking at any tree logs or stumps in the area to extinguish and cut up to make sure they don't create any embers on a windy day, and cooling any hotspots near containment lines," the spokesman said.

"They'll be there for at least the coming days, if not the next week."

He said there were hopes that many firefighters would soon be able to return home to their families.

"Our main focus is to get these fire crews ... back to their normal lives, back to families, back to work."

A fire believed to have been started by lightning on Friday night is also continuing to burn behind containment lines in Ku-ring-gai National Park north of Sydney.

The RFS says walking access to the Basin, in Pittwater, is restricted and smoke can be seen as far away as the Central Coast.

All NSW fires were currently burning at an Advice level, the RFS spokesman said, which meant residents should remain vigilant.

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Ned Kelly laid to rest 132 years later

Bushranger Ned Kelly has been laid to rest at a Victorian cemetery 132 years after he was hanged. Source: AAP

BUSHRANGER Ned Kelly's final wish has been realised more than 132 years after he was hanged.

Kelly was laid to rest on Sunday beside the unmarked grave of his mother at a cemetery in the tiny northeast Victorian town of Greta, not far from Glenrowan where he had his last stand in June 1880.

Kelly's burial brings about the realisation of his dying wish of a traditional Catholic burial in consecrated ground alongside his loved ones.

A marquee surrounded the gravesite during the burial which was attended by dozens of his descendants.

Kelly's great-grand-niece, Joanne Griffiths, said the family was happy to finally put things right.

"I think we all feel really relieved and proud after all the work to try and achieve this, that finally he was given his final wish," she said.

"Regardless of what people might think now ... this is not the day for judgment this is just the day for burying a family member.

"We are really, really happy to achieve that and at least put that part to rest, put things right."

The burial came after a funeral service in nearby Wangaratta on Friday.

More than 200 descendants, along with many interested members of the public attended the mass.

Kelly was hanged in 1880 after shooting dead three policeman.

His skull has been missing since 1978 when it was stolen from a display case at the Old Melbourne Gaol.

Reportedly, Kelly's remains will be encased in concrete to ensure his bones are not stolen.

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Two NSW children approached by a man

A SISTER and brother have been approached by a stranger who tried to entice them into his car on NSW's midnorth coast.

The 12-year-old girl and five-year-old boy were playing in a vacant lot near their home in James Grimwade Place, East Kempsey, about 1.30pm (AEDT) on Sunday, police say.

A red Nissan four-wheel-drive with a silver bull bar stopped on the roadway, and a man with curly brown hair and a clean-shaven face called the children over.

They approached and the driver, aged in his mid to late 40s, asked them to get into the car.

The pair immediately ran home and told their mother what had happened.

Police are appealing or information about a man who may be able to assist with their inquiries.

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Uncontrolled fire burning in SA

AN uncontrolled fire burning in south eastern South Australia may threaten public safety, authorities have warned.

The bushfire at Greenways, south of Adelaide, is travelling in a northerly direction towards Cortina Station, the CFS says.

The fire is burning between Woodleigh Rd and Jorgensons Rd.

"The fire is not controlled and is burning in scrub and conditions are continually changing," a CFS statement said.

The CFS says it is attending the fire and has urged residents to follow their bushfire survival plans.

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