Abbott promises respectful new parliament

Prime Minister Tony Abbott speaks of a new Australian government with less pandering to the media. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has promised a "respectful" new parliament when it assembles for the first time next week, promising the Labor years will soon fade like "a bad memory".

Addressing the West Australian Liberal branch at its annual conference on Saturday, Mr Abbott pledged a parliament that "discusses the issues, rather than abuses individuals".

The prime minister said the parliament wouldn't impugn the motives of opponents or trash their reputations.

If anyone tried to go over the top, new Speaker Bronwyn Bishop would sort them out.

"And I am confident that after just a few weeks of the new parliament - that parliament that diminished our policy and embarrassed our citizens over the last three years - will soon seem like just a bad memory," Mr Abbott said.

"Rob Oakeshott? Who is he?

"Tony Windsor? He was part of our system once but not anymore."

He said the Liberals had already restored "due process" to government, including the 10-day rule for cabinet decisions.

"Now you might think that's just a paperwork rule but if you don't get these things right ... you end up getting important details wrong.

"I want to say that we have made a good start, that the adults are back in charge and that strong, stable, methodical and purposeful government is once more the rule in our national capital."

Mr Abbott devoted much of his address to the Liberal's media strategy, which contrasted with Labor's "endless interviews, all about glorifying politicians".

"I think all of you will have noticed that there is a new tone and a new style in Canberra.

"Yes, we will speak when we need to speak. But we won't speak for the sake of speaking and we won't bang on things for the purposes of a PR gesture."

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Aboriginal artist's work on Qantas 737

ABORIGINAL artist Paddy Bedford would often tell his daughter his work was going to end up on a plane.

"'I'm going to have a painting on a jet'," he'd tell Kathleen Watson.

She dismissed the idea at the time but is proud that the late West Australian artist's wish has come true.

Bedford's 2005 painting Mendoowoorrji - Medicine Pocket inspired the livery for Qantas's new 737-800 aircraft, the fourth in its indigenous art series.

Watson, in Seattle with Gija elders from the East Kimberley for a ceremony to bless the plane, said it was an honour to share the Aboriginal culture in this way.

"I'm proud to keep his legacy alive and sharing and promoting Aboriginal art through the world, Australia, Western Australia and the Kimberley," she said.

Medicine Pocket, which has been gifted to the National Gallery of Australia by Bedford's estate, depicts part of the artist's mother's country.

It's taken 18 months to get the aircraft ready with Boeing painters for the first time using brush and other hand painting techniques to translate the work's shading and textural elements on to the fuselage.

The white areas feature a lot of grey shading and the iconic Qantas tail has been included in the design, albeit with its trademark red changed to match the painting's earthy tones.

National Gallery Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art senior adviser Franchesca Cubillo said the Australian designers Balarinji and Boeing's painters had managed to capture the essence of the original painting.

"The team of painters here have actually worked closely with Balarinji to ensure that lovely painterly effect, the texture, even the gradient of the colours that are in the original painting have been replicated," she said.

Mendoowoorrji will arrive in Sydney on Monday before joining the Qantas domestic network from mid-November, flying east-west and intra-WA routes.

William Mora Galleries director William Mora said Bedford would have been incredibly proud to see the spirit and story of his painting on a plane.

"I think he'd want to be the first person to leave it when it landed and stand at the top of the stairs and say 'not only am I the number one painter, I have my own plane'."

* The writer travelled to Seattle as a guest of Qantas and Boeing.

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Thousands flee Dreamworld after fire alert

MORE than 7000 people fled Australia's largest theme park on Saturday after a grassfire started nearby.

The fire, sending a huge plume of smoke towards the 85-hectare Dreamworld on the Gold Coast from nearby Coomera, prompted an evacuation.

Visitors described how the smoke started drifting into the park, also home to the Big Brother house, prompting rides to be closed one-by-one.

Sam Gilchrist was at the theme park with daughters Alannah, 14, Megan, 9, and Holly, 6, on the last day of a Gold Coast holiday when the smoke started to drift in.

She said Dreamworld staff started shutting down rides one at a time as the smoke started to thicken.

While some people moved to rides that were still open, the Melbourne family left just before the park was evacuated because one of the children started getting upset by the smoke.

"The kids were on a ride and I could see a mist of smoke and I could smell it," she told AAP.

"It started getting really black and blanketing the whole area.

"There was a little bit of ash falling, I think asthmatics would have had a bit of a difficult time."

She said she didn't know whether people would be compensated for having to leave.

The park will open as usual on Sunday.

A Dreamworld spokeswoman said the evacuation of guests and zoo animals had been a precaution.

"We evacuated for the safety of guests, staff and the animals," she said.

She said park visitors whose details staff had managed to obtain before they left the park would be contacted regarding possible compensation.

A Queensland Department of Community Safety spokesperson said the fire covered four hectares on Saturday afternoon, having broken out near Foxwell Road about 1.30pm (AEST).

The spokesperson said there was no immediate threat to homes but advised people to keep their doors and windows closed.

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PM defends boat policy despite backdown

Australia's backdown with Indonesia over an asylum boat doesn't signal failure says Tony Abbott. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S backdown from a stalemate with Indonesia over the turn-around of an asylum seeker boat signals a crack in the government's border protection policy, critics say.

But Prime Minister Tony Abbott insists the coalition's plan to stop the boats is working despite there being setbacks.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison on Saturday ordered an end to a stand-off lasting more than 24 hours, where a suspected asylum seeker boat carrying more than 50 people had been intercepted by Australian authorities off the coast of Java.

Indonesia refused requests for the passengers to be taken ashore, leaving the boat people in limbo at sea under the watch of the Australian navy.

"In the best interests of the safety of the passengers and crew ... earlier this morning I requested (the) transfer (of) the persons rescued to Christmas Island," Mr Morrison said in a statement on Saturday.

Australian authorities had responded on Thursday to a distress call from the wooden boat which was subsequently located in Indonesia's search and rescue zone.

"On two recent occasions, Indonesia has agreed to these requests and facilitated an on water transfer," Mr Morrison said of the turn back attempt.

But in the latest case, Indonesia said they would "review" the situation.

"What is absolutely clear from the events of today is that the boats are not being turned back, indeed the boats are coming to Christmas Island," opposition immigration spokesman Richard Marles said.

"The border protection policy which Tony Abbott took to the election is in tatters."

But the prime minister defended his government's approach.

"We said that we'd stop the boats, and while they have not yet stopped, they are slowing and they are stopping," Mr Abbott told reporters on Saturday.

"We will have setbacks and we will have disappointments, but we will succeed."

The prime minister refused to comment on "operational matters" relating to the latest boat interception but Mr Morrison confirmed that all passengers had been accounted for and would be taken to detention centres at Manus Island or Nauru after initial processing at Christmas Island.

The Australian Greens have called on the government to end its secrecy over border security operations, outlining plans to move a motion in parliament next week compelling the government to release details.

"Mr Abbott's excuses for secrecy are wearing thin and the Greens will use the powers of the Parliament to reinforce transparency," the minor party's immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said.

"The Coalition's turnaround policy is in tatters and it is time that Mr Abbott admitted that he had it wrong from the start."

Reports from Indonesia say there were some 63 people on the latest asylum seeker boat.

An Indonesia government spokesman said Jakarta was reluctant to accept the passengers because the boat was in working order when detected and the asylum seekers were not in danger.

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Bushfires threaten Sydney suburbs

A total fire ban has been declared for Sydney, with severe fire danger conditions tipped for NSW. Source: AAP

FIRES have threatened heavily populated areas in Sydney and caused smoke to billow over a busy motorway.

An emergency warning for residents living along four streets at Kemps Creek, near Liverpool in the city's southwest, was issued just after lunchtime on Friday as a grass fire made a run towards people's back fences.

More than 250 firefighters and two air cranes worked to get the blaze under control with a number of residents choosing to leave.

Smoke from the blaze began blowing over the M7, prompting the Rural Fire Service (RFS) to tell people to avoid the area as much as possible.

But the blaze was brought under control by the early evening after burning through 250 hectares.

"Firefighters continue to patrol at this stage to make sure it doesn't flare up again," RFS spokeswoman Natalie Sanders told AAP.

Meanwhile, two blazes in North Epping and Pymble in Sydney's north were believed to have been the work of arsonists.

"We will be investigating these in the coming days," Ms Sanders said.

It came as Sydneysiders awoke on Friday to hazy skies, with smoke from a fire in the Hawkesbury region which has already burnt more than 35,000 hectares making its way over the city.

Extreme conditions that were forecast for the state also prompted a total fire ban and the closure of all bushwalking tracks in national parks across greater Sydney.

Ms Sanders said while Sydney was expected to experience benign fire weather on Saturday, conditions in the Hunter region were forecast to be severe.

With gusts of up to 40 km/h and temperatures in the high 30s, she said the RFS would turn its attention to that part of the state.

"We are ready to respond to that as required," she said.

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Monster storm hits Philippines, three dead

The world's strongest typhoon of the year has slammed into the Philippines. Source: AAP

THREE people have been killed as one of the most intense typhoons on record whipped the Philippines, terrifying millions as monster winds tore roofs off buildings and giant waves washed away flimsy homes.

Super Typhoon Haiyan smashed into coastal communities on the central island of Samar, about 600 kilometres southeast of Manila, before dawn on Friday with maximum sustained winds of about 315 kilometres an hour.

"We've had reports of uprooted trees, very strong winds ... and houses made of light materials being damaged," Philippine Red Cross chief Gwendolyn Pang said on Friday afternoon as Haiyan swept across the archipelago's central and southern islands.

The government said three people had been confirmed killed and another man was missing after he fell off a gangplank in the central port of Cebu.

But the death toll was expected to rise, with authorities unable to immediately contact the worst-affected areas and Haiyan only expected to leave the Philippines in the evening.

"The winds were so strong that they flattened all the banana plants around the house," university student Jessa Aljibe, 19, told AFP by telephone from the Samar city of Borongan shortly after Haiyan made landfall.

All telephone contact to the island was later lost as the typhoon moved inland.

"We have put rescue teams ad equipment at different places, but at the moment we can't really do much because of the heavy rain and strong winds. There is no power," Pang said.

The Philippines suffered the world's strongest storm of 2012, when Typhoon Bopha left about 2000 people dead or missing on the southern island of Mindanao.

But Haiyan's wind strength made it one of the four most powerful typhoons ever recorded and the most intense to have made landfall, according to Jeff Masters, the director of meteorology at US-based Weather Underground.

Haiyan generated wind gusts of 379km/h on Friday morning, according to the US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

Masters said the previous record for the strongest typhoon to make landfall was Hurricane Camille, which hit Mississippi in the US with sustained winds of 190 miles an hour in 1969.

The US expert said he expected the damage in Guiuan, a fishing town of about 40,000 people that was the first to be hit on Friday, to be "catastrophic".

Communication lines with Guiuan remained cut off in the afternoon, and the civil defence office said it was unable to give an assessment of the damage there.

In Tacloban, a nearby city of more than 200,000 people, corrugated iron sheets were ripped off roofs and floated with the wind before crashing into buildings, according to video footage taken by a resident.

Flash floods also turned Tacloban's streets into rivers, while a photo from an ABS-CBN television reporter showed six bamboo houses washed away along a beach more than 200 kilometres to the south.

President Benigno Aquino on Thursday had warned his compatriots to make all possible preparations for Haiyan.

"To our local officials, your constituents are facing a serious peril. Let us do all we can while (Haiyan) has not yet hit land," he said in a nationally televised address.

More than 125,000 people in the most vulnerable areas had been moved to evacuation centres before Haiyan hit, according to the national disaster management council, and millions of others huddled in their homes.

Authorities said schools in the storm's path were closed, ferry services suspended and flights cancelled.

In the capital Manila, which was on the northern edge of the typhoon's path, many schools were closed amid forecasts of heavy rain.

Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and other carriers announced the suspension of hundreds of flights, mostly domestic but also some international.

One particularly vulnerable area in Haiyan's path was the central island of Bohol, the epicentre of a 7.1-magnitude earthquake last month that killed 222 people.

At least 5000 survivors were still living in tents on Bohol, and they were moved to schools that had been turned into evacuation centres.

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Ken Levy re-appointed CMC chair

THE Queensland government has extended the contract of the head of the state's crime and corruption watchdog despite criticism he was biased.

The opposition wanted Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) Chair Dr Ken Levy to resign after he penned an opinion piece that said the new bikie laws reflected the will of Queenslanders.

His contract has been extended to May 22, 2014.

Dr Levy has written to the head of the parliamentary committee which overseas the CMC, in a letter tabled on Friday, to insist he wasn't pressured to write the article.

When asked last week whether he'd consulted anyone about the article, he said: "No, it's my composition".

But Dr Levy's revealed the head of the government's media unit, Lee Anderson, called the CMC media unit a week before the article was published to ask if the CMC was going to do any media interviews on the legislation.

At the time, Dr Levy told his staff "we would not be spooked" by the call as they were already discussing doing broader media on the issue.

"I certainly have never had any pressure from the Premier or the Attorney General, or anyone else from government for that matter, trying to pressure me about any issue," Dr Levy wrote.

In his letter to parliamentary crime and misconduct committee chair Liz Cunningham, Dr Levy expresses regret and apologises for not remembering the contact the CMC had with Mr Anderson when he was grilled last Friday.

"In the embarrassment on Friday afternoon, I indicated to you that perhaps I should consider standing down, particularly in light of the call by the leader of the opposition," he wrote.

But Dr Levy says Mr Anderson's call only referred to the broad area of the CMC's powers to deal with the outlaw bikie gangs and there was no pressure to write the opinion piece.

Instead, Dr Levy was inspired by imbalanced press, which was pitting judges and lawyers against politicians and ignoring the community.

"My article was not politically motivated," he wrote.

"As I said to the Committee last Friday, Criminal motorcycle gangs are really criminal cartels. The Government was being responsible in legislating."

Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie says he is supportive of the CMC being more open with the public, but any decisions regarding media is clearly a matter for them.

"The Newman government respects the independence of Queensland's judiciary and statutory bodies," Mr Bleijie said.

The acting role is effective up to and including May 22, 2014 and a permanent appointment is expected next year.

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Bureaucrat accused of lying to ICAC

A SENIOR bureaucrat who granted Eddie Obeid a water licence almost six times larger than authorities recommended without following proper process has been accused of lying to a NSW corruption inquiry.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) was on Friday taking evidence from Dennis Milling, the water authority's director of licensing from November 2006 to February 2010.

The commission is investigating whether Obeid used his political power to influence the review and granting of water licences for a $3.65 million farm his family bought in Bylong Valley, in NSW's Hunter region, in November 2007.

In August 2008 a draft document from the water department recommended an annual quota of 150 megalitres for the property, Cherrydale Park.

But on November 27 the same year, Mr Milling amended the unrestricted licences to allow Cherrydale Park 860 megalitres of water each year.

Government licensing agents look at the size of the area traditionally irrigated, about five years' data, to determine how much water is needed.

But this wasn't factored into Mr Milling's calculations.

The matter was raised with him by Andrew Phillipa, a licensing officer.

Assistant Commissioner Anthony Whealy questioned the former director of licensing about the process he followed.

"Neither of the two reports you've been shown tell you anything about the area that had been historically irrigated, do they?" he asked.

"Not thus far," Mr Milling replied.

He said he had seen a different report, showing 100 hectares or more required irrigation.

He acknowledged that Mr Phillipa had seen an identical file and had not found any document about Cherrydale's past use or a government assessment of the property's historic water use.

"That doesn't make sense, does it? If (Mr Phillipa) said there weren't any (records) and you say ... you saw (a record of Cherrydale Park's historic water use), well, where is it?" Mr Whealy asked.

"I believe that somewhere in the documents it actually appears," Mr Milling said.

Earlier on Friday the ICAC heard Mr Milling had directed a licensing officer not to inspect Cherrydale Park.

A day before the officer was due to inspect the farm, Mr Milling wrote an email cancelling her trip.

A complaint was also lodged with the department and several days after the call she was suspended on full pay.

Initially, the officer thought her suspension was "harassment and bullying from senior managers" but she now believes it was due to an error she made in her paperwork.

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Jobless rate steady but expected to fall

THE Australian economy added just 1,100 jobs in October, but recent retail spending and housing data could be a sign improvement is on the way.

October's unemployment rate was steady at 5.7 per cent, after the September rate was revised up from 5.6 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

A year ago the unemployment rate was 5.3 per cent.

AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said the labour market has been disappointing over the past few months.

"The jobs market remains very weak," he said.

"The weakness in the labour market is highlighted by a continuing switching in jobs from full time to part time as companies seek to contain costs."

Full time employment fell by 27,900 in October, while part time employment rose by 28,900, the ABS said.

But Dr Oliver is confident employment growth will strengthen, saying recent jobs figures reflect the weakness in the economy over the past 12 months.

"It's important to note that employment is a lagging indicator of the economy," he said.

"With leading economic indicators like prices for houses and shares, housing construction approvals and business and consumer confidence on the rise, this suggests that jobs growth should start to improve sometime around mid-next year."

The participation rate stayed at a seven year low of 65.8 per cent in October, which Dr Oliver said is a sign job seekers are getting discouraged, preferring to stay in education or take early retirement.

RBC Capital Markets senior economist Su-Lin Ong said the employment figures wouldn't worry the RBA, nor spark a rate cut in the short term.

"They've been talking about a softer labour market and a likely increase in the unemployment rate," she said.

"I think it provides a bit of a reminder that the easing bias by the RBA, modest as it is, remains intact."

Ms Ong expects the unemployment rate to move towards six per cent in the short term.

"A lot depends on participation, that continues to slide," she said.

"But there's more to the employment market than the unemployment rate, when you look at the range of labour market indicators from employment to population, through to participation, the labour market is pretty soft."

JP Morgan economist Ben Jarman said there are worrying signs the Australian economy's transition away being driven by mining investment might be a little bumpy.

"Firms appear reluctant to step up hiring until they see evidence of consumer uplift, and consumers are concerned about waning income growth and reluctant to draw down on savings," he said.

"To the extent that hiring and investment are correlated, today's numbers also are not too favourable in terms of the hoped for lift in non-mining business investment."

The Australian dollar dropped by about half a US cent when the jobs data was released, below 95 US cents.

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ICAC to probe SES commissioner actions

NSW State Emergency Service Commissioner Murray Kear will come under the microscope at an ICAC inquiry next month.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Thursday announced it would hold an inquiry from December 3, as part of an investigation into the sacking of former SES deputy commissioner Tara McCarthy.

The inquiry will probe whether Mr Kear dismissed Ms McCarthy in May in reprisal, after she alleged her colleague SES Deputy Commissioner Steven Pearce had acted corruptly.

It is expected to run for up to two weeks.

It will also examine allegations that Mr Kear failed to appropriately investigate Ms McCarthy's claims regarding Mr Pearce.

Mr Kear is also alleged to have made false statements or attempted to mislead an officer of the ICAC.

ICAC Assistant Commissioner Theresa Hamilton will preside over the inquiry, while Michael Fordham SC and Callan O'Neill will act as counsel assisting.

It comes after Fairfax Media reported in September that Mr Pearce had been stood down pending the outcome of an investigation into credit cards misuse and overtime rorts by senior management at the SES.

Shortly after ICAC released its statement announcing the inquiry, Police Minister Michael Gallacher said Mr Kear had requested leave until further notice.

Fire and Rescue NSW deputy commissioner Jim Smith has been appointed acting commissioner effective immediately and until further notice, Mr Gallacher said in a statement.

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'Wave of relief' after Sydney gang arrests

The NSW premier says he's delighted that police have made inroads into ending Sydney's gun violence. Source: AAP

POLICE have laid a series of charges in the wake of a spate of western Sydney shootings, one of which involved the murder of a man last year.

NSW Police say a split in the Brothers 4 Life crime gang is behind the violence that culminated this week with what they described as their worst fear: the shooting of an innocent bystander.

Less than three days after a 13-year-old girl was allegedly caught in crossfire and hit in the back, police announced on Thursday they had arrested 10 gang members including the "de facto leader" of Brothers 4 Life.

Six members, all in their 20s, are in custody in relation to two shootings last year.

Five had been charged by 1.30pm (AEDT), most notably a 28-year-old Revesby Heights man charged with the murder of 27-year-old Yehyah Amood, who died in Greenacre after being gunned down on October 14 last year.

The accused was due to appear in Bankstown Local Court on Thursday.

A 32-year-old man was also shot in the attack but survived.

That incident came after a 27-year-old man was found shot in the leg in Yagoona on October 8.

The other four gang members were arrested over a shooting in Bankstown on Thursday which left two men injured.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell says indications that police have broken the back of Brothers 4 Life will be met with "a wave of relief across the city".

"I'm delighted if this means that the targeted shootings that we have seen in recent times have come to an end," he said.

The premier declined to confirm reports the government is considering a mandatory five-year jail term targeting gang members in possession of firearms.

NSW Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas says "internal conflict" had made many of the victims targets.

"It's difficult to classify it as one type of conflict - whether it's a power struggle or people simply being offended about something that's been said, and acting in a quite irrational way by shooting someone instead of arguing," he said.

"It's probably a combination of three or four factors that led to the conflict."

Police later said they had charged a sixth Brothers 4 Life member, the last of the ten men arrested earlier on Thursday.

The 24-year-old from Auburn has been charged with discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in relation to the two 2012 shootings.

He will appear at Bankstown Local Court on Thursday.

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$1.2 million found in Sydney car boot

POLICE have seized about $1.2 million in cash alleged to be the proceeds of crime after stopping a car for defective brake lights.

Police say they stopped the car at Sefton, in Sydney's west, about 6.30pm (AEDT) on Tuesday and allegedly found a cardboard box in the boot containing a large amount of cash.

The car's occupants - a 34-year-old Camperdown woman and a 36-year-old Riverwood man - were charged with recklessly dealing with proceeds of crime, and goods in custody suspected of being stolen.

The woman was due to appear in Burwood Local Court on Thursday while the man was refused bail and is scheduled to appear in Burwood Local Court on Monday.

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