Stoush sign of chaotic government: Abbott

THE stoush between federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson and Independent MP Rob Oakeshott is just another example of a "divided and dysfunctional" Labor government, says Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

Mr Ferguson accused Mr Oakeshott of making a "baseless attack" on his integrity in a newspaper article and had begun a legal action against him.

But after a chat with Prime Minister Julia Gillard early on Saturday morning, the defamation case was dropped.

Mr Abbott said the matter was further evidence of a chaotic government.

"Apparently the prime minister has been giving Martin Ferguson his instructions and it seems to be just further evidence of a divided and dysfunctional government," he told reporters in Melbourne.

"(The government) seems to be fighting with everyone and this is just more evidence of that."

Mr Ferguson said in a statement released on Saturday that he had intended to settle the matter privately with Mr Oakeshott.

"It was always my intention and expectation that this matter, so far as it directly concerns Mr Oakeshott, would be settled privately without the need for any public disclosure," he said.

"Consistent with my initial expectation, I will not pursue legal action against him."

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Chair of casino assessment team appointed

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has appointed an independent chairman to oversee the next stage of James Packer's bid for a new Sydney casino.

David Murray, former chief executive of the Commonwealth Bank, will be in charge of the assessment team looking at the Crown Limited proposal for a $1 billion hotel and VIP gaming resort at Barangaroo.

Mr O'Farrell stressed that the move to the second stage of the government's unsolicited proposals process "does not necessarily guarantee final approval" of the complex.

"I am determined to act in the best interests of taxpayers and that's why the NSW government has appointed a respected businessman like David Murray," he said.

"The appointment of Mr Murray as independent chair will give the community confidence in the process and probity of the consideration of the Crown proposal."

The casino will only be approved if the review team finds that it will "deliver positive net benefits and a fair return for NSW taxpayers", the premier stressed.

Mr Murray was chief executive of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia from 1992 to 2005 and has more recently been chairman of the Future Fund. He stepped down from that role last April.

He now acts as a senior adviser for Credit Suisse and is the chairman of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds.

Mr Murray, who was made an officer in the Order of Australia in 2007, was born in NSW and lives in Sydney with his family.

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Chair of casino assessment team appointed

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has appointed an independent chairman to oversee the next stage of James Packer's bid for a new Sydney casino.

David Murray, former chief executive of the Commonwealth Bank, will be in charge of the assessment team looking at the Crown Limited proposal for a $1 billion hotel and VIP gaming resort at Barangaroo.

Mr O'Farrell stressed that the move to the second stage of the government's unsolicited proposals process "does not necessarily guarantee final approval" of the complex.

"I am determined to act in the best interests of taxpayers and that's why the NSW government has appointed a respected businessman like David Murray," he said.

"The appointment of Mr Murray as independent chair will give the community confidence in the process and probity of the consideration of the Crown proposal."

The casino will only be approved if the review team finds that it will "deliver positive net benefits and a fair return for NSW taxpayers", the premier stressed.

Mr Murray was chief executive of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia from 1992 to 2005 and has more recently been chairman of the Future Fund. He stepped down from that role last April.

He now acts as a senior adviser for Credit Suisse and is the chairman of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds.

Mr Murray, who was made an officer in the Order of Australia in 2007, was born in NSW and lives in Sydney with his family.

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China to phase out use of prisoner organs

CHINA will start phasing out its reliance on organs from executed prisoners for transplants early next year as a new national donation system is implemented, a government-appointed expert says.

Chinese officials acknowledge that a transplantation system that uses mostly organs from death-row prisoners is neither ethical nor sustainable, Wang Haibo said in an interview in the November edition of the World Health Organisation's journal Bulletin.

A pilot organ donation system has been run by the Red Cross Society of China for two years in 16 regions and is scheduled to be rolled out nationwide by early 2013, Wang said.

"Now there is consensus among China's transplant community that the new system will relinquish the reliance on organs from executed convicts," Wang was quoted as saying in the interview.

"The implementation of the new national system will start early next year at the latest. This will also mark the start of phasing out the old practice."

Wang was appointed last year by China's health ministry to lead a centre that is researching and designing a system to fairly and efficiently allocate organs to people who need them.

The health ministry's media office did not immediately respond to questions that it requested be submitted in a fax. Vice Minister of Health Huang Jiefu was cited by the official Xinhua News Agency as saying China will abolish the transplanting of organs from executed prisoners within five years and try to spur more citizens to donate.

Organ transplantation in China has long been criticised as opaque, profit-driven and unethical. Critics argue death row inmates may feel pressured to become donors, violating personal, religious or cultural beliefs.

China's trial of a national organ donation system aimed at reducing the country's dependence on death row inmates for organs was welcomed by international health and human rights groups.

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Holden has more bad news for car industry

AUSTRALIA'S ailing auto industry has suffered another blow with car maker Holden axing 170 jobs just a day after a key component manufacturer closed its doors and stood down about 400 workers.

Holden said falling demand for its locally built vehicles, due to the high Australian dollar, had forced its hand.

The company said the job losses at its Adelaide assembly plant were necessary to ensure its manufacturing operations in Australia remained viable over the next decade.

"Situations like this are always difficult and this decision has not been made lightly," the company said in a statement on Friday.

"Every effort has been taken to avoid this decision, including the use of market response days.

"However, current new car demand necessitates a reduction to permanent employees."

Holden said it expected to achieve the job cuts through voluntary redundancies by the end of this year.

The bad news came after component supplier Autodom shut its doors on Thursday and stood down workers at plants in Victoria and South Australia.

The company supplies all three local car makers and blamed the shutdown on the failure of restructuring negotiations with its major customers.

Talks were under way to have the company restart production as soon as possible, with Holden and Ford at risk of running out of parts by the middle of next week.

The South Australian government said it believed there would be some good news soon and maintained the component maker was a profitable business and vital to Australia's car manufacturers.

"They need to get up and running very, very quickly and I think you'll see a solution very, very soon," Industry Minister Tom Koutsantonis said.

Mr Koutsantonis said the decision taken by Holden, while disappointing, was only a reaction to the downturn in vehicle sales.

"They will still be manufacturing motor vehicles here. It's not as if they are shutting up shop," he said.

"The important message here is that Holden is alive."

Federal Industry Minister Greg Combet said the commonwealth was also disappointed with Holden's decision, but it reflected the pressures automotive manufacturing was facing from the high dollar and intense competition.

"Employment levels at Holden's operations will depend on a raft of factors over coming years, not least the value of the Australian dollar and the company's ability to pursue export opportunities," Mr Combet said.

He said Holden workers made redundant would be helped to find new positions and the government also pledged similar support for Autodom workers should the company fold completely.

Despite the job cuts, Holden said it remained committed to developing two new cars in Australia to ensure the future of its local manufacturing operations to at least 2022.

The company received a $275 million federal and state government assistance package earlier this year to secure the two-car program.

Mr Koutsantonis said the decision to cut jobs would not impact on that investment package.

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21 injured in chemical spill in NZ tannery

TWO people are in a critical condition and 19 others have been injured after breathing in hydrogen sulfide following a chemical spill at New Zealand's only leather tannery.

Emergency services were called to Tasman Tanning Company in Whanganui just before 5pm (1500 AEDT) on Friday following a chemical spill.

Whanganui District Health Boards spokeswoman Sue Campion told AAP on Friday evening that two people were in critical condition after breathing in hydrogen sulfide and were being flown to Wellington Hospital.

Hydrogen sulfide - a colourless, poisonous and flammable gas - can damage lungs and affect breathing.

Ms Campion said 19 others suffered minor to moderate injuries and were being treated at Whanganui Hospital.

About 20 firefighters were at the scene.

Media reported the emergency service staff were wearing chemical suits and there was a strong smell in the air.

Tasman Tanning Company, which started in 1953, employs about 200 staff.

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Royal duty officer 'discharged gun'

A SCOTLAND Yard investigation has been launched after a British policeman believed to be guarding the home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge accidentally discharged a gun while sitting in an unmarked car.

Nobody was injured when the officer, who was sitting in the vehicle with another policeman, let off the shot while on duty in north Wales last week.

A Met Police spokesman said: "Shortly before 1pm on Wednesday, October 24, an on-duty MPS police officer unintentionally discharged a firearm while in an unmarked police vehicle.

"The round damaged the floor of the vehicle. Another on-duty officer was in the vehicle at the time of the incident. Neither officer was injured.

"The officers were on duty in north Wales at the time."

Both the officers are attached to specialist operations, the Met said.

The spokesman said the Met's directorate of professional standards has been informed of the incident and the officer concerned has been removed from firearms duty pending the outcome of inquiries.

Prince William, or Flight Lieutenant Wales as he is known in his capacity as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot, captains Sea King helicopters from his unit's base at RAF Valley in north Wales.

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Families to feel pain of NT's debt

FAMILIES in the Northern Territory are facing difficult adjustments after a report revealed a government financial shortfall of almost $1 billion this financial year.

The report, commissioned by the recently elected Country Liberal Party (CLP) government, blamed the former administration for leaving a fiscal imbalance of $981 million in 2012/13.

The imbalance would rise to a cumulative $3.7 billion during the next four years unless things changed, the report said.

Chief Minister Terry Mills said the territory had a problem that must be addressed.

"We know that there will be adjustments that territory families will notice," Mr Mills told reporters on Thursday.

"They may be difficult in the short term, but our aim is to make more secure the future."

Th CLP government has flagged a mini-budget to be held on December 4.

During the next four years net debt in the NT was forecast to rise to $6.2 billion unless something changed, the report said.

"By 2015/16 the current unsustainable fiscal imbalance will have become a real threat to the territory's existence as a self-governing jurisdiction," it said.

Between 2008/09 and 2011/12 the rate of growth of GST revenues declined significantly but this was not matched by slowing operating expenditure, the report said.

Neil Conn, an economist who led the four-man team looking into the NT government's books, said the territory was on the road to going broke.

A former NT administrator, Dr Conn said after looking at the books earlier in the year he was dismayed at the "pit into which the Northern Territory was appearing to sink".

The report said that between 2008/09 and 2011/12 the rate of growth of GST revenues declined significantly but this was not matched by slowing operating expenditure.

The report was critical of some of the costs faced by agencies, including the Department of Families and Children, which it said had a $35 million black hole because of understated staffing and other costs.

Correctional Services needed an additional $25 million, while estimates on building a new prison have jumped from $495 million to $621 million.

The government-owned Power and Water Corporation (PWC) was the largest single contributor to the territory's debt problem, the report said.

Opposition Leader Delia Lawrie, who was treasurer in the former Labor government, said the CLP's "razor gang" had wrongly included debt from government corporations in the overall debt figure.

"What we have right now is the CLP trying to mislead territorians in terms of the state of the territory deficit," Ms Lawrie said.

The PWC was not expected to run at a profit as it had to deliver essential services to small populations across large areas, she said.

Ms Laurie attacked the make-up of the board that was chosen to complete the report and described them as "political hacks".

Dr Conn said that was offensive, that he had worked with both sides of politics in NSW and Canberra, and had never been a member of any political party.

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PM attacks Abbott over Libs' direction

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott has been accused of ditching Liberal party values and sanctioning muckraking against Prime Minister Julia Gillard as Labor continues to seek the political upper hand after an improved poll result.

However, the attack came as former Labor MP Craig Thomson accused his old party of appealing to racists and rednecks by endorsing a Howard government policy on asylum seekers.

This week's Newspoll showed Labor and the coalition level-pegging in two-party terms and Mr Abbott's preferred prime minister rating hitting 34 per cent to Ms Gillard's 45 per cent.

On Thursday, the prime minister led a Labor attack on the Liberals' direction under Mr Abbott, citing as evidence its backflip on an emissions trading scheme, rejection of wheat market deregulation and division over whether to back the proposed Murray-Darling Basin plan.

Former Liberal MP Peter Slipper has also questioned how Mr Abbott could oppose free markets, saying the "barracudas" were circling.

"When one looks at recent opinion polls, it is by no means certain that the leader of the opposition will be leading the opposition at the time of the next election," Mr Slipper, who is now an independent, told parliament on Wednesday night.

Ms Gillard told parliament, in answer to a question from Mr Abbott on the impact on economic growth of the carbon tax, the Liberals had abandoned their free market commitment.

"It is truly to be regretted that this leader of the opposition has driven this Liberal party into climate change denial and extremes," she said.

Labor frontbencher Tony Burke said it was astonishing that the Liberals were "not willing to stand up for something as radical as what you call free enterprise".

WA Nationals MP Tony Crook crossed the floor on wheat market deregulation to support the government and WA Liberals Mal Washer and Dennis Jensen abstained from voting, allowing the bill to pass.

Climate Change Minister Greg Combet lampooned the Liberal leadership, comparing it to a horse race as the carbon pricing "scare campaign" faltered four months after it was introduced.

"Quite frankly the Liberal party stewards should intervene and look at changing the leadership," he said.

"What about the member for Wentworth (Malcolm Turnbull)?

"A classy thoroughbred if ever there's been one."

One MP mentioned as a leadership hopeful, opposition deputy leader Julie Bishop, returned fire to Ms Gillard.

She again questioned the prime minister over her role in helping to set up the Australian Workers Union Workplace Reform Association in 1992, when she was a partner at law firm Slater & Gordon.

She asked Ms Gillard how she could say she had no further involvement with the union fund when two documents, relating to a power of attorney and a defamation action, pointed to her "ongoing" role.

Ms Gillard said the Liberals had become the party of "scare and sleaze and smear" under Mr Abbott, and she stood by her answers given to a media conference on August 23.

Meanwhile, Mr Thomson told reporters Labor had abandoned its principles by removing the migration rights from any asylum seeker arriving by boat on the Australian mainland.

"This is about appealing to those racists elements in Australian society," he said.

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Parliament shifts from jovial to toxic

HOW quickly the atmosphere in parliament can change.

Totally bipartisan tributes to Australia's latest VC winner on Thursday - the house's last sitting day for three weeks - gave way to exchanges over those two dreaded taxes, carbon and mining.

Julia Gillard did apply the word "mendacious" to Tony Abbott, who had the cheek to raise a Wall Street Journal editorial that pointed its readers to the mining tax for the "latest tutorial on lousy tax policy".

And Joe Hockey got himself kicked out after ignoring a warning that he claimed not to have heard.

That was believable. As Anna Burke complained: "You can't hear warnings because you are making too much noise."

Generally, though, it was all civil enough.

At one point it became positively jovial as Greg Combet gave us a Melbourne Cup-style race call on the Liberal leadership.

We had Malcolm Turnbull as a classy thoroughbred, Hockey hungry for a win but not up to Group One racing, Julie Bishop a real chance after being runner-up three times, Scott Morrison a promising weight-for-ager and (most cruelly) Bronwyn Bishop a 1994 favourite.

While there was, of course, a political point to it all - that the carbon price wouldn't affect the big event at Flemington next Tuesday - it was all good fun.

The cup, after all, only comes round once a year and plenty of politicians take a more than passing interest in it.

Then Julie Bishop returned to Gillard's role, if any, in a murky AWU fund of the early 1990s.

This is a matter that arouses raw hatreds, somewhat like those surrounding an earlier coalition opposition's pursuit of Paul Keating's piggery interests.

Bishop kept probing and Gillard kept insisting she'd dealt with everything at her news conference-to-exhaustion on August 23.

The PM also kept insisting that Abbott was hypocritical because he'd said only a few days ago that the fund stuff wasn't the main game.

Anthony Albanese and Christopher Pyne screeched and glared at each other across the dispatch box.

Gillard accused Pyne of "vile and ridiculous" comments, which Burke ordered her to withdraw.

The PM would prefer this inquisition, if it has to happen, from Abbott. She can hardly accuse Bishop of misogyny.

Not that Bishop, for all her icy determination, unearthed anything new.

She may, however, be making Gillard's line that everything was revealed last August look thin.

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Ten completes sale of Eye outdoor ad arm

TELEVISION broadcaster Ten Network Holdings said on Thursday that it had completed the long-anticipated sale of its Eye Corp outdoor advertising unit.

The buyer, which was reported several weeks ago, is Outdoor Media Operations (OMO), the owner of oOh!media, which is an Australian outdoor advertising specialist.

OMO is controlled by Champ Private Equity.

The $113 million sale price compares with a reported higher sale price offer of about $145 million only few months ago.

The agreement to sell Eye includes Eye's operations in Australia, New Zealand, US, UK and Indonesia.

OMO, with the assistance of Ten, intends to on-sell the US and UK operations of Eye to appropriate third parties.

Ten shares closed down one cent at 27 cents on Thursday, a fresh record low.

Ten in October launched a wide-ranging cost-cutting program, including cutting up to 100 jobs. Ten recently revealed a $13 million loss for the year ending August 31.

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Tokyo stocks close up 0.98%

TOKYO stocks have closed 0.98 per cent higher as investors welcomed news of the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) latest monetary easing measures aimed at boosting the world's third-largest economy.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday rallied 86.31 points to 8,928.29, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares rose 1.21 per cent, or 8.87 points, to 742.33.

The BoJ's Y11 trillion ($A134.06 billion) in fresh easing measures was announced just before the Tokyo market closed on Tuesday. The central bank also unveiled an "unlimited" loan program to commercial banks in a bid to spur their lending to businesses and households.

The easing injects liquidity into markets through purchases of government and corporate bonds and commercial paper.

Investors welcomed the measures following similar moves by central bankers in the United States and Europe, although it remained to be seen whether the BoJ's latest plan would quicken the lumbering Japanese economy.

The effectiveness of the new lending program hinged on the strength of demand for loans among companies and households, said Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager of research at Chibagin Asset Management.

"If there is no demand, it doesn't function," Okumura told Dow Jones Newswires.

However, the nation's companies continue securing big overseas deals on the back of a strong yen, including mobile carrier Softbank's recent announcement of a $US20 billion ($A19.38 billion) takeover of US-based Sprint Nextel - a deal largely financed by bank loans.

The Nikkei also got support from month-end buybacks, brokers said.

Heavily-weighted major exporters rose, with factory automation firm Fanuc rising 1.59 per cent to Y12,710 and Honda up 2.44 per cent to Y2,390.

Construction machinery maker Komatsu jumped 3.20 per cent to Y1,672 after saying its full-year profit forecast remained unchanged, despite a 30.2 per cent drop in earnings for the first six months to September.

Japanese manufacturers with exposure to China, including Komatsu, have seen their bottom line hit by a diplomatic row over an East China Sea island chain that has prompted a consumer move away from Japan-brand products.

Hitachi rose 3.17 per cent to Y423 after it maintained its full-year profit forecast while announcing it would buy British atomic power venture Horizon to expand its nuclear business overseas.

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About 120 dead horses to be removed in WA

MORE than 120 horse carcasses left rotting in a parched dam on a remote Aboriginal reserve in northeastern Western Australia will finally be removed after the local shire agreed to intervene.

The horses were seeking water when they became stuck in the mud at Balgo, an Aboriginal community within the Halls Creeks Shire, in WA's Kimberley.

About 40 carcases have already been removed but a further 87 dead horses have been counted at the site by members of the Balgo community.

Although the dam is technically on shire land, it's part of an Aboriginal community where few non-indigenous people venture.

The community's acting chief executive Yaja Nowakowski told AAP that the shire had agreed to send tractors to remove and burn the remains.

"They will make the dam safe to be used again," she said on Wednesday.

Ms Nowakowski said she expected the work would begin in the next few days and would be completed within two weeks.

She said the smell of the carcasses was overwhelming and was keeping people - including children who liked to play in the dam - away from the site at least until rain started to it fill again.

The state government would also provide emergency relief funding, she said.

Comment was being sought from the government.

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Consortium pulls Arrium offer

A CONSORTIUM seeking to take over steelmaker Arrium has walked away from the proposal, after Arrium said an increased offer from the consortium was still too low and carried with it too many risks.

The consortium, called Steelmakers Australia, said on Wednesday that it was deeply disappointed with the Arrium board's decision not to grant it the opportunity to go through the due diligence process which would allow the consortium to examine Arrium's accounts.

The consortium said it had made a comprehensive proposal that offered a full and fair price.

"Steelmakers Australia has determined it will cease seeking engagement with the Arrium board," Steelmakers said in a statement late on Wednesday.

Steelmakers Australia said Arrium faced significant competitive challenges, and its high financial leverage significantly reduced its options for deploying capital and technology into its steel-making business, which Steelmakers believed was necessary to ensure its long-term future.

Arrium, formerly named OneSteel, received an improved offer of $1.19 billion, or 88 cents per share, from the consortium on Tuesday.

The consortium's original proposal was 75 cents per Arrium share, made at the beginning of October.

The consortium includes Hong Kong commodities trader Noble Group, South Korean steel giant POSCO and several investment and pension funds.

Arrium chairman Peter Smedley had said that the revised proposal significantly undervalued Arrium and was not in the best interests of Arrium shareholders.

"We also believe that the highly conditional nature of the proposal carries significant risk," Mr Smedley had said.

The consortium had needed to meet with Arrium's banks to discuss how it would refinance more than $2 billion in debts, and had also required several weeks to run its eye over Arrium's accounts.

The consortium had provided a letter from Bank of America Merrill Lynch relating to how it would fund a takeover, but Arrium had said the letter contained no specific details and did not constitute a commitment to provide funding.

"The revised proposal is opportunistic," Mr Smedley had said.

"It comes as iron ore prices are rising and after we have shipped the first ore from our new mine two weeks ago.

"Arrium has an attractive portfolio of businesses including a world class mining consumable business and an iron ore business which is performing well and has very attractive growth options.

"The expansion of our mining operations and port remain on track."

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) on Wednesday called for greater support for the local manufacturing industry, following reports that Arrium will shut its Sunshine, Melbourne, and Perth plants, causing major job losses.

AMWU assistant Victorian state secretary, Leigh Diehm, said the union's No.1 priority was ensuring that all employees received their full entitlements and other benefits.

"Today's announcement of plant closures in Victoria and Western Australia reinforces the need for state and federal governments to provide greater support to local manufacturing industries, for example, through stronger Buy Australian programs.

"Such measures need to be put in place to ensure other local manufacturers do not meet a similar fate to One Steel (Arrium's previous name)."

Arrium shares were 1.5 cents lower at 78.5 cents on Wednesday.

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Jail the priority for paedophiles: premier

ENSURING that paedophiles found to be abusing children in schools are sent to jail is a factor in how each case is handled, South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill says.

In a spirited defence of how the government dealt with a case from 2010, Mr Weatherill said it was important that parents were informed of any allegations.

"If I was a parent in these circumstances and there was somebody who had been a perpetrator in the midst of my children, I would want to know about it," he told state parliament on Wednesday.

But he said it was also important not to jeopardise the chances of a successful prosecution.

"There are things to balance and one of the things we need to balance is to make sure we lock up these people when they perpetrate these evil crimes," Mr Weatherill said.

"One of the factors that bears on your capacity to lock someone up is not to taint the chain of evidence."

The premier's comments came after the government ordered an independent investigation into how education officials handled the case of a man charged with a child sex offence while working at a school care program.

Mark Christopher Harvey was jailed in February for unlawful sexual intercourse with a young girl in 2010 while she was attending his out-of-hours care program at an Adelaide primary school.

Harvey was removed from his position when the charges were brought against him, but a mother of children who also used the care program has since come forward saying parents were never informed of the allegations.

Education Minister Grace Portolesi told parliament on Tuesday the decision not to inform the wider school community followed advice from police.

But police said the principal of the school was told that she should consult with the education department to formulate a method of advising the school community.

"The principal was also advised that it was not the role of the police to inform the school community," a police statement said.

Ms Portolesi said on Wednesday the apparent difference of opinion was a cause for concern.

"That's why I have asked that an independent review investigates and reports to me in relation to this matter," she said.

Ms Portolesi also conceded that it was not mandatory for parents to be informed of any child sex allegations, with each case considered on its individual circumstances.

Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond said getting to the bottom of who said what to whom did not require an independent inquiry.

"It should be capable of resolution within a couple of hours of following the paper trail," she said.

Ms Redmond said the opposition also believed there should be a strict policy of informing all parents at a school where abuse allegations had been raised.

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NT drink driver a slow learner

A 42-YEAR-OLD man's celebration at obtaining his learner's permit went wrong after police caught him one day later driving a car heavily drunk.

Police in Alice Springs said the man, who had only obtained his learner's permit on Monday, was stopped on Tuesday at 9am (CST) with a blood alcohol reading of 0.153 per cent.

Sergeant Conan Robertson said there were several passengers but they fled the scene after police stopped the car.

"It appears he has chosen to celebrate his new permit and car by getting drunk and then going for a drive, he didn't even bother to display his new L-plates," Sgt Robertson said.

Police said the man had driven past a school precinct before he was stopped at a random breath test.

"I am confident that the Northern Territory police have saved at least one life by locking this man up," Sgt Robertson said in a statement.

"It was only a matter of time before something horrible happened under these circumstances."

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Budget uncertainty threatens NDIS: Abbott

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott insists the government is "crab-walking away" from its promised budget surplus and has warned it could threaten future funding for a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Mr Abbott on Tuesday said the coalition "enthusiastically supports" current government commitments for the NDIS, such as trial sites.

But the scheme needed the funding certainty provided by getting the budget back to a strong surplus as soon as possible.

"I regret to say that this is highly unlikely, indeed becoming increasingly impossible, under the current government," Mr Abbott told reporters in Canberra.

"The current government is crab-walking away from the promised surplus."

Mr Abbott again pursued Prime Minister Julia Gillard during parliamentary question time, asking if she could guarantee a surplus in 2012/13, given such promises had been made in the past.

Ms Gillard again referred Mr Abbott to the government's mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (MYEFO) released last week.

"In it we have delivered billions of dollars in savings ... to return the budget to surplus and we are on track to deliver it," she told parliament.

Ms Gillard questioned whether the opposition would support those savings measures, adding Mr Abbott couldn't be taken seriously when the opposition refused to allow its policies to be "properly" costed.

Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey continued the budget theme, asking Treasurer Wayne Swan whether he stood by a previous statement he would deliver a surplus "come hell or high water".

"We are bringing our budget back to surplus, and we stand absolutely by all of the forecasts that were contained in the mid-year budget update," Mr Swan replied.

"We could not be clearer than that."

Mr Swan said it was important to come back to surplus to give the Reserve Bank maximum flexibility when it comes to cutting interest rates, should they decide to do so.

The opposition appeared to be posing some sort of hypothetical "what-if scenario", he said.

"The fact is this, what if something happens in the global economy?" Mr Swan said.

"I say to them this, we have a proven track record of responding to the volatility in the global economy, and when our country was threatened, we saved it."

But opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison maintained the rising volume of asylum seeker boat arrivals would hinder the government's ability to deliver a surplus.

He said as many as 40 boats had arrived in Australian waters in October and arrival numbers were four times what the government had anticipated in the May budget.

"With the boats continuing to arrive, at the rate that they are, this will continue to crash this government's surplus," he said.

The opposition also pointed to the zero revenue from the government's minerals resource rent tax (MRRT) in the first quarter of its introduction.

But Trade Minister Craig Emerson said the opposition was indulging in "the ultimate in short-termism". The budget update forecast $2 billion in MRRT revenue for this financial year.

A Newspoll published in The Australian on Tuesday showed only one in four voters believe Labor will deliver a surplus.

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Top Qld bureaucrat accused of intimidation

QUEENSLAND'S opposition leader has accused lawyers for a senior bureaucrat of trying to intimidate her.

Annastacia Palaszczuk says a threatening letter sent by sidelined Transport Director-General Michael Caltabiano's lawyer should be referred to the parliamentary ethics committee for investigation.

She says the letter is a clear attempt by Mr Caltabiano and his lawyer Adrian Braithwaite to silence her over concerns the director-general had misled parliament over the nature of his relationship with the son of Arts Minister Ros Bates.

Mr Braithwaite's letter accuses Ms Palaszczuk of making misleading, untrue and calculated allegations against Mr Caltabiano in a letter of complaint she wrote to the Speaker.

"We are instructed to insist that you not repeat any such allegation or statements in any forum and further that you inform and instruct your colleagues otherwise," his letter says.

Ms Palaszczuk said she would not be intimidated.

"I will not be silenced as leader of the opposition. I will not be threatened or intimidated when seeking to keep this government accountable," she told state parliament on Tuesday.

"It is an affront to the parliament that a director-general of a government department should use his taxpayer-funded legal advisers to intimidate a member of parliament in the performance of their duties."

She said Mr Caltabiano was in contempt of parliament for sharing her letter to the Speaker with his lawyer.

Speaker Fiona Simpson is considering whether to refer the matter to the ethics committee.

Mr Caltabiano has stood aside from his role as the director-general of transport and main roads, pending an ethics committee investigation into his work history.

He is accused of misleading a budget estimates hearing about his relationship with Ms Bates' son, Ben Gommers, who landed a plum job in Mr Caltabiano's department.

Ms Bates has gone on sick leave and is not in parliament this week.

She has said she needs time off to recover from a shoulder operation and to care for Mr Gommers, who is being treated for depression.

The Crime and Misconduct Commission is investigating the appointment of Mr Gommers to a job in Mr Caltabiano's department.

The opposition also questioned Transport Minister Scott Emerson's links with other departmental liaison officers.

"Some I may have met personally previously. I didn't know any of them professionally," Mr Emerson replied.

Ms Palaszczuk went on to ask if the departmental officer in question is or was ever a tenant of Mr Emerson's rental property at St Lucia in Brisbane.

Mr Emerson denied that and accused Ms Palaszczuk of trying to smear him.

"Where do they get this stuff from? Do they see it on toilet walls?" he said.

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NSW cop admits sham marriage for money

A NSW police officer planned a fake marriage for money, lied about it under oath and provided false information to immigration officials.

He is also accused of using his toddler son in one of two other fraudulent marriages allegedly concocted by his de facto wife.

Senior Constable Hoan Thien "Ryan" Pham, 31, admitted his actions on Tuesday afternoon at the Police Integrity Commission (PIC), after telling it earlier in the day that his engagement to another woman was genuine.

"I want to say that I lied (about the engagement)," he told the PIC after the lunch break.

"Just the fact that (I made up) the fact that my parents want me to marry a traditional Vietnamese girl and I knew that (my fiancee) wanted to come here."

He had told the PIC that his current relationship with his de facto of 12 years was under stress because his mother hated her.

Snr Const Pham and Bich Tuyen Kha wed in Sydney in 2006 but did not register the marriage and had a child in 2011.

This year he stated in a partner sponsor application to the Department of Immigration that he was engaged to a Ms Tran in Vietnam.

"All of this application is intended to deceive DIAC (the Department of Immigration and Citizenship)," counsel assisting the inquiry, Jeremy Gormly, said.

"Yes," Snr Const Pham replied.

"And it was done for the purposes of receiving payment," Mr Gormly said.

"Yes," he replied.

Sen Const Pham initially said he had not received any money but then changed his evidence to say he had received $15,000 from Ms Tran's sister and had negotiated nearly the same amount after the marriage.

Ms Kha allegedly chastised Snr Const Pham for taking money early, in a phone conversation intercepted by the PIC.

"This is a business," she said.

"I don't feel like we've done anything yet."

Ms Kha has not given evidence yet and Sen Const Pham said his wife's two marriages to Vietnamese men were genuine.

But her 2010 marriage to Hoang Thi Lieu, for an alleged sum of $30,000, involved Mr Lieu being listed as the father of Snr Const Pham's and Ms Kha's son.

"You and your wife, in a thought-out plan, allowed the birth certificate to be falsified and allowed it to be used with false family photos to support Mr Lieu's (immigration) application," Mr Gormly said.

"I disagree," Snr Const Pham replied.

He is also accused of tipping off an alleged criminal about a police raid on his property and informing his brother that police had targeted his share house for drugs.

In another phone intercept, he asked his brother to stage a robbery at his house where his brother-in-law lives.

He told his brother that his brother-in-law knew "junkies" and drug dealers and had more than $100,000 stashed in a wardrobe.

His brother declined to rob the house and Snr Const Pham told the PIC it was all a joke to impress his brother.

The hearings continue on Wednesday.

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Lawyer in Mongolia may be in tax fight

AN Australian lawyer being detained in Mongolia may be caught up in a fight over returns from a Rio Tinto mining operation, the head of an Australian parliamentary delegation which visited the mine recently says.

Tony Windsor told AAP on Monday he had no knowledge of the case of Sarah Armstrong, who works for a Rio Tinto subsidiary.

"But I imagine it would be linked to arguments over returns from the mine," he said.

"It's not all that dissimilar to the (Australian) Mineral Resources Rent Tax."

The delegation, members of the Regional Australia committee, went to Mongolia and Canada to see how other countries are dealing with controversial fly-in fly-out and drive-in drive-out mining workforces.

In Mongolia, it visited Rio Tinto's giant Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in the first week of September.

Mr Windsor, who made a brief statement to parliament on Monday, said Rio would need a fly-in fly-out workforce, mainly from the capital, Ulaanbaatar, but also from China.

However, Rio was "prioritising building the local workforce through building a local community".

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Seven in court over Vic drug bust

EDS: Changes keyword from Clandestine

By Melissa Iaria

MELBOURNE, Oct 29 AAP - Compiling evidence against seven men charged over one of Victoria's biggest ever drug labs may be delayed because of the sheer scale of the operation, a court has been told.

Seven men, aged 26 to 44, made their first appearances in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday charged with manufacturing and trafficking large commercial quantities of methylamphetamine, following a swoop at suburban Sunshine West on Friday afternoon.

All of the accused - one Canadian national, one Vietnamese national, three South Australian men and two from NSW - were remanded in custody.

Lawyers for one of the men reported their client had a rib injury, while another accused sported a black eye in the dock.

None applied for bail.

Prosecutor Sarah Kavanagh told the court a brief of evidence was due to be served on the accused by January 21, but this might be delayed.

"Given the size and complexity of the brief, it's likely an extension of time application will be made," Ms Kavanagh told magistrate Julian Fitzgerald.

Police had executed search warrants at two homes in Joan Street and Alpini Parade, Sunshine West, acting on intelligence from the Australian Crime Commission (ACC).

The accused men are Canadian national Phuon Nam Nguyen, 32; Dien Nguyen, 38, of Bossley Park, NSW; Yana Orm, 26, of Paralowie, South Australia; Somkit Chankham, 44, of Salisbury North, South Australia; Huu Thanh Pham, 39, of Bossley Park, NSW; Anousone Somchanmavong, 27, of Salisbury North, South Australia; and Vietnamese national Cuong Viet Bui, 39, of Hai Phong.

Bui had his preliminary filing hearing adjourned until Tuesday so a Vietnamese interpreter could assist him.

The charged men will face a committal mention hearing on March 4.

Their arrests followed an investigation involving Victoria Police, the ACC, Australian Federal Police and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.

AAP mi/mn/nl/wj

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Shark brains similar to humans: scientists

SHARK brains share several features with human brains, which could help researchers working on a shark repellant, scientists at the University of Western Australia (UWA) say.

Researchers say sharks and other cartilaginous fish have highly developed sensory systems and relatively large brains.

A special edition of the journal Brain, Behaviour and Evolution focuses on research about the brains of sharks and other cartilaginous fish, including rays and sawfish.

Editor Kara Yopak from UWA's Oceans Institute said the studies suggested people may have more in common with sharks than previously thought.

Dr Yopak said sharks and their relatives represented the earliest jawed vertebrates.

"Despite broad divergence, there are a number of common features of the brain that evolved at least as early as cartilaginous fishes and persist across all vertebrates," she said.

"For instance, one of the papers shows that with great white sharks, the area of the brain that receives visual input is quite large, and suggests the relative importance of vision in these animals is quite high.

"This information may direct researchers' efforts towards targeting the visual system when developing repellants for sharks."

Another paper suggested the cerebellum - which controlled motor movement and appeared first in early sharks - was an important evolutionary advancement that led to aspects of higher neural function in vertebrates including humans, Dr Yopak said.

AAP anr/rlm/nl

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'Darwin's saviour' dies aged 90

HE was dubbed "Darwin's saviour" for his work after Cyclone Tracy's devastation, but former Australian of the Year Alan Stretton was also an AFL footballer, war hero and lawyer.

Major General Alan Stretton died on Friday of a massive haemorrhage after a long illness.

He had been an achiever in anything he attempted, his son and prominent Canberra lawyer Greg Stretton, SC, recounted on Monday.

"He had a wonderfully full and active life and his mind was with him until the end, but unfortunately his physical health had begun to deteriorate badly," Mr Stretton said.

As well as a long career in the military, which saw him fight in World War II, the Korean War, Malaysia and Vietnam, Maj Gen Stretton found time to play as a ruckman for the St Kilda AFL team where he had his jaw broken by Jack "Captain Blood" Dyer.

He was later selected to join the Victorian basketball team, though he never played in the squad.

During his long career in the military Maj Gen Stretton rose to prominence for heading the Natural Disaster Organisation when Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin in 1974.

He flew into Darwin on Christmas Day to find that the cyclone had destroyed more than 70 per cent of the city's buildings and killed scores of people.

For his efforts, Maj Gen Stretton was named Australian of the Year in 1975, when he said he wished there were 45,000 awards so one could be given to each person in Darwin.

"He will be remembered for Darwin, but also I think be remembered for his staunch opposition to the war in Afghanistan," Mr Stretton said.

During the lead-up to the Afghan war, Maj Gen Stretton addressed crowds in Melbourne and Sydney, warning that it could turn into a drawn-out conflict like Vietnam.

"One of his great gifts was that he hated bulls**t and politicians that mouthed it," Mr Stretton said of his father.

Maj Gen Stretton also practised law in Canberra for about 20 years, specialising in conveyancing and commercial law.

While he drew admirers, there were also critics of Maj Gen Stretton's role in Darwin during the Cyclone Tracy rebuild.

Local historian Peter Forrest said Maj Gen Stretton's role was overstated and promoted by the federal government of the time to cover up its inadequacies in dealing with other natural disasters earlier in the year.

"I think it is wrong to portray him as Darwin's saviour and certainly wrong to portray him as the man who reconstructed Darwin," Mr Forrest said.

"Among those who were here and very much involved in the counter-disaster effort I think there would be a very different view about Stretton than might be held in the wider Australian community," he said.

Maj Gen Stretton is survived by two daughters, Virginia Stretton and April Johnston, and a son, Greg Stretton.

Although details of his funeral are yet to be finalised, it is expected he will be farewelled with full military honours at the Duntroon Military College in Canberra on Friday.

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More Sri Lankans to go home

EIGHT more Sri Lankan men have opted to return home from Christmas Island as more asylum seekers are being transferred to the island after being plucked from boats.

The eight men flew back to Colombo on Saturday, taking to 29 the number of Sri Lankans who have returned since Friday, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship said in a statement on Sunday.

That total includes 14 people who were deported from the Cocos Islands on a charter flight on Saturday.

The group of 14, which included three children, had been on the Chejan, a fishing trawler that was allegedly hijacked on October 13 off the Sri Lankan coast.

The allegedly hijacked boat was intercepted on Thursday northwest of the Cocos Islands by ACV Hervey Bay.

On Friday, seven men from Christmas Island departed Perth on a commercial flight to Colombo after volunteering to return home, an immigration department spokesman said.

He said they all arrived after new regional processing arrangements were announced in August.

Transfers of boat arrivals to Nauru for processing are continuing under those new arrangements and more would follow in the coming weeks, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Border Protection Command says it has transferred 35 people to Christmas Island after coming to the assistance of their boat north of the Ashmore Islands on Friday.

Another 62 people will also be transferred to Christmas Island after their boat was intercepted north of Cocos Islands on Friday.

People arriving by boat without a visa after August 13 this year run the risk of transfer to a regional processing country.

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Australians head overseas for surrogacy

AUSTRALIANS are increasingly turning to surrogacy arrangements in India to fulfil their desire to have children, new research shows.

Hundreds of Australians are choosing India as their destination for commercial surrogacy, followed by Thailand and the United States, rather than opt for a legal arrangement in Australia which bans compensating surrogates.

Research by Surrogacy Australia, an Australian agency involved in international surrogacy, found there were 200 recorded surrogacy births in India to Australian couples so far this year, compared to 179 in 2011, 86 in 2010 and 47 in 2009.

The research included Australian government statistics, data collected from 14 large overseas surrogacy agencies and a survey of 217 Australians.

The survey of heterosexual and same-sex Australians who had considered or sought out surrogacy found many households were refinancing their homes to afford the thousands of dollars in agency and travel costs.

The average cost of surrogacy in India was $77,000 while an arrangement in the US cost on average about $176,000.

This compared to about $45,000 for altruistic surrogacy allowed in Australia.

Half of those surveyed mortgaged or refinanced their home to pay for surrogacy, while 45 per cent cut their spending.

Others took out a bank loan, borrowed from family or sold property.

Surrogacy Australia president Sam Everingham said the trend towards overseas surrogacy would continue "while Australia maintains laws and policies that make surrogacy quite difficult within Australia".

"We're getting very, very small numbers accessing surrogacy here," said Mr Everingham, who will present the research at the annual Fertility Society of Australia conference in Auckland on Monday.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data shows there were just 19 births from Australian surrogacy arrangements in 2009, eight in 2008 and seven in 2007.

Of the participants surveyed by Surrogacy Australia, just six had a baby following surrogacy in Australia, while four commenced an arrangement but failed and 13 were still in process.

"The research has shown that high levels of regulation within Australia and lower barriers in some overseas markets is shifting the practice of surrogacy offshore and it is a big industry," Mr Everingham said.

"The lack of legal ability to advertise or compensate a surrogate in Australia is pushing many hundreds of infertile or same-sex couples offshore."

However, Mr Everingham said new visa laws enacted by India would prevent singles, same-sex and de facto couples from entering surrogacy agreements which could lead to a drop in numbers in coming years.

But Australians might then shift their search to countries like Thailand, he said.

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Hawaii tsunami warning after Canada quake

AN earthquake that struck in the Queen Charlotte Islands region off the west coast of Canada has generated a tsunami that is heading towards Hawaii, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

The first tsunami wave was expected to arrive in the Pacific island state at 10.28pm local time on Saturday (7.28pm AEDT Sunday), the Hawaii-based centre said.

Residents were advised to evacuate coastal areas, and warning sirens sounded across the Hawaiian islands.

Centre officials told CNN that waves of one to two metres were expected.

"Basically this tsunami is pointed right at us," Gerard Fryer, the centre's senior geophysicist, said on CNN.

The tsunami waves could wrap around the islands so all shores were at risk, the centre said, adding that the tsunami could consist of multiple waves.

The warning was issued after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the Queen Charlotte Islands late on Saturday.

No reports of casualties or damage were reported on the sparsely inhabited islands.

The West Coast-Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre also issued a warning for the coasts of British Columbia and Alaska.

Emergency officials in British Columbia said a small tsunami had been recorded on a deep ocean pressure sensor, but its effect was not immediately known.

The officials urged residents in low-lying coastal areas to be alert to instructions from local officials and be prepared to move to higher ground.

The Globe and Mail newspaper reported that the US Coast Guard in Alaska was trying to warn everyone with a boat on the water to prepare for a potential tsunami, the report said.

Natural Resources Canada said in a statement that the tremor was felt across much of north-central British Columbia.

"There have been no reports of damage at this time," the ministry added.

However, experts said tremors exceeding magnitude 7.0 were extremely dangerous.

"A 7.7 is a big, hefty earthquake. It's not something you can ignore," Gerard Fryer, senior geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center told CNN International.

He explained that the latest tremor had occurred partly under an island, but mostly under shallow water.

"I think we have to be thankful it happened where it did," Fryer said. "It definitely would have done significant damage if it had been under a city."

The Queen Charlotte Islands, which are also known by their official indigenous name of Haida Gwaii, comprise about 150 islands north of Canada's Vancouver Island. Their total population is about 5000.

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Union raises alarm on NSW asbestos

A SYDNEY power company has defended its safety practices after a union banned work on electricity meters amid fears workers and householders may have been exposed to asbestos.

The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) has stopped working on electricity meters in homes built prior to 1983 after Endeavour Energy, which covers about 800,000 homes in western Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra, issued a hazard warning to staff.

The ETU, whose officials are due to meet with Endeavour representatives on Tuesday over the issue, says the ban is to protect the health of the union's members.

In a statement released on Sunday, Endeavour defended its safety practices, saying the safety of its customers and workers remained its top priority.

"We issued a pre-cautionary safety alert to our workforce on Friday after one of our staff reported the presence of dust residues in customers' meter installations in older homes," Endeavour's chief operating officer Rod Howard said.

"Some older homes built before 1988 may have customer meter boards containing asbestos which is perfectly safe in its bonded form.

"If it is drilled, workers are required to remove any residue according to standard industry safety practices."

Mr Howard said homeowners were not at risk but that they should contact a licensed electrician "if they needed to access their switchboard".

In the hazard alert, Endeavour said it understood "that the composition of meter boards installed prior to 1983 includes asbestos".

The power company said there would be no work on or near contaminated boards and staff would have to wear masks when working on meter boards in older houses until a review was completed.

An Endeavour spokesman told AAP he did not know how many homes across its network had meter boards that contained asbestos.

ETU secretary Steve Butler said the work ban was imposed because its members regularly worked on pre-1983 meter boards.

"Obviously the ETU's concern is that our members may come into reasonably regular contact with this product," Mr Butler told reporters on Sunday.

The president of the Australian Asbestos Diseases Foundation, Barry Robson, called on the company to inform all of its customers that there was a possibility their power boards contained asbestos.

Ausgrid, another major power supplier, said asbestos was commonly used in Australian meter boards installed prior to 1988, but it was used in bonded form which didn't present a risk.

Essential Energy acknowledged that older meter boards might contain asbestos which could pose a risk during drilling.

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