No timeframe for Antarctic reserves

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The next CCAMLR meeting is in Germany in July.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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WA enviro groups launch election campaign

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Greens warn against drug company influence

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

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

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

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

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Japan vows to sign child abduction treaty

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Two homes destroyed in Bega Valley fires

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

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

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

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

No mandatory evacuation order has been put in place.

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

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

A helicopter is assisting crews to contain the fire.

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Heat to recede after day of blazes

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

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

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

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

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

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

The fire is expected to burn for a fortnight.

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

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

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

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

In NSW, the picture was just as grim.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Relatively heavy rain is forecast for northeast NSW.

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

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Exhausted firefighters battle fires, heat

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

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

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

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

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

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

"It's been incredibly hot for them.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Older fires were also still causing problems.

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

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

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

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

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

But there was some respite in sight.

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

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Clinic protects flying foxes from the heat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The rescue centre will release her in a year.

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

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

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

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

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

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UK, Aust to deal with Middle East crises

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Feds blame Qld for jobless increase

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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