Pope outlines sex abuse commission

Pope Francis has named the initial members of a commission to advise him on sex abuse policy. Source: AAP

POPE Francis has named the initial members of a commission to advise him on sex abuse policy, tapping lay and religious experts - and an Irish woman assaulted as a child by a priest - to start plotting the commission's tasks and priorities.

The eight members, four of them women, were announced on Saturday after Francis came under fire from victims' groups for a perceived lack of attention to the abuse scandal, which has seriously damaged the Catholic Church's reputation around the world and cost dioceses and religious orders billions of dollars in legal fees and settlements.

The Vatican in December announced that Francis had decided to create the commission to advise the church on best policies to protect children, train church personnel and keep abusers out of the clergy.

But no details had been released until Saturday and it remains unknown if the commission will deal with the critical issue of disciplining bishops who cover up for abusers.

In a statement, the Vatican hinted that it might, saying the commission would look into both "civil and canonical duties and responsibilities" for church personnel.

Canon law does provide for sanctions if a bishop is negligent in carrying out his duties, but such punishments have never been imposed on a bishop for failing to report a pedophile priest to police.

The eight inaugural members include Marie Collins, who was assaulted as a 13-year-old by a hospital chaplain in her native Ireland and has gone on to become a prominent campaigner for accountability in the church.

Also named was Cardinal Sean O'Malley, one of Francis' key advisers and the archbishop of Boston, where the US scandal erupted in 2002.

Two other members are professors at Rome's Jesuit Pontifical Gregorian University, which in 2012 hosted a seminar for bishops from around the world to educate them on best practices to protect children.

Several participants from that conference are now founding members of Francis' commission, including Baroness Sheila Hollins, a British psychiatrist.

The initial group will define the scope, statutes and priorities of the commission and propose other members to better reflect the church's geographic diversity.

Other members include:

- Catherine Bonnet, a French consultant in child and adolescent psychiatry.

- Claudio Papale, an Italian canon lawyer and official of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles sex abuse cases.

- Poland's longtime former ambassador to the Vatican, Hanna Suchocka, a constitutional lawyer.

- The Rev Humberto Miguel Yez, an Argentine Jesuit who studied with Francis as a seminarian and currently is head of moral theology at the Gregorian.

- The Rev Hans Zollner, the vice-rector of the Gregorian, a psychologist and psychotherapist who organised the Gregorian seminar and also serves on the German government's roundtable on child.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Female hiker found in Vic park

A HIKER missing for days in the Victorian wilderness has been winched to safety.

A police helicopter spotted the woman and winched her from the Alpine National Park, northeast of Melbourne, just after 10am on Sunday.

The woman, from the rural NSW city of Dubbo, sent a text message to her husband late on Thursday to say she was lost and out of water as she trekked through the remote park.

She lit a campfire at Howitt Plains to attract the attention of the helicopter.

A police spokeswoman said the woman was in reasonable health and was being attended to by paramedics.

Victoria Police and SES and CFA crews were involved in the search.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

One-punch killers to face life in Qld

One-punch killers will face life imprisonment under proposed changes to Queensland laws. Source: AAP

ONE-PUNCH killers would face life imprisonment under proposed changes to Queensland laws.

The Newman government's draft plan to tackle alcohol-related and drug-related violence, released on Sunday, would create an offence - unlawful striking causing death - to deal with one-punch killers.

If convicted, defendants would be required to serve at least 80 per cent of their life sentence behind bars before being eligible for parole.

"We have all seen the devastating and often tragic effects of coward punches not just in our state but across the nation," Premier Campbell Newman said in a statement.

"The Queensland government is determined to counter this dangerous trend and make Queensland the safest place in Australia for people to go out and enjoy themselves."

Under the plan, the maximum penalty for aggravated serious assaults on ambulance officers would rise from seven to 14 years' imprisonment.

Drunkenness would no longer be a viable excuse to mitigate an offender's sentence and courts would have the power to ban people from licensed premises for life.

ID would be installed in all licensed venues trading after midnight to keep out problem patrons and banned people.

The government would also set up 15 "safe night precincts" across the state where there would be late-night lockouts and more police on the beat.

Police would be given the power to detain people for their own safety if they were unduly intoxicated and at risk of serious harm, or behaving in a potentially violent or antisocial manner.

The government would also introduce a compulsory drinking awareness plan for all students between years 7-12 as part of the school curriculum.

The public has been asked to comment on the draft policy before April 21.

The opposition called on the Newman government to introduce a blanket 1am lockout across the state.

"If you don't tackle trading hours you don't tackle alcohol-fuelled violence. It's that simple," Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said in a statement.

"Unfortunately we have a premier too scared to act and showing no leadership."

Opposition police spokesman Bill Byrne questioned whether the government had failed to introduce a lockout because it was beholden to vested interests.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

NSW urged to get flu-ready

Pregnant women and the elderly are being urged to prepare for winter and get a flu shot. Source: AAP

PREGNANT women and the elderly are being urged to prepare for winter and get a flu shot following an "unusually high" level of influenza in NSW this summer.

The Director of Health Protection NSW, Dr Jeremy McAnulty, said the northern hemisphere had experienced widespread influenza over the past months, with influenza A(H1N1) pandemic strain, A(H3N2) and influenza B circulating to different extents in different countries.

An unusually high level of influenza had also been seen in NSW over summer, he said.

He and other health professionals are now urging people, especially the elderly and pregnant women, to prepare for winter.

"The Australian flu vaccine has been updated to more closely match the influenza strains likely to circulate in NSW this year.

"So get a shot in preparation for this season," Dr McAnulty said on Sunday.

He said the seasonal flu shot continues to be the best defence for pregnant women and has the added advantage of protecting babies during their first six months when they are too young to have the vaccine.

NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner said the government's Be Winter Wise campaign, launched on Sunday, was focusing on pregnant women, the elderly and people with chronic medical conditions.

"Although we are still experiencing warm weather, people should not be complacent when it comes to the dangers of the flu," she said in a statement.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fire at Vic car firm

A FIRE has destroyed a number of imported cars in Melbourne.

The blaze at a high-performance car importer in Clayton South burned four modified Nissans, but two large 'Mr T-style' vans got away with just some smoke damage.

The fire at Auto Project caused $500,000 damage on Sunday, with fire investigators unable to immediately determine the cause.

Firefighters got the Fairbank Rd fire under control within 30 minutes.

A large quantity of oils and lubricants helped fuel the blaze but firefighters managed to stop the flames reaching a bank of acetylene cylinders.

Mr T's character B.A. Baracus drove a large, black GMC van in the 1980s tv series 'The A-Team'.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Reasonable chance of finding plane: RAAF

Three planes have left Perth to continue the search for a missing Malaysia Airlines plane. Source: AAP

LONG-RANGE aircraft have joined the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, boosting confidence that suspected debris from MH370 will be found.

The large debris that was captured on satellite imagery on March 16 and publicly revealed on Thursday after being analysed is the most credible lead so far in the hunt for the missing plane.

While it is yet to be spotted by search aircraft, the HMAS Success is due to arrive at the search area on Saturday afternoon.

Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss told a large international media contingent at the Royal Australian Air Force Pearce air base north of Perth, from where the search is being coordinated, that the Australian effort has so far covered some 500,000 square kilometres.

Mr Truss said there had already been 15 sorties from the base, mainly Australian and New Zealand Orion aircraft.

Two longer range aircraft being deployed this weekend had intercontinental capability and would be able to search the area for five hours, compared to the 2-3 hours that military aircraft had available over the past two days, he said.

Aircraft from China will arrive at Pearce later on Saturday and join the search on Sunday, when Japanese aircraft will land at the base.

They will become involved on Monday.

Several vessels from around the world are also en route to assist.

No aircraft or vessels have been sent from Malaysia to help with the Indian Ocean search, but it has sent military personnel to Pearce to act as liaison officers.

"They have other search areas where they are concentrating their efforts, in their own waters and nearby," Mr Truss said.

He said Malaysian authorities were being contacted every few hours

The search area has been adjusted to account for considerable drift.

Weather conditions had much improved and would remain so for the foreseeable future, Mr Truss said.

"If there's something there to be found, I'm confident that this search effort will locate it," he said.

RAAF group captain Craig Heap was cautiously optimistic.

"There's a reasonable chance of finding something," Captain Heap said.

At a press conference in Papua New Guinea, Prime Minister Tony Abbott described the lead as "tenuous", while Mr Truss conceded the debris may be a shipping container.

He said the search would continue as long as there was hope.

"It is important from the perspective of those who have families, whose whereabouts are unknown ... and indeed for the future of the aviation industry, that we do whatever we can to firstly confirm whether or not the sightings as a result of the satellite imagery are indeed connected in any way with the Malaysia Airlines flight," Mr Truss said.

"And then if so, what can be recovered so we can learn more about what has happened on this flight and learn any lessons that are necessary to make sure this doesn't happen again." Australian authorities would their utmost to keep the public informed, he said.

"These families .... they're anxious for information," Mr Truss said.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Qld police search garbage dump for body

A SEARCH is underway at a Queensland landfill site for the remains of a diamond miner who vanished a month ago.

David Hanson, 71, was supposed to catch a flight to Tanzania on February 22 but never made it to the airport.

Police believe his body and belongings were dumped in a bin south of Brisbane and on Saturday began searching garbage at a waste transfer station.

Fifty-two State Emergency Service volunteers began sifting through 5000 tonnes of compacted waste at the Browns Plains Waste and Recycling Facility using rakes and garden forks on Saturday.

Police won't speculate on a motive.

They say Mr Hanson was jailed for drug trafficking in the United States two decades ago and was not a particularly wealthy man.

Detective Superintendent David Hutchinson said police had set aside a month for the search, which would be a slow and methodical process.

"There's been no proof of life in relation to Mr Hanson since the 22nd of February," he said.

"We always hope for the best and we hope that there's been a reason why he's gone away ... but the evidence that we have would suggest otherwise."

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan crash kills at least 25

AT least 25 people have been killed and 30 others injured in a multi-vehicle collision involving two trucks and two passenger buses in Pakistan's southwest.

Senior officer Ahmed Nawaz says the accident happened early on Saturday near the town of Gadani, when a bus bound for the port city of Karachi collided head-on with a truck.

Nawaz says the second bus and truck then piled onto the two vehicles and all caught fire, mainly because the buses were also smuggling Iranian petrol- and diesel-filled canisters.

He says most of the victims were severely burned and the death toll may rise.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Indonesian fisherman wins compo claim

AN Indonesian fisherman whose boat was wrongfully destroyed by Australian Customs officials has been awarded $44,000 by the Federal Court in a landmark ruling.

Justice John Mansfield ruled via video link from Adelaide on Wednesday that boat owner and captain Sahring, 43, was not committing an offence when a Customs vessel approached his boat in Indonesian waters in April 2008 and boarded on the suspicion that he was illegally fishing for trepang, or sea cucumber.

The seabed there, and the marine life that rests on it beneath Indonesian waters, belong to Australia.

But Sahring, from Kupang in West Timor, said his boat was strictly for catching groper and snapper.

Customs officials seized the boat and set it alight, which Sahring in a statement said caused him "immense sadness".

Justice Mansfield found that the seizure of his boat was invalid and that no offence was committed.

Customs officials said the boat had equipment they suspected was for catching trepang. But Sahring's lawyer Greg Phelps said he had not even begun to fish that day before he was stopped.

"I have always been a hardworking person who keeps the law... the loss of my boat and my detention in Australia has caused me a great hardship and sadness," Sahring's statement reads.

"My ability to take care of my family has been taken away from me and I have no way of getting a new boat without compensation."

Justice Mansfield awarded Sahring $44,000 in compensation for the destruction of his boat, for the loss of income, and for some of the three months he was detained in a Darwin immigration centre.

However, he also found it was not unlawful for Customs to take Sahring and his crew to Australia once their boat had been destroyed.

Lawyers for Sahring had been seeking $300,000 for false imprisonment and damages for his destroyed boat, they told AAP.

The compensation ruling - the first of its kind - has implications for other Indonesian fishermen accused of illegal fishing in Australian waters, Mr Phelps said.

"Many of the fishermen are struggling because they lost their fishing craft," he told reporters.

"I know Sahring's children have been out of school for four years. I know that when this decision reaches him he'll be able to put his children back to school and he'll be able to provide for his family again."

Justice Mansfield released only his findings on Wednesday. The reasons for his decision will be published later this week.

15.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rinehart has 'double standards': Latham

AS she predicted, Gina Rinehart's criticism of Australia's "entitlement" mentality has drawn return fire, with left wing MPs inviting her to leave the country, and leave the nation's battlers alone.

Ms Rinehart, who's worth almost $20 billion, took aim at welfare recipients and the political left for spending the "bottomless pit" of revenue created by mining.

The mining tycoon predicted "forests and splinters" of articles from "people boiling with rage that I dare challenge their bottomless pit and belief money doesn't have to be earned before it is spent mentality".

And she was right.

Former Labor leader Mark Latham accused Ms Rinehart of double standards.

"She wants to be a bigger welfare recipient herself," Mr Latham told the Seven Network.

"She's against social welfare but she's very much in favour of business welfare for herself.

"I think that's an appalling double standard. There is no bottomless pit of money and that should apply to Gina as much as the people she's bagging today."

WA Labor MP Alannah MacTiernan said Ms Rinehart "just doesn't get what has made Australia such a safe place for her to make her billions".

"Enterprise and achievement is built on education, inspiration and opportunity, not by bringing in truckloads of overseas workers so that Ms Rinehart can live in even greater grandiosity and have even bigger pearls, if that is at all possible," Ms MacTiernan said.

And Greens Deputy Leader Adam Bandt said Ms Rinehart was "a threat to Australian egalitarianism".

"Gina Rinehart is full of suggestions about how to balance the budget, but none of them involve her paying a fairer share of tax and all of them involve getting the rest of us to pay more," Mr Bandt said.

"If Gina Rinehart thinks Australians are paid too much and have health care that's too good, she's welcome to leave."

Writing in a resources magazine, the billionaire espoused her admiration of former British PM Margaret Thatcher, while saying Australia was "living beyond our means".

"Australians have to work hard or actually harder and smarter to create the revenue to be able to pay that bill ... something has to give - we can't do it all," Ms Rinehart said.

In her column titled 'The Age of Entitlement - has Consequences', Ms Rinehart urged action from politicians, saying "now is the time to change some thinking and urge leadership".

"The left don't want to address the issue. Instead they get hysterical and personal about who speaks out," she wrote.

Rinehart this week tumbled 10 places on the latest Forbes Magazine global rich list, despite getting richer in the past year.

She was easily Australia's richest person on the list, ahead of 208th-ranked James Packer with $US6.5 billion.

15.03 | 0 komentar | Read More