'Wave of relief' after Sydney gang arrests

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He will appear at Bankstown Local Court on Thursday.

View the original article here

Soaring prostate cancer causes concern

A DRAMATIC increase in prostate cancer cases has prompted calls for men to think carefully before being tested.

A new study shows the number of diagnoses in Australia jumped 276 per cent over the 20 years from 1987 to 2007.

This is a result of increased testing, says lead author Associate Professor Freddy Sitas of Cancer Council NSW.

He says the PSA test and physical examination are unreliable, giving both false positives and false negatives.

Even if a positive result is correct, unless they operate, doctors have no fool-proof way of knowing if the cancer is aggressive or relatively harmless.

"Saving lives is our priority, but we urgently need a better test," says Prof Sitas.

"The tests have saved men with aggressive forms of the disease, but at a high cost."

A 27 per cent drop in the death rate was observed over the study period, he says. However, the increase in new cases is much greater than this.

"This indicates that many men were diagnosed with cancers that would not have harmed them."

The University of NSW's Professor Mark Harris says: "Until we have a better method of screening, men need to be fully informed about the pros and cons of testing.

"GPs have to be very well informed so they can give the best advice."

It's a difficult area, says Professor Sandro Porceddu, President of Clinical Oncology Society of Australia.

About 30 per cent of PSA tests will give false positives.

"In other words there will be a group of people who have an elevated PSA but do not have prostate cancer.

"This can lead to further investigations, which have their own side effects."

He says there is no right or wrong answer for men trying to decide whether to be screened or not.

"Men who do have a concern should have a good and thorough talk to their doctor about the implications.

"The patient needs to decide if it is the most appropriate thing for them."

View the original article here

NGA disappointed over UK Stubbs sale

THE National Gallery of Australia is "extremely disappointed" at the sale of historic paintings of a kangaroo and dingo to a museum in London.

A UK government export ban has blocked the NGA from from buying the 18th century works by George Stubbs, which were secured by London's National Maritime Museum on Wednesday.

Kongouro from New Holland and a companion painting, Portrait of a Large Dog, are the first non-indigenous paintings of a kangaroo and dingo and have been on the NGA's acquisition list for more than 40 years.

They were commissioned by Joseph Banks, the botanist who accompanied Cook on his 1768 voyage to Australia and made sketches of the then-unknown specimens.

The NGA has been negotiating to buy the works for the past three years and says the export ban had deprived Australian audiences of "two of the most historically significant works of art in the story of our nation's visual heritage".

"The National Gallery of Australia is extremely disappointed with the outcome of this British process," the gallery said in statement.

"The two Stubbs works represent the beginning of Australia's rich visual culture and the Gallery believes they have much greater relevance to the development of Australian imagery and art than to Britain's maritime history."

View the original article here

No powerline warnings led to crash: ATSB

MOWN lawns and unmarked power lines contributed to the death of a man in a light plane crash last year.

A single-engine Cessna clipped powerlines while attempting to land at a private airstrip at Bagshot, near Bendigo, in October 2012 before it crashed and burst into flames.

A 77-year-old man was killed at the scene while the pilot and another passenger were airlifted to hospital.

In a report released on Thursday, the Australia Transport Safety Bureau said the aircraft landing area was not clearly marked, making it difficult for the pilot to distinguish between the mown undershoot area and designated runway.

Powerlines at the start of the airstrip were also not equipped with high-visibility devices, contributing to the accident.

Under Australian regulations, private airfields are not required to have high-visibility markings on powerlines.

The experienced pilot told the watchdog he knew about the powerlines but misjudged their distance from the airstrip because the area before the runway was mown.

He said he thought the powerlines were closer to the tree line and the entire grassy area was suitable for landing the aircraft.

Safety investigators found the plane's front landing gear caught the wires, causing it to flip and crash.

They also reported the deceased man was not wearing the sash portion of his seatbelt which further contributed to fatal head and upper body trauma from impact.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau recommended all private airstrip operators to undergo risk assessments, particularly for first-time users.

View the original article here

Vic jobless rate rises slightly

VICTORIA'S unemployment rate rose slightly last month despite the creation of 14,200 jobs.

The state's rate for October was 5.9 per cent, up from 5.8 per cent the previous month due to a 0.3 per cent rise in the participation rate.

The unemployment rate is higher than the national average, which remained steady at 5.7 per cent for October, and equal to Queensland and New South Wales.

Treasurer Michael O'Brien says employment grew by 0.5 per cent, with full-time work and part-time work rising by 8000 and 6200 respectively.

He says the figures show Victoria delivered the biggest job increase of any state.

"Victoria has the equal second lowest unemployment rate among the states, with only resource-rich Western Australia recording a lower rate," he said.

"There are now 73,100 more people employed in Victoria than when Labor left office in 2010."

Mr O'Brien said the state's record $6.1 billion infrastructure program unveiled in the 2013-14 State Budget will continue to drive economic growth.

View the original article here

Young Vic girl grabbed by smelly man

AN 11-year-old girl managed to escape a dirty man who reeked of alcohol when he attempted to grab her on a suburban street in Melbourne.

The girl ran to a nearby house for help after the man grabbed her as she was walking along a street in Vermont, in Melbourne's east, about 9am (AEDT) on Thursday.

Leading Senior Constable Kendra Jackson said the man smelt of alcohol and was wearing a red T-shirt and black pants.

Police believe he is Caucasian, aged in his 50s, around 165cm tall, has a medium build with white collar-length hair and a white beard.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident or anyone with information to come forward.

View the original article here

Port growth needs transport spending: ACCC

AUSTRALIA'S competition watchdog has recommended reforms to ensure ongoing business growth at the nation's major ports.

In its 15th annual monitoring report of stevedoring, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found that the sector is poised for further development but will need assistance.

"The ACCC considers that further economic reform is required to ensure that related transport issues do not create bottlenecks in and around our growing container ports, and supports initiatives by various governments and other agencies to address these issues," ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.

The recommendations include government spending on heavy vehicle road provisions, and encouraging truck companies to access port terminals at off-peak times.

Mr Sims said the considerations are important as Australia welcomes new port activity with an additional terminal opened in Brisbane early in 2013, soon to be joined by another at Sydney's Port Botany.

The Victorian government is also tendering out the rights for a new terminal in Melbourne.

View the original article here

Man arrested over 1990 SA murder

View the original article here

Govt money 'to produce safer cars'

THE federal government should provide financial support to the car industry to make safer vehicles, according to a road safety expert.

Former MP and road safety committee chair, Barry Cohen, says that instead of giving millions of dollars to companies to create jobs, "let's give them the money to produce safer cars".

This would still create jobs but would also advance the technology needed to help save lives, he said on Thursday before the 2013 Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS) conference in Adelaide.

Asked if producing safer cars was the answer for Adelaide's beleaguered Holden, Mr Cohen said it could be but noted he was not talking about employment but about saving lives.

Mr Cohen cited American auto safety activist Ralph Nader who said: "It is faster, cheaper and more enduring to build operationally safe and crash-worthy automobiles that will prevent death and injury" than a policy build around the impossible goal of the perfect driver.

"It is easier to redesign cars than to redesign human beings," Mr Cohen said.

ACRS president Lauchlan McIntosh said their target was to reduce by 40 per cent the current death rate of about 1400 a year and the numbers of seriously injured people, which was at least 30,000 annually.

"If we did that in Afghanistan it would be outrageous, and it is outrageous that we are doing it on the roads," he said.

He too called for safer cars, saying "let's make a design that won't make people die", noting this was done in the workplace and in aircraft.

Mr McIntosh says Australia should embrace new technologies such as devices which stopped drunk people driving.

"There is a lot of simple, easy things we can do such as more lane marking in rural and regional Australia ... and better protection of places where we have had a crash.

"How many times do you see two or three sets of flowers on the one post?"

View the original article here

Obeid's call made me 'uncomfortable': ICAC

ICAC is investigating whether Eddie Obeid used his power over the water licence on a NSW farm. Source: AAP

A BUREAUCRAT says he felt uncomfortable when Eddie Obeid asked him for information on water licences covering a NSW farm that sits on a large coal deposit before the corrupt MP bought the property.

Marwan El-Chamy told the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) he reported the conversation to his manager at the state's water authority.

The ICAC is investigating whether Mr Obeid used his political muscle to influence the granting of water licences on the Cherrydale Park farm in the Bylong Valley.

A review of the property's water licence was triggered when the Obeids bought the farm for $3.65 million from John Cherry in November 2007.

The valuable unrestricted water licences, which were kept by Mr Cherry as security, were to be assessed and "volumetric controls" imposed.

An August 2008 draft document from the water and energy department said water use at the farm, "should not exceed 150 megalitres" annually.

The inquiry heard earlier that while the Cherrydale licenses were being assessed Mr Obeid had spoken to his friend Steve Dunn, a bureaucrat in the ports ministry who was previously in charge of water licensing.

The ICAC was told Mr Obeid said he was hoping to "establish something now while (he) still had influence".

Mr El-Chamy on Thursday said in September 2007 he was phoned by Mr Dunn, who was seeking information on licenses.

"He wanted to discuss the Bylong Valley," Mr El-Chamy said.

After speaking to Mr Dunn in his office, Mr El-Chamy was handed the phone.

"(Dunn) said 'here speak to your fellow countryman' and that's how I got to speak with Mr Eddie Obeid."

In a short discussion Mr Obeid asked Mr El-Chamy for information on the conditions of water licenses.

"I was a little bit uncomfortable with the discussion ... And the fact that he was seeking information on licences," he told the ICAC.

"Talking to any politician makes me uncomfortable."

Earlier on Thursday the inquiry heard the licences eventually granted to Cherrydale Park were almost six times what authorities recommended.

Hemantha Desilva, a senior public servant from the Newcastle water office, said there were no documents supporting the property's need for the 860 mega litre annual quota.

"Based on the data I've seen I thought around 150 (mega litres) was a reasonable number," he told the inquiry on Thursday.

He added that he had never seen a licence of this size issued, and there was a 486 mega litre cap for properties in NSW.

Mr Cherry on Wednesday told the ICAC it had occurred to him the water could be used for coal mining.

The ICAC found Mr Obeid and former mining minister Ian Macdonald corruptly granted a coal exploration licence over Cherrydale in 2008.

The inquiry continues before assistant commissioner Anthony Whealy.

View the original article here

Discount for miners to unlock Qld fortune

Green groups say miners shouldn't get discounts for chasing coal in Queensland's Galilee Basin. Source: AAP

WITH an estimated 30 billion tonnes of coal in the ground, there's a fortune to be made in Queensland's Galilee Basin, but green groups say trailblazing miners should not get discounts just for chasing it.

They say it's crazy to offer royalty reductions to rich miners like Clive Palmer and Gina Rinehart, but Queensland's peak mining body says there should be more of it.

The Queensland government is considering cutting initial royalties for miners that open up the basin in the state's central west.

Premier Campbell Newman says the state cannot afford to let the potential of the Galilee to remain untapped.

"My government is unashamedly all about growing the business of Queensland and we will do all we can to facilitate the projects proposed for the Galilee Basin," Mr Newman said.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche says "royalty holidays" are needed and should be extended to all miners, not just trailblazers, and beyond the Galilee Basin.

But he says incentives are particularly important to stimulate mining activity in the Galilee where poor infrastructure means projects can cost $10 billion.

"There is more and more coal being found in the Galilee Basin every week so there is probably over 30 billion tonnes of coal in the ground," he told reporters.

However green groups say the coal should stay there.

Greenpeace spokeswoman Louise Matthiesson says the plan to consider royalty cuts suggests that new mega mines in the basin aren't independently viable.

"We are really concerned that ordinary mum and dad taxpayers are going to be giving a handout to the likes of Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer," she said in Brisbane.

Green Senator Larissa Waters agreed, saying discounts would make them even richer at the expense of the Great Barrier Reef, groundwater and climate.

Just days ago, federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt approved GVK's Kevin's Corner project in the Galilee Basin.

The Alpha Coal project - a joint venture between GVK and Gina Rinehart's Hancock coal - was approved in August last year.

Mr Palmer's Waratah Coal and Indian energy company Adani also have projects in the pipeline.

Proposed projects have a total forecast investment of $28.4 billion and will create more than 15,000 jobs during construction plus 13,000 operational jobs.

Mr Roche says approval to dredge seabed to expand Abbot Point will help unlock this potential, as it's the obvious port for Galilee mines to use. A decision is expected by December 13.

View the original article here

PM's very busy running the country: Hockey

Treasurer Joe Hockey has been forced to defend the 'vanishing' public profile of Tony Abbott (pic). Source: AAP

TREASURER Joe Hockey has defended Prime Minister Tony Abbott's low profile since the September election, saying his boss is "flat out" running the country.

During a Melbourne radio interview on Thursday Mr Hockey was quizzed about Mr Abbott's latest public appearance, in which he farewelled two adventurers heading to Antarctica on a charity trek.

But the prime minister did not make himself available to answer questions from the media.

"Given the last few years, I don't think the success or failure of a prime minister should be based on the number of media appearances they make," the treasurer told ABC radio.

What is Mr Abbott actually doing, Mr Hockey was asked.

"Well, he's ringing up his treasurer every day. We've spent all day Monday in cabinet meetings ... I can tell you he's been flat out.

"As prime minister you've got to run the country with your cabinet and that's what we're all doing. We've got our heads down and we're going through all the challenges," Mr Hockey said.

View the original article here

First aid kits for SA police dog handlers

SA police dog handlers are to carry compact first aid kits after the stabbing of a patrol dog. Source: AAP

SOUTH Australia's police dog handlers are to carry compact first aid kits for their canines following the recent stabbing of patrol dog Koda.

The German shepherd was rested for about five weeks after being stabbed in August as police chased and arrested a man over a spate of break-ins in Adelaide's northern suburbs.

The Animal Welfare League, In Wingfield, has now put together the kit so handlers will be able to provide initial first aid.

Each kit includes vet wrap bandage, dressings, saline solution, antiseptic, scissors, forceps and a shock blanket, all contained in a pouch small enough to fit into a handler's pocket.

Koda's handler, Senior Constable Simon Rosenhahn, praised the initiative.

"We work solo the vast majority of the time and sometimes in the middle of the scrub, a long, long way from help," he said on Wednesday.

"When Koda was stabbed, we were a long way from the police vehicle so it was hard to act quickly to ensure he didn't lose too much blood."

The stabbing prompted the SA to propose new laws and tougher penalties for attacks on police animals.

South Australian police currently use 25 dogs and 36 horses.

View the original article here