Quakers Hill nursing home heroes honoured

Emergency workers have been honoured for their bravery during the Quakers Hill nursing home fire. Source: AAP

A YEAR after a ferocious fire killed 11 people at Quakers Hill Nursing Home, the people who led the rescue effort have been honoured at a ceremony in western Sydney.

Three elderly residents died during the inferno and eight died from injuries afterwards.

On Wednesday, the paramedics, nurses, firefighters and other emergency services workers who helped save lives on November 18, 2011, were recognised for their bravery at a ceremony at Schofields Fire Station.

Castle Hill Station Officer Brett Johnson, who led the first fire crew to arrive at the burning nursing home, told reporters the scene appeared calm at first.

"When we turned up, there was no sign of smoke, there was no flames out of the windows," he remembered.

Frantic nursing staff, who had already begun evacuating the frail nursing home residents, told the firefighters a fire was burning in one of the wings.

It was only after extinguishing that first fire that the crew realised the extent of the emergency.

"I noticed that the other wing was completely alight," Station Officer Johnson said.

"It's like a very slow, sinking, overwhelming feeling. Because we're in this industry, we had a very good understanding of what sort of tragedy was at hand then. I knew then that we had already lost lives."

After 14 years as a firefighter, he said, nothing had touched him more or would stay with him longer than the Quakers Hill Nursing Home fire.

NSW Ambulance Service Inspector Nathan Sheraton said his training got him through the chaos.

"You have firemen running out of the building in every direction with elderly residents on their arms, and people are groaning and screaming in pain," he told AAP.

"It can become quite chaotic. But we build this resilience; we remain calm ... we just put our heads down and we do what we are trained to do."

NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner said the professionalism of emergency services staff saved dozens of lives that night.

But nursing home staff also deserved special thanks, she said.

"I thought it was very moving to see the nursing home staff honoured today and they were clearly very emotional," she said.

"They knew these people. They knew the residents."

Nurse's assistant Judith Watts, who isolated the initial fire and continued treating residents through the smoke and the panic, fought back tears as she accepted her commendation from Commissioner Mullins.

"I'm just grateful that it's being recognised finally," she told reporters afterwards, shaking with emotion.

"It means a great deal that everybody has recognised the job we've done."

Roger Dean, who worked as a nurse at the home, has pleaded not guilty to murdering the 11 people who died from the fire.

Dean has also pleaded not guilty to eight charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to a further eight residents.

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Sydney bushfire to be monitored

Fire and rescue crews have brought a 10-hectare bushfire under control in Sydney's northwest. Source: AAP

FIRE and rescue crews have brought a 10-hectare bushfire under control in Sydney's northwest.

The fire broke out between Magdala and Pittwater roads, in North Ryde, about 2pm (AEDT) on Wednesday.

Strong winds fanned the flames, which reached two metres in height.

Property protection lines were created along Magdala Road, while a successful back burn contained the fire.

In total, 15 crews battled the blaze supported by three water bombing helicopters.

No property was threatened and no one was evacuated.

Fire crews will remain at the scene overnight to monitor the area and extinguish flare ups.

Residents are encouraged to call 000 if they see any bushfire outbreaks.

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Revered Thai king marks 85th birthday

Thailand's King called for unity in the divided nation during a speech to mark his 85th birthday. Source: AAP

THAILAND'S revered king has called for unity and stability in the divided nation as huge crowds of adoring, flag-waving citizens packed Bangkok for a rare speech to mark his 85th birthday.

At least 200,000 people flooded the capital's historic district, with aerial television images showing a sea of yellow as supporters of King Bhumibol Adulyadej dressed up in the colour associated with his reign.

The king, who is seen as almost a demi-god by many in the politically turbulent nation, told the crowd that the "goodwill" Thais had shown by attending the ceremony together "gives me the confidence that your kindness is key to bringing unity to the people and the nation".

"If Thai people are virtuous, there is hope that no matter what situation the country finds itself in, it will be safe and retain its stability," said the monarch in his short public address from the balcony at the Anantasamakom Throne Hall in front of the Royal Plaza.

Chants of "long live the king" followed the royal motorcade as it made its way to and from the hospital where the king has lived for three years since suffering a respiratory illness in 2009.

Bhumibol, whose 66 years of service makes him the world's longest reigning monarch, suffered a minor brain bleed in July, but has since made several official appearances including meeting Barack Obama during the US president's visit to the country last month.

The monarch has no official political role, but is seen as a unifying figure in a country that is frequently riven by political unrest, and his birthday is marked by country-wide celebrations, a public holiday and Thai Father's Day.

Any discussion of the royal family is extremely sensitive in the kingdom, where the palace has been silent over the organisation of an eventual succession.

Thailand is in the grip of a long-running political crisis pitting royalists against supporters of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra and the current government led by his sister Yingluck.

The bitter divisions have led to sometimes violent street rallies in recent years.

Yingluck was among the dignitaries at the ceremony, as well as most key members of the royal family with the exception of Queen Sirikit.

Doctors treating the 80-year-old queen, who was diagnosed with a slight loss of blood flow to the brain after being taken ill in July, said she was still too weak to attend the event, according to a statement from the palace on Tuesday.

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More rail pain for NSW government

The NSW government is under fire over a report revealing a record number of transport complaints. Source: AAP

THE NSW government has come under fire after a report revealed a record number of complaints against Railcorp and a drop in the overall number of on-time trains.

The Auditor-General's NSW transport report, released on Wednesday, found complaints about on-time running were up almost 18 per cent on 2011.

On the roads, the report also shows there's little joy for Sydney's road commuters, as average speeds slowed on five of the city's seven major roads.

Afternoon peak-hour speeds on the M2 Lane Cove Tunnel/Gore Hill freeway dropped from 60km/h down to 52km/h in the space of 12 months.

Auditor-general Peter Archterstraat said only nine of the state's 16 rail networks achieved 92 per cent the on-time running target, down from 14 previously.

The East Hills, South, Western, Northern via Strathfield, South Coast, Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands, Hunter and Newcastle and Central Coast lines are all operating below the 92 per cent target, according to the report.

Complaints about hygiene have increased by 26 per cent, with 35 complaints lodged every week.

Opposition Transport spokeswoman Penny Sharpe said during eight peak hour periods in the past year, less than 60 per cent of the network operated on time, with train reliability at its lowest level in four years, .

Commuters were being charged up to $156 extra in fares each year, a figure that is set to increase again from January 1.

"Trains are getting later, dirtier and more crowded under Barry O'Farrell," Ms Sharpe said in a statement.

Greens MP and transport spokesperson Cate Faehrmann said critical infrastructure decisions were being made according to the government's privatisation agenda, rather than in the best interests of the community.

She said NSW has been sent down a risky path by committing to a public private partnership (PPP) to build the North West Rail Link.

"We've had a series of failed transport PPPs in NSW and now the auditor-general himself has raised serious concerns - we can't afford to stuff up public transport infrastructure because of this government's ideological obsession with privatising public services," Ms Faerhmann said in a statement.

NRMA Spokesman Peter Khoury said the slowing of commutes for Sydney drivers shows that as the economic hub of Australia, Sydney should be doing better instead of stifling businesses.

"The longer it takes to deliver goods and services, the harder it is to make a buck," he said.

"It's not the way to run an economy. It's not the way to run a city."

Mr Khoury said the report showed the NSW government needed to increase spending on roads, developing the WestConnex project and completing upgrades to the M2 and M5.

"Decades of neglect has resulted in making life harder for commuters, but if we do finish projects that are on the drawing board and continue to improve public transport then we will see a substantial improvement in how Sydney moves around," he said.

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AGL launches action on price ruling

AGL Energy has launched legal action to challenge a price ruling by the Essential Services Commission OF South Australia (ESCOSA).

AGL began legal proceedings in the Supreme Court of South Australia on Tuesday ahead of a final price determination on December 14.

"AGL maintains that ESCOSA has wrongly exercised its power under the legislation to review prices due to special circumstances," AGL said in a statement.

In its fiscal 2013 earnings guidance AGL said adverse regulatory pricing decisions in Queensland and South Australia would reduce underlying profit by approximately $45 million in fiscal 2013.

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Builders vow to improve crane safety

WorkCover NSW will hold a safety discussion on cranes following an incident in Sydney last week. Source: AAP

THE construction industry has vowed to improve crane safety and emergency evacuation procedures in the wake of a fire outbreak at an inner Sydney building site.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) last week when a crane caught on fire and collapsed at Broadway.

Following a safety roundtable meeting on Tuesday, called in response to the crane emergency, WorkCover manager John Watson said the safety watchdog would work in partnership with industry to ensure the safety of workers.

"The purpose of today's roundtable was to bring together industry players to discuss how we can ensure the safety of workers and the public, and prevent incidents like last week's happening again," Mr Watson said in a statement.

He said attendees had agreed on the same objective, to ensure "all workers go home safely at the end of the working day".

A special industry communique has been distributed to crane operators, Mr Watson said, to remind them to undertake fire prevention and control measures, and to review their evacuation procedures and systems.

Among the other measures agreed, the Industry Plant Consultative Committee has been tasked to review existing risk control advice and industry practice.

WorkCover will also release a safety alert and will continue to monitor tower crane safety.

Meanwhile, Mr Watson said WorkCover's investigation into last week's incident was ongoing.

"WorkCover is carrying out a thorough investigation into the incident which includes the causes, systems of work, maintenance of equipment and adequacy of control measures.

"WorkCover has taken possession of a number of relevant components ... for testing and analysis in an attempt to identify the cause of the fire.

"Any action taken by WorkCover will be dependent on the findings of the investigation."

The CFMEU says across-the-board accountability is required to improve crane safety.

The union's NSW secretary, Brian Parker, said a crane safety roundtable on Tuesday was positive, with industry support for pre-erection and pre-commissioning inspection of every crane used in the state.

The emergency meeting comes after last week's crane fire and collapse, which saw hundreds of people evacuated from the University of Technology Sydney at Broadway.

"If these plans are put in place, it means cranes will be inspected every time they're used, not just once a year," Mr Parker said.

"Furthermore, it's the CFMEU view these inspections should be undertaken by an independent third party.

"Self-regulation within the industry has been encouraged, putting workers at risk."

WorkCover's investigation into last week's incident is ongoing, but Mr Parker said it was rumoured the fire ignited after leaking hydraulic oil flowed onto the crane's engine.

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Chocolate warnings don't work on women

WARNING women that eating chocolate can make them fat may actually drive some to eat more, research from the University of Western Australia (UWA) shows.

The joint study with the University of Strathclyde in Scotland found low restraint eaters - those not on a diet - showed a strong impulse to eat chocolate when presented with negative messaging, including warnings that chocolate could lead to obesity.

Women on a diet were also prone to rebel against attempts to scare them off chocolate, particularly by ads featuring thin models.

Researchers found dieters shown ads featuring thin models displayed an increased desire to eat chocolate coupled with greater feelings of wanting to avoid consumption, or indulged in higher consumption - and ultimately felt more guilt.

Lead author Professor Kevin Durkin said the reaction of a warning having a contrary effect was known as "reactance".

"Reactance could be more marked among the low-restraint participants because they are generally less preoccupied with regulating their food intake and thus find external attempts to intervene in freely determined behaviour more jarring," Prof Durkin said.

The study involved 80 female participants between the ages of 17 and 26, categorised into low or high restraint and scored on a specifically designed "chocolate questionnaire" developed by UWA-based psychologist Professor Werner Stritzke.

The research was published in the journal Appetite, which specialises in behavioural nutrition and the cultural, sensory, and physiological influences on intake of foods and drinks.

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Big gaps as climate talks enter final day

There is no solution in sight in the latest UN climate change talks, officials say. Source: AAP

ABOUT 100 ministers and a handful of heads of state have gathered in Doha for the final, high-level stretch of UN climate talks marked by bickering over cash and commitments needed to curb greenhouse gases.

UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to address the gathering of more than 11,000 participants around 1200 GMT (2300 AEDT) on Tuesday.

He's expected to urge countries to put aside differences for the sake of the planet's future.

Even as the alarm was again raised about the dangerous trajectory of Earth-warming gas emissions, observers say the nearly 200 nations at the talks remain far apart on issues vital for unlocking a global deal on climate change.

Poor countries insist Western nations sign up to deeper, more urgent cuts in carbon emissions and commit to a new funding package from 2013 to help them cope with worsening drought, floods, storms and rising seas.

Resolution of both questions by the meeting's end on Friday should smooth the way to a new, universal treaty that must be signed by 2015 and enter into force in 2020 to roll back global warming.

The UN goal is to limit warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 deg Fahrenheit) at which scientists hope we can escape the worst climate change effects.

UN climate chief Christiana Figueres expressed "frustration" on Monday at the pace of progress, as some delegates began to voice fears of deadlock ahead of the ministers' arrival for the final, political push.

Five heads of state and government were scheduled to address Tuesday's plenary meeting - from Gabon, Mauritania, Samoa, Ethiopia and Swaziland.

The Doha talks are meant to finalise a second period of the Kyoto Protocol, the world's only binding pact on curbing greenhouse gas emissions, but delegates disagree on its timeframe and country targets.

The first leg of the protocol bound about 40 rich nations and the EU to curbing emissions, but excludes the two biggest polluters - the US, which refused to ratify it, and China which was left out because it is a developing country.

Another area of disagreement is money.

Developed nations are being asked to show how they intend to meet a promise to raise funding for poor nations' climate mitigation plans to $US100 billion ($A96.4 billion) per year by 2020 - up from a total $US30 billion in 2010-2012.

The developing world says it needs a total of $US60 billion from now to 2015 - but so far no commitments have been made.

A report warned on Sunday that Earth could be on track for warming above 5C by 2100 - at least double the 2C limit targeted by the UN.

And on Tuesday, an economists' report said even an impossible zero-per cent pollution target for the developed world by 2030 won't stop calamitous climate change, and poor nations too must do their part.

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Egypt's top court on strike

EGYPT'S top court began an open-ended strike on Sunday in what it called a "black day" for the judiciary after supporters of President Mohamed Morsi blocked the courthouse ahead of a key ruling, amid a tense standoff between the president and the judges.

The Supreme Constitutional Court said it would "suspend work for an indefinite period ... and until there is no more psychological and material pressure."

Hundreds of pro-Morsi demonstrators blocked off a main road that runs along the Nile to the courthouse and surrounded entrances to its precincts.

The court was due to rule on the legality of an Islamist-dominated panel that drew up a controversial draft constitution.

The new charter, which has become the focal point of Egypt's biggest political crisis since Morsi was elected in June, is to be put to a referendum set for December 15.

"The will of the people is stronger than the will of a few judges," said demonstrator Ismail Ahmed, 39, alluding to the accusations of Morsi supporters that the judiciary remains dominated by holdouts from the era of Hosni Mubarak, the veteran strongman ousted early last year.

The judges responded by calling an "administrative delay" to Sunday's session, prompting the protesters to head home from the courthouse, an AFP correspondent reported.

An interior ministry official denied it was impossible for judges to enter the courthouse, saying some judiciary officials had in fact got in thanks to security forces guarding the entrances.

A ruling by the court on Sunday would have defied Morsi's presidential decree that barred any judicial body from dissolving the constituent assembly, which adopted the draft charter in the face of a boycott by liberals and Christians.

The November 22 decree sparked popular unrest, with the constitution, which had been due for more deliberation, being rushed through days later amid the commotion.

Opposition groups said they would rally on Tuesday outside the presidential palace to protest against the referendum, the constitution and Morsi's new powers, in a march dubbed "the final warning".

The controversial charter -- which has been criticised for paving the way to a strict interpretation of Islamic law and failing to secure key rights -- prompted rival rallies by Morsi opponents and supporters.

Hundreds of thousands of Islamist protesters gathered on Saturday in support of Morsi, his sweeping powers and the draft constitution, a day after crowds thronged to Cairo's Tahrir Square to denounce his "dictatorial" decree.

"One nation, two peoples," read the front page of Sunday's edition of the Al-Shuruq newspaper, while Al-Masri al-Youm ran with "Egypt at the mouth of a volcano."

The Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters have branded the anti-Islamist opposition enemies of the 2011 revolution, and Sunday's protesters chanted against secular and liberal opposition leaders.

The National Rescue Front -- a coalition of opponents led by Mohamed ElBaradei, the former UN nuclear watchdog chief; ex-Arab League chief Amr Mussa; and former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi -- has called on opponents of the decree to keep up the momentum of the protest movement.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have raised concerns about the draft charter.

On Thursday, Morsi stressed his new powers would expire as soon as the constitution has been ratified, a point Islamists have repeatedly made in his favour.

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Bikie's mate scared to reveal all to CCC

A WITNESS to a vicious bikie gang brawl in Perth told a corruption hearing he was so scared for himself and his family he couldn't tell the truth about what he saw.

Mohammed Alamdar, of Mosman Park, is accused of giving false and misleading evidence to Western Australia's Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) at secret hearings in 2010 and 2011, following the brawl at the Kwinana Motorplex.

The showdown between the Coffin Cheaters and the Finks at the motor racing venue in late 2010 left Finks members Stephen Wallace without three fingers, David Marrapodi with a gunshot wound and Troy Smith with serious head injuries.

At a trial in Perth Magistrates Court, video interviews of Alamdar at the CCC were shown in which he claimed his memory was impaired after being dropped on his head as a child. He consistently said he could not remember details of his association with the Coffin Cheaters.

He initially told the CCC he was not that close to the bikies, before admitting he had spent time in his native Iran with club member Paul Martino, who'd stayed in the home of his deaf, elderly mother while there.

But as the CCC interview progressed, Alamdar told then-commissioner Len Roberts-Smith he feared for his safety if he revealed what he had seen in Kwinana.

"I was scared for myself, I was scared for my family," Alamdar said.

"I do not want to get involved in these things, it is not my business. Why do you put me in this bad position?"

Through his evidence to the CCC, Alamdar revealed he had struck up friendships with two Coffin Cheaters, including Martino, while installing security windows and doors at their headquarters in Bayswater.

He was summonsed to appear before CCC hearings twice, after investigators established he was present at the Motorplex on the day of the brawl.

He was then charged with misleading the CCC after giving evidence to Mr Roberts-Smith that he had not spoken to Martino the day before the brawl, had not travelled with him to the Motorplex and had not witnessed the violence.

But phone intercepts revealed he had arranged to drive Martino to the event and even took advice from him as to what to wear on the day.

When directly questioned about whether it was his voice on the intercepted phone call, Alamdar said: "That's not me, buddy."

Mr Roberts-Smith warned Alamdar at the time his vague answers could be regarded as "constructive refusal" to answer, and that he could face criminal charges.

A guilty finding could result in a $100,000 fine or a five-year jail term or both.

Finks members and associates Smith, Stephen Laurence Silvestro, Clovis Chikonga and Tristan Roger Allbeury have already been jailed for two years on contempt charges relating to the CCC hearings.

Coffin Cheaters members Benjamin Ortin and David Reid were also called before a CCC hearing and refused to answer questions but avoided charges after the corruption watchdog dropped the case.

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Army bombs Damascus suburbs

SYRIAN troops battered rebel positions in and around Damascus in an assault aimed at securing the capital, as Russia and Turkey prepared for talks in Istanbul on their differences over the conflict.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said artillery gunners targeted the districts of Hajar al-Aswad and Tadamun as well as the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmuk in southern Damascus.

The army also bombarded Yabrud to the north, Yalda to the south and the Eastern Ghouta towns of Douma, Harasta, Irbin and Haran al-Hawamid, in the area of the road linking Damascus to its international airport, it said on Monday.

Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have been trying to establish a secure perimeter around Damascus at all costs, turning the province into one of the main battlegrounds in the country's 20-month conflict.

Analysts say the objective of the military campaign is to put the regime in a position to negotiate a way out of the conflict that the Observatory says has cost more than 41,000 lives since March 2011.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, was to meet with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday during a landmark visit to Istanbul to discuss their differences on Syria.

The talks are to cover "reconciliation in the Middle East, the situation in the Gaza Strip, the crisis in Syria, as well as co-operation," Putin's foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said in a statement.

Turkey and Russia are at loggerheads over how to tackle the bloody crackdown in Syria, despite growing trade and energy links.

Those tensions came to a head in October when Turkey intercepted a Syrian plane en route from Moscow to Damascus on suspicion that it had military cargo, drawing an angry response from Russia.

Ankara said the cargo contained military equipment destined for the Syrian defence ministry.

Moscow insisted it was dual-purpose radar equipment which was not banned by international conventions.

Turkey, once an ally of the Damascus regime, has become one of its fiercest critics.

But Moscow remains one of Assad's few allies, routinely blocking resolutions against his regime in the UN security council.

Russia also objects to Turkey's request to NATO for the deployment of Patriot missiles near its volatile border with Syria.

It has warned such a move could spark a broader conflict that would draw in the western military alliance.

But Turkey insists the US-made Patriots would be used for purely defensive purposes, and NATO's response is expected this week.

On the ground, the Britain-based Observatory also reported clashes with rebels since Sunday in the central city of Hama, prompting authorities to send in reinforcements.

"This fighting... shows that despite the total control of the army and security forces over the town, the rebels have still managed to infiltrate," the Observatory's Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The watchdog, which relies on a network of activists and medics in civilian and military hospitals, said a total of 134 people - 58 civilians, 41 soldiers and 35 rebels - were killed in countrywide violence on Sunday.

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Deep divide at UN climate talks

COUNTRIES entered a second week of UN climate talks in Doha deeply divided on key issues even as fresh warnings were issued that rising greenhouse gas levels are putting our planet in peril.

After six days of intense negotiations, observers on Monday said nations were far from agreement on extending the Kyoto Protocol on curbing emissions of Earth-warming gases, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2) produced from burning fossil fuels.

With evidence mounting that man-made climate change is melting polar ice caps and causing sea levels to rise more quickly than feared, poor countries insist the West makes deeper, more urgent emissions cuts under Kyoto and gives more cash to help the third world adapt and cope.

The mechanisms for both remain in dispute.

"The science is clear: further delay would mean the opportunity to avert a global calamity would be irrevocably lost," the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), a grouping of 43 countries at risk from warming-induced sea level rise, said on Monday.

"We begin the final week of negotiations in Doha with the sober recognition that time is running out to prevent the loss of entire nations and other calamities in our membership and around the world."

A new study warned Sunday that Earth could be on track for warming above five degrees Celsius (nine degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100 - at least double the two degree Celsius limit being targeted for what scientists hope will be manageable climate change.

Other studies in the past week showed that polar ice cap melt had raised sea levels by nearly half an inch (11 millimetres) over the last two decades, and that Arctic ice had diminished at an unprecedented rate in 2012.

Yet observers say the Doha talks have become stuck, partly over a disagreement within the European Union on whether individual nations should be allowed to hold on to unused emissions quotas - so-called "hot air" - rather than scrapping them.

These left-over unused emission allowances, estimated to amount to some 13 billion tonnes for all countries put together, were allotted under the first leg of the Kyoto Protocol that runs out on December 31.

EU member Poland and some other countries now insist on carrying the "hot air" over into a follow up period - a move vehemently opposed by the developing world and countries most at risk of climate change-induced warming.

The surplus allowances can be sold on the carbon market.

"What were billed as mainly procedural talks are showing more controversy than expected," Greenpeace said of the talks.

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Soccer brawl in Sydney's west

POLICE have detained several people after a brawl broke out during a soccer match in Sydney's west.

A police spokesman said the fight broke out at about 4.45pm on Sunday at Palmyra Avenue at Willmot.

One person was taken to Nepean Hospital with head injuries and a number of people have been detained at the scene and are being questioned by police.

Initial reports indicate the fight may have been racially motivated.

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Man fails in bid to bite police dog

A MAN tried to chomp on a police dog but had to be stitched up himself after the dog bit back.

Police say they arrested the 31-year-old man at Berkeley, in the Illawarra region south of Sydney, on Saturday night following reports he had violated a restraining order.

Lake Illawarra acting inspector Jack Brown told AAP the man kicked so hard at the door of the caged police truck in which he was held that officers weren't sure the vehicle could restrain him, so they began moving him to another wagon.

"At some point he has kicked out at the dog and attempted to bite it, and the dog has responded in kind," Insp Brown said on Sunday.

The wounded man was taken for further treatment to Shellharbour Hospital, then sent back to the police station.

He was then taken back to the hospital to receive stitches to his arm.

Insp Brown said the German shepherd was doing fine.

The man spent Saturday night in custody and is to appear in Wollongong Local Court on Monday on several charges related to damaging property, resisting police, contravening a personal apprehended violence order and committing an act of cruelty to animals.

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Whitlam celebrates 40 years since victory

FAMILY and friends have surrounded former prime minister and legendary Labor leader Gough Whitlam to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his momentous 1972 election victory.

Among those joining Mr Whitlam for lunch at Lulworth House in Sydney on Sunday were his children, Antony, Nicholas, Stephen and Catherine, speechwriter Evan Williams, Senator John Faulkner and director of the Whitlam Institute, Eric Sidoti.

Mr Whitlam, now 96, was unable to attend a public celebration last month.

Mr Sidoti said it was only right Mr Whitlam took "centre stage" for the special anniversary.

"Though it may be a much more private stage than what he dominated throughout his public life, there can be no doubt that Gough Whitlam and his government profoundly changed Australia and for the better," Mr Sidoti said.

"The fires of reform that Gough Whitlam lit, burn still."

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Hero instructor fought off son: police

A US community college instructor killed in a classroom murder-suicide has been hailed a hero, with police saying he gave his students time to flee by distracting and fighting off his son.

Christopher Krumm, 25, barged into his father's computer science class at Casper College, Wyoming and shot him in the head with a high-powered bow and arrow on Friday.

The arrow severely wounded James Krumm, 56 but he managed to wrestle with the younger man while his handful of students escaped.

Christopher Krumm, of Vernon, Connecticut, had just stabbed to death his father's live-in girlfriend at the couple's home several kilometres away.

When police arrived after the bow-and-arrow attack, they found Christopher Krumm bleeding from self-inflicted knife wounds and taking his last breaths.

James Krumm was dead, Police Chief Chris Walsh said on Sunday.

"I can tell you the courage that was demonstrated by Mr Krumm senior was absolutely without equal," he said.

"Around six" students were in the classroom when Christopher Krumm entered, Casper police spokesman Justin Smith said. None were hurt.

Walsh said police were still trying to figure out what motivated Christopher Krumm to attack his father and girlfriend, 42-year-old Heidi Arnold, a maths instructor at the college. Arnold died of multiple stab wounds.

After shooting his father with the arrow, Christopher Krumm stabbed himself, then fatally stabbed his father in the chest in a struggle in the classroom, Walsh said.

Police began getting reports about the attack on Arnold soon after they responded by the dozen to the campus attack.

Authorities locked down the campus for two hours while they scoured the grounds for any other attackers. They were reassured Christopher Krumm acted alone.

He had smuggled the compound bow - a type much more powerful than a simple, wooden bow - onto campus beneath a blanket, Walsh said.

He said Christopher Krumm also had two knives with him and the one used was "very large".

Arnold's body was found in the gutter of her street.

Casper College instructor Kevin McDermott said Arnold and James Krumm were well-liked on campus.

Investigators said Christopher Krumm had recently driven to Casper from Connecticut and had been staying at a local hotel. He had no significant history of encounters with police.

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