Valentine wins big at the AWGIE Awards

Playwright Anna Valentine has won three gongs at the AWGIE Awards in Melbourne. Source: AAP

PLAYWRIGHT Alana Valentine, who likes to gives audiences a kick up the arse in a witty way, has swept the Australian Writers' Guild Awards (AWGIEs).

Valentine picked up three gongs, including script of the year, at the awards ceremony on Friday night.

The AWGIEs are judged solely by writers on the basis of the script.

Valentine scooped the Major AWGIE, for Most Outstanding Script of 2013, and took out the community and youth theatre category for her play Grounded.

Set in Newcastle, Grounded is a coming-of-age tale about teenager Farrah, who wants to be a marine pilot.

Valentine began her winning streak by picking up the inaugural $25,000 David Williamson Prize for quality new Australian works for the stage.

"I'm very proud to be part of a guild which actually encourages and celebrates writers who want to look at what's happening in our culture right now, on our watch," Valentine told the audience at Melbourne's Plaza Ballroom.

"I'm really proud of all the writers in the guild who chose to, as cleverly and wittily as they do, give our audiences a kick up the arse and rub their noses in what we think is not working about this country."

In television writing, Robert Connolly picked up the best Telemovie Adaption award for Underground: The Julian Assange Story.

The Underbelly: Badness team - Niki Aken, Peter Gawler, Felicity Packard and Jeffrey Truman - were honoured for writing the stand-out original television mini-series.

Andrew Knight won the best television series AWGIE for the Rake series 2 episode R v. Floyd. The Good News Week writers received their ninth AWGIE for the final season of the comedy/light entertainment series.

The $25,000 Foxtel Fellowship, awarded in recognition of an impressive body of television work, went to Jacquelin Perske for a career including TV dramas The Secret Life of Us and Love My Way.

In the movie arena, Kim Mordaunt won the AWGIE for best original feature film script for The Rocket.

That film, about a 10-year-old boy trying to help his family in Laos' war-torn north, is Australia's selection for the best foreign-language film at next year's Oscars.

The Rocket also took out the audience awards at both the Sydney and Melbourne film festivals.

Best short film script went to husband and wife team, Matthew Moore and Genevieve Hegney, for The Amber Amulet, based on Craig Silvey's novella.

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Prince wows Sydney on first official visit

Prince Harry has arrived at Sydney's Garden Island Naval Base for the International Fleet Review. Source: AAP

HE may like to party, but Prince Harry was all business as he greeted adoring fans, inspected warships, and met the prime minister and his family on his first official visit to Australia.

Thousands of Harry fans turned out to catch a glimpse of the fourth-in-line to the British throne in Sydney as part of the International Fleet Review.

The 29-year-old prince is the big drawcard of the eight-day navy extravaganza, which marks 100 years since the Royal Australian Navy fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour.

Dressed in a white tropical dress uniform of the British Army and a blue Army Air Corps beret, the 29-year-old began the day by saluting naval officers before being greeted by navy Vice Admiral Ray Griggs at Sydney naval base Garden Island.

Captain Wales, as he's known in the British military, then boarded the HMAS Leeuwin where Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Defence Minister David Johnston and a host of other dignitaries were waiting for him.

After being welcomed on the harbour by a 100 gun salute, Harry spent the next few hours on board HMAS Leeuwin inspecting the warship fleet alongside Governor General Quentin Bryce.

The prince's appearance on the harbour coincided with a dazzling display by navy aircraft and helicopters, thrilling thousands lining the foreshore.

Back on land and donning a crisp navy-coloured suit, blue tie and white shirt, Harry turned his attention to his Sydney fans.

Making a surprise appearance at the Rocks, there were screams, smiles and waves as the red-haired prince emerged from his car at Sydney Harbour to greet a heaving crowd of fans.

In the 10-minute stop, Harry shook hands and said hello to hundreds who were hugging the barricades in an effort to see him.

Linda Wickens handed him a stuffed dingo as a present for his nephew Prince George.

The prince then stopped for a quick photo with her 12-year-old daughter Annabel who summed up the experience in one word: "awesome".

From there, the prince took a boat to Kirribilli House, where he was greeted by Mr Abbott, his wife Margie and daughters Bridget and Frances.

They posed for official photographs and walked through the gardens before greeting a crowd that had gathered at the gates of the prime minister's Sydney residence.

"What do you think of your new neighbour?" Harry asked one of the locals, referring to the newly-elected Mr Abbott.

Inside, the prime minister reflected on the special day, joking that Prince Harry appealed to even those Australians who aren't royalists.

"Prince Harry, I regret to say not every Australian is a monarchist," he said.

"But today everyone feels like a monarchist."

The prince is understood to be later hosting a private function for injured veterans of Afghanistan, a cause he actively supports.

He is due to leave Sydney for Perth on Sunday morning for the next leg of his Aussie tour.

The Fleet Review's Fireworks and Lightshow Spectacular is due to start at 7.30pm (AEST) at Sydney Harbour.

Up to one million people are expected to gather on the foreshore for the event.

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US extends visa law for Iraqi war aides

President Barack Obama has approved special visas for Iraqis who risked their lives to help America. Source: AAP

US President Barack Obama has signed into law a measure providing special visas for Iraqis who risked their lives to help the United States.

The special visa has allowed more than 12,000 Iraqi contractors, interpreters and others who aided US efforts, and their family members, to move to the US since 2007.

It expired earlier this week, with about 2000 applications still pending.

In a rare instance of bipartisanship, both chambers of congress passed the measure within hours of each other this week.

The program was created during the worst years of the Iraq war, with Iraqis who helped US forces facing targeted killings and death threats.

The goal was to resettle them in the US faster than the general refugee process might allow.

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Irish voters consider scrapping senate

An Irish referendum on a proposal to abolish the country's senate has had a low turnout. Source: AAP

VOTER turnout has been low in an Irish referendum on whether to abolish the country's upper house of parliament.

As polling stations closed at 10pm on Friday - with counting due to start on Saturday morning - the percentage of those casting their ballots was estimated to be less than 40 per cent.

An electorate of 3.1 million were eligible to have their say.

Latest opinion polls suggested a majority of voters would back Prime Minister Enda Kenny's call to get rid of the Seanad, or senate, in a historic move that would hand power exclusively to the lower house.

A poll in the Irish Times on Monday put the Yes vote - in favour of abolition - at 62 per cent, with 38 per cent backing the retention of the upper house, after excluding those who were undecided.

But more than a fifth of the electorate were undecided at the start of the week, while another 8 per cent said they did not intend to go to the ballot box.

Results in the referendum are expected by around mid-afternoon on Saturday.

The Taoiseach says abolition would create a leaner, more effective and more accountable system.

Opponents, led by the largest opposition party Fianna Fail, say the Seanad is necessary to serve as a government watchdog and to hold the ruling cabinet ministers to account.

The Irish parliament, the Oireachtas, is currently made up of the lower house, the Dail, from which government operates, and the upper house, the Seanad.

The senate has 60 members, with most elected from vocational panels by local councillors and by university graduates.

Eleven are appointed by the prime minister, generally ensuring a government majority.

It is not the first time the Irish have toyed with abolishing their upper house.

Eamon de Valera gave it the chop in 1936 when he was prime minister, before bringing it back a year later.

Historically, many senators tend to be politicians who failed to gain election in a general election or those hoping to win a seat in the lower house at a future election.

The upper house is the less powerful house of parliament, often reduced to rubber-stamping legislation from the lower house.

Its ability to delay bills passed by the lower house for 90 days is its most powerful function, but that has only occurred twice in 75 years.

Comparable upper houses have been abolished in New Zealand, Denmark and Sweden.

Irish voters are also being asked whether the state should set up a Court of Appeal.

Fine Gael, Labour, Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein have all backed the court proposal, which could result in more basic appeals from the High Court going to the Court of Appeal instead of the Supreme Court.

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Daylight savings to begin on Sunday

WEEKEND workers, churchgoers and Wallabies fans - here's an important reminder for you all.

Daylight savings starts at 2am (AEST) Sunday morning.

In NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the ACT, set your clocks forward one hour before going to bed on Saturday night to avoid missing any important appointments early on Sunday.

That means Wallabies fans will have to wake up earlier than expected to catch the kick-off against Argentina at 9.40am (AEDT) on Sunday.

On the topic of the game they play in heaven, churchgoers will also get less sleep.

Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory can rest easy - there will be no need to head out to Spotlight for new curtains in six months' time.

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Qld police nab five more Bandidos

Five more Bandidos have been arrested as the police crackdown on bikie gangs continue in Queensland. Source: AAP

FIVE more Bandidos have been arrested as the police crackdown on bikie gangs continues in Queensland.

The arrests were made during police raids in Brisbane and Logan on Friday morning, that seized cash and drugs.

Officers from Taskforce Hydra, which targets outlaw bikie gangs, executed search warrants at Birkdale, Alexandra Hills and in the Logan suburb of Crestmead on Friday morning.

They seized money, drugs and drug producing equipment.

Three men, aged 32, 29 and 25, and a woman, 27, are facing drug charges.

Officers from the Gold Coast also arrested a 27-year-old man from Birkdale for rioting.

The charge is related to last week's violent bikie brawl on the Gold Coast.

He will face Southport Magistrates Court on October 25.

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Heart transplant milestone at Vic hospital

Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital has marked 25 years of heart transplant for Australian kids. Source: AAP

REBECCA Peters is part of a small but close-knit club.

Along with 115 others she has the Royal Children's Hospital's pioneering heart transplant service, which marked its 25-year anniversary in Melbourne on Friday, to thank for her life.

"It's an incredible milestone because in the scheme of things it's within a lot of people's lifetimes and the outcomes keep getting better and better," Ms Peters said.

Ms Peters received her life-saving transplant just two days after her seventh birthday.

Fourteen years later, she's back at the hospital working as a mentor to adolescent patients.

"I'm living the dream. I'm giving something back to young people who have been through similar journeys."

Nadia Cozmescu and Tyler Aerey, who received heart transplants in 2009 and 2010, are now being mentored by Ms Peters.

"I think it's always good to have that connection with other people who have gone through it. It makes the whole experience a whole lot easier because it's a really scary thing," Nadia said.

Ms Peters hopes the anniversary will put a spotlight on organ donation.

"One of the problems with the low organ donation rates is that Australians don't know much about it and they just don't get around to filling out the forms," she said.

The hospital's former director of cardiac surgery Roger Mee completed the first paediatric heart transplant in Australia back in 1988.

He remembers the day clearly.

His colleague was in England at the time and as a result Dr Mee had to do the job of two teams by himself.

"The CEO drove me in his car and I picked up the donor heart, then I came back and put it in the patient," Dr Mee said.

Paediatric transplant surgery has come a long way since Dr Mee's pioneering first transplant.

Few know this better than Samantha McGowan, the mother of four-year-old transplant recipient Scarlett.

In 2009 Scarlett was the recipient of Australia's first paediatric ABO incompatible heart transplant.

After going into end-stage cardiac failure, baby Scarlett was listed for transplant with a heart from an incompatible blood type to increase the chance of finding a suitable donor.

"Scarlett behaves like any other four-year-old now, so much so that most people are in disbelief when they hear her story," Samantha said.

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$3m paid out by defence abuse taskforce

Victims of abuse in the defence force who are yet to lodge key paperwork are being warned to act. Source: AAP

VICTIMS of assault and mistreatment in the defence force yet to lodge paperwork are being warned to act soon, with more than $3 million already paid out in 70 cases.

People who have made complaints to the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce have until November 30 to provide all relevant documentation.

A budget of $70 million has been allocated to the reparation payments scheme, and 981 complaints are at various stages of the assessment process.

As of September 16, the taskforce's reparations assessor had approved in excess of $3 million in payments over 70 cases, 50 of which were for the maximum $50,000 payment.

Slater and Gordon's military compensation lawyer Brian Briggs warned time was nearly up for victims.

"When the scheme was established, it was always made clear that it would run for a set period of time," he said.

Complainants may also have the opportunity to meet with senior defence leaders in conferences.

The third interim report by the taskforce was tabled to federal parliament on Friday, providing an update on the progress of outcomes to individual complaints of abuse in the military.

The outcomes may include a referral to counselling, reparation payments, referral of appropriate matters to police or military justice authorities, referral to the chief of the defence force for administrative action or participation in a restorative engagement conference.

"The conferences will give people who have suffered abuse in defence a powerful opportunity to have their stories heard," said taskforce chair Len Roberts-Smith QC.

More than 2400 complaints have been made to the taskforce about abuse suffered in defence prior to April 2011.

As of September 16, 10 matters had been referred to police and 11 matters had been resolved in other ways.

The taskforce's crime group also has a further 41 active matters under assessment.

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Move navy north, says Liberal Senator

Liberal Senator Ian Macdonald (pic) has called for the navy to be relocated to northern Australia. Source: AAP

AS Sydney celebrates the International Fleet Review, one federal Liberal backbencher has called for the navy to be relocated to northern Australia, saying there is little practical use for a major fleet hub in the harbour city.

Queensland Senator Ian Macdonald, a long-time advocate of shifting bases north, urged Prime Minister Tony Abbott to make an announcement about moving the country's naval assets.

"Sydney Harbour is very appropriate for this centenary celebration, but I would hope than in 100 years time the bicentennial Fleet Review would be at a major naval base somewhere in Northern Australia," Senator Macdonald said in a statement on Thursday.

"As I have often said, unless we are expecting an attack by the penguins from Antarctica or the New Zealanders, there seems to be little practical use in maintaining a major fleet in Sydney Harbour."

Senator Macdonald nominated sites such as Cairns, Townsville or Darwin as possible sites for new or expanded naval facilities, saying if the fleet was based in the north "they would be much closer to where they might be needed".

In opposition, Senator Macdonald was parliamentary secretary for Northern and Remote Australia, and for Defence Force and Defence Support.

However, he was dropped from the Abbott ministry after the federal election and later described the demotion as "one of the worst" days of his life.

"The new government must make an immediate start on plans to locate more of Australia's naval assets in the north," Senator Macdonald said.

"I call on the prime minister to use the Fleet Review this weekend in Sydney to make a major announcement on the relocation of the Naval assets to the north."

During the election campaign, then Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd pledged to move Sydney's Garden Island naval base to Brisbane by 2030.

The proposal put him at odds with NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell who complained it would cost the state 4000 jobs.

Mr Abbott criticised the Labor plan as "policy on the run", but said he wasn't against shifting military operations.

Comment is being sought from the prime minister's office.

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Qld artist Grove wins top portrait prize

QUEENSLAND artist Helene Grove has won the 2013 Portia Geach Memorial Award, Australia's top portrait prize for women.

The Trust Company, the award's trustee, made the announcement at the SH Ervin Gallery, in The Rocks area of Sydney, on Thursday night.

Grove, who switched from medicine to art in the 1990s, won the $30,000 prize for her painting Self Portrait Getting On. It depicts her sitting in a blue dress holding a small cat.

The Portia Geach Memorial Award, first awarded in 1965, was established by Florence Kate Geach in memory of her sister, artist Portia Geach.

The award is presented annually to an Australian female artist for the best portrait, painted from life, of some man or woman distinguished in art, letters or the sciences.

Grove, who was previously a Portia Geach finalist in 1995 and 2007, said in a statement she was "humbled and honoured" to win.

"The award plays such a prominent role in promoting the efforts and endeavours of female artists," she said.

The judges were SH Ervin Gallery director Jane Watters, artist and Sydney College of the Arts senior lecturer Dr Lindy Lee, and artist Ben Quilty.

Grove's winning work, painted in acrylic on Belgian linen, was chosen from 58 finalists.

Watters said choosing a winner had been difficult because of the high standard of the finalists.

"This quietly, contemplative work displays great sensitivity and poignancy with the realisation of advancing age. The artist's reductive approach to the process means that every brushstroke is considered and demonstrates her maturity as a painter," she said.

Simon Lewis, The Trust Company's head of philanthropy, said the prize money had increased by 40 per cent in 2013.

An exhibition of all the finalists will run at the SH Ervin Gallery until November 16.

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Japanese men charged for WA lizard smuggle

Two Japanese men have been charged after attempting to smuggle 30 lizards out of Western Australia. Source: AAP

TWO Japanese men have been charged after attempting to smuggle 30 lizards out of Western Australia, worth up to $130,000 on the Asian black market.

The men, aged 38 and 33, were caught by Customs and WA Department of Parks and Wildlife officers on Monday, trying to smuggle 28 specially protected Rottnest Island shingleback lizards, one bearded dragon and one skink out of Perth International Airport.

State Environment Minister Albert Jacob, who is pushing for harsher penalties for wildlife smugglers, suggested the fines the men faced under the current Wildlife Conservation Act of up to $38,000 were not enough.

"We need to ensure that wildlife smuggling attempts are met with the full force of the law," Mr Jacob said.

"They are not only illegal, but cruel and pose a risk to the state's unique and rich biodiversity."

Customs said the men not only faced seven counts of unlawfully taking protected fauna and one charge of unlawfully taking four specially protected reptiles under state laws, they had also been charged under Commonwealth law.

The charges are attempting to export a specimen that is a regulated native specimen and subjecting a protected species to cruel treatment.

The maximum penalty for wildlife trade offences is 10 years imprisonment and/or a fine of $170,000 for individuals and up to $850,000 for corporations.

Under WA's Biodiversity Conservation Bill, which is being drafted and is expected to be introduced to state parliament next year, fines for harming threatened species will be significantly increased, including penalties of up to $500,000 for harming a critically endangered species and $50,000 for harming a non-threatened species.

More than 182 shinglebacks have been seized as a result of 10 reptile busts in WA since 1998, with all but one involving Japanese nationals.

The two men will remain in custody before appearing in court on October 18.

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Mundine rules out ALP Senate tilt

Indigenous leader Warren Mundine has ruled out putting his hand up for a possible Labor Senate seat. Source: AAP

INDIGENOUS leader Warren Mundine is over party politics and has ruled out putting his hand up for a potential Labor Senate seat.

There is speculation former foreign minister Bob Carr will quit the Senate, creating the vacancy.

Mr Mundine, a former Australian Labor Party president, had been considered the frontrunner to replace Mark Arbib when he quit politics last year but instead Prime Minister Julia Gillard selected Senator Carr and made him foreign minister.

Mr Mundine has since severed ties with the ALP.

Asked if he was interested in the potential Senate spot, Mr Mundine said he was "very busy at the moment".

"One thing I learnt from last year's experience was that I think my time is past, that's why I left the Labor Party," Mr Mundine told AAP.

Last week, Mr Mundine was officially appointed chairman of Prime Minister Tony Abbott's new indigenous advisory council.

He hasn't joined any other party.

"The only party I'm looking forward to is my 60th now," he said.

Mr Mundine said he was focused on getting outcomes for indigenous people.

"I'm a bit over party politics," he said.

Labor leadership contender Bill Shorten wants Labor to set quotas for indigenous candidates.

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Afghan soldier who killed Diggers caught

The Defence Force has revealed the suspected killer of three soldiers in Afghanistan has been court. Source: AAP

AN Afghan National Army sergeant blamed for an "insider" attack and shooting deaths of three Australian soldiers, has been captured and could hang or face a firing squad if found guilty.

Sergeant Hekmatullah had been working alongside Australian Defence Force personnel in August 2012 when he allegedly turned on his allies inside a patrol base 20km north of Tarin Kowt in Oruzgan province.

He then fled, sparking an international search, and on Wednesday it was revealed he had been in custody for more than seven months after being captured in February in Pakistan.

Overnight, Hekmatullah was deported to Afghanistan, Defence Force chief General David Hurley said.

"We now expect him to stand trial for murder," the general said, adding that he may face the death penalty if found guilty under Afghan law.

While Australian authorities were informed of Hekmatullah's apprehension in February, General Hurley told reporters in Canberra it would have been "inappropriate and possibly detrimental" for Defence to have disclosed his detention.

He said events including the Pakistani elections contributed to delays in arranging Hekmatullah's deportation.

"While of course we have an interest in the case, obviously the transfer arrangements were a matter for the Pakistani and Afghan governments," General Hurley said, directing questions about the nature of Hekmatullah's capture to Pakistani authorities.

Pakistan's High Commission in Canberra were aware of the matter but declined to comment on the capture, which came as a result of Australian intelligence work.

"We used what we had available in Afghanistan at the time to provide information to the Pakistanis which they were able to act on," General Hurley said.

Agencies involved in the search operation included the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), the Defence Intelligence Organisation, the Defence Signals Directorate, and the Australian Geospatial Intelligence Organisation.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Hekmatullah's capture underlined Australia's determination to bring to justice anyone who targeted Australian soldiers.

"We will work closely with the Afghan authorities to make sure that a case is prosecuted," she told reporters in Auckland after talks with her New Zealand counterpart.

Hekmatullah is due to stand trial but General Hurley couldn't confirm whether he would face a civil or military court.

Death row prisoners in Afghanistan have been hanged for offences including murder, kidnapping, rape and terrorism. Others have been killed by firing squad.

The families of Lance Corporal Stjepan Milosevic, Sapper James Martin and Private Robert Poate - all killed in the August 201 attack - were also informed on Wednesday of Hekmatullah's capture.

"On the one hand, there is a great sense of relief, but it will not change history," General Hurley said of the "bittersweet" news for families.

In September, a defence inquiry report into the killings found Australian personnel had questions to answer over the "relaxed" security measures in place at the time of the attack.

However, defence conceded tougher security may not have prevented the deaths, or the injury of two other Australian soldiers when Hekmatullah allegedly fired 10 to 15 automatic rounds at close range.

General Hurley said Hekmatullah's links to the Taliban remained "speculation".

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US politicians still get paid in shutdown

In the US, the 532 members of Congress continue to be paid despite the government shutdown. Source: AAP

THERE'S at least one constant in a government shutdown: The 532 members of congress continue to be paid - at a cost of $US10,583.85 ($A11,379.87) per hour to taxpayers.

Legislators are getting their pay even as hundreds of congressional staffers are sent home, packs of tourists are turned away at the Capitol, and constituent services in many offices grind to a halt.

House members and senators can't withhold their own pay even if they want to.

Under the Constitution's 27th Amendment, legislators can only change the pay of those in a future congress, not the one in which they serve.

Lawmakers aren't oblivious to how it looks.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz and others are pledging to donate their salaries to charity during the shutdown.

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Vic bikies appear in court after raids

MEMBERS of the rival Comanchero and Hells Angels bikie gangs will face separate court hearings following a number of drive-by shootings in Melbourne.

Police charged eight men after raids across Melbourne on Tuesday night, during which guns, explosives and cash were seized.

The raids came a day after the Hells Angels Seaford clubhouse in the city's south was sprayed with bullets.

Hells Angels member Dennis Basic, 33, of Frankston, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with 13 offences, including making explosives and illegally possessing seven guns.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Jelena Popovic was told the members of the two gangs would require separate dates for their committal mention hearings.

Comanchero members Gemino Aloia, 26, of Glenroy, Bemir Saracevic, 26, of Cranbourne North, Emir Jaha, 27, of Mt Martha, and Mark Balsillie, 29, of Gladstone Park also faced the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Additional police and security officers were present in the court room and outside the building.

Basic's charges were adjourned until December 20, while the other four men were remanded to appear on the previous day.

None of the five applied for bail.

Police say the Seaford attack was in retaliation for a suspected Hells Angels shoot-up of two businesses owned by a rival Comanchero member.

High-powered military weapons such as AK-47s or M1 carbines were used in both shootings, police say.

Also charged after the raids are Bashkim Gashi, 30, of Dandenong North and Mohammed Khodr, 26, of Balwyn North.

All three are expected to appear in court on Wednesday.

A ninth man, aged 22, was charged late on Wednesday with drugs, weapons and explosives offences.

Police said the man, with alleged links to the Hells Angels, was arrested in Carrum Downs by Special Operations Group officers.

The man, from Carrum Downs, has been bailed to appear at the Frankston Magistrates Court on November 27.

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Last Post sounds for Rusty Priest

Hundreds of people attended a state funeral for former NSW RSL president Godfrey "Rusty" Priest. Source: AAP

THEY called him the soldier's soldier.

But Rusty Priest was also a stirrer, a prankster, a husband and father who loved his family unreservedly.

Family, dignitaries and diggers packed into St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney on Wednesday to farewell the former NSW RSL boss at a state funeral.

Mr Priest died last week at the age of 86, after a life devoted to Australia's military legacy and nearly a decade at the helm of the NSW RSL, between 1993 and 2002.

NSW Governor Marie Bashir led the tributes, describing Mr Priest as a "soldier's soldier" and a fierce advocate for fellow veterans.

"Godfrey 'Rusty' Priest's life certainly was a life of unstinting service to his country and to the men and women who protect it," she told the ceremony.

"Once he set himself a goal, he was not one to be easily distracted or deterred."

Mr Priest's successor as RSL president, Don Rowe, Premier Barry O'Farrell and retired army chief Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie were among those came to pay tribute.

The World War II veteran was instrumental in creating the Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway at Concord and getting the Glebe Island Bridge renamed the Anzac Bridge and is credited with lifting the profile of Anzac Day.

NSW MP Charlie Lynn, the state's parliamentary secretary for veterans' affairs, remembered his late friend as a larrikin who put his mates first.

He told the gathered mourners that for one brief spell during his 22-year military career, Mr Priest had been a pilot.

"It was a relatively short flying career, because as a dare to one of his mates he buzzed the brigadier's house early one morning, as the brigadier's wife was hanging out the washing," Mr Lynn said to laughs from the cathedral hall.

On another occasion, he said, Mr Priest misappropriated an oak table from his general so that men standing sentry duty for that night could get a fire going.

Curiously, when the same men were asked to find the culprit, they were unsuccessful.

Son Michael 'Tim' Priest remembered his father as a man who stuck to his guns.

"He would never take a backward step if he was right," he said.

Carol-Anne Priest described her father as a man who "delighted in the ridiculous" in life, and inspired her still in death.

Veterans' medals glinted in the midday sun as the mourners' procession travelled through the Sydney CBD to the Anzac Memorial at Hyde Park for a gun salute and the playing of the Last Post.

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Adelaide banks in bungled stick-ups

A WOMAN with a walking stick is believed responsible for two attempted bank robberies in Adelaide, police say.

The woman, with long grey hair and aged between 50 and 60, allegedly entered a BankSA branch at suburban West Lakes at about 11.30 (CST) on Tuesday.

She demanded cash but staff activated security screens and she left empty handed.

About 90 minutes later police said the same woman entered a National Australia Bank branch at nearby Findon and also demanded money.

Once again she fled without reward when staff activated the security screens.

The two attempted robberies came just minutes after a man escaped with cash from a Bendigo Bank branch at suburban Newton.

Wearing a mask and armed with a tomahawk, police said he threatened staff before fleeing as a motor cyclist's pillion passenger.

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NSW police get new flood rescue boats

NSW flood rescue boats made in the 1970s and '80s have been replaced ahead of the summer rains. Source: AAP

NSW police say their brand new flood rescue fleet will help back up rescue missions but will also be used to round up anyone looting or breaking the law.

Devastating flooding across the state last summer resulted in the death of a man in Grafton and a 17-year-old boy who was sucked into a drainpipe as he collected golf balls in Port Macquarie.

Launching the six new boats in Sydney on Tuesday, NSW Police Marine Area Commander Mark Hutchings said that as well as backing up SES rescue operations, they would be used to maintain order in emergency situations.

"Sometimes we get reports of people looting etcetera, so our boats are out there ... so they can actually go out there and do arrests," he told reporters.

The Bureau of Meteorology is not warning emergency services to expect bad flooding but Mr Hutchings' command is preparing for a worst case scenario.

"We assume we are going to get a flood and we're ready trained and ready to respond," he said.

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the new boats "may well be the boats that will come and rescue you should you be unfortunate enough to be caught in a flood".

The boats replace older vessels that were made more than 30 years ago.

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Qld on the cusp of tourism boom: Newman

Key overseas export partners are predicting unprecedented growth in Queensland's tourism market. Source: AAP

AN international tourism boom could be heading Queensland's way.

Premier Campbell Newman says key overseas export partners are predicting unprecedented growth in the state's tourism market.

This is partly fuelled by a 32 per cent rise in the number of visitors from China.

Mr Newman has returned from a two-week plus trade mission to the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, China and Japan.

"We are on the cusp of a tourism investment boom," he said.

"We have seen great interest in tourism and agriculture."

Mr Newman said new tourism investments are popping up along the state's coast, including in Port Douglas, Cairns, Hayman Island, the Whitsundays, Yeppoon and the Sunshine Coast.

He's confident airlines will be persuaded to expand their services.

Mr Newman said there were also signs of a resurgence in Japan's economy and strong growth in China, which should sustain growth in the mining sector.

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Former Democrats leader dies aged 70

FORMER Democrats leader Janet Powell has died after losing a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Ms Powell, 70, died on Monday night after fighting cancer for a year.

She represented Victoria from 1986 to 1992 as a Democrat before becoming an independent senator until she lost office in 1993.

She initially filled a casual vacancy after party founder Don Chipp left the Senate, then won a seat the following year.

Ms Powell led the Democrats from 1990-1991.

She stood down following internal party ructions stemming from moves to potentially merge the party with the Greens, and her affair with fellow Democrat senator Sid Spindler.

She was born in Nhill in western Victoria in 1942 and was a school teacher before entering parliament.

In 2012, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to politics and community work with the YWCA.

She joined the Australian Greens in 2004.

Greens leader Christine Milne paid tribute her friend as a pioneer and role model for women in politics.

Former Democrats leader Natasha Stott Despoja said Ms Powell had been a "trail blazer."

"A woman not to be forgotten," she said.

Former Victorian premier Joan Kirner said Ms Powell broke new ground for women in politics.

Former Greens leader Bob Brown said Australia has lost a champion of progressive politics.

"Janet led the Democrats in the greening of Australian politics," he said.

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Labor leadership contenders visit Perth

About 500 party members and supporters gathered in Perth to hear ALP leadership contenders speak. Source: AAP

BILL Shorten came to a Labor party members' forum sausage sizzle in Perth dressed in a smart-casual shirt and trousers, while Anthony Albanese wore a Rip Curl shirt and jeans.

Perhaps that says something about their different approaches to tackling the federal Labor leadership contest.

Despite their differences, the pair have kept their rivalry friendly and as each addressed the 500 people gathered at Hyde Park on Monday - a public holiday in Western Australia - both agreed to work with whoever won the leadership battle.

For the first time, rank and file party members will have their say in choosing Labor's leader and both contenders were given 10 minutes to convince members why they should be leader.

Mr Albanese said he believed he could unite the party, reminding members that he was leader of the house when it was a "fairly difficult" parliament that still managed to pass 596 pieces of legislation.

"I think I'm in a very strong position to advance Labor's cause, to defend our legacy, hold the Abbott government to account, but also help develop Labor's new agenda," he said to cheers from the crowd.

Mr Albanese also used part of his speech as an opportunity to remind Western Australians that the new coalition government had slashed the amount of federal infrastructure funding going to the state.

He said Prime Minister Tony Abbott had left a $500 million hole in the WA government's plans to build a light rail network through Perth's northern suburbs and a new rail line to the city's airport.

Mr Abbott had also withdrawn funding for other projects including $140.6 million for three new interchanges along the Tonkin Highway, $307.8 million for upgrades to the Great Northern Highway between Muchea and Wubin, and $174 million for improvements to the North West Coastal Highway, Mr Albanese said.

Mr Shorten was more impassioned during his address, telling members he wanted to make Mr Abbott history and present a brave Labor party.

"We need to be a party who people want to vote for because they like us, not because they just don't like the other mob," he said.

"We need to make it clear that we're not anti-mining.

"I just don't confuse people who own mining companies with miners. The miners do the work."

Mr Shorten said he also wanted to tackle domestic violence and promised that factions would not run Labor.

The former union boss also drew applause when he said Australia should be pro-immigration.

"We should not shy away from saying the refugees are a legitimate part of the Australian population," he said.

Among the attendees was WA Labor leader Mark McGowan and opposition treasury spokesman Ben Wyatt.

Mr McGowan told reporters the event gave people a feeling of empowerment and made sure leadership aspirants were in touch with members.

The leadership contest will be decided by a nationwide ballot of party members before the caucus meets for a vote on October 10.

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Chopper Read admitted to hospital: manager

CRIME figure and author Mark "Chopper" Read has been admitted to hospital as his battle with liver cancer continues.

Read was admitted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital on Monday with an ongoing and serious illness, his manager Andrew Parisi said in a statement.

"Neither Mark or his family will be providing any information regarding his prognosis and would appreciate privacy in these most difficult times," he said in the statement.

Read spent more than 23 years in jail up until 1998 for crimes including armed robbery, assault and kidnapping.

He was portrayed by Eric Bana in the 2000 film Chopper, and his autobiographical books have made him Australia's best-selling true crime author.

In April 2012 he revealed that he had cancer and at the time said doctors had told him he may have weeks or up to six years left to live.

At the time he tweeted: "Looks like the big C has finally bitten".

This year Chopper has looked increasingly weak at his public appearances.

Only last week, vision from his show A Night with Chopper showed an emotional Chopper as he hugged his wife and 10-year-old son.

And in a newspaper interview earlier this month he said that he was told by doctors he would not live beyond Christmas, but was "not worried about dying".

Mr Parisi said the media would be advised of Read's condition in coming days.

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ASIC denies failing to take action on RBA

The corporate watchdog insists it carried out thorough investigations into corruption in the RBA. Source: AAP

THE corporate watchdog rejects suggestions it failed to investigate senior public servants over an alleged corrupt deal linking the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to the regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) boss Greg Tanzer said charges had already been laid over allegations that representatives from the RBA's Note Printing Australia (NPA) subsidiary attended business meetings in Iraq at the height of UN sanctions with the Middle East country.

"It's important to note that the Australian Federal Police has already charged people involved in this matter and those cases are currently before the courts," the ASIC commissioner said in a video statement released on Monday.

Mr Tanzer said the regulator worked with the AFP to determine whether company directors had breached the Corporations Act by trying to set up a deal to upgrade Iraqi currency by supplying polymer bank notes.

"Let me be absolutely crystal clear: ASIC looked at this matter very closely but based on the facts and evidence available, decided not to take the matter further," he said.

ASIC was accused of being "asleep at the wheel" on the matter by Australian Greens Deputy Leader Adam Bandt.

"There is a serious question now for ASIC to answer as to whether it is turning a blind eye to what is happening in the Reserve Bank," Mr Bandt told reporters in Hobart on Monday.

Mr Tanzer said ASIC's investigations had been thorough and included reviewing more than 10,000 pages of documents including police witness statements.

But he said he was restricted in what detail he could reveal as legal proceedings were ongoing.

"We are not in a position to detail publicly all of the reasons for our decision but the public can be completely and utterly confident in what ASIC did," he said.

"Any action we take has to be based on fact and evidence and must stand up in a court of law."

Mr Tanzer cited the watchdog's track record on "punishing wrongdoers".

After learning of the secret meetings in Iraq, Australian diplomats intervened, scuppering the plan, the ABC and Fairfax Media report.

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More wait for public housing in NSW

The NSW government is under fire for overseeing a blowout in the public housing waiting list. Source: AAP

THE NSW government is under fire for overseeing a blowout in the public housing waiting list, with almost 2000 more applicants in the queue than last year.

By June this year there were 57,451 public housing applications in the pipeline, the government said on Monday.

That compares with 55,479 at the same time last year.

Opposition housing spokeswoman Sophie Cotsis says the figures come as almost 40 per cent of Western Sydney areas have experienced an increase in waiting times to more than five years and some families in Western Sydney being forced to wait more than 10.

"The explosion in the public housing waiting list is a direct result of the O'Farrell Government's cuts - and its failure to meet the demand for new housing stock," she said in a statement.

She said this year's state budget had $22 million ripped from new housing construction and $37 million from maintenance.

This meant many existing properties would continue to be plagued by mould, rising damp, peeling paint, blocked drains, rusted gutters, asbestos and leaking, she said.

Family and Community Services Minister Pru Goward said the waiting list is much shorter than anticipated after the Auditor General warned there would be 64,500 on the waiting list by this time.

"The reforms introduced by this Government are on track to arrest the spiralling growth projected by the Auditor General," Mrs Goward said.

But she admitted there was still much to be done to "reform the broken social housing system" the government had inherited from Labor.

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Qld grandmother in carjack ordeal

A BRISBANE grandmother has described the terrifying moment she was carjacked while her baby granddaughter was in the back seat.

The 54-year-old was in a dark car park of an inner city unit complex waiting to pick up her son about 9.30pm (AEST) on Saturday night when the thief struck.

He tapped on the window with what she believes was a pistol.

The woman, who did not want her name published, said she opened the car window thinking it was her son.

"He said, 'get out of the car. This is true, it's a hold-up. Just do as I say and you're going to be OK'," the shaken woman told AAP.

"All I could think of was our little grand-daughter.

"I said, 'please, whatever you do don't take off, I've got my grand-daughter in the back'."

The man in his 20s let her take the seven-month-old from the car and even helped her unclip the baby seat.

He warned her to keep quiet and said the police were after him.

"He said, 'keep it quiet and you'll be fine but if you mutter a word you're going to be in trouble'," the woman said, adding that she'd felt sick with fright.

"He definitely had something which I thought was a little gun, a pistol...I thought oh my god, he's holding me up, I've got to do what he says."

The woman said the man, who was wearing a black beanie and dark clothes, drove off as soon as she had the baby out of the car.

She alerted passersby who came to their aid.

The woman, from Brisbane's east, said the horrible ordeal had made her paranoid about being held up again.

She hopes police find the thief and her son's car, a silver 2002 Nissan Patrol station wagon with registration 168 GWV.

It was last seen on Main Street at Kangaroo Point, in Brisbane's inner south.

Police are investigating and urge anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.

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Two more charged over Qld bikie brawls

TWO more men have been charged following bikie brawls on the Gold Coast in which four police officers were injured.

Police confirmed on Sunday afternoon officers from the Gold Coast Major and Organised Crime Squad and Taskforce Vanguard had arrested two people in relation to one brawl outside a busy restaurant on Friday night.

The two, a 39-year-old from Surfers Paradise and a 25-year-old from Broadbeach, have been charged with affray in relation to the incident.

The men are expected to appear in Southport Magistrates Court on Monday.

Twenty people have now been charged in relation to the brawls, one which happened outside a Broadbeach restaurant and the other outside a police station.

Police expect further arrests and charges to be laid as investigations continue.

Gold Coast police say they will throw the book at every bikie found to have been involved in brawls.

Acting Assistant Commissioner for the southeast region Steve Hollands said 23 detectives were trawling CCTV footage of the two fights on Friday night.

Twenty have already been charged over the tussles - one was outside a Broadbeach restaurant and the other outside the Southport police station.

Chief Superintendent Hollands said police were looking to identify more participants as well as escalate the existing charges.

"They'll be charged and prosecuted to the full extent of the law," he told reporters on the Gold Coast.

However despite a police crackdown on bikies, only one of 28 people arrested overnight was a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang.

That person had been picked up in a car, had been armed with a baseball bat and was a nominee, not a full gang member, the chief superintendent said.

The other arrests were mostly for public order breaches, although one was for carrying a knife and others were for minor drug-related crimes and traffic breaches.

Up to 60 officers from Brisbane have arrived on the Gold Coast and will remain for a week.

In addition a special task force involving up to 50 local uniform police officers has been established to target outlaw motorcycle members.

The operation will also involve plain clothes and specialist police and run for five to six weeks or for as long as needed, Supt Hollands said.

The superintendent said police would discuss with the government the issue of banning people wearing bikie gang colours, particularly at nightclubs.

"We're going after them (bikies) personally, we're going to be after their associates, we'll be looking at their assets (and) we'll also looking at those who are behind the scenes," he said.

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Morrison rejects claims of boat delay

The Greens want an inquiry into the government's delayed response to the latest asylum seeker boat. Source: AAP

IMMIGRATION Minister Scott Morrison has defended Australia's response to an asylum seeker boat that sank off Indonesia as survivors claim the tragedy could have been prevented.

With Prime Minister Tony Abbott flying to Indonesia on Monday for his first overseas visit, his government is under fire for its handling of the disaster, which left up to 50 people dead or missing.

Indonesian authorities say there is little hope of finding more survivors from the boat that sank off Java on Friday, with searchers being hampered by rough seas on Sunday.

Twenty-eight people, including seven children, have so far been confirmed dead while more than 20 remain missing.

One survivor told ABC TV that a GPS location was sent to Australian authorities when multiple distress calls were made on Thursday.

"We called the Australian government for 24 hours. They were telling us 'we're coming, we're coming, we're coming', and they didn't come," he said.

"This is because of the Australian government. I want them to know that," he said of the tragedy.

The survivor has also implicated Indonesian authorities as playing a role in getting passengers to the boat.

"The army took us," he told the ABC. "The army was driving the cars."

A spokesman for Mr Morrison said suggestions Australian authorities were slow to act were "absolutely and totally wrong".

"The government completely rejects allegations of a 26-hour delay in response to this tragic incident by Australian agencies," Mr Morrison's office said in a statement issued on Sunday.

"Australian agencies acted on the information provided on this tragic incident."

Mr Morrison said initial searches failed to find the boat, which was reported to be about 25 nautical miles off the Indonesian coast.

"The Australians who work for our rescue and border protection agencies respond to all such events with great professionalism and a keenly felt sense of duty, as they did on this occasion," the statement said.

"This is a tragic event. The Australian government's thoughts and sympathies are with those affected by this tragedy. The government will continue to provide any assistance required by the Indonesian government."

Australian Greens leader Christine Milne called for an immediate inquiry into the government's involvement in the "heartbreaking" tragedy.

"I would expect that to happen before the next parliament sits," Senator Milne told Sky Agenda on Sunday.

Labor leadership candidate Bill Shorten criticised the Abbott government's approach to asylum seekers, saying "sooner or later they're going to work out that three-word slogans don't solve issues, and don't solve refugees or immigration".

People smuggling is expected to be high on the agenda when Mr Abbott meets with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta.

Indonesia's foreign minister Marty Natalegawa last week warned any violation of his country's borders could damage neighbourly relations, in a pointed criticism of the coalition's policy to turn back the boats.

Mr Shorten accused the coalition of "bagging" Indonesia in the stand-off over asylum seeker policy.

"One of the key platforms or planks to making sure we've got a safe and sustainable policy is to have a good relationship with Indonesia," he told ABC television.

"I'm not sure that getting out and bagging the Indonesians is really helpful.

"If they can't work out that Indonesia and working co-operatively with Indonesia's important to handling the challenging issues of asylum seekers and refugees, then that's a worry."

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NSW firefighters contain most fires

FIREFIGHTERS have managed to contain a majority of the 60 bushfires burning across NSW after a day of favourable conditions.

The Rural Fire Service expects the milder temperatures and slight winds to flow into Monday but Tuesday could see more winds.

"There has been an indication from the Bureau (of Meteorology) that Tuesday may be warm and windy," RFS spokesman Brendan Doyle said.

"But we are keeping a close eye on these conditions tomorrow..."

On Sunday, firefighters remained at the Barrenjoey Headland on Sydney's Northern Beaches where a blaze broke out a day prior and threatened an iconic lighthouse.

Fire crews managed to save the structure but a nearby cottage sustained some damage.

Visitors to the headland were warned to shelter near its historic lighthouse after an access trail was cut off but no one was injured.

The fire burned through 17 hectares of bushland around Summer Bay, made famous in the long-running television soapie Home and Away.

There are still 60 fires burning across the state, but Mr Doyle said only 25 were uncontained and not threatening properties.

One major fire is still burning in the Great Lakes area.

The blaze burning through forested country near Bulahdelah has burnt more than 458 hectares.

Residents in the Markwell Valley area are urged to know what to do if the fire impacts property.

Meanwhile, a RFS truck returning from battling a blaze on the Northern Tablelands crashed on Sunday.

The truck, driving through thick smoke and haze, left the road and crashed into a tree, police said.

The driver was taken to Walcha Hospital with minor injuries.

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