Man injured in Bathurst ute roll

A MAN has sustained serious head injuries in a ute accident on a private property south of Bathurst, NSW.

Police say the ute rolled at a property at Perthville about 4.30am (AEDT) on Saturday.

A 29-year-old local man who'd been travelling in the ute tray was thrown from the vehicle and suffered serious head injuries.

He's been airlifted to Westmead Hospital and is in a serious but stable condition.

The driver, a 33-year-old man from North Richmond, was taken to Bathurst Hospital with suspected rib injuries.

His front-seat passenger, a 29-year-old man from Pokolbin, escaped with bruising.

Police will interview the men once they are deemed well enough.

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Man hid drug ice in his underpants: police

A Sydney man has allegedly been caught with $11,000 worth of the drug ice hidden in his underpants. Source: AAP

A SYDNEY man has allegedly been caught with $11,000 worth of the party drug ice hidden in his underpants.

Police say they were patrolling the Surry Hills nightclub strip Oxford Street on Saturday when they saw two men acting suspiciously about 4am (AEDT).

Officers stopped and searched the men's car, and a check revealed one was wanted on an outstanding warrant and he was arrested.

The 23-year-old was taken to Surry Hills police station, where it's alleged 41 bags of methamphetamine were found in his underpants.

Police estimate the alleged haul had a street value of $11,000.

More than $4000 cash was also seized during the search, police say.

The man, from Westmead, has been charged with dealing with property suspected of being proceeds of crime, supplying a prohibited drug and possession of a prohibited drug. He was also charged over the outstanding warrant.

He was refused bail during an appearance at Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday, police say, and is due to reappear in court next week.

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Plibersek lashes WA premier

Deputy federal Labor leader Tanya Plibersek (pic) has slammed West Australian Premier Colin Barnett. Source: AAP

DEPUTY federal Labor leader Tanya Plibersek has taken a swipe at West Australian Premier Colin Barnett, saying he has "broken promise after promise" since winning a second term.

Ms Plibersek used much of her address at the state Labor Party's annual conference in Belmont on Saturday to lash the Liberal leader.

"Like the Liberal state premiers in the eastern states, Colin Barnett is showing the people of WA a little preview of what they can expect from a Tony Abbott government," she said.

"You say as little as possible to get elected and you do your worst once you get there."

She lambasted Mr Barnett for cuts to education, closing wheat-belt rail lines, a 12.5 per cent increase in land tax and his government's failure to deliver a pledged redevelopment of Royal Perth Hospital.

"West Australians did not get the Colin Barnett they voted for," Ms Plibersek said.

Also at the conference, there were several references to the need for unity in the party, while Ms Plibersek paid tribute to Labor Senator Louise Pratt, who had endured weeks of stress waiting to find out whether she had retained her seat.

The Australian Electoral Commission will announce the results of the WA Senate recount and distribution of preferences after 2pm (WST).

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Furniture factory ablaze in Sydney

Fifty firefighters are battling a large blaze at a western Sydney furniture factory. Source: AAP

FIFTY firefighters are battling a large blaze at a western Sydney furniture factory.

Fire & Rescue NSW (FRNSW) says no one is feared missing but the fire has spread into the roof of the single-storey factory on Warren Avenue, Bankstown.

The fire has been contained but crews were still working to extinguish the flames on Saturday evening.

One man has been taken to hospital suffering smoke inhalation, a FRNSW spokesman told AAP.

"Firefighters have managed to protect adjoining properties," he said.

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YMCA a child safety industry leader: Hare

ALTHOUGH a childcare centre in Sydney where a pedophile worked has received a low national standards rating, the YMCA still describes itself as an industry leader in child safety.

YMCA NSW chief executive Phillip Hare told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse on Friday there had only been one audit into its Caringbah service where Jonathan Lord worked, and that was this year.

The YMCA has also been telling parents at Caringbah it had organised external audits of its services when in fact there had only been one audit conducted by the NSW Department of Education and Communities (DEC) in 2013 under new national regulations.

The Caringbah centre was rated on the second last rung of four National Quality Framework Standards.

Mr Hare also told the commission he only became aware of the Caringbah rating during the commission and agreed he should have been concerned about it, as it was the centre where Lord worked for two years.

The commission heard that the YMCA sent out a press release on October 20 saying it "was recognised in the industry and by external audits and peak bodies as a leader in child safety".

Senior counsel representing the commission Gail Furness said: "The external audit did not recognise you as an industry leader?"

Mr Hare repeated that the industry-leader claim was a comparative one and said there had been no intention to mislead people.

He agreed that to say "audits" was incorrect, as there had only been one.

Earlier, Mr Hare told the commission a critical incident review at the YMCA had not examined the period leading up to Lord's arrest, but concentrated on breaches of policy.

In reply to commission chairman Justice Peter McClellan, Mr Hare said he accepted it should have been done.

He said "it was clear it was an error" not to have included it and he took responsibility.

Mr Hare strongly defended the culture within the organisation and said there was no impediment to staff reporting concerns to managers.

Some staff have told the commission they did not feel they could raise concerns with management.

He told Justice McClellan he did not agree the YMCA needed someone to work with them on its processes, but then agreed he would consider it if the commission thought it necessary.

Mr Hare, who has worked with the YMCA since 1988 when he was 21, told the inquiry there was no discussion with him when a senior manager asked staff to sign a confidentiality agreement about a pedophile.

He also accepted that parts of the YMCA's opening statement to the commission could be misleading, including a claim that the organisation had not dealt with an incident of child sexual assault before Lord, when it had done so in the 1990s.

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China blames militant group for crash

A Chinese official has blamed the East Turkestan Islamic Movement for a suicide attack in Beijing. Source: AAP

CHINA'S top security official says the militant East Turkestan Islamic Movement organised an alleged suicidal vehicle attack that killed five people in the heart of Beijing this week.

Meng Jianzhu, chief of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the ruling Communist Party, named the group in an interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television when he was in the capital of Uzbekistan attending a regional security summit and seeking cooperation in counter-terrorism.

"The violent terrorist incident that happened in Beijing is an organised and plotted act. Behind the instigation is the terrorist group East Turkestan Islamic Movement entrenched in central and west Asian regions," Meng said, in a video footage aired on Thursday.

The SUV ploughed through bystanders, crashed and burst into flames near the Tiananmen Gate on Monday, killing three in the car and two tourists, including a Filipino woman, and injuring dozens.

Beijing police said the perpetrators were a man with an ethnic Uighur name, his wife and his mother. Police also have arrested five people - identified with typically Uighur names - on suspicion of conspiring in the attack and called it a planned terror strike - the city's first in recent history.

Uighurs are an ethnic minority residing mainly in China's northwest region of Xinjiang, and they have close cultural and language ties to Turkic peoples of Central Asia.

China believes the East Turkestan Islamic Movement aims to establish an independent East Turkestan in Xinjiang, and blames the group for the low-intensity insurgency in the region.

The United States placed the movement on a terrorist watch list following the September 11 attacks, but quietly removed it amid doubts that it existed in any organised manner.

Instead, human rights groups have questioned whether China uses the security threat as an excuse to suppress the Uighurs and said Uighur extremism has been fueled by China's heavy-handed policies in Xinjiang and discrimination against Uighurs by the country's ethnic Han majorities.

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School kids escape Sydney bus fire

School children have fled a burning bus after it caught fire on the M2 motorway in northwest Sydney. Source: AAP

DOZENS of children from rural NSW had a city excursion to remember, with their bus bursting into flames on a busy Sydney motorway.

All escaped uninjured, but a quick-thinking off-duty policeman who inhaled smoke as he attempted to douse the flames is in hospital under observation on Friday night.

The Transport Safety Bureau will investigate how the fire broke out on the bus as it travelled along the M2 at Baulkham Hills just after 3pm (AEDT).

Inspector Phil Brooks from the NSW Police Traffic and Highway Patrol Command said the officer was riding his motorcycle home from work when the bus burst into flames.

As teachers led about 35 school children away from the burning bus, the officer ran toward it with a small fire extinguisher.

"He was able to intervene very quickly, and we'll certainly look at acknowledging his efforts," Insp Brooks told the Nine Network.

He said the students and teachers were on their way back to Orange in central NSW after a school excursion.

A Fire & Rescue spokeswoman told AAP the engine compartment of the bus had caught fire and the first emergency call came in at 3.13pm.

Three fire crews extinguished the blaze.

A NSW Police spokeswoman said the Office of Transport Safety Investigations would look into how the fire started.

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Graffiti artist Banksy leaves NY divided

The street artist Banksy has ended his month residency in NY City with a final graffiti piece. Source: AAP

THE secretive street artist Banksy has ended his self-announced month-long residency in New York City with a final piece of graffiti, a $US615,000 painting donated to charity and a debate: Is he a jerk or a genius?

Banksy, who created a new picture, video or prank every day of October somewhere in the city, spent his last day like thousands of graffiti artists before him: he tagged a building near a highway with his name in giant bubble letters. The twist was that these letters were actual bubbles: balloon-like inflatables stuck to a wall near the Long Island Expressway in Queens.

As if to underscore his dual identity as both a street punk and an art-world darling, he also donated a painting that was auctioned off on Thursday night for $US615,000 ($A652,000).

The original painting first sold for $US50 at a Manhattan thrift shop that benefits Housing Works, an organisation that fights homelessness and AIDS. Banksy added a Nazi soldier to the landscape scene and Housing Works sold it in an online auction.

Throughout his 31 days in the city, Banksy put pictures of his work on BanksyNY.com, with clues as to locations but nothing precise. That spawned a treasure hunt by fans who hunted the works down, shared locations via social media, then swarmed to see them.

But by the time Banksy was done, New Yorkers were divided in their opinions. Some tweeted "Go home, Banksy!" Others declared their admiration.

The turning point for many was an essay he wrote criticising the building replacing the World Trade Center. Banksy called the new design "vanilla ... something they would build in Canada", and added, "It so clearly proclaims the terrorists won." He offered the essay to The New York Times. The paper wouldn't print it, so he posted it on his website.

"The terrorists won" comment upset many New Yorkers, including Brian Major, 51, of Brooklyn.

"Enough!" Major said. "Who is this guy? Everybody's got a right to an opinion, but what gives him any kind of credibility in New York? Shut up, Banksy! Go home!"

A lifelong New Yorker, Major says he understands graffiti culture, and he also appreciates fine art. But he doesn't think Banksy's art is all that good - "though I'll give him credit, he's a good marketer".

But Sean Lynch, 25, of Staten Island thinks Banksy is "one of the more captivating artists of our generation". Lynch said it was magical visiting Banksy sites around the city and hearing conversations about art that the works inspired, with "people of all different walks and cultures sharing opinions, sharing stories. ... The walls started to talk to them, in a way."

Banksy, who refuses to reveal his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England. In New York, many of his images were silhouetted figures or spray-painted messages. The art ranged from a stencil of a dog lifting his leg on a hydrant to a video of a "slaughterhouse delivery truck" filled with stuffed animals.

Some works were defaced by other graffiti artists. But interest grew with each piece, and at least one Banksy street work was covered with plexiglass to preserve it. He also sold some pieces, unadvertised, for $US60 on the street.

Radhika Subramaniam, a professor at Parsons The New School for Design in Manhattan, says Banksy is part of a long tradition of graffiti artists like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat whose work ultimately earned recognition from the art establishment.

But he also fits into a contemporary trend of opening up public spaces to conversations about who owns them and what can happen there - especially in today's cleaned-up New York, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg, when asked about Banksy, called graffiti "a sign of decay and loss of control".

OK, but is Banksy any good? "There's plenty of wit in what he does, as well as some thoroughly ordinary, sometimes pleasant, sometimes banal, but sometimes sweet things," Subramaniam said.

But he's also "not a naf in the art world. After all, who would care if you or I were to set up a blog and enact a residency like this? It's only because he's able to marshal this kind of PR and marketing that ... catapults his residency to another level and elicits these polarised points of view."

In a final gesture that was simultaneously serious and self-mocking, audio commentary posted on Thursday on Banksy's website called his final piece - his name in bubble letters by the road - "an homage ... to the most prevalent form of graffiti in the city that invented it for the modern era. Or it's another Banksy piece that's full of hot air."

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Clive Palmer wins seat of Fairfax

NEWLY declared federal MP Clive Palmer doesn't have a clue how much money, or how many company directorships or properties he has, but reckons it'll be no problem to declare his pecuniary interests.

"Well, you've got within 28 days from when you've been sworn in, so it will be there," a jovial Mr Palmer told ABC television on Thursday after being declared the winner of the Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax with a final margin of 53 votes.

Mr Palmer thought he might own up to 20 properties.

He said "who knows, who cares ... don't worry about money" when asked how much he had, and denied he would have any conflict of interest as an MP because of his business interests.

"Conflict of interest only comes if you are a minister of the crown," he said.

He was unable to say how many company directorships he had because he didn't think of them in terms of numbers.

"I wouldn't have a clue, but a lot, maybe 40 or 50," he told the 7.30 program.

Mr Palmer told AAP he was looking forward to the Palmer United Party making a positive contribution to the battle of ideas in Canberra.

"We have three senators and have the balance of power, so I think we can make a significant contribution as a party."

His Liberal National Party (LNP) opponent Ted O'Brien congratulated Mr Palmer, but the party may still challenge the result.

LNP state director Brad Henderson said the validity of any election could be disputed by a petition addressed to the Court of Disputed Returns within 40 days of a declaration.

"Given the sheer scale of this process, in terms of the number and nature of challenges and determinations made, the LNP will now take some time to consider its position", he said in a statement.

Mr Palmer was concerned by the three recounts in Fairfax, one of closest electoral races in Australian history.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) finally declared him the winner almost eight weeks after the September 7 federal election, and following his party challenging more than 50,000 ballot papers.

Mr Palmer originally finished 36 votes ahead of Mr O'Brien, but the AEC on September 21 automatically ordered a recount because the margin was less than 100 votes.

"I'm very disappointed in the AEC because the first count I won by 36 votes, the second count I won by seven votes and the third count I won by 53 votes," he told AAP.

"That's a bit of a worry, isn't it?"

He said he'd been criticised for challenging the validity of 50,099 of the 89,176 ballots, another Australian record, but the result had vindicated his actions.

The Palmer United Party leader has over the past two months accused both the LNP and AEC of vote fraud and applied for a Federal Court injunction to stop the count in Fairfax.

Mr Palmer also claimed former military officers were controlling the electoral commission and rigging the election.

Despite his grievances, he thanked rival candidates and the local AEC officials "who had a very difficult job and had a great deal of pressure on them from the AEC apparatchik from Canberra and Brisbane".

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Central banks extend liquidity swap deals

SIX of the world's leading central banks say they will provide each other with ready supplies of their currencies on a standing basis, extending arrangements set up to steady the global financial system during post-2007 turbulence.

The decision announced on Thursday extends currency swap arrangements that until now had been considered temporary measures.

The central banks are: the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada and the Swiss National Bank.

The so-called swap lines enable those central banks to make sure banks in their home countries can always borrow ready cash from them in any of the currencies involved, should they need it.

The ECB said the arrangements "have helped to ease strains in financial markets" and "will continue to serve as a prudent liquidity backstop".

The US Fed and the ECB started their first US dollar-euro swap arrangement in December 2007 as the losses on mortgage-backed bonds began to shake the banking system.

Subsequent bilateral deals between the different banks were added during the financial turbulence that followed, which included the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008, plunges on stock markets, the subsequent recession, and Europe's crisis over too much government debt in several countries.

Central banks serve as custodians of their countries' currencies and play an important role in supporting the stability of banks so companies can do business and the economy can function properly.

They typically provide liquidity - ready cash to meet the demands of everyday business - to their banks, even when banks may be having trouble borrowing elsewhere due to market trouble.

With the currency arrangements, they can do it in currencies other than their own.

For example, the European Central Bank holds credit offerings in US dollars for periods of seven days and three months, offering as much in US dollars as European banks may want in return for collateral such as bonds or other securities.

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Symond wins $5m for bad tax advice

AUSSIE Home Loans founder John Symond has been awarded nearly $5 million in damages from a Sydney law firm whose advice got him into tax trouble.

Gadens Lawyers Sydney has been ordered to pay Mr Symond over $4.9 million after the NSW Supreme Court found it was negligent and acted in breach of contract when it gave him advice on how to restructure his business.

Mr Symond launched legal action against the law firm after he was forced to pay a "substantial amount" of tax, penalties and interest to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) following an audit of his affairs in 2007.

One part of the advice centred on how he could borrow funds from Aussie Home Loans to complete the construction of his multi-million dollar home in the eastern Sydney harbourside suburb, Point Piper.

Mr Symond contended Gadens should have given him advice on the availability of other means of structuring his affairs and those of Aussie Home Loans, when it came to borrowing money to complete his home.

Mr Symond told the court that he had a meeting with Gadens in late 2002 or early 2003 in which he said that any restructure had to be "100 per cent compliant with the tax regulations".

"The last thing I want is for the media or the public to think I'm some kind of tax cheat," Mr Symond reportedly said.

Gadens submitted Mr Symond made a permanent saving of $10 million in pursuing the business structure it proposed and, as this outweighed the liabilities he incurred, he suffered no loss as a result.

This was rejected by Justice Robert Beech-Jones in a judgment handed down last July.

Ruling on damages in the Supreme Court on Thursday, Justice Beech-Jones ordered Gadens to pay Mr Symond $4.97 million.

The issue of legal costs has yet to be determined.

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Army may help with WA estuary explosives

ARMY bomb disposal experts could be called in to help police dispose of explosives after another suspicious package was found in the West Australian estuary where a large cache of the volatile chemical compound was discovered this week.

A large haul of TATP - the substance used in the 2005 London terrorist bombings - had to be destroyed by bomb squad officers in the Perth CBD on Wednesday.

Police divers scouring the Leschenault estuary in Australind found another suspicious package underwater on Thursday, prompting WA police to consider calling on the expertise of locally based armed forces.

They say the substance shows a lot of similarities to the first cache but would not elaborate because they are still testing.

A major investigation involving federal authorities as well as WA-based counter terrorism officers is continuing as the opposition asks whether the Perth public and police officers were put at risk by transportation of the dangerous explosive through the city.

Police had initially believed the crystalline substance found by a member of the public on Tuesday was for making drugs, and therefore transported it to Perth to be stored in the CBD major crime headquarters.

But when the nature of the substance was discovered, buildings were evacuated and the explosives were delicately moved for controlled detonations at a Perth racetrack.

"It was certainly was not a safe scenario, but it was certainly something that when we realised what we were dealing with, all necessary precautions were put in place," WA Police Acting Commander Scott Higgins said.

"The (officers involved) were concerned, but they are well."

A list of persons of potential interest has been drawn up but police have not discussed potential motives for using the chemical explosive, saying only that it could not have been innocent.

They say nothing is being ruled out in determining what the explosives could have been used for, including a terrorist attack.

Questioned by the opposition in parliament, Premier Colin Barnett said he would not disclose details of confidential briefings.

"This is an extremely serious situation. But it is confidential and you are not to use it politically," Mr Barnett said.

TATP can be manufactured from household ingredients and is known as "Mother of Satan".

It's believed three kilograms of the chemical was found at Australind, a substantial find given each of the explosives in the London bombings weighed at least 2.5kg.

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IAG in line to meet financial guidance

Insurance group IAG says it is on track to meet guidance for strong profit margins this year. Source: AAP

INSURANCE Australia Group says it is on track to meet guidance for strong profit margins and higher premiums this year despite the NSW bushfires.

IAG's chief executive Mike Wilkins told the company's annual general meeting on Wednesday that the major insurer, which owns brands such as NRMA and CGU, had recorded a solid underlying operating performance in the opening months of the 2012/13 financial year.

It has forecast an insurance margin - a key measure of an insurer's profitability - of 12.5 per cent to 14.5 per cent, compared to last year's record high 17.2 per cent.

Gross written premium growth guidance of five to seven per cent was maintained, following last year's 11 per cent rise to $9.5 billion and net profit of $776 million, the best in seven years.

IAG shares gained 17 cents, or 2.9 per cent, to $6.11.

The company told shareholders that it had received 660 claims from the NSW bushfires and expects to pay out net claims of $65 million to $85 million.

IAG has budgeted for net losses from natural perils in the current financial year of $640 million.

Insurance analysts have suggested the NSW bushfires will not have as great an impact as others, such as Victoria's 2009 Black Saturday fires.

IAG and rival Suncorp Group control about 70 per cent of the Australian home and car insurance market.

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Crash site reached as aircraft grounded

Crash investigators have reached the wreckage of a waterbombing aircraft in southern NSW. Source: AAP

CRASH investigators have reached the wreckage of a waterbombing aircraft in southern NSW, six days after its pilot died while fighting bushfires.

As specialists launched an on-site probe, seven other models of the same fixed-wing aircraft were grounded on Wednesday as a safety precaution.

David Black, 43, was killed when his Dromader aircraft crashed in Budawang National Park, 40 kilometres west of Ulladulla, around 10am (AEDT) on Thursday.

A witness reported seeing one of the plane's wings fall off before the aircraft plunged to the ground.

Ongoing fire risks and rough terrain meant investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) have been unable to reach the crash site but on Wednesday a team of four gained access.

"Rural Fire Service teams had completed clearing a helicopter landing site nearby however the site has not been accessible until today due to ongoing high winds," an ATSB spokesman told AAP on Wednesday.

On the same day Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman Peter Gibson announced that seven other Dromaders have been grounded for safety inspections since the crash.

"It's a precaution to make sure there aren't any problems with the wings or other structures on the aircraft," he told AAP on Wednesday.

The aircraft concerned are used for crop dusting in NSW and Queensland, Mr Gibson said, and could also be contracted by fire authorities for waterbombing.

In April the ATSB released a report following investigations into three fatal incidents involving Dromader aircraft.

On each occasion the aircraft were carrying increased weight and the ATSB found associated safety risks, despite approval being granted for operation at take-off weights of more than 4200 kilos.

The report outlined operating limitations under higher loads, subsequently recommending increased awareness among pilots.

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NSW mining licensing set up to fail: ICAC

A new ICAC report says NSW's coal mining licensing processes were almost too easy to exploit. Source: AAP

IT was almost inevitable that coal mining licensing in NSW would be exploited because the system was so conducive to corruption, the state's watchdog says.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has slammed the department of resources licensing process, saying it would have been "inconceivable" for any other portfolio to have been so open to exploitation for the benefit of a select few.

It comes after the ICAC found earlier this year that former mining minister Ian Macdonald rigged a 2008 tender process for a coal licence in the Bylong Valley, which financially benefited the family of his then colleague Eddie Obeid.

It also found Macdonald had acted corruptly in relation to a licence at Doyles Creek, in the NSW Hunter Valley.

The latest report, released on Wednesday, suggests assembling a steering group of senior officials from a range of departments to ensure transparency, and making auctions the default allocation method.

Bidders' finances and expertise should be more closely scrutinised, and the auction design overseen by NSW Treasury.

The state government also needs to spell out how coal mining fits into its broader policy focus, ICAC recommends.

It's proposed changes to the ministerial code of conduct and the consideration of tighter rules around disclosure of interest to include spouses and other family members.

Opposition leader John Robertson said all sides of politics had a responsibility to stop the "disgraceful" violation of government processes.

Greens mining spokesman Jeremy Buckingham said a new, broader inquiry was needed to investigate all licences handed out under the former Labor government.

The government is still considering the report.

The ICAC will release another report by the end of 2013 on whether the state government should amend the Mining Act or take legal action against any individual or company as a result of the inquiries.

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$30m drought help for NSW farmers

More than $30 million has been pledged to help drought-stricken farmers in northwestern NSW. Source: AAP

MORE than $30 million has been pledged to help drought-stricken farmers in northwestern NSW.

NSW Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson says the situation is deteriorating for many primary producers battling on without rain.

"It's very clear to me that producers in the northwest of NSW are dealing with this extraordinary situation," she told parliament on Wednesday.

She said many producers had only experienced two seasons in the last 10 years free of either drought or flood.

About $20 million will go towards a farm innovation fund to provide loans with concessional interests rates to landholders to mitigate against future risks.

Another $4.4 million will fund the next stage of the Cap and Pipe the Bores Program, and $6 million in NSW and Commonwealth funding will support the Mallowa Creek Water Supply Project.

The latter is aimed at guaranteeing water supplies for a group of landholders between Moree and Collarenabri.

Ms Hodgkinson said the announcement also included measures back-dated to July 1 to help landholders in Bourke, Walgett and Brewarrina local government areas.

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Qld's conservation act shaken up

QUEENSLAND'S opposition says the state's nature conservation act is being gutted to make a quick buck.

In a move government says will improve access and boost tourism, the state's national parks will open to commercial operations under amendments due to be passed on Tuesday.

Environmentalists say the bill will allow ecologically unsustainable uses in protected areas.

Labor's Bill Byrne says the 20-year-old act is being turned on its head so its primary purpose will no longer be to conserve nature but to provide commercial and recreational benefits for humans.

"We readily agree that educational, recreational, cultural and sometimes even commercial activities can be appropriate in national parks, but they must always be secondary activities that are entirely 100 per cent subordinate to the protection of nature," he told parliament.

"The LNP wants to 'open them up' to any charlatan in search of a quick buck."

Under the changes, public input into the management of protected areas will be limited.

It will also be harder for people who injure themselves in national parks after acting recklessly or disregarding warning signs to sue the state.

According to government figures, there are currently nine current claims against the state totalling $11.9 million.

National Parks Minister Steve Dickson said the changes would cut red tape and streamline the approvals process.

There will be no mining, logging, hunting or open slather grazing in national parks, parliament heard.

"What we are trying to do is simplify the whole act so that it's more cost efficient to run," Mr Dickson told AAP.

"The money that's saved can go back into caring for, maintaining and looking after our national parks, that's what this is all about."

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Butcher of Bega begins High Court bid

Carolyn DeWaegeneire is appalled taxpayers are funding the High Court appeal of the Butcher of Bega. Source: AAP

CAROLYN DeWaegeneire is appalled taxpayers are funding the High Court appeal of the doctor known as the Butcher of Bega, who removed her genitals without consent.

Graeme Reeves on Tuesday launched his High Court challenge against an increase to his jail sentence.

He was jailed in 2011 for three-and-a-half years after being found guilty of removing Ms DeWaegeneire's clitoris and genitals and sexually abusing another patient during a physical examination.

He also is serving time for obtaining a financial advantage by deception.

The offences occurred between 2001 and 2003 when Reeves worked as a gynaecologist and obstetrician on the NSW South Coast.

Ms DeWaegeneire said she was angry Reeves was receiving Legal Aid for his defence.

"(Today's been) stressful, of course. I don't want to relive it, but I must," she told reporters outside court.

"There's been extraordinary taxpayers' expense to defend one man against me."

She hopes the High Court does not reduce Reeves sentence just because he's ill.

Along with another victim and several supporters, she wore a T-shirt with a picture of two ants, symbolising their battle as "little people at the bottom of the barrel".

"I can't let that man win, for every woman in this country," she said with tears in her eyes.

The court on Tuesday considered the legal issues surrounding the concept of "informed consent".

It also examined in what circumstances a surgeon performing an operation they believe is medically necessary can be guilty of a crime requiring proof of malice or intent to commit grievous bodily harm.

Reeves removed Ms DeWaegeneire's genitals in an operation that was supposed to only take out a pre-cancer lesion.

Reeves' defence has consistently argued he was saving the patient's life and rejected the crown's argument that he did not have consent to remove her genitals.

Appearing for the crown, Lloyd Babb SC told the court the expert evidence was unanimous that the operation had been unwarranted.

In February 2013, the NSW Court of Appeal found Reeves' sentence to be grossly inadequate and re-sentenced him to five-and-a-half years, with a non-parole period of three-and-a-half years.

However, the court also found the trial judge had made an error in directing the jury on the issue of consent.

Reeves' barrister Peter Hamill argued the original sentencing judge had taken into account his client's depression, but that was not used as a mitigating factor by the appeal judges.

He also argued the Court of Appeal should not have applied a section of the Criminal Appeal Act because the trial judge had made an error.

"The court should grant special leave to rectify the injustice to the individual," Mr Hamill said.

"The jury did not decide the issue it had been called to decide."

The hearing continues.

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Labor's Wright raises workplace law fears

Labor's George Wright (pic) says the coalition will target unions before targeting work conditions. Source: AAP

ALP national secretary George Wright has warned the coalition's plan to change laws in relation to unions is an "entree" to removing some working conditions.

Mr Wright was a key figure behind the Your Rights at Work campaign, which has been credited with helping Labor win the 2007 election and abolish the Howard government's controversial Work Choices laws.

Work is under way on the Abbott government's initial industrial legislation - relating to the restoration of the Australian Building and Construction Commission and bolstering penalties for union officials found guilty of corruption.

Mr Wright told the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday the Abbott government would take a different approach to workplace relations to that taken by Mr Howard.

"I suspect what you will see is a concerted effort by the government to really go after the unions first - union organisation and union finances - obviously as an entree to then have a go at members' conditions," he said.

"They will weaken and probably distract the machinery and organisation that protects workers' rights before they actually go after the rights themselves."

He said he had no immediate advice for the labour movement in how to address it.

"That is something that the labour movement as a whole needs to think about how it effectively responds to."

Making changes to the penalty rates system was an issue raised at a national tourism conference in Canberra on Tuesday.

Tourism and Transport Forum chief Ken Morrison was asked during the conference whether the industry wanted the government to reduce penalty rates.

"What was clear talking to the coalition before the election is they were totally gun shy, they didn't really want to talk about it before the election," Mr Morrison said.

"They said: 'If you want this after the election, business is going to have to lead'. So you're seeing a range of business groups doing that now."

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Kelly pulls out of race for Carr's spot

Mike Kelly (pic) has withdrawn his name from the race for the NSW Senate seat vacated by Bob Carr. Source: AAP

FORMER Labor minister Mike Kelly has pulled out of the contest for the Senate seat vacated by Bob Carr.

"I will not be nominating 4 the Senate vacancy as the decision will be AA (affirmative action) based," Dr Kelly tweeted on Tuesday.

He wished former Central Coast MP Deb O'Neill, widely tipped to be in line for the job, all the best.

Both Dr Kelly and Ms O'Neill lost their lower house seats at the recent federal election.

Last Wednesday, Dr Kelly told AAP he had nominated for the Senate vacancy and, if selected, would commit to recontesting the seat of Eden-Monaro at the next election.

Mr Carr, in his final speech before resigning from the Senate, said he wished he could hand his seat over to Dr Kelly and that he hoped his talents could be "edged" back in to parliament.

The NSW Labor executive will make a final decision on who will fill the Senate vacancy on Wednesday.

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No taker yet for $30m lottery ticket

THE champagne is still on ice at Lotterywest headquarters in Perth, as the identity of the state's $30 million Powerball winner remains a mystery.

One lucky entrant picked up the entire $30 million division one prize pool last Thursday night, equalling the largest lottery prize ever won in the state.

The only details released by Lotterywest is that the winning ticket was sold in Perth's northern suburbs.

But despite the size of the prize, no winning ticket holder has come forward to claim the massive prize, although he or she has 12 months from the date of the draw to bring in the winning ticket.

The win is the latest in an amazing run of luck for lottery players in the state in 2013.

In February, the state recorded a $20 million win, followed by a $10 million win in May, another $20 million win in August, followed by the $30 million jackpot last week.

About 70 WA players have collected a division one lottery prize in 2013.

And WA players will have another chance to win big this weekend, when $22 million goes on offer in Saturday's Gold Lotto Superdraw.

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Boy, 4, burns down house with lighter

A FOUR-YEAR-OLD boy playing with a lighter is believed to have started a fire that burned down his house on the NSW mid-north coast.

Police say the boy's father pulled the youngster and his other two children to safety.

But he was unable to save the house, despite trying to extinguish the blaze with a garden hose.

Police say they have been told the preschooler might have been playing with a cigarette lighter before the fire started in a pile of clothes in his bedroom on Saturday.

Detective Inspector Kim Fehon said the family was lucky to avoid injury.

"It's essential that matches, lighters or barbecue fire starters should be kept securely out of reach of children," she said.

"We would strongly recommend parents explain the danger of fire to older children, especially following the reports of children being responsible for several fires across the state."

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Obeid under renewed ICAC scrutiny

The NSW ICAC has starting hearing fresh allegations of corruption involving ex-Labor MP Eddie Obeid. Source: AAP

EDDIE Obeid was known in the halls of NSW parliament as a fixer but when "stuff hit the fan" in a family business, his brother-in-law says it never crossed his mind to ask the then-MP for help.

Obeid is accused of lobbying state ministers Carl Scully, Michael Costa, Eric Roozendaal and Joe Tripodi to have leases on prime government-owned real estate - home to two Obeid family-owned restaurants - renewed without going to tender.

It's alleged the one-time Labor powerbroker never disclosed his personal connection to the Sorrentino restaurant and Quay Eatery at Sydney's Circular Quay.

The allegations were aired on Monday, the first day of yet another NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) inquiry into Obeid, who has already been declared corrupt by the watchdog in relation to separate matters.

Under questioning from counsel assisting the commission, Ian Temby QC, the ex-MP's brother-in-law John Abood agreed that while he owned Circular Quay Restaurants Pty Ltd (CQPL) on paper, the major owner was really an Obeid family trust.

CQPL, in turn, owned the two restaurants.

The inquiry has heard Mr Abood was given the job to manage the eateries after he struggled to find work.

He said he spoke to "the boys" - Eddie Obeid's sons - and they got together $2.4 million to buy Sorrentino, Quay Eatery and a nearby cafe.

"I was fronting the businesses, not a front for the Obeids - there's a difference, sir," Mr Abood said.

He also denied Obeid was called in to help when NSW Maritime, the landowner, moved to seek expressions of interest from potential new lessees without giving existing retailers preference.

"Going to market in this way has the obvious advantage of ensuring that public assets provide a good return to the public purse," Mr Temby said in his opening address.

Ultimately NSW Maritime altered its draft commercial lease policy to allow for direct negotiations with existing tenants and new leases were indeed granted to CQPL in 2009.

"When, if you want to say - excuse me commissioner - that stuff hit the fan, we had to react to that," Mr Abood testified.

"I never even contemplated talking to Eddie about it and I never did, sir."

The three-week inquiry is part of three fresh investigations by the corruption watchdog, codenamed Cyrus, Cabot and Meeka.

It will also examine claims Eddie Obeid influenced public officials to allow generous water licences for a coal-rich Hunter Valley property owned by his family.

It's also been alleged Obeid hand-delivered to then-Treasurer Michael Costa a letter requesting a meeting with a director of Direct Health Solutions, without revealing that his family and long-time associate Rocco Triulcio had a combined $450,000 investment in the company.

Mr Temby has foreshadowed that along with Obeid, prominent bureaucrats Steve Dunn - who recently headed up the O'Farrell government's controversial Game Council review - and Mark Duffy could face corruption findings.

Obeid has denied any wrongdoing but promised to cooperate.

"No one is ever happy with having to answer continuous allegations but as long as they have hearings, I'll keep turning up," he told the Seven Network.

"I'm not corrupt - and time will tell."

He is expected to give evidence next week.

The inquiry continues before Assistant Commissioner Anthony Whealy QC.

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YMCA child protection policy queried

A year after the Jonathan Lord incident, the YMCA hadn't completed its working with children checks. Source: AAP

A YMCA middle manager whose evidence to a child abuse inquiry changed within a month has denied it was because she discussed it with senior management.

Jacqui Barnat, a children's services manager with the non-profit organisation told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse on Monday that she was changing her evidence on the policy covering the recruitment of childcare workers.

Ms Barnat told a private hearing of the commission in early October the 2006 policy was in place in 2009.

But at Monday's public hearing, she said she did not believe the YMCA Australia Safeguarding Children and Young People's policy 2006, was current in 2009.

"Upon reflection I don't believe it was still current in 2009 because from memory other policies were in place," she said.

When the discrepancy was pointed out to her by Gail Furness, SC for the commission, she said she could not recall her earlier evidence.

When asked if she had discussed this policy with anyone at the YMCA in the past month and its application to her work she said "no".

Ms Furness asked what had occurred that made her say now that it did not apply to her work in 2009.

"Was it assisted by any person or you looking at any other document?"

Ms Barnat did not reply. She could not identify what other policy was in place.

"I have a recollection of a policy in force in 2009 and I cannot recall the name ... I think I did try to find it. I have not been able to find that policy."

She later said she might have instigated a conversation with the YMCA's business service manager, Irene Minos.

In answer to questioning by commission chairman Justice Peter McClellan, Ms Barnat said she was reviewing the content of the policy after her private evidence and that is how she recalled the 2006 policy was not in place.

"Upon reflection, I just tried to fit the dates".

Ms Barnat who has been with the YMCA since 2004 had shared responsibility for recruitment in the Caringbah area when Jonathan Lord was employed.

Lord is serving a 10-year sentence for sexual assaults on 12 children while he was with the YMCA.

Ms Barnat said that prior to January 2013 she could not make decisions on staff selection and would need approval to conduct interviews. However, generally but not always, there was a more senior manager with her when she interviewed new recruits.

Ms Barnat was questioned on the reporting levels within the YMCA.

She said her duties were to identify staff training needs and she passed those on to her managers who were also based at Caringbah.

Ms Barnat will continue her evidence when the hearing resumes on Tuesday.

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