MH370 search above and below water

AN underwater search has entered its second day as authorities continue to race the clock to find a black box flight recorder belonging to a missing Malaysia Airlines jet.

Co-ordinated by Australia, the search and rescue mission in the southern Indian Ocean, some 1700 kilometres southwest of Perth, continued on Saturday spanning an area of about 217,000 square kilometres.

The focus has turned to the work of Australian navy vessel Ocean Shield and the British oceanographic survey vessel HMS Echo, which deploy "pinger detectors" in an attempt to trace a signal from the black box.

But the battery on the black box beacon is expected to run out of power within days.

Above the waves an aerial search continues for debris from flight MH370.

Up to 10 military planes, three civil jets and 11 ships will search on Saturday.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Abbott's plea to WA voters

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has pleaded for Western Australian voters to back Liberal candidates. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has made a last-ditch plea to West Australian voters as they head to the polls for a Senate election re-run.

Before jetting out of the country to Asia on Saturday, Mr Abbott recorded a message saying Labor and the Australian Greens in the Senate were standing in the way of his government's plan to repeal the mining tax and carbon tax.

"If you want to get rid of these anti-West Australian taxes ... that means voting Liberal," Mr Abbott said.

He said coalition candidates are "absolutely committed" to scrapping the taxes and the government hoped to get the numbers in the upper house from July to pass the repeal legislation.

"Send a strong message to Canberra, send a strong message to the Labor Party," Mr Abbott said.

"You can't say one thing in Perth and do the opposite in Canberra.

"That's my plea."

The outcome of Saturday's election is important for Australia's future, the prime minister added.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boy's parents located

POLICE have tracked down the parents of a young boy who was found wandering alone through suburban southwest Sydney.

Residents of Claymore called police after spotting the boy in the street wearing pyjamas about 7.30am Saturday.

Estimated to be aged two or three years old, the boy was cared for by officers until his parents were located and the search was called off.

The police thanked and updated the public about 2pm.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cyclone tipped to hit Queensland

Dramatic firsthand footage shows what it's like being in the different categories of cyclones. Produced by Christine Nestel.

A cyclone forming in the Coral Sea is expected to hit Queensland's Cape York Peninsula later next week.

The low pressure system which has brought torrential rainfall and flooding to the Solomon Islands -- killing at least 17 people and leaving thousands homeless – is forecast to intensify into a tropical cyclone, which will be named Ita, tomorrow.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Amber Young said the weather system was moving slowly south-west and expected to be about 750km north-east of Cairns by Monday morning.

"The conditions are very favourable for it to develop into a tropical cyclone,'' she said.

Information issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre yesterday indicated the system could become a category two cyclone by Monday, strengthening to a category three by Tuesday.

Most models indicated it would continue to edge closer to Australia, possibly crossing the northern Cape York coast on Thursday, although some suggested it could stall and even turn back out to sea.

Cook Shire Mayor Peter Scott said they keeping a close eye on the developing weather pattern.

"We keep our fingers crossed every time one looms.''

Cr Scott said Cooktown had been quite fortunate.

"The last time Cooktown was hit was 1949.  This one looks as if it might cross at Lockhart River or north.'

"I think we are as well prepared as we can be and the same goes for the other communities up the Cape. They all go through cycle preparation exercises every year.

"But if it brings the sort of rainfall that has hit Honiara, it would cause a lot of damage to our road network.''

Lockhart River Shire Mayor Wayne Butler was not available to comment.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boat incursion secrecy continues

CUSTOMS has refused to disclose whether Australian border protection vessels were turning asylum seeker boats back when they breached Indonesian territorial waters on six occasions.

The incursions took place between December 2013 and January 2014 under Operation Sovereign Borders and the discovery of the "inadvertent" breaches prompted the Abbott government to issue a swift apology to Indonesia.

Customs and Defence conducted a joint internal review into the incidents but only the executive summary with five recommendations was publicly released in February.

But a copy of the full report, under Freedom of Information laws, shows that damage to international relations and national security and defence are cited as reasons for the 18 blacked out pages and other redacted sections.

The document shows the joint review actually made seven recommendations but two have not been made public.

Sections identifying which boats were involved and the circumstances are also blanked out.

The discussion about the Abbott government's policy parameters on boat turn backs - only when safe and outside 12 nautical miles from Indonesia's archipelagic baseline - was also heavily redacted.

Last month, a Senate inquiry into the breaches found those two aims may not be achievable.

The document, obtained by AAP, shows the review team made up of three Defence personnel, and two Customs officers sought advice from the Attorney General's Department and Department of Foreign Affairs but the names of other bodies were blanked out.

It said the review took into account the potential for further inquiry into the events as a justification for making no findings against individuals.

The report said territorial seas declared by foreign nations are generally not depicted on Australian hydrographic charts.

The review blamed the breaches on incorrect calculations of boundaries of Indonesian waters rather than deliberate actions or navigational error.

The breaches have added to tension in Australian Indonesian relations following allegations Australian spies tapped the mobile phones of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife in 2009.

Customs and Defence are still assessing whether lapses in judgment contributed to the breaches.

Training regimes are under review and revised force preparation training will be introduced by May.

Officers will also be given special training on the United Nations convention of the law of the sea from the end of June.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Peter Hore charged after ICAC outburst

Serial pest Peter Hore has stormed a NSW corruption inquiry, leaving a police officer in hospital. Source: AAP

SERIAL pest Peter Hore has stormed a NSW corruption inquiry, leaving a police officer in hospital.

The special constable was bleeding from the head after he tried to restrain the troublemaker, who barged into the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) hearing room just before 11am (AEDT) on Friday screaming about his "brother" and a death in Newcastle.

Hore was charged on Friday with assaulting a law enforcement officer, for offensive conduct and inflicting actual bodily harm.

He has had his bail refused and will face Central Local Court on Saturday.

The injured officer was taken away from the ICAC's Sydney CBD offices by ambulance while Hore was led from the seventh floor in handcuffs.

"We're the second coming," he yelled.

"Stop trying to assault me ... Don't try to break my wrist."

He was later seen banging on the walls of the paddy wagon in which he was transported from the building.

The injured officer is at St Vincent's Hospital recovering from what are described as minor injuries.

The body of Hore's 52-year-old housemate was last week found hog-tied and half-naked at a cricket ground in Newcastle.

Police have previously said there was no suggestion Hore had any involvement in the man's death and on Friday said Anthony Richard Dent, 53, was wanted for the alleged murder.

ICAC Commissioner Megan Latham, who was asked to leave the hearing room as Hore was tackled to the ground on Friday morning, returned to call an adjournment and said some staff were "traumatised".

Hore wore a long beard and a t-shirt with the letters "WTF" and told reporters he was "only trying to introduce myself".

A woman who arrived at the commission with Hore later told reporters she did not speak English.

The notorious gatecrasher has disrupted a string of major events including the Melbourne Cup, the funeral of rock singer Michael Hutchence and the Socceroos' 1997 World Cup qualifier against Iran.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shark victim's husband opens up

Police have found remains believed to belong to a woman killed by a shark off the NSW south coast. Source: AAP

THE husband of shark attack victim Christine Armstrong knew something was wrong when a bird swooped him in the water.

Rob Armstrong then spotted a large bronze whaler shark and swam carefully in a tight formation with the rest of his swimming group back to shore at Tathra Beach.

He did not initially fear for the safety of his wife of 44 years at the NSW south coast tourist spot, more concerned about the welfare of a 70-year-old swimming buddy.

"We thought everything was safe and we just hugged each other (on the beach) and then we found that Chris wasn't in the change rooms," Rob Armstrong said.

"We immediately got in the IRB (inflatable rescue boat), went out and very shortly we found evidence that Chris was no more.

Mr Armstrong is convinced his wife suffered a quick death at the spot south of Bega.

"She would not hold anything against what happened," he told reporters.

He wanted to assure friends she died doing something that she loved and he "is certain Chris would not have known what had hit her".

"The shark was such a size and it's consumed her basically completely - she wouldn't have even known it happened."

Mrs Armstrong's swimming cap and goggles were located on Thursday evening and police say human remains will undergo forensic testing.

The search, which is focusing on the southern end of Tathra Beach, resumed on Friday morning despite wet weather and grey skies.

"Chris only knew one way in life and that was love, and everyone loved her," Mr Armstrong said.

Divers from Sydney have arrived to assist the search along with lifesavers from nearby regions.

Patrols of Tathra Beach will start again at about 8am on Saturday, including a helicopter search of nearby beaches.

Tathra Beach will be reopened at 10am on Saturday.

"This decision is supported by the Armstrong family and the Tathra Surf Life Saving community," police media said.

The Department of Primary Industries says large schools of baitfish could soon gather near the shore, which may mean sharks will also be attracted to the area.

People who see sharks are urged to notify life savers immediately.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

NT schools to double in attendance program

AT the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Thamarrurr Catholic College in the remote indigenous community of Wadeye in the north-western Northern Territory, average school attendance rates are about 51 per cent.

But the federal government is hoping to change that, now that it has almost doubled the number of schools signed up to its Remote School Attendance Strategy.

An additional 210 school attendance officers and 60 supervisors will be employed to boost attendance rates in a further 30 schools nation-wide from Term 2, Minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion said on Friday.

Fifteen of the new schools will be in the NT, seven in Queensland and three in Western Australia, with another five in other jurisdictions.

The schools were identified following consultation with state and territory governments, the minister said.

The Wadeye community faces numerous obstacles to getting students to school, says Principal Dr John Young, due to the 22-plus different clans based there.

"When there's fighting in the community the attendance drops pretty dramatically," he told AAP.

"There's a lot of clan conflict issues, and a lot of kids don't get the amount of sleep they should, which has a real major effect on learning."

Factors affecting children's sleep and school attendance include loud music, parents gambling late into the night and overcrowding at home, where 16 people can live in a three-bedroom house, Dr Young said.

Some of the conflict spilled into school.

"Whether people say it's payback from the old days or they're fighting because every clan here has their own country, I don't know who to blame. Why is the government putting everyone in one place when years ago they wanted to kill each other?" resident Harold Anderson told AAP.

"The generation coming through now are hearing the same stories and the violence is getting worse and worse."

Dr Young said the key attendance data measures how many students attend school at least four days out of five.

22 per cent, or 177 students are coming to school 80 per cent of the time or more, he said.

"Those kids are making very good progress; the best thing we can do is move the 111 students who come 60 to 80 per cent up to coming four to five days a week... That makes the biggest difference."

School attendance personnel are already working in more than 40 schools across Australia and some schools in the NT have reported increases in attendance of nearly 20 percentage points since the strategy was implemented at the start of school this year, Minister Scullion said.

Early data from schools involved in the scheme's first stage show encouraging signs of increased school attendance, with more than 600 more children in school this year compared to last year.

Total government funding for the strategy now stands at $46.5 million.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

'500 dolphins caught in WA nets' in decade

Western Australian scientists say methods to reduce dolphin bycatch are not working. Source: AAP

ABOUT 500 dolphins have been caught in the Pilbara trawl fishery in the past 10 years, West Australian scientists say.

Murdoch University PhD candidate Simon Allen and colleagues from the Cetacean Research Unit have made the claims based on independent observer data, which shows methods to reduce dolphin bycatch are not working.

"Independent observers reported bycatch rates of about 50 dolphins per year, which is double the number reported by the skippers of these vessels," Mr Allen said.

Under-reporting was not unusual around the world, especially where marine mammal capture was illegal, he said.

"This doesn't necessarily mean that skippers are deliberately under-reporting," Mr Allen said.

"Fishers are concentrating on the job at hand and may not see a dead dolphin fall out of the net on winch up."

A report by the WA Fisheries Department detailed similar findings, but instead suggested self-reporting mechanisms in place were accurate and the impact posed negligible risk, Mr Allen said.

But researchers said modified bycatch reduction devices with top-opening escape hatches could be more effective.

The scientists have also called for a reinstatement of independent observers and in-net video collection to accurately measure bycatch.

"The next step is to calculate the acceptable levels of human-caused dolphin mortality, which requires an estimate of the dolphin population size in the region," Mr Allen said.

"If the ongoing bycatch exceeds that threshold, switching to alternative, less destructive fishing methods, like trap or line fishing, should be considered."

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

More double demerits for WA drivers

DOUBLE demerit penalties will now apply to West Australian motorists caught using their mobile phones while driving and running red lights during holiday periods.

Road Safety Minister Liza Harvey said the change would come into effect in time for the Easter long weekend and would be reviewed after three years.

"We know that both running red lights and using your mobile phone while driving are linked to fatal and serious crashes," she said.

"We don't want anybody to lose a loved one on our roads over the Anzac and Easter holidays."

Double demerits already apply to drink and drug driving, speeding and not using seatbelts.

Earlier this year, the Road Safety Council undertook a review of the double demerits system and advised that illegal mobile phone use and running red lights should be included.

Over the past five years, road fatalities had dropped by 30 per cent, but WA still had one of the worst road tolls in Australia, Ms Harvey said.

Double demerit penalties will be enforced between April 17 and 21, and between April 24 and 27.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

SA and Canberra closer on road plan

The SA and federal governments have held talks on Adelaide's north-south road corridor. Source: AAP

THE federal and South Australian governments have held talks aimed at overcoming disagreements on how to fully redevelop Adelaide's north-south road corridor.

The two governments had been at odds before the recent state election, with the Commonwealth wanting to start the project with an upgrade at Darlington in the city's south.

The state government maintained a section of the road further north should be the priority.

But a meeting on Thursday between federal Assistant Minister for Infrastructure Jamie Briggs and new SA Transport and Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan appears to have closed the gap.

Mr Briggs said he was now more confident about the project.

"We want to get the north-south corridor upgraded in a decade," he said.

Mr Mullighan described Thursday's meeting as productive.

"We've made very clear what our priority is and they've made very clear what their priority is," he said.

"What we're working on is how we can deliver both projects."

Mr Mullighan said talks would continue.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Safety overlooked in batts scheme rush

FORMER prime minister Kevin Rudd's "horrendous" timeline for the home insulation program denied bureaucrats adequate time to consider safety risks, an inquiry has heard.

Public servants were given five months to devise the $2.8 billion scheme.

Safety considerations were overlooked as they scrambled to have it up and running by July 1, 2009, a royal commission has been told.

Former environment department deputy secretary Malcolm Forbes, who oversaw delivery, says potential risks would have been properly considered if time wasn't so tight.

Commissioner Ian Hanger QC asked what was "so magic" about July 1, 2009.

"That's what the prime minster wanted," Mr Forbes replied.

Asked why nobody told Mr Rudd it couldn't be done, Mr Forbes said doing so would have gone against the public service culture, which was to remain positive and get the job done.

Mr Forbes said he did raise concerns about the challenging deadline with former co-ordinator general Mike Mrdak.

"We were flagging early that this was a significant challenge to us," he said.

A coronial inquest has already blamed the scheme's rushed rollout for the deaths of young Queenslanders Matthew Fuller, Rueben Barnes and Mitchell Sweeney.

NSW tradesman Marcus Wilson also died installing home insulation.

Mr Forbes said he had never, in his 33 years as a public servant, seen such a short gap between a government program being announced and rolled out, as occurred with the home insulation program (HIP).

"The HIP implementation timeline was horrendous," he said in a statement to the inquiry.

" ... some compromises were made that left risks remaining to achieve the timeline."

The scheme wasn't fully implemented until September 2009 but even then inspections were happening slowly.

While 400,000 homes had been insulated by October, only 172 roof inspections had taken place.

The inquiry resumes on Friday.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

PUP campaign ads draw howls of protest

SCOTT Ludlam's slick TV ad campaign for the re-run West Australian Senate election is getting noticed, almost as much as his now famously blunt speech in parliament, which drew $100,000 in donations.

Even Clive Palmer praised the advertisements, saying they sounded at first "like a PUP ad", urging voters not to vote for Labor or the Liberals.

Conversely, Senator Ludlam said he found Palmer United Party's campaign "exceptionally annoying" and joined the chorus of politicians howling about the wealthy MP's multi-million dollar advertising blitz.

Despite the Greens being the second biggest spenders at the re-run election - after receiving the single largest personal donation in Australia's electoral history in 2011 - leader Christine Milne said the party wanted to see cash splashed on campaign ads limited.

"We would like to cap expenditure so that we don't have this buying of votes, the democracy for sale that's gone on in this election," she told reporters in Perth on Wednesday.

"This is the first time in Australian politics where we've had a rich individual being able to so manifestly influence the vote."

Senator Ludlam said his party's ad spending was different to PUP's because the funds came from a large amount of small donations.

"Thousands of people making small donations, ordinary West Australians right across traditional divides - not just traditional Greens voters - making a lot of small donations," he said.

His recent speech in parliament - in which he told the prime minister to take his "heartless, racist exploitation of people's fears and ram it as far from Western Australia as your taxpayer-funded travel entitlements can take you" - was an internet hit worldwide.

And while it drew $100,000 in donations, "it's really different to a coal billionaire writing out cheques for millions of dollars", Senator Ludlam said.

Deputy leader of the opposition, Tanya Plibersek, was less affronted.

It was obvious PUP was out-spending other parties, but that was their decision, she said.

"Of course it puts us at a disadvantage - they're out-spending us by a fortune - but that's democracy," she said.

"As long as a political party declares all its donations, as long as it abides by the rules, they've got every right to spend the money they raise."

But Prime Minister Tony Abbott took the same line as the Greens, saying Mr Palmer was trying to buy seats in parliament in a bid to further his own interests.

If PUP can win a WA Senate seat on Saturday, it will have three members on the upper house crossbench after July 1.

It has been estimated by monitoring agency Ebiquity that PUP spent 11 times more on advertising than Labor and 14 times more than the Liberals in March.

Mr Palmer said it was his personal money to do with what he wished.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aboriginal alcoholism worsening: inquiry

ALCOHOLISM in Aboriginal communities is bad and getting worse, says the chairwoman of a federal inquiry into the issue.

After hearings in Alice Springs and Tennant Creek, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs is in Darwin conducting its inquiry into the harmful use of alcohol by indigenous communities.

Chairwoman Sharman Stone says the feedback from communities is that the situation is dire.

"An overarching message is things are getting far worse than they've been before ... People now are desperate about finding a solution to these problems," Dr Stone told AAP.

"As a woman said to us in Tennant Creek yesterday, 'our young people are getting angrier and too many people are dying'.

"And that's just an appalling situation in a developed country like Australia - one of the richer countries in the world - to have this circumstance for its indigenous population."

Homelessness and housing pressures are a key factor in explaining why indigenous people drink to excess, the inquiry heard on Wednesday.

Indigenous people are highly mobile but often have trouble finding somewhere to stay when they come to cities such as Darwin to attend events, to see family or to seek work, and end up putting stress on relatives and overcrowding properties.

Those who end up in the long grass, or sleeping rough, are usually the problem drinkers, said Toni Vine Bromley, CEO of NT Shelter.

She said accessing the NT rental market was difficult enough before taking into account the obstacles Aboriginal people from remote areas might face when moving to towns.

The NT has 15 times the national average of homeless people, 30 to 40 per cent of which are children aged under 18.

Young disadvantaged women who drink during pregnancy are having babies with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome, and the inquiry is looking at its prevalence and whether it should be declared a disability.

Dr Stone called it a form of "cultural genocide".

"(Brain-damaged children) who will never be able to learn like others, who will probably end up incarcerated as soon as they reach adult status, who will be more likely to suicide, more likely to be victims of violence and to perpetrate violence - that is a tragedy for any community," she said.

Dr Stone also said she was disappointed the NT government would not permit its employees, such as the police and doctors, to give evidence to the inquiry, but rather would submit a "whole of government report".

"It's an inquiry loaded with politics and emotional stress for a lot of people, because the Australian population as a whole has a major problem with alcohol consumption," she said.

Hearings will continue in Darwin on Thursday.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mine application filed despite concerns

A COMPANY under administration has applied to restart and expand work at a Blue Mountains mine rejected previously due to "unacceptable environmental impacts," environmentalists say.

Coalpac Pty Ltd on Wednesday put a development application to mine 315 hectares of the Ben Bullen Forest, near Lithgow, on public display, the NSW Nature Conservation Council said.

"It is very disappointing that Coalpac has been permitted to submit new plans to destroy a significant area ... that the Office of Environment and Heritage has recommended should be protected in a conservation reserve," the group's chief Pepe Clarke said.

NSW planning minister Brad Hazzard last October referred himself to the state's corruption watchdog over allegations of a conflict of interest relating to the mine.

Media reports at the time claimed his chief of staff, Kath McFarlane, failed to disclose owning properties near the previously proposed coal mine extension, which was rejected by the planning department.

It was abandoned despite the support of Treasury and Trade and Investment, which was in favour of 150 direct jobs being created.

The allegations, Premier Barry O'Farrell said, were "baseless."

In 2010 a report commissioned by then-premier Bob Carr found the mine had caused hundreds of cliffs to collapse, damaged Aboriginal rock art and polluted drinking water supplies.

Comment is being sought from the government.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

BP Brisbane workers weigh up their futures

DREW McQueen knew his two decades at BP's Brisbane oil refinery were coming to an end.

The 53-year-old crane rigger is one of 355 workers who will lose their jobs when the Bulwer Island plant ceases production in mid-2015.

The Pinkenba site in Brisbane's north will stop refining 102,000 barrels a day, ending half a century of history.

It will instead be used to store jet fuel, leaving another 300-plus contractors out of work.

The closure of yet another oil Australian refinery has energy experts predicting the end of a local industry within a decade, as Asian refineries continue to produce much higher volumes more efficiently.

The news also follows Holden and Toyota heralding the end of local car making by 2018, and a string of retrenchments at Qantas and throughout the resources industry.

Mr McQueen, who still has a teenage daughter to support, knew there was bad news before Wednesday morning's announcement.

"There's always been talk of closing these joints. Today we hear about it," he told AAP outside the front gates.

"I've been here 20 years. I've had a good run."

Fellow crane operator John, who is also in his mid-50s, said the news gave him "a bit of sadness" after seven years at the plant.

He is now weighing up whether to leave Brisbane to find work.

"I'm in a situation where I don't particularly want to do that but if it arises, then it's something I will have to eventually look at," he said.

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union Queensland secretary Rohan Webb said the retrenched workers were "quite shell shocked".

"We're seeing massive job losses across the state so the employment opportunities for these workers are going to be somewhat short," he told reporters.

Addressing reporters on site, the Bulwer Island refinery's managing director Tim Wall said much higher production volumes in Asia were to blame, stressing Australia's carbon tax wasn't responsible.

"There's a very large difference between the operating costs of a 100,000-barrel-a-day refinery compared to a refinery ... in India that's operating at over a million barrels a day," he told reporters.

Australia has just four refineries left, including BP's Kwinana plant near Perth.

BP Australasia president Andy Holmes said its West Australian refinery was not yet earmarked for closure but declined to commit on its future.

The future is considered marginal for Brisbane's other refinery at Lytton, run by Caltex, and the other refineries in Geelong and Melbourne.

Energy analysts including Credit Suisse's Mark Samter and State One Stockbroking's Peter Kopetz believe the end of local refining may be less than a decade away.

BP's latest announcement follows Caltex closing its Sydney refinery during the second half of 2014 and converting it to an import terminal.

BP's latest announcement also comes just four months after the company sacked 300 workers at its Australian headquarters in Melbourne.

The Bulwer Island refinery was built in 1965 by Amoco and bought by BP in 1984.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aust students equipped to tackle problems

AUSTRALIAN students are relatively well-equipped to face the modern world, with new international test results showing they're better problem solvers than expected.

Australia came ninth out of the 44 countries examined in the Programme for International Student Assessment's 2012 problem solving tests.

The tests look at how well 15-year-olds can solve problems they have never encountered before, where there isn't a learned, routine solution.

Questions included working out how to use a virtual MP3 player they'd never seen before, buying train tickets from a machine and using GPS and traffic information to decide travel routes.

Students in Australia performed much better in problem solving than those in countries with similar average results for maths, science and reading.

The best students in maths also had excellent problem-solving skills, the results released on Tuesday showed.

It suggested this meant that in Australia top maths students have access to the kinds of learning opportunities that are also useful for improving their problem-solving skills.

Particular strengths for Australian students were exploring, understanding and representing problems and formulating hypotheses about them.

But their weaknesses lay in planning and executing solutions.

In general, Australian students performed better than expected on problems where all the information needed is given at the start and doesn't change, known as static tasks.

About one in six got top level results while a similar number were at or below the bottom level.

Singapore, Korea and Japan topped the countries tested.

In Singapore, nearly one in three students achieved top results - twice as many as in Australia.

Some 85,000 students around the world took part in the problem-solving tests.

PISA says testing students' skills in tackling real-life problems helps them and their teachers and schools identify better ways to give young people the skills they'll need to be employable in the 21st century.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

New plan to save Brisbane from floods

The Queensland government says a new strategy for could spare Brisbane from future flooding. Source: AAP

SOME Brisbane Valley locals are happy to be isolated for longer during a flood if it means saving hundreds of homes downstream in Queensland's capital.

The state government wants to rewrite the manuals of Somerset and Wivenhoe dams so more water can be dumped earlier during a major deluge.

Operators would no longer have to consider keeping six rural crossings open in the initial stages of a disaster.

It means that bridges in the valley, 30km upstream from Brisbane, would go under sooner and residents would be isolated for longer.

Modelling shows the plan would reduce the flood peak in Brisbane by 10 per cent and save between 500 and 1500 homes from flooding.

It's also hoped that insurance premiums would be reduced.

Karana Downs local Linda has lived on the river in the valley for eight years.

Despite being fully isolated for five days during the 2011 floods, she would rather the sacrifice of a few to save the many.

"We're near three river crossings, we decided to live here," she told AAP.

"I'd rather the inconvenience of me having to travel further or being isolated, than people having their homes flooded."

Neighbour Sylvia Johnson said there was no easy way for the government.

"I don't see how they can win, it's a lose-lose situation," she said.

The government would consider building one bridge at Colleges Crossing with money raised from proposed asset sales.

In 2011, Wivenhoe dam banked too much water and authorities were later forced to make massive releases quickly.

About 22,000 properties in Brisbane were inundated.

Premier Campbell Newman said he hoped insurance companies would take note of the new modelling.

"It could provide premium relief for up to 1500 properties," he said.

Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale said faster water releases were the right way to go, given the conditions surrounding the 2011 flood should never have been allowed.

"What happened in 2011? They opened all the gates up and said: 'You defend yourself, city'," he said.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Search for MH370 could drag on: Houston

Authorities are in a race against time to locate the black box in the Malaysia Airlines plane wreck. Source: AAP

AS Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak prepares to travel to Perth to thank those searching for Malaysia Airlines flight 370, Australia's former defence chief has warned the operation could take a long time.

Mr Razak will arrive on Wednesday and stay until Thursday, visiting the RAAF Pearce air base to the city's north, the departure point for the seven-nation search effort.

Danica Weeks - the wife of missing Perth passenger, Paul Weeks - visited the air base on Tuesday, prompting Air Chief Marshal Houston to urge the mother-of-two to come to the new Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre near the West Australian parliament for a full briefing.

He also passed on his personal phone number to her.

Air Chief Marshal Houston is leading the centre, which has taken over from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority in co-ordinating the search and distributing information about it.

He said the operation would be pursued with vigour but with no objects pulled from the Indian Ocean identified as being from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight, it could drag on for weeks, maybe months.

"I have to say in my experience - and I have got a lot of experience in search and rescue over the years - this search and recovery operation is probably the most challenging I have ever seen," he told reporters in Perth on Tuesday.

The last known position of the plane was a long way away from the area being examined and until some debris was found to narrow down the search, it "could drag on for a long time".

"I say that because the starting point whenever you do a search and rescue is the last known position of the vehicle or aircraft.

"In this particular case, the last known position was a long, long way from where the aircraft appears to have gone.

"We've been searching for many, many days and so far have not found anything connected with MH370."

Air Chief Marshal Houston said it was not known what altitude and speed the aircraft was travelling at and authorities were relying on the best information available.

"I think at this stage that it's very important to pursue all the leads," he added, as 10 planes and nine ships, some with helicopters, resumed the search.

He also said updated information about the pilot's final words provided some "clarity".

The pilot was originally reported as signing off: "All right, goodnight".

But it emerged on Monday that he had actually said: "Goodnight Malaysian three seven zero".

"The last communication was more formal than what was reported some weeks ago," Air Chief Marshal Houston said, and declined to comment further.

Defence Minister David Johnston said about a week remained to find the plane's black box, given the satellite "pinger" had about 30 days of battery life and the aircraft vanished on March 8.

"It depends on the temperature of the water and water depth and pressure as to how long the battery power will last," Senator Johnston told ABC radio.

He said it would take two or three days for the Australian naval vessel Ocean Shield, which has been fitted with a pinger locator, to reach the search zone, some 1850km west of Perth.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bushfire threatens homes in Vic town

An out-of-control bushfire is threatening homes in the small Victorian town of Narrawong. Source: AAP

RESIDENTS whose homes are threatened by a fast-moving bushfire near the small Victorian town of Narrawong have been warned to leave.

An emergency warning has been issued for the blaze in Victoria's southwest and a relief centre has been set up in the town and community meeting held for residents.

The fire has already burnt through more than 270 hectares.

It is travelling in a southerly direction from Golf Course Road, Mt Clay State Forest and towards Mt Clay fire tower, a Department of Environment and Primary Industries spokesperson says.

Residents in the vicinity of the bushfire have been warned they should leave now, before conditions become too dangerous.

The message applies to residents in the vicinity of Blackers Road, Devlins Road, Beavis Road, Brabender Lane, Kerrabrae Road and Angelino Road.

Community meetings were held at the Narrawong Hall and Portland Civic Centre on Tuesday night and a relief centre has been set up at the Portland Civic Centre.

Several roads have been closed and should be avoided.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More