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Mr Abbott had also withdrawn funding for other projects including $140.6 million for three new interchanges along the Tonkin Highway, $307.8 million for upgrades to the Great Northern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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GST shouldn't face fear tactics: ACT chief

ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher believes people should be able to discuss the GST without fear. Source: AAP

ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher believes people should be able to discuss the GST without fear campaigns.

The federal government insists it has no plans to change the GST in its first term but it will include the tax in a review.

Ms Gallagher said her Labor government hasn't formed a view on whether the rate of the GST should increase but it should be examined.

"You can't have a serious discussion about tax reform in the country if you're not going to have at least the GST on the table," she told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.

"If it can be had without political opponents running fear campaigns that would be good."

Her government faced a strong fear campaign on tax reform from the Canberra Liberals during the 2010 ACT election.

"We know how successful fear campaigns can be run," she said.

"But should that mean you don't have the discussion at all? I don't agree with that."

She would also like to see the review examine the GST's interaction with state taxes.

But the ACT wouldn't support changes to the redistribution process along a population basis because that would lead to the territory losing about $200 million a year.

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Indon navy slams Abbott boat plan

The Indonesian navy has slammed the Abbot government's plans to turn back asylum seeker boats. Source: AAP

THE Indonesian Foreign Ministry has warned that the Australian government's plan to turn back asylum seeker boats would risk cooperation and trust in joint efforts aimed at combating people smuggling.

The warning, contained in a statement issued on Thursday, came as the Indonesian navy joined in criticising Prime Minister Tony Abbott's plan to turn boats back, saying the policy was "too risky" and could cost lives at sea.

In the latest of a string of objections coming out of Jakarta, and just days before talks between Mr Abbott and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a senior officer from the Indonesian navy has called for the turn-back plan to be abandoned.

"What they need to do is to revise their own policy," Major Andy Apriyanto, a senior officer with the Maritime Security Coordinating Board told AAP.

"Casualties may happen with this, and if they are in open sea, first of all it's too risky with boats commonly in poor condition and over capacity."

He said Indonesia had cooperated in attempting to disrupt people smuggling operations, but that "it's impossible for us to stop all of the boats from entering Australia".

"We could've just let them sail to Australia, but no, we respect Australia's wishes," he said.

"This is a dilemma. If we don't save them, then everyone will be blaming us for not respecting human rights, not saving them. But if we let them (sail to Australia) then Australia would be yelling at us why we let them go."

The comments from the senior officer, who had been directed by Indonesian navy headquarters to speak on the issue, appear to be part of a ramping up in criticism coming out of Jakarta in recent days over Mr Abbott's asylum seeker policies, but namely his plan to turn boats around.

Further details of the rebuke of the policy delivered by Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa in New York earlier this week also emerged on Thursday, revealing he told Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop the turn-back plan risked future cooperation in tackling people smuggling.

The Indonesian foreign minister conveyed that "unilateral measures which are about to be taken by Australia are worrying ... (and) risk close cooperation and trust which has been gained under the framework of Bali Process and with that, should be avoided", according to a statement from the Indonesian Foreign Ministry.

The statement was prepared as a summary of the discussions between Dr Natalegawa and Ms Bishop in New York, but also included a broader Indonesian assessment of the coalition government's asylum seeker policies.

"Australia is expecting support from Indonesian government to prevent fishing boats with Indonesian flags to be used for people smuggling," the statement said.

"Australia also conveyed that they are ready to cooperate fully with Indonesian government on this issue 'behind the scenes' and 'quietly' to avoid excessive publicity that would have a negative impact on such efforts."

The coalition has repeatedly said its new suite of border protection measures, including the turn-back plan and paying Indonesian villagers for information on people smuggling operations, were non-negotiable.

Ms Bishop has said that the coalition would not be "seeking permission" to implement its asylum seeker policies despite Jakarta labelling some of the measures as an attack on Indonesian sovereignty.

The statement from the Indonesian Foreign Ministry confirmed the coalition's boat policies would be discussed during talks between Mr Abbott and President Yudhoyono in Jakarta next week, but also said Australia was "stressing that this issue will not dominate the whole agenda".

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