Afghan soldier who killed Diggers caught

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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US politicians still get paid in shutdown

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

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

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

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

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

Lawmakers aren't oblivious to how it looks.

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

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Vic bikies appear in court after raids

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

None of the five applied for bail.

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

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

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

All three are expected to appear in court on Wednesday.

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

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

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

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Last Post sounds for Rusty Priest

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

THEY called him the soldier's soldier.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Adelaide banks in bungled stick-ups

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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NSW police get new flood rescue boats

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Qld on the cusp of tourism boom: Newman

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Former Democrats leader dies aged 70

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

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

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

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

Ms Powell led the Democrats from 1990-1991.

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

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

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

She joined the Australian Greens in 2004.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Labor leadership contenders visit Perth

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Chopper Read admitted to hospital: manager

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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