Govt ignored terrorist law improvements

An official says the former federal government ignored advice on how to improve anti-terrorism laws. Source: AAP

THE former federal government routinely ignored advice on how to improve anti-terrorism laws, a senior official says.

Bret Walker, the independent national security legislation monitor, has produced three reports over three years on Australia's counter-terrorism laws, the last covering the year to June 30, 2013.

In this latest report, tabled in federal parliament on Monday, he says his recommendations have met with no government or official response.

"When there is no apparent response to recommendations that would increase powers and authority to counter terrorism, some scepticism may start to take root about the political imperative to have the most effective and appropriate counter-terrorism laws," Mr Walker wrote in the report.

One of his recommendations, made in December 2012, was for the government to look at the British system of imposing control orders on convicted terrorists after their release from prison if they are considered to be of continuing danger.

Twelve months ago when the recommendation was made there were 10 convicted terrorists already released back into the community and 13 in jail who were likely to be released within five years.

Mr Walker says he received no response to his recommendation.

He also put forward the idea of Australian Security Intelligence Organisation officers being able to get questioning warrants by simply satisfying the attorney-general and the issuing authority that it was "reasonable in all the circumstances".

This would avoid having to use what Mr Walker described as the "excessive last resort test".

A further ignored recommendation would ensure terrorism could not be alleged against serving Australian soldiers.

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Empty VIP flights cost over $1 million

The cost of flying for travellers within the USA is about to get higher thanks to the budget deal. Source: AAP

TAXPAYERS shelled out more than $1.1 million over six months for near-empty air force planes to pick up politicians and other dignitaries or to return from having dropped them off.

More than $200,000 was spent for a passenger-less KC-30A transport plane to fly to and from China in April, a Defence report shows.

The aircraft was used to fly then-prime minister Julia Gillard, ministers Bob Carr, Craig Emerson and Bill Shorten, staffers, bureaucrats, business delegates and journalists around in China - but it did not transport them to the country from Australia or fly them back.

Ms Gillard took a different RAAF plane to and from China for the trade and business trip.

Journalists on the trip used commercial flights to get to Hainan province, where Ms Gillard started her tour.

The air force's VIP fleet was also sent to Perth each parliamentary sitting week to bring Western Australian politicians to Canberra.

Coalition, Labor and Greens politicians all took advantage of the flights.

Those 10 missions cost taxpayers almost $275,000 - including $151,680 for each of the Canberra-to-Perth legs when there were no passengers.

RAAF planes were also used to fly politicians home from Canberra after the budget week in May and the final sitting before the election in June.

These trips cost a total of $75,210.

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David Campbell to swing on NYE in Perth

Entertainer David Campbell will perform swing favourites at Crown Perth on New Year's Eve. Source: AAP

CROONER, cabaret star, television host, actor, musical theatre performer - David Campbell has it covered.

The entertainer will perform on New Year's Eve in Perth, singing classic swing hits including Mack the Knife and Can't Take My Eyes Off You.

The host of television program Mornings, Campbell has not done a swing show in more than a year.

"It's something that is close to my heart and I wanted to dip my toe back into it," he told AAP.

Campbell often performs for New Year's Eve but has not worked the event in Perth since 1999.

The singer plans to record an album next year and says he will try some of the songs on New Year's Eve.

"The album is not a new year's resolution, but it's a new year's intention," he said.

Campbell also said he was interested in touring with his father, Cold Chisel rocker Jimmy Barnes, and his sister Mahalia, who found fame through The Voice.

"I think Cold Chisel is going to push us out next year," he said.

"So maybe in 2015-16 ... if we don't get distracted."

Next year is shaping up to be a big one for Campbell, who is part of a group setting up a cabaret and musical theatre venue in Sydney.

Their first show will be performed in February and Campbell said he hoped later productions could tour.

He said he was pleased to see musicals achieving success in films, such as Les Miserables and Mamma Mia.

He said there were also many successful revivals on stage, such as Grease and the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

"It's a very, very healthy base, where it's all coming from at the moment, and I think it's only going to grow," he said.

* David Campbell will perform at Crown Perth on New Year's Eve. Tickets are still available.

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ADC ends peach dumping probe

AUSTRALIA'S anti-dumping body is being asked to explain why it decided not to impose tariffs when it found South Africans were dumping preserved peaches.

The Australian Anti-Dumping Commission (ADC) has refused to allow anti-dumping duties to be applied to preserved peaches despite an application by SPCA, which claimed dumping of the fruit by South African importers Langeberg & Ashton Foods Pty Ltd (L&AF) and Rhodes Food Group Pty Ltd.

The anti-dumping commissioner has found the amount offloaded on Australia was not large and the value of the goods was negligible, it said on Monday.

Federal Member for Murray Sharman Stone said New Zealand had come to the opposite conclusion when considering the same goods.

"It is also hard to comprehend that the ADC itself recognised that the peaches were being dumped, but decided that it isn't having an effect on our local markets," Dr Stone said in a statement.

"And also two countries with almost identical dumping cases, with the same product, with the same South African companies, can have two completely different outcomes."

Dr Stone plans to ask the ADC to explain its findings.

Dumping occurs when goods are exported to Australia at a price below the price charged in the home market or below its cost of production.

Remedial action may be taken where dumping causes material injury to an Australian industry.

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Eight more dead in Bangladesh riots

10 people have been killed in Bangladesh's violence over the execution of an Islamist party leader. Source: AAP

EIGHT more deaths were reported in Bangladesh in intensified riots and protests sparked by the execution of a top Islamist leader, as the prime minister warned of a crackdown on the violence.

Police said Islamist supporters torched houses and fought running street battles with officers in towns and cities during a third day of unrest over the execution of Abdul Quader Molla for war crimes.

Two people were killed on Sunday in the northern town of Patgram and another six elsewhere overnight, police said, as Islamist supporters enforced a nationwide strike over the execution of Molla, a senior leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party.

"Police fired shotgun pellets to disperse the Jamaat protesters who torched at least 20 houses belonging to ruling party supporters," government administrator Habibur Rahman told AFP of the violence in Patgram.

Molla's hanging on Thursday night triggered fresh unrest in the impoverished country, already reeling from political violence in the build-up to a deeply divisive national election scheduled for January 5.

Twenty people are now known to have died and dozens more have been injured in the clashes since Thursday between outraged Jamaat activists and police and between the activists and supporters of the ruling Awami League.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina warned of strong action against the rioters, saying "we have shown enough patience. We will not tolerate anymore."

"People of the country know how to reply to these atrocities (the latest violence), we (government) also know how to respond to, control you (the rioters)," she told a rally late on Saturday to commemorate those killed in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

Molla, 65, became the first person to be executed for his role in that war. Jamaat called the hanging a "political murder" and said it would avenge it.

Molla had been found guilty in February by a much-criticised domestic tribunal of having been a leader of a pro-Pakistan militia that fought against the country's independence and killed some of Bangladesh's top professors, doctors, writers and journalists.

He was convicted of rape, murder and mass murder, including the killing of more than 350 unarmed civilians. Prosecutors called him the "Butcher of Mirpur", a Dhaka suburb where he committed most of the atrocities.

Of the six killed overnight, police said three died in the southern town of Companyganj, two in the northern town of Ramganj and one in the coastal town of Laxmipur.

At Companyganj, an opposition bastion, police fired rifles to disperse at least 8,000 rampaging Jamaat supporters who torched four government offices and attacked officers with crude bombs and guns, a senior police officer said.

In Ramganj, activists of Jamaat and its main ally, the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, attacked a convoy of ruling party lawmakers, leaving two people dead, sub-inspector Ershadul Alam told AFP.

Molla was one of five Islamists and other politicians sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal, which the opposition says is aimed at eradicating its leaders.

The sentences have triggered riots and plunged the country into its worst violence since independence.

Some 250 people have now been killed in street protests since January, when the first verdicts were handed down.

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Red-suited revellers hit NY bars

The costumed New York pub crawl known as SantaCon has seen thousands of Santa's partying in bars. Source: AAP

SANTA Claus came to town despite snow and widespread criticism of the costumed New York pub crawl known as SantaCon.

New York City's SantaCon started on Saturday morning in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. Thousands of red-suited revellers then spread out through the city's bars and snowy streets.

This year's SantaCon takes place in New York amid criticism that the event has become too rowdy. SantaCon participants were told to make charitable donations and encouraged to bring small gifts to bestow on one another and passers-by.

Organisers say similar events were set for more than 100 other cities worldwide on Saturday, including San Francisco; Portland, Oregon, Newport Beach, California and Vancouver, British Columbia.

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Aussie held over alleged arson in Thailand

A 47-YEAR-OLD Australian man has been arrested by Thai police and faces charges of assault and arson after clashing with the manager of a motorbike rental company in southern Thailand.

Kent Wesley Farrar, from Victoria, was detained on Friday after becoming allegedly angered by the bike's excessive use of fuel after renting the bike for a week on the resort island of Koh Chang, and demanded a refund.

But the manager, Narong Borploy, 55, said Farrar turned down the offer of another bike and started fighting after being refused the repayment.

Farrar, who sustained head injuries in the clash, then allegedly grabbed a fuel canister and poured petrol over three rental bikes and set them ablaze.

Thai police said Farrar then grabbed a knife and began threatening passers-by before being subdued at the scene.

Farrar faces charges of arson and assault and a damage bill of 100,000 baht (A$3500).

Thai Police investigator on the case, Police Captain Banjerd Krachangsaeng, was unavailable for comment when contacted by AAP.

Farrar's arrest comes in the lead up to the peak holiday season in Thailand and an influx of Australians over the Christmas period. Up to one million Australians visit Thailand each year.

Australian travellers are regularly warned over renting motorbikes in Thailand, often associated with scams by operators to extract additional fees for unspecified damages allegedly caused during the rental period.

A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said the department was aware of Farrar's arrest and consular staff were seeking to meet with him and provide assistance.

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Police assaulted at NSW soccer game

A POLICEMAN had to use "defensive strikes" to force a man to release his grip on his groin during a brawl at a Newcastle A-League soccer match.

Another police officer was punched in the head by another man in the melee, which saw a spectator punched in the face three times on Saturday night.

Police from the Public Order and Riot Squad and local officers were patrolling the match between the Newcastle Jets and Western Sydney Wanderers at the Hunter Stadium when a fight broke out and objects were thrown at 9.40pm.

They say the crowd turned hostile towards them when they intervened.

During a scuffle, a 21-year-old man allegedly grabbed the policeman's groin and refused to let go.

The man, police say, had been hindering police when he was pushed out of the way and fell on the ground.

He was arrested and charged with assault police.

He will appear in Newcastle Local Court on January 16.

At the same match police spoke to three spectators who were allegedly causing trouble.

One man refused to follow a police direction to return his seat.

Police allege he punched another spectator in the face three times before turning on the officers who tried to arrest him.

The 41-year-old is accused of punching one officer in the side of the head.

He was charged with assault police and behave in an offensive manner.

He will also appear in Newcastle Local Court on Monday.

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Sydney road and railway line reopen

A MAIN road and part of a railway line that were shut after a train malfunction on a level crossing in Sydney's northwest have reopened.

Garfield Road at Riverstone and the T1 western railway line between Mulgrave and Quakers Hill station are open but the Transport Management Centre says delays could still occur on trains in the area.

No delays are expected on local roads.

Supplementary buses are running and users of public transport are being asked to allow extra travel time.

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Man arrested after shots fired in Tas

A man is in custody after shots were reportedly fired in a Tasmanian street. Source: AAP

A MAN is in custody after shots were reportedly fired in a Tasmanian street.

Police received calls from the public reporting several shots being fired in the street by a man in Swansea on Tasmania's east coast, just before 5pm (AEDT).

Investigations are continuing.

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