Open West Papua to media, NGOs: Jokowi

INDONESIAN presidential candidate Joko Widodo has promised to open West Papua to foreign journalists and non-government organisations if he wins next month's election.

Access to the troubled Indonesian province is broadly restricted to foreign reporters but this doesn't stop requests for entry, particularly from Australian media.

Those who defy the ban typically report being followed and questioned by Indonesian police.

Visiting Jayapura on Thursday, the presidential favourite known as Jokowi promised to allow access, The Jakarta Post reports.

"Why not? It's safe here in Papua," he was quoted as saying. "There's nothing to hide."

The popular former Jakarta governor promised to improve education and healthcare in West Papua.

Foreign NGOs have reported difficulties getting access to the area, which lags behind the rest of Indonesia in development despite being resource-rich.

In October last year, three West Papuan activists climbed the wall into the Australian consulate in Bali to demand media access to the province.

Ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, the trio presented a letter asking for him to seek the release of political prisoners from Indonesian jails.

Mr Abbott reiterated his support for Indonesia's sovereignty over Papua.

Indonesia's presidential race officially began on Wednesday, with Jokowi facing stiff competition from rival Prabowo Subianto, a former military commander.

Indonesia goes to the polls on July 9.

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Two more Nauru opposition MPs banned

TWO more opposition MPs have been suspended from the Nauru parliament amid claims the government is trying to avoid scrutiny of a budget that contains Australian funding for asylum seekers.

The Nauru government is expected to hand down its budget later on Thursday.

Three opposition MPs were banned from parliament in May amid chaotic scenes that included a police stand-off.

Another two - former president Sprent Dabwido and Squire Jeremiah - were suspended on Thursday for behaving in an "unparliamentary, disorderly, shameful, disgraceful way" during the last sitting day in May.

A committee will examine whether to freeze their entitlements.

They had opposed the earlier suspensions of Roland Kun, former foreign minister Kieren Keke and Mathew Batsiua.

That trio had been booted from parliament for talking to foreign journalists and criticising the government's decision to expel the country's chief justice, Australian Geoffrey Eames, and the dismissal of its only magistrate, Peter Law, another Australian.

There are now only three non-government MPs left in the parliament, facing 11 from the government.

"The whole thing has gone pear-shaped," Mr Kun told AAP from New Zealand.

"We're pleading for the Speaker to save the legislature because the government has already killed the judiciary."

The opposition is unable to seek a Supreme Court ruling because no chief justice has been appointed to replace Mr Eames.

Mr Kun believes the latest suspensions are connected to budget timing.

"There are numerous holes in the budget but we can't put a finger on them until they actually present the paper work," he said.

Australia provides much of the government's budget, which it uses to run an immigration detention centre and resettlement program.

So far Nauru has resettled 41 refugees on a temporary basis until a third country, expected to be Cambodia, agrees to a deal with Australia.

The detention centre is accommodating more than 1100 asylum seekers.

Opposition MPs are concerned that funding for health care, education, transport and utilities is going backwards.

Mr Kun believes money has been diverted to a pool of fund used to pay cash bonuses to "selected individuals".

If the budget passes on Thursday parliament may not sit again until next year, he said.

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Australia looks beyond China for growth

AUSTRALIA won't be putting all of its economic and investment eggs into China's basket, Trade Minister Andrew Robb says.

Mr Robb and Prime Minister Tony Abbott will embark on a trade and investment tour of Canada and the United States next week.

It will include Mr Abbott's first meeting with US President Barack Obama at the White House.

Mr Robb will lead a separate business delegation to Ottawa, Toronto, New York and Houston.

China accounts for 30 per cent of Australia's exports and about $151 billion in two-way trade.

Critics say this leaves the Australian economy open to danger should the Chinese economy slow down.

But Mr Robb said the argument was misguided, particularly given the interest in Australia from the US, Canada, Indonesia, the Gulf States and Singapore.

"I've done 28 investment roundtables in 10 countries," he told AAP.

"They want a stable, certain investment environment.

"I think we are quite attractive and we are restoring the gold standard for sovereign risk."

The US had 10 times more invested in Australia than it had in China, and Australia had $30 billion invested in China but $450 billion in the US.

"I'm very conscious of the fact that the long-term investors - the US, UK, Switzerland and Japan - will continue to be the mainstay of our investment," Mr Robb said.

"A lot of the growth may come out of China and others but you still need the mainstay.

"We can't put our eggs in the one basket but it's fair to say we are not."

The focus of Mr Robb's mission will be pension funds and other investors in North America with an interest in tourism and hospitality, medical research and devices, resources and energy, education and agribusiness.

"These are five things we feel we are as good as anybody and better than most," he said.

There was also the potential for investment in some of the $200 billion in potential state asset sales spurred on by the government's offer of a 15 per cent bonus if the money is put back into infrastructure.

Capital was needed to build five-star hotels to service the growing number of high-spending Chinese tourists.

Agribusiness investment was essential to growing high-value food and fibre products, processing it and shipping it overseas.

Mr Robb's next trip after North America will be to Switzerland and the UK.

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Dredge spoil dumping near reef approved

THE government body that protects the Great Barrier Reef has approved the dumping of more than 370,000 cubic metres of dredge spoil in the marine park.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) has issued a permit to allow a port authority to dump the spoil as part of a dredging project at Hay Point coal port in central Queensland.

The decision has angered conservation groups, and comes only months after the authority gave the green light for three million tonnes of spoil to be dumped as part of a project to expand the nearby Abbot Point coal port.

"It is an astounding level of arrogance," North Queensland Conservation Council spokeswoman Wendy Tubman said.

"The government claims it is protecting the reef while allowing it to be subjected to such damage from out-of-control sea dumping."

She also says the federal and Queensland governments are taking UNESCO "for a ride".

The United Nation's environment arm has said it regrets the federal government's decision to approve the Abbot Point dredging project, and has raised concerns about the overall health of the reef.

UNESCO is expected to discuss whether to list the reef as a World Heritage site "in danger" when it meets next week.

The Ports Corporation of Queensland wants to carry out the works at Hay Point to make it easier for ships to access the port and to increase capacity.

It's estimated 378,400 cubic metres of dredge spoil will be dumped within the marine park over three years.

The dredging will be carried out within the marine park and the World Heritage Area.

GBRMPA says no hard coral reefs are in the approved dredge disposal area.

It also says the permit imposes a number of conditions to minimise potential effects on the marine park, including the Whitsundays, which is north of Hay Point.

"With safeguards in place, the proposed dredging and dredge disposal is unlikely to significantly impact on the environmental, social, heritage and cultural values of the Marine Park," the authority said in a statement.

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Light rail to transform Sydney: govt

A $1.6 billion light rail system linking some of Sydney's biggest attractions will create 10,000 jobs and make it easier for people to travel to sporting, entertainment, health and education areas, the state government says.

By 2020, 20 light rail stops will be built along the 12km route, which, according to present schemes, will run between Circular Quay and Central, the Moore Park sporting and entertainment precinct, Randwick Racecourse, the University of NSW and Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick.

"It extends from Circular Quay along George Street to Central Station and Moore Park, then to Kingsford via Anzac Parade and Randwick via Alison Road and High Street," Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said of the "priority project ... that will transform Sydney".

During peak times, services would depart the city centre every two to three minutes and about every five minutes between Moore Park and the Randwick and Kingsford branches, Ms Berejiklian said.

The light rail project will be designed, built, operated and maintained using money from public and private sectors.

Major works are scheduled to start in 2015.

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No panic about iron ore price:WA treasurer

THE West Australian treasurer says he is not panicking about a slump in iron ore prices, which threaten to erode the budget surplus.

The spot price for the metal is about $US92 a tonne, a near two-year low.

The state government has assumed a price of about $US125/t for the financial year and almost $123/t for 2014/15.

And for every $US1 fluctuation in the iron ore price, WA's royalties vary by $49 million.

That is substantial considering the state has forecast a surplus of $183 million this financial year, falling to a wafer-thin $5 million by 2015/16.

While WA Opposition Leader Mark McGowan has called on the state government "to provide a full explanation" as to why its projections are higher than those of analysts, Treasurer Mike Nahan says treasury estimates are credible and there is no reason to panic.

Dr Nahan said the state government was closely watching the iron ore price, which fluctuates considerably.

"It varies quite a bit," he told ABC radio on Wednesday.

"We're not trying to predict the variations in it - we're looking at the long haul.

"You just have to hold your nerve on these issues. There is volatility in this.

"If we react to every downward trend by immediately taking drastic actions, we could not govern well.

"I'm not going to slam on the brakes in any way."

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Confusion remains about Burma name change

CONFUSION over what to call Burma, or Myanmar, depending on who and where you are, seems to have surfaced once again.

For decades, Australia's foreign service referred to the Southeast Asian nation as Burma, but after democratic reforms, the previous Labor government in 2012 changed all official references to the Union of Myanmar.

Now it's been confirmed the Abbott government quietly switched back to Burma in late 2013, as rumoured, when the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) website suddenly reverted to the old title.

Consistency seems to be lacking, though.

DFAT's country brief uses Burma, but the Smartraveller website opts for Burma followed by Myanmar in brackets.

Liberal Senator Helen Kroger appeared unimpressed that references to Myanmar remained at all, given the directive from the prime minister in November.

In particular, the eagle-eyed senator grilled DFAT officials at a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday about Australia's top envoy being confusingly called the ambassador to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.

"There was a directive from the prime minister in relation to this foreign policy matter," Ms Kroger told a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday.

"So you're saying that his word doesn't amount to anything?"

DFAT secretary Peter Varghese assured Senator Kroger his officials were "faithfully implementing" the prime minister's policy changes by the book.

Under the somewhat confusing guidelines, the government's policy is for diplomats and envoys to switch freely between Burma and Myanmar, depending on the circumstances.

When dealing with the government in Yangon or countries that prefer Myanmar, Australian officials follow suit.

But in domestic contexts or dealing with the US or UK, the older Burma title is adopted.

"Our ambassador to Myanmar would be our ambassador to Myanmar, because the country to which she is accredited is Myanmar, in the eyes of the government of Myanmar," Mr Varghese said.

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Alleged jewellery thieves flaunted booty

IT took several police officers and a member of the public to bring down an alleged jewellery thief as he fled through a Perth mall before a dramatic arrest.

About 5.45pm (WST) on Wednesday, officers saw two men in their early 20s, who had allegedly stolen jewellery from a city store, filming and photographing themselves wearing the stolen goods, a police spokesman said.

Police caught one of the men and asked the other to hand over his mobile phone, but he took "an aggressive stance" and fled the scene.

Following a chase through Forrest Place, several officers and a member of the public brought the man to the ground.

Both men were taken into custody.

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No relief in sight as 'warm wave' rolls on

Record high temperatures are clear sign of climate change hitting Australia, a report shows. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA has experienced its hottest two years on record and high temperatures are set to continue through winter in a clear sign climate change is having an impact, a new report warns.

May 2012 to April 2014 was the hottest 24-month period ever recorded in Australia, but that is likely to be eclipsed by the two years between June 2012 and May 2014, according to the Climate Commission's latest report, Abnormal Autumn.

"We have just had an abnormally warm autumn, off the back of another very hot 'angry summer'," Climate Council Professor Will Steffen said.

"The past two-year period has delivered the hottest average temperature we have ever recorded in Australia.

"Climate change is here, it's happening, and Australians are already feeling its impact."

The average temperature across Australia in April was 1.11C above the long-term average, the report says, citing Bureau of Meteorology figures.

The average minimum temperature was 1.31C above normal.

Unseasonable temperatures in the autumn "warm wave" set records, with Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne setting benchmarks for the consecutive number of May days when the mercury reached 20C or higher.

In its report, the Climate Council says the abnormally warm weather in April and May "are part of a longer-term trend towards hotter conditions in the summer months and more warm spells in autumn and winter".

It says each of the 12-month periods ending in January, February, March and April 2014 have been record warm periods for Australia, with May figures on track to also be a new high.

"Such records are consistent with the ongoing global and Australia-wide, multi-decadal trends towards a hotter climate," the report says.

Meteorologists predict a high likelihood that Australia will experience an El Nino event - characterised by below-average rainfall in the east and south - in coming months.

The Climate Council says an El Nino could worsen the impacts of climate change, leading to hotter, drier weather.

The Climate Council is a crowd-funded, independent organisation created by the members of the former Climate Commission, which was axed by the coalition government when it came to power in 2013.

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No electricity sell-off plans yet: Baird

The NSW premier's reported plan to sell the state's electricity network in stages has been attacked. Source: AAP

NSW Premier Mike Baird has hosed down suggestions he is preparing to sell off the state's poles and wires, as Labor accuses him of having a "secret" privatisation plan.

Media reports suggest Mr Baird will use the government's June 17 budget to spruik the benefits of selling off the state's electricity assets.

But the premier, who spearheaded an aggressive privatisation push in his previous role as the state's treasurer, said the government had not changed its position on the issue and would take any privatisation policy to the next election.

"I've said very clearly that if we are going to pursue a transaction like that we would need a full mandate," Mr Baird told reporters in Sydney on Monday.

"That is something we'll discuss in our party rooms, that is something we'll discuss in cabinet and that's something we'll be doing in due course."

But Opposition Leader John Robertson wasn't convinced.

He claims Mr Baird is preparing a "secret plan" to privatise the state's poles and wires.

"For years, the people in this state have known only too well what privatisation means," he told reporters.

"It means increased prices ... and for many families that's going to simply push them to breaking point."

He said any sale would strip $1 billion a year in dividends from NSW, which would normally be reinvested into schools and hospitals.

The state's peak union council is vowing to resist the move with a fierce campaign.

"We're very concerned about the premier trying to privatise electricity by the backdoor," Unions NSW Assistant Secretary Mark Morey told AAP.

"Mr Baird should be open and honest rather than floating balloons and come clean with the public."

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