Incoming AG thrilled about the job

Australia's incoming attorney-general Mark Dreyfus says Australia's laws should reflect our values. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S incoming attorney-general believes the nation's laws should protect and care for all Australians.

Mark Dreyfus, QC, will replace Nicola Roxon on Monday as she stands aside for personal reasons ahead of quitting politics at the September 14 federal election.

"I have been sitting in cabinet as the cabinet secretary since the election, so to some extent that will be a familiar environment, but of course the workload will increase and I'm thrilled to have this opportunity," Mr Dreyfus told ABC online on Saturday.

"I've had a long career in the law and it's a career that's given me ... a number of deep beliefs about the Australian legal system, such as Australian laws are there to protect and care for all Australians - our elderly, our workers, our injured, outspoken journalists."

Australian laws need to reflect national values of fairness and equality of opportunity, he says.

Mr Dreyfus was first elected to the seat of Isaacs in Victoria in 2007. He's been cabinet secretary and parliamentary secretary for climate change and energy efficiency since the last election.

He was born in Perth and studied law in Melbourne where he became a ministerial adviser to Victorian attorney-general Jim Kennan in 1985.

Mr Dreyfus became a barrister in 1987 and a Queens Counsel in 1999.

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Roxon praised for work on tobacco

PM Julia Gillard says Attorney-General Nicola Roxon (pic) will be remembered for her law reform. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S first female attorney-general Nicola Roxon won international recognition for taking on big tobacco and driving Australia's world-leading packaging laws, Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.

Ms Roxon, who was elected as the member for Gellibrand in 1998, has resigned as attorney-general and minister for emergency management.

She will move to the backbench on Monday to be replaced by Victorian MP Mark Dreyfus, QC, and will not contest her safe seat at the next election.

Ms Roxon was emotional in Canberra on Saturday as she explained it had been a privilege to work for Labor for all those years.

But it was a demanding and exhausting job and she could not commit to the work rate for a sixth term in parliament.

"When I was elected 15 years ago, I hadn't even met my husband Michael and my daughter Rebecca was a long way from being born," she said.

"If I run for office again, she'll almost be in high school before I might retire.

"I admire the work the prime minister has done on behalf of Australian families and am extremely grateful for her understanding of the needs of mine," she said.

However she urged other women to consider giving politics a go, saying the sky was the limit and the political system needed them.

Ms Gillard said Ms Roxon had fearlessly taken on big tobacco and as minister for emergency management had been at the helm of the nation's response to natural disasters on many occasions.

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Train crash not due to mechanical fault

Cranes have removed the wreckage of a derailed passenger train from a station in Brisbane's east. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND Transport Minister Scott Emerson says preliminary investigations suggest Brisbane's passenger train crash was not the result of a mechanical fault.

Mr Emerson has also asked Australia's transport regulator to run its own inquiry into the spectacular derailment.

Queensland Rail and police are already investigating the cause of the crash, which saw the train run up onto the platform and smash into a toilet block at Cleveland station on Thursday.

Mr Emerson says the train underwent a full inspection on January 9.

"This train had been fully inspected just a matter of weeks ago," he told reporters on Friday.

"There was a routine inspection earlier that day.

"There's no evidence, no indication that there was anything wrong with the train at all, and there were no reports from the driver on the journey from Doomben to Cleveland of any problems with the train."

It was also not the first train on that line that day.

Mr Emerson declined to comment on the actions of the train driver and said he did not want to pre-empt findings.

He also ruled out that it was a slippage.

"Slippages occur often in the system when there's water on the line," Mr Emerson said.

"That occurs probably every week on a train system ... but that has no connection to what happened in Cleveland."

The ATSB's probe is expected to be much quicker than Queensland's emergency services investigation.

Instead of three months, the ATSB will release interim findings within a month, Mr Emerson said.

The wreckage of the train was removed overnight, and work is underway to repair the station, the track and up to 300 metres of overhead wiring.

A woman who was in the toilet block was lucky to have escaped with her life, while passengers on the train suffered only minor injuries.

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Life sentence for gay love-triangle killer

A QATARI man who was convicted of murdering his gay love rival will stay behind bars for at least 15 years, a Perth judge has ruled.

Justice Lindy Jenkins on Friday handed Mohammed Ahmed Almansouri a life sentence with a non-parole period of 15 years after he was found guilty of fatally stabbing love rival Kenny Horack in August 2011.

Mr Horack, from Texas, was stabbed 14 times by Almansouri after tensions surrounding their complicated relationships with shared lover Ben Campbell spilled over into a brutal attack at the home the trio shared in Perth's western suburbs.

After a two-week trial late last year, in which Almansouri claimed self defence and that he'd been bullied by Mr Horack, the jury took less than two hours to convict him of murder.

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Floods may cause temporary banana shortage

THE floods in Queensland and northern NSW may cause a temporary shortage of bananas, but those fearing the sky high prices of 2011 can rest assured that this time it will be shortlived.

Woolworths chief executive Grant O'Brien says that while the full impact of the floods is yet to be determined there would be some short-term shortages.

"We're still waiting to hear from farmers what the full and long term effects will be but suffice to say there will be some shortages in the short term," he told reporters after announcing Woolworths' first half 2012/13 sales results on Thursday.

Banana prices soared to about $14 a kilo after Cyclone Yasi destroyed most of far north Queensland's crops in February 2011.

Mr O'Brien said while shoppers would not experience soaring prices on popular produce such as bananas like they did in 2011, there would be shortages due to delays in deliveries.

"With the water going into the Lockyer Valley and into Bundaberg they're affecting growing areas for us," he said.

"But last time the entire banana crop was wiped out and that was such a significant event because bananas are the biggest single selling item in our stores.

"That won't be the case this time. There will be a short-term shortage of bananas but that's mainly got to do with farmers being able to get them to market."

He said two of Woolworths' supermarkets, a petrol station a Dan Murphy's liquor outlet, four BWS stores and one of its hotel remained closed in Queensland due to the floods.

"But it's nothing near the level we had in 2011 and we'll recover from that quite quickly with the possible exception of those two supermarket which have got a bit of damage to them," he said.

Mr O'Brien said the loss of power in some stores was also still affecting their levels of stock.

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Missing Sydney man found dead in his home

A SYDNEY flight attendant who went missing on Australia Day has been found dead in the basement of his home in Randwick.

Benjamin Roper, 32, left his home at about 7pm (AEDT) on January 26 without taking his mobile phone, car or other belongings.

Police on Thursday said his body had been found following an extensive search and his death was not being treated as suspicious.

A report will now be prepared for the coroner.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.

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Qld floods have now claimed six lives

Fears are growing that Queensland's flood death toll could rise as authorities search for two men. Source: AAP

THE death toll in the Queensland floods has risen to six with the discovery of a second body in the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane on Wednesday.

The body of a 34-year-old man was found in a car submerged in Sandy Creek at Glen Cairn, near Gatton, on Wednesday morning.

The body of a 25-year-old man was found nearby by police divers several hours later.

Their cars were swept off the road by floodwaters as the two men drove from Gatton to Mulgowie to start work at a farm at 5am (AEST) on Sunday.

Three other men have died in floodwaters and three-year-old boy died after a tree fell on him in Brisbane.

A young man who went missing while swimming in floodwaters at Maryborough was found alive.

Meantime, hundreds of soldiers are on their way to floodstricken Bundaberg, while Brisbane faces water supply dramas.

A convoy of 61 military vehicles carrying more than 200 soldiers is on its way from Brisbane to Bundaberg where about 2000 homes were flooded, many up to their roof tops.

The floodwaters are slowly dropping, but with so much water coming down the Burnett River it's expected to be some time before around 7500 residents can return home.

About 1200 people remain in official evacuation centres, with thousands of others bedding down with family and friends.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith says the defence force personnel will stay in Bundaberg for as long as they are needed.

Brisbane residents have been told to limit water use after flooding forced the shutdown of the city's main processing plant.

Premier Campbell Newman told reporters on Wednesday the Mount Crosby plant should be back up and running within 36 hours, but he warned some suburbs could run out of water before then.

He did not name the areas that would be affected but said the Brisbane City Council had drinking water ready to supply them.

Water coming into the plant at Mt Crosby is four times more turbid than what it was during the 2011 flood, he said.

Floodwaters are dropping slowly in Logan, south of Brisbane.

Logan Mayor Pam Parker says eight homes in Logan Reserve have had water through them, 7500 are without power, and about 200 residents in the suburb of Buccan are isolated.

A large body of water is heading towards the central Queensland city of Rockhampton with residents preparing for flood peaks to hit this weekend.

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Elderly brought out of digital dark ages

MORE than 1.3 million seniors, including those in regional NSW, will get help to become familiar with computer and internet technology.

NSW Ageing Minister Andrew Constance says the Tech Savvy Seniors program - a partnership with Telstra - provides low cost or free training in community colleges and libraries covering computers, tablets, smartphones and the basics of social media.

"We have a digital divide and it's something we must close the gap on," Mr Constance told AAP on Wednesday.

"We do not want to see seniors in our state left in the technology dark ages."

Gordon Ballantyne, Telstra's Chief Customer Officer, said the ease with which smartphones and computers can access online shopping, paying bills and connecting to family, friends and the broader community would be of great benefit to older people.

Pam and Bob Richards are two certified Tech Savvy Seniors.

Mr Richards, 73, wanted to attract the younger generation to Rotary clubs, but found that the main source of communication was through Facebook and Twitter, not posted mail or printed newsletters.

So he and his wife enrolled into the first Tech Savvy Seniors program at Jannali Community College.

"Now technology is a part of our every day lives," said Mrs Richards, 71.

Nearly 15 per cent of the current population is over the age of 65.

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Robert McClelland confirms retirement

Former government minister Robert McClelland will retire from politics at the next federal election. Source: AAP

FORMER federal attorney-general Robert McClelland will retire from politics at the next federal election.

Mr McClelland, who was dumped from the front bench by Prime Minister Julia Gillard after he supported Kevin Rudd in a leadership challenge in early 2012, confirmed his decision on Tuesday afternoon.

"After almost 17 years in federal parliament my decision has not been taken lightly," he said in a statement.

It follows discussions with family and friend over the Christmas break.

Mr McClelland is the Labor MP for the seat of Barton in Sydney.

"I take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the constituents of Barton," he said.

Former NSW Labor premier Morris Iemma is being touted as a possible ALP candidate for Mr McClelland's seat.

Mr McClelland was elected to federal parliament in 1996 and became the shadow attorney-general in 1998.

He became federal attorney-general in 2007, when Mr Rudd led Labor to victory over the coalition Howard government.

In 2011, he became minister for housing, homelessness and emergency management.

But the Rudd supporter lost his position in March, after Ms Gillard fought off a challenge from Mr Rudd, who had lost the prime ministership in 2010.

Mr McClelland thanked his family, staff, friends and supporters.

"I wish my successor all the very best in the important and tremendously satisfying role that lies ahead for him or her and I look forward to continuing to make a contribution to the Australian community in the next stage of my professional career," he added.

Speculation that Mr McClelland could face a challenge from the former NSW premier surfaced last year with talk Mr Iemma was being promoted as a Labor pre-selection candidate for Barton, in Sydney's south.

At the time, Foreign Minister Bob Carr told reporters that if Mr McClelland were to retire he could not think of a better candidate than Mr Iemma.

Mr Iemma was an "honest and industrious premier who was badly treated by my party", he said.

Mr Iemma succeeded Senator Carr as NSW premier in August 2005 and served until his resignation in 2008 amid debate on privatisation of the state's electricity sector.

Comment is being sought from Mr Iemma.

Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey took to Twitter to wish Mr McClelland well.

"Rob McClelland - a very decent guy treated poorly by Julia Gillard," Mr Hockey tweeted.

"I genuinely wish him and his wonderful family all the very best."

Labor backbencher Steve Gibbons said his colleague would be missed in the Labor caucus.

"Not surprised to hear of Rob McClelland's decision to retire at the next election," Mr Gibbons tweeted.

"Rob's served the party and his community with great distinction despite what some media commentators have said."

Labor's NSW secretary Sam Dastyari congratulated Mr McClelland for a "great Labor career".

Federal government chief whip Joel Fitzgibbon tweeted Mr McClelland was a "great MP, great Attorney and great bloke".

"Fantastic servant of the Movement," Mr Fitzgibbon said in the tweet. "History will treat him well."

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Crossin says she may have gone earlier

NORTHERN Territory senator Trish Crossin says she may have retired if she had been told she was to be cast aside so Nova Peris could be given her job.

Senator Crossin lost her coveted spot on Tuesday as the first choice to represent the party in the Senate in the NT.

It followed the ALP national executive's endorsement of the Aboriginal Olympian for the job.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said last week she wanted Ms Peris as her "captain's pick", to boost Labor's indigenous representation in the parliament.

"Perhaps if people had a discussion with me prior to last week then my retirement plans may have occurred earlier," Ms Crossin said after learning she had lost No 1 spot on the ALP's NT Senate ticket.

"That didn't occur and I was put in a situation where I was told that this was going to be the outcome," she told reporters in Darwin.

She said she had unsuccessfully fought for the rank-and-file members to make the decision of who should represent the NT.

Senator Crossin thanked her family, friends, staff and parliamentary colleagues for their support during the past week.

"It has been a wonderful outstanding journey and I have loved every minute of it," she said.

Senator Crossin also called on the prime minister to introduce a bill into federal parliament to pave the way for members of the Stolen Generation to be financially compensated, as has occurred in some states.

Senator Crossin said the preselection process had been personally disappointing.

But she would never stand as an independent after 30 years of membership with the ALP and trade unions, with which she had worked for three years.

"The Labor party is in my blood," she told Sky News.

"I will never resign my membership and I won't stand as an independent."

NT branch members had told her they were angry about the process, she said, and the party would need to mend relationships and restore the faith of its members in the coming weeks and months.

"They are asking questions about why it is the party doesn't have a national strategy to get more indigenous people involved or ready to stand for parliament," Senator Crossin said.

"Why is it that good Aboriginal members of the Northern Territory branch were not asked or considered.

"These are discussions that will need to be held."

Senator Crossin was repeatedly asked if she wanted people to get behind Ms Peris but she stopped short of urging people to back her challenger.

"I'm urging party members to make sure Tony Abbott doesn't walk through the door of the Lodge," she said.

Senator Crossin did urge party members to back her former adviser Luke Gosling to win the federal seat of Solomon.

She said Ms Peris was "pretty much guaranteed" a Senate spot.

The senator said she had good reasons for supporting Kevin Rudd in last year's leadership spill, but Ms Gillard had introduced incredible reforms with which she was proud to be associated.

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Govt rules out extra money for unis

UNIVERSITIES have slammed a federal government decision not to increase their funding as a lost opportunity to boost productivity and economic growth.

Tertiary Education Minister Chris Evans responded on Monday to the 2011 higher education base funding review by pointing to the "unprecedented investment" Labor had made in universities since 2007.

"Given the record investment in recurrent and capital funding for our universities made by this government, there will be no further general increase in base funding at this stage," Senator Evans said in a statement.

He cited an Ernst & Young report which last year found that funding per student place had grown by 10 per cent with Labor's increased investment.

Universities Australia chief executive Belinda Robinson said the government's response was a "disappointing dismissal" of the report's call for increased funding.

"At the very time the government is placing education and research at the centre of its agenda for economic and industrial renewal, underfunding our universities puts in jeopardy Australia's ability to remain internationally competitive," Ms Robinson said in a statement on Monday.

"Our universities drive the skills and innovation needed to lift Australia's future competitiveness and to diversify the economy."

Senator Evans said universities had to maintain international competitiveness and they must increase productivity, like any other sector of the economy.

"The great challenge for universities over the next few years will be to ensure that the significant additional funding from the government does not make them complacent about the actions they need to take to constrain costs and look for ways to be more efficient," the government's response states.

The base funding review, released in December 2011, recommended an increase in the average level of base funding.

It also recommended that all students pay 40 per cent of their course costs, with the commonwealth providing the balance.

The review panel, led by Jane Lomax-Smith, found the existing system, where student contributions range between 19 and 85 per cent, was "inequitable".

Senator Evans ruled out increasing student contributions.

"The Gillard government does not want greatly increased debt to burden young people well into their working lives," he said.

The review did not seek to charge existing students higher fees but proposed new undergraduates entering courses where the contribution was below 40 per cent could see fees rise "in a sequence of smaller steps".

Courses with student fees above 40 per cent would have had those fees frozen until indexation brought the government contribution up to 60 per cent.

The government says having a single contribution rate for all courses would introduce new inequities.

"The potential private benefits from some courses are sufficiently high to justify differential student contributions rates," it states.

The government also rejected a recommendation that universities be allowed to develop "flagship programs" which would attract up to 50 per cent extra funding per student.

It accepted, in full or in part, 13 of the panel's 24 recommendations.

Senator Evans said the review's findings had informed commonwealth policy over the past year.

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NZ govt denies milk powder 'hush up'

THE New Zealand government is being accused of trying to conceal the discovery of chemical residue in dairy products.

Small levels of the chemical dicyandiamide (DCD), used in fertilisers, have been found in some milk powder products and safety concerns have been reported in foreign media.

Primary Industries Minister David Carter says officials are talking to consumers in China and Taiwan to assure them the products are safe.

He says DCD was discovered in the milk products in September and he first knew about it in October.

"There was never any attempt by the New Zealand industry or government to hide that fact," he said on Monday.

New Zealand Labour's primary industries spokesman, Damien O'Connor, doesn't buy that, however.

"How Mr Carter can now say the government has been 'upfront' about something it was obviously trying to keep from the public is beyond me," he said.

"Whether it was hushed up for three months because of food safety fears or concern over the float of Fonterra units, all its done is put off the hard sell - both National and Fonterra have to explain to consumers, farmers and outside investors why disclosure didn't occur back in September."

Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings accused Mr O'Connor of endangering the dairy industry with his "drastic" allegations.

"If you do those allegations you better come up with some evidence," he said.

"It is a New Zealand issue, you are attacking your key sector in this country... I don't like this kind of attitude."

The level of residue found in the milk powder is reported to have been 100 times lower than European Union limits, but in other parts of the world there are no standards.

Dairy industry officials say a 60kg person would have to drink 130 litres of milk or 60kg of powder to reach the European limit.

Mr Carter says farmers have stopped using the fertiliser but could go back to it if acceptable guidelines are adopted in countries which don't have standards.

The Green Party says the products should be "100 per cent clean" and the government shouldn't expect other countries to accept anything less.

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Canada gets first openly gay premier

CANADA'S most populous province is getting its first female premier and the country's first openly gay premier after the provincial Liberals chose a new leader.

Former education minister Kathleen Wynne won the party's leadership race on Saturday.

Wynne is making history as Canada's first openly gay premier, a subject she confronted head-on in a speech on Saturday morning.

Wynne says Ontario is ready for a gay woman as premier and says she does not believe Ontarians hold prejudice in their hearts.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper congratulated Wynne, and thanked outgoing Premier Dalton McGuinty who is stepping down after nine years in office.

He won a third term last year, but his party was reduced to a minority of the seats in the legislature and must rely on the opposition to pass legislation.

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PM urges people to heed flood warnings

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has urged Queenslanders to stay updated and heed warnings about the floods spreading across the state.

"Thoughts of the nation are with people of Qld, who are battling a new round of natural disasters," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

"Please listen to local warnings, keep updated on developments and take care."

Earlier, Treasurer Wayne Swan promised Queensland would get whatever defence force support it needed to deal with the disaster.

He said the activation of the Commonwealth Disaster Plan meant defence assets and personnel could be called on when needed.

Soldiers stood ready to be deployed and two Blackhawk helicopters were already en route from Townsville to the flood-hit city of Bundaberg to assist authorities, the treasurer said.

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