Man found shot dead in Perth park

THE shooting death of a man whose body was found in a Perth beachside park is being treated as a murder.

Police say the man's body was discovered with a gunshot wound to the head at Lime Kiln Field in Swanbourne just before midnight (WST) on Friday.

A witness said they had heard a gunshot shortly before the body was found.

Police are seeking help from the public to establish the man's identity.

They say he was about 180cm tall and of medium build, with fair skin and brown eyes.

The top of his hair was thick and dark, while the back was dyed a lighter colour.

He also had a goatee beard and a moustache and a two to three-centimetre wide scar on the inside of his right forearm.

Police said they suspect the man's death was a homicide and are seeking any information that could assist their investigation.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

Two men drown at Victorian beaches

TWO men have drowned off Victoria's beaches, including a father who's believed had been trying to rescue his son from a rip.

Paramedics were first called to a beach at Lorne, on the Great Ocean Road, about 12.30pm (AEDT) on Saturday, where surf lifesavers had pulled a 12-year-old boy and an unconscious man in his fifties from the water.

CPR was performed on the man for some time, but he could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene, Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said.

The boy, believed to be the man's son, was taken to hospital in a stable condition, having swallowed water and suffered shock, Mr Mullen said.

At 2.30pm, an ambulance helicopter arrived at a beach in Rye, on the Mornington Peninsula, to treat an unconscious man who had been in the water.

Bystanders had performed CPR and paramedics took over upon arrival, but couldn't revive him and he died at the scene, Ambulance Victoria's Ray Rowe said.

The beach at St George River, southwest of Lorne's main beach, is not patrolled and features a permanent rip flowing out its narrow entrance, according to Life Saving Victoria (LSV).

LSV spokeswoman Jennifer Roberts said 57 beaches were patrolled across the state on Saturday.

She urged people to check signs and survey the risks at any beach before getting in the water, and never to swim alone.

"Every drowning death is a tragic occurrence," Ms Roberts said.

"Every beach is inherently dangerous."

Police said the deceased man at Rye had been snorkelling, when witnesses noticed him unresponsive in the water.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

WA leaders hit the road on election eve

CELEBRITY chefs, AFL footballers, and a horse and cart were all rolled out in a last-minute pitch to convince voters on the eve of the state election.

After weeks of campaigning, Premier Colin Barnett used his final pitch to promise an earlier than expected new AFL stadium, and hold constructive talks for the $3 billion in federal funding needed to fulfil his big ticket transport promises.

In a final dig at Mr Barnett's previous unkept promises, Opposition Leader Mark McGowan wheeled out his version of a Liberal "express" - pulled by two white horses - to represent the alternative to Labor's central Metronet rail policy.

Both sides promised to retain WA's prosperity, while offering starkly different directions for the funds flowing from the state's resources sector.

An appearance by My Kitchen Rules contestants Lisa and Candice Clarke was a boost for the premier, as was the presence of West Coast Eagles star Andrew Embley and Fremantle Dockers giant Aaron Sandilands - and their backing for the Liberals' stadium plan at Burswood.

Mr Barnett said the stadium could be finished by September 2017, if the Liberals win.

"The construction period will be quicker than we thought, and we are quite confident by 2017 AFL finals the new stadium will be operational," Mr Barnett said.

Touring his bus around strategic Perth sites, he was forced to defend the state treasury's independent analysis that $3 billion of federal money would be needed to deliver the party's airport rail, light rail and highway promises.

"I am sure both Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott will be making commitments on transport, but it is up to the state to say which are the priorities," Mr Barnett said.

"I have got no doubt the Commonwealth government will support the light rail and the airport rail. That is business as usual."

After touring marginal northern suburbs on his bus, Mr McGowan then headed to Mr Barnett's own beachside electorate of Cottesloe to finish a campaign Labor says has taken in 1,423km since Monday.

And he fired another shot at Liberal costings including big money from Canberra, and the Liberals' transport proposals compared to the Labor urban rail network.

"Their transport plans are as good as having a horse and cart," Mr McGowan said.

"It was fraudulent on the part of the Liberals to campaign the way they have for the last month on promises that are illusory."

Mr McGowan also promised a more constructive relationship with Canberra than Mr Barnett's hostility towards the prime minister.

"That would mean on occasion agreeing with them if we get a good deal, on occasion when they are not offering anything decent for the state, I would disagree," he said.

"That is a better approach than Mr Barnett has engaged in and I would come to it with clean hands."

While Mr Barnett insisted more than a dozen seats were up for grabs, the bookmakers didn't agree, paying out early for an expected Liberal win.

Sportsbet called the election winner on Friday, almost 24 hours before polls opened.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tokyo stocks back at pre-Lehman level

TOKYO stocks closed 2.64 per cent higher, recovering to levels seen before the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers that heralded the beginning of the global economic crisis.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended up 315.54 points to 12,283.62, while the Topix index of all first-section shares added 1.61 per cent, or 16.15 points, to 1,020.50.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fed hospital cuts 'politically motivated'

A Senate inquiry has called on the federal government to reinstate hospital funding to the states. Source: AAP

FEDERAL cuts to state hospital funding were politically motivated to improve the budget and that calls into question the federal government's commitment to heath reforms, a scathing Senate report says.

Just weeks after Prime Minister Julia Gillard bypassed the Victorian government to directly fund hospital administrators, the coalition-dominated Senate committee says her government should immediately reinstate funding cuts made in October last year.

The mid-year budget cuts to hospitals sparked a long-running stoush with Victoria and Queensland, which complained of losing hundreds of millions of dollars because of a revision based on "dodgy" population figures.

The committee agreed the population calculations were flawed and said their use was indefensible.

It said the health cost index also used to determine payments was "woefully inadequate" in reflecting true cost increases.

The states signed up to the national health funding agreements, instigated by former prime minister Kevin Rudd, "in good faith", the Liberal chair of the committee Scott Ryan wrote in the report.

"But it appears the commonwealth pursued politically motivated funding cuts to improve its financial position at the expense of public hospital users," Senator Ryan said.

"The evidence provided to the committee in relation to funding of public hospitals since December 2012 calls into question the Commonwealth government's commitment to hospital reform."

Victoria claims the commonwealth stripped $475 million from the state's health budget over four years - $107 million this financial year - complaints that were echoed by other states such as Queensland and NSW.

To end the standoff, Canberra bypassed Victoria's government by directly paying $107 million to hospitals.

Ms Gillard threatened to do the same in other states if they continued to agitate for a return of funding.

The Senate committee has made six recommendations, including that the commonwealth reinstate "as a matter of urgency" the funding cuts.

It also called on the federal government to "desist from attempts" to bypass states and fund hospitals directly.

Australian Greens health spokesman Richard Di Natale said the report showed the mid-year cuts "were an appalling act of penny-pinching".

The funding cuts had caused enormous upheaval in the public hospital system, he said.

"Surgeries have been cancelled, bed numbers have been reduced, emergency departments have been put under threat," he said.

"The federal government relied on a dodgy interpretation of population data as justification for its cuts, and then tried to get away with it by blaming it on the states."

A spokesman for Health Minister Tanya Plibersek dismissed the inquiry that produced the report as a "political stunt".

"We will respond to the report in due course, but it's clear that the commonwealth has acted in accordance with the agreements that it has signed with the states and territories," he said.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

Valuable artworks taken from Adelaide home

ART dealers should be on the lookout after six rare and valuable artworks, worth more than $100,000, were stolen from an Adelaide home.

The art includes a canvas by French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and paintings and sketches by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt and his protege Egon Schiele.

Whoever stole the works got inside the residence at Brooklyn Park, in the city's west, by forcing a front door early on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

Anyone with information on the theft or the location of any of the artworks is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at www.sa.crimestoppers.com.au.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

SA economy to grow, premier says

THE South Australian economy will continue to grow this year as it has for the past decade, Premier Jay Weatherill says.

Brushing off grim spending figures and opposition suggestions the economy is in recession, Mr Weatherill said SA's finances remained robust.

He said some sectors of the economy were soft, but government measures to support areas such as housing construction were paying dividends.

"We have grown every year for the past 10 years," the premier told reporters on Wednesday.

"Last year we grew by 2.1 per cent and we expect to grow this year as well."

Opposition treasury spokesman Iain Evans raised the recession question after the state's final demand figures retracted over the past two quarters.

He also pointed to falling exports.

"On all the key economic measures South Australia has gone backwards for two consecutive quarters in both trend and seasonally adjusted terms," Mr Evans said.

"How would the premier define a recession?"

But Mr Weatherill said final demand figures only measured a portion of economic activity and the state's overall performance was best measured in terms of gross state product which was only calculated at the end of the financial year.

In the recent mid-year budget review the government forecast the economy to grow by 1.75 per cent in 2012/13, down from the May budget forecast of 2.5 per cent.

On other matters, Mr Weatherill has given some support to a call from independent MP Bob Such for all government agencies to be subject to an efficiency and effectiveness review ahead of the next state budget.

"That's a worthy thing to give some consideration to," he told state parliament.

Mr Weatherill said there had been a "pretty mindless" debate recently about the size of the public service when the real issue was its effectiveness.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hamilton may bid for Elders sandalwood

INVESTMENT firm Hamilton Securities may seek to acquire the sandalwood assets of agribusiness Elders if another proposal falls over.

Elders agreed in December 2012 to sell its Indian sandalwood assets in Western Australia's Ord River region to entities associated with Santanol Pty Ltd.

The agreement is subject to the approval of growers who are members of the sandalwood investment schemes that are managed by Elders.

The growers will vote on the Santanol proposal on March 14.

"Hamilton confirms that it is developing, in consultation with growers, a competing proposal to the offer by Santanol and its unidentified foreign investors," Hamilton said in a statement on Wednesday.

"It is important to note that Hamilton will not proceed with its proposal if growers approve the Santanol offer in sufficient numbers such that certain pre-conditions to the Santanol offer are met."

Hamilton said its proposal would result in a reorganisation of the sandalwood schemes and the consolidation of growers' sandalwood interests.

Also, growers would be issued voting shares in Hamilton Securities.

Hamilton said this would allow growers to maintain an exposure to sandalwood and benefit from seeing the plantations through to harvest.

Under Hamilton's proposal, Hamilton would seek to transfer its listing from the National Stock Exchange to the Australian Securities Exchange.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

SA magistrate's behaviour 'disgusting'

A FORMER magistrate's clerk has told a South Australian tribunal her boss made salacious comments, touched her breasts and smacked her bottom with a file.

Rebecca Ramstrom said Joseph Baldino's conduct made her feel disgusted and scared, leading her to walk out of her job in September 2010 to a "miserable" life in which she couldn't trust people and had a dog for protection.

The 33-year-old has taken the now-retired magistrate to the Equal Opportunity Tribunal in Adelaide, claiming he sexually harassed her when she was his clerk.

Giving evidence on Tuesday, Ms Ramstrom said she had just begun the job when she accompanied Mr Baldino on circuit to the Port Lincoln Magistrates Court for a week in 2008.

Ms Ramstrom said he told her "circuit is for fun" and repeatedly asked her to meals and to his hotel room for drinks, where he complained there was no spa.

He told her previous clerks had gone in the spa with him, she said.

She had said she would not, adding that she did not have her bathers.

"He said you can just go in your bra and knickers and that he would not have minded," Ms Ramstrom told the tribunal.

Mr Baldino had also commented on her tongue piercing, asking if its purpose was "to pleasure your husband".

"I was shocked and disgusted," she said.

Ms Ramstrom said she had complained to her superiors about Mr Baldino and after an informal meeting he had apologised and she had agreed to give him a second chance.

But she said more incidents occurred at the end of 2009 and in 2010.

Mr Baldino had told her he had a blonde personal trainer who was "all over him" and asked Ms Ramstrom to wear stockings to a medieval costume party, telling her to make sure "they are clean between the legs".

In court, when she made a mistake, he leaned over and said, "You deserve a spanking."

Another day he commented on her necklace and grabbed it.

"He managed to touch both my breasts in a scooping motion ... it was wrong, it was just disgusting," Ms Ramstrom said.

The next day, he smacked her left buttock with a file, leaving her shaking and dry retching into a bin, she said.

She was so emotionally upset that she never returned to work and has been seeing a psychologist and psychiatrist ever since.

The hearing is continuing.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

WA man jailed for punching police horse

A MAN who punched a police horse twice and assaulted two female officers during a brawl in Perth's party district has been jailed for eight months.

Tory Joseph Bowen, 20, pleaded guilty to animal cruelty, disorderly behaviour, obstructing a public officer and two counts of assaulting a public officer after the fight in Northbridge in November.

Perth Magistrates Court heard Bowen had been drinking at the Mustang Bar before getting into a mass brawl with at least ten other men near the Northbridge Piazza just before midnight.

As mounted police moved in to break up the fight, Bowen punched the horse - called Mr Bojangles - twice.

He then punched a female officer in the arm and leg and punched a second officer in the shoulder.

Representing himself, Bowen said his anger had been directed towards the group he was brawling with, and not the police, but he admitted there was no excuse for his behaviour.

Chief Magistrate Steven Heath told Bowen he had made the police officers' job much harder on the night.

"Police officers have a right to be protected," Mr Heath said.

Citing previous convictions for obstructing and assaulting public officers, he sentenced Bowen to eight months in prison and fined him $3000 for animal cruelty and disorderly conduct.

Bowen will be eligible for parole in four months.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

Family feuds spark brawls in Qld town

HUGE street brawls sparked by family feuds are regularly breaking out in a remote Gulf country indigenous community, Queensland police say.

In the most recent fight in Doomadgee a female police officer allegedly had her nose broken by a man as she tried to break up a fight on Sunday morning.

Following the man's arrest an angry mob of about 100 people went to the local police station and demanded his release.

A group then smashed the glass door at the station.

Senior Sergeant Matt Campbell says reinforcements have been sent from Mount Isa to support the nine officers in Doomadgee.

"If someone thinks it's okay to attack a police station then certainly they're going to have no regard for the remainder of the residents," he told AAP.

"It's important that the people in this town have the same freedom to move about as those in any other town in Queensland."

He says the situation on Sunday was daunting and frightening for the police officers involved.

Fights involving up to 200 people have occurred every few days over the past month, Sen Sgt Campbell says.

Normally just two officers are rostered on to work at any one time in Doomadgee.

"As you can imagine these officers become fantastic mediators and negotiators, but at times those skills are not enough," Sen Sgt Campbell said.

"It is certainly a sad day for the police and the greater community."

A large number of people allegedly involved in the fights have been arrested over the past month.

Sen Sgt Campbell says the brawls are often caused by family feuds which erupt when petty arguments between children spiral out of control.

A spokesperson from the Doomadgee Council was not immediately available to comment.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dying let down by health system: report

Researchers say chronically ill Australians lack the support they need as their condition worsens. Source: AAP

CHRONICALLY ill Australians are being let down as they near the end of their life, according to an article in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Chronic disease accounts for more than half of Australian deaths but scant attention is paid to the support a patient needs as their condition slowly deteriorates, says the article.

Senior Adelaide University lecturer Teresa Burgess and her co-authors say the palliative care system was developed to help people dying of cancer over a relatively short period.

However, chronic diseases tend to follow a much slower process and are less predictable.

There is a "a progressive functional decline, poor quality of life and increasing dependency on both formal and informal caregivers as well as the health system".

The authors favour a patient-centred approach based on actual needs and symptoms rather than a prognosis.

They also want increased funding, better leadership and the use of palliative care specialists in end-of-life education and support.

Currently health workers assume a referral to palliative care providers will lead to the most appropriate care for people dying with a chronic disease.

"However, often this process is poorly handled, and GPs and primary-care clinicians are left to manage an unco-ordinated and challenging situation," the article says.

The result is patients too often receive inadequate care and die in an intensive care unit rather than in a preferred place of death.

"There is little opportunity for patients and their families to discuss issues around death and dying, and increasing stress on staff who are not trained in the provision of palliative care," say the authors.

"Using the term end-of-life care rather than palliative care could help to change health professionals' attitudes to the skills and training they require."

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

ADF investigates Afghan boys' deaths

Two children, have been accidentally killed by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan, authorities say. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIAN Defence Force (ADF) commanders are trying to find out how two Afghan children were killed during an allied operation involving their soldiers.

The boys, aged seven and eight, were shot dead on Thursday morning as they tended cattle in Oruzgan province in Afghanistan where Australian soldiers were fighting back after a Taliban attack.

Defence force chief General David Hurley offered his condolences to their families, but said it was too early to say how it happened or who was responsible.

But the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it took full responsibility.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who has been briefed on the incident, declined to comment on Sunday, saying she would leave any commentary to General Hurley.

"I'm not going to deal with the details of the incident in question," she told reporters in Sydney.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said civilian deaths were a "horrible feature of war".

"It is absolutely tragic, absolutely tragic whenever we get civilian casualties of war," he told reporters on Sunday.

The ADF and ISAF are jointly investigating the incident in the northwestern province, but have only confirmed no Australian soldiers were injured.

A joint Afghan-ISAF team visited the district of Shahidi Hassas in Oruzgan on Saturday to investigate and meet with local leaders.

Australian soldiers from the Special Operations Task Group were conducting a routine liaison patrol.

ISAF said the troops had opened fire at what they believed were insurgent forces.

"We deeply regret that the International Security Assistance Forces were responsible for the unintended death of two young Afghan boys during the operation," General Hurley said in a statement.

He said Australian personnel immediately reported the incident to Afghan government officials and military leaders.

"It is premature to make any determination about how the incident occurred or who was responsible," General Hurley added.

ISAF expressed its "deep regret" at the civilian casualties.

"I offer my personal apology and condolences to the family of the boys who were killed," ISAF commander General Joseph Dunford said in a statement.

"I am committed to ensuring we do the right thing for the families of those we harmed, as well as for the community in which they lived.

"We take full responsibility for this tragedy."

General Hurley said defence took seriously the issue of civilian casualties and that soldiers operated under a strict set of rules to minimise unintended deaths and injuries.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wildlife conservation summit kicks off

DELEGATES from around the world have gathered in Thailand to work out a mechanism to restrict trade in wildlife and save endangered animals, including sharks, manta rays, polar bears, elephants and rhinos.

About 2,000 delegates from 178 member nations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora are in Bangkok for the 16th CITES conference, held every three years.

The delegates are to consider dozens of proposals on increased or decreased trade protection for endangered species by listing them on Appendix I, which prohibits all traffic in a species, or Appendix II, which restricts trade to ensure it is sustainable.

Conservationists are calling on Australia to take a stand to protect several shark species threatened by the multi-million dollar shark fin trade to Asia, especially China.

Humane Society International Australia's program director Alexia Wellbelove says shark and ray populations are in trouble and international trade is a key driver in their decline as sharks are being taken at an unsustainable rate, primarily for their fins for shark fin soup.

The CITES meeting will decide whether international conservation efforts will be used to restrict the trade in several shark species now seen as vulnerable.

The European Union, the US and several South American countries are hoping to list two manta ray species and five shark species, including the porbeagle shark - the largest marine predator in European waters - on Appendix II.

"This conference can be the turning point, finally, for better protection of marine species under CITES," said Elsa Nikel, head of the German delegation.

Three of the hammerhead shark species designated for Appendix II are popular for use in shark fin soup, a Chinese delicacy.

The United States proposed that the polar bear, whose survival is being threatened by melting ice around the Arctic Circle, be placed on Appendix I.

China and Japan have traditionally voted against efforts to include marine animals under convention protections.

"I think it is going to be a tight vote," said John Scanlon, CITES secretary general.

The conference is scheduled to end March 14.

This year's meeting was also expected to spotlight a recent boom in the illicit trade in African ivory and rhinoceros horn, fuelled by political instability in parts of the continent and a surge in demand from increasingly prosperous Asia.

The convention estimated that 25,000 African elephants were killed for the illegal ivory trade and 668 rhinos were slaughtered for their horns in 2011.

Host Thailand has come under pressure to ban or better regulate its domestic trade in ivory sourced from Asian elephants, which has allegedly precipitated a large trade in smuggled African tusks. It has been threatened with trade sanctions if it fails to do so.

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra opened the conference with a pledge to amend the registration process for Thailand's domesticated elephants that has provided a legal loophole for illicit traffic in African elephant tusks.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More