Police in Punchbowl after shooting reports

Police are conducting and operation in Sydney's southwest after a man was shot multiple times. Source: AAP

A MAN has been shot in southwestern Sydney.

An ambulance was called to Punchbowl just after 4pm (AEDT) and one person was taken to hospital, an ambulance spokesman told AAP.

Police said they were called to Lumeah Avenue just after 4pm on Tuesday where they found a man suffering from gunshot wounds.

The man's condition is not known and investigations are continuing.

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Holden would keep grant, coalition says

GM Holden can expect the federal coalition to honour the $215 million grant it was given by the federal government to keep making cars in Australia until 2022.

After GM Holden on Tuesday warned a policy change might force it to review its commitment to keep building cars in Australia, the opposition said it was critical of the grant when it was made in March, but it would honour government contracts if elected.

"We have always complied with contractual arrangements that previous governments have entered into, and there is no reason to deviate from that good practice," opposition innovation, industry and science spokeswoman Sophie Mirabella told AAP.

GM Holden chairman and managing director Mike Devereux told reporters at a briefing in Melbourne that without government assistance there would be no car-making industry in Australia at all.

In March GM Holden committed more than $1 billion over the next 10 years to keep building cars in Australia, in return for $275 million in state and federal funding.

Mr Devereux said if that was put at risk by a change of government, GM Holden would review its commitment.

"If there is a change in government, then make no mistake, yes, Australia needs to have contemporary policy that gives us certainty over time and that is competitive with other countries.

"We need that kind of policy to be able to build things here between 2015-2022."

The opposition is yet to reveal its auto policy, but it has said it would cut $500 million from a $3.4 billion government automotive scheme to subsidise auto plant upgrades.

Mr Devereux said he hoped the opposition would change its public statements on the issue, because international managers were asking questions about the country's long-term business plans.

He noted industry assistance was a big factor in the re-election of President Barack Obama in the USA, predicting it would figure also in next year's federal election.

"It became an election issue, it was front and centre," Mr Devereux said.

"I believe 2013 will be a year that Australia decides whether it wants to have an auto industry or not."

He called for an independent review of the industry.

Ms Mirabella welcomed the call, saying a Productivity Commission review was coalition policy and had been scheduled for 2008 but was abandoned by the Rudd government.

"What we want to do is work with the Productivity Commission and the industry to have this review and come up with a better way forward, because we think there is a better way and we want to support the car industry and have a viable industry," Ms Mirabella said.

The Australian automotive industry employs about 55,000 people and supports another 200,000 jobs, with Holden accounting for about 40 per cent of output nationally.

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Aust share market edges higher

THE Australian share market has closed slightly higher as investors await more movement on addressing Greece's debt and the so-called fiscal cliff in the United States.

On Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index edged up 11.2 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 4,424.2 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index firmed 12 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 4,443.5 points.

On the ASX 24, the December share price index futures contract was 12 points higher at 4,432 points, with 16,099 contracts traded.

Investors are awaiting the outcome of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers later on Monday aimed at finalising a bailout deal for debt-hit Greece.

Investors are also focused on whether US President Barack Obama can negotiate a deal with Congress to avoid automatic tax increases and spending cuts - the fiscal cliff - at the start of next year.

OptionsXpress market analyst Ben Le Brun said the market had managed on Friday to hang on to some small gains but had performed disappointingly given the stronger lead from US markets on Friday.

"The market is just crunching gears at the moment," he said.

"We've got the European ministers' meeting tonight. We've got an important economic data week in front of us in the US and here locally."

Mr Le Brun said the fiscal cliff in the US was of concern to investors but they believed that there would be a resolution.

If the Greek debt issue could finally be put to bed later tonight, investors may regain some confidence to drive markets higher, he said.

Among the major banks, National Australia Bank improved seven cents to $23.70, ANZ eased three cents to $23.57, Commonwealth Bank advanced 20 cents to $59.15 and Westpac dumped 18 cents at $24.76.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank gained eight cents at $7.90 after announcing it would buy the majority of assets of regional finance company Southern Finance Group for $290 million.

In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton was 26 cents richer at $34.01 and Rio Tinto found three cents at $57.21.

Among other stocks, Melbourne IT plunged 19 cents, or 10.92 per cent, to $1.55, after the company warned of lower earnings in calendar 2012, delays on its transformation plans and flagged the sale of some assets.

Retirement funder Challenger picked up three cents to $3.22 as it reiterated its financial targets and said the performance of its investments had improved.

New listing Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group, a real estate investment trust created by Woolworths, finished its first day of trading at $1.44, four cents above the issue price of $1.40 per unit.

The price of gold in Sydney was $US1,750.15 per fine ounce, up $US19.60 on Friday's closing price of $US1,730.55.

National turnover was 1.35 billion securities worth $2.83 billion, with 485 stocks up, 471 down and 358 unchanged.

On Wall Street last Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 172.79 points, or 1.35 per cent, to 13,009.7 points.

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Qld beef 'safe' despite rare disease

IT'S safe to eat Queensland beef despite a rare bovine disease being detected on a property near the state's beef capital, an agriculture lobby group says.

Bovine Johne's Disease (BJD) causes chronic diarrhoea in older cattle, which can lead to emaciation.

The disease cannot be transmitted to humans and has a one per cent mortality rate in cattle.

AgForce announced on Tuesday the disease was detected on a beef property outside Rockhampton and there is some risk of it spreading.

The Queensland government is contacting producers who could be affected.

Queensland's chief vet, Rick Symons, told the ABC the property had been placed under quarantine. Biosecurity Queensland would be contacting about 160 property owners who had purchased cattle from it.

"We will be tracing the animals that went off the property to other properties and we will be contacting the other property owners to let them know what has happened," he said.

Agforce Cattle Board president Howard Smith says the outbreak will not have a big impact on producers.

"The safety of eating beef and associated products will not be impacted," he said in a statement.

"It is important to note BJD is present in most of the countries Australia trades with and should not place the Queensland industry at any commercial disadvantage."

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New Sydney transport ticketing - by 2015

Sydneysiders will be able to use the Opal card to pay for all the public transport tickets by 2015. Source: AAP

AFTER more than a decade of delays, public transport tickets in Sydney are finally set to go electronic - but not for another year or three.

NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said on Sunday commuters would be able to use a single card to pay for tickets on ferries, trains, buses and light rail by 2015.

The so-called Opal card will be available on all Sydney ferries and some trains in 2013, with buses and light rail to come on line two years later, Ms Berejiklian said.

"This is something that will change the way we use public transport," she told reporters at Neutral Bay on Sydney's north shore.

"It will be an easy system where commuters simply have to tap on and tap off, and it will be like having an e-TAG in your pocket."

The announcement has been a long time coming, with an e-ticketing system first proposed by the former Labor government in 1997, to be in place in time for the 2000 Olympics.

That plan was scrapped and a long-running dispute between the NSW government and the sacked developer of the previous e-card was only settled in February this year.

Ms Berejiklian said the first commuters to have access to the card would be patrons on the Neutral Bay ferry route in a trial of the system from December 7.

She said fares would remain the same during the Neutral Bay trial, while further announcements on charges would be made during the system's roll-out.

The Opal card itself would be free, with public transport users putting money on it in a similar way to the e-TAG for cars, Ms Berejiklian said.

She said a big benefit of the Opal card will be that after eight journeys using it in a given week, all further trips will be free.

She also said there would be a daily travel cap of $15.00 from Monday to Saturday for Opal card customers, with a cap on Sundays of $2.50.

She expected there would be a "few glitches" during the roll-out and said that's why the single card system was being implemented progressively.

Opposition Transport spokeswoman Penny Sharpe said the government was running behind schedule on the project.

Ms Sharpe told reporters the government had initially planned to have the system in place by 2014, but had now pushed it back.

"Passengers will be disappointed at the slow rollout," Ms Sharpe said.

She said commuters should also be worried that the government had not ruled out hiking fares once the Opal card was fully introduced.

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Swimmer missing from Perth beach

POLICE fear a man last seen swimming at Trigg Beach in Perth is missing.

The beach inspector saw the man wave for assistance from the water around 11.30am (WST) on Sunday but he has not been seen since.

Police said it was not known whether the man, believed to be aged between 40 and 60, was now missing or was able to make it to the shore without assistance.

The beach has been cleared to see if there is any unclaimed personal property on the shore.

Surf lifesavers are searching the area with boats and jet skis, while police search with a helicopter.

Police are asking members of the public who know of loved ones who may have been swimming and not returned home to call 131 444.

Surf Life Saving WA said a 1.5 metre hammerhead shark was spotted 300m offshore from South Trigg around 1.50pm (WST).

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Abbott a 'raving Zionist', Gaza rally told

A student contemporary of Tony Abbott has described him as a raving Zionist at a rally in Canberra. Source: AAP

ANOTHER facet of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's student activist days has surfaced with a speaker at a pro-Palestine rally in Canberra declaring him a "raving Zionist".

Speaking at a rally outside the Israeli embassy in Canberra, Unions ACT secretary Kim Sattler said she was a student activist involved in the Australian Unions of Students (AUS), serving as a delegate to the AUS conference in Melbourne in 1974.

That gathering debated the proposal for a delegation of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) to visit Australia.

At the time the PLO group was classified a terrorist organisation, although its offshoot, Fatah, which now rules the West Bank, is more favourably regarded than Hamas, which rules Gaza.

Ms Sattler said the AUS vote backed hearing from the PLO.

"Guess who was on the other side at that time - Tony Abbott," she said.

"That was my first introduction to Tony Abbott and I've been his enemy ever since."

Ms Sattler said Mr Abbott had no Jewish heritage, although she did.

"He is a raving Zionist and has been since he was about 18 or 19. I don't understand why he is, but he is," she said.

Ms Sattler said those who backed the PLO visit were beaten with rolled up newspapers and umbrellas and spat upon during the course of the conference.

She said this made a big impact on her as a 17-year-old activist.

"Thanks to Tony, I have been an avowed Palestine supporter ever since," she said.

In the 1970s, Mr Abbott was a student activist strongly opposed to left domination of student politics.

Earlier this year, journalist David Marr recounted a 1977 incident in which Mr Abbott allegedly sought to intimidate a female student who beat him in a university election by punching a wall on either side of her head. Mr Abbott has repeatedly denied this happened.

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Police praise schoolies after tragic week

Police say schoolies were well behaved, but the death of a teenage girl has overshadowed the event. Source: AAP

POLICE have praised the good behaviour of schoolies, but a teenage girl's fatal fall from a balcony has overshadowed the final night of festivities.

A total of 45 schoolies were arrested on 53 charges - mostly of public nuisance - across the Gold Coast on Friday night.

Police said schoolies were generally well behaved this year.

But the week hit a tragic note on Thursday night when 17-year-old Mt St Michaels graduate Isabelle Colman fell from the balcony of her 26th floor hotel room.

Police are still investigating the incident, which cast a pall over the usually upbeat event.

Celebrations have officially ended for Queensland students, but many school leavers from interstate are headed for the Gold Coast in coming days.

Superintendent Paul Ziebarth said police would still be targeting public drunkenness and underage drinking.

"I would say to these schoolies who intend on visiting pubs and clubs to ensure they maintain an appropriate and acceptable level of behaviour," he said.

"It is also timely to remind our interstate visitors that in Queensland it is illegal to consume alcohol in a public place."

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Driver injured after bees cause road crash

A WEST Australian truck driver is recovering in hospital after his road train rolled over as he battled with a small swarm of bees that had invaded his cab.

Police are investigating after they were called to the accident on the Great Eastern Highway near Southern Cross, 370km east of Perth, on Thursday morning.

A WA Police spokesman said that officers had been told by the driver he was attempting to swat away several bees that had flown into his cab when he lost control of the vehicle.

The upended road train and two trailers blocked the road for several hours, with fresh produce strewn across the tarmac. A crane was required to right the vehicle.

The driver was taken to nearby Merredin hospital, and was being treated for a number of fractures.

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DJ's chairman Savage says he wasn't pushed

Recent interest rate cuts have yet to work their magic on consumers, David Jones' chairman says. Source: AAP

DAVID Jones chairman Bob Savage insists his shock resignation was his decision and he was not pushed.

Mr Savage announced his departure plan late on Thursday, with most of the retailer's shareholders only learning about the news when they attended David Jones' annual general meeting on Friday.

"Absolutely," he said when asked by reporters after the meeting if his departure announcement was his decision alone, rather than having been made by others on the board.

Mr Savage, 71, said after more than 50 years in the workforce he felt it was time for a break.

Travelling with his wife, indulging his love of photography and working on his golf handicap are his new priorities.

"I got my first full time job in 1957," Mr Savage said.

"I'm thinking that there are other things I'd like to do with my life."

Mr Savage's deputy Peter Mason will take over the role when Mr Savage leaves in December.

He said there was never a good time to leave, but it would be good for the retailer to have a fresh face at the helm.

"I've been chairman for nine years," he said.

"It's time for somebody else to pick up things."

Meanwhile, chief executive Paul Zahra said he expected Christmas trading to be flat, with conditions in the retail sector still tough.

"You have to work hard at the moment to stay still," he told reporters.

He said it was hard to predict when consumer sentiment would improve or what was needed to boost it.

"The biggest item that keeps me awake at night is consumer sentiment and what's the game changer for people's view about wealth," he said.

Earlier, Mr Savage told the meeting the high Australian dollar, uncertainty in Europe and the United States and volatility on equity markets were hampering local consumer sentiment.

"Consumer sentiment remains subdued despite interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of Australia," he said.

Reflecting on his 13 years on David Jones' board, Mr Savage said the sexual harassment court case that led to the departure of former chief executive Mark McInnes was hard on everyone at David Jones but he believed the retailer handled it well.

"It put everyone in the organisation under stress," he said.

"People on the shop floor wanted to talk to me about it, customers wanted to talk about it (and) shareholders.

"I think we did the right things. The only regret I would have is that it was not able to be handled outside of the public arena, but that wasn't our choice."

On the controversial hoax takeover bid David Jones received from EB Private Equity earlier this year, Mr Savage said the retailer was highly skeptical from the start.

But when news of it leaked onto a blog David Jones had no choice but to go public.

"We were in the process of trying to get information to make an informed decision on a confidential proposal but then it all leaks on a blog and then everything changes," he said.

AAP klw/bt/gfr

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