Police crack illegal tobacco syndicate

ONE of the biggest cigarette importation syndicates in Australia's history has been smashed by police after trying to smuggle $67 million worth of tobacco hidden in packaged food products into the country.

More than 70 tonnes of tobacco, 80 million cigarette sticks and a quantity of pseudoephedrine was seized by police as part of an investigation by the multi-agency Trident Taskforce.

Police have charged 10 people and have issued 12 warrants across Melbourne's suburbs of Parkville, East Melbourne, Northcote and Macleod.

Border protection authorities alerted police in January to the large amount of illegally imported tobacco, which was concealed in shipping containers imported from Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries.

The tobacco was hidden in legitimate packaged goods including food products, such as noodles and cigarette packaging.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Crime Command Steve Fontana said cash and documents were seized when warrants were executed with those arrested residing in Melbourne.

"This is criminal activity. It's illegal activity. This is one of the largest syndicates of tobacco importation in the country's history," Mr Fontana told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.

"This is a really significant and well-organised group and the sheer quantity of material seized indicates that it is one of the largest with good networks overseas."

Mr Fontana said the syndicate bypassed quarantine controls.

"These people are exploiting the vulnerabilities in our docks. The tax evasion is significant. They're bypassing health controls," he said.

"A lot of these people have set up legitimate businesses as a front for illegitimate businesses."

Mr Fontana said there was nothing to suggest outlaw motorcycle gangs were involved and that he could not comment on how long the syndicate had been operating.

Police will analyse documentation seized on Thursday to provide further leads on how the syndicate has been operating to determine whether further arrests will be made.

Australian Customs and Border Protection Service regional director for Victoria, Graham Krisohos, said Melbourne had the highest number of importations of illegal tobacco than any other capital in the country.

Six people were charged in June with offences including smuggling tobacco and dealing in the proceeds of crime.

The four charged on Thursday appeared briefly in the Melbourne Magistrates Court and were all granted bail to reappear in court in February.

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Commissioner David Ipp to retire from ICAC

ICAC Commissioner David Ipp will step down as head of NSW's corruption watchdog next year. Source: AAP

ICAC Commissioner David Ipp will step down as head of NSW's corruption watchdog next year.

"In opposition I repeatedly expressed my concern that (the Independent Commission Against Corruption's) inner-spring had wound down," Premier Barry O'Farrell told parliament on Thursday.

"There is no doubt that Commissioner Ipp had reinvigorated the organisation and through his efforts and leadership alone restored public confidence in the commission and reminded anyone thinking of doing the wrong thing that they will be found out."

"He departs with the undying gratitude of this parliament and of our state and we wish him a long and healthy retirement."

Mr O'Farrell has proposed Supreme Court judge Megan Latham as Mr Ipp's replacement.

Justice Latham was appointed to the Supreme Court of NSW in 2005 and has previously served on the District Court and acted as a crown prosecutor.

During her time at the Supreme Court, she has overseen the sentencing of some of the state's most infamous criminals, including former nurse Roger Dean, who killed 11 elderly people when he lit fires at the Quakers Hill Nursing Home in 2011.

She also sentenced hitman Haissam Safetli and standover man Lucky Gattellari over their roles in the 2009 murder of Sydney businessman Michael McGurk.

If her appointment is approved, it is expected she will take up the post for five years from January.

The announcement comes after Mr Ipp, who headed the ICAC from 2009, oversaw the explosive inquiry into former NSW Labor heavyweights Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald.

Mr Ipp said he decided to resign because back problems had made it impossible for him to sit for lengthy periods.

"This materially hinders my ability to do the job," he said in a statement.

He thanked the NSW parliament for supporting the ICAC and for providing the funds to make possible major public inquiries, including its investigation of NSW mining licenses granted by senior NSW Labor figures.

Mr Ipp will finish his term on January 24.

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Origin says Abbott plan will cut emissions

ELECTRICITY and gas provider Origin Energy says it's confident the coalition government's direct action policies will cut carbon emissions.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott's plans to repeal the carbon tax are likely to be opposed in the existing Senate, where Labor and the Greens will command a majority until July.

But outgoing Origin chairman Kevin McCann says the coalition's policy to replace carbon pricing with a direct action scheme would still help reduce emissions.

His comments come a day after the United Nations' climate chief condemned the plan.

"We look forward to working with the new federal government which will replace pricing of carbon with a direct action policy," he told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting on Wednesday.

"If well-designed, this policy can make an effective contribution to reducing Australia's carbon emissions."

Mr McCann said Origin was close to meeting a commonwealth target, mandating that 20 per cent of energy supply come from renewable sources by 2020.

"We believe this 20 per cent target is already nearly met," he said.

"Additional mandatory investments in renewables will further increase the delivered cost of electricity to consumers."

While South Australia and Victoria fully deregulated electricity and gas prices in February, Queensland and NSW are yet to follow.

But, Mr McCann said, Queensland would deregulate retail electricity prices from July 2015 while NSW would consider the issue later this year.

Origin told the Australian Securities Exchange that managing director Grant King's tenure would be extended beyond June 30 next year, when it was due to expire.

"Mr King's contract is now ongoing and may be terminated by either party on 12 months notice or on a shorter notice period by agreement between the parties," it said in a statement.

Origin shares gained 21 cents to $14.46.

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Skype scandal cadets escape jail time

Two ADFA cadets at the centre of the so-called Skype sex scandal have avoided jail sentences. Source: AAP

A SUPREME Court judge admits he gave "thorough and anxious" thought to jailing the two men at the centre of the Skype sex sandal at the Australian Defence Force Academy.

Instead, Acting Justice John Nield imposed 12-month good behaviour bonds on Daniel McDonald and Dylan Deblaquiere, both 21.

Justice Nield described as perverse and vulgar the men's actions in which McDonald, at Deblaquiere's suggestion, filmed consensual sex with a female cadet on a webcam and streamed it by Skype to fellow cadets in a nearby room in March 2011.

Justice Nield, in sentencing the pair in the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday, was scathing of their behaviour.

"The offenders abused and degraded the complainant for their own perverse satisfaction," he said, noting neither had expressed regret or remorse.

McDonald told outrageous and blatant lies about how the victim - referred to as Kate - consented to the broadcast.

"He acted deliberately and intentionally to abuse and degrade her," he said.

Justice Nield said while the broadcast was "tasteless and vulgar" it was seen by a limited audience.

He said both men had good prospects of rehabilitation, while any deterrent effect of a jail sentence already had been achieved through extensive media coverage.

Outside the court, Kate, now married, said the sentencing ended two-and-a-half years of turmoil.

"I now look forward to a new, positive chapter in my life," she told reporters.

McDonald and Deblaquiere, through their lawyer Francis Cahill, said they were satisfied with the outcome.

"They are both relieved that the events of the last two-and-a-half years have culminated today. They can now get on with their lives," he said.

McDonald was convicted of committing an act of indecency, an offence which carries a maximum seven-year jail term.

Both men also were convicted of using a telecommunications carriage service in an offensive manner, which carries a maximum three-year jail term.

Deblaquiere is no longer a cadet at the academy, while McDonald will see what Defence decides about his future.

During the trial, McDonald was wrongly implicated in another sex scandal involving a group of footballers at the academy.

Defence said it was aware an ADFA cadet had been sentenced over the Skype incident.

"Administrative action has been initiated. While this action is under way, Defence will not publicly discuss deliberations concerning an individual's service in the Australian Defence Force," it said.

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Facebook shows beheadings but bans boobs

BEHEADINGS yes, boobs no.

That is essentially Facebook's new stance after confirming it will allow users to watch videos of people having their heads chopped off.

But it won't allow bare female breasts.

The internet is, weirdly, full of videos of people being decapitated - from soldiers being executed, to one purportedly showing a Mexican having her head lopped off after cheating on her husband.

Facebook's justification for allowing beheading footage is that it wants people to condemn the videos.

"Facebook has long been a place where people turn to share their experiences, particularly when they're connected to controversial events on the ground, such as human rights abuses, acts of terrorism and other violent events," a Facebook Australia spokesman told AAP.

"People share videos of these events on Facebook to condemn them.

"If they were being celebrated, or the actions in them encouraged, our approach would be different."

Facebook, with nine million daily users in Australia, temporarily banned beheading videos in May after the Family Online Safety Institute - a member of its Safety Advisory Board - complained they "crossed a line".

Although that ban has now been overturned, Facebook, which allows children as young as 13 to join, has maintained its ban on some sexual content, including bare female breasts.

Rule seven of its safety guidelines states: "You will not post content that: is hate speech, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence."

Essentially, the new rules mean that the context of any Facebook post is now key. The US firm has indicated it will examine the entire context of any post before deciding whether or not to allow it.

Jon Lawrence, executive officer of Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc, a non-profit organisation that fights for internet freedom, access and privacy, has welcomed Facebook's move to allow decapitation videos.

"In terms of censorship, social media may be one of the only ways for people in countries with limited freedom of expression to publicise human rights violations," he told AAP.

"As such, Facebook should not be censoring such material."

But he said it highlights the "fine line" Facebook now treads between censorship and providing a safe environment, particularly for younger users.

He called for "global age-based restrictions" on the site - similar to those on YouTube - allowing graphic or explicit material to be flagged as mature and potentially removed from young persons' view.

Other social networking sites do allow graphic material to be viewed and shared - though most, including Facebook, operate complaint mechanisms whereby potentially offensive material can be reviewed and removed.

The relaxation of Facebook's rules may be a move to bring it into line with the more liberal approach of its rivals.

AAP mdg/sd/pmu

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Oil Search produces more but earns less

OIL Search lifted production during the September quarter but sold less oil and gas.

Production in the three months to the end of September was up 10 per cent from the preceding quarter to 1.78 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe).

That takes total production for the first nine months of 2013 to 4.97 mmboe, up from 4.59 mmboe last year.

The Papua New Guinea-based group, among the top 25 companies on the local share market, still expects full year production towards the upper end of a range between 6.2 to 6.7 mmboe.

Oil Search's operating revenue for the September quarter was down 14 per cent to $US175.3 million, on sales that were 19 per cent weaker at 1.53 mmboe.

Its average realised oil price of $US112.36 per barrel was up seven per cent.

The lower sales than production were blamed by chief executive Peter Botten on the timing of shipments.

The $US19 billion Exxon Mobil-operated PNG LNG project that Oil Search is a 30 per cent partner in was on track for first deliveries in 2014, it said.

Gas from Oil Search's Kutubu fields was delivered into the LNG plant during the quarter.

Oil Search flagged a need to top up its liquidity before PNG LNG comes online so it can afford to develop new discoveries for oil projects at Mananda in PNG and Taza in Kurdistan.

Oil Search shares gained one cent to $8.65.

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I'll be tough on 457 visa cheats: Morrison

PEOPLE who abuse the 457 skilled migrant scheme will be treated in the same "tough" way that the government treats people smugglers.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison is warning those guilty of cheating the visa system to expect a firm response.

"If you abuse it, then you can expect me ... to be as tough on that as those people smugglers will find that I will be tough on our borders," he said at a migration conference in Canberra on Monday.

"If the 457 program is abused, it will be undermined, and its critical values to Australia will be diminished.

"I'm asking you - and I'm asking industry and employers - to help the government protect this vital asset for the Australian economy by making sure it is used properly, in the right circumstances and is not abused."

Mr Morrison accused the former Labor government of demonising skilled migrants when it launched a crackdown on alleged cheating of the 457 visa scheme.

"You will not hear from this government that migrants take Australians' jobs," he said.

In its final days, the Labor government introduced laws requiring employers prove they searched for Australian workers before hiring temporary workers on 457 visas.

The crackdown followed unproven claims from former immigration minister Brendan O'Connor that there might be more than 10,000 breaches of the scheme.

In a wide-ranging speech on skilled migration, Mr Morrison also indicated that the significant investor visa would be "rebooted".

Introduced last November for those willing to invest $5 million in government bonds, managed funds or private companies, the visa scheme has been beset by long delays in approving applicants.

Despite hundreds of applications, only one visa had been granted by April, with Mr Morrison bemoaning the nine-month approval process.

Mr Morrison said it was understandable applicants were starting to get "cold feet".

"The scheme could and should and I still think can attract millions if not billions of overseas capital investment in projects that will stimulate our economy and create new jobs," he said.

Mr Morrison also spoke out against student visas being used as a "backdoor to permanent migration".

"We're interested in selling education, not visas," he said.

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SA Gov unveils $36 billion transport plan

SA premier Jay Weatherill has unveiled a 36-billion-dollar, 30-year integrated transport plan. Source: AAP

THE South Australian government has unveiled a $36 billion, 30-year integrated transport plan for Adelaide and regional SA.

The plan includes an extensive network of trams across the suburbs, underground train and bus services for the city centre and more outer suburban rail and bus services.

It also proposes to complete the north-south road corridor through the city and a big increase in the number of bike paths.

Premier Jay Weatherill says the plan is the most sophisticated and detailed transport plan ever undertaken in South Australia.

"Over the past decade we have made an enormous investment in our state's transport infrastructure," he said.

"This plan builds upon this momentum and provides a vision for the future."

The plan also includes duplicating the Dukes Highway to Victoria, sealing a road link in the state's north-east to the Queensland border and other regional road projects.

About 65 per cent of the expenditure will be allocated to Adelaide with 35 per cent to regional areas.

The South Australian opposition said the transport plan was littered with projects Labor had previously announced and scrapped.

Opposition transport spokeswoman Vickie Chapman said that included major road, rail and bus projects across the city.

"Not only has the Weatherill Labor government demonstrated time and time again that it can't be trusted to deliver what it promises, it's also demonstrated time and time again that it can't be trusted to manage our transport system," Ms Chapman said.

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Opera House celebrates 40 years

WHEN architect Jon Utzon designed the Sydney Opera House, his family didn't foresee how iconic it would become for Australia.

Now, more than 40 years later his son Jan Utzon joined 16,000 people at its steps to celebrate its birthday on Sunday.

Mr Utzon said it was wonderful to see so much enthusiasm for his father's creation.

"It's wonderful to be here," he said in a statement.

"My family had no idea that the Opera House would be such a fantastic icon for the city of Sydney."

Speaking at the event - which included a performance by Jimmy Barnes and the presentation of an oversized cupcake - Minister of Tourism George Souris said the house's value was incalculable, attracting 8.2 million visitors each year and providing an epicentre to the nation's performing arts.

"It is the people's house. It is not only the people's of Australia, it belongs to the world," he said.

The CEO of the house Louise Herron said they were now working on turning the next decade into something just as memorable as the last 40 years.

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Indian death toll from toxic liquor 42

ANOTHER 10 people have died in hospitals after drinking toxic bootleg liquor in northern India, raising the death toll to 42 in the past three days.

District Magistrate Neena Sharma says another 40 people are being treated in hospitals in Uttar Pradesh state.

Police arrested 32 people for illegally brewing and selling the toxic drink to the villagers, who were celebrating the Hindu "Dussehra" festival in Azamgarh district last week, Sharma said on Sunday.

The region is 300 kilometres southeast of Lucknow, the state capital.

Deaths from drinking illegally brewed alcohol are common in India because the poor cannot afford licenced liquor.

Illicit liquor is often spiked with chemicals such as pesticides to increase potency.

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