League player refused bail

Rugby league player Russell Packer has been sentenced to two years in jail for assaulting a man. Source: AAP

NRL player Russell Packer has had his bid for bail knocked back before an appeal against the severity of his two-year sentence for a drunken assault.

Magistrate Greg Grogan on Monday sentenced the 24-year-old Newcastle Knights recruit to two years behind bars for an assault outside a Sydney hotel last November.

The sentence delivered on Monday caught Packer and his supporters, including Newcastle Knights officials, off guard at Downing Centre Local Court.

Packer's lawyer Murugan Thangaraj, SC, immediately lodged an appeal after the sentence was handed down and later applied for Packer's bail.

The police prosecutor did not oppose bail under certain conditions including that Packer report to police three times a week and abstain from alcohol.

Mr Thangaraj argued there was no evidence Packer would assault again and it was important for him to continue his rehabilitation.

But Magistrate Greg Grogan said he was concerned about community safety if Packer was released on bail.

He said Packer appeared to be a ticking time bomb on the night of the assault and he denied him bail.

Packer kissed his emotional partner as he was placed in handcuffs and led out of the court.

The appeal against the severity of the sentence has been lodged for February 11.

The court was told that Packer had been kicked out of the Chambers Hotel at 1.30am on November 23 last year because he was too drunk.

He moved about 20 metres from the Martin Place pub, then got into a disagreement with another man after being accused of stealing two cigarettes from a woman sitting nearby.

Mr Grogan told the court that Packer punched the man in the face, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground.

Packer punched the man several times as he lay on the ground and then stamped on his head, the court was told, leaving the victim with two fractured facial bones.

Packer pleaded guilty on Monday to assault occasioning actually bodily harm and failing to leave a venue.

Mr Grogan labelled Packer's behaviour "cowardly and deplorable" and said the result could have been much worse.

"The person fell to the ground and luckily it would appear did not suffer those injuries seen in media reports as of late," Mr Grogan said.

"There was potential for that, Mr Packer.

"You added fuel to the fire by attacking a man lying motionless on the ground, punching him and then standing up and stomping on his head."

Mr Grogan said the public was sick and tired of the behaviour Packer showed that night.

In passing sentence, Mr Grogan said that with a 25 per cent discount for entering a guilty plea early, Packer was jailed for a fixed two-year term.

Newcastle Knights football general manager Warren Smiles said the club would support Packer.

"There is a process in place with the appeal going forward to the court date in February," he told reporters outside court.

"From there we will support Russell through the process and his family, his two young children." In a statement on Monday, the Newcastle Knights said Packer's contract with the NRL was not registered and he had previously been stood down from all club duties.

The club said it would make no further comment until the court process was concluded.

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Services sector contracts in December

Australia's services sector continued to contract in December, according to a private sector survey. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S services industry finished 2013 on a sour note, with the sector contracting at a faster rate in December.

According to the Australia Industry Group Performance of Services Index (PSI), employment, new orders and sales all contracted during the month.

The retail sector also continued to decline, despite receiving a boost from Christmas sales.

Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said the sector had shown signs of improvement since the federal election, but the latest figures showed the industry remained weak.

"Continuing weakness in the important services sector underlines the fragility of the domestic economy at a time when a lift in non-mining related activity is needed to meet the challenge of rebalancing in the wake of the mining investment boom," he said.

He added that the Reserve Bank of Australia may need to consider cutting interest rates further if the sector does not begin to recovery in the next few months.

The PSI declined 2.8 points to 46.1 in December.

A reading of less than 50 indicates a contraction in the sector, and the lower the reading below that number, the greater the rate of decline.

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Oscar-winning producer Saul Zaentz dies

LEGENDARY Hollywood producer Saul Zaentz has died aged 92.

The producer passed away at his home in San Francisco, California on Friday after a battle with Alzheimer's disease, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

His nephew Paul Zaentz, a fellow producer, confirmed the news, saying: "He was an extraordinary man. He had a lot of guts, a lot of integrity."

Zaentz began his career in the music business with Fantasy Records, signing rock legends Creedence Clearwater Revival to the label, but later became involved in a notorious high-profile legal battle with the band's frontman John Fogerty.

He went on to gain recognition as an independent movie producer and he won three Oscars for his films, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus and The English Patient.

In 1997, he also won the Irving G. Thalberg Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his work. In the same year, he also received the Producers Guild of America's Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award for The English Patient.

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Man's arm slashed at Sydney park party

A SYDNEY party-goer's arm has been slashed with a broken bottle, severing an artery.

Officers say they were called to Lackey Street in South Granville about 3.45am (AEDT) on Sunday after a fight broke out, and found the 20-year-old Fairfield man with a deep laceration to his left bicep.

The man had surgery in Westmead Hospital, according to police.

Another man, a 20-year-old from Parramatta, was arrested and questioned but released without charge pending further investigation.

Detectives from Rosehill Local Area Command are waiting to speak with the injured man and have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

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Wal-Mart eyes legal action on donkey meat

Wal-Mart may take legal action after testing showed traces of fox meat in donkey meat sold to China. Source: AAP

WAL-MART Stores Inc says it's considering taking legal action against "responsible parties" after DNA testing showed traces of fox meat in the donkey meat it sold in China.

Wal-Mart had recalled the donkey meat - which it said was considered a popular delicacy in parts of China - after DNA testing by a government agency.

The company on Thursday said it withdrew all products from the supplier, Dezhou Fujude Food Company, and that affected customers were offered compensation.

It also said it plans to add DNA testing to its meat products in China.

Wal-Mart, has 404 stores in China.

A company spokesman said a select number of stores were affected, but didn't specify the number.

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No quotas on police score cards: top cop

QUEENSLAND'S top cop says ordinary citizens have no reason to fear they'll be targeted by police when score cards are used to rate officer performance.

Police Commissioner Ian Stewart says the balanced score cards won't set quotas for officers during the bid to cut crime in the Sunshine State by 10 per cent.

"It is not a quota system and any targets we put in place are always aspirational," he told reporters on Friday.

The score cards, being trialled in several areas including the Gold Coast, log the number and types of jobs completed by police.

Civil libertarians fear they are a return to the controversial kill sheets of the 1970s and '80s, in which quotas for fines were set.

Mr Stewart says that is not the case and refutes suggestions police would be out to get ordinary Queenslanders when the system is rolled out.

"If people are going about their lawful business they have no problem with the police," he said.

"But if I was a criminal in this state ... I'd be worried.

"This is about ensuring our people perform adequately and do their job and earn their pay, just like any other business."

However, Queensland Council for Civil Liberties vice-president Terry O'Gorman says the system could lead to police abusing their powers to reach quotas.

He says there have been complaints about police abusing search powers in the wake of anti-bikie laws.

"Last year senior police indicated RBTs would be used as an opportunity to search cars for evidence of crimes other than drink-driving," Mr O'Gorman said.

"This has led to police unnecessarily searching cars and bullying and blustering innocent citizens into so-called 'consent' searches."

But Mr Stewart says the service has long rated the performance of its officers and the balanced score card system will simply improve how that is done.

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Vic man shot in car park incident

TWO men are in hospital after a shooting at a Melbourne shopping centre car park.

One of the men, believed to be in his 40s, was shot in the leg at the Keysborough shopping centre in the city's southeast around midday on Thursday.

He was taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.

A short time later, another man turned up in hospital with facial injuries.

Police are probing links between the two men.

Inspector Bruce Kitchen says the shooting isn't related to bikies but police are still trying to figure out why it happened.

"We think it's probably a one-off incident," he told reporters at the scene.

"I'm not sure whether it's self-inflicted or not at this stage."

The man's car was searched and armed crime detectives discovered a shotgun and several shotgun shells inside.

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Vic rabbit killings like a 'horror movie'

Police are tracking down a person who stamped to death 40 rabbits at a property near Melbourne. Source: AAP

A CARER for dozens of rabbits found crushed and mutilated at a Victorian farm says the killings were like a scene out of a horror movie.

About 40 rabbits were being raised in Garfield, just outside Melbourne's far eastern outskirts, but about half of them were found dead at around 3am (AEDT) on Wednesday.

Some of the rabbits were kicked like footballs, others thrown against walls, and many stomped on until they died.

Rabbit breeder Kara Jackson says seeing the little dead bodies scattered throughout the property was disgusting.

"This doesn't happen in real life. This is something from a horror movie," she said.

"They've got to be sick. It's not human to do something like that," Ms Jackson said, referring to the killers.

Police don't have a motive for the animal cruelty deaths but believe more than one person was involved.

Detective Leading Senior Constable Colin Beard urged anyone who knows the people who killed the rabbits to call police.

"Hopefully they'll be losing sleep and they'll come and talk to us," he said.

The rabbits were being raised for commercial proposes and were prone to scratching people.

Police say those responsible may have been injured in the incident.

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Alleged king hit attacker refused bail

A MAN accused of king hitting a teenager in an "horrific" attack that left him fighting for his life punched four other victims during the same assault, a Sydney court has heard.

Daniel Christie, 18, is in a critical condition in St Vincent's Hospital after he was punched in the face in Kings Cross during New Year's Eve celebrations.

The court heard Mr Christie was shielding other alleged victims when he was punched by his alleged attacker, Shaun McNeil.

McNeil, 25, faced Parramatta Bail Court via videolink on Wednesday where he cried as he was refused bail.

He has been charged with one count of causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Christie, one count of assaulting Mr Christie's brother, Peter Christie, and two counts of common assault.

Wearing a forensic suit, he said little during his court appearance on Wednesday.

According to facts tendered in court, McNeil had just left the Punchbowl bar in Kings Cross on Tuesday with his girlfriend when he got into a verbal altercation with two young men and an unidentified boy.

After allegedly telling them he was a mixed martial arts fighter, McNeil struck the boy before punching both of his friends, causing them to fall to the ground, the facts said.

As the boy ran one way, the two men ran down the street and attempted to hide behind Mr Christie, who was then allegedly targeted by McNeil.

"The victim has fallen backward and struck his head on the pavement, causing immediate life-threatening injuries," the facts said.

When Peter Christie tried to intervene, McNeil then turned on him, allegedly punching him and splitting his lip.

McNeil was arrested by police shortly afterwards.

Police Prosecutor Sergeant Lisa McEvoy said McNeil, who has a history of violence, was celebrating in the city from 9am and had drunk around eight beers and one glass of wine.

"At the end of his time in town, there's a man on the floor with a fractured skull and suspected brain injury and other people with cut lips," she said.

McNeil has several convictions for violence and dishonesty, the court heard.

Sgt McEvoy said the police facts in the case were "horrific".

"This was completely unprovoked," she said.

The alleged assaults occurred on the same street on the late-night strip where teenage king hit victim Thomas Kelly was killed in 2012.

"Mr McNeil does not live in a box," Sgt McEvoy said.

"He is aware of the circumstances surrounding the recent death of a young man, not to mention the few other young men who ended up in hospital (in similar circumstances)."

The court heard McNeil told police he was acting to "protect" his girlfriend.

His lawyer said the young men tried to sell him drugs.

McNeil was "very sad" when he heard about Mr Christie's life-threatening injuries, the court heard.

Registrar Steptoe refused bail, noting the "current climate" of unprovoked assaults in Sydney.

McNeil will face court again on Monday.

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Road deaths down in NSW, cyclists at risk

2013 saw the lowest number of people die on NSW's roads for almost 90 years, the government says. Source: AAP

LAST year saw the lowest number of people die on NSW's roads for almost 90 years, the government says.

But, while the number of pedestrian deaths is the lowest since records began in 1928, cyclist fatalities have doubled since 2012.

NSW Minister for Roads Duncan Gay on Wednesday said the 2013 NSW road toll was the lowest since 1924 with provisional figures indicating 339 people were killed, down from 369 in 2012.

"While fewer fatalities is encouraging, that still means 339 people do not get to spend the new year with friends and family, and their loss will be felt by everyone they knew as we start 2014," he said in a statement.

Centre for Road Safety general manager Marg Prendergast said the toll was not only the best since 1924, but also down by more than a third from a decade ago, when the road toll was 539.

The main reasons for the improvements were reductions in passenger and pedestrian deaths, she said.

In 2013, 49 passengers died, down 40 per cent on the previous year, while 42 pedestrians were killed, down 24 per cent on 2012.

"This is the lowest number of pedestrian fatalities since those records began in 1928," Ms Prendergast said.

Country NSW has also seen fewer deaths on their roads, down 13 per cent from 2012.

But there were more motorcycle and cyclist deaths in 2013 than 2012.

While 61 motorcycle riders lost their lives in 2012, 71 died in 2013.

For cyclists, fatalities have doubled since 2012, with 14 people dying in 2013.

"We're developing a new Cycling Safety Strategy and are determined to bring down the number of cycling deaths," she said.

Mr Gay urged all road users not to become complacent.

"Fatigue and speeding are major issues during the holidays with motorists rushing to their destination, going too fast, pushing on when they are tired or setting out without having a good night's sleep," he said.

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