Refugees to NZ deal no incentive: Gillard

A deal with New Zealand to take 150 refugees from Australia is part of a people smuggling solution. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Julia Gillard has defended a plan for New Zealand to take refugees from Australian detention centres, dismissing suggestions it will undermine the no-advantage test.

Ms Gillard cast the deal as part of regional solution to people smuggling, saying "this is a regional problem and the more you co-operate, the more you do together, the better it is".

The agreement, announced after bilateral talks with her New Zealand counterpart John Key in Queenstown, will see 150 refugees resettled each year from 2014.

The intake of refugees would be part of New Zealand's annual quota of 750, and if agreed to by Nauru and Papua New Guinea, could involve the offshore detention centres in those countries.

Ms Gillard said resettlement to New Zealand was part of a regional approach in which Australia would share intelligence and its detection and disruption capabilities.

"It's not just one nation's problem," she told reporters in Queenstown.

"So collaboration on things like intelligence gathering, intelligence sharing, disruption, detection, it's in everybody's interest.

"As a nation we are able to do that, and to resource that, and benefit New Zealand with it."

Refugee advocates attacked the agreement as likely to force more asylum seekers to risk the boat journey to Australia, while the opposition claimed it contradicted the government's own no-advantage test.

Ms Gillard denied the agreement undermined no-advantage provision introduced in the wake of the Houston report, which states that those who arrive by boat not be processed faster than through official channels.

"It will fit the no-advantage test, because we don't want any message sent anywhere around the world that by transiting to Australia you get some form of advantage, whether it's resettlement in Australia or resettlement in New Zealand," she said.

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the prime minister "can't have a no-advantage and then be saying to people on Nauru, you'll be going to New Zealand".

"It takes anywhere between three and five years if you're in Indonesia or Malaysia to work through the resettlement process," he told reporters in Sydney.

"This is an arrangement that barely scratches the surface.

"Julia Gillard just keeps putting sugar on the table for people smugglers and now she is trying to put Kiwi sugar on the table as well."

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young described the agreement as a bandaid to cover up the failure of offshore processing to stop the number of boat arrivals.

"It's not going to save lives, in fact it is going to put more lives at risk," she told reporters in Canberra.

"More people will be taking dangerous boat journeys as a result of less people being resettled directly (from Malaysia and Indonesia)."

The Refugee Action Coalition said the agreement with New Zealand was "a pointless deal, a regional non-solution".

"Asylum seekers are still going to have to get on boats and get to Australia before they have any hope of protection," spokesman Ian Rintoul said in a statement.

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AFP officer suspended over assault on boy

A federal police officer has been suspended after being charged with indecently assaulting a boy. Source: AAP

AN Australian Federal Police officer has been suspended after being charged with committing an indecent act on a 12-year-old boy.

The 38-year-old officer, from Amaroo, was arrested by ACT Policing's Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team on Friday night.

Officers said they charged the man with committing the act of indecency against a minor, alleging the offence occurred between June 1 and December 24, 2012.

A spokesman for ACT Policing said the man had been suspended from duty pending the outcome of the investigation.

"As this matter is before the court it would be inappropriate to comment any further," he said.

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MRRT raises little money, as suspected

AFTER a torturous three years, voters can now see the early fruit of the federal government's controversial mining tax - more of a grape than a watermelon.

Labor's introduction of a super-profits-based mining tax was the final death-knell for one prime minister, sparked all-out war with the mining community, deepened rifts with the states, and tied up many, many hours of parliamentary inquiries.

And it took an order from the Senate this week to get the Commissioner of Taxation to release revenue raisings from the minerals resource rent tax (MRRT) since it began on July 1, 2012.

The coalition and Greens parties had already suspected the 30 per cent impost on the super profits of coal and iron ore miners would deliver much less than the government had trumpeted.

And they were right.

Treasurer Wayne Swan announced on Friday the MRRT raised just $126 million in its first six months - that's a mere 6.3 per cent of what it was supposed to generate ($2 billion) by June 30 this year.

"It's clear revenues from resource rent taxes have taken a massive hit from the impact of continued global instability, commodity price volatility and a high dollar," Swan explained.

But shadow assistant treasurer Mathias Cormann says the MRRT is a "complex, distorting, badly designed tax".

"Wayne Swan has made a mess of the budget and he's made a mess of the mining tax."

Almost three years ago - in May 2010 - the tax was spruiked as a fair way of "spreading the benefits of the mining boom" across Australia.

It was a key recommendation taken from the Henry tax review.

The original design was a 40 per cent resource super profits tax (RSPT) on all the minerals and metals dug out of the ground.

After an angry response and extensive campaign by the mining industry, new Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard struck a deal with the big three companies - BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata - after toppling Kevin Rudd.

The RSPT was forecast to raise a net $12 billion in its first two years, according to the 2010/11 budget papers.

Forecasts for the later MRRT have been dwindling ever since.

The budget update in October said it would raise $9.1 billion in its first four years.

Swan says government revenues are down substantially across the board, and while iron ore prices have recovered somewhat the rebound will have a limited impact because contract prices are locked in.

Still, monthly data this week showed a substantial improvement in Australia's trade deficit.

This stemmed partly from a 19 per cent drop in capital goods imports in December.

But there was also 12 per cent rise in metal ores and minerals exports and a five per cent increase in coal product exports - leading to a trade gap of $427 million in December, down from a whopping $2.79 billion in November.

But now China is flagging caps on coal imports.

The Labor government has tied a number of initiatives to its MRRT revenue streams that will still have to be paid, whatever the revenue outcome.

These include superannuation tax breaks for low-paid workers, tax concessions from raising the compulsory super guarantee from nine to 12 per cent, and other tax incentives for families and business.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has vowed to ditch the MRRT - along with the carbon tax - should the coalition win the September 14 federal election.

In the case of both schemes, this would mean scrapping related initiatives - although the coalition does intend to retain the compulsory super guarantee component and fund it by other means.

The release of the MRRT revenue outcomes will be scrutinised during next week's Senate estimates hearings in Canberra.

The hearings will also provide the first opportunity for senators to grill the number crunchers from the departments of Treasury and Finance, after the government ditched its 2012/13 budget surplus forecast.

Labor is yet to indicate how far short the budget balance will be, there will further spending cuts to pay for big-ticket policies like the National Disability Insurance Scheme and schools funding.

This could involve tinkering with superannuation concessions, particularly for high-income earners.

But while the government won't rule anything in or out, Prime Minister Gillard has declared a withdrawal tax on super a no-go area.

"This is a government who's committed to making sure the system is sustainable, that it is fair, and we've got the runs on the board," superannuation minister Bill Shorten said this week.

"The only people who ever vote against making the system fair are the opposition."

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Aust bonds lower on Chinese trade data

AUSTRALIAN bond futures prices are weaker after the release of Chinese trade data negated an earlier rally.

At 1630 AEDT on Friday, the March 10-year bond futures contract was trading at 96.550 (implying a yield of 3.450 per cent), down from 96.555 (3.445 per cent) on Thursday.

The March three-year bond futures contract was at 97.180 (2.820 per cent), down from 97.190 (2.810 per cent).

RBC Capital fixed income and currency strategist Michael Turner said the local bond futures market rallied slightly on the release of the Reserve Bank of Australia's quarterly Statement on Monetary Policy.

"But we've just drifted off into the afternoon," he said.

"The catalyst was the Chinese trade data, not that there's a particularly strong link given how volatile those data are for January."

Official figures released on Friday showed China's trade surplus rose 7.7 per cent year-on-year in January, helped by a 25 per cent jump in exports.

Mr Turner said prices weren't dramatically differently from where they had been over the past few days.

Things were not likely to change overnight, he said.

"There's not a huge amount that we can see on the calendar tonight that's going to have too much influence," Mr Turner said.

He said the market would be watching for any continued fallout from the European Central Bank's policy meeting.

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Anti-doping agency set to gain new powers

AUSTRALIA'S anti-doping agency will have police-like powers to compel suspect athletes and other people to turn up for questioning and hand over documents on request.

The new powers are outlined in new federal legislation introduced ahead of the findings of a year-long Australian Crime Commission (ACC) investigation, revealing a drug culture involving the nation's sporting bodies, players and organised crime.

The government released the ACC report on Thursday, but the legislation went before the house on Wednesday in a bid to pre-empt its discoveries and ensure the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) gets the regulatory teeth to punish offenders.

Sports minister Kate Lundy said ASADA's investigative powers will be strengthened and its investigative resources doubled.

"If persons of interest refuse to cooperate with ASADA investigations they will be liable for civil penalties," she told reporters in Canberra.

Analytical testing would remain a fundamental and valuable means to address doping.

But under the new laws, ASADA can require someone to attend an interview or produce documents.

It can issue disclosure notices requiring a person to comply, with a fine of up to $5100 for people who don't.

The legislation also gives the ASADA chief executive the ability to engage directly with sporting bodies about sanctions for those who commit doping violations.

The government believes the new measures will mean people involved in doping will have a greater chance of being caught.

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Work begins on Pompeii makeover

Conservation workers have begun a $A138 million makeover of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Source: AAP

CONSERVATION workers at the long-neglected Roman city of Pompeii have begun a 105 million euros ($A138 million) makeover partly funded by the EU, a day after former site managers were put under investigation for corruption.

The project, which is being funded to the tune of 41.8 million euros from the European Union and is to be completed by 2015, is seen as crucial for the survival of Pompeii after a series of collapses at the 44-hectare site in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius.

The giant erupting volcano devastated Pompeii nearly 2000 years ago in 79 AD but the ash and rock helped preserve many buildings almost in their original state, as well as forming eerie shapes around the curled-up corpses of victims of the disaster.

The hugely popular site near Naples has come to symbolise the decades of mismanagement of many of Italy's cultural treasures, as well as the fallout from recent austerity cuts in budgets for culture.

The repairs are aimed at reducing the risk of exposure to the elements, reinforcing the ancient Roman buildings, restoring Pompeii's famous frescoes and increasing video surveillance at the site where security has been lax for many years.

The work begun on Wednesday was on two ancient Roman homes - one known as the Criptoportico and the other as the Casa dei Dioscuri, one of the most finely decorated buildings in the ruins.

"It's a first small step to revamp the whole area," said European Regional Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn, who inaugurated the project along with Italy's interior, culture and regional policy ministers.

"It is absolutely necessary that we have a program to revamp cultural sites in Italy. It is also a huge business economic opportunity," he said.

Hahn stressed it would be carried out with "full transparency" after a series of scandals at Pompeii.

On the eve of the opening ceremony, Italian financial police announced they were investigating Marcello Fiori, a former director of the site appointed by then prime minister Silvio Berlusconi in 2009, for alleged abuse of office.

Luigi D'Amora, Pompeii's previous supervisor of restoration work, was also accused of defrauding the state. Meanwhile a former contractor, Annamaria Caccavo, was placed under house arrest for hugely inflating costs.

One contract priced by Caccavo at 449,882 euros ended up costing the state 4.84 million euros, prosecutors said in court documents.

Pompeii, a UNESCO World Heritage site, provides a snapshot of daily life in Roman times and includes such gems as the famous Villa of Mysteries, which is decorated with frescoes that appear to show a woman's initiation ceremony into a cult.

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Profits to flow as foreign students return

INTERNATIONAL education services provider Navitas is preparing to reap the benefits as Asian students once again flock to study in Australia.

Despite reporting a flat first half net profit of $35.1 million for the half year to December 31, Navitas says regional student enrolments are climbing and earnings should improve.

"What we've seen over the last three to four months is a very, very significant turnaround in terms of demand out of China," said chief executive Rod Jones, who also cited Vietnam and India as key markets.

"Streamlined visas, the potential to work in Australia once they've finished studying, these things are positives from a student perspective."

The company flagged improved earnings this financial year and next.

Profits were emerging from its recent restructure, while its university programs and English businesses were recovering and would support earnings growth.

More significant growth would be visible from the 2014 financial year, as student volumes continue to grow across core divisions and margins improve, Navitas said.

Mr Jones said full-time student enrolments were up two per cent in the first half due to returning stability in Australia and Britain following regulatory changes.

New student recruitment in Australia also rose seven per cent.

"Until we build up our new student numbers to offset the numbers of students flowing through the system, we're not going to see the uptick, but we're getting very close to that point now," Mr Jones said.

Mr Jones denied the restructure of the professional and student recruitment divisions was a prelude to a sale.

He said Navitas had dealt with issues surrounding the $2.5 million loss in its professional division.

"Certainly there were parts of the business we were disappointed with - what happened in the (professional) area came a bit out of left field," he said.

"Most of the issues there have been dealt with in the first half, and moving forward we see recovery in the second half."

Navitas offers pre-university and pathway programs from 30 colleges in Australia, Britain, the United States, Canada, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Africa.

Its business in Germany, which accounts for 27 per cent of the company's offshore business, suffered a government funding cut last year.

And a one-off boost to earnings from the sale of a license in Bahrain last financial year had not been repeated.

Navitas declared a fully franked interim dividend of 9.3 cents, down from 9.4 cents previously.

Its shares closed five cents lower at $4.90.

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Call for more election public funding

THE South Australian government wants to introduce more public funding to election campaigns to head off an American-style system where money has a "corrosive influence".

Premier Jay Weatherill said the government wanted to "end the arms" race on political donations and funds directed to election campaigns.

Mr Weatherill said there was no suggestion that dodgy deals had been done in the past with individuals seeking political favours.

"But I think there's enough concern and there's enough reputational risk to South Australia and enough risk of this happening that we have to make sure we take every possible step to avoid it," the premier told reporters on Tuesday.

"Our community must have confidence that elections will be determined by the policies and performance of political parties and not by the size of their election war chest.

"You only need to look at the American political system to see the potentially corrosive influence of money in politics."

The government says it will discuss its proposed changes with the Liberal opposition and minor parties in order to achieve multi-party consensus.

It suggests changes will include public funding for election-related activities while still allowing some measure of private donations to political parties and candidates, including those from companies and unions.

Revised caps might also be placed on some donations.

The Greens and the powerful Shop Workers Association (SDA) welcomed the proposed changes to election funding.

SDA secretary Peter Malinauskas said the changes would improve the quality of democracy but must not benefit one political party over another.

Greens MP Mark Parnell urged the government to act quickly to ensure any changes were in place in time for the 2014 state election.

"For too long Labor has allowed the perception to flourish that giving big donations to political parties was an essential part of doing business in South Australia," Mr Parnell said.

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New SA Lib leader denies plan for job cuts

NEW Opposition Leader Steven Marshall has quickly distanced himself from expectations a Liberal government would slash public-sector jobs in South Australia.

After being elected unopposed at a meeting of Liberal MPs on Monday, Mr Marshall insisted it was the state Labor government that had a plan to cut 6000 jobs, not the opposition.

Final decisions would rest on the results of an audit of all government departments to be conducted if the Liberals win the 2014 election.

But he said that will focus on government waste.

"There is no plan in the Liberal Party to take the axe to the public service," Mr Marshall told reporters.

"The problem with South Australia is the government, not the public sector, and we will not be waging a war against them."

Mr Marshall's comments are in stark contrast to those of former leader Isobel Redmond, who got into hot water last year when she suggested up to 25,000 jobs could go under a Liberal government.

She retracted those remarks soon after, saying it was not opposition policy, but raised further questions recently when she said jobs should go in the education department.

Mr Marshall will wait until Friday to unveil his frontbench team, though he says new deputy Vickie Chapman, former leader Martin Hamilton-Smith and current treasury spokesman Iain Evans will have key roles.

"The state Liberals will provide a fresh approach and my team is energised, focused and very excited about the next 13 months," he said.

"The shadow cabinet will be innovative, merit-based and if I was Premier (Jay) Weatherill, I would be worried."

Ms Chapman, who defeated Mr Evans by 10 votes to eight in the ballot for the deputy, has not indicated what job she wants and has assured Mr Marshall that she will not challenge for the leadership.

"All of us want to work closely with Steven. All of us have made a commitment to do that," she said.

"He has my absolute assurance that I will do as he asks in the team, in whatever role he thinks that I can best serve in the parliament and with the public."

Mr Marshall's first test as leader will come when state parliament resumes on Tuesday.

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Aquila shares fall 3.9 % on budget dispute

NEWS that Aquila Resources has been unable to agree on a budget for its $7.4 billion West Pilbara Iron Ore Project has driven the iron ore hopeful's shares lower.

Aquila shares were 12 cents, or 3.9 per cent, lower at $3.00 on Monday.

Aquila said it would continue to focus its efforts on "how best to progress the project" and would maintain the project on minimum expenditure for the remainder of the financial year.

It said it had failed to strike an agreement with its joint venture partner AMCI Pty Ltd on the 2012/2013 budget.

The developments came three days after Aquila received the green light from the West Australian government to develop Anketell Port as part of its $7.4 billion iron ore project, in which Aquila holds a 50 per cent stake.

However, analysts remain doubtful that the project will go ahead.

Morningstar Resources analyst Gareth James said he had always been doubtful about the West Pilbara Iron Ore project proceeding following a $1.4 billion capital cost blowout in October.

"Even if they did resolve the budget dispute with the joint venture partner, even if they did find the billions of dollars required to fund the project, you then have the massive risk of development, during which time costs could blow out further," Mr James said.

Production would be years away, leaving the $1.2 billion company with no obvious revenue or profit in the meantime.

"When these announcements come out, for us it doesn't really change much.

"We're of the view that this project is very unlikely to happen."

The federal government will now consider whether to also approve the project.

In October, 2012 Aquila announced a $1.4 billion cost blowout, a month after the dispute with AMCI was referred to arbitration.

The coal producer has been moving into iron ore and developed proposals for two key mines in WA's Pilbara region.

Integral to the project is the proposed port development at Anketell.

The planned development of the port is crucial to Aquila securing the majority of more than $3 billion in funding it needs.

Aquila recently settled its lengthy legal battle with Brazilian miner Vale over the sale of the Perth-based company's 24.5 per cent stake in the Belvedere coal project in Queensland.

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Two hikers missing near Brisbane

A SEARCH is underway for two bushwalkers who failed to return from a hike in bushland near Brisbane.

Four people had set off for a walk in the Mount Glorious area on Saturday, but only two returned.

Police told AAP a ground search was underway in thick bushland to find the missing hikers.

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Pollies return to Canberra for 2013

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard will take her new-look frontbench into the first parliamentary week of the election year but Labor scandals and a Newspoll will make it hard for her to keep the focus on policy.

Ms Gillard's new ministry will be sworn in on Monday after the resignation of senior ministers Chris Evans and Nicola Roxon forced a reshuffle that has sparked opposition accusations that the government is unravelling.

The Labor caucus will also meet for the first time since Ms Gillard's surprise decision last week to announce a September 14 election date, signalling the start of what is arguably Australia's longest-ever election campaign.

Caucus is expected to elect Communications Minister Stephen Conroy as the government's new leader in the Senate - with Finance Minister Penny Wong likely to be named his deputy - ahead of Tuesday's resumption of parliament.

The government will seek to put the focus on Labor policies like the National Disability Insurance Scheme - which will be debated in the lower house on Thursday - the Gonski school funding reforms and the national broadband network.

"With the return of parliament this week comes the opportunity to debate and progress the policies that will improve the lives of Australians," Treasurer Wayne Swan said on Sunday.

But the opposition will surely seek to capitalise on last week's arrest of former Labor MP turned crossbencher Craig Thomson.

Thomson, who is facing 149 fraud charges over his time as head of the Health Services Union, is expected to face court in Melbourne on Wednesday.

The coalition will also seek to link Ms Gillard and her government to the ongoing corruption investigation involving former NSW Labor heavies Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald. Mr Obeid is set to start his evidence before the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption hearing on Monday.

The latest Newspoll is unlikely to bring the prime minister much good news given her less-than-stellar start to the year, which also included the controversy surrounding her "captain's pick" of indigenous athlete Nova Peris.

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