World worst child porn suspect in custody

A MAN described by the FBI as being the largest facilitator of child porn on the planet has been remanded in custody after being refused bail for a second time.

Eric Eoin Marques is wanted in the United States on four charges linked to website images described as being extremely violent, graphic and depicting the rape and torture of pre-pubescent children.

Justice John Edwards, sitting at the High Court in Dublin where extradition proceedings are under way, accepted evidence from the FBI and Irish police that the 28-year-old is a flight risk or likely to destroy evidence if released.

Marques, who has Irish and US citizenship, is wanted in connection with four counts involving the advertising of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, conspiracy to advertise child pornography, and conspiracy to distribute child pornography.

If convicted in the US on all four counts he could be jailed for up to 100 years.

The judge said that despite taking into account that Marques was entitled to the presumption of innocence, was an Irish citizen with a family network around him and was not a fugitive on the run from another country, he could not grant bail even with stringent conditions.

Marques, of Dublin's north inner city, is accused of being the sole administrator of an anonymous hosting server called Freedom Hosting, where the FBI claims thousands of members allegedly posted millions of images of child pornography.

Mr Justice Edwards said the charges were very serious and carried substantial sentences.

He said Marques had already attempted to interfere with evidence when gardai went to arrest him by "making a dive" for his computer to try to turn it off.

Investigators also claimed that after he was initially questioned by gardai, Marques managed to get back on the Freedom Hosting server - which had been taken over by the FBI - and change the passwords.

Elsewhere, the judge raised concerns over the creation of a false identity online and a scan of a US passport that had been found.

He said the factors against bail outweighed the factors for bail.

Dressed in a grey hoodie and jeans, Marques listened intently as the judge delivered his 50-minute ruling a day after he heard the bail application brought by defence barrister Remy Farrell.

The judge said there had been no major change in the circumstances of his case since another judge refused bail on similar grounds the day after his arrest on August 1.

Marques was remanded in custody until October 22 when the case will be mentioned again, and nodded to family members in the court as he was led away.

FBI special agent Brooke Donahue was on Thursday asked by Patrick McGrath, barrister for the Attorney General of Ireland, if the bureau still believed Marques was the largest facilitator of child porn on the planet.

"Yes, that is still true today," the agent told the court.

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Operation Zombie arrests Argentine hacker

ARGENTINE police say they have arrested a 19-year-old alleged hacker on suspicion of leading a network specialised in fraud and complex financial transactions that led to security breaches at numerous websites.

The youth, whose identity has not been revealed, is the son of an information systems engineer.

He was initially detained at his home in Buenos Aires in July as part of Operation Zombie, which included five raids in the capital and the city of Rosario, about 300km north, the Security Ministry reported Friday.

Experts believe the "super-hacker" diverted about $US50,000 ($A54,290) a month to his bank account, using the "technological cave" he assembled at his home.

Police raiding his Buenos Aires residence seized sophisticated computers and other technological equipment.

Officials identified six more people who were involved in the criminal network.

The police department's Operation Zombie began in 2012, when a businessman who offered hosting services for personal web pages on his servers said that a hacker was remotely entering the servers to intercept monetary transfers.

Former criminal lawyer Graciela Gils Carbo, who is now Argentina's chief prosecutor, ordered the federal police to begin an investigation that uncovered that the same person was stealing from money transfer and online game sites.

"Internet users were victims of a 'malware' virus that the hacker hosted in a server for downloading online gaming applications," said a ministry statement.

To complete the job and avoid alerting victims to an illegal money transfer, the suspected hacker carried out a "denial of service" manoeuvre that used a network of thousands of "zombie" computers to saturate the platform for payments so users could not access their accounts around the time of the attack.

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Hockey concerned by rising jobless rate

Liberal frontbencher Joe Hockey says he is concerned that Australia's jobless rate is rising. Source: AAP

LIBERAL frontbencher Joe Hockey is concerned that Australia's jobless rate is rising when it is decreasing in many other advanced economies.

Mr Hockey, who is expected to be sworn in as treasurer under the new Abbott government next week, says the latest labour force data reaffirms the need for a positive plan to boost growth and create jobs.

The August data shows the unemployment rate rising to 5.8 per cent from 5.7 per cent previously, its highest level since August 2009 during the middle of the global financial crisis.

The number of people in employment dropped by 10,800 in August, when economists had expected a 10,000 increase.

Full-time employment fell by 2600, while those in part-time work decreased by 8200.

"At a time where unemployment rates in many other advanced economies are decreasing, Australia's unemployment rate is heading in the opposite direction," Mr Hockey said in a statement.

He says the coalition is "purposefully and methodically" preparing for government with a plan to build a strong and prosperous economy.

"As a starting point the coalition will get rid of Labor's carbon tax, get rid of the mining tax and not proceed with Labor's job-killing $1.8 billion fringe benefits tax hike."

He said its planned company tax rate cut to 28.5 per cent from 30 per cent in 2015 will provide an incentive for employers to invest more in their businesses and create jobs.

"The coalition's company tax cut will restore the confidence of business and workers which has been severely damaged under six years of Labor mismanagement."

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Rebels bikie convoy heading to Perth

About 1000 Rebels bikies are making their way to Perth where they will complete their national run. Source: AAP

ABOUT 1000 Rebels bikie members are making their way to Perth, bound for the gang's Osborne Park clubhouse.

The Rebels are expected to make a brief stop over at Tammin, east of Perth, before arriving in Perth in the late afternoon on Thursday.

The bikies arrived in Western Australian on Tuesday after crossing the Nullarbor, spending time in Norseman before travelling to the historic gold mining town of Kalgoorlie on Wednesday.

They stayed there overnight before continuing their journey on Thursday morning.

The run brings together chapters from across the country, led by national president Alex "The Maltese Falcon" Vella.

They have brought plenty of business to roadhouses and been met with the state's biggest police presence since the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2011.

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Goward denies Hansard cover-up

THE NSW Family and Community Services Minister denies she edited the parliamentary record to cover up misleading statements about a shortage of child protection workers.

Pru Goward says Labor is trying to score cheap political points and deliberately misunderstanding Hansard rules.

Documents obtained by the opposition show Ms Goward changed Hansard on August 13, adding the words "by me" to the statement "There has never been a moratorium on caseworker recruitment".

Internal emails also show Ms Goward asked Hansard to delete a statement she made to parliament that "caseworker numbers went down under Labor".

Hansard editors refused the minister's request, the opposition claims.

Labor leader John Robertson said Ms Goward's actions made a mockery of parliamentary procedure.

He also accused her of lying under parliamentary oath when she denied the recruitment freeze.

"Why did you change the official Hansard of this parliament and edit your comments?" he asked Ms Goward in question time on Wednesday.

Labor was pretending not to know how Hansard works, she replied.

"Hansard is the keeper of the record and the final arbiter," Ms Goward added.

"Any minor changes have of course been made with standing orders."

Last month, Ms Goward was accused of misleading parliament over claims that caseworker numbers were rising when she had actually been advised they were falling.

"Pru Goward is clearly willing to do anything to try and cover her tracks," Opposition family and community services minister Linda Burney said on Wednesday.

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Detainees need access to lawyers: inquiry

THE first time a lawyer talks to clients facing a serious charge like murder should not be moments before their initial court appearance, a public hearing in Perth has heard.

WA Criminal Lawyers Association president Linda Black made the submission on Wednesday to a parliamentary committee, which is conducting an inquiry into custodial arrangements at police lock-ups.

She said it could be up to 10 hours after a person's arrest until they were able to see a lawyer.

"I don't understand why police have the right to suspend a person's opportunity to speak to a lawyer," she said.

Although police were more aware of making sure juveniles had an adult present and the Aboriginal Legal Service was involved for indigenous detainees, there was no such support for non-indigenous people, she said.

Those who did not speak English well and people with mental illnesses were especially disadvantaged, Ms Black said.

She shared one story of when she was forced to seek a judge's order so her client could receive his medication while in lock-up.

Ms Black said often it was not that police did not want to give detainees their medication, but there was a lack of communication.

Resources could be saved if a doctor was stationed 24/7 at the Perth watch house to assist detainees who required medication, WA Police Union president George Tilbury suggested.

Ms Black also said lawyers were often given the run around when they called police to speak to their clients after an arrest, while detectives tried to get a confession.

She said police knew their opportunity to get information was limited once a lawyer spoke to an accused person and courts did not exclude interviews recorded before an accused person spoke to a lawyer.

She recommended the act be amended or else those arrested "may as well not have the right".

Mr Tilbury also said there should be more officers in lock-ups.

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Coalition ahead in 86 seats: AEC

THE Liberal-National coalition is ahead in 86 seats as counting of votes from Saturday's federal election continues.

Labor is ahead in 57 seats, with the Greens' Adam Bandt holding Melbourne, Bob Katter retaining his seat of Kennedy, and independent Andrew Wilkie returning in Denison.

Preferences have yet to be posted on the Australian Electoral Commission website in four seats: Fairfax, Fisher, Indi and Mallee.

Among the seats listed as close is the NSW seat of Barton, with Labor candidate Steve McMahon 62 votes ahead of the Liberals' Nic Varvaris.

In Eden-Monaro, former minister Mike Kelly is 634 votes behind Liberal candidate Peter Hendy.

Labor MP John Murphy is trailing Liberal challenger Craig Laundy by 619 votes in the NSW seat of Reid.

In Victoria, Labor MP Rob Mitchell is 72 votes ahead of the Liberals' Donna Petrovich in McEwen.

Two Queensland seats are also close.

Labor candidate Peter Freeleagus is 141 votes ahead of the Liberal National Party's Michelle Landry in Capricornia.

Former parliamentary secretary Yvette D'Ath is 600 votes behind the LNP's Luke Howarth in Petrie.

Liberal frontbencher Sophie Mirabella is 359 votes in front of independent rival Cathy McGowan in results posted for the Victorian seat of Indi on the AEC website on Monday afternoon.

The Nationals' Andrew Broad is 301 votes ahead of Liberal Chris Crewther in the Victorian rural seat of Mallee.

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Finance data show housing market improving

HOME loans approvals have risen for the seventh month in a row, and the housing sector is expected to strengthen further in the coming months.

The number of home loans approved in July rose 2.4 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said, which was better than the market forecast of a 2.0 per cent rise.

CommSec chief economist Craig James said he expects the housing market to make more gains as consumer and business confidence improves now that the federal election is out of the way.

"What we would hope that, in a more settled environment, people will start spending, investing and hiring," he said.

"Of all the sectors in the economy, clearly one of the healthiest is housing.

"Housing is best placed to take over the leadership role from mining as the nation's key economic driver.

Loans made for the purchase of new dwellings rose 5.9 per cent in the month but loans for the construction of dwellings fell 2.1 per cent.

"While construction loans fell, it was only the first fall recorded in eight months," Mr James said.

"Low interest rates and the skewing of state government grants to new building should continue to support the outlook for building material stocks and developers.

"Certainly we should have construction rising at a faster rate than established dwellings, so we don't get caught with unsustainable growth."

Mr James said the data and continued signs of strength in the housing sector will ensure that the Reserve Bank will hold off on another interest rate cut until 2014.

Total housing finance by value rose 1.1 per cent in July, seasonally adjusted, to $24.180 billion.

JP Morgan economist Ben Jarman said that although the figures came in stronger than expected, the rise was being driven by investors rather than first-home buyers, who typically take out bigger loans.

"Average loan sizes are falling," Mr Jarman said.

"At the same time, what you're getting is activity that is tilted more towards the investor and less toward the first-home buyer, so you're not getting that uplift in overall credit growth that you get when first-home buyers come into the market.

"It seems like there's a lot of turnover happening in housing but not enough homes being built and not enough credit growth to make it genuinely stimulatory.

"Without that piece of the puzzle moving we don't think this will really change the path of the real economy."

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