Abbott coy on spy letter to SBY

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott is remaining tight-lipped about the contents of his letter to the Indonesian president about the spy scandal.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had written to Mr Abbott demanding an official apology and a full explanation as to why Australian spies in 2009 targeted his mobile phone, as well as his wife's and some of his closest confidants.

Indonesia has halted all co-operation with Australia on people smuggling following the phone-tapping controversy.

Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney on Saturday that he had written to Dr Yudhoyono.

"The letter is now in the process of being delivered," he said.

"I think it would be wrong of me to talk about what I've said to the president before the president has actually received it."

Mr Abbott reiterated the government's commitment to a strong relationship between Australia and Indonesia.

"Obviously there will be good days and there will be better days but my determination is to ensure that the relationship is constantly improving," he said.

Tear gas was used to repel protesters on Friday during demonstrations in Jakarta over the spy row.

An Australian flag and pictures of Mr Abbott were set alight.

The Australian embassy was pelted with rocks and eggs, and a mock coffin bearing a photo of Mr Abbott was left on the road in front of the compound.

Dr Yudhoyono tweeted on Saturday that social relations are closer when there is mutual trust, care and co-operation.

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Thunderstorm warnings for southern Qld

Top of Bunya Mountains looking west out over the Darling Downs. Things are really brewing up out here today! Picture courtesy: Jeff Higgins / Higgins Storm Chasing Source: Supplied

AFTER Queensland's north coast was battered by severe weather, southern Queensland has now been put on alert for severe thunderstorms, including damaging wind and large hailstones.

1.55pm: Another severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for damaging wind and large hailstones.

Areas expected to be affected are Roma, St George, Taroom, Tambo, Rolleston, Baralaba, Springsure, Goondiwindi and Carnarvon National Park.

The Bureau of Meteorology will next issue an update at 4.55pm. For more details and latest information see www.bom.gov.au.

11.45am: Southern Queensland has been put on alert for severe thunderstorms.

Bowen certainly has copped some rain!! Thankfully tide was out bit still water is still through some houses and cars. Picture: Tash Edwards

The weather bureau is predicting storms will roll over Roma, Emerald, St George, Biloela, Blackwater, Baralaba, Springsure, Goondiwindi and Carnarvon National Park in the coming hours.

The earlier warning for the Herbert, Lower Burdekin, Central Coast and Whitsunday districts has been cancelled.

A Department of Community Safety spokeswoman said the State Emergency Service received about six calls for help after the rain event that hit the Bowen Basin overnight.

Emergency services were also called out to three swift water rescues, but passengers in the vehicles were able to pull themselves to safety.

Bowen certainly has copped some rain!! Thankfully tide was out bit still water is still through some houses and cars. Picture: Tash Edwards

No injuries were reported to paramedics.
 

10.30am: The Bureau of Meteorology has issued another warning for severe thunderstorms with heavy rain and flash flooding during the next couple of hours.

North Queensland's Bowen copped a heavenly dumping last night – with up to 274mm of rainfall in just over an hour.

The tropical downpour caused some flash flooding on roads but Bowen councillor Dave Clark said it was welcome relief after an extended dry spell.

Bowen certainly has copped some rain!! Thankfully tide was out bit still water is still through some houses and cars. Picture: Tash Edwards

The weather bureau said the rainfall was "significant" and very localised over Bowen, 274mm, and Hamilton Island, 236mm.

There were no damaging winds, and flash flooding was confined to the coastal areas.

Meteorologist Michael Knepp said the rainfall totals were not unusual for that tropical part of the state at this time of year.

"We are heading into that time of year when you can get rainfall totals like this," said Mr Knepp.

"It's not rare, you can get totals like this overnight."

Most of the rain over Hamilton Island fell between 11.30pm and 2am.

Cr Clark said the area had missed out on the usual winter rains and had been very dry.

"It's been really, really dry; quite depressing really," said Cr Clark.

"Everyone was happy with the rain. It was probably too much too quick but you can't have everything."

Jade Meredith, of Bowen, said she emptied about 300mL out of her rain gauge at 6am.

"It's already half full again," she said.

Rebecca Edwards described an overnight thunderstorm as "awesome".

"First lot of rain thunder and lightning I (have) seen since moving to Cannonvale," she said.

"I've been here seven months."

The Bruce Highway is cut in parts due to flash flooding.

Local police have also advised Argyle Rd, Park Rd and Queens Rd are shut.

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Hospital bottlenecks risk lives: professor

PUBLIC hospitals are risking lives by keeping patients in the emergency department for too long, a health specialist says.

Few are meeting a government target for patients to be out within four hours.

The biggest issue is a bottleneck between the emergency department and the hospital wards.

"Longer waits mean increased risks. This means life or death for some people," said Professor Drew Richardson, who will speak at an Australasian College for Emergency Medicine conference in Adelaide on Monday.

Another concern was the diversion of ambulances to less suitable hospitals.

The four-hour target was being phased in, with 90 per cent compliance expected at public hospitals by 2015.

But few hospitals are close to the target.

Prof Richardson told AAP it might be better to aim for New Zealand's protocol of six hours for admissions and four hours for patients who are sent home.

There had been improvements since 2008, but progress had stalled, he said.

Part of his presentation on Monday will focus on the worrying results of a college snapshot study that found 39 per cent of people being treated in emergency departments at a specific time in June 2013 had exceeded four hours since arrival.

Alarmingly, 73 patients in 25 hospitals had waited more than 24 hours and seven hospitals reported a patient waiting for a hospital bed for more than 48 hours.

"Once their emergency care is finished the emergency department is not the best place for a patient," said Prof Richardson.

"People are better off in a quieter area with a comfortable bed and appropriate nursing staff.

"The four-hour rule does not seem to be compatible with the way hospitals are organised," he said.

"We need to keep striving to keep the time down. It is good for patients and is a good use of resources.

"Overcrowded emergency departments are dangerous.

"Our hospitals can perform better than they are with the resources they have."

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Protections should be in place: Morrison

IMMIGRATION Minister Scott Morrison says Papua New Guinea's police have the capability to investigate allegations of a sexual assault at the Australian-run detention facility on Manus Island.

Sources on Manus Island told AAP an alleged sexual assault at the facility three weeks ago had been referred to police.

Manus Island MP Ron Knight expressed concern over accusations expat guards at the facility drunkenly harassed local women. Residents and teachers at a local school have alleged one guard tried to lure children into his car.

Mr Morrison told reporters he was confident in the PNG police force's ability to investigate allegations of sexual assault.

"Any matter involving sexual assault is extremely serious," he said.

"Where allegations of that nature are presented they are referred to the relevant law enforcement authorities, whether that's PNG, Nauru, Christmas Island or whether it's here in Sydney."

Mr Morrison told a press conference on Friday he expected protections to be put in place for any victims.

"The appropriate actions which have been informed by previous events I would ensure and entrust are in place," he said.

"These things need to be identified, addressed, the appropriate references made to the appropriate authorities and, concurrently, protections are put in place for the individual themselves."

Mr Knight told AAP he had an envelope of complaints from "women and teachers" that some guards at the centre were harassing locals.

He said complaints to the police had gone unanswered.

Meanwhile, Mr Morrison is expected to fly to PNG next week to meet with Prime Minister Peter O'Neill and Mr Knight.

Mr O'Neill this week suggested in parliament the people of Manus were being short-changed by the asylum-seeker deal because they were not benefiting from "spin-off" businesses, such as construction contracts.

Mr Morrison on Friday said he had been encouraged by previous meetings with PNG officials.

"I was very pleased with the progress we are making, particularly on the employment of nationals and Manusians in particular," he said.

"There are over 500 Manusians that have been employed in those facilities."

The government is spending $40 million in aid money for projects such as restoring roads and the local market.

"It is one of our very important priorities in our dealings with PNG and particularly in our dealings with Manus Island that we leave a very positive legacy. The same is true on Nauru," Mr Morrison said.

At present 1044 asylum seekers are being detained at Manus Island.

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Airport chief angry at Albanese attack

Sydney Airport's chief has reacted angrily to Anthony Albanese's attack on him in parliament. Source: AAP

SYDNEY Airport's chief Max Moore-Wilton says he will sue senior federal Labor MP Anthony Albanese if he repeats outside parliament comments that "cast a slur" on his character.

Mr Moore-Wilton, the chairman of Sydney Airports Corporation, on Thursday reacted angrily to Mr Albanese's attack on him in parliament on Wednesday.

Mr Albanese said he was "shocked" by accusations hurled at him by Mr Moore-Wilton during the federal election and blasted the Sydney Airport chief for hypocrisy.

But Mr Moore-Wilton said Mr Albanese's comments made under privilege in parliament "casts a slur on my character".

"If he made those claims outside parliament I would sue him," he told AAP.

"Mr Albanese is ... experienced ... of course he won't repeat it outside."

Mr Moore-Wilton said Mr Albanese claimed he had misused his position of power when he was in the commonwealth government to implement the sale of Sydney Airport.

"That is not true, there are no facts to support that. I was not involved with Sydney Airport or even contemplated that when that sale went through.

"It was a responsibility of the Minister of Finance

Mr Moore-Wilton had accused Mr Albanese of having a conflict of interest in his support for a second airport because his electorate of Grayndler was underneath the flight path.

He also accused the former infrastructure and transport minister of breaching the curfew at Sydney Airport so aircraft carrying politicians could land late at night.

In an impassioned speech to parliament on Wednesday, Mr Albanese rejected the claims and said he was shocked by the "the depth of distortion and misrepresentation" made by the Sydney Airport chief.

"There were no breaches, there were no planes, there were no MPs on these fictitious planes," he told the House of Representatives.

"For Mr Moore-Wilton, whose company has a direct financial interest in preserving its monopoly, to be attacking members of parliament for alleged conflict of interest tests the limits of intellectual credibility."

Mr Albanese questioned why Mr Moore-Wilton, who was a senior public servant when the Howard government sold the Sydney Airport lease in 2002, was now trying to scrap the regulations around that sale.

"Of course, that would deliver a windfall gain for the Sydney Airport Corporation," he said.

Mr Moore-Wilton told AAP on Thursday that a decision on a second airport was a matter for the government.

"I would hope that a proper transparent cabinet process is involved in matters relating to a second Sydney airport, unlike the previous government," he said.

Later, Mr Albanese stood in the lower house to make a personal explanation to parliament.

He maintained his statement that Mr Moore-Wilton would have known about cabinet discussions about the sale of the airport.

Mr Albanese cited information from a 2003 senate estimates hearing indicating these discussions took place in 2002.

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UK PM 'following' escort agency on Twitter

BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron has been following the exploits of a high-class escort agency on Twitter.

One of the prime minister's official accounts was linked to the Carltons of London's feed on the micro-blogging site, technology news website The Register found.

It claims to be London's "finest luxury boutique escort agency" catering for the needs of a "select and small group of elite gentlemen".

The agency also offers a corporate service for those looking to secure a big deal who "need something special to swing them in your favour".

But Downing Street indicated the agency may have first been followed under Gordon Brown's premiership.

The @Number10gov account is the official Twitter feed for the office of the Prime Minister and automatically followed anyone that chose to follow it until 2009 - while the former Labour leader was in power - when the practice was stopped.

"We have stopped following this particular account," a Downing Street spokesman said.

"Prior to 2010, an auto-follow process was used, meaning that @Number10gov automatically followed anyone who followed the account. This was common practice at the time for many corporate accounts, but was discontinued in 2009.

"As a result of this legacy, the @Number10gov account follows almost 370,000 accounts and we have taken steps to un-follow as many as possible that are inactive, spam or inappropriate. This work is ongoing."

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Vic Greens say tolls won't pay for link

THE Victorian Greens say tolls won't pay for the East West Link, leaving taxpayers to cover the costs.

The party was given blanked-out documents about the project, which were obtained via freedom of information, before a mediation hearing at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) on Wednesday.

Victorian Greens leader Greg Barber says the documents suggest the only demand for the toll road is in morning peak hour.

"The whole project is a dud and should be dropped before we end up throwing good money away," Mr Barber said.

Mr Barber said taxpayers would end up paying people to drive.

The Greens want all details of the project to be made public in the VCAT mediation.

Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said the VCAT mediation could have been avoided if the government provided access to all the information about the project.

Treasurer Michael O'Brien said taxpayer contributions towards the link would be limited.

"Victorians are prepared to make a contribution for better infrastructure that cuts their travel time," Mr O'Brien said.

He said the public would be informed about the costs of the project once the contract had been signed by the toll's builder, which is still under tender.

He said tolls would reduce the net cost of the project.

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NSW parliament passes bill enabling NDIS

PEOPLE living with a disability in NSW will have greater choice by 2018, with a bill passing state parliament that enables the national disability insurance scheme (NDIS) to take effect.

Disability Services Minister John Ajaka said the passage of the bill on Wednesday was a great moment for people with disabilities, their families, carers and care workers.

"The bill contains the measures necessary to make the NDIS a reality in NSW and helps to make sure that by 2018 people with disability will have greater choice and control of the support they receive," he said in a statement.

Under the NDIS, annual funding for the NSW disability sector would more than double, from more than $2.5 billion to $6.4 billion each year by 2018, Mr Ajaka said.

It will make an additional 50,000 people with disabilities and their families eligible for support, creating up to 25,000 jobs in the disability sector.

Opposition disability spokeswoman Barbara Perry said more consultation was needed on the move from NSW government services to non-government groups under the scheme.

"People with disabilities and their carers have legitimate fears around what the transition will mean," she said.

The NDIS is being trialled in the Hunter and will be rolled out across the state from 2016, being fully implemented by 2018.

In December last year, NSW was the first state to sign on to the scheme.

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Google moves to remove map image

A US man wants Google Maps to remove an aerial image that shows the body of his 14-year-old son, who was shot and killed in 2009.

Jose Barrera told a San Francisco television station that he only recently became aware of the image of his son Kevin earlier in the week. He said he wants Google to take down the image out of respect for his son.

"When I see this image, that's still like that happened yesterday," Barrera told the news station on Sunday.

"And that brings me back to a lot of memories."

The image shows what appears to be a body on the ground near a rail line with several other people, presumably investigators, and what looks like a police car nearby. It was visible on Google's website on Monday and the company has said it will remain so for a little more than a week.

"Since the media first contacted us about the image, we've been looking at different technical solutions," Google Maps Vice President Brian McClendon said in a statement on Monday afternoon.

"Google has never accelerated the replacement of updated satellite imagery from our maps before, but given the circumstances we wanted to make an exception in this case. We believe we can update this in eight days, and we've spoken to the family to let them know we're working hard on the update."

Kevin's body was found on a path near railway tracks that separate North Richmond from San Pablo on August 15, 2009. His slaying remains unsolved.

Google says most of its overhead images are about one to three years old, although it tries to update them regularly.

Google Maps also provides a street view function that allows people to tour areas as someone passing through them would. Street View displays images that have been gathered by Google using cameras mounted on cars, tricycles and even snowmobiles.

Some of the images have raised privacy concerns, though Google says its technology automatically blurs licence plates and people's faces. It also allows users to report concerns about the images.

There is, however, no similar reporting feature for overhead imagery, according to Google.

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Uni students admit to cheating

TWELVE medical students at the University of Adelaide have admitted to taking photos of a computer-delivered exam paper and passing it on to other students.

The university is conducting an investigation into the incident which involved fifth-year students studying a human reproductive course this year.

Medical school dean Alastair Burt said the 12 students had come forward and indicated they took "screen grabs" of the exam which was presented on an iPad.

They then passed those grabs onto other students who were to take the exam later.

This was the first year the medical school had used iPads in exams.

Professor Burt said the university would investigate the incident but intended to take a "firm line" in responding to those involved.

"We have a zero tolerance to cheating," he told ABC radio on Tuesday.

"Academic integrity is central to the whole philosophy of our institution.

"There is also a whole issue about the professionalism of our future doctors."

Senior lecturer in obstetrics and gynaecology, Paul Duggan, said the incident had irretrievably damaged the integrity of the human reproductive health exams.

He said it had also put an end to the use of iPads in exams.

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$3000 a week for house PM doesn't use

TAXPAYERS are forking out $3000 a week in rent for a luxury Canberra house that Prime Minister Tony Abbott has chosen not to use.

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) leased the property as a temporary replacement for The Lodge, which is undergoing a major refurbishment.

Senior DPMC official Elizabeth Kelly said the department signed a 12-month lease on August 31, a week before the September 7 federal election.

It signed even though neither Mr Abbott nor then Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd had been able to inspect the property due to their election campaign commitments.

Ms Kelly said the department had wanted to find accommodation "comparable" to The Lodge.

But after the election, Mr Abbott opted instead to stay in a modest flat at the Australian Federal Police training college in Barton.

Liberal senator Cory Bernardi asked about the property during a Senate estimates hearing on Monday.

"So $3000 a week for a property that how many people are living in now?" he asked.

"The property is vacant, senator," Ms Kelly said.

Ms Kelly said the department was notified shortly after the election that Mr Abbott was not going to use it.

Since then, the department has been negotiating with the property's owner to get out of the lease, but has not yet succeeded.

"We're still in those negotiations," Ms Kelly said.

It's understood the property has already cost taxpayers more than $30,000.

The full 12-month lease would cost taxpayers about $156,000.

Senator Bernardi said the department could have found a cheaper property, or shouldn't have signed the lease before the outcome of the election was known.

"I'm not sure the taxpayers will enjoy the fact that they've got $156,000 worth of lease payments to pay for an empty building," he said.

Officials wouldn't say where the leased property was.

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Newman forced bipolar revelation: MP

A FORMER Queensland government MP says the premier's attacks on him have forced him to reveal he has bipolar disorder.

In a letter addressed to Campbell Newman, embattled Redcliffe MP Scott Driscoll says it's disappointing he's had to make a private medical condition public.

But he says Mr Newman's ongoing attacks on him left him no choice.

"Can I assure you that feeling forced to publicly disclose such a private medical condition and personal challenge is filled with a sense of sadness, severe disappointment and trepidation," Mr Driscoll wrote.

He said it was a great pity there had been no support when he had a genuinely serious medical condition.

Mr Driscoll quit the Liberal National Party government in April, before the party could dump him.

The now independent MP is accused of secretly controlling a community group in Moreton Bay from his electorate office and paying his wife tens of thousands of dollars in consultancy fees.

He denies any wrongdoing and in September vigorously defended his prolonged absence from parliament, saying he had genuine health problems.

Mr Newman has repeatedly called on Mr Driscoll to quit parliament, accusing him of letting down his electorate and failing to properly answer serious allegations against him.

Mr Driscoll's letter comes less than a week after federal Sunshine Coast MP Clive Palmer called the premier "a nice little fellow with a bipolar condition that doesn't take his medication".

Mr Driscoll says his psychiatrist has written to parliament's ethics committee, saying he is not fit to appear before them over allegations he failed to properly disclose his interests on the official register.

Mr Newman didn't want to comment on whether Mr Driscoll should be forced to front the committee, and added he had not known Mr Driscoll was ill before Monday.

Mr Newman had previously called on Mr Driscoll to quit parliament.

"I said what I said at the time with the knowledge I had," he said.

"I'm taking that on board and digesting it.

"My comments have always been for the people of Redcliffe to have proper representation in parliament and that remains the case."

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Teen critical after taxi jump

A 19-year-old man has suffered head injuries after jumping out of a moving taxi near Hobart. Source: AAP

A 19-YEAR-OLD man has suffered critical head injuries after jumping out of a moving taxi near Hobart.

The teenager and three friends had taken a Maxi Taxi in Kingston about 2.30am on Sunday.

Police say the taxi was travelling at low speed when someone opened the door and all four jumped out.

The 19-year-old is believed to have struck his head and had to be taken to hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.

Police have not yet determined why the teenagers jumped out of the taxi before it stopped.

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Abbott defends Sri Lanka boat deal

Australia will give two retired navy boats to Sri Lanka in a bid to crack down on people smugglers. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has defended the use of aid money to refurbish two patrol boats that will be gifted to the Sri Lankan navy in efforts to stop people smugglers.

Mr Abbott revealed the $2 million deal, which comes with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two governments, in Colombo where he is attending the final day of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The prime minister said people smuggling was an "evil trade" and potentially hundreds of Sri Lankans had drowned trying to make the journey to Australia.

"The vessel is being made available for humanitarian purposes and search and rescue purposes," Mr Abbott said.

"What we get from Sri Lanka is close and constructive cooperation." This year 14 asylum seeker boats have travelled directly from Sri Lanka to Australia, compared with 120 in 2012.

The Sri Lankan navy undertook at least 12 on-water interceptions in 2013.

About 4000 people have been brought back to shore since 2009.

Sri Lanka's chief of navy Jayanath Colombage said the navy was taking the issue of stopping boat journeys "very seriously".

He said the vessels would also be used to keep the Indian Ocean "free of maritime crime".

Mr Abbott said the MoU linked to the ships covered the level of co-operation and "safety of life at sea".

Australia's aid budget to Sri Lanka is around $40 million a year, he said, making the gift "quite small".

The retired Customs patrol boats will be handed over in mid 2014.

A number of Sri Lankan navy officers have been arrested in recent months for helping people smugglers.

Mr Abbott said the arrests were a sign that the government was taking the issue seriously.

Former immigration minister Tony Burke said "a lot of questions" surrounded the decision.

"I'm not sure what the conditions are on how those vessels can and can't be used," he told ABC TV on Sunday.

The opposition and Greens will use Senate estimates this week to unveil detail about the deal and the broader Operation Sovereign Borders.

The Commonwealth summit has been mired in controversy over Sri Lanka's treatment of minorities, human rights abuses and alleged war crimes at the end of three decades of conflict.

Greens leader Christine Milne said Mr Abbott, who says he's been reassured the Rajapaksa government is "making progress", should take a more humanitarian approach to the asylum seeker issue.

"I don't think Australians who genuinely thought that stopping the boats was about saving lives will feel comfortable knowing that 'stop the boats' now means preventing people from running away from torture and condemning them to human rights abuses," she said.

A Sri Lankan journalist told AAP finding a people smuggler was easy along the southern and western coasts and the cost was about 1.5 million rupees ($A15,000) per person.

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