NRL star Inglis in third-party deal probe

An Aboriginal charity says NRL star Greg Inglis's work will continue amid a funds investigation. Source: AAP

NRL star Greg Inglis will continue his $50,000 a year job with an Aboriginal charity amid an investigation into the use of Medicare funds to pay him for his services.

Inglis signed a three-year deal with Redfern Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) in December 2010, where South Sydney Rabbitohs fullback has been paid as much as $90,000 for doing promotional and ambassadorial work, according to Fairfax.

The contract was last year renewed at the reduced rate of $50,000.

But the federal Department of Health's own rules dictate that Medicare income at grant-funded Aboriginal medical services "must be used for primary health care services".

The department has confirmed it is investigating despite having already looked into allegations raised about the Inglis deal.

"The department has previously considered the specific allegations raised that Greg Inglis has been paid $90,000 a year by the AMS at least in part through Medicare billings income," a spokeswoman said.

"Our investigations have found no evidence that commonwealth health funding was being used inappropriately."

The department will now consider new information received from community contacts, the spokeswoman said.

The AMS says it received conflicting advice about how the income could be used and is seeking clarification from the government about the use of the funds.

However, a spokesman for the service said Mr Inglis's role will continue.

"His role is very important for the AMS," an AMS spokesman told AAP.

"He will continue in the role - there is no question about that in our perspective."

The spokesman said Inglis was an integral part of the AMS's health campaign.

The third-party deal between Inglis and the AMS was lodged with the NRL and there has been no suggestion of any salary cap breach.

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Indon ambassador returning to Canberra

INDONESIA'S ambassador to Australia says his return to Canberra comes after sustained work to repair ties severed after last year's spying scandal.

Najib Riphat Kesoema was recalled to Jakarta in November when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono learned Australia had tapped his phone, and those of his wife and other confidants.

He has been making more frequent trips back to Canberra as negotiations on a new code of conduct have progressed, but the president has now asked him to return for good.

He expects to move back within the coming month.

Asked if the circuit-breaker was this week's phone call from Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who apologised for not attending a planned meeting in Bali, the ambassador said rather the move followed months of work on the code.

"The president and foreign minister have been considering this for a long time," he told AAP.

"It just happens that Mr Abbott recently made a phone call to President SBY."

In Tuesday's phone call, the leaders agreed Mr Abbott should visit Jakarta in June but it's understood no firm date has been set.

It's said the president, whose term in office ends later this year, hopes to depart with his legacy of strong relations with Australia intact.

However the Abbott government's policy of turning asylum seeker boats back to Indonesia remains a controversial issue in Jakarta.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra said the government was yet to receive confirmation from Jakarta of the Indonesian's ambassador's return.

"We would very much welcome Ambassador Nadjib's return to Australia, once this is confirmed by the Indonesian government," the spokesperson said in a statement.

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Male-only genetics to rid rivers of carp

GENETICALLY modifying carp so only males are reproduced could hold the key to ridding Australia's waterways of the pest.

The introduced fish species has been compared with the cane toad, with millions clogging the nation's waterways, and the problem worst in the struggling Murray-Darling basin.

CSIRO scientist Dr Ron Thresher says they have completely changed ecosystems since their introduction for aquaculture in the 1850s.

"They've been described as underwater vacuum cleaners," he told AAP.

"They suck their way along the bottom and they spit all this crap out of their gills.

"You wind up going from a water body which is really clear - plants, fish, birds, all that good stuff - to something which is dirty and muddy and crappy."

Attempts to fish or trap carp have made little impact but a new technique first used to control insects is providing hope.

"Daughterless" gene technology causes the fish to have only male offspring, resulting in the eventual collapse of the population.

After successful trials on zebra fish, it is now being trialled on carp with preliminary results proving positive.

"The technique has legs," Dr Thresher said.

"It will work on a whole range of things."

Scientists are two years away from proving it will work on carp and, if introduced to Australian waters, the species could gradually disappear over the next 30-50 years.

There is virtually zero risk to other species, and the technique could also be adapted to battle the spread of cane toads, Dr Thresher said.

"We really need some new approaches to controlling invasive pests in Australia," he said.

"Genetics offers by far our best chance."

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Qld doctor suspended over alleged errors

A DOCTOR accused of botching four operations in central Queensland has had his registration suspended.

Doctor Antonio Vega Vega has already been stood down from Rockhampton Hospital while he is being investigated.

Dr Vega Vega allegedly misdiagnosed a twisted testicle causing it to be ultimately removed, took a patient's right kidney instead of the diseased left one, nicked another's artery and incorrectly positioned a stent.

The Medical Board of Australia said it suspended the urologist's registration on Friday, pending further inquiries by Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority (AHPRA) and the board itself.

The Central Queensland Hospitals and Health, which is in charge of the Rockhampton hospital, has said there are systemic issues at the facility.

It's ordered a wide-ranging review of patient safety systems, and a second probe into the doctor's actions.

The Health Quality and Complaints Commission is also investigating.

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NZ duty free cigarette allowance to be cut

NEW Zealand's duty free cigarette allowance will be cut from 200 to 50 from November 1, the government has announced.

Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia says the new limit will bring New Zealand into line with Australia.

"I considered recommending that the duty free allowance be removed entirely," she said on Thursday.

"Although that would be consistent with the government's goal of making New Zealand effectively smoke free from 2025, it would not be practical."

Mrs Turia says if no duty free cigarettes were allowed, that would mean people arriving with a packet or two would have to either dump them or declare them and pay duty.

"Either way, it would have potentially created considerable compliance costs for customs in processing passengers at busy airports," she said.

"Consequently, the cabinet has agreed to reduce rather than remove the allowance."

The reduced allowance will be in next week's budget and Mrs Turia says the new limit is forecast to raise an extra $NZ50 million ($A46.55 million) in revenue over a full financial year.

The budget will also remove tobacco from the concession that allows gifts sent from overseas to be free of duty and GST when they arrive in New Zealand.

The Customs Service will be given an extra $NZ2.7 million to help it implement the new rules.

Tobacco excise increases 10 per cent a year under legislation that's been passed by parliament and Mrs Turia says it's anomalous for that to be happening when there's a duty free allowance of 200 cigarettes for every adult entering the country.

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Melb, Syd Fairfax staff back to work

Staff at Fairfax newspapers in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra are striking over plans to cut jobs. Source: AAP

FAIRFAX staff in Melbourne and Sydney have returned to work 24 hours after they walked off the job.

Staff at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Australian Financial Review voted for a snap 24-hour strike on Wednesday.

The move came after they learned 25 editorial production jobs, 30 photographic positions and 15 jobs in the Life Media division were on the chopping block in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

Jason South, a Walkley Award-winning photographer who became a de facto spokesman for Melbourne Fairfax staff when the strike began, said staff in Sydney and Melbourne went back to work at 3pm (AEST) on Thursday.

"We have returned to work. It was a 24-hour strike and we went back to work at 3pm because management will not talk to us while we are on strike," he said.

Mr South said staff hope to begin negotiations with management within the next 24 hours to avert the threatened job cuts.

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RBA stays firmly on the fence

SOMETIMES it's hard to know whether the Reserve Bank of Australia changes the wording of its monetary policy announcements because it's views have changed, or because it just wants to prove someone turned up to its monthly board meeting.

The statement issued on Tuesday after this month's meeting on Tuesday was not identical to the previous announcement, but it came fairly close.

There was only a subtle shift among the positives and negatives that we've become accustomed to seeing listed in the monthly commentary.

In April, the coming expansion in housing construction was expected to be "solid", but that's now been upgraded to "strong".

In April the RBA said the unemployment rate "will probably rise a little further in the near term".

This time, the forecast of a higher jobless rate has been dropped - the official figures showed it fell to 5.8 per cent in March from a decade high of 6.1 per cent in February.

"More recently, there has been some improvement in indicators for the labour market, but it will probably be some time yet before unemployment declines consistently," the RBA said this month.

That would imply a little less reluctance to raise the benchmark cash rate, which has been held at a half-century low of 2.5 per cent since August last year.

But all this weakness in the labour market has had an effect, making the risk of rising inflation even lower than it has been.

"Growth in wages has declined noticeably and this has been reflected more clearly in the latest price data, which show a moderation in growth in prices for non-traded goods and services," the RBA said.

That has kept consumer price inflation consistent with the RBA's two to three per cent target range.

"If domestic costs remain contained, that should continue to be the case over the next one to two years, even with lower levels of the exchange rate," the central bank said.

That comment continued the RBA's low-key war of words with the Aussie dollar which it said on Tuesday, for the umpteenth time, "remains high by historical standards" despite being lower than it was a year or two ago.

The RBA is clearly settled in for a long wait as it judges whether the positives are going to prevail, as it appears to expect, over the negatives.

But those negatives are not trivial.

The high exchange rate, the looming federal budget and the slide in mining sector investment are all potential game-changers for the RBA.

For the time being, though, the RBA is happy to stay on the sidelines.

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David Jones sales strongest in four years

David Jones has lifted its third quarter sales 4.1%, with strong growth in a number of categories. Source: AAP

DAVID Jones has delivered its best quarterly sales figures in four years, but the benefits of the retailer's resurgence are likely to flow offshore within months.

The sales result came as Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board waved the green flag for South African retailer Woolworths Holdings' $2.15 billion takeover of David Jones.

Shareholders will vote on the takeover offer in June.

The deal already has the backing of David Jones' board, which means the latest sales results may be the last figures Australian investors see from the company.

David Jones lifted its sales 4.1 per cent during the three months to April 26, trouncing arch rival Myer which suffered a one per cent slide during the same period.

Like-for-like sales, which excludes the impact of new store openings, were up 2.4 per cent - the department store chain's best result since 2009/10.

"They absolutely mopped the floor with Myer," OptionsXpress market analyst Ben Le Brun said.

"They are beating them on almost every metric at the moment."

Davis Jones almost tripled online sales during the quarter, albeit off a low base, and recorded growth across key categories, including womenswear, menswear, beauty, shoes, accessories and homewares.

Mr Le Brun said the result boded well for South Africa's Woolworths, which is unrelated to the Australian retailer of the same name, but may make some shareholders regret the company's impending sale.

"It's a positive certainly for Woolworths South Africa and maybe a negative for Australian shareholders given there won't be an opportunity to take advantage of this trend of improving sales," he said.

"If-like-for like sales continue to increase by these sorts of metrics then shareholders will start to question whether they've got a good price from Woolworths."

IG market strategist Evan Lucas said while David Jones' sales figures were strong, it had lagged Myer for several years.

"They (David Jones) were coming from a low end base so beating them by that much isn't that surprising," he said.

"If you put them together over the last few years Myer is still doing better."

Mr Lucas said David Jones' focus on higher-end products may be one reason it is currently beating Myer, taking advantage of a pick up in consumer spending while its rival faces increasing competition international mid-market retailers like Zara and H&M.

David Jones were one cent higher at $3.96 at 1441 on Tuesday, just below the $4 being offered by Woolworths.

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Metcash settles tax dispute

THE company behind IGA supermarkets has settled a multi-million dollar dispute with the tax office.

Metcash said it will receive a partial refund of the $24.4 million in income tax it paid in mid-2011 as a result of the settlement.

But a tax expense of $10.8 million will also be included in its accounts for the 2013/14 financial year.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) had audited the company's income tax returns for 2005 to 2008, resulting in a dispute over its inability to receive tax credits for its foreign subsidiaries.

Metcash said it was now up to date in it and the ATO's review of its income tax affairs.

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Forrest hands $12m to uranium explorer

MINING magnate Andrew Forrest has invested $12 million in a prospective West Australian uranium miner aiming to be in production by the end of 2016.

Mr Forrest has paid Energy and Minerals Australia (EMA) $12 million for a 28 per cent stake in the company, which owns land in central Western Australia containing four deposits of uranium.

The company has also reached agreement with its lenders to remove $24.5 million of debt, and it says the two deals will help set it up to get its Mulga Rock project underway.

EMA is run by Julian Tapp, a former executive at Mr Forrest's Fortescue Metals Group, and former BC Iron boss Mike Young.

"My investment is a strong vote of confidence in the executive management team of Mike Young and Julian Tapp with whom I have had a long and successful working relationship," Mr Forrest said.

Mr Forrest, who has a net worth of an estimated $5.7 billion, last week paid $40 million for Harvey Beef, which processes beef for local and overseas markets.

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Sheeran single Sing debuts at No.1

ED Sheeran's Sing has debuted at No.1 on the ARIA singles chart, edging out Brisbane band Sheppard after three weeks at the top.

Sheeran's recent promo tour, live appearances and Logies performance all helped to give the British singer-songwriter his first Australian No.1 single.

Sheeran's new song edges out Sheppard's Geronimo which is down to No.2, but holding steady at No.3 is Jason DeRulo with Wiggle.

Another new top 10 entrant is Ariana Grande with Iggy Azalea at No.4 with Problem (which samples Jay-Z's song 99 Problems).

David Guetta's new track Bad leaps up 16 spots to No.5 and also gives the song's guest Showtek their first Top 10 placing. After two weeks at No.2, Sia's Chandelier falls four places to No.6 and Rita Ora is also down a couple of places to No.7 with I Will Never Let You Down. Ora's boyfriend Calvin Harris is slides four places to No.8 with Summer.

The fourth new entry this week is local rapper Iggy Azalea, who leaps up eight places to No.9 with Fancy. Peking Duk's High featuring Nicole Millar falls two spots to No.10.

Disney's Frozen soundtrack is this week's No.1 album, climbing to the top after its 16th week within the top 10. The soundtrack's rise to the top spot has been aided by the film's release on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Entering at No.2 is Iggy Azalea's first album, The New Classic, which debuted at No.5 in the UK and No.3 in the US. Also new at No.3 is another debut, Meet the Vamps for UK band The Vamps.

After two weeks at No.1, Chet Faker's Built on Glass tumbles to No.4 while Michael Buble's former No.1 album, To Be Loved, leaps back up 70 places to No.5 on the back of his Australian tour.

INXS drops three places to No.6 with The Very Best and down a couple of positions to No.7 is L.O.V.E. for Harrison Craig. MKTO's self-titled album rockets up 35 spots to No.8 while Swedish supergroup ABBA has re-entered the top 10 at No.9 with their collection Abba Gold & More (Anniversary Edition). Jason DeRulo is up three places to claim No.10 with Tattoos.

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Greens say they're the party to fix NSW

THERE'S a smell wafting from the Labor and Liberal party rooms in NSW parliament, the Greens say.

Just days after police minister Mike Gallacher stepped aside following claims in front of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) over illegal donations to the Liberal Party, Greens NSW MP John Kaye announced on Sunday his new upper house team for the March 2015 election.

Joining him on the ticket will be existing MP Mehreen Faruqi, as well as coal seam gas campaigner and political advisor Justin Field.

Mr Kaye said the team would be highlighting their credentials as an alternative to the major parties.

"NSW politics has been plunged into crisis, not just by the Labor party but also by the Liberal party's endemic addiction to collecting funds from tainted sources," he told AAP.

"This is the time for reform. This is the election campaign where politics needs to change."

Mr Field, who is third on the ticket, said he will be taking out the message of clean water, energy and politics out into the community.

"A stench of corruption now hangs over NSW parliament, but only the Greens are able to say they can clean up politics."

The announcement comes after the Labor party revealed on Sunday that a "record number" of their party's supporters had voted for former MP Verity Firth to be the next state candidate in the Sydney seat of Balmain.

She narrowly lost the marginal inner-city seat to Greens candidate Jamie Parker at the 2011 election.

Mr Parker said the Greens were confident that there needs to be change.

"It doesn't matter who the candidate is, we have seen before that he structure of Labor means they are silenced ... I stand for a different approach to politics," he told AAP.

He said one of the bills the Greens would be be introducing to parliament in the following months is a push to implement 2010 ICAC recommendations on lobbying in NSW.

This included a recommendation to set up an independent body to oversee the role of lobbyists.

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