IOOF lifts annual profit

WEALTH manager IOOF has lifted its full year profit to almost $80 million and says new superannuation laws will increase its funds and benefit its business.

The value of funds the company manages or supervises rose by 11 per cent in the 2012/13 financial year to $120.2 billion.

Managing director Christopher Kelaher forecast further growth in those funds in the current financial year.

"With superannuation legislated for continuing growth, we will be well-positioned to continue to gain greater market share," he said.

IOOF's full year net profit of $79.8 million was up from $19.3 million in the previous year, a result that was impacted by a $63 million deferred tax liability.

The company declared a fully-franked final dividend of 22.5 cents.

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Dogs in elderly woman attack unregistered

TWO dogs who mauled a 82-year-old woman in Perth's foothills region have been seized and taken to a pound.

The woman and her husband were walking down Scott Street in Koongamia around 8.40am (WST) on Friday when two dogs burst out of the front door of a house, inflicting potentially life-threatening injuries on her in a savage attack.

The woman received head injuries during the attack and lost a lot of blood.

She was initially taken to nearby Swan Districts Hospital but has since been transferred to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.

"It's a very serious attack," a police spokeswoman said.

She said the owner of the dogs was home at the time and it's believed he tried to intervene.

The spokeswoman said she understood the dogs were a Staffordshire Terrier/Bull Mastiff cross, and were unregistered.

Tougher penalties will apply for offences involving dangerous dogs under proposed new laws that were introduced to the WA parliament in June.

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Wonderland gets off to a good start

NEW young Aussie drama series Wonderland got off to a solid start, giving Network Ten hope it can turn its ratings fortunes around.

Wonderland, which is set in a Sydney apartment block and stars Brooke Satchwell and Michael Dorman, drew 948,000 viewers for its launch episode on Wednesday night.

It was the fifth most-watched show for the evening and drew more viewers than the Seven Network's family entertainment show Slideshow, which attracted 932,000 viewers and long-running soapie Home And Away (881,000), according to the overnight OzTAM ratings.

Ten will also be cheering about MasterChef returning to the Top 10 after the elimination episode pulled 807,000 viewers to be ninth overall.

The Nine Network's Big Brother was pushed to 11th with 791,000 viewers.

Meanwhile Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott failed to bowl over the first day of the fifth Ashes Test.

On pay-TV, viewers preferred swinging bats to verbal punches, with 224,000 cricket fans tuning into Fox Sport, while only 88,000 people watched the political debate.

And Nine's second digital multichannel, Gem, had a healthy average audience of 414,000 viewers across the largest five Australian cities - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, for the Australia versus England cricket game.

On Seven's second channel 7TWO, the live debate attracted an audience of 191,000 across the same five cities.

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Gang rapist Sanoussi parole bid adjourned

SKAF gang rapist Mohammed Sanoussi's fourth bid for freedom has stalled after a hearing before the NSW State Parole Authority.

The 29-year-old has already served 13 years of a 16-year sentence for his role in the August 2000 gang rapes of young girls.

The attacks, involving 14 men, happened at various locations in Sydney.

Sanoussi became eligible for parole in 2010 and made his fourth application on Thursday, but the hearing was adjourned until next month.

A police report delivered to Corrective Services late on Tuesday alleges that members of the notorious Brothers 4 Life street gang have been meeting at the Sanoussi family home.

It was at this southwest Sydney property that the inmate had been staying while on weekend leave from jail in recent months, and where he was expected to reside if released on parole.

Counsel for the corrective services commissioner Geoff Denman told the parole hearing at Parramatta Justice Precinct on Thursday that releasing Sanoussi into the family home posed an "unacceptable danger".

"Mr Sanoussi has a background of being prone to the pressure of his peers, including his brothers," he said.

"If the information in the police report is correct, then that raises great concerns about whether he might be falling into that company again."

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NSW detectives probed over gambling

NSW detectives are being investigated over their links with a top punter who is suspected of using police to run secret gambling accounts, it's been reported.

The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) is probing Sydney identity Stephen Fletcher's association with a number of detectives, including a homicide squad officer whose offices were recently raided by investigators, Fairfax media reports.

The inquiry involves allegations of well-placed insiders, including jockeys, trading information not available to the public and controversial "betting to lose" markets, the report says.

Fairfax says the PIC inquiry is focusing on allegations Mr Fletcher maintained an inappropriate relationship with members of the NSW Police Force, and whether financial inducements were involved.

The homicide squad officer's account with gambling agency Betfair has been seized by the PIC along with multiple betting accounts linked to Mr Fletcher.

The PIC investigation will investigate whether some of Mr Fletcher's gambling patterns were mirrored in betting accounts held under the names of police officers, Fairfax reports.

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Mass murderer could be freed from WA jail

A DECISION about whether or not to release a mass murderer from a West Australian prison will be determined within the next couple of weeks.

Douglas John Crabbe, 66, killed five people and injured 16 others when he drove his 25-tonne truck into the Northern Territory's Inland Motel in August 1983.

He had been in the crowded bar 40 minutes earlier but had been restrained by a group of men and refused service due to his behaviour.

Crabbe was sentenced to life in prison and survivors of his crime believed he would spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Under Northern Territory law at the time, life sentences did not include a non-parole period, so offenders did not have the possibility of release.

But after changes to the law in 2004, his sentence was changed to life with a minimum of 30 years.

Crabbe was moved to WA in 2005 after applying for a transfer to be closer to his family.

He became eligible for the first statutory review of his life sentence on Sunday after completing his 30-year minimum non-parole period.

The WA Prisoners Review Board has made his recommendation but the final decision lies with WA Attorney-General Michael Mischin.

His spokeswoman told AAP the office received the board's report on Friday.

The attorney-general would consider the case and make his decision within the next couple of weeks, she said.

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