Adelaide world's most liveable city: PM

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott says he regards Adelaide as the world's most liveable city.

Speaking at the South Australian Liberal Party's annual meeting on Saturday, Mr Abbott said the city had "great people, a great climate, terrific restaurants, art and culture".

"This city has got everything going for it except the strong economy that the people of South Australia deserve," he said.

Mr Abbott said it was important to SA for the new coalition government to scrap both carbon and mining taxes.

He said as long as those two measures remained in place there would be a "permanent handbrake" on the local economy.

The prime minister said without the carbon tax and the mining tax the chances of BHP Billiton proceeding with its major expansion of the Olympic Dam uranium and copper mine would also be enhanced.

"I can't guarantee that without the carbon tax and without the mining tax the Olympic Dam mine expansion will go ahead," he said.

"But I can guarantee that with the carbon tax and with the mining tax, it will never happen."

BHP Billiton put the $30 billion expansion on hold late last year ahead of advancing new mining technology to make the project financially viable.

On Saturday Mr Abbott also pledged to help fund the long-awaited north-south road corridor through Adelaide under a future Liberal state government.

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Emergency warning for Lithgow

A LARGE fire burning in Lithgow on the western side of the NSW Blue Mountains is threatening 20 properties, sparking an emergency warning.

The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) says the blaze, which has burnt through 30,000 hectares, is threatening properties in the small township of Bell and residents are advised to take shelter.

"Fire activity has intensified in the Bell area," a spokesman said.

"There's about 20 properties in the community of Bell which are under threat at the moment.

"We have upgraded it to an emergency warning and we're sending out emergency alert phone messages in that area right now."

The defence department is investigating whether there is a link between the fire and an explosives training exercise that took place at the Marrangaroo training area on the same day.

Premier Barry O'Farrell said he had not been briefed on the investigation.

An RFS spokesman told AAP there were no fire bans while Defence was holding the training on October 16 and that it occurred a day before extreme conditions were expected.

Mr O'Farrell said defence had been helping in dealing with the Lithgow fire because it broke out on defence land as explosives were being detonated.

"I do know that yesterday when we were in Lithgow being briefed by the incident controller, he made the point that the defence agencies had been helpful in dealing with the State Mine fire because it did start on defence land," Mr O'Farrell said.

"I know for a fact he told me that at one stage they stopped any aircraft flying over that area because of those exploding ordnances."

He said "there was no suggestion from the incident controller" that defence explosives testing had sparked the blaze.

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A Year in the Life of Grange book released

IF wine lovers think a bottle of Grange is expensive, how about the $4000 pricetag on a new Collector's Edition book on the acclaimed drop?

The handsome tome, A Year in the Life of Grange, was launched on Friday at Penfolds Magill Estate in Adelaide.

Professional photographer Milton Wordley spent two years following the production of the 2012 vintage from vineyard to the barrel.

He also went to tastings around the world where he was exposed to all vintages since Grange began.

In 1951, winemaker Max Schubert made the first vintage of what was to become Australia's most famous red wine, Penfolds Grange.

He died in 1994, so the book was launched by his daughter, Sandie Coff.

"This book provides a different approach to the Grange story and one that dad would have felt is a great honour to him and to those who assisted him develop the wine, those who followed him and those who continue his vision," Ms Coff said.

"Just as Grange opens up all the senses, so do the images and narrative in this work of art."

Wine writer Philip White provided the words while the book was designed by John Nowland.

Both Wordley and White knew Schubert and have followed the success of Grange over the years.

The book comes in three versions, with the Limited Edition (1000 copies) costing $785, around the price of a bottle of the current vintage.

There are 250 copies of the Winemaker's Edition, going for $1000.

The $4000 Collector's Edition, which is leather bound with a kangaroo hide spine, is limited to 100 copies.

It includes a folio of seven original museum grade "Giclee" photos, signed by the artist.

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Coalition promises add $1bn to budget: PBO

ELECTION commitments made by the victorious federal coalition will have a much more positive impact on the budget than expected, independent analysis shows.

The government's plans will add $7.1 billion to the underlying budget cash balance over the next four years - which is $1 billion bigger than first predicted.

The analysis released on Friday by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) weighs up the spending and cuts promised by the main political parties ahead of the September 7 election.

"This analysis once and for all puts to bed the lies from the Labor party over numerous years that there was a black hole in the coalition's costings," Treasurer Joe Hockey and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said in a joint statement.

"Labor's economic credibility has now been completely shattered."

The coalition's contribution to the budget was also far greater than the outcomes for Labor and the Australian Greens, the PBO found.

Labor's election commitments would have made a net positive contribution of $9.5 million to the budget, while the Greens' promises would have added just over $2 billion.

Mr Hockey will release the update of the May budget before Christmas.

It will show any revisions to the previous Labor government's forecasts for revenue, the budget balance and the economy.

The PBO said the most significant impact on the budget would be the coalition's commitment to scrapping Labor's 30 per cent minerals resource rent tax (MRRT) on big iron ore and coal producers.

"While removing the MRRT leads to revenue forgone of $3.5 billion over the forward estimates, this is more than offset by abolishing associated spending measures, resulting in a net increase of $13.8 billion to the underlying cash balance," it said.

Other major contributions to the budget will be a planned coalition reduction in the public service head count by 12,000 positions through natural attrition to save $5.2 billion.

The government also wants to limit growth in foreign aid to save $4.5 billion.

The biggest negatives to the budget will be the removal of Labor's carbon tax ($7.3 billion), a reduction in the company tax rate to 28.5 per cent ($4.9 billion) and the coalition's infrastructure package ($4.7 billion).

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Winds cut power to thousands in NSW

ABOUT 8700 homes west, south west and north of Sydney are without power, with wind gusts of up to 70km/h bringing branches down on powerlines.

Endeavour Energy on Thursday advised members of the public to stay well clear of fallen powerlines.

It has also advised residents in Lithgow, where a bushfire is burning, that it might need to isolate parts of its network as the fire passes through.

Customers who need electricity for life support equipment have been contacted.

"Our aim is not to panic our customers but to give them plenty of time to make alternative arrangements," it said.

In the Blue Mountains, power has been cut to about 4500 homes and businesses in Katoomba, Winmalee and parts of Leura, Blackheath and Mt Victoria.

In the Macarthur region, crews are working to restore power to about 1600 homes and businesses.

The worst affected areas at this stage are Wilton, Menangle and parts of Campbelltown.

In the Hawkesbury, strong wind has interrupted electricity supply to 1300 homes along the Hawkesbury River from Lower Portland and Maroota to St Albans.

Fallen powerlines can be reported by calling 131 003.

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Qld ports plan a con job: green groups

YOU could fill up the MCG 23 times over with the amount of material that's going to be dredged from the Great Barrier Reef, environmental groups warn.

Queensland's government has unveiled its draft ports strategy focusing on five established ports including Brisbane, Mackay/Hay Point, Gladstone, Townsville and Abbot Point.

Dredging outside of those areas would be prohibited for a decade, but dredging proposals within those areas and plans to dump dredged material on the reef would go ahead.

UNESCO has been warning Australia to rein in major coastal developments or risk having the reef listed as a World Heritage site "in danger".

Greenpeace slammed the strategy, unveiled on Thursday, calling it a "con job that did nothing to address the UN body's concerns".

"All of the current dredging proposals, which UNESCO is worried about, are within those five areas," spokeswoman Louise Matthiesson told AAP.

She claimed the amount of mud that would be dredged could fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) 23 times over.

"Don't forget they're still going ahead with major ports developments outside those areas that don't require dredging," Ms Matthiesson said.

"It's a game of smoke and mirrors, they're saying 'we will stop everything, except for the stuff that's already planned."

The Australian Marine Conservation Society warned that the dredging would kill the reef and cripple the tourism and fishing industries.

"No one is going to come from around the world to see the world's biggest coal ports," spokeswoman Felicity Wishart said.

The strategy is open for public comment until December 13 and legislation would be in place by next year.

Along Queensland's 7000 kilometre coastline, there are 20 ports including 15 trading ports, two community ports and three gazetted non-trading ports.

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Political chaos pushes US up against debt

The White House has rejected the latest effort by Republicans to resolve an impasse over the budget. Source: AAP

A DAY of political disarray has pushed America to within hours of a debt default deadline, but two veteran senators are chasing a last-gasp deal to stave off a sudden shock to the global economy.

Just 26 hours before the US government begins to run short of money to pay its bills, hopes for an exit strategy rested with late-night talks on Tuesday between Senate majority leader Harry Reid and Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell.

The two old foes saddled up after efforts by the House of Representatives to send a bill to the Senate dissolved into chaos, as Speaker John Boehner tried and failed to rein in Tea Party conservatives.

If Congress fails to raise US borrowing authority before midnight on Wednesday the US Treasury would begin to run out of money to meet all US obligations and slip towards a historic debt default.

In the face of the deadline, the US political system, divided between President Barack Obama's Democrats and Republicans who run the House of Representatives, has effectively ground to a halt.

Major world powers meanwhile looked on in dismay at the brinkmanship and political recriminations in Washington, fearing reverberations that could wreak havoc in their own sometimes weakened economies.

Amid rising anxiety on the markets, the financial rating agency Fitch put the US on warning for a downgrade from its top-grade AAA spot.

Despite the deepening impasse, Obama said he still expected the issue would be resolved in the end.

"My expectation is that this gets solved, but we don't have a lot of time," he told an ABC television affiliate in New York.

"What I'm suggesting to the congressional caucus is to avoid any posturing ... do what's right, open the government and make sure we pay our bills."

What was essentially a wasted day, with precious few hours to spare Tuesday, unfolded as House Republicans tried to extend US borrowing authority until February 7 and re-open the partially shuttered US government until December 15.

Several draft bills would have constrained aspects of Obama's signature health care law - and in effect stood no chance to pass the Democratic-led Senate.

But Boehner used the measures to try to corral the Tea Party faction and to pressure the Senate - but in the end was unable to amass sufficient Republican votes to even put the measures on the floor.

Senate talks, which had been on hold all day pending developments in the House, were quickly resumed on Tuesday evening.

Leadership aides on both sides said they were "optimistic" that an agreement was in reach.

"We're making very very good progress, we're not there yet, but we're getting real close," said Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer.

"I think the markets should feel pretty good about what's going on here tonight."

The likely Senate deal would require Democrats to make a minor concession on Obamacare, but the provision would fall well short of the drive to delay or defund the historic law which prompted Republicans to launch the government shutdown strategy and to use the debt ceiling hike as leverage.

Earlier, Reid furiously accused Boehner of seeking to save his own political skin at the expense of the United States.

"Let's be clear: The House legislation will not pass the Senate," Reid said. "I am very disappointed with John Boehner, who would once again try to preserve his role at the expense of the country."

Boehner may once again Wednesday be left with the unenviable choice that has come to define his speakership in Washington's divided government.

Does he stick with the Tea Party faction of his party, and possibly save his job but risk culpability in sending the US economy into a first default of modern times?

Or does he try to pass a compromise plan acceptable to Senate Democrats and Obama, with the help of minority Democratic votes - a scenario that could fritter away his party power-base and possibly cost him his job?

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Seniors will be hit by $2 GP fee hike

A temporary freeze on the Medicare patient rebate could see patients stuck with extra costs. Source: AAP

A SENIORS group has hit out at a recommendation that GPs raise fees by $2 to cover a freeze in the Medicare rebate, saying older Australians may skip seeing a local doctor because of the increase.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has advised its members to increase standard GP consultation rates by $2 to $73, claiming the rebate had failed to keep up with increasing practice costs.

The indexation of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) was temporarily frozen by the former Labor government, fixing the rebate for a standard GP visit at $36.30 until July.

New Health Minister Peter Dutton says the government will not overturn that budget measure, saying "sadly families are going to be paying for Labor's debt for a long time, including when they go to see their doctor".

"The rebate was frozen by Labor and, given the record debt, it is hard to see how that can be undone in the short term," Mr Dutton said in a statement.

Chief of National Seniors Michael O'Neill said the GP fee increase would only serve to widen the "rebate gap" faced by low-income retirees.

"This increasing gap means retirees on low, fixed incomes, may consider skipping seeing their doctor altogether," Mr O'Neill said in a statement.

"The onus is either on doctors to show goodwill by deferring any fee increases until July, or the new government to lift the MBS rebate freeze now."

AMA President Steve Hambleton defended the increase and said there was a "long history" of MBS indexation lagging behind the real costs of medical care.

"The MBS simply has not kept pace with the complexity or cost of providing high quality medical services," Dr Hambleton said.

Greens health spokesman Richard Di Natale blamed the new government for the GP fee increase, saying "governing is all about priorities and it's clear that Tony Abbott has his priorities wrong".

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Unions calls for commitment to car sector

Toyota will axe 100 jobs at its Melbourne facilities in response to a fall in export demand. Source: AAP

UNIONS have called for a strong commitment from the federal government to ensure the future of Australia's car manufacturing industry in the wake of job cuts by Toyota.

Toyota said on Tuesday it would axe 100 jobs at its Melbourne facilities by the end of November in the response to a fall in export demand.

It will also cut production from December and will look to slashing the cost of building each car in Australia by $3800 by 2018 to remain viable.

ACTU president Ged Kearney says the car industry must remain and unions believe it is an industry worth supporting.

"It's always terrible news when we hear that jobs are going to disappear," Ms Kearney told reporters in Adelaide.

"In light of the latest announcement we would like to see a really strong commitment from the federal government that they are keen to keep our car industry alive and vital."

Ms Kearney said the ACTU remains a strong supporter of ongoing assistance to the automotive sector, something other countries seemed to understand was necessary.

"The industry assistance that is given to it is vital, not only to the car industry but the rest of our manufacturing sector," she said.

The latest job cuts by Toyota follow the 350 the company axed last year and Holden's decision to cut 400 jobs earlier this year.

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Disturbing brawls in Doomadgee: Qld cops

EXTRA police are being sent to a remote Aboriginal community in Queensland after a series of violent brawls involving up to 150 people.

Mount Isa Police Superintendent Russell Miller says it's disturbing that people have been seriously injured with sticks and rocks picked up from the street during the huge fights in Doomadgee.

He says Mount Isa officers are being sent to Doomadgee to help local police keep the peace and investigate.

"Large-scale street disturbances, involving armed people, result in serious injuries and are just plainly unacceptable to the people of Doomadgee, who deserve to go about their daily business without having to worry about these types of instances," Supt Miller said in statement.

He said police had charged 44 people with offences including assault occasioning bodily harm, assault police, affray and public nuisance.

But Supt Miller also said there could be more charges following further investigations.

"We continue to investigate these disturbances, as well as attempting to counter some of the underlying, and often long-standing, issues," Supt Miller said.

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iSelect CEO resigns

THE chief executive of iSelect has quit after disagreement with the board, less than four months after the company floated on the Australian share market.

Matt McCann, who had served as chief executive of iSelect, an insurance and utilities comparison business, since January 2012, resigned on Friday last week.

"Differences of opinion between the board and Matt led to him tendering his resignation last Friday evening," iSelect executive chairman Damien Waller said on Monday.

Mr McCann and the iSelect board had differed over the company's operating priorities.

"For example, Matt had a view around how to grow the business via acquisition. The board was much more focused on organic growth," Mr Waller said.

The differences were "amplified" by the fall in iSelect's shareprice and requests for information from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in relation to iSelect's prospectus and the company's outlook for the 2013 calendar year.

Mr McCann's departure comes less than four months after iSelect, which has been operating for 13 years, was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Current chief financial officer David Chalmers will take over as chief executive in the short term while iSelect begins a worldwide search for a permanent replacement.

The company has had a disappointing first few months, with its stock price falling from $1.85 to around $1.26 since its debut.

News of Mr McCann's resignation came as iSelect released a trading update.

The update affirmed the company's earnings expectations for the 2013 calendar year.

But it warned of a drop in expected revenue for the first half of the 2013/2014 financial year and the 2013 calendar year.

iSelect expects calendar 2013 EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) to be in line with its forecast at $30 million, which would represent a 51 per cent increase on calendar 2012.

Revenue for calendar 2013 is expected to be $126.5 million, down $6 million on the prospectus forecast of $132.5 million.

Revenue in the first half of the 2013/14 financial year is expected to be $2.4 million below the prospectus forecast, mostly attributable to a decision to defer a car insurance marketing campaign.

Mr Waller said the outlook for iSelect was strong.

"iSelect is robust. We are tackling the challenging economic conditions as well as recent regulatory changes that have affected out largest business segment," he said.

Shares in iSelect were 2.5 cents higher at $1.285 at 1349 AEDT.

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Child safety jobs left vacant: NSW inquiry

CHILD protection caseworker jobs across NSW have sometimes been left unfilled in an effort to save money.

The former deputy chief executive of operations at the Department of Community Services, Helen Freeland, told an upper house inquiry on ministerial propriety on Monday that the department had implemented a range of measures to "shave parts off the budget".

She said she noticed there had been a reduction in caseworker numbers across the state by January this year.

"We had positions which were vacant but we didn't have the salary to pay people if we recruited against those vacancies," she told the inquiry.

The inquiry, which was set up by the NSW opposition, is probing whether Minister Pru Goward misled parliament about caseworker numbers.

Ms Goward has faced sustained pressure since denying any knowledge of an Ernst & Young report that contradicted her claims that NSW had more than 2060 caseworkers. Only 1797 positions had been filled.

Ms Freeland told the inquiry she was required to make savings in the operations budget.

While the savings were not made by reducing caseworker numbers, she said a number of small savings measures were imposed.

"It has been standard practice for a number of years to fund salaries at the midpoint," she said.

"There were some weeks where a position might be vacated by a caseworker before you can appoint someone permanently to that position, so in that time you make some savings."

Labor MP Luke Foley asked whether one response to budget pressures was to stop filling the 2068 budgeted caseworker positions.

"It's a decision that some regional directors took because when they worked out what their salaries budget was, they calculated that there were positions that they couldn't fill from time to time," Ms Freeland replied.

The opposition has claimed Premier Barry O'Farrell is trying to protect Ms Goward after he announced last month that lower house ministers need not attend the inquiry.

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Bill Shorten elected Labor leader

Bill Shorten is the new leader of the federal parliamentary Labor Party. Source: AAP

BILL Shorten has been elected leader of the federal parliamentary Labor Party.

Mr Shorten won with 63.9 per cent of the caucus vote and 40 per cent of the members vote for an overall total of 52 per cent.

"Proud to announce that @BillShortenmp has been elected the new #LaborLeader!" tweeted the ALP.

Mr Shorten won 55 votes in the 86-member caucus.

Mr Albanese attracted 18,230 rank-and-file votes to Mr Shorten's 12,196.

Interim leader Chris Bowen predicted Mr Shorten would go on to become the next Labor prime minister of Australia.

"Bill Shorten is a man who has dedicated his working life to representing vulnerable people and to representing this nation," he told reporters in Canberra.

Mr Bowen also paid tribute to Mr Albanese saying he still had a "significant contribution" to make in parliament.

MORE TO COME

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China pledges to close 2000 mines

CHINA says it will shut down at least 2000 small coal mines by the end of 2015 as it tries to improve safety standards in its deadly industry.

China's Cabinet says it will target mines with annual output of less than 90,000 tons, and those that fail to adhere to safety rules.

The statement late Saturday also said it will end approval for new coal mines with an annual capacity of less than 300,000 tons.

China's mines are the deadliest in the world. According to the official Xinhua News Agency, 1384 people were killed in coal mine accidents in 2012.

Safety improvements have reduced deaths in recent years, but regulations are often ignored and accidents are still common.

China has deep reserves of coal and 12,000 coal mines.

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