UK marks 25 years since Lockerbie bombing

The Lockerbie atrocity remains the deadliest act of terrorism in the UK, says PM David Cameron. Source: AAP

BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron has paid tribute to the "fortitude and resilience" of people affected by the Lockerbie bombing.

He said the 1988 atrocity, which killed 270 people, remained "one of the worst aviation disasters in history and the deadliest act of terrorism" committed in the United Kingdom.

"The loss of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie at 7.03pm UK time on the evening of December 21, 1988, was a shocking event," he said.

"A loss made more poignant still by being so close to Christmas.

Cameron said memories of the 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 Lockerbie residents who lost their lives had not dimmed.

"Over the last quarter of a century much attention has been focused on the perpetrators of the atrocity. Today our thoughts turn to its victims and to those whose lives have been touched and changed by what happened at Lockerbie that night," he said.

"To families, friends, neighbours, loved ones, and all those caught up in the painful process of recovery, let us say to them: our admiration for you is unconditional.

"For the fortitude and resilience you have shown. For your determination never to give up.

"You have shown that terrorist acts cannot crush the human spirit.

"That is why terrorism will never prevail.

"And even in the darkest moments of grief, it is possible to glimpse the flickering flame of hope."

The tragedy continued to forge a strong bond between Lockerbie Academy and Syracuse University, the prime minister said.

"Syracuse lost 35 of its own on that fateful evening. Nothing can restore the promise of those young lives cut short."

Each year since the tragedy the university has awarded 35 scholarships to its own undergraduates and two to Lockerbie students.

"This is the lasting and optimistic legacy bequeathed to future generations on behalf of those who lost their lives on this day 25 years ago and who we remember today," Cameron said.

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Fears for missing Qld teenager

Police fear for a 14-year-old Gold Coast girl missing for four days. Source: AAP

POLICE fear for a 14-year-old Gold Coast girl missing for four days.

Shaylin Cole has not contacted family or friends since she was last seen at Mudgeeraba, in the Gold Coast hinterland, on Tuesday night.

It is believed she may be with a female friend and possibly on her way to Sydney.

Police urge anyone who might have seen Shaylin, who is about 155 centimetres tall with a pink/red tinge to her hair and hazel eyes, to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Mega zinc mine set to close in 2015

AUSTRALIA'S largest open-cut zinc mine is set close in 2015, affecting hundreds of workers.

The Century Zinc mine, near Mount Isa, achieved record mining rates this year, meaning zinc metal reserves will be exhausted one year earlier than anticipated.

The mine has about 900 employees and contractors, including many indigenous drive-in, drive-out workers.

Owner MMG says it will investigate opportunities to convert the remaining minerals to ore reserves, but expects open-pit production to cease in mid-2015.

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Portrait Gallery appoints new director

A FORMER Fulbright Scholar has been appointed the new director of the National Portrait Gallery.

Angus Trumble will take over from interim director Jennifer Bott at the Canberra gallery from February 10.

Mr Trumble was a Fulbright Scholar at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts, has worked as the curator of European art at the Art Gallery of South Australia and was a Harold White Fellow.

His most recent appointment was as the senior curator of paintings and sculpture at the Yale University Center for British Art.

"Mr Trumble's appointment brings knowledge and drive to one of Australia's newest national collecting institutions," the Minister for the Arts, George Brandis, said in a statement announcing the appointment on Friday.

Mr Trumble has been appointed for a five-year term.

The National Portrait Gallery is currently hosting the summer exhibition Elvis At 21, Photographs By Alfred Wertheimer, which showcases photographs charting the king of rock'n'roll's rise to fame.

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Xenophon wants new data-interception laws

FEDERAL independent Nick Xenophon wants changes to Australian telecommunications interception laws following calls for a narrowing of National Security Agency (NSA) powers.

A review board, set up by President Barack Obama in the wake of Edward Snowden's leaking of NSA secrets, has recommended a wide-ranging overhaul of its practices while preserving "robust" intelligence capabilities.

The panel issued 46 recommendations, including an end to retention of telephone "metadata" by the spy agency.

Senator Xenophon said the report was a "wake up call" and he would introduce legislation to curtail telecommunications interception powers in Australia.

The South Australian, who has previously called for a review of Australia's data surveillance practices, said if it was good enough for the US "then it's time we did the same thing".

"In the US legislation, there are safeguards for non-US citizens to avail themselves of the same procedures and judicial review as US citizens," he told AAP on Thursday.

"If the legislation doesn't pass it will be indeed ironic that Australian citizens will have more protection under US law than under their own laws."

Australia's domestic spy agencies have been under scrutiny after Snowdon leaks revealed the Defence Signals Directorate had tapped the phones of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife.

"All I'm asking for the prime minister and opposition to do is to support what our closest ally is doing," Senator Xenophon said.

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Boxer unfit for trial after jail beating

A WORLD kickboxing champion known as "the Aussie sniper" is unfit to stand trial for a drug charge because of brain injuries suffered in a savage jail attack, a Sydney judge says.

Adam Keith Watt should remain out of jail for up to three years to allow him to continue his rehabilitation, Justice Derek Price has ruled.

Five years ago, Watt, 45, was charged with conspiring to import 210 kilograms of pseudoephedrine into Australia from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The former commonwealth and world champion kickboxer was accused of being in league with an international syndicate when he allegedly conspired to import the chemicals which would have produced about $50 million worth of the drug ice.

At the time of his arrest, Watt, who was trained by boxing great Jeff Fenech, was due to host an Australian TV boxing series.

While in custody in 2009, Watt was the victim of a savage assault which left him with a brain injury.

He was released on bail last year to allow him to attend the Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney.

In a judgment handed down in the Supreme Court this week, Justice Price found Watt was currently mentally unfit to stand trial.

However, he found the Crown case against Watt was capable of being proved beyond reasonable doubt and the charge should not be dismissed.

"The alleged offence is not trivial," the judge said.

"An agreement to import 210 kilograms of pseudoephedrine into Australia is a very serious offence and the accused's mental condition does not warrant the charge being dismissed."

Instead the judge ruled Watt should be released from his current bail conditions for a period not exceeding three years up until December 15, 2016.

During this time, Watt must continue to attend rehab.

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Qld AG expresses confidence in courts

Queensland's attorney-general says he's not against expanding mandatory sentencing in the state. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND'S attorney-general says reports of hostility between the judiciary and the government have been exaggerated.

Jarrod Bleijie says some remarks about a "cooling of relations" between judges and the government over new laws aimed at bikies and sex offenders have been blown out of proportion.

He made the comments in a speech to judges, barristers and other members of the legal fraternity at a Christmas ceremony at the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Wednesday.

He said it was ok for politicians and judges to disagree, so long as they did so in a civil fashion, and he said that had been the case in recent months.

"What is important to observe is that whilst the legislators and members of the legal community may, from time to time, disagree on important issues, that criticism should respect the institutional integrity of both the executive and the judiciary," Mr Bleijie said.

He said the government and the people of Queensland continued to have confidence in the courts to dispense justice.

"Lest the view from one end of George Street to the other has become blurred, the government and people of Queensland continue to have full confidence in the members of this and every court of the state to dispense justice according to their oaths taken."

Some judges and lawyers have been at odds with Mr Bleijie in recent months, questioning both inside and outside court some of the new laws he's introduced.

Mr Bleijie has launched a series of appeals relating to his bikie and sex offender laws, citing his view that some rulings have not reflected community expectations.

And he's said, particularly in relation to sex offenders, that as far as victims are concerned, Queensland has a legal system, not a justice system.

on Tuesday, Mr Bleijie said he would look to appeal reduced sentences given to three bikies who refused to give evidence at Crime and Misconduct Commission hearings.

In giving the men reduced sentences, Supreme Court judge Peter Applegarth referred to the government's harsh new jail conditions that apply for bikies, including solitary confinement.

As he flagged the possibility of appeals in those cases, he said the sentences failed to set a deterrent and weren't in line with what the community wanted.

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Small business loans more risky, says RBA

IT'S inevitable that lending costs for small businesses will be higher than that of larger businesses, the head of the Reserve Bank of Australia says.

Governor Glenn Stevens was asked at a parliamentary committee hearing about the discrepancy between the lending rates for larger business and smaller businesses and if it affects competition.

"The question is what do you do about that, it's inevitable that most small business are genuinely more risky by their nature," he said.

"You want to encourage that risk taking to a certain point but there is no getting around the fact that they are going to be more risky, and the price of credit from the banking system is and should reflect that."

He was also asked why the gap has widened between the cash rate and small business loan.

"I think its the case the actual effective rate paid even for small businesses has come down pretty much as low as its been at anytime in quite a while.

"It's true it hasn't come down as much as the cash rate."

Mr Stevens said getting home finance is easier than a small business loan because the risk assessment is more difficult.

"It's much easier to lend for mortgages, they're much more generic and its much easier to assess the risk.

"For small business they're more idiosyncratic it's a lot harder to do," he said.

"There's an inability for small business, very small business, to have the amount of collateral that a bank would like to have against a loan."

Mr Stevens said many small business use the family home as collateral.

"We may or may not like that fact, but that was a piece of collateral they had," he said.

"It's possible being in a world that the collateral they put up is not the same which could be a potential impediment."

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Budget update a wake-up call: business

BUSINESS groups hope the mid-year budget update will be a wake-up call to the Abbott government to deal with the challenges it now faces.

The mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (MYEFO) released on Tuesday forecasts the 2013/14 budget deficit ballooning to $47 billion, rather than the $30.1 billion predicted in August, and there will be further deficits over the next 10 years if no action is taken.

Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said the government faces a decade of committed reform to put the budget on a more sustainable footing.

"MYEFO shows Australia faces a decade of deficits if the federal government does not begin to correct the excessive spending that has left the fiscal position weaker than it should be and exposed to future global economic volatility," she said in a statement.

She said a disciplined 2014/15 budget that included structural measures to contain government expenditures over time needs to be matched by greater efforts to boost economic growth and productive capacity to greatly assist the budget repair job.

"The ongoing weakness of revenues also highlights the critical role that tax reform will need to play both in shoring up the strength of the revenue base and increasing efficiency to drive economic growth," she said.

Welfare groups believe the government must align social and economic goals.

UnitingCare Australia national director Lin Hatfield Dodds says the political debate has become locked into rhetoric about debt and deficit, rather than having "smart, evidence-based" debates about effective public policy and improving the quality of life of all Australians.

"Current policy debt is thin, impoverishing us all," she said in a statement.

"Achieving a better balance will require collecting more tax, and could be achieved by winding back inefficient and unfair tax concessions."

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Peter Anderson said MYEFO showed there were no pain-free options to build a stronger economy over the next decade.

"This budget deterioration makes the work of the Commission of Audit a national priority, especially if it undertakes a root and branch review of government spending, duplication of services and idle or underperforming assets."

He said that with industrialised governments mired in debt and deficit, only private sector growth and prosperity can retain living standards so reform that gives private sector incentive to invest and grow is needed.

Ratings agency Moody's said the projections were worse than they expected in terms of the fiscal and debt positions.

"However, as Moody's have always said, the Australian government has very low debt levels as a starting point, and the larger deficit in the current fiscal year, while leading to a rise in debt, is not likely to change Moody's thinking about the Aaa rating of Australia," it said in a statement.

Accountancy group CPA Australia said the government should lead a community conversation about the country's future.

Unhelpful and distracting rhetoric about debt and deficit should end, chief executive Alex Malley said.

"The announcement by the treasurer today is sobering but it shouldn't be a trigger for wholesale cuts or a knee-jerk reaction that places the importance of a return to surplus above all else," he said.

The Distilled Spirit Industry Council of Australia suggested the government could take another look at alcohol taxes to raise more revenue.

It estimated moving to a single volumetric tax system for all types of alcohol could net $1.8 billion a year for federal coffers.

The Community and Public Sector Union criticised the lack of detail on public servant job cuts, saying the MYEFO statement would only heighten fears among bureaucrats.

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Sydney taxi fare freeze recommended

A PROPOSED freeze on Sydney taxi fares will mean a pay cut for drivers and ignores soaring prices for LPG, the NSW Taxi Council says.

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) proposed a freeze on Sydney taxi fares for 2014/15 in a draft report released on Tuesday.

It also recommended issuing 190 new annual taxi licences.

IPART says cost is the main reason people don't catch taxis, and the recommendations, if adopted, would make cabs more affordable and easier to find.

But NSW Taxi Council chief executive Roy Wakelin-King said IPART had ignored market realities, such as the 20 per cent hike in LPG.

At the same time, the council released research that shows the industry contributes $1.15 billion each year to the NSW economy, and provides 17,500 full-time equivalent jobs.

Mr Wakelin-King said IPART had dudded the taxi industry, recommending drivers get 3.5 per cent lower wages next year, and "flooding the market" with new licences.

"There is a significant oversupply of taxis for most of the year and those involved in the industry are battling to earn reasonable incomes," he said.

He said IPART's recommendations would force people away from the industry, which would be bad for customers.

The report prepared for the taxi council by Deloitte Access Economics found the industry delivered up to $20 million in annual revenue to the NSW government.

IPART had considered lowering fares from July 2014, but decided freezing fares struck a better balance for drivers and the public.

IPART recommends that maximum fares for urban areas including Newcastle, Wollongong, the Blue Mountains and the Central Coast continue to be the same as fares in Sydney.

Submissions on the draft report close on January 31.

IPART provides its final report in February 2014, with Transport for NSW to decide on the number of licences to be released by the end of March.

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Aurizon to cut rail fleet, cancel project

FREIGHT and coal haulage operator Aurizon will take a hit of almost $200 million as it cuts the size of its rail fleet and cancels a major Queensland project.

The company, previously known as QR National, is reducing its locomotive fleet by 28 per cent and cutting the number of wagons by 12 per cent in a bid to bring down fuel and maintenance costs.

Aurizon's downsizing will appear as an asset impairment expense of $130 million to $150 million in its accounts for the first half of the 2013/14 financial year.

The company will also incur a $47 million impairment on recent changes to several projects, including Glencore Xstrata's decision to stop the Wandoan project because of weakening thermal coal prices.

Aurizon had proposed a 210 kilometre Surat Basin rail corridor from the Wandoan mine in a joint venture with the Swiss multinational.

"There's not any job losses that are related to that," chief executive Lance Hockridge told reporters on Monday.

In July, Aurizon launched a second voluntary redundancy program in a bid to save $230 million by 2015.

Some 248 voluntary redundancies have since been accepted.

"I think the bulk of it is done," Mr Hockridge said.

More than 2,000 employees have left the company since it was privatised by the former Queensland Labor government in 2010.

Mr Hockridge said he was "cautious but confident" about the thermal coal sector, as well as the future of projects in Queensland's Galilee Basin, where Aurizon has agreed to develop a rail project for the GVK-Hancock joint venture involving billionaire Gina Rinehart.

Aurizon shares were down one cent at $4.69 at 1504 AEDT.

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Pressure grows for NSW pub lockouts

EMERGENCY service workers and doctors are demanding NSW government action to stop the carnage caused by alcohol-fuelled violence.

NSW confirmed it was the capital of drunken violence at the weekend, with 540 arrests during a trans-Tasman operation meant to curb the problem.

The NSW opposition is renewing its calls for a trial of reduced trading hours and lockouts in the state's licensed venues after the success of those measures in Newcastle.

The Last Drinks coalition, a group representing concerned emergency department staff, police and paramedics, has joined the chorus.

Its spokesperson, Australian Salaried Medical Officers' Federation president Dr Tony Sara, says the pressure is firmly on the government.

Dr Sara says a trial in select trouble spots would show positive results in a short time.

He said measures in Newcastle cut alcohol violence by 37 per cent and emergency department admissions by 26 per cent, so were worth a try in Sydney.

He challenged NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell to explain what harm a trial could do, believing the government was under the thumb of the powerful liquor lobby.

"How could it hurt?" Dr Sara told AAP.

"It might reduce profits a bit, but either they lose some money or we continue to have people hurt and maimed.

"I think the community comes before profits."

But Mr O'Farrell rejected calls for tougher laws, arguing authorities had done their part.

"Police and government agencies are doing their bit and the hotel industry, by and large, is responsibly getting on with their task," he told reporters on Monday.

"What we now need is for the community to come to the party."

NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson says police tell him privately they support tougher measures such as pub lockouts.

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione agreed that cultural shift was crucial.

"Police will never arrest our way out of this problem," he said.

"If we don't start today we will lose a generation of young people to this love affair with alcohol."

Mr Scipione said a 23-year-old man who was punched and stomped on in front of dozens of revellers at Bondi Beach at the weekend was no longer in a critical condition.

The Australian Hotels Association NSW would not comment.

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Bushfire threatens lives, homes in WA town

High temperatures in Western Australia have prompted bushfire warnings for much of the state. Source: AAP

FIREFIGHTERS are battling an out-of-control bushfire that is threatening lives and homes northeast of Perth.

An emergency warning has been issued for people four kilometres east of Toodyay.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) says the fire is burning on both sides of Goomalling Toodyay Road, and homes in the Wicklow and Dumbarton Estates are under direct threat.

"You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive," the DFES said.

"The bushfire is out of control and unpredictable."

About 150 career and volunteer firefighters from the Fire and Rescue Service and Bush Fire Service are fighting the fire, which was reported at 9.18am on Sunday and has so far burned about 100 hectares.

Two helitacs and two fixed-wing water bombers have been sent to assist ground crews.

The DFES says the bushfire is moving fast in a south-southeastern direction.

Residents in Toodyay, about 86km northeast of Perth, told AAP there was smoke in the township but they were pleased with the quick response from firefighters.

Shire president David Dow said the blaze was burning in a semi-rural and rural area but there were still hundreds of people living there.

"The fire is obviously very serious," he told AAP.

"Everyone is just getting out at the moment."

The DFES has warned that if the way is clear, residents should leave now.

"Do not wait and see. Leaving at the last minute is deadly," it said.

Residents who plan to stay and actively defend their properties are warned not to rely on mains water pressure because it may be affected.

People have been told to leave in a western direction towards the Toodyay township.

Goomalling-Toodyay Road has been closed and motorists have been warned to avoid the area.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

In December 2009, a bushfire caused by a fallen power pole destroyed 38 homes and damaged about 137 properties in Toodyay.

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Woman hit by garbage truck in Melbourne

A young woman is in a critical condition after she was hit by a garbage truck in Melbourne CBD. Source: AAP

A YOUNG woman is in a critical condition in hospital after she was hit by a garbage truck during a night out in Melbourne.

The woman in her 20s was struck by the truck, which allegedly failed to stop, at the corner of Elizabeth and Lonsdale Streets after 4.30am (AEDT), police say.

A 40-year-old Wallan man has been arrested and is speaking to police.

The woman's condition is critical, a Royal Melbourne Hospital spokeswoman said.

Police are reviewing CCTV footage in the area.

Anyone who may have witnessed the incident should come forward, especially two women who were at the scene, police said.

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