NSW police hunt missing 15-year-old girl

POLICE are concerned for the welfare of a teenage girl who has been missing from her home in south Sydney for more than three days.

Police say 15-year-old Rabia Ahmad left her house on Midlothian Avenue, Beverley Hills, with a few belongings at around 11pm (AEDT) on Tuesday.

She has not contacted her family since.

Ms Ahmad wears a head scarf and is described as Middle Eastern in appearance, about 160cm to 165cm tall and of medium build.

Any members of the public with information are asked to contact police.

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2013 is Australia's hottest year on record

The Bureau of Meteorology's annual statement shows 2013 is Australia's hottest year on record. Source: AAP

THE hottest year, the hottest spring and summer, the hottest January and September, the hottest summer day and the warmest winter day: 2013 was a record-setting year in weather.

The Bureau of Meteorology's annual climate statement shows 2013 was Australia's hottest year since records began in 1910.

It says the national mean temperature was 1.20 degrees celsius above the 1961-1990 average.

"Long periods of warmer-than-average days have been common, with a distinct lack of cold weather," the statement says.

The year was also the hottest on record for South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

It was the second-hottest year on record for New South Wales and Queensland, third for Victoria and fourth for Tasmania.

The bureau says Australia has experienced just one cooler-than-average year in the past decade: 2011.

Nationally averaged rainfall was slightly below average for the year, with 428mm.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his cabinet should take a "good strong look" at the report which makes it clear again that climate change is real, acting Opposition Leader Penny Wong says.

"These are facts we have to face up to," Senator Wong told reporters in Adelaide on Friday.

"The only people who don't believe climate change is real are Prime Minister Abbott, his cabinet and some of his advisers."

Senator Wong said Mr Abbott considered climate change "absolute crap" and his direct action policy was a policy of doing nothing.

She says her biggest worry was not how Australia would look to other nations by doing little to combat global warming but how the current generation would look to its children and grandchildren.

"What are we going to say to them in years to come if we go down the path that Tony Abbott wants to go down which is to reject what the Bureau of Meteorology and other Australians scientists are saying," she said.

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Queensland bakes in 'unusual' heatwave

QUEENSLAND is about to swelter in a heatwave, with the mercury tipped to reach close to 50C in some parts of the state this week.

In the western Queensland town of Birdsville, the mercury could soar as high as 48C on Thursday which in Brisbane, temperatures are predicted to hit a sultry 39C on Saturday.

Temperatures are expected to be 5C to 10C above the average across the state over the next few days.

Meteorologist Gordon Banks from the Bureau of Meteorology said a large, dry, hot mass of air stagnating in the nation's interior was the cause.

Mr Banks said a run of such high temperatures was rare for Queensland.

"We do get these bursts of several days where we're seeing high 30s to low 40s through the (state's) interior," he said.

"But what we're seeing at the moment is that we're having this run of days where we're seeing mid to high 40s through the interior and that certainly is much more unusual."

Diamantina Shire Mayor Geoff Morton, who lives in Birdsville, said it would be business as usual in the small town on Thursday despite the forecast 48C heat, which is 1.5C shy of the 1972 record.

"Once it gets over 45 (degrees) it doesn't matter whether it's 45 or 55, it's still bloody hot," Mr Morton said on Wednesday.

"Everything's hot, everything's hot to touch, the ground is hot ... A few more degrees is not going to make much of a difference."

The long-time Birdsville resident said melted tar sticks to the tyres of passing freight trucks and locals either spend the day in air conditioning or start work early to avoid the midday heat.

"If you walk down the street from 12 o'clock on you won't see anybody. They're hibernating," he said.

"They've got a pretty simple choice. Inside the pub is 23 degrees and outside is 53."

A slightly cooler change is expected to move through the state from Friday.

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Man remains critical after NYE assault

A TEENAGER remains in a critical condition after being punched in a random attack in Sydney on New Year's Eve.

As the first fireworks display crackled over Sydney Harbour at 9pm (AEDT) on Tuesday, police say the 18-year-old was knocked to the ground in an unprovoked attack in Kings Cross.

He remains in a critical condition at St Vincent's Hospital, with his alleged 25-year-old attacker due to face Parramatta Bail Court on Wednesday.

The attack occurred on the same street where teenage king-hit victim Thomas Kelly was killed in 2012.

Acting Police Commissioner David Hudson said police were being updated on the 18-year-old's progress hourly adding that he remains in a critical condition.

"Our thoughts are obviously with the victim's family and with him in his recovery hopefully," he told reporters on Wednesday.

He said the police's swift action led to the alleged attacker's arrest before any other incidents could occur.

"Police were very close by. They didn't actually witness the incident, but they were very close by and responded very quickly."

It's the latest in a string of attacks in Sydney in recent times.

Last month, Michael McEwen fell into a coma after he was assaulted at Bondi in Sydney's east following an altercation in a kebab shop.

In another incident in December, a man was taken to intensive care after being king hit at a fast food restaurant in Oxford Street at Surry Hills.

Police said the man had been involved in a verbal argument with another man at the restaurant and as he was leaving, the other man punched him to the side of the head, causing him to fall to the ground.

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Woman sexually assaulted in Vic

A SOUTH American woman has been sexually assaulted by a man who gave her a lift on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.

Police say a man approached the 28-year-old, who is working in Australia as a nanny, at McCrae on Sunday and offered her a lift to a train station.

He drove her to an isolated part of Shoreham, punched her in the face and grappled with her, before she got out of the car and tried to flee.

The man then allegedly ran her down and sexually assaulted her.

He fled the scene in his car, described as a gold-coloured Holden utility.

Detective Senior Sergeant Jason Walsh said the woman was extremely distressed and traumatised by the attack and had decided to leave Australia earlier than planned.

"She received minor facial injuries, however, emotionally will be scarred forever," he said on Tuesday.

Police say the man told the woman his name was Dane, and is described as Caucasian in appearance, of thin build, about 25 years old and about 165cm tall with short, light-brown or blond hair and light-brown eyes.

He was wearing a dark T-shirt, possibly black, light beige pants, possibly cargos and dark-coloured shoes.

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Scooter company on track for first profit

SCOOTER maker Vmoto expects 2013 will be its first profitable year, thanks to growing sales in China.

The company makes electric and petrol scooters in China, and distributes them to more than 30 countries.

Vmoto also owns 10 retail outlets in China, with four of those stores having opened in the last two months.

On Monday, the company said November was another profitable month, and the company still expects to make its maiden annual profit, of between $300,000 and $600,000, in the 2013 calendar year.

Vmoto listed on the Australian share market in 2002.

It expects to have had made 42,000 scooters in the year, and had sold 3,197 of its own scooters in China by the end of November.

"The gradual buildup in sales month-on-month are testament to the Vmoto brand becoming increasingly recognised as a premium product for electric scooter riders in China," it said.

The company's shares gained 0.1 of a cent to 3.1 cents.

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China bans officials from public smoking

CHINA has banned its officials from smoking in public to set an example to the rest of the country that has the world's largest number of smokers.

The official Xinhua News Agency said officials are not allowed to smoke in schools, hospitals, sports venues, on public transport or any other places where smoking is banned, or to smoke or offer cigarettes when performing official duties. They also cannot use public funds to buy cigarettes, and within Communist Party or government offices tobacco products cannot be sold nor adverts displayed.

Xinhua said on Sunday the rules were contained in a circular from the Communist Party's central committee and the State Council, or China's cabinet.

There is no nationwide law banning smoking in indoor public places, but the government has tried to ban the practice in the past.

In 2011, the Health Ministry issued guidelines banning smoking in venues including hotels and restaurants, but these are not strictly enforced. Experts say huge revenues from the state-owned tobacco monopoly hinder anti-smoking measures.

"Smoking remains a relatively universal phenomenon in public venues. Some officials smoke in public places, which has not only jeopardised the environment and public health, but tarnished the image of party and government offices and leaders and has a negative influence," the circular read, according to Xinhua.

China has more than 300 million smokers. Smoking, which is linked to an average annual death toll of 1.4 million people in China in recent years, is one of the greatest health threats the country faces, government statistics show. The annual number of cigarettes sold in the country increased by 50 per cent to 2.52 trillion in 2012 compared with 10 years earlier, according to the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control, which is overseen by health authorities.

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Perth gets ready for NYE parties

LIVE music, fancy-dress parties and fireworks are on offer in Perth for New Year's Eve, but police are warning revellers to act responsibly.

An extra 1000 police will be on the streets on New Year's Eve, to clamp down on rowdy or anti-social behaviour and drink-drivers.

Assistant Commissioner Gary Dreibergs said with so many people expected in Perth's entertainment precincts, people should look out for their mates and plan their trip home before they go out.

"To put it simply, respect yourself, and respect others," he said.

"All too often we see minor matters escalate into serious incidents because someone who has consumed too much alcohol isn't able to make the right decision to step away from a minor disagreement or other trivial occurrence, such as being bumped by someone else."

Police have also warned people not to hire drivers who are advertising their taxi services online illegally.

Family entertainment in Perth includes fireworks in Mandurah and Rockingham, and a party at Perth Zoo with live music.

On New Year's Day, about 35,000 people are expected to attend the Perth Cup at Ascot Racecourse.

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Government won't 'speculate' on GP fee

THE federal government has refused to "speculate" about a proposal to make patients pay a $5 fee for bulk-billed GP visits.

A national Commission of Audit has received a proposal for a co-payment scheme for GP consultations.

Doctor groups and political parties have criticised such a move, claiming it would destroy Medicare and limit access to GPs for some community groups.

Co-payments would see patients pay a fee for bulk-billed GP consultations.

News Corp Australia reports pensioners and concession card holders would be exempt from the fee.

Families would also be granted up to 12 bulk-billed visits annually.

Federal Health Minister Peter Dutton said he would not comment on "speculation around what the Commission of Audit may or may not recommend".

"The commission's work is still being compiled and will be provided to the government in 2014," he said in a statement.

"The government will be able to consider any recommendations and respond after that time."

Mr Dutton said the government had committed to making sure the health system was sustainable and accessible in the future.

The Abbott government has been ridiculed for its refusal to rule out a GP fee.

The Opposition has called on Mr Abbott to immediately strike out the idea while The Greens say it will cause many to think twice about a GP visit.

Acting Greens leader Senator Richard Di Natale said on Sunday it was a step towards a two-tiered US-style health system and away from universal healthcare.

Dr Con Costa, of the Doctors' Reform Society, believes a GP fee would make emergency departments busier.

"Introducing a $5 co-payment is false cost-savings," he said in a statement.

"People would stop seeing their GP, ending up sicker and going to hospital - which costs thousands of dollars a day versus the current $36 to see a GP bulk-billed."

It has been reported a co-payment plan aimed to help ease unnecessary trips to the doctor.

But Australian Medical Association (AMA) president Dr Steve Hambleton said the majority of visits to the GP were very "reasonable and helpful" with only a minority causing doctors to ask why they came.

A co-payment scheme was introduced under the Hawke government in the 1990s but was scrapped.

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WA's Taste Master reluctant to leave

JUMPING out of a plane was not as frightening as scaling the famously hair-raising Gloucester Tree in Western Australia's South West region, the man with one of the best jobs in the world says.

Rich Keam counts the 72-metre tree near Pemberton as the only challenge that's bested him in his enviable role as Tourism WA's "taste master" over the past four months.

The 35-year-old Englishman believes he scored the best of all seven gigs offered by Tourism Australia - including "chief funster" in NSW - as he's tasked with munching his way through WA's considerable culinary delights after beating more than 600,000 other applicants from around the world.

With about six weeks of his six-month contract remaining, he's yet to take in the temperate towns of Denmark, Albany and Esperance in the state's Great Southern region, and Geraldton in the Mid West.

But he's been dazzled by the Kimberley's rugged beauty, relished the South West - where he rubbed shoulders with top chefs such as Heston Blumenthal at the Margaret River Gourmet Escape - and taken the plunge from a tiny plane in the middle of Perth.

"I was absolutely terrified," Keam said of the tandem dive that landed him in the city's central Langley Park.

"I'm tall, so I had to stick my leg out onto the wheel and go head first down. That was surreal."

However, it wasn't as scary as trying to climbing 153 thin pegs to the top of the Gloucester Tree, a former fire lookout in the middle of Karri forest.

Keam twice made it about 15 metres up then declared: "I'm coming down!".

"My eyes were blurring, I got sweaty hands.

"I'd sooner jump out of a plane.

"If there was a harness, I'd do it, but that's the challenge, isn't it - to do it without a harness."

Keam said another top adventure was participating in the Kickstarters Gascoyne Dash, which starts in desert inland from Carnarvon.

The Brighton-based film costumer reached 220km in a souped-up buggy driven by WA's off-road racing champion Bradley Cooper, but it was the people he met in the fishing town that left the greatest impression.

"I just had a great time there," he said.

"There were really friendly people in Carnarvon - some real characters."

And after sampling boab tuber chutney, ants and pearl meat, Keam's gourmet highlight was at the Sal Salis luxury eco-camp on the Coral Coast at Ningaloo Reef, where he feasted on pork belly and mud crab salad.

"I was the only person there," Keam said.

"It was so peaceful and serene, looking out at the ocean, so I took two hours to eat it."

Keam says he'll miss WA - the ultimate self-drive holiday destination with its vast distances - and its family-friendly capital.

"I don't really want to leave.

"I'd like to stay here for a couple of years."

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