Trial delays BBC Savile review

A review into Jimmy Savile's abuse will not be published until DJ Dave Lee Travis's trial concludes. Source: AAP

THE publication of the BBC's review into how Jimmy Savile carried out a campaign of abuse over decades has been delayed again so as not to prejudice Dave Lee Travis's trial.

It has been reported that the Dame Janet Smith review is expected to uncover hundreds of victims and reveal a culture of ignorance that "protected" Savile.

A parallel review, being carried out into Stuart Hall's behaviour while at the corporation, will form part of the final report.

It was announced in January that publication would be delayed until after Hall's trial and now it has been delayed again ahead of the former DJ's trial.

A statement on the review website said "in the interests of ensuring that the independence and fairness of the criminal process is maintained, Dame Janet has decided that her report should not be delivered until after the conclusion of the trial of Dave Lee Travis".

The statement said the BBC was aware of and agreed with the decision.

A "more precise estimated delivery date" would be published online at a later date.

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Budget will pass eventually: PM

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott says he won't surrender his budget in the face of pressure to compromise over its most unpopular measures.

Mr Abbott is confident the coalition's first budget will pass the Senate because the alternative would be a double dissolution election.

Senior government ministers have signalled compromising on key budget reforms such as higher education interest rates and the GP co-payment, amidst a fierce public backlash and a hostile Senate.

Continuing the budget sell on Saturday, Mr Abbott said his team "absolutely" understood the "iron necessity" of sticking with difficult and unpopular budget measures.

"We are not going to surrender our budget commitments," Mr Abbott told reporters in Adelaide.

But negotiations were inevitable.

"You have got to negotiate your legislation through the parliament," he said.

Mr Abbott was confident that the government would get the budget through the Senate in the end, because the alternative would be a double dissolution election.

"Because let's face it, there have been many governments over many years that have had to negotiate budgets through the Senate.

"The only time that wasn't successfully done ... that was a different bill in 1975."

Last week, Mr Abbott appeared to back away from a threat to hold a double dissolution election after earlier signalling incoming Senate cross-benchers would be unlikely to keep their seats if there was a new election.

Labor, the Greens and Palmer United Party have vowed to block changes such as the Medicare co-payment and pension cuts.

Education Minister Christopher Pyne, who has faced a slew of student protests this week over university deregulation measures, has signalled compromising on some reforms.

He said it was in recognition the government did not have a majority in the upper house.

"We will of course seek to consult and negotiate with the minor parties and the crossbenches to ensure these important reforms are delivered," Mr Pyne said in a statement to AAP.

The industry is also being consulted to "refine the details" of the changes, with two higher education stakeholder working groups providing feedback.

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Mutilation doctor could go back to jail

A WOMAN whose genitals were removed by a rogue doctor has broken down outside a Sydney courtroom after facing the man she says devastated her life.

Struck-off NSW gynaecologist Graeme Stephen Reeves served just 18 months behind bars for the gross mutilation of his patient Carolyn DeWaegeneire in August 2002.

The rogue practitioner, who worked in Bega on the NSW south coast, surgically removed her clitoris and labia without consent during an operation on a pre-cancerous lesion.

He was sentenced to a maximum three-and-a-half years jail in 2011 but was released on parole from Sydney's Long Bay prison in December, sparking outrage among Ms DeWaegeneire's supporters and patient advocates.

Crown prosecutors want the 64-year-old put back behind bars for another year after previous rulings that his original sentence was "manifestly inadequate".

Reeves and Ms DeWaegeneire, from Wolumla near Bega, sat within metres of each other during an appeal hearing at the NSW Court of Appeal on Friday.

It was adjourned until June 2 when Chief Justice Thomas Bathurst and justices Peter Hall and Robert Hulme are expected to hand down a decision.

"My life has been totally, totally devastated - totally," a tearful Ms DeWaegeneire said outside court after the hearing.

"I should be enjoying life as an older person - I'm not."

She described Reeves's original sentence as "the biggest joke of all time".

"I've got my medical records. I know damn well what I had before I went in (to hospital). I know damn well what he did."

During his trial, Reeves's lawyers argued the former doctor was saving Ms DeWaegeneire's life and rejected the crown's argument that he did not have consent to remove her genitals.

It's understood hundreds of other women have also complained about the former doctor.

The Department of Public Prosecutions revealed in November that a significant number of outstanding charges against Reeves, dating more than 20 years, had been dropped.

The allegations against Reeves were not pursued because of "insufficient evidence to ensure a reasonable prospect of conviction", NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith said.

Reeves' lawyer, Gabrielle Bashir, on Friday said her client was in poor health and suffering kidney disease and chronic depression, among other conditions, and argued he should not go back to jail.

Prosecutors tendered a doctors' report that stated his health conditions could be adequately treated in prison.

Reeves made no comment as he left the court.

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Qld government MP quits parliament

MAVERICK Queensland government MP Chris Davis has resigned from parliament, saying recent laws go against his and his electorate's values.

The rogue MP was dumped as assistant health minister last week for breaching cabinet solidarity when he spoke out against changes to the state's corruption watchdog and doctor contracts.

At the time, Dr Davis said he had stood on some powerful toes and was demoted partly because he raised concerns with Premier Campbell Newman about looming changes to political donations.

His dissatisfaction came to a head on Thursday night, when he told parliament he couldn't support his government's policy to remove caps on political donations and raise disclosure thresholds.

He left the chamber before the laws were put to a vote.

While he says his sacking was a catalyst to his immediate departure, the accumulation of controversial legislation had weighed heavily on his conscience.

"The passage of recent government legislation affecting critical aspects of our democracy goes contrary to my value system and that of the majority of my electorate," he said on a statement on his website.

"I would never have stood for parliament on such a platform, nor do I believe I would have been elected."

A by-election will be held in the north Brisbane seat.

It's the second for the Newman government after disgraced MP Scott Driscoll quit after being found guilty of contempt for dodgy business dealings.

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Some avoiding GP because of payment: AMA

PATIENTS are already putting off visiting the doctor because of the coalition government's GP co-payment, even though the measure won't come into effect until next year.

The Australian Medical Association says one clinic in Mt Druitt in Sydney has reported a fall in visits since the budget, and had to send out SMS messages to patients to inform them they were still bulk billing.

There was also evidence of a drop in patients at one clinic in Tasmania, the doctors' group said.

AMA President Steve Hambleton said the reports, while isolated, represented a widespread concern with the $7 co-payment.

"It's disturbing that people have got mixed messages," he told reporters in Canberra.

"It is very important for patients to realise this does not start until 2015."

The AMA and other health groups have repeatedly warned a co-payment would deter people from visiting the doctor, and could result in hospital emergency departments being overwhelmed by those trying to avoid the charge.

But Dr Hambleton said there had not been an increase in emergency department presentations since last Tuesday's budget.

Asked about the AMA's concerns, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he was confident the co-payment was consistent with a "strong and dynamic, affordable and accessible Medicare system".

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New way of policing in WA to reduce crime

A SIX-MONTH policing trial aimed at reducing the demand on officers and dropping the crime rate has been such a success that the model will be rolled out across Perth by the end of the year.

The new police operating model was trialled in the South East Metropolitan District from November to May, with the region moving from sixth to second best performing district compared with the previous year.

Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan said the model relied on "neighbourhood policing" so police teams were only responsible for a couple of suburbs each.

"They develop relationships with the local community (and) people can ring them direct on their mobile phones," he told Fairfax radio on Thursday.

"They know the kids who play up, families who play up (and) where people congregate in parks."

Mr O'Callaghan said 10 per cent of the population was creating 90 per cent of the problem for police.

"People are being driven mad by these people who are out of control in the neighbourhood," he said.

The commissioner said local governments and the wider community had embraced the trial, giving him confidence to widen the model across Perth.

The new model will see four larger districts each made up of 550 officers divided into response, local policing teams and investigations, all co-ordinated through a 24/7 district control centre.

The next phase will begin in September when the South Metropolitan and Peel districts combine to form the new South Metropolitan District.

By the end of the year, Central and East will form another district, along with North West and West.

Some suburbs may transfer to balance demand across these new, larger districts, Mr O'Callaghan said.

The model will not apply in regional WA.

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Qantas puts freeze on domestic growth

Qantas will add no new capacity on its domestic routes for three months after a capacity battle. Source: AAP

A WAR between Qantas and Virgin Australia over capacity in the domestic market may be over, with Qantas to halt its growth in the coming months.

The two airlines have been rapidly increasing their number of domestic flights, and the size of planes used on those routes, since the 2012/13 financial year, at a sizeable financial cost.

Qantas now plans to pull back, and will add no new capacity in the first three months of the 2014/15 financial year.

That will mean smaller planes and fewer flights in non-peak travel periods than the airline had been planning.

The airline said recent measures of consumer confidence had shown a steady fall, and that had been reflected in demand for flights.

Macquarie analyst Sam Dobson said the announcement could spell the end for the capacity war - pending Virgin's response.

"With the new Virgin Australia directors from partners Air New Zealand, Singapore Airways and Etihad due onto the Virgin Australia board next month, we doubt whether Virgin Australia will respond aggressively to Qantas' olive branch," he said in a note to clients.

Qantas said it could return to its capacity growth strategy if demand picks up.

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Ten guts news, axes Wake Up show

Network Ten's Wake Up program and its early, morning and late news will be axed from Friday. Source: AAP

THE fate of up to 150 Network Ten workers is in the air after the broadcaster announced plans to gut its news service and axe Wake Up.

Friday will be the last day of the early, morning and late news bulletins as well as the Wake Up breakfast show.

Ten Eyewitness News at 5pm will continue to be produced locally and Studio 10 will remain part of the network's daytime schedule.

Ten's chief executive Hamish McLennan broke the news to staff in an email sent at midday on Wednesday, saying consultations would begin on Thursday about a proposed voluntary redundancy program for workers in the news, operations and engineering departments.

"The next few weeks will be a difficult and sad period, as colleagues leave the business," McLennan said.

"Let me assure you the changes are not being undertaken lightly.

"No one is happy about them, but unfortunately they are necessary."

"Despite the commitment and enthusiasm of its staff, Wake Up has not resonated with enough viewers to make it a viable program."

An industry source told AAP it was common knowledge within Ten that the breakfast show, launched in November last year, would be axed.

The fate of up to 150 workers is understood to be in limbo while management decides just how many will be made redundant.

Many of the employees, floor staff, crew and assistants, were specifically recruited to start up the breakfast show which was to ring in a new era for the network.

The network spent tens of thousands of dollars alone on building the set at Manly Beach and running cables from Ten's Pyrmont headquarters out to the set to avoid satellite transmission problems.

However, Wake Up has been plagued with issues since the outset when its creator and producer Adam Boland suffered a breakdown and quit.

"I feel very sad for all my friends at Ten. Very good people, let down by many things, including my early exit. Thinking of them all today," Boland Tweeted after the news broke.

Studio 10 co-host Sarah Harris also took to Twitter in support of her colleagues.

"Big hugs to my friends at Wake Up, Early/Morning News and Late News," she said.

The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) says it will hold meetings with affected staff as soon as possible.

"We had a short discussion with the company this morning," Mike Dobbie from the MEAA told AAP.

"The company has told us that it will give us a briefing and will begin a consultation process this afternoon and we are seeking to minimise job losses."

McLennan said the television advertising market had been soft in recent years and the network's ratings, revenue and earnings performance has been disappointing.

Ten posted an $8 million loss in the six months to the end of February, which was better than the $243 million loss it announced a year earlier.

Speaking at the half yearly result in April, McLennan said he was confident the network could turn its fortunes around.

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Brisbane accused of 'curfew' on the blind

Brisbane has been accused of putting a curfew on the blind by turning off audible traffic signals. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S largest council has been accused of imposing a curfew on blind people by turning off audible traffic signals at night.

The Brisbane City Council has angered Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes, who's said he was stunned to learn what the council has done to satisfy CBD residents unhappy about the noise.

Mr Innes was in Brisbane at the weekend for a meeting about information services for the blind and vision impaired.

"Effectively we were on a curfew because at 9.30 at night the audible traffic signals are turned off and they don't go back on until 6.30 in the morning," he told ABC radio.

"If we were out later than that at night, or up and about before 6.30, which I often am because I take my guide dog for a walk, we didn't have the benefit of signals to cross roads."

Mr Innes says he's never come across the situation in other capital cities, and residents must know there's an element of noise associated with living in CBDs.

He also noted traffic signals contained sensors which reduced the level of sound at quiet times, such as at night.

Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner said signals generally were switched off in the CBD between 9.30pm and 6.30am, as part of an effort to balance the views of residents with the needs of pedestrians.

But he said the council was happy to modify the hours of operation based on requests and demand.

"Whenever we receive a request we'll do a review. In February we received a request for extended hours at about four or five CBD intersections and as a result those intersections are now operating 24-hours a day," Mr Schrinner told the ABC.

Asked why the council shouldn't have signals running around the clock, Mr Schrinner said: "It comes down to balancing the demands of use of those intersections with the concerns of residents as well".

"Where there's a need for it, where there's facilities operating late into the night, absolutely you can see the rationale for it," he said.

Mr Schrinner said the audible traffic signals had been generally switched off in the CBD for more than 10 years.

He said the issue came to a head back then when residents angry about the noise demanded the council take action.

"Our responsibility as a democratic organisation is to find that right balance," he told the ABC.

At the time, traffic signals were also being regularly vandalised.

"We don't know who was vandalising them but they were being vandalised, and it's a fair assumption that that might have been associated with the noise they made."

Mr Innes said the council's approach was nonsensical.

He said that as a visitor to the city, he didn't know which roads he was going to need to cross, and nor would others.

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Committee to probe PUP 'offer' to MP

Queensland's Speaker says a bribe allegation against the Palmer United Party will be investigated. Source: AAP

THE Palmer United Party is being investigated over an allegation it tried to bribe a Queensland government backbencher to quit the Liberal National Party.

Speaker Fiona Simpson says an alleged attempt by a Palmer party envoy to induce Burleigh MP Michael Hart to jump ship was "sufficiently serious" to warrant an ethics committee investigation.

The party's Queensland leader Alex Douglas, who headed state parliament's ethics committee in 2012, was unable to comment specifically on Mr Hart's allegation.

But the former LNP member said the Palmer party had obeyed the law.

"I can only generally comment that we refute any views that we are involved in inducements," he told AAP.

Mr Hart last month went to police saying a PUP member - later revealed to be Jim McNally - had called him about switching parties.

He said he terminated the phone call when he came to the view he was about to be offered an inappropriate inducement.

While police declined to take his complaint further, Ms Simpson said the matter was "sufficiently serious to be considered by the ethics committee".

"The offering or attempting to offer an inducement to a member, to achieve an outcome that affects the proceedings in the Legislative Assembly, can amount to contempt," she told parliament on Tuesday.

"I am satisfied there is an issue of privilege."

Mr Hart used parliamentary privilege two weeks ago to accuse the Palmer party of offering him an inducement to change parties.

Party founder Clive Palmer has previously denied any inducement was ever offered by his party.

"They were having a discussion and he (Mr McNally) said, 'What will it take to have you join the Palmer United Party?'," Mr Palmer said earlier this month.

"He was referring to, 'Would you want to be endorsed for the seat of Burleigh?' He wasn't offering anyone anything. He wasn't authorised to do that. He's not an official of our party. He's just a party member."

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Dad, sons charged over NSW stabbing attack

TWO brothers and their father have been accused of using knives and a screwdriver in a "barbaric" daylight stabbing attack on a teenage boy and his sister.

Brothers Husein Al-Moosawy, 21, Sajjad Al-Moosawy, 23, and their father Haider Al-Moosawy, 47, fronted Bankstown Local Court on Monday charged with wounding with intent to murder.

The court heard the trio's alleged attack occurred on Sunday afternoon outside their neighbour's home in the southwestern Sydney suburb of Yagoona.

Magistrate Elaine Truscott told the court the 16-year-old victim, who can't be identified, and his 24-year-old sister were visiting the house next door to the Al-Moosawy family.

According to police facts heard in court, the Al-Moosawy's mother began abusing the 24-year-old after she pulled up at the home.

The 16-year-old stood between the two arguing woman before Husein, Sajjad and Haider came out of their home.

Police allege Husein and Sajjad held knives and Haider wielded a screwdriver.

The 24-year-old was pushed to the ground and Haider allegedly stabbed her in the eye with a screwdriver.

The father is also charged with stabbing the woman's 16-year-old brother with a knife three times.

Sajjad and Husein allegedly pushed the 16-year-old on the ground and repeatedly stabbed him in the back and legs.

Both the 24-year-old woman and her younger brother remain in hospital with serious injuries.

Husein made an application for bail but Ms Truscott ordered he stay behind bars after labelling the alleged assault barbaric.

"There is no court order that can prevent such barbary being committed again ..." she said.

Haider and Sajjad did not apply for bail, which was refused.

All three will appear by video link in Burwood Local Court next month.

They are also facing other charges, including affray and wound a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

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Guard distressed after shooting Qld bandit

A SECURITY guard who shot dead an armed bandit outside a Gold Coast tavern appears to have acted instinctively and is deeply traumatised, police say.

The guard was making a cash delivery at the Highland Park Tavern on Monday morning when a bandit, armed with a 9mm pistol, tackled him as he got out of his van.

A struggle broke out and the guard fired several shots at the man.

Police say the alleged bandit suffered a number of gunshot wounds and was dead by the time officers arrived, just before 8am.

The shooting forced the closure of nearby streets, and sent a child-care centre into lockdown.

The security guard suffered minor facial injuries during the struggle. He was the one who asked a passer-by to call the police.

Regional Crime Co-ordinator Detective Superintendent David Hutchinson said it appeared the licensed security guard had reacted instinctively when he was attacked.

"We all must understand that under that sort of situation he would have been acting instinctively and he may not recall exactly himself how things went down," he told reporters on Monday.

"It's certainly a traumatic situation for anyone and he's traumatised by it."

He said it was too early to say whether charges would be laid and the security guard was assisting police.

Det Sup Hutchinson said it was likely the guard was allowed to carry a gun as he was licensed.

Police haven't said exactly how many shots were fired, or whether the victim fired any shots.

He is yet to be identified but police say they have an idea who he is.

Officers are searching streets around the tavern in case the bandit was not acting alone, but police say there's nothing to suggest a second offender at this stage.

A crime scene has been established and investigators remain on scene.

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NYT publisher defends removal of editor

NYT publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr has defended his removal of executive editor Jill Abramson (pic). Source: AAP

NEW York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr has provided a fresh defence of his removal of executive editor Jill Abramson, saying it had nothing to do with his company's treatment of women but with Abramson's management style.

"During her tenure, I heard repeatedly from her newsroom colleagues, women and men, about a series of issues, including arbitrary decision-making, a failure to consult and bring colleagues with her, inadequate communication and the public mistreatment of colleagues," Sulzberger, who also chairs the Times parent company, said in a statement.

"The saddest outcome" of the decision, he said, is that many have cast it as an example of unequal treatment of women.

He denied that Abramson's compensation package was less than her predecessor's.

Abramson was named executive editor in September 2011, replacing Bill Keller.

She was the paper's first female executive editor.

"Jill's pay package was comparable with Bill Keller's; in fact, by her last full year as executive editor, it was more than 10 per cent higher than his," he wrote.

The Times replaced Abramson, 60, on Wednesday and promoted managing editor Dean Baquet, 57, to executive editor.

Abramson has yet to comment publicly.

No one answered her home phone on Saturday, and she did not immediately respond to a LinkedIn message.

In a blog post on Wednesday, New Yorker staff writer Ken Auletta quoted an anonymous "close associate" who said Abramson confronted the Times' "top brass" about her pay after discovering that both her pay and her pension benefits were less than that of Keller.

The New York Times reported in its initial story about Abramson's departure that as part of a settlement agreement between her and the newspaper, neither side would go into detail about her firing.

Sulzberger then said in a memo to the newspaper's staff Thursday that it is "simply not true that Jill's compensation was significantly less than her predecessor's".

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PM backs away from election threat

PM Tony Abbott appears to have backed away from his threat to hold a double dissolution election. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott appears to have backed away from his threat to hold a double dissolution election over the budget, saying the cross-benchers would understand its harsher measures.

The coalition government will struggle to get the harshest of its budget measures through the Senate, with Labor, the Greens and Palmer United Party all saying they will block changes such as the Medicare co-payment and pension cuts.

But Mr Abbott said he did not think there would be a need for a double dissolution election.

Last week his comments that some of the incoming Senate cross-benchers would be unlikely to keep their seats if there was a new election was interpreted as a threat of a double dissolution.

He expected the next election in the middle of 2016, he said on Sunday.

"I am confident that the minor parties and the independents in the Senate will understand that we could not go on living the way we were - we could not go on mortgaging the future," he told ABC television.

"If they don't like what we're putting up, what are they going to put up as an alternative."

Mr Abbott said his government would not be exposing itself to a "world of political pain" unless its tough budget was absolutely necessary, after a poll showed it was facing a massive backlash.

The latest Galaxy poll, published by News Corp, found 75 per cent think they will be worse off as a result of the budget, which hiked the fuel excise, cut welfare, health and education spending, and introduced a new GP co-payment and deficit tax on the wealthy.

Mr Abbott said everyone would play their part to rein in government spending, and bring the budget back to surplus.

"I think the load is fairly shared because that's the Australian way," Mr Abbott said.

"This is all happening because we were living beyond our means. We're not doing this because we are somehow political sadomasochists."

Mr Abbott defended the tough budget measures, most of which were not flagged before the election, saying "we could not just sit here and do nothing".

"Why would I be exposing myself, why would my colleague be exposing themselves to a world of political pain if we didn't think it was absolutely necessary for the long-term good of our country?" he asked.

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