Safety plea to parents after boy's death

Police have described as a tragedy the death of a four-year-old boy fatally struck by a 4WD in NSW. Source: AAP

THE death of a young boy run over on NSW's Central Coast has prompted a safety plea from police.

The four-year-old died at MacMasters Beach on the Central Coast after a 4WD struck him on Monday night.

Police believe that the boy, who was on holiday at the beach with his family, had run out into the road when he was hit.

"He has come from behind a parked car and just appeared out on the road," Gosford Police Inspector Paul Taylor told AAP.

"And unfortunately there is now one less child in the world."

The driver, a woman in her 60s, stopped to help the boy but he died at the scene.

The driver, who was not known to the boy and his family, was taken to Gosford Hospital suffering shock and to undergo usual blood and urine tests.

Insp Taylor said it did not appear that the woman would be charged.

Police have pleaded with the community to look out for children.

"I think the message would be, whether you are on the road or otherwise, look out for children," Chief Inspector George Bradbury told reporters on Tuesday.

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Vic taxi operator goes under

Victorian taxi operator Royal Taxis has gone into administration, officials say. Source: AAP

LOW taxi fares and rising gas prices have been blamed for a third Victorian taxi operator going under in two years.

Royal Taxis, based in Melbourne's south east, has gone into administration in a move industry experts say affects about 75 taxis or up to 200 drivers.

Victorian Taxi Association CEO David Samuel blames rising LPG prices and unsustainably low taxi fares, which have not changed for about five years.

"The price the customer is expected to pay a taxi hasn't changed since 2008 which effectively means the industry is expected in 2014 to work at 2008 prices," he said.

"Clearly that's ridiculous and unsustainable."

Royal Taxis in Springvale is the second large Victorian taxi operator to go under in the past 12 months and the third in two years.

Mr Samuel says the industry has repeatedly warned the Victorian government about the effect low fares and high input costs are having on profit margins of taxi businesses.

Fares are 10 per cent lower than CPI and about a third behind comparable Australian states, he says.

Victoria's Essential Services Commission (ESC) is reviewing taxi fares and will announce a decision in June.

But Mr Samuel has called on Transport Minister Terry Mulder to act before then and increase fares in line with inflation.

Mr Mulder told reporters he has asked ESC to bring forward its decision on fares, hopefully to March.

The minister says he does not know the reasons for the latest closure, but customer service is not expected to be affected.

He added cab drivers who have lost their jobs would have no problem finding work because there is a driver shortage.

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Carpark gunshot self inflicted: police

POLICE say a gunshot wound sustained by a man at a Melbourne shopping centre carpark was self inflicted.

A 45-year-old man, from Dandenong, was found with a gunshot wound to the leg at the Keysborough shopping centre last Thursday.

He was taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.

A short time later, another man turned up in hospital with facial injuries.

Police said last week the matter was not bikie related, but they were trying to figure out what happened.

Police now say they now believe the gunshot wound was self inflicted.

The other man was trying to prevent the Dandenong man from injuring himself, police say.

Detectives are not treating the matter as suspicious.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 100 659 467.

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Shorten condemns Bernardi's abortion views

Senator Cory Bernardi says discussion about abortion being a woman's right needs to be reopened. Source: AAP

OPPOSITION Leader Bill Shorten says Cory Bernardi's comments on abortion and non-traditional families are backwards and offensive.

The controversial Liberal senator from South Australia has reignited the abortion debate with comments in his latest book, The Conservative Revolution.

He says it is unacceptable that the abortion "death industry dispatches 80,000 to 100,000 unborn children" in Australia every year, and describes people who advocate a woman's right to choose as being "pro-death".

He also accuses some women of using abortion as "an abhorrent form of birth control", although he stops short of saying it should be banned.

Mr Shorten condemned the comments.

"His attitude on abortion represents a massive step backwards when it comes to women's reproductive health rights," the Labor leader said in a statement.

Senator Bernardi also uses his book to argue that the traditional family model should be restored to prime position over others, like same-sex, single-parent and step-families.

Mr Shorten says these views are offensive too.

"As a father in a blended family, I reject Senator Bernardi saying that step-families are somehow inferior," he said.

"These are not the views of a party that understands or respects modern Australian families."

Mr Shorten said Prime Minister Tony Abbott must explain to the public why it's acceptable that a member of his parliamentary team holds such views.

A spokesperson for Mr Abbott issued only a brief statement: "Senator Bernardi is a backbencher and his views do not represent the position of the government".

Mr Abbott dumped Senator Bernardi from a senior coalition role in September 2012 for comments he made linking gay marriage to bestiality.

The Australian Greens says many people believe Mr Abbott and Senator Bernardi are "cut from the same ideological cloth".

"If Tony Abbott fails to clearly distance himself from Senator Bernardi then it will be impossible to escape the conclusion that he is quietly pleased that his dirty work is being done," acting leader Richard Di Natale said.

Mr Shorten says Senator Bernardi has also "belled the cat" on the Abbott government's workplace relations agenda by calling for the resurrection of some aspects of the Howard government's much-maligned WorkChoices regime.

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Summernats champ's burnout secrets

BIG revs, blown tyres and a lead-up beer or two.

As Summernats 27 draws to a close in the nation's capital, last year's burnout champion, Mark Schwirse, shares his top secrets behind the perfect burnout.

First, he insists heading to a private property away from the public to avoid your car being temporarily confiscated by police.

"Young guys can give the industry a bad name, but with our cars and the reputation that we've got, we keep it in the right environment," the 36-year-old from South Australia said.

"I like to go back to friends' houses, we'll have a few cans and do a burnout. It's good fun, it's in your blood."

Once your location is settled, the fun begins.

To nail that perfect burnout, you'll want some hard revs, followed by a big throw in.

"People are a bit scared to stand on it," Mr Schwirse said. "But the guys that aren't stand on them hard, throw them in and blow tyres."

Schwirse and his car BLOWN won the 2013 Summernats burnout championship.

This year he competed in the masters championship alongside the 20 best burnout drivers in the country.

And thus it's overcoming the nerves that can lead up to that one furious minute of burning rubber - and often engines - that's essential to pulling off the textbook burnout.

"Leading up to the burnout, there's the crowd and the butterflies in your stomach," he said.

"But when you've got over 1000 horsepower at your feet, you just stand on it, the thing just glides under your feet and off you go."

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RAF jets fly with 3D printed parts

UK fighter jets have flown for the first time with parts made using 3D printing technology. Source: AAP

UK fighter jets have flown for the first time with parts made using 3D printing technology.

BAE Systems said the metal components were successfully used on board Tornado aircraft which flew from the defence firm's airfield at Warton, Lancashire late last month.

The company said its engineers are using 3D technology to design and produce parts which could cut the Royal Air Force's maintenance and service bill by over STG1.2 million ($A2.23 million) over the next four years.

BAE Systems is working at RAF Marham, Norfolk to engineer ready-made parts for four squadrons of Tornado GR4 aircraft, including protective covers for cockpit radios and guards for power take-off shafts. Some of the parts cost less than 100.

Mike Murray, head of airframe integration at BAE Systems, said: "You are suddenly not fixed in terms of where you have to manufacture these things. You can manufacture the products at whatever base you want, providing you can get a machine there, which means you can also start to support other platforms such as ships and aircraft carriers.

"And if it's feasible to get machines out on the front line, it also gives improved capability where we wouldn't traditionally have any manufacturing support."

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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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