Market share war will continue, says Joyce

QANTAS chief executive Alan Joyce says he will maintain his strategy of holding 65 per cent of Australia's domestic air travel market despite criticism the capacity war is damaging the airline.

Mr Joyce blamed rival Virgin Australia for the glut of cheap seats in Australia, saying that in absolute seat terms Virgin had added more and that it was wrong to simplify his strategy as adding two aircraft for every one added by his competitor.

"The reality that we've had is that our competitor has added, in the last two and a half years, 18 percent capacity growth and Qantas has added half that," Mr Joyce said at an Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce lunch in Sydney.

"And they are losing money. Proportionally they are losing more money than Qantas is."

Analysts have pointed to the damaging capacity war, which has forced airfares down, as a reason for Qantas's financial woes.

Mr Joyce said he would not change his strategy because premium business customers wanted the regularity of flights now on offer and could switch airlines if any aspect of Qantas's offering was beaten.

"We have to make sure that we are competitive in every single space," he said.

"If we pulled back 10 per cent do you think our competitor, seeing that, wouldn't add 10 percent in?" Mr Joyce, who was questioned by journalist Ross Greenwood during the lunchtime interview, also said he had the full support of the Qantas board and that he enjoyed a good relationship with the federal government.

He insisted he was not surprised by the federal government's decision to refuse a debt guarantee for Qantas.

Mr Joyce also said Qantas staff understood the tough decisions he had to make to make Qantas viable, including plans to sack 5,000 workers.

"I've been getting lots of emails from staff saying they understand this is not easy, it's tough, they understand that 5,000 jobs is a lot and it's hard to do," he said.

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WA cops help rangers with unruly smokers

POLICE will help council rangers enforce Perth's smoking ban if smokers become belligerent when handed a fine.

But police won't be directly involved in enforcing the City of Perth by-law.

A police spokesman says their job is to target crime and anti-social behaviour.

"There is no intention for police officers to be on patrol looking for people smoking in banned areas, or for us to issue infringements," he said.

"However, we will be assisting the City of Perth where appropriate."

The City of Perth became the first council in WA to ban smoking in major pedestrian areas when its malls went smoke-free in December.

Changes to the local law mean it is an offence to smoke in Perth's Hay St Mall, Murray St Mall and Forrest Place.

An awareness campaign was launched so that offenders in the first six months would be cautioned, but fines will start to be issued from June 1.

Police said the council rangers would be responsible for enforcing the ban, but police would assist if offenders became antagonistic while being issued a fine.

"Should City of Perth rangers require assistance when dealing with offenders, our officers will respond to provide assistance where appropriate, as we would to assist local government officers execute other responsibilities they have," the spokesman said.

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Mining still driving company profits up

COMPANY profits have risen for the fourth consecutive quarter, with mining and resources still playing a big part in driving economic growth, but other sectors are still dragging their feet.

Company gross operating profits rose 1.7 per cent in the December quarter, official figures show, mostly in line with market forecasts of a two per cent rise.

JP Morgan economist Tom Kennedy said the result means that Wednesday's December quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figures will be quite solid.

"When you look at the profits data it is still quite reliant on the resource sector," he said.

"The rebalancing of growth to the other sectors is still playing out very slowly and we're not quite there yet."

Mr Kennedy said even as mining and resources investment peaks and then falls, exports from those new project that have been built are becoming the big driver for economic growth.

"You've got other sectors out which aren't turning a profit and losing money," he said.

In the year to December, gross operating profits in current prices and seasonally adjusted terms were up 10.7 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said on Monday.

St George senior economist Jo Horton said Australia is starting to reap the rewards of a decade surge in spending on the mining and resources sector.

"The mining investment boom has laid the foundations for increased production capacity and we are seeing the results in higher production volumes and increased mining profits," she said.

"Mining profits accounted for 34.3 per cent of total company profits in the December quarter and 32.2 per cent of profits over the year to the December quarter."

Ms Horton said other sectors, in particular manufacturing, continue to weaken.

"The largest detractor from the growth in company profits was the manufacturing sector, where profits fell 14.6 per cent in the December quarter," she said.

"This reflects anecdotal evidence and other data which suggests manufacturers margins are being squeezed by rising costs, despite the weaker Aussie dollar over 2013."

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Bill to scrap climate authority fails

THE first of the Abbott government bills to scrap the carbon tax has been defeated in the Senate.

Legislation to dismantle the Climate Change Authority was knocked back in the upper house on Monday by Labor and the Australian Greens.

It is the first bill in a package designed to unwind the Gillard government's clean energy laws, and has been the subject of protracted debate in the Senate.

The bill was amended by Labor senator Louise Pratt, who wanted to include the Senate's concerns about what impact scrapping the authority could have on independent climate science.

But a government effort to pass the amended bill at its second reading stage was defeated 38 votes to 32.

It will be three months before the bill can be reintroduced to the Senate, and a second rejection would be a trigger for a double dissolution.

The move will frustrate the government, which has slammed Labor and the Greens for their "industrial go slow" in the Senate over the repeal bills.

The Greens are already claiming victory, while environment groups are praising senators for keeping the authority temporarily alive.

The Australian Conservation Foundation said the authority would now be able to continue its work until the new Senate takes over in July.

"The Climate Change Authority is such an important body because it takes the politics out of setting climate policies," spokeswoman Victoria McKenzie-McHarg said in a statement.

Greens leader Christine Milne said this meant Australia could continue to receive high quality independent advice on global warming and a rigorous review of the renewable energy target.

"I am delighted that today the Senate has defeated Tony Abbott's push to try and tear apart a science-based recommendation and go with his anti-science obsession," she told reporters.

Senator Milne said the government could bring this legislation back before the Senate in three months.

"It will depend on the makeup of the Senate," she said.

If West Australians at the upcoming Senate election reduce the number of coalition senators, the Senate would then have the numbers to reject government efforts to remove Labor's climate change legislation, she said.

Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the Senate was snubbing voters with the Climate Change Authority a clear coalition commitment in the election campaign.

"The Senate has snubbed the Australian people by voting against the abolition of the Climate Change Authority," he said in a statement.

"The government has a very clear mandate. The Australian people voted but Labor and the Greens think the election never happened."

Mr Hunt told the lower house Labor was blocking a tax on basic state services with hospitals, schools and police all impacted by the carbon tax.

"If the leader of the opposition wants action not talk, go to your senators, get them off strike and get out of the way."

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Cyclist killed on Victorian highway

A man has died after being hit while cycling along the Murray Valley Highway in Victoria. Source: AAP

A 47-YEAR-OLD man has been struck and killed while cycling home from a party in the Victorian border town of Yarrawonga in the state's north.

He was riding along the Murray Valley Highway near the middle of the road when he was struck from behind by a vehicle travelling in the same direction about 11.45pm on Saturday, police say.

His death takes the state's road toll for 2014 to 47, compared to 38 at the same time last year.

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Police release image over Vic kidnap bid

AN image has been released of a man police want to speak to about an attempted abduction of a boy from a Melbourne playground.

The six-year-old boy was in the playground on Dempster Way in Narre Warren when he was approached by an unknown man about 5pm on Saturday.

The man grabbed the boy by the arm and dragged him almost 80 metres towards Melzak Way, police said.

He let go of the child when a woman challenged him and then left the area with a young girl, believed to be known to him, police say.

The man is described as being of Indian sub-continental appearance and about 177cm tall, well presented and clean cut.

He was wearing a black shirt, black shorts with a red strip down the sides and a white emblem, and glasses.

The girl who was with the man is described as being aged about four or five, with black hair in a ponytail, wearing a pink top with a butterfly on the front and a skirt.

The boy wasn't injured and police are treating it as an isolated incident.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 00.

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Push to recognise gender change

THE Greens and a Sydney MP are behind a push to ensure married people who undergo a sex change can have their birth certificate altered.

Greens MLC Mehreen Farugi and Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich say current laws do not allow a married person to alter the record of their sex.

It is claimed the law forces a transgender married person to choose between divorce - to allow their gender re-assignment to be recognised - or having an inaccurate birth certificate.

"These offensive provisions have remained in our law for far too long, and for no good reason," Dr Faruqi said in a statement.

Mr Greenwich said the "constitutionally valid" bill was about keeping couples together under law.

The move comes as Sydney celebrates the annual Mardi Gras festival.

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