Phones, drugs hurled over NSW jail fences

War-zone technology is being installed at NSW jails to combat drugs being thrown over prison fences. Source: AAP

WAR-ZONE technology is being installed at NSW jails to combat the long-running problem of mobile phones and illicit drugs being hurled over supposedly secure prison fences.

Thermal-imaging and motion-detection cameras - commonly used by the military in war zones such as Iraq - are being installed at five jails across the state to stop contraband from reaching convicted criminals.

Some relatives and friends of inmates use increasingly inventive ways to deliver drugs, such as stuffing them inside tennis balls or potatoes, senior Corrective Services sources told AAP.

At a Melbourne jail recently, a helicopter drone was used in an attempt to fly drugs in.

Mobile phones, drugs and shoes have been lobbed over the fence into the minimum security area of the John Morony Correctional Complex near Windsor, northwest of Sydney.

Inmates' pals have used dense bushland surrounding the jail to dodge detection when fielding the contraband, some of which is then sold inside the jail.

"Anybody that wants to move around through this particular area will now be caught using the sort of technology that has come from areas like Iraq," NSW Justice Minister Brad Hazzard told reporters at John Morony prison on Tuesday.

"Thermal technology can pick up movements, as has happened in war zones, but we're using it to make sure prisoners stay inside, and those we don't want in stay out."

Double perimeter fencing, new razor wire and more CCTV cameras are also being installed at parts of John Morony prison, upgrading previously minimum security areas to medium security.

The thermal imaging and motion detection cameras can tell the difference between a would-be drug thrower and a kangaroo, experts say.

Under a $20 million, state-wide, three-year government program, similar measures are being taken at Sydney's Silverwater and Parklea prisons, at the South Coast Correctional Centre at Nowra and the Mid North Coast Correctional Centre at Kempsey.

Some of the jails will in future be used to house higher risk remand prisoners.

NSW Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin said the state's prison system was being brough into the 21st century.

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Govt spending down 0.8% in Mar qtr

A fall in government spending of 0.8% in the March quarter will be a drag on economic growth. Source: AAP

GOVERNMENT spending fell in the March quarter, but the drag on economic growth will be more than offset by positive trends in foreign trade.

Total government spending, including consumption and investment, fell 0.8 per cent in the quarter, after adjusting for price changes and seasonal fluctuations, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Tuesday.

Public sector spending makes up about a quarter of gross domestic product.

So, this fall will cut about one fifth of a percentage point from GDP growth in the March quarter, to be reported in the national accounts on Wednesday.

But other ABS data released on Tuesday showed exports grew strongly in real terms, by 4.8 per cent, while imports fell by 1.4 per cent.

With production of exports adding to economic activity and less spending going to foreign-produced imports, these figures show foreign trade added 1.4 percentage points to GDP growth in the quarter.

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Medicare fee hits human rights: advocate

Indigenous health advocates say a proposed Medicare co-payment is breaching human rights. Source: AAP

A PROMINENT indigenous health advocate says the Abbott government is breaching human rights with its proposed Medicare co-payment.

Julie Tongs hosted a visit by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to the Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal health service in Canberra on Monday.

Ms Tongs, an Order of Australia recipient, told the Labor leader the government's proposed $7 co-payment for GP visits would have a major impact on the centre.

"Health is a human right," she said.

"And by doing what they are doing they are taking away that human right."

The clinic has about 4000 clients, many of whom are on age pensions or welfare payments.

She said a large proportion have multiple chronic diseases, which required several visits a week.

"Some people find it hard to afford milk and bread let alone a GP payment and multiple prescriptions," Ms Tongs said.

Paul Ryan, from the Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia, told Mr Shorten the co-payment would put pressure on hospitals which were also in the firing line of the federal budget.

Mr Shorten said Labor would not allow the government to get its co-payment legislation through parliament.

"Many indigenous Australians have unacceptably high rates of mortality and illness," he said.

"We have to make sure that for our first Australians we close the gap not widen the gap."

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Scipione welcomes abuse report

The NSW police commissioner has welcomed the Special Commission of Inquiry report into child abuse. Source: AAP

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione says the senior officers caught up in allegations of cover-up of child sexual abuse in the Catholic diocese of Maitland-Newcastle can now hold their heads up high.

A four-volume Special Commission of Inquiry report, released on Friday, uncovered no evidence to show senior police officers tried to block the child abuse investigations.

The inquiry found Detective Inspector Peter Fox - who alleged there had been a cover up - was not a credible witness and also said it was appropriate for police to instruct him to stop his own investigations.

The inquiry looked at how the church handled complaints about former priests Denis McAlinden and Jim Fletcher, both now dead.

Three volumes have been released, while the fourth is confidential.

Mr Scipione on Monday acknowledged the efforts of Commissioner Margaret Cunneen and her team in conducting the inquiry.

"The commission found there was 'no credible evidence' of any wrongdoing by those officers undertaking their investigations or their commanders. The commission probed forensically into the role police played," he said in a statement.

"She also observed it was a complex investigation and there's no question it presented challenges for those who undertook that work.

"Those officers can hold their heads up high. We are proud of them. Their motivation was to seek justice for victims - they had no other motivation.

"They can now get back on with their lives and do what they do best - protecting the community," he said.

Meanwhile, the Australian Greens and survivor advocates have challenged the findings.

Abuse survivor's advocate Carol Clarke said their were flaws in the way Mr Fox's evidence was treated and the royal commission needed to examine that. Fellow advocate and rally participant Nicky Davis echoed the call for the royal commission to get to the bottom of what went on in the diocese.

"We believe Mr Fox's reputation will be restored when the full truth is known," she said at a rally on Saturday outside NSW Parliament House.

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Mickelson says he's co-operating with FBI

US golfer Phil Mickelson confirms that FBI agents investigating insider trading approached him. Source: AAP

US golfer Phil Mickelson has confirmed that FBI agents investigating insider trading approached him at a tournament this week.

The winner of five major championships says he has done "absolutely nothing wrong".

A federal official briefed on the investigation has said the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission are analysing trades Mickelson and Las Vegas gambler Billy Walters made involving Clorox at the same time activist investor Carl Icahn was attempting to take over the company.

The official was unauthorised to speak about the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Reports of the investigation appeared in several newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal.

Smiling as he stood before a room packed with reporters and cameras, Mickelson said the investigation had not been a distraction until FBI agents approached him after Thursday's opening round of the Memorial Tournament.

He did not offer any other details, including his relationship with Walters or any stock advice he might have received.

He said it would not affect his preparations for the US Open in two weeks, the only major he lacks for the career Grand Slam.

"It's not going to change the way I carry myself," Mickelson said after an even-par 72 at Muirfield Village left him far behind the leaders.

"Honestly, I've done nothing wrong. I'm not going to walk around any other way."

The federal official told the AP that Mickelson and Walters placed their trades at about the same time in 2011.

Federal investigators are looking into whether Icahn shared information of his takeover attempt of Clorox with Walters, and whether Walters passed that information to Mickelson.

The New York offices of the US Attorney and the FBI declined to comment.

The newspaper reports said federal officials also were examining trades by Mickelson and Walters involving Dean Foods Co in 2012.

After a brief interview, Mickelson stepped outside and signed autographs for about 20 minutes, like it was any other day at a tournament.

Fans were supportive as ever on the golf course, and Mickelson gave away so many golf balls to children that his caddie had to ask a tour official to retrieve more balls from his locker when they reached the turn.

He released a statement early on Saturday.

"I can't really go into much right now, but as I said in my statement, I have done absolutely nothing wrong," Mickelson said.

"And that's why I've been fully co-operating with the FBI agents, and I'm happy to do in the future, too, until this gets resolved."

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People want vision, not complainers: PM

Tony Abbott says he is the man with the plan and the Australian public will back him. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIANS want a man with a plan, not a bunch of complainers.

And that's why Tony Abbott remains confident the $7 Medicare co-payment and other budget measures will get through parliament, insisting opponents have only criticism, not alternatives.

"Whether it's (opposition leader) Bill Shorten, whether it's the Greens, whether it's others - it's one long chorus of complaint," the prime minister said on Sunday.

"The man with the plan has an extraordinary advantage over the person who has just got the complaint."

The prime minister said he did not expect people to like the Medicare co-payment but he expected them to support it.

Just as the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS) co-payment did not affect Australia's health system, nor will the Medicare contribution, he told Network Ten.

He questioned why the Labor Party was taking the moral high-ground on the co-payment when its former leader Bob Hawke sought to do just that in the 1990s.

Mr Hawke proposed a $2.50 Medicare co-payment in 1991 but it was abandoned by Paul Keating when he became prime minister.

The PBS co-payment was introduced by Labor in the late 80s.

Mr Abbott said it was bizarre for Labor to be "waxing morally indignant" about one co-payment when it introduced another type, the PBS co-payment.

He said the PBS co-payment had not damaged the universality of the health system and neither would the Medicare one.

But Opposition frontbencher Jason Clare said Mr Hawke was wrong to try to introduce the co-payment, and Labor made it known to him back then.

"So if we're prepared to stand up to Bob Hawke on it, you can bet that we're prepared to stand up to Tony Abbott on this as well," he told Sky News.

Mr Abbott, who admits refinement of some measures may be necessary, continues to make "courtesy calls" to various minor party and independent senators to stress the importance of delivering the budget and scrapping the carbon and mining taxes.

He defused questions about whether he had a difficult relationship with Clive Palmer, whose party with key independents would hold the balance of power in the Senate from July 1.

It was "perfectly normal" for senior members of the coalition, like frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull, to hold talks with Mr Palmer in his place.

"Over time I'm confident that (Mr Palmer) will have a constructive relationship with the government," Mr Abbott said.

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Indigenous war veterans honoured in Vic

Indigenous war veterans have been honoured at a ceremony at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance. Source: AAP

INDIGENOUS war veterans have been honoured at a ceremony at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance.

The ninth annual Victorian Indigenous Remembrance Service was held as part of National Reconciliation Week.

Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tim Bull was among dignitaries who laid a wreath for the service in honour of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander veterans who have served Australia in conflict going back as far as the Boer War, which ended in 1902.

"It is fitting that the Indigenous Remembrance Service is held during National Reconciliation Week because by acknowledging the contribution of Aboriginal people we build a stronger community by breaking down stereotypes and discrimination," Mr Bull said.

"Aboriginal men and women proudly served this country long before they were fully recognised as citizens after the 1967 referendum.

"As a community it is important to recognise those who were lost to war and give thanks for their selfless service in defence of the freedom we enjoy today. The sacrifice made by their family and friends whose lives were diminished by their loss is also remembered."

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