Vic premier encourages early Shaw apology

VICTORIAN Premier Denis Napthine is encouraging rogue MP Geoff Shaw to offer an early apology for misusing his entitlements.

THE balance-of-power MP has been ordered to apologise to the parliament by September 2 for misusing his parliamentary car and entitlements.

"I encourage him to apologise earlier than that," Dr Napthine told reporters on Tuesday."A general apology and then a specific apology in the parliament, I think, would be the appropriate thing."Last Friday, Mr Shaw apologised during a comedy show, just days after he was suspended from parliament and told to apologise and repay more than $6800.Dr Napthine says he has not spoken to the Frankston MP and has no plans to."He's done the wrong thing and he should show his remorse. He should apologise, he should accept the penalty, in terms of the financial payments, he should accept the penalty, in terms of his suspension from the parliament and he should genuinely be apologetic and remorseful for his wrongful behaviour."Dr Napthine said if Mr Shaw fails to apologise he will be showing his absolute contempt for the parliament, his constituents and all Victorians.The Liberal-turned-independent held the balance of power in the Legislative Assembly, so his suspension leaves the government and the opposition locked at 43 members each.

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Local vaccination objection rate doubles

THE number of Australian children formally registered each year as a vaccination objector has doubled in the past decade.

THERE were just over 2000 children whose parents registered them as vaccination objectors during 2002, ensuring they go without childhood immunisations, and in 2013 the figure was almost 4000.

There are "pockets" - such as coastal and hinterland NSW and Queensland - where around one in 10 children born in 2013 were registered as vaccine objectors.Nationally, the official vaccination objection rate increased from 1.1 per cent of all children to 2.0 per cent over the period."I wouldn't be alarmed by the increase overall for Australia," epidemiologist Brynley Hull, from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, told AAP on Tuesday."But I would be alarmed by the high rates in particular regions of Australia, where we have high objection rates and consequently you get low coverage and susceptible children."If someone comes into these areas with a disease then it can spread a lot easier - that would be my take home message, these hotbeds of objection."These areas include the Richmond Valley in NSW, where the official vaccination objection rate in 2013 was 10.8 per cent. Noosa (7.2), Nambour (8.4) and NSW's Sunshine Coast hinterland (8.5) also figure highly.The study also found suburbs in the top 10 per cent of affluent post codes had higher rates of vaccination objection compared to poorer suburbs.Most families who lodge an objection notice do so when their child is less than two years old.The study took in Medicare-compiled data from the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register, to assess the number of families who lodge a vaccination objection notice each year.Mr Hull presented the data at a national immunisation conference in Melbourne.

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Hong Kong tourist injured in Perth mugging

A 31-YEAR-OLD tourist is nursing a fractured eye socket after being mugged in the Perth CBD.

THE woman, who had just arrived from Hong Kong, was walking across from the Esplanade Bus Port on Sunday evening when she was approached by a man who engaged her in conversation.

He walked with her along Mounts Bay Road before seriously assaulting her and stealing her shopping bag.He ran off, leaving his victim with severe bruising and swelling to her eye, and fractures to her eye socket.The man is described as about 30 years old, 165cm to 170cm tall, with short blond hair, dark streaks and a rats tail at the back.He was wearing a t-shirt and a denim style jacket with no sleeves.Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or knows the identity of the man is asked to contact police.

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PNG top cop jailed, bailed and knighted

PAPUA New Guinea's police commissioner has been jailed, bailed and knighted in the space of a weekend.

AND in what could make for one of the most awkward knighting ceremonies in history, the judge who sentenced commissioner Tom Kulunga on Friday, Gibbs Salika, has also been knighted as part of the Queen's 2014 birthday honours list.

Mr Kulunga was sentenced on Friday to seven months hard labour after the national court found him guilty on three contempt charges for failing to follow through on an earlier court order to reinstate a sacked policeman.Port Moresby-based The Post Courier reports Mr Kulunga was released late on Friday night on $A4128 bail.On Saturday it was announced Mr Kulunga would become a Knight Bachelor for services to policing, while Justice Salika would become a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to the judiciary.Despite his legal problems, Mr Kulunga's knighthood will stand until after his case reaches appeal, said Tipo Vuatha, official secretary to PNG governor-general Sir Michael Ogio."According to the chairman [of the honours committee], we cannot do much," Mr Vuatha told AAP."His case is still pending because of the appeal, so therefore what has been given will stand until the case is heard again."A knighthood ceremony is expected in Port Moresby in October, Mr Vuatha said.A spokesman for Mr Kulunga has not responded to questions from AAP.In making his judgement on Friday, Justice Salika noted Mr Kulunga's 40 years of service to PNG policing, but said he had no choice but to reinstate the sacked officer pursuant to the original 2012 court order.

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Qld chief justice critics told to shut up

Queensland science minister has lashed out at critics of Tim Carmody's appointment to chief justice. Source: AAP

A QUEENSLAND government minister has lashed out at critics of Chief Magistrate Tim Carmody's appointment to chief justice, saying they should "shut up".

SCIENCE Minister Ian Walker, a former lawyer, says the "war of words" over Mr Carmody's promotion to chief justice of Queensland has got to stop.

"People have got to put a sock in it, they've got to shut up, and they've got to let Justice Carmody get on with the job," he told reporters in Brisbane on Sunday."He deserves a fair go at the job, the debate should stop and Justice Carmody should be allowed to get on with the job that he's been appointed to do."Mr Walker's comments follow calls for Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie to step down over the appointment, which has caused great unrest in legal circles.Bar Association of Queensland president Peter Davis quit on Friday saying private discussions with Mr Bleijie in which he didn't recommend Mr Carmody for the job were leaked to others, including Mr Carmody.Australian Bar Association president Mark Livesey said it was accepted practice that consultation before any appointment is kept confidential."The Attorney-General of Queensland must consider whether the breakdown in trust can be repaired," Mr Livesey told The Sunday Mail."If confidentiality in the judicial appointment process cannot be assured he must reconsider whether he can continue in his position."State Opposition leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said Mr Bleijie couldn't be trusted and wasn't fit to hold office.Mr Carmody's appointment has been criticised by senior Queensland legal figures who question his experience and say he's too close to the government.It's been revealed that days after Mr Carmody was appointed chief magistrate in September 2013, he and Mr Bleijie had a private dinner at an upmarket Brisbane restaurant.The attorney-general has described the meeting as a social catch-up.

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Firies cancer law not ruled out: Vic govt

Volunteer firefighters rally in Melbourne for access to compensation for cancer contracted at work. Source: AAP

THE Victorian government says it hasn't ruled out changing the way firefighters access cancer compensation as hundreds rallied in Melbourne to try to break down barriers to claims.

THE government says it simplified cancer claims for firefighters and encouraged both career and volunteer firefighters to lodge a claim if they believe they had contracted cancer as a result of their duties.

"The Victorian government is not ruling out presumptive legislation and will continue to consider new medical and scientific evidence as it becomes available," a government spokesperson said.Volunteer Fire Brigades president Bill Watson said firefighters wanted a law that lists the 12 typical "firefighter" cancers and presumes them to be work-related, providing the firefighter has enough years of service behind him or her and relevant risk exposure.Mr Watson said there is plenty of evidence firefighters are more likely to suffer certain cancers, but it can be difficult to prove which fire or chemical incident caused their illness."It's not like a broken bone where you know exactly when and where it happened," Mr Watson said."The burning car or house fire you attended today may cause a cancer that doesn't show up for decades, which makes it nearly impossible to prove it was work related."The federal government introduced presumptive legislation in 2011.Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia also have laws that recognise the link between firefighting and cancer.Mr Watson said any legislation would have to include eligibility guidelines."We're not after a free ride," he said."We just want to make sure they're looked after if they get sick."The Victorian government has been under pressure to make changes to the way compensation is accessed after a 2012 report found firefighters who trained at the CFA Fiskville site had been exposed to dangerous chemicals going as far back as the 1970s.Last year they introduced a review panel to assist both volunteer and career firefighters seeking compensation for cancer caused by their work.Opposition leader Daniel Andrews said Labor would introduce the legislation if elected in November."I have committed to the introduction of presumptive rights," Mr Andrews said.

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Teen batts victim's boss faces Qld court

THE employer of a teenager who died under the Rudd government's home insulation scheme has appeared in a Queensland court charged with perjury.

CHRISTOPHER Jackson, 51, is accused of lying to a coronial inquest that investigated the deaths of three insulation installers under the botched federal scheme.

The youngest victim was Rueben Barnes, 16, who was electrocuted while laying batts in the roof of a house at Stanwell, in central Queensland, on November 18, 2009.Jackson, his employer, is accused of falsely telling the Queensland inquest in March last year that he inspected Mr Barnes' work site on the morning of his death.Jackson appeared briefly in the Rockhampton Magistrates Court on Friday charged with giving false evidence.His case was adjourned until July 23.Fellow Queenslanders Matthew Fuller and Mitchell Sweeney, and Marcus Wilson from NSW, also lost their lives working under the Labor government's $2.8 billion stimulus program.A royal commission into the scheme is due to deliver its report by August 31.

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