US man denies charges in Silk Road case

A US man has denied charges he operated a website where users could anonymously shop for drugs. Source: AAP

A US man denies charges that he operated an encrypted website where users could anonymously shop for drugs, his lawyer says.

"We deny all charges. That's the end of the discussion," said federal public defender Brandon LeBlanc, who is representing defendant Ross Ulbricht.

The denial came after Ulbricht, looking calm, appeared in federal court in red prison clothes and shackles for a bail hearing.

LeBlanc asked US Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero to postpone the hearing, saying the case was complex.

Spero granted the request and rescheduled the hearing for October 9.

Ulbricht has been charged in New York with narcotics trafficking, computer hacking and money laundering in connection with the website known as Silk Road, which is believed to have collected more than $US1 billion in revenue.

He is also charged in Maryland with arranging to pay someone to kill a witness.

FBI agents arrested the 29-year-old San Francisco resident - allegedly known online as Dread Pirate Roberts - on Tuesday in the science fiction section of a small branch of the San Francisco public library, where he was chatting online.

The arrest came after a federal investigation that began in 2011.

Agents said they determined Ulbricht was "altoid," someone who was posting information about Silk Road on other drug-related websites under federal surveillance.

Since then, Ulbricht's online behaviour has been tracked, and agents gathered evidence that allegedly connected him to Silk Road.

If convicted, Ulbricht could be sentenced to life in prison.

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Gun licence revoked from NSW Nomads bikie

AN alleged Nomads Outlaw Motorcycle Gang chapter vice-president has had his firearm licence revoked and more than 240 ammunition rounds seized.

The NSW Police Force's Firearm Registry revoked a 42-year-old man's firearm licence on Friday after Strike Force Raptor confirmed the man held the senior bikie gang position.

Police allege investigators seized two semi-automatic pistols, a revolver, a rifle and 247 rounds of ammunition from the man's Cumberland Road home at Greystanes, near Parramatta.

The man was also served with a Notice of Revocation regarding his gun licence.

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NSW bushwalking church group rescued

ELEVEN children and three adults are reported to be in good spirits after becoming separated from their church bushwalking group and getting lost overnight in bushland in southern NSW.

Police were called to Bungonia State Conservation Area near Goulburn about 7pm on Thursday after reports 14 people, including 11 children and teens aged between 11 and 17, were lost near Adam Point Lookout in sub-zero temperatures.

An initial search of the area located 12 of the bushwalkers who were led to safety and later given the all-clear by medics.

A 50-year-old man and 15-year-old student were found in more dangerous terrain that could not be accessed from a helicopter.

They were walked to safety by police about 2am (AEST).

Acting Inspector Laurie Godkin from Goulburn Local Command said the two walkers dealt well with the sub-zero temperatures.

"I didn't speak to them but everyone seemed to be in fairly good spirits," he told AAP.

"They knew help was there (and) on the way."

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High level boat talks underway in Jakarta

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says there is no change to the border protection policy. Source: AAP

HIGH level talks are underway in Jakarta between Australian officials and their Indonesian counterparts on strategies to combat asylum seeker boats and people smuggling.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said the first team of Australian officials arrived in Jakarta on Friday for bilateral talks.

Indonesia agreed to the meetings during Prime Minister Tony Abbott's visit to Jakarta earlier this week.

Operation Sovereign Borders acting commander Air Marshal Mark Binskin, Australian Federal Police commissioner Tony Negus and retired major general Jim Molan will join another delegation to Jakarta next week.

But Mr Morrison said the federal government would not be briefing the media on the matters discussed.

"Our dialogue, like our operations, will be undertaken with Indonesia with total discretion to ensure the success of that dialogue," he told reporters in Sydney on Friday.

"They will not ... be undertaken through the media."

Mr Morrison will be travelling to Nauru for the first time as minister next week, following five visits whilst in opposition over the past three years.

He plans to deliver a blunt message to asylum seekers that "they will not be coming to Australia".

Mr Morrison met with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) this week about increasing the number of people who voluntarily return home from the facilities on Manus Island and Nauru.

Mr Morrison said the "full arsenal" of the coalition's border security policies remains on the table.

"There is no change to the government's policy on border protection," he said.

"Our resolve...(is) indeed stronger than ever before."

Air Marshal Binskin also gave an update on the latest asylum seeker boat arrivals after the usual Monday briefing was moved forward because of the public holiday on October 7.

He said one asylum seeker boat had arrived this week, on September 30.

It was carrying 79 asylum seekers.

The asylum seekers will later be transported to centres on Nauru or Papua New Guinea's Manus Island.

Air Marshal Binskin said 334 asylum seekers had been transferred to the offshore processing centres since Operation Sovereign Borders commenced on September 18.

In total, 953 people are being detained in Manus and 801 on Nauru.

An additional 43 are in transit.

There are 2263 people at the Christmas Island facility.

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Solid rains help Australia's irrigators

SOLID rainfall has helped the value of Australia's irrigated agricultural production soar to levels not seen in more than a decade.

NSW irrigators took particular advantage of the extra water allocations, using an additional 781,000 megalitres than in the previous year.

Cotton, vegetables and fruit - the commodities with the highest value in 2011/12 - accounted for more than half of the total Australian $13.5 billion in irrigated production in that year.

The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show consecutive years of good rainfall saw more water available for agriculture.

Pasture, cereals, cotton, sugar cane and rice were the big winners, with the latter three also recording strong increases in gross value over the previous year.

Cotton increased by 35 per cent to $2.2 billion. But vegetables and fruit decreased to $2.6 billion and $2.4 billion respectively due to reduced area irrigated for these crops, the ABS

The total volume of water applied for irrigation was 8.2 million megalitres, nearly 25 per cent higher than in the previous year.

The eastern states saw the biggest increases in the area watered. More than half of all the irrigation water was used to grow cotton, pasture for grazing and rice.

Nearly half of all Australia's irrigated crops came from the Murray Darling region, which boosted its output by nearly 15 per cent to $6.7 billion.

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NSW man dies after being hit by truck

A MAN has died in an apparent hit-and-run by a truck driver in southwest Sydney.

The man was found lying on the road near the intersection of Frost Road and Johnson Road in Campbelltown on Thursday morning.

Emergency services were unable to save him and he died at the scene.

Witnesses say the man, believed to be in his fifties, was hit by a truck, which then drove off.

Police want to speak to the driver of the truck, which is described as a green, large flat-bed vehicle with a black front.

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Federal industry minister tours SA Holden

FEDERAL Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane says it will be "one hell of a challenge" to save car maker Holden but he wants the company building vehicles in Australia for the next 100 years.

The minister toured Holden's Elizabeth plant in Adelaide on Wednesday and urged all those involved not to play politics with the issue.

He says he doesn't know at this stage where the money to assist the company will come from and has warned parent company General Motors that it could take some time to find a solution.

"This is one hell of a challenge. One hell of a solution is required," Mr Macfarlane told reporters.

"There will be one shot at this."

Immediately after Wednesday's plant tour Mr Macfarlane entered discussions with Holden boss Mike Devereux and South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill.

Mr Devereux declined to reveal how much extra assistance the company now required after initially securing an agreement last year for $275 million to be provided.

Holden is now thought to need close to $500 million before committing to develop and build two new car models from 2016.

"The discussions that we're going to have begin today and those discussions are likely to be ongoing," Mr Devereux said.

Mr Macfarlane said the federal government intended to press on with a review of car industry assistance by the Productivity Commission and urged Holden's parent company General Motors to be patient.

He said the government also intended to stand by its election policy to cut $500 million from total auto industry assistance.

"It won't break the car industry. I'm confident I can get around that," he said.

"I'm not concerned about the next six months, I'm not concerned about the next three years.

"My goal is to see Australian cars built here for 100 years."

But the minister said the industry had to become internationally competitive and survive without ongoing government assistance.

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