Man, girl found at north Qld campground

A man and a girl are missing after leaving a Townsville home to look for a campsite, police say. Source: AAP

A MAN and a young girl who were missing for 24 hours near Townsville have been found.

Police say the man, 32, and the six-year-old girl left a home in Lansing St, Mount Louisa, to scout for a camping site about 1.30pm (AEST) on Friday.

The pair did not take their camping gear with them and had been expected to return, but they hadn't come back by 9pm and relatives raised the alarm.

After an extensive search involving a police helicopter, the pair were found safe and well at a camping-ground car park about 1pm on Saturday.

Police said the pair had decided to sleep the night in their ute after darkness made it difficult to find their way back.

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NSW's 12km traffic queue spoils holidays

HOLIDAY makers in NSW are facing traffic jams up to 12 kilometres long, with queues growing throughout Saturday.

Southbound traffic at Macksville was backed up 12kms at 2pm, adding 60 minutes travel time.

In Woodburn, near Lismore, Northbound traffic is backed up 10km and causing delays of 75 minutes, the Transport Management Centre (TMC) said in a statement.

Traffic is also banked up 4.5km at Hexham, near Newcastle, and 5km at Ewingdale.

On the South Coast southbound traffic queues of 8km and 7km are causing hour-long delays at Gerringong and Bateman's Bay.

"Motorists are advised to plan their trip, allow plenty of additional travel time, expect delays and take regular breaks," the TMC said in a statement on Saturday.

In the Hunter and on the North Coast, traffic has eased northbound on the M1 Pacific Motorway (F3) approaching John Renshaw Drive.

Traffic has also eased at Urunga and Frederickton.

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Kids to benefit from big federal programs

KIDS with bad teeth are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries of two federal government programs focused on children starting in the new year.

A new schools funding system begins in 2014 and will pump hundreds of millions into schools and their more than three million students around the country.

The federal government has pledged an extra $2.8 billion in total over the next four years, although the individual state allocations are still being finalised.

From January 1, a $4.1 billion dental benefits scheme aims to improve the oral health of children aged two to 18 years and adults on low incomes. The scheme is to run for six years.

Parents will be able to access Medicare payments capped at $1000 over two years for a wider range of specific services, from basic dental check-ups and cleaning through to emergency care.

Previously, eligible persons could get money back from the government to help pay for only a single dental check-up each year.

The new package will cover 3.4 million children and one million adults.

Elsewhere, federal parliamentarians will face a crackdown on expenses rorting when a new system comes into force after a number were this year forced to pay back travel expenses.

From January 1, MPs and senators required to repay claims found to be ineligible will be hit with a "significant financial penalty" worth 25 per cent of their claim.

Repeat offenders and their offices will receive mandatory training on expenses rules.

In the workplace, victims of office bullying will be able to take their cases to the Fair Work Commission, which can hold mediations and has new powers to make orders to prevent bullying.

But it won't have the power to order compensation.

Some 2000 of Tasmania's unemployed are set to benefit from the federal coalition government's Apple Isle jobs program, after it was brought forward by six months to Wednesday.

Businesses in Tasmania, which suffers from high unemployement and little economic growth, will be in line for one-off payments of $3250 if they hire a job seeker for at least six months' full-time work.

There's also potential for lower grocery prices from January 1, after retailing giants Coles and Woolworths agreed to stop funding fuel discounts through their supermarket divisions.

Future fuel discounts will be covered by their fuel retailing businesses, after an agreement was reached this year with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

There would have been more federal changes from January 1, but these have been held up in the Senate where the legislation is still being examined.

These include plans to halt tax benefits for families whose teenage children have finished school, tighten pension eligibility criteria for Australians living overseas and replace student tertiary "start-up" scholarships with loans.

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WA govt's shark kill plan proceeds

THE West Australian government has revealed the beaches where up to 72 baited hooks will be used to catch and kill sharks this summer under its controversial new "mitigation" policy.

The Liberal state government has come under fire for recently stepping up the measures after a spate of fatal attacks in WA waters, with plans to set baited hooks one kilometre offshore from January.

This has prompted outrage from conservation groups, with some even threatening to remove bait from the drum line hooks to prevent shark deaths.

On Friday, Premier Colin Barnett revealed the metropolitan Perth beaches where the devices will be set: Ocean Reef/Mullaloo, Trigg/Scarborough, Floreat/City Beach, Cottesloe/North Cottesloe and Port Leighton.

The areas will be patrolled until April.

In the South West region, drum lines will be set at Old Dunsborough, Meelup/Castle Rock and Gracetown - where the most recent fatality occurred - up until the end of school holidays in February.

Thereafter, surfing hotspots south of Cape Naturaliste will be the focus.

Mr Barnett said there had been a significant number of shark sightings at the locations, which were frequented by a large number of water users.

Despite substantial opposition to the plan, he reiterated that the new measures were necessary after a surge in shark activity in the state's waters in recent years.

"We have had 20 fatal shark attacks in WA in the past 100 years - seven of them in the past three years," he said.

On Tuesday, the WA government called for professional shark fishermen to apply to patrol the state's waters and kill any shark bigger than three metres spotted in the designated zones.

After the death of surfer Chris Boyd in Gracetown last month, Mr Barnett said the WA government "had to intervene more directly".

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Cops to speak to men injured in NSW crash

A single-vehicle crash on the M1 motorway on the NSW Central Coast has claimed the lives of two men. Source: AAP

POLICE are waiting to speak to three men injured in a horror crash on the NSW Central Coast that claimed the lives of two friends.

Police said the crash happened just before 5am (AEDT) on Thursday when a south-bound vehicle hit the embankment north of Jolls Bridge.

One man, 31, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene. A second man, 22, was trapped in the wreckage and died before he could be released.

Three other men, aged 29, 22 and 27, were treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics then taken to hospital in a stable condition with non life-threatening injures.

Police said they hoped to speak to the injured men, all of whom were from the Sydney suburb of Auburn.

Traffic in the area was disrupted for five hours after the crash.

The national road toll period runs from midnight December 23, 2013 until midnight January 3, 2014, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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Vic journo appeals to Thai governor

AN Australian journalist, increasingly anxious over law suits brought against his Thai-based website by the Royal Thai Navy, has lodged an appeal with a provincial governor to try to persuade the navy to drop the charges.

Alan Morison, formerly of Melbourne and editor of online news website Phuketwan, based in southern Thai resort island of Phuket, and journalist, Chutima Sidasathiam, face up to seven years jail if convicted on charges of criminal defamation and breaches of the Computer Crimes Act.

The charges followed publication in July of a news story by the Reuters news agency of an investigation into allegations of Royal Thai Navy personal involvement in the trafficking of Myanmar (Burma) Rohingya refugees whose vessels sail into Thai waters on their way to Malaysia.

Morison says the Royal Thai Navy immediately pressed charges against Phuketwan in July but only recently made them aware of the charges. Earlier this week the two were summoned for questioning by Thai Police for three hours then allowed home.

On Wednesday Morison lodged a letter of appeal with the Phuket Governor Maitree Intrusud as the governor was preparing to meet with senior Thai Navy and Army personnel to discuss security.

"It's impossible for us to know with absolute certainty what might happen." Morison told AAP.

"This whole action was brought to defend the reputation of the navy and in fact, if anything, the action itself has been extremely damaging for the navy and will continue to be damaging for the navy as long as (the action) exists," he said.

Burma's Rohingya, especially from Western Arakine State, are largely stateless, with hundreds fleeing each year by boat to try to reach the Muslim states of Malaysia and Indonesia.

But many craft fall short of their destination and are sighted in Thai waters north of Malaysia.

Thailand's official policy has been to assist boats by providing water and food, but there have ben allegations about human rights abuses and links between naval personnel and human trafficking gangs.

Morison says it appears to be the first time the Thai military has used the Computer Crimes Act against a media outlet.

"In principle we think these two laws are onerous. The principle of criminal defamation in itself is quite wrong and the use of the Computer Crimes Act is very contentious in every possible way, and for the military to sue the media anywhere in a democracy is an extreme measure," he said.

Morison, who launched the website five years ago, says he has been planning to sell or close the website as it is largely funded from personal savings from working as a journalist in Australia.

But the navy's action has changed the outlook.

"Now that the navy has acted against us we have no intention of shutting it down unless we're forced to."

Morison says freedom of the media in this case is "so obviously at risk that we'd be prepared to go to jail if necessary to prove this point."

Morison and Chutima were told by Thai police this week to appear in court in early January.

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Man charged after NSW church-goer stabbed

A man has been charged after a woman was allegedly stabbed while walking to church in Sydney. Source: AAP

A MAN has been charged after a woman was allegedly stabbed while walking to church in Elizabeth Bay.

The 44-year-old woman was walking along Roslyn Street on her way to midnight mass on Tuesday night when she was approached by a man who allegedly stabbed her in the abdomen.

The woman was treated by NSW ambulance paramedics before being taken to St Vincent's Hospital, where she is reported to be in stable condition.

Witnesses alerted police and followed the man to a block of units in Ward Avenue at Potts Point where he was arrested.

A 38-year-old Potts Point man was taken to Kings Cross Police Station where he charged with one count of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

He was refused bail and will appear in Parramatta Bail Court on Wednesday via video link.

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