Trial delays BBC Savile review

A review into Jimmy Savile's abuse will not be published until DJ Dave Lee Travis's trial concludes. Source: AAP

THE publication of the BBC's review into how Jimmy Savile carried out a campaign of abuse over decades has been delayed again so as not to prejudice Dave Lee Travis's trial.

It has been reported that the Dame Janet Smith review is expected to uncover hundreds of victims and reveal a culture of ignorance that "protected" Savile.

A parallel review, being carried out into Stuart Hall's behaviour while at the corporation, will form part of the final report.

It was announced in January that publication would be delayed until after Hall's trial and now it has been delayed again ahead of the former DJ's trial.

A statement on the review website said "in the interests of ensuring that the independence and fairness of the criminal process is maintained, Dame Janet has decided that her report should not be delivered until after the conclusion of the trial of Dave Lee Travis".

The statement said the BBC was aware of and agreed with the decision.

A "more precise estimated delivery date" would be published online at a later date.

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Budget will pass eventually: PM

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott says he won't surrender his budget in the face of pressure to compromise over its most unpopular measures.

Mr Abbott is confident the coalition's first budget will pass the Senate because the alternative would be a double dissolution election.

Senior government ministers have signalled compromising on key budget reforms such as higher education interest rates and the GP co-payment, amidst a fierce public backlash and a hostile Senate.

Continuing the budget sell on Saturday, Mr Abbott said his team "absolutely" understood the "iron necessity" of sticking with difficult and unpopular budget measures.

"We are not going to surrender our budget commitments," Mr Abbott told reporters in Adelaide.

But negotiations were inevitable.

"You have got to negotiate your legislation through the parliament," he said.

Mr Abbott was confident that the government would get the budget through the Senate in the end, because the alternative would be a double dissolution election.

"Because let's face it, there have been many governments over many years that have had to negotiate budgets through the Senate.

"The only time that wasn't successfully done ... that was a different bill in 1975."

Last week, Mr Abbott appeared to back away from a threat to hold a double dissolution election after earlier signalling incoming Senate cross-benchers would be unlikely to keep their seats if there was a new election.

Labor, the Greens and Palmer United Party have vowed to block changes such as the Medicare co-payment and pension cuts.

Education Minister Christopher Pyne, who has faced a slew of student protests this week over university deregulation measures, has signalled compromising on some reforms.

He said it was in recognition the government did not have a majority in the upper house.

"We will of course seek to consult and negotiate with the minor parties and the crossbenches to ensure these important reforms are delivered," Mr Pyne said in a statement to AAP.

The industry is also being consulted to "refine the details" of the changes, with two higher education stakeholder working groups providing feedback.

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Mutilation doctor could go back to jail

A WOMAN whose genitals were removed by a rogue doctor has broken down outside a Sydney courtroom after facing the man she says devastated her life.

Struck-off NSW gynaecologist Graeme Stephen Reeves served just 18 months behind bars for the gross mutilation of his patient Carolyn DeWaegeneire in August 2002.

The rogue practitioner, who worked in Bega on the NSW south coast, surgically removed her clitoris and labia without consent during an operation on a pre-cancerous lesion.

He was sentenced to a maximum three-and-a-half years jail in 2011 but was released on parole from Sydney's Long Bay prison in December, sparking outrage among Ms DeWaegeneire's supporters and patient advocates.

Crown prosecutors want the 64-year-old put back behind bars for another year after previous rulings that his original sentence was "manifestly inadequate".

Reeves and Ms DeWaegeneire, from Wolumla near Bega, sat within metres of each other during an appeal hearing at the NSW Court of Appeal on Friday.

It was adjourned until June 2 when Chief Justice Thomas Bathurst and justices Peter Hall and Robert Hulme are expected to hand down a decision.

"My life has been totally, totally devastated - totally," a tearful Ms DeWaegeneire said outside court after the hearing.

"I should be enjoying life as an older person - I'm not."

She described Reeves's original sentence as "the biggest joke of all time".

"I've got my medical records. I know damn well what I had before I went in (to hospital). I know damn well what he did."

During his trial, Reeves's lawyers argued the former doctor was saving Ms DeWaegeneire's life and rejected the crown's argument that he did not have consent to remove her genitals.

It's understood hundreds of other women have also complained about the former doctor.

The Department of Public Prosecutions revealed in November that a significant number of outstanding charges against Reeves, dating more than 20 years, had been dropped.

The allegations against Reeves were not pursued because of "insufficient evidence to ensure a reasonable prospect of conviction", NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith said.

Reeves' lawyer, Gabrielle Bashir, on Friday said her client was in poor health and suffering kidney disease and chronic depression, among other conditions, and argued he should not go back to jail.

Prosecutors tendered a doctors' report that stated his health conditions could be adequately treated in prison.

Reeves made no comment as he left the court.

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Qld government MP quits parliament

MAVERICK Queensland government MP Chris Davis has resigned from parliament, saying recent laws go against his and his electorate's values.

The rogue MP was dumped as assistant health minister last week for breaching cabinet solidarity when he spoke out against changes to the state's corruption watchdog and doctor contracts.

At the time, Dr Davis said he had stood on some powerful toes and was demoted partly because he raised concerns with Premier Campbell Newman about looming changes to political donations.

His dissatisfaction came to a head on Thursday night, when he told parliament he couldn't support his government's policy to remove caps on political donations and raise disclosure thresholds.

He left the chamber before the laws were put to a vote.

While he says his sacking was a catalyst to his immediate departure, the accumulation of controversial legislation had weighed heavily on his conscience.

"The passage of recent government legislation affecting critical aspects of our democracy goes contrary to my value system and that of the majority of my electorate," he said on a statement on his website.

"I would never have stood for parliament on such a platform, nor do I believe I would have been elected."

A by-election will be held in the north Brisbane seat.

It's the second for the Newman government after disgraced MP Scott Driscoll quit after being found guilty of contempt for dodgy business dealings.

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Some avoiding GP because of payment: AMA

PATIENTS are already putting off visiting the doctor because of the coalition government's GP co-payment, even though the measure won't come into effect until next year.

The Australian Medical Association says one clinic in Mt Druitt in Sydney has reported a fall in visits since the budget, and had to send out SMS messages to patients to inform them they were still bulk billing.

There was also evidence of a drop in patients at one clinic in Tasmania, the doctors' group said.

AMA President Steve Hambleton said the reports, while isolated, represented a widespread concern with the $7 co-payment.

"It's disturbing that people have got mixed messages," he told reporters in Canberra.

"It is very important for patients to realise this does not start until 2015."

The AMA and other health groups have repeatedly warned a co-payment would deter people from visiting the doctor, and could result in hospital emergency departments being overwhelmed by those trying to avoid the charge.

But Dr Hambleton said there had not been an increase in emergency department presentations since last Tuesday's budget.

Asked about the AMA's concerns, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he was confident the co-payment was consistent with a "strong and dynamic, affordable and accessible Medicare system".

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New way of policing in WA to reduce crime

A SIX-MONTH policing trial aimed at reducing the demand on officers and dropping the crime rate has been such a success that the model will be rolled out across Perth by the end of the year.

The new police operating model was trialled in the South East Metropolitan District from November to May, with the region moving from sixth to second best performing district compared with the previous year.

Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan said the model relied on "neighbourhood policing" so police teams were only responsible for a couple of suburbs each.

"They develop relationships with the local community (and) people can ring them direct on their mobile phones," he told Fairfax radio on Thursday.

"They know the kids who play up, families who play up (and) where people congregate in parks."

Mr O'Callaghan said 10 per cent of the population was creating 90 per cent of the problem for police.

"People are being driven mad by these people who are out of control in the neighbourhood," he said.

The commissioner said local governments and the wider community had embraced the trial, giving him confidence to widen the model across Perth.

The new model will see four larger districts each made up of 550 officers divided into response, local policing teams and investigations, all co-ordinated through a 24/7 district control centre.

The next phase will begin in September when the South Metropolitan and Peel districts combine to form the new South Metropolitan District.

By the end of the year, Central and East will form another district, along with North West and West.

Some suburbs may transfer to balance demand across these new, larger districts, Mr O'Callaghan said.

The model will not apply in regional WA.

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Qantas puts freeze on domestic growth

Qantas will add no new capacity on its domestic routes for three months after a capacity battle. Source: AAP

A WAR between Qantas and Virgin Australia over capacity in the domestic market may be over, with Qantas to halt its growth in the coming months.

The two airlines have been rapidly increasing their number of domestic flights, and the size of planes used on those routes, since the 2012/13 financial year, at a sizeable financial cost.

Qantas now plans to pull back, and will add no new capacity in the first three months of the 2014/15 financial year.

That will mean smaller planes and fewer flights in non-peak travel periods than the airline had been planning.

The airline said recent measures of consumer confidence had shown a steady fall, and that had been reflected in demand for flights.

Macquarie analyst Sam Dobson said the announcement could spell the end for the capacity war - pending Virgin's response.

"With the new Virgin Australia directors from partners Air New Zealand, Singapore Airways and Etihad due onto the Virgin Australia board next month, we doubt whether Virgin Australia will respond aggressively to Qantas' olive branch," he said in a note to clients.

Qantas said it could return to its capacity growth strategy if demand picks up.

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