Elton to become dad again: report

AS Sir Elton John kicks off his Australian tour in Perth on Saturday night a report back in England says he is to become a dad again.

The Sun newspaper says Sir Elton, 65, and partner David Furnish, 50, will become fathers again next year.

The couple already have a 23-month-old son, Zachary, born on December 25, 2010, via a surrogate.

The tabloid newspaper says the couple plan to use the same surrogate who gave birth to Zachary.

Sir Elton's agent refused to comment, the report says.

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Qld crews battle huge Mackay shops fire

RESIDENTS living near a burning shopping centre in north Queensland could be forced to evacuate if firefighters can't bring the massive blaze under control.

Emergency services received reports of a fire in a shopping centre on Greenfield Blvd, Mackay, at 11.45am (AEST) on Saturday.

Police invoked the public safety act, which allows them to force people in the surrounding areas to evacuate, about 1.30pm.

The Department of Community Safety (DCS) says no one is injured and the shopping centre has been evacuated.

Twelve crews are battling the blaze in the Toys R Us, Clark Rubber and Autobarn stores.

A nearby shop worker, who did not want to be named, says witnesses saw police arresting four teenagers in the car park.

Police couldn't confirm whether any arrests had been made.

Mackay Deputy Mayor Kevin Casey said he was at a rescue demonstration with firefighters when they got the call.

"I was over at Cyclone Saturday with these guys from Fire and Rescue when they said 'oh, we gotta go, we've got a fire to go to'," he said.

Mr Casey said he could see the smoke from his house.

"There's some pretty thick black smoke outside my window here now," he said.

"It's pretty dark smoke, like rubber or oil or something like that is burning."

"It's a fairly large complex over there. It must be a big fire."

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Charges for trucks under review

CHARGES for heavy vehicles will be reviewed next year with a view to overhauling the system in 2014.

Australia's transport ministers endorsed options for heavy vehicle charging, funding and governance reform at their standing council meeting on Friday.

The options will be further developed and put out for consultation before the Council of Australian Government (COAG) considers them in late 2013.

The ministerial council noted that although reform in heavy vehicle charging presented some challenges, it was a major microeconomic reform opportunity that could deliver substantial economic benefits.

The council also supported a two-stage review of how heavy vehicle charges are calculated, which should lead to new charges being implements from July 1, 2014.

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Former mayor not guilty of sex assaults

THE paraplegic former mayor of Griffith has been found not guilty of five charges of sexually and indecently assaulting two women.

However, the jury in the trial of Michael Gerard Neville, 54, was unable to reach a verdict on three more charges in the District Court in Sydney on Friday.

Neville pleaded not guilty to eight counts of sexually and indecently assaulting the two women between 2003 and 2010.

The women alleged Neville, who was working as probationary parole officer at the time, sexually assaulted them while preparing their pre-sentence reports.

One of the women alleged Neville told her to "use her assets to stay out of jail", the trial heard.

However, the court heard there were issues with the credibility of the women's evidence.

Both women, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were poly-drug users, with one convicted of driving charges and the other having been sentenced to periodic detention after throwing a pair of scissors at her former partner.

The jury on Thursday returned not guilty verdicts on two counts of aggravated sexual assault and three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

They were unable to reach a verdict on Friday on the remaining three charges of sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault and indecent assault.

Judge Laura Wells adjourned the matter until December 7 to allow the Director of Public Prosecutions to make a decision on the remaining charges.

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More Sri Lankans forced to return home

ANOTHER 30 Sri Lankan asylum seekers who arrived in Australia by boat have been sent home.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen says the men were "involuntarily" returned to Colombo on a charter flight on Thursday.

It brings to 186 the number of Sri Lankan asylum seekers the government has sent home since it embraced its tough new immigration policies in mid-August.

Mr Bowen said the men raised no issues that engaged Australia's international obligations.

"Without a valid visa they had no legal right to remain in Australia and were removed at the earliest opportunity," Mr Bowen said in a statement on Thursday.

The government would continue to regularly transfer asylum seekers to Nauru and would shortly start sending people to Manus Island too, the minister said.

"And where appropriate, the government will certainly continue to return people where they do not engage Australia's international obligations," he said.

Mr Bowen's announcement came as a boat carrying 35 people was intercepted near the Cocos Islands.

Coalition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says it is the 500th boat to arrive since Labor was elected in 2007.

"Today is a dark day for Australia," Mr Morrison said in a statement.

"This milestone has come with great cost, chaos and tragedy. The only winners are the people smugglers."

More than 750 asylum seekers have arrived on 15 boats in just the past eight days.

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No Wivenhoe Dam release

WATER will not be released yet from Brisbane's Wivenhoe Dam to help protect the city from potential wet season flooding.

Water Supply Minister Mark McArdle says although the dam is 96.5 per cent full, its dedicated flood mitigation compartment, which can hold 1.42 million megalitres of water, is empty.

The dam's operation was the focus of the final sitting of the Queensland Flood Commission of Inquiry, when the former government's water utilities minister was grilled on why water wasn't released before the devastating 2010-11 floods hit.

Mr McArdle said the latest advice from the weather bureau is that this summer's wet season will not see the strong La Nina conditions that led to the 2010-11 flood disasters.

The decision not to lower the levels at Wivenhoe and North Pine Dam, north of Brisbane, was also based on water supply security, dam operations, public safety, downstream impacts, the public interest and the extent to which a potential flood impact could be mitigated.

Mr McArdle said he would continually review the decision.

Ipswich councillor Paul Tully said the dam should be lowered to 75 per cent and Mr McArdle should stop listening to highly paid, out-of-touch bureaucrats who didn't know what it's like to live through a flood.

"This is a shortsighted decision which adds more risks to residents in flood-prone areas of Ipswich and Brisbane," he said in a statement.

Mr Tully lost his family home at Goodna, along with 600 other families in the area, in the 2011 flood.

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Pilot survives light plane crash in Qld

A PILOT has survived a light plane crash southwest of Brisbane.

Emergency services got a call at 1.50pm (AEST) on Tuesday saying a Cessna 172 crashed about 12.5km north of the town of Beaudesert.

The plane wreckage was found on a property next to Brookland Road, Allenview.

The Department of Community Safety said the pilot survived the crash, but had a cut to his head and an injured leg.

He was the only person onboard.

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Mother a clue to woman's fertility

A WOMAN'S potential fertility can be predicted from the age her mother went through the menopause, a study has found.

Ovarian reserve - the number of eggs a woman has left in her ovaries - was found to decline faster in women whose mothers had an early menopause.

The findings suggest a woman's fertility is, to some extent, inherited from her mother.

Earlier statistical studies had already indicated the trend but the new research confirmed it by looking at two physical markers of ovarian reserve.

Scientists measured anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels and antral follicle count (AFC) in daughters and compared both with mothers' age at menopause.

Both markers reduced at a faster rate in daughters of mothers who had the menopause early.

Study leader Dr Janne Bentzen, from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, said, "This is the first study to suggest that the age-related decline of AMH and AFC may differ between those whose mothers entered menopause before the age of 45 years and those whose mothers entered menopause after the age of 55 years.

"Our findings support the idea that the ovarian reserve is influenced by hereditary factors. However, long-term follow-up studies are required. Conclusive evidence can only be obtained when we have longitudinal studies that follow women who have AMH measurements over time until menopause. Therefore, interpretations of our data are limited and the findings we have described may not occur in any given individual."

The results are reported in the latest online edition of the journal, Human Reproduction.

A total of 527 women aged 20 to 40 working in health care at Copenhagen University Hospital took part in the research.

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Solar scheme pushing up Qld power prices

QUEENSLANDERS will be paying an extra $240 on their annual power bills within three years to cover the costs of the state's Solar Bonus Scheme.

Modelling by the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) shows that by 2015/16 almost 12 per cent of an average bill will go towards funding the scheme, to cope with its increasing popularity.

The scheme, introduced by the Bligh Labor government, pays solar powered households for the surplus electricity generated, which is exported to the Queensland electricity grid.

In July, the Liberal National Party government reduced the revenue new household customers could earn from their surplus, from 44 cents per kilowatt hour to eight cents per kilowatt hour.

Energy Minister Mark McArdle said that's brought down the projected cost of the scheme from $1.8 billion to $1.5 billion in 2028, when it's due to expire.

"This cost is passed through to all households in the form of higher network charges which just adds to the burden of this scheme," Mr McArdle said in a statement on Tuesday.

As of July, more than 198,000 households have solar panels, with Energex alone paying $13 million in September for the solar feed in tariff.

An Energex spokesman said that paying for the scheme cost $19 million in 2010/11, and rose to $74 million in 2011/12.

The company has applied to the Australian Energy Regulator to recover costs.

Despite the price hikes, Mr McArdle said the government has no intention of scrapping the Solar Bonus Scheme or the 44 cents feed-in tariff.

The QCA is developing a "fair and reasonable" feed-in tariff by early next year.

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Rescued abalone hunter to be deported

A MALAYSIAN man who was rescued in treacherous conditions on an abalone hunt north of Perth has been detained for overstaying his visa.

He was one of three abalone fishermen rescued after being swept into heavy seas by a strong rip in Yanchep Lagoon, 55km north of Perth, on Sunday.

A 20-year-old Malaysian man who had been with the trio is still missing.

One of the three rescued, a 29-year-old Malaysian man, was taken to an immigration detention centre after being checked at Joondalup Health Campus, an immigration department spokesman said on Tuesday.

He had overstayed his visa and would be returned home.

A police spokeswoman said the search for the missing 20-year-old had been scaled back to a shore patrol.

Hopes were fading that the man had survived because he was believed to be a poor swimmer.

The group was searching for the expensive delicacy on the first day of the heavily restricted recreational fishing season.

The accident triggered calls for metropolitan abalone fishing spots to be closed in dangerous weather.

Department of Fisheries principal management officer Martin Holtz said the agency would consult with public safety authorities and the peak recreational fishing organisation, Recfishwest, to advise the state government on action that may be taken.

"We understand powers already exist which enable local government bodies and members of Surf Life Saving WA to close beaches for safety reasons," Mr Holtz said.

The department had issued a media release on Friday warning of a weather forecast for Sunday that could make it dangerous for abalone fishing.

"Rough sea conditions over the reefs can make them very dangerous to fish on," he said.

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Key grapples with twin gaffes

NZ Prime Minister John Key is under fire after labelling a radio host's outfit "gay". Source: AAP

PRIME Minister John Key doesn't think anyone should be offended by the way he used the word "gay" and he doesn't believe David Beckham is dumb.

Trying to extricate himself on Monday from his twin gaffes, Mr Key told reporters he was just giving Jamie Mackay a hard time when on Friday he described the radio host's outfit as "a gay red top".

Twitter users took it badly, calling Mr Key homophobic and embarrassing.

Asked at his post-cabinet press conference what he thought it meant, Mr Key replied: "Weird, I was just giving him a hard time, young people use it all the time, I don't think many people would be offended by it but if anyone is, I apologise.

"I's just a slang term, it's in the Oxford Dictionary, it doesn't mean anything offensive."

Mr Key said he definitely wasn't homophobic.

"I'm voting for gay marriage, I led the charge on it."

On the same day he made the remark, Mr Key made global headlines after reportedly telling students at St Hilda's Collegiate in Dunedin that Beckham was a nice guy but "thick as bats***".

The famous British footballer spent 45 minutes with Mr Key's son Max on a visit to New Zealand in 2008.

Asked on Monday whether he really thought Beckham was dumb, Mr Key said: "No, he's smart. He's made more money than me".

Mr Key, who is reported to be worth about $50 million, still isn't denying he made the "thick as bats***" remark.

"All I'm saying is I'm not going to engage in what some person has reported me as saying because it may or may not be correct," he said.

"Just leave it as it is."

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Police concern for taken child

POLICE are seeking urgent public assistance to find a four-week-old boy taken from a Sydney hospital by his father.

Police said 26-year-old Justin Groves walked from The Royal Hospital for Women at Randwick in Sydney's east at 11.40am (AEDT) on Monday with his infant son in his arms.

They said Mr Groves did not have a vehicle and may have left the area on foot or by public transport.

Police said they had concerns for the welfare of the baby boy due to his age and Mr Groves' lack of immediate access to baby supplies.

Mr Groves is described as being of Caucasian appearance, 170cm tall, of slim build and sporting a crew-cut hairstyle. He was wearing a white T-shirt with a blue print, and light blue jeans.

He has distinctive tattoos of skulls on his left arm and has "Ally" tattooed on his neck.

Police are asking the public to immediately report any sightings of Mr Groves and ring triple zero.

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Final countdown for royal outback visit

ONE of Queensland's last true stockmen is set to deliver a whip-cracking display when the outback town pulls out all stops to welcome royalty.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are scheduled to touch down in the central west Queensland town of Longreach at 4pm (AEST) on Monday.

The two-hour visit by Prince Charles and Camilla will include a tour of the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame where they're expected to not only view Australia's pastoral past but also witness a true stockman in action.

Longreach horse breaker and stockman John Arnold, who teaches his craft at the local agricultural college, will greet the royal couple with a dramatic entrance and whip-cracking display inside the museum.

Stockman's Hall of Fame CEO Ben McGuire told AAP Mr Arnold is very experienced and will bring to life part of the history the museum commemorates.

Mr McGuire said the town was abuzz with royal fever and everyone had been working around the clock to make sure it looks good.

"The exposure it will give to Longreach will be immeasurable," he said.

The BBC and other news organisations are expected to give the royal couple's Longreach visit extensive coverage.

The Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame was opened by the Queen 24 years ago and Prince Charles was named its patron, even though he was not there for the opening.

The prince and duchess will also visit the Qantas Founders Museum, where a new plane for the Royal Flying Doctor Service will be named.

It's believed 300 invited guests will enjoy an exclusive barbecue with the royal couple before they continue the rest of their Australian tour to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

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Virgin deals a tricky issue for ACCC

VIRGIN Australia's proposed takeover of Skywest and Tiger Airways Australia is a tricky issue for the regulators assessing the deal, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims says.

This week, Virgin announced plans to acquire 100 per cent of WA-based carrier Skywest, which operates charter, fly in, fly out and commercial services in the mining-dominated state.

In a separate deal, it also proposed to buy a 60 per cent stake in struggling low-cost carrier Tiger Airways Australia.

Both transactions, which would be funded through Virgin selling a 10 per cent stake to alliance partner Singapore Airlines for $105 million, required approval from the ACCC.

"This is a tricky one. There's no question about that," Mr Sims told ABC Television's Inside Business program on Sunday.

Mr Sims said the deal would, on the one hand, allow Virgin to "bulk up" with the addition of Skywest and Tiger and make it a better competitor with Qantas Airways.

However, on the flip side, the transactions would take out "really the only other competitors in the market and that's the negative".

"We have to weigh that up carefully, and we will, and there's no signals I can send about how we are going to come out," Mr Sims said.

Mr Sims said the ACCC was just at the start of what he described as a complex assessment process.

The ACCC chairman said the regulator likes "more players rather than less", but had to balance the fact that it could be argued Virgin's deals would "bring more impetus for competition".

"The question is what does this mean longer term in terms of having a competitive market where new players can come in and that, as I say, is always important, so we'll have to weigh all that up," Mr Sims said.

CBA Institutional Equities analysts Matt Crowe and Andre Fromyhr said they believed Tiger Australia's majority ownership by Virgin Australia would be positive for the aviation market.

"We continue to believe that Virgin Australia will be a formidable competitor in all markets that it services," the pair said in a research note dated October 31.

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