NSW koalas under threat: Greens

Tougher conservation laws are needed to protect vulnerable NSW koala populations, the Greens say. Source: AAP

THE lives of some of NSW's cuddliest residents are hanging in the balance, the Australian Greens warn.

Greens senator Lee Rhiannon says koalas are under "enormous threat" in NSW and key populations across the state in Gunnedah, Port Stephens and elsewhere are at risk of disappearing.

"Their habitat is being compromised because of logging and over-development," she told AAP on Saturday.

"In so many areas, we're losing those environmental corridors that are absolutely essential if they're able to breed and to flourish."

Senator Rhiannon was one of several Greens campaigners who descended on Circular Quay on Saturday, calling for new national laws to protect native forests from logging.

The weekend rally launched a week of national campaigns against the March 2013 shift of commonwealth environmental approval powers to the states.

"If the government proceeds with its plans, which could eventuate at the COAG meeting this month - well, all that fine talk about environmental corridors will be nothing more than rhetoric and that's just not good enough," Senator Rhiannon said.

NSW Young Greens co-convenor Sam Dixon said the party's Too Precious to Lose campaign would ask people across the country to nominate Australia's most precious natural assets.

"In NSW, all of our national parks definitely belong on the list," Senator Rhiannon said.

"A lot of our estuaries along the coast, particularly for me, are very precious and they need to be protected."

She said many of the tourists who stopped to pose with a campaigner dressed in a furry koala costume might not have a good grasp of local conservation law, but they had no trouble identifying one of Australia's big drawcards.

The koala campaigner appeared unfazed by the 37C afternoon sun.

"This is my natural fur, I feel fine," he joked.

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Man charged over assault during robbery

A MAN has been accused of beating a 69-year-old man with a baseball bat during a robbery on the NSW mid-north coast.

Police say three men threatened and assaulted a 69-year-old shopowner in Taree around dawn last Saturday.

The trio allegedly beat the man with iron bars and a baseball bat before stealing cash and cigarettes, and fleeing in a stolen car.

The stolen vehicle was later found burnt out in nearby bushland.

Detectives investigating the incident arrested a 26-year-old man on Friday and charged him with armed robbery with wounding.

The Taree man appeared in Forster Bail Court on Saturday and will reappear via video link at Taree Local Court on Tuesday.

Police are still looking for two other men.

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Qld govt defends TAFE closures, transfers

At least 25 TAFE campuses will be closed in Queensland under reforms to the education sector. Source: AAP

THE consolidation of Queensland TAFE colleges will result in modern campuses full of students, not "crumbling relics", the state government says.

Education Minister John Paul Langbroek has accepted 37 out of 40 recommendations in a taskforce report, while the other three have received in-principle support.

A total of 13 campuses will be closed while another 12 will be transferred as part of the merger between the Central Queensland University and the Central Queensland Institute of TAFE.

"We want TAFEs that are modern and up-to-date and full of students," Mr Langbroek told AAP.

"We don't want ageing, crumbling relics that are withering on the vine."

The Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) says Mr Langbroek is blindly implementing the taskforce report without consideration of the impact its recommendations will have on the TAFE community.

"The closure of TAFE campuses will make attendance for many students far more difficult, if not impossible," said QCU president John Battams.

"If TAFE colleges close, many students will be faced with an increase in time and expense associated with attending college.

"If the increase in travel costs was not bad enough, the taskforce report also recommends increasing the fees charged to TAFE students."

Shadow treasurer Curtis Pitt accused the government of engaging in an assets sale of educational institutions.

"It is disgraceful," Mr Pitt said.

"By closing regional TAFE campuses, the LNP (Liberal National Party) is now making it even more difficult for people in regional areas to access the training and tertiary education needed to gain what employment is left in the regional towns where the LNP government has already cut jobs and services."

Mr Langbroek said the government was committed to supporting TAFE and not endangering federal National Skills Plan funding which would be lost if Queensland doesn't provide the training it's supposed to.

"We also have to make sure we support rural and regional areas who, if they don't have TAFE, the private market won't go in there."

Mr Langbroek said the government would provide more detail by the middle of next year.

"The commitment is to make sure ... the political decisions about viability are things we have to balance with the political need to maintain training in areas where the private market won't work," he said.

The minister said no changes would be made in 2013 and it was irresponsible for federal Labor candidates and the state opposition to run scaremongering campaigns.

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Cut GST threshold on online goods: report

THE independent GST review has called for changes to the way the consumption tax applies to goods and services bought online.

The report - by former premiers Nick Greiner and John Brumby and tax expert Bruce Carter - says the way the 10 per cent GST applies to online purchases disadvantages Australian businesses and costs the states "hundreds of millions of dollars" in lost revenue.

The panel report, released on Friday, said the current low-value import threshold should be at least halved from $1000 to $500.

This could be done almost immediately with no change needed to either GST law or customs arrangements.

In the long-term, governments should look at replacing the "at-the-border" collection of GST with a system that imposed a GST liability directly on overseas suppliers of goods and services to Australia.

The review panel found the existing system was open to flagrant abuse.

One example was the sale of expensive cameras which were bought in their component parts, at a price under $1000, and assembled by the buyer without incurring any GST.

The talks between the federal and state governments on a long-term solution should focus on amendments to GST law to make overseas suppliers to Australian residents liable for remittance of GST on all supplies of both goods and services that would otherwise be subject to GST if purchased from a domestic supplier.

"Such an approach would enable the GST exemption threshold for physical parcels to be reduced to a nominal level, no more than $20 or $50," the report said.

However, Robert Jeremenko, senior tax counsel at the Tax Institute, said the recommendation amounted to "tinkering".

"The GST threshold for overseas purchases should not be tinkered with in the absence of a whole-scale review of reform options in Australia's tax system," Mr Jeremenko said in a statement.

National Retail Association (NRA) chief executive Trevor Evans said the government could save more than 30,000 Australian retail jobs by scrapping the GST threshold on online purchases from overseas.

"The government's independent review of the GST has clearly found that the $1000 threshold on online purchases is undermining the competitiveness of local Australian retailers and must be changed immediately," Mr Evans said.

"The onus is now on the federal government to take action to save thousands of local jobs by putting Australia's retail industry on a more equal footing with our foreign online competitors."

He said the threshold in the UK was as low as STG15 ($A23.22).

A report by Ernst and Young, commissioned by the NRA this year, found the current GST regime for online goods could cost the Australian retail industry 33,400 local jobs by 2015 if the government does not act.

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US urges Palestinians to reconsider UN bid

The United States has pressed Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas not to seek elevated UN status. Source: AAP

THE United States and Britain have urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to call off a scheduled vote in the UN General Assembly to recognise a state of Palestine.

The State Department in Washington said two top US diplomats met with Abbas in New York on Wednesday in a bid to halt Palestinian efforts to achieve statehood recognition through the United Nations.

The 193-nation assembly is to meet on Thursday (0700 AEDT Friday) to discuss and vote on a draft resolution to recognise a Palestinian state and grant it UN membership.

There was no indication at UN headquarters in New York that the special assembly meeting would be postponed.

Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns and the US Mideast peace envoy, David Hale, met with Abbas on Wednesday to stress the US government's concern about the initiative, spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

"We've been clear. We've been consistent with the Palestinians that we oppose the observer state status in the General Assembly and this resolution," Nuland said, noting that the move would not achieve the Palestinian goal of an independent state alongside Israel.

Nuland said Washington made its point to other countries, even as US allies such as France have said they would support the Palestinian bid: "Obviously, every country will make their own decision."

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians were "the only way to get a lasting solution" in the Middle East.

"The path to a two-state solution that fulfils the aspirations of the Palestinian people is through Jerusalem and Ramallah not New York," she said in Washington.

"No matter what happens at the United Nations, it will not produce the outcome that this government, this president and certainly I strongly support," she said.

In Berlin, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Germany would vote against the draft resolution.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague in London said Abbas had refused his request not to proceed with the UN vote.

Hague said Britain was most likely to abstain in the UN vote.

"President Abbas has decided to press ahead, a decision we must respect," Hague said. "No one should be in any doubt that he is a courageous man of peace."

Both the US and Israel said the draft resolution to recognise a state of Palestine would have adverse consequences on the peace process.

If a simple majority of assembly members vote to support a Palestinian state, it would allow it to join the world organisation as a so-called non-member observer state.

The draft calls for the reaffirmation of the "right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to independence in their State of Palestine on the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967."

It also calls for the UN Security Council to give the future state of Palestine "full membership" in the UN.

The Palestinian Authority in September 2011 submitted the application for UN membership but failed to obtain the nine votes necessary to pass it in the 15-nation council. The US had threatened to veto the application.

The draft calls for the "resumption and acceleration of negotiations within the Middle East peace process" based on UN resolutions.

The US and other Western powers had warned that UN recognition of a Palestinian state would void previous agreements that support negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians to establish a Palestinian state living in peace next to Israel.

But Palestinian officials predicted passage of the draft, which had been revised to win as many votes as possible.

The draft says a total of 132 countries have expressed recognition of a state of Palestine. But many of these countries support the road map that calls for negotiations to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Australia lags in Asian tourism: Kennett

AUSTRALIA is an "embarrassment" in the Asian region, a tourism conference has heard.

Speaking at the annual Australian Tourism and Export Council (ATEC) meeting, chief economist from White Crane Group, Clifford Bennett, said Australia was being left behind in the region.

"We are an embarrassment and we are a great underperformer," he said.

"We have this enormous opportunity as being part of Asia, instead of thinking of Asia as being something distant from ourselves.

"While we have been thinking and worrying about things - they (China) have been moving forward."

Mr Bennett encouraged the industry to look to Australia's neighbours and market the country's natural beauty and assets.

"If you have ever been to Beijing you wouldn't be surprised to know that you seriously want to get out of there, if nothing else just to breathe the fresh air," he said.

"So I assure you the search for fresh air and sunshine in Australia will be quite strong."

Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett said much of Australia's underperformance was because of a lack in long term plans and vision.

"We consider ourselves to be a lucky country but we are fundamentally terribly complacent," he told the conference.

"We are not prepared to make the tough decisions, we don't work to a plan and we just hope that day on day someone is going to put food in our mouths and clothes on our back."

While the former Liberal premier said he hoped the situation would improve with a change of government in Canberra, he predicted the nation was in for an "awakening".

"I think we are in for a hard spot," he said.

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$1.4 billion unspent on vital Vic services

THERE was $1.4 billion in available funding left unspent on Victorian services including hospitals, schools and public transport at the end of the last financial year.

But, apart from the Department of Health, no department could demonstrate it had an appropriate strategy to use the money.

The total amount of money receivable by departments was $3.7 billion as of June 30, 2011, including $2.3 billion in accrued employee entitlements and payables.

Auditor-General Des Pearson said of the remaining $1.4 billion available for spending on infrastructure and services, almost half was held by the Department of Health, which planned to use the funds for capital works over coming years subject to approval in future state budgets.

"However, none of the 10 remaining portfolio departments had plans to use the remainder of their SAU (state administration unit) funds," he said in a report tabled to parliament on Wednesday.

Managers told the auditor-general the main reason the money was not spent was because it needed the treasurer's approval.

"Oversight arrangements should not hinder portfolio departments from planning and delivering additional public services or infrastructure for legitimate purposes," Mr Pearson said.

Comment was being sought from Treasurer Kim Wells.

Opposition treasury spokesman Tim Holding said Premier Ted Baillieu and Mr Wells had perpetuated a myth that deep spending cuts were necessary to balance the budget.

"The auditor-general has busted that myth and found that not only is $1.4 billion sitting idle, but also that there are no plans for 10 government departments to use this money to deliver services and infrastructure to Victorians," he said.

The auditor-general also recommended an overhaul of the guidelines for ex gratia payments to public servants.

He noted that during 2011/12 a large payout was made to an individual leaving the public service.

"Disclosure of details and circumstances of ex gratia payments made to individuals, to both Parliament and the public, is limited and also results in inconsistent disclosures across the public sector, as entities are able to exercise significant discretion over what they choose to disclose," Mr Pearson said.

The auditor-general recommended the Department of Treasury and Finance change its reporting rules to mandate the nature, purpose and amount of ex gratia payments made by public sector bodies.

Earlier this year it was reported former director of public prosecutions Jeremy Rapke, QC, was paid out about $8 million and former Victoria Police chief commissioner Simon Overland $2 million.

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Palmer threatens legal action for new bill

MINING magnate Clive Palmer has continued his tirade against the Queensland government, threatening legal action against a bill passed through parliament.

Mr Palmer says the Economic Development Act will drive investment out of the state and increase sovereign risk.

The billionaire, who sensationally resigned from the Liberal National Party (LNP) last week, says he was prepared to launch a legal challenge in the Supreme Court and High Court to test its validity.

"It means that the Government will have the power to take away State Significance status from projects leaving no right of appeal, making our sovereign risk worse than any country in the world," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

"I think Queenslanders need to be very concerned about this legislation and the fact that it is being rushed through so quickly before anybody has a chance to understand it fully.

"The Bill is supposed to be about promoting economic development, but because it has not been done properly it only undermines investment and creates uncertainty."

It's the latest in a string of criticisms levelled by Mr Palmer at the LNP's parliamentary wing.

Mr Palmer was suspended from the party for his outbursts and later resigned after being reinstated.

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SKorea sacks Jill Kelley over Petraeus

South Korea says it's dismissing Jill Kelley because of her involvement in David Petraeus' scandal. Source: AAP

SOUTH Korea says it is dismissing Jill Kelley, the US woman at the heart of the scandal that brought down CIA chief David Petraeus, from her post as an "honorary consul".

"We're following the necessary procedures for relieving her from the post as it's not suitable for her to carry out her duties because of the scandal," a foreign ministry official told AFP.

Kelley, a 37-year-old Tampa woman who organised events for US military officers, was appointed as an honorary consul in August following a recommendation from the South Korean embassy in the United States.

Kelley's complaint that she had received threatening emails triggered the FBI inquiry which uncovered Petraeus' affair with his biographer, 40-year-old military reservist Paula Broadwell.

Investigators traced the mails to an anonymous account run by Broadwell, and found sexually-explicit messages from the married Petraeus.

Kelley's title carried no official responsibilities, but she was not shy about putting her influence in the spotlight. Vanity licence plates on her Mercedes read "honorary consul".

In a call to Florida police after the scandal broke, she complained that reporters were trespassing on her property and infringing her diplomatic "inviolability".

Honorary diplomats have no diplomatic immunity or special protection.

During a visit to Washington on Monday, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kyou-Hyun suggested Kelley had abused the trust placed in her.

"It's not suitable to the status of honorary consul that (she) sought to be involved in commercial projects and peddle influence," Kim was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying.

South Korea has 15 honorary consuls in the United States.

Their mission is to help promote South Korea-US relations and protect the rights of Korean-Americans. An honorary consul reportedly gets paid about $US2,500 ($A2,400) a year.

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Study links traffic pollution to autism

LIVING near a busy road is associated with a dramatic increase in the risk of childhood autism, a study has shown.

Early exposure to traffic pollution, either in the womb or during the first year of life, more than doubled a child's chances of having the disorder, scientists found.

Children from homes with the highest air pollution levels were three times more at risk than those from the least exposed homes.

Experts described the finding as "important" but stressed it did not prove a causal link between pollutant chemicals and impaired brain development.

Autism, a wide-ranging condition that affects communication and social skills, is believed to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

While a number of genetic variants are known to be linked to the disorder, the role played by the environment has been less clear.

Scientists in California set out to investigate a possible link between autism rates and traffic pollution.

The Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (Charge) study looked at data on 245 children without the condition and 279 affected by autism.

Air pollution records from the US Environmental Protection Agency were used to estimate exposure to nitrogen dioxide and small sooty particles, both produced from motor vehicle exhausts.

The researchers took into account how far mothers and babies lived from busy roads, and levels of pollutants in the air.

Lead scientist Dr Heather Volk, from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, said: "This work has broad potential public health implications. We've known for a long time that air pollution is bad for lungs, and especially for children. We're now beginning to understand how air pollution may affect the brain."

The findings are published today in the latest online edition of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

Dr Volk said her team assessed a range of factors, including how far people lived from roads, traffic levels, meteorological factors such as wind direction, and information from air quality monitors.

She was especially concerned about exposure to small and very fine pollution particles produced by diesel engines known as PM10s and PM2.5s.

Previous studies have linked inhalation of the particles to heart and lung disease, cancer, and premature death.

"From studies conducted in the lab, we know that we can breathe in tiny particles and they can produce inflammation," said Dr Volk.

"Particles have varied composition, and there are many chemicals that can bind to them. The components of these particles could be hazardous to the brain."

In their paper the authors concluded: "Although additional research to replicate these findings is needed, the public health implications of these findings are large because air pollution exposure is common and may have lasting neurological effects."

However, British experts said the findings should be interpreted with caution.

Professor Emily Simonoff, from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, said the way the research was conducted meant the possibility of bias could not be excluded. A number of factors had not been properly taken into account, including father's age and family history of autism.

"This is potentially an important finding and it is therefore essential to consider the strengths and limitations of the study," said Prof Simonoff.

"At present, pregnant women should continue to look after their health during pregnancy but should not be unduly concerned."

Sophia Xiang Sun, from the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University, said: "Although traffic-related air pollution might be one of the contributing factors to the development of autism, other factors cannot be ruled out. These factors include second-hand smoking during pregnancy, medical conditions related to pregnancy, indoor air pollution, especially if the family has a history of mental disorders as autism is highly genetic.

"Further research is needed to investigate the potential association between traffic-related air pollution and autism, ideally a prospective study that monitors traffic-related air pollution with the control of indoor air pollution and smoking. Until further research is carried out we will not know definitely if the association is there and, if it is there, how direct and to what degree."

Professor Uta Frith, from University College London, said: "It seems to me very unlikely that the association is causal, rather than correlational.

"Rather than taking the results at face value, I would like to know what it implies to live near a highway. It could imply all sorts of disadvantages, any of which might be associated with increased risk of autism, and with increased risk of other disorders as well."

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Amnesty raises Nauru concerns with govt

AMNESTY International says refugees being held at the government's offshore processing centre on Nauru should be allowed to move freely and have their asylum claims processed.

The advocacy group's refugee expert Graham Thom met representatives from Immigration Minister Chris Bowen's office and the opposition's immigration spokesman Scott Morrison on Monday.

Dr Thom discussed the "unacceptable" conditions faced by asylum seekers being detained at the processing centre.

"We don't understand why these 400 men are being held hostage while thousands of others are being allowed into the Australian community," he told reporters in Canberra.

"They want permanent structures there, they want freedom of movement (and) they want processing."

Dr Thom said representatives from Mr Bowen's office had acknowledged the situation on Nauru was "far from ideal".

Amnesty last Friday released a briefing on conditions on Nauru, after a three-day visit last week, describing it as a toxic mix of uncertainty and inhumane conditions.

Dr Thom on Monday stressed the importance of allowing the detainees to move freely on Nauru.

"This is something that the opposition in this country agrees should be happening," he said.

During his visit to Nauru, Dr Thom met an Iranian asylum seeker known as Omid, who has been on a hunger strike for over a month.

Omid had lost over 19 kilograms and complains of severe stomach pains, Dr Thom said.

An immigration department spokeswoman said the man was discharged from hospital and was back in the camp.

"His health and welfare have been closely monitored," the spokeswoman told AAP.

"Liquid and food are available to him at all times."

Amnesty International plans to visit Australia's offshore processing centre on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island in 2013.

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Poll shows support for Palmer party

A Galaxy Poll shows there is support for a political party headed by mining magnate Clive Palmer. Source: AAP

QUEENSLANDERS are dissatisfied with the Newman government and some would support a new political party headed by mining magnate Clive Palmer, a new poll shows.

The Galaxy Research poll found 38 per cent of the 500 respondents were in favour of Mr Palmer forming his own political party.

Twenty-seven per cent said they would vote for a Palmer party.

The poll was conducted before Mr Palmer threw in his life membership of the Liberal National Party on Thursday, after a long-running war of words with the Newman government.

More than half of respondents said they were dissatisfied with the government's performance, while 58 per cent said they were opposed to budget cuts and the axing of thousands of public-sector jobs.

When asked if they believed Premier Campbell Newman has lied to the people of Queensland, 50 per cent said yes, 42 per cent said no, and nine per cent were uncommitted.

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Asbestos risk for female renovators

TELEVISION home renovation shows have fuelled a do-it-yourself craze that campaigners fear will lead to the next wave of asbestos victims - many of whom will be women.

The president of the Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia, Barry Robson, says shows like The Block, The Renovators and Better Homes and Gardens have been embraced by women who have taken up DIY renovation with a gusto.

But in the process, many have unwittingly become exposed to potentially deadly, mesothelioma-causing asbestos fibres present in just about all homes built before 1987.

"Unfortunately we're heading for a third wave of victims and their families because home renovation is getting so big," Mr Robson told AAP at the launch of a nationwide awareness campaign on Sunday.

"An unfortunate by product of this is the increase in the number of women now presenting with meso."

Cases of mesothelioma in this group are expected to spike over the next 40 years, he said.

Renovation shows had a moral obligation to include "substantial warnings", Mr Robson said.

"They have not only fuelled (the DIY craze) but where they've let down the public is not having warnings," he said.

Mesothelioma has previously been associated with asbestos miners, manufacturers or tradespeople, but the new campaign aims to focus on the dangers of home renovations by informing people where asbestos can be found in their houses.

As part of the campaign, organisers have created a portable replica home which will embark on a nationwide tour, demonstrating where asbestos can be found.

Australia has one of the highest rates of asbestos-related diseases in the world and has been ranked among the top consumers of asbestos cement products per capita, the Asbestos Diseases Research Institute says.

The institute on Monday night is to hold a candlelight vigil for the victims of asbestos, with the sails of the Sydney Opera House to be illuminated blue.

WorkCover operations director Peter Dunphy said it was important to provide home renovators with information.

"Looking at exposure to asbestos we're looking at the people who are most likely to have the potential to be exposed to asbestos now, and that would be tradespeople and people who are doing home renovations."

Mr Dunphy said WorkCover was working closely with renovation shows to provide more information about asbestos.

"What we're finding is that they're doing that now," he said.

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