Sydney CBD apartment fire scary: residents

FOR six-year-old Arran, it was a pretty good start to the weekend: he had a ride in a cherrypicker, got to meet a fireman and was treated to a bag of chips for being brave.

For mum Elaine Kelly and dozens of neighbours, Saturday began with a frightening scramble to safety as a fire burned below and thick, toxic smoke billowed into corridors.

Ms Kelly and her two young sons were among the 15 adults and four children rescued from the roof of their inner Sydney apartment block after a blaze broke out in the Pyrmont property's basement shortly before 10am (AEDT).

About 60 other residents were evacuated and 15 forced to shelter in an upper-level unit, as firefighters stood with hoses drawn to protect them from any encroaching flames.

"Not your average Saturday morning," Ms Kelly told reporters, as she described how firefighters plucked Arran and four-year-old Caleb from the roof using an airlift.

"They've been very brave indeed.

"A little bit anxious at first when they realised it was a fire, but then the fireman came and it was just, 'this is really cool!'"

Superintendent Rick Parkes told reporters that fire stairways in the building led down to the basement where a car had caught fire, so for the 19 people who became stranded, the only way out was up.

"They felt that their best option was to make their way to the roof and wait for assistance there," he said.

One first-floor resident, Cheri Kelcher, told AAP she and her friends nearly became trapped by the thick smoke.

"Where all the smoke was coming out is where the fire exit ends, so we couldn't get back in to cut across to get out, so we were standing there with all this smoke in our face going uh-oh, what do we do?" she said.

She said she held her breath and "did a runner" when the smoke thinned briefly.

No one was injured, but one woman was taken to hospital suffering shortness of breath.

The fire was extinguished by midday but residents were unlikely to be allowed back into their homes until evening.

Supt Parkes said the thick smoke generated in the fire could be toxic.

"(A burning car) generates smoke such as hydrogen phosphine, which they use in chemical warfare, and it also generates carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide," Supt Parkes said.

Police investigators were still determining whether the site should be declared a crime scene on Saturday afternoon.

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Chavez in chemo in Caracas: government

The Venezuelan government has slammed rumours about the fate of the ill President Hugo Chavez. Source: AAP

VENEZUELAN President Hugo Chavez is in "good spirits" but fighting for his life as he undergoes chemotherapy in a Caracas military hospital, his vice president says.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro revealed for the first time that Chavez began chemotherapy following his fourth cancer surgery in Cuba in December and decided to continue the "intense" treatment in Caracas last week.

"He has strength that is superior to the treatments that he is receiving and he is in good spirits, battling, receiving his treatments," Maduro told reporters after a Mass for Chavez in a new hospital chapel.

The leftist leader and his doctors in Cuba decided to begin chemotherapy and radiation therapy after his condition improved in January, he said. A tracheal tube had been inserted to assist his breathing due to a respiratory infection.

Maduro recalled that in February Chavez decided to return to Venezuela, telling his aides: "I am going to enter a new phase with the complementary treatments, more intense and very difficult, and I want to be in Caracas, so do everything that must be done to return to Caracas in safe conditions."

The vice president and other senior officials had earlier spent the day rebuffing rumours that Chavez may be dead or on his deathbed

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Costello urges Qld to delay power sell-off

FORMER federal treasurer Peter Costello wants the Queensland government to delay any electricity asset sale until there's certainty about the carbon tax.

The privatisation of generators CS Energy, Stanwell Corporation and Powerlink would net $25 billion, the Costello Commission of Audit says.

But Mr Costello is urging the state to delay any possible sale, despite his debt warning.

"If I were looking at the electricity industry at the moment, I wouldn't put those assets up for sale in the present climate," he told reporters in Brisbane.

The carbon tax had reduced the potential market value of state-owned coal generators.

But with the $23-a-tonne carbon tax moving to a floating price in 2015, and the federal coalition promising to repeal it, Queensland is being advised to wait.

"I'd want to know where the carbon tax is going to be before I made any decision," Mr Costello said.

The former federal treasurer also criticised the commonwealth's 20 per cent renewable energy target, which the coalition voted for in 2010.

"That's really eating into the profitability of Queensland government assets," he said.

Mr Costello said a privatisation decision on poles and wires should also be delayed until 2015, when the Australian Energy Regulator set electricity distribution charges.

"That is an optimal window to consider what to do with transmission and network," he said.

Still, Mr Costello said keeping electricity generation in government hands was wrong, considering that other states had privatised power in a national market.

"Anybody who says to you, 'We don't need to deal with our assets', is saying they'd prefer either a huge round of expenditure cuts or huge rounds of tax rises," he said.

He declined to predict when Queensland would regain the AAA credit rating it lost in 2009 if electricity assets were sold.

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Stokes' Ten stake an investment: analyst

MEDIA mogul Kerry Stokes' purchase of Ten Network Holdings shares is more likely a shrewd investment than the first step in anything more elaborate, an analyst says.

Mr Stokes was believed to have bought about $40 million worth of Ten stock in late 2012 to capture a little under five per cent of the struggling broadcaster, The Australian Financial Review said on Friday.

Morningstar analyst Tim Montague-Jones said he believed Mr Stokes saw an opportunity to cash in on Ten's languishing share price and pounced.

"He has had a lot of experience in media. He knows the people inside and he knows what drives media expenditure and he probably looked at Channel 10 as a potential opportunity to make some money," Mr Montague-Jones said on Friday.

"I think he is in there purely as an investment, buying Ten when it is cheap and selling when the share price goes up.

"I don't believe there is any sinister takeover opportunity there. I don't believe he would be allowed to take it over."

Ten shares were up on the news, rising 2.75 cents, or 8.33 per cent, to 35.75 cents by 1505 AEDT.

Seven spokesman Simon Francis said it was company policy not to comment on securities that may or may not be in Seven's listed portfolios.

Mr Stokes is chairman of Seven Group Holdings and Seven West Media, which owns the Seven TV network.

He was reported to have made his purchase prior to Ten's annual general meeting on December 6, and maintained his stake by participating in the $230 million capital raising.

The purchase adds yet another high-profile member to Ten's share register, with Mr Stokes joining miner Gina Rinehart, gambling tycoon James Packer, Ten chairman Lachlan Murdoch and WIN Television owner Bruce Gordon.

Ten had a horror 2012 as series of new shows failed to rate. It trailed well behind rivals Seven and Nine, and its own previous year's performance, for its proportion of capital city advertising revenue.

Ten managed to capture a 21.57 per cent share of advertising revenue in the six months to December 31, down from 27.03 per cent share in the prior corresponding period.

This compared with Seven's 40.29 per cent and Nine 38.14 per cent for the latest period.

That disappointing performance led to the dismissal of James Warburton as chief executive in February and the appointment of senior News Corporation executive, Hamish McLennan, to the top job.

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Hunting in NSW national parks delayed

THE NSW government has halted plans to allow hunting in the state's national parks and launched an investigation into the NSW Game Council, following claims of illegal hunting by a council employee.

Last week, the Game Council's acting chief executive Greg McFarland was suspended on allegations of illegal hunting and animal cruelty.

Police are currently investigating the allegations against Mr McFarland.

On Thursday, NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell announced the government had enlisted Director General of NSW Fisheries Steve Dunn to carry out a review of the Game Council's governance.

He also announced the government's hunting program, which would allow hunting in the state's national parks as part of pest eradication, would be put on hold until the review was completed.

"Our actions in initiating this governance review again confirms the paramountcy of safety as we implement in NSW the type of pest eradication program conducted successfully for many years in SA and Victoria," he told state parliament during question time on Thursday.

The review will investigate services performed by the Game Council, examine its performance, structure and staff capabilities and look at the company's finances and administration.

Mr Dunn will be required to make recommendations about the Council's management, administration, organisation and operations.

The recommendations will be provided to the government by the end of May.

A report on the incident has already been presented to the government but Mr O'Farrell told parliament it will not be released due to an "ongoing police investigation and the possibility of charges being laid".

A second Game Council employee was also suspended but was later cleared of the allegations.

The NSW Greens has welcomed the review of the Game Council but says it must be meaningful and not merely a delay tactic by the government.

"Both Shooters Party MPs in NSW Parliament are former chairmen of the Game Council, which gives some idea of how the organisation is run," Greens MP David Shoebridge said in a statement.

The Greens have called for the government to also suspend hunting in the state's forests.

"Despite millions of dollars being spent on the Game Council, in the decade of amateur hunting in state forests not one feral population has been successfully controlled in a single state forest," Mr Shoebridge said.

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SA couple charged over porn, child abuse

AN Adelaide couple have been charged with child abuse and pornography offences after police tracked the two down from computer images.

Police said a 35-year-old woman was charged with 10 offences on Tuesday including rape, unlawful sexual intercourse, indecent assault and producing and disseminating child pornography.

On Thursday her 36-year-old partner was arrested in relation to the same offences.

All of the charges relate to the woman's daughter.

Police said the arrests were made after detectives from the Sexual Crime Investigation Branch identified the couple from images found on a computer which then led them to identify the girl and remove her from harm.

Detective Superintendent Damian Powell said the case should serve as a warning to anyone involved in accessing, downloading, processing, sharing or distributing child pornography.

"Be aware, police have the sophisticated technology to track you down," he said.

"You can no longer hide behind the murky digital curtain for protection."

The couple are expected to appear in court in April.

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Bushfire threatens The Vines, Ellenbrook

A FAST-MOVING, out of control bushfire is tearing through Perth's northeastern fringes between The Vines and a new development at Ellenbrook.

The fire started at Upper Swan but moved fast in a westerly direction.

There is a threat to lives and homes.

Residents are evacuating after an emergency warning was issued for the area bounded by Great Northern Highway, Maralla Road to Charlottes Vista down to The Promenade and Millhouse Road.

Water bombers and firefighters are on the scene.

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Workers to fight far north Qld health cuts

HEALTHCARE workers are continuing to fight job cuts in far north Queensland as the state government announces a major shake up of the sector.

A few hundred people rallied outside Cairns Hospital on Wednesday to protest the axing of 234 healthcare jobs in the region.

Alex Scott, secretary of Together union, says patients will die unnecessarily due to a decline in health services following the cuts.

"The loss of jobs and the loss of the services is going to be disastrous to the long term health of North Queensland," he told AAP.

Megan Mitchelson, a nurse of 26 years, says the cuts are "outrageous".

Dr Sandy Donald, 55, says those who have been axed are devastated while those who remain are left wondering how the hospital will continue to run.

Mr Scott pointed blame at the state government, saying it had withdrawn $3 billion from the health system.

The state and federal governments have blamed each other for cuts to Queensland Health funding.

Cape York Hospital has also invited staff to apply for voluntary redundancies.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman and Health Minister Lawrence Springborg addressed Queensland Health's 80,000 staff via a pre-recorded broadcast on Wednesday morning.

They unveiled details of a new blueprint for health, which includes opening up services to private providers.

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Virgin's profit falls by 56%

Virgin Australia posted a first half profit of $23mil, a 56 per cent drop from the previous year. Source: AAP

VIRGIN Australia's first half profit has slumped by 56 per cent but it expects to improve its underlying performance despite challenging economic conditions.

The airline made a net profit of $23 million in the six months to December 31, down from $51.8 million in the previous corresponding period.

The difference was mainly the result of Qantas' industrial dispute in the previous corresponding period, which benefited Virgin.

Virgin on Tuesday also said the carbon tax had a $24.4 million impact on its profit in the six months to December.

The company's underlying profit before tax was $61 million in the six months to December, down from $96.1 million in the previous corresponding period.

Virgin maintained its forecast of a full year underlying profit before tax being higher than the previous year's $82.5 million.

No dividend will be paid to shareholders.

Virgin said revenue rose five per cent to $2.11 billion, with the airline group carrying more than 10 million passengers in a half for the first time.

The airline said yields - an industry measure of average airfares per passenger - fell one per cent in the half, which chief executive John Borghetti said "reflected the aggressive capacity and pricing environment".

Industry figures showed that the 10.8 per cent increase in domestic capacity in the first half was the highest increase in the local market in eight years, he added.

"The group has delivered a solid result in a difficult operating and economic environment, reflecting the significant progress we have made in diversifying our revenue base and improving cost control, while continuing to enhance the customer experience," he said in a statement.

Mr Borghetti said the airline found $25 million in "efficiency gains" in the first half, and was on track to deliver $60 million in savings by the end of 2012/13.

Virgin forecast 2012/13 second half domestic capacity growth would be between five and seven per cent up on the prior corresponding period.

Qantas gave the same forecast at its half year results on February 21.

Virgin said it would offer twice daily flights from Brisbane to Perth using wide-bodied Airbus A330 aircraft from May.

It also would begin flights on "current monopoly routes" Brisbane to Moranbah and Bundaberg, Virgin said.

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Kiwi falls amid renewed European fears

THE New Zealand dollar fell against the greenback as the threat of a hung Italian parliament reignited fears Europe may be in for another sovereign debt scare.

The kiwi fell to 83.40 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 83.62 cents at 8am, and 83.63 cents on Monday. It rose to 63.82 euro cents from 63.41 cents on Monday.

Uncertainty over the outcome of the first Italian election since the 2008 global financial crisis spooked investors, and prompted stocks across Asia to fall.

Early polling indicates the centre-left coalition committed to sitting Prime Minister Mario Monti's austerity programme has a small lead in the lower house, but would likely be hamstrung by a divided upper house.

"A picture of a new election being ordered, or an unstable coalition would both be bad for the kiwi," said Imre Speizer, market strategist at Westpac Banking.

"I wouldn't call it lower until we see a clear breakdown" of the 83 US cents level, he said.

The kiwi slipped to 81.15 Australian cents at 5pm in Wellington from 81.34 cents on Monday and to 76.81 yen from 78.65 yen.

The trade-weighted index fell to 76.28 from 76.57.

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WA nurses vote in favour of wage offer

WEST Australian nurses have voted to accept the state government's eleventh-hour wage offer.

They will become the highest paid nurses in the nation after their wages rise 14 per cent over the next three years.

Australian Nurses Federation (ANF) members held a mass meeting in North Perth on Monday to vote on the offer, which Premier Colin Barnett announced late on Sunday on the eve of a threatened 24-hour strike.

The vote in favour of accepting the offer was not unanimous, however.

The stand-off last week, which saw some hospital beds closed, has proved highly distracting for Mr Barnett during the state election campaign.

At a press conference on Monday, the premier denied he'd been blackmailed by the ANF and said he hoped the dispute didn't set a precedent for other unions.

But within hours, the WA Prison Officers Union (WAPOU) said members would meet on Wednesday to plan a pre-election campaign in a bid to secure higher pay.

The union has long complained of overcrowded, understaffed prisons that meant inmates and officers were at greater risk of violence.

WAPOU secretary John Welch said officers had not planned to take industrial action during the election period.

"However, the government's offer to nurses in breach of the pre-election caretaker convention suggests the only pathway to a fair pay offer is industrial action; that it only listens to unions who threaten strike action," Mr Welch said.

"We started in September last year to get the government to negotiate with us but to no avail."

Mr Barnett has been at pains to say the nurses' deal was not in breach of the caretaker conventions because it would not be signed until after the March 9 poll.

Under the conventions, the deal could be negotiated and agreed to in principle, however.

Mr Welch said WAPOU would write to the premier later on Monday to say prison officers expected a decent pay offer.

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NZ dollar pares losses against euro

THE New Zealand dollar pared losses against the euro in the local trading session as investors mull the make-up of Italy's parliament in the first election since the global financial crisis.

The kiwi rose to 63.41 euro cents at 5pm in Wellington from 63.15 cents on Monday morning, and little changed from 63.51 cents on Friday in New York.

The currency was little changed at 83.63 US cents from 83.73 cents last week.

Frontrunner Pier Luigi Bersani of the Democratic Party, who has vowed to follow Prime Minister Mario Monti's austerity drive, may not be able to govern even if he gets a parliamentary majority as former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and Beppe Grillo's 5-Star Movement siphon his support.

"The euro could have a bit of a comeback once the uncertainty of the election goes," said Chris Tennent-Brown, FX economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.

"The kiwi could pull back a little bit" against the euro.

The kiwi rose to 81.37 Australian cents at 5pm in Wellington from 81.17 cents last week after the HSBC flash PMI showed a slower pace of manufacturing growth in China than expected. Australia is more heavily exposed to China's economy than New Zealand.

The kiwi rose to 78.19 yen from 78.16 yen last week as investors prepare for the expected appointment of the next governor of the Bank of Japan.

The trade-weighted index was little changed at 76.56 from 76.50 last week.

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WA nurses 'threatened' with the sack

WEST Australian nurses have been threatened with deregistration if they continue to carry out work bans over a pay dispute, their union says.

Nurses will go on strike for 24 hours if the state government does not offer them a 20 per cent pay increase over three years by Monday.

The demand is up from 12.75 per cent, which the nurses previously said they were prepared to accept.

The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) voted on Friday to keep one in five beds closed at hospitals over the weekend and to wait until Monday to decide if it should take industrial action over wages and conditions.

The union also wants nurses to stop having to perform menial tasks normally done by orderlies and cleaners, and objects to big hikes in parking fees at hospitals.

But the Industrial Relations Commission ordered on Friday that the nurses lift all work bans or risk patient safety.

Health Department director-general Kim Snowball reportedly sent a letter to nurses warning them of the consequences of their actions.

The ANF released the letter and a fact sheet late on Saturday.

"Am I protected if I continue to keep beds closed? No," the fact sheet reads.

"Is my professional registration at risk if I keep beds closed? Yes."

The department warned nurses that if they continued their action they also risked suspension from duty, disciplinary action and no indemnity insurance.

"I have issued a direction to ensure that all patients who require a hospital bed for their safety, care and treatment are to be moved to an appropriate hospital bed," Mr Snowball said in the letter.

ANF state secretary Mark Olson said the prospect of disciplinary proceedings for 10,000 nurses and midwives involved in the current industrial action was preposterous.

"Nurses and midwives have closed beds during industrial campaigns in WA and other states using the same guidelines we are using in this campaign," he said.

"No nurse or midwife has ever been sacked, suspended, or deregistered for participating in the industrial action of closing beds or going on strike."

Mr Olson said the health department was trying to frighten nurses and midwives.

"Instead of trying to sort out the pay claim, they are more interested in bullying, harassment, threats and intimidation," he said.

Premier Colin Barnett had said there was little he could do while the government was in caretaker mode before the March 9 state election.

But Opposition Leader Mark McGowan told reporters on Sunday that under the guidelines of the caretaker convention, an agreement could be reached between the government and the ANF if the opposition was also involved in the discussions.

Mr McGowan wrote a letter to the premier in which he said the dispute was "getting beyond normal election politicking".

He said while he would not enter into a bidding war with the government, any agreement they made with the nurses would be supported by the opposition and implemented if they won the election.

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Missing Qld woman's husband returns home

THE husband of missing Gold Coast mother Novy Chardon has returned to Australia and is expected to speak to police next week.

John Chardon flew to Indonesia with their two children on a pre-arranged business trip two days after his wife disappeared from their Upper Coomera home on February 6.

It is understood Mr Chardon returned to Australia on Saturday.

His lawyers are preparing him for an interview with Gold Coast investigators next week, the ABC says.

Police have said they are not treating Mr Chardon as a suspect, but are keen to talk to him.

Earlier this week police searched a quiet road which runs behind Dreamworld in their hunt for clues about his missing wife.

Police believe Mrs Chardon's Volvo SUV may have been driven along the road some time between her disappearance and the evening of February 11 when it was found.

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