NSW patients more likely to die on weekend

IF you are on the path to a heart attack or even cancer, new research shows you would be better off fronting a hospital outside of weekend hours.

The medical research from the University of NSW reveals patients are up to 15 per cent more likely to die if they have been admitted through a emergency department between Saturday morning until midnight on Sunday.

The research, published on Saturday in the British Medical Journal Quality and Safety, found these "excess deaths" from acute heart problems were linked with a pattern associated to reduced availability of clinical services.

This includes a lack of full range treatments and testing services.

In other cases, including forms of cancer, the "weekend effect" is likely caused because sicker people are turning up after regular hours.

UNSW Australia Institute of Health Innovation Professor Enrico Coiera says reduced service levels at hospitals on weekends may need to be re-evaluated.

"Illness occurs 24/7 and not just in normal business hours," he said.

"Perhaps the provision of hospital services, including the way that services are rostered and funded need to be examined closely to better reflect the constancy of illness."

The research, which is based on seven years of NSW hospitals data, shows overall weekends accounted for more than a quarter of all hospital admissions and 28 per cent of deaths.

Prof Coiera said weekend admissions were necessary and patients should not hold out until Monday morning.

"However, patients and GPs should also be aware that for some illness groups, it's not a good idea to be struggling during the week and then go to hospital on Friday," he said.

"Depending on your location, you may not have the full suite of services at the weekend."

NSW Health clinical excellence commission chief executive officer Professor Cliff Hughes said the study data was from between 2000 and 2007.

He said a number of programs, including one aimed at reducing cardiac arrests and another at improving treatment for most emergency department patients, had been introduced since.

"The Clinical Excellence Commission and Agency for Clinical Innovation will continue to work with clinicians and local managers to understand the implications of this study for patients in NSW Health," he said in a statement.

NSW Health clinical excellence commission chief executive officer Professor Cliff Hughes said the study data was from between 2000 and 2007.

He said a number of programs, including one aimed at reducing cardiac arrests and another at improving treatment for most emergency department patients, had been introduced since.

"The Clinical Excellence Commission and Agency for Clinical Innovation will continue to work with clinicians and local managers to understand the implications of this study for patients in NSW Health," he said in a statement.

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Brits claim doughnut is theirs

IT is usually thought of as an all-American treat but the recipe for the doughnut may have originated in Britain.

The Hertfordshire Record Society, which publishes a volume of records every year, has released The Receipt Book of Baroness Elizabeth Dimsdale circa 1800, which includes a recipe for 'dow nuts' by a Mrs Fordham, according to the Hertfordshire Mercury.

Baroness Dimsdale lived in Hertford, the paper says.

The collection was given to the society by one of the family's descendants, Robert Dimsdale, who lives in Switzerland, and its secretary Dr Heather Falvey put it into the book.

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Two men dead in Vic light plane crash

TWO men have died in a light plane crash near Shepparton airport in Victoria's northeast.

The crash happened as the Lancair plane was taking off from the airport, Ambulance Victoria said.

The two men on board died, police and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) confirmed.

The aircraft crashed shortly before 2.30pm (AEDT) on Friday outside the Shepparton airport near the Goulburn Valley Highway.

Ambulance Victoria's John Mullen said the plane was on fire and producing heavy black smoke before it crashed.

Police, ambulance and CFA crews are on the scene.

Police said the Goulburn Valley Highway had been closed in both directions.

The men are yet to be formally identified and police will prepare a report for the coroner.

CASA will investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.

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TFS gets $49m to establish new plantation

SANDALWOOD producer TFS Corporation has received about $49 million from a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund to plant 595 hectares of Indian sandalwood at a new plantation in the Northern Territory.

It is the fourth investment by the Middle eastern wealth fund in TFS's sandalwood plantations.

"TFS welcomes the positive and ongoing support of our foundation Middle Eastern investor as the company transitions to being a major global producer of Indian sandalwood with over 7,600 hectares now established across Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland," TFS chief executive Frank Wilson said on Friday.

Mr Wilson said the investment coincides with the start of the first harvest from TFS's earliest plantation of just over 100 hectares, which was established at Kununurra in Western Australia in 1999.

TFS shares were 1.75 cents lower at 77.25 cents at 1506 AEDT.

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NZ govt rushes to validate police oaths

NEW Zealand's parliament has rushed through a law to validate the oaths taken by dozens of police officers, after learning they were wrongly sworn in.

The government had to pass the law under urgency on Thursday to avoid the possibility that the officers' actions might be challenged by people they had arrested or investigated.

Police Minister Anne Tolley brought the bill in, saying a law change made in 2008 was misinterpreted by the police and 63 officers - constables who had left and later rejoined - were wrongly sworn in between October 2009 and July this year.

They were sworn in by district commanders or inspectors who weren't authorised to administer the oath.

"This is terrible, I'm not making any excuses for the police and I'm very cross," Tolley told reporters.

"I'm really disappointed and embarrassed - I'm the one who has to sit in parliament and take the scorn that's being dished out in there."

Tolley said the bill had to be kept under wraps until it reached parliament because if the "very bad administrative cock-up" had become known before it was passed some people who had been prosecuted, convicted or investigated could have mounted legal challenges on the grounds that the officers weren't properly warranted.

She didn't know how many people had been arrested by the officers, and didn't know whether anyone was going to lose their job over the blunder.

It's the second time parliament has had to pass a law validating police oaths - in 2009 it was discovered recruits had been incorrectly sworn in.

Opposition MPs blamed Tolley and her predecessor in the police portfolio, Judith Collins.

"Not even your constables are sworn in properly," Labour's police spokeswoman Jacinda Ardern told Tolley.

"Ministers should have ensured this didn't happen."

The Greens have asked Auditor-General Lyn Provost to hold an inquiry.

"Simply passing this law doesn't answer the question of why this happened," said justice spokesman David Clendon.

Opposition MPs widened their attack to cover numerous blunders that have been made during National's term in office.

They all agreed, however, that the bill had to be passed and it went through all its stages on unanimous votes.

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Commissioner David Ipp to retire from ICAC

ICAC Commissioner David Ipp will step down as head of NSW's corruption watchdog next year. Source: AAP

ICAC Commissioner David Ipp will step down as head of NSW's corruption watchdog next year.

"In opposition I repeatedly expressed my concern that (the Independent Commission Against Corruption's) inner-spring had wound down," Premier Barry O'Farrell told parliament on Thursday.

"There is no doubt that Commissioner Ipp had reinvigorated the organisation and through his efforts and leadership alone restored public confidence in the commission and reminded anyone thinking of doing the wrong thing that they will be found out."

"He departs with the undying gratitude of this parliament and of our state and we wish him a long and healthy retirement."

Mr O'Farrell has proposed Supreme Court judge Megan Latham as Mr Ipp's replacement.

Justice Latham was appointed to the Supreme Court of NSW in 2005 and has previously served on the District Court and acted as a crown prosecutor.

During her time at the Supreme Court, she has overseen the sentencing of some of the state's most infamous criminals, including former nurse Roger Dean, who killed 11 elderly people when he lit fires at the Quakers Hill Nursing Home in 2011.

She also sentenced hitman Haissam Safetli and standover man Lucky Gattellari over their roles in the 2009 murder of Sydney businessman Michael McGurk.

If her appointment is approved, it is expected she will take up the post for five years from January.

The announcement comes after Mr Ipp, who headed the ICAC from 2009, oversaw the explosive inquiry into former NSW Labor heavyweights Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald.

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New bushfire emergency in Lake Macquarie

AN emergency alert has been issued for a fire at Lake Macquarie, near Gateshead.

The Rural Fire Service (RFS) says the fire at Oakdale Road has jumped the Fernleigh track.

It has burnt seven hectares of scrub, with 11 trucks and 40 firefighters at the scene, an RFS spokesman said.

He said there were helicopters working at the scene to slow its process.

At 1430 (AEDT) there were 69 bushfires burning across the state, with 29 uncontained.

Around 3000 firefighters are battling the blazes, almost 1000 of whom were reinforcements from interstate.

It is the third fire to reach emergency warning level on Wednesday.

Residents in the suburbs of Redhead and Dudley were advised to seek shelter as the blaze approaches.

Parents are being urged not to pick their children up from Redhead School due to the fire risk on the roads.

The children were safe and well in the school hall, the RFS said.

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Blue Mountains fire an emergency again

RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons says strong winds are causing the Springwood fire to flare up. Source: AAP

BUSHFIRES are beginning to rear up in the NSW Blue Mountains, where strong winds are playing havoc with blazes that ruined communities last week.

The fire at Springwood, where almost 200 homes were destroyed, has once again been upgraded to the highest warning level.

Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons says the fire was flaring on Wednesday under high winds and sending off ember showers.

"Activity is increasing right across different parts of the fire grounds throughout the Blue Mountains," he said.

"The strong winds are proving to be very difficult for the firefighters, for aircraft and is increasing fire behaviour."

Blue Mountains residents not prepared to defend their homes from fire were advised to leave on Wednesday morning, but Mr Fitzsimmons said anyone remaining in Springwood and Winmalee was advised to look out for embers and take direction from firefighters.

Crews were also being re-directed to protect homes at Bilpin and Berambing in the Blue Mountains.

The other emergency warning is in play west of Newcastle at Minmi, where a school has been evacuated.

Mr Fitzsimmons said fire crews in the area were providing protection to the children from Minmi Public School, who have been relocated to a local community centre.

The M1 Pacific Motorway, formerly known as the F3, was closed in both directions between Beresfield and Seahampton due to the Minmi fire.

A number of fires were also starting in the Hawkesbury region, near Putty, due to lightning strikes, Mr Fitzsimmons said.

Winds were expected to worsen this afternoon, adding to the fire threat.

"These very strong winds gusting up to 100km/h across the mountain ranges are expected to continue right down along the coastal fringe through the Sydney basin," he added.

"Conditions are going to be worse across much of the fire weather area throughout the balance of this afternoon."

There are now more than 60 bushfires in NSW including 22 that are uncontained.

Thousands of firefighters are on the field and 95 aircraft available.

Premier Barry O'Farrell said the worst conditions were yet to come.

"We are now about two hours away from what is expected to be the worst part of the day and the winds regrettably are significantly picking up," he told parliament on Wednesday.

He thanked the almost 1000 interstate firies who were lending a hand, but condemned the reported action of one Blue Mountains landlord who had attempted to increase rent for people who had lost their homes and were seeking emergency short-term accommodation.

"Regrettably, despite some wonderful stories of great community spirit which has gone on during this fire crisis, there is always going to be the odd alternative," he said.

Children at the Bishop Tyrell Anglican College in Minmi have also been evacuated and are being looked after by staff at a park in Wallsend, police say.

Parents have been asked to collect their children from Federal Park in Boscawen Street.

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Open speed limits irresponsible: doctors

THE Northern Territory's plan to trial open speed limits could pose significant dangers to motorists and pedestrians.

The NT government plans to trial an open speed limit for 12 months from February on a 200km stretch of the Stuart Highway near Alice Springs, but the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) is urging it to reconsider what it believes is an irresponsible decision.

"Open speed limits have been removed from the vast majority of jurisdictions (worldwide) because of consistent evidence linking speed to car crashes, deaths and injuries," Chair of the RACP NT State Committee, Dr Christine Connors, said in a statement on Tuesday.

"By allowing motorists to travel at very high speeds, the Northern Territory government is putting the lives of Territorians at unnecessary risk."

In the 10 years between 2001-2011, there were no speed-related fatalities on the proposed stretch of road, NT Minister for Transport Peter Styles said last week.

"We are bringing responsibility back to motorists. They need to be able to drive to the road conditions and their capabilities," he said.

He stressed that motorists should consider the condition of the road, weather and the standard of their vehicle.

But risk-taking young men are most likely to be killed driving too fast on rural roads, and an open speed limit is giving them permission to drive even more recklessly, Dr Connors said.

"As a community, we should be protecting these young men as well as others using our roads," she said.

The RACP says that, prior to the introduction of speed limits on certain roads in 2007, the NT had the highest per-capita fatality rate across the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development - and twice the Australian average.

In 2012, more than a third of all Territory road fatalities and serious injuries were attributed to speed.

Of the 212 recorded driver fatalities in the NT from 2002-2012, a quarter were males aged between 16 and 25 years, the RACP says.

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US carbon dioxide pollution down 3.8pc

THE United States cut its energy-related carbon dioxide pollution by 3.8 per cent last year, the second biggest drop since 1990, the Department of Energy says.

The only recent year with a bigger percentage drop was in 2009, when America was in a large recession.

American cars and factories spewed 5.83 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2012, down from 6.06 billion in 2011. It is the lowest level for US emissions since 1994. Carbon dioxide is the chief man-made global warming gas.

Energy Department economist Perry Lindstrom said on MOnday that carbon pollution reduction was due to warm winter weather, more efficient cars because of new mileage requirements and an ongoing shift from coal power to natural gas to produce electricity.

The coal shift is a big factor as is a sluggish economic recovery, said Jay Apt, director of the Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Centre. He said that in 1994 coal provided 52 per cent of the US power and now it was down to 37 per cent. Burning coal produces far more carbon dioxide than burning natural gas.

Some past cuts in carbon pollution were mostly due to economic factors, such as the 7.1 per cent drop in 2009, Lindstrom said.

But this drop happened while the US economy was growing 2.8 per cent, as reflected by the gross domestic product, and its energy use was dropping by more than 2 per cent.

Economists measure energy efficiency and how real reductions are in carbon pollution, by calculating carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP. And from 2011 to 2012, the United States carbon pollution per GDP dropped by a record 6.5 per cent, Lindstrom said.

That shows this drop was clearly not due to a recession, Lindstrom said.

"This latest drop in energy-related carbon emissions is reason for cautious optimism that we're already starting to move in the right direction," said Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann.

"But this alone will not lead us toward the dramatic carbon reductions necessary to avoid dangerous climate change."

The world is heading in the opposite direction. In 2011, the world carbon dioxide emissions jumped 3 per cent, because of a large increase by China, the number one carbon polluting country. The US is number two in carbon emissions.

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Heavy smog hits north China city

SEVERE smog has reduced the visibility of a northern Chinese city to less than half a football field.

Authorities in Harbin near the Russian border said on Monday primary and middle schools and some highways had been closed.

At least 40 flights from its international airport have also been cancelled or postponed, and the official Xinhua News Agency says some buses have stopped running.

The density of fine particulate matter used as an indicator of air quality has been found to be more than 24 times higher in the city than the level considered safe by the World Health Organization.

Also on Monday, the manager of American jazz singer Patti Austin said she'd been forced to cancel a concert in the capital, Beijing, on Friday evening after suffering a severe asthma attack probably linked to air pollution.

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Emergency bushfire warning for Springwood

FIRE authorities have issued an emergency warning for Springwood in the NSW Blue Mountains.

The Rural Fire Service says fire activity has flared up between Chapman Road and Grose Road.

It comes after an emergency warning was declared in Wilton, southwest of Sydney.

There are now three emergency warnings in place across the state, with firefighters continuing to battle a massive fire between Lithgow and the western side of the mountains.

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Real test of new NSW train times

The NSW government says people will be pleased with changes to Sydney's public transport services. Source: AAP

PEAK-HOUR commuters will put Sydney's sweeping public transport changes to the test on Monday.

While the changes mean an extra 2700 ferry, bus and train services across the network, authorities admit some will miss out under the new integrated timetable that started on Sunday.

Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian says the real test will come on Monday morning.

"Chances are, depending on where you are catching your train, you will spend less time on the train because there are more express services in the network," she said.

"The new system makes sure, where we can, we are managing overcrowding.

"So you can expect to have less people on your train as well when you have to make those journeys."

There will be 600 extra express services per week, including 125 for the South Coast train line and 70 new weekly express services between Newcastle and Sydney, in the timetable that was two years in the making.

Extra staff will be on hand at transport stations across the network to help travellers with the changes.

Opposition transport spokeswoman Penny Sharpe says many people are in for nasty surprises and disruptions because the NSW government didn't consult about the timetable rewrite.

"The new timetable cuts some peak-hour services right across the network and will instead require people to drive to major stations," she said in a statement.

The overhaul has been led by Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins, formerly the chief operating officer for the London Underground.

Mr Collins concedes there will be losers, but says most people will get a better deal.

"You can never ever satisfy everybody," he said on Sunday.

"There are a million customers out there (but) ... 90 per cent of those customers will get a better deal."

Mr Collins added that some customers could smooth the change to their routine by "interchanging, just checking your timetable and making an adjustment to your travel pattern so you get that stopping service".

Western Sydney receives the biggest boost in bus services with 1284 extra services each week.

NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson says a cut in peak-hour services in Como and Jannali in Sydney's south contributed to the Liberals' defeat in Saturday's Miranda by-election.

"Anger at the cuts to train services and the strong campaign against them by Labor's Barry Collier were a big part of the massive swing in Miranda," Mr Robertson said.

The opposition claims Jannali has lost 11 peak-hour train services a week, while Como has lost seven.

But Ms Berejiklian says there are 149 extra weekly services on the line into the electorate.

"For anybody that doubts that, look at the timetable and count them," she said.

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Khloe Kardashian to return to Australia

KHLOE Kardashian must be having mixed feelings about returning to Australia in November.

Last time she visited, in 2011, she and her older sister Kim flew into a media storm. They arrived in Australia in the wake of Kim's announcement that she was divorcing her husband Kris Humphries, a mere 72 days after their much-hyped wedding.

Now News Corp Australia is reporting Khloe will return to Australia in November to promote the Kardashian family's fashion empire.

Khloe, 29, has been the subject of recent headlines about the state of her own marriage, to basketballer Lamar Odom.

The trip follows the launch of the Kardashian Kollection's ready-to-wear Spring/Summer line at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival in Sydney in August.

Khloe and Kim, who rose to fame with the TV show Keeping Up With the Kardashians, visited Australia in 2011 to promote their handbag line.

Hundreds of fans, journalists and photographers followed the stars on their two-day visit. The sisters cut short the trip and cancelled their scheduled appearance at the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Khloe's November visit is likely to be more subdued.

It's unlikely Odom will join his wife in Australia.

The couple are reportedly estranged amid rumours the basketball player is battling addiction to cocaine.

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