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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