Car located for missing Qld man

A SEARCH will resume at first light for a man missing on a southwestern Queensland property after his vehicle was found bogged.

The man in his 50s was reported missing on Saturday after he failed to return from checking bores on the property south of Quilpie.

Two fixed wing aircraft, police and members of the public helped with the search on Saturday, which located his vehicle bogged on a neighbouring property.

There was no sign of the worker and the search will resume on Sunday.

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Tas motorcycle crash kills two

You're not taking the Kingswood

EXCLUSIVE: Thirty years on, Kingswood Country star Ross Higgins is still eager to protect the car he loves after the Aussie icon announced it was quitting production.

Man bashed into a coma

A YOUNG man was bashed to within an inch of his life on the same night police launched a major blitz on ­alcohol-fuelled crime.

The reasons I am alive today

EXCLUSIVE: Rugby league star Reni Maitua has revealed how an uncertain future and a broken heart drove him to attempt suicide.

The skinny on jeans

THEY'VE been a staple in the wardrobe of almost every Aussie male since the '50s, but despite 60 years of practice, men still struggle to find the perfect pair of jeans.

Four-year nightmare over

EXCLUSIVE: Two Australian businessmen who endured a legal nightmare in Dubai could be home for Christmas.

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Santa marathon attracts six thousand

AROUND 6000 people dressed as Santa Claus and his elves have run a "mini-marathon" through the streets of Madrid to promote festive cheer as the country tries to emerge from a two-year recession.

While grown-ups dressed in red costumes with wispy white beards, children donned green elf outfits to run the 5.5 kilometre course on Saturday through the city centre.

The race was organised by one of Spain's leading department stores and it contributed one euro ($A1.55) for each entrant to a charity that buys Christmas presents for deprived children around the world.

Javier Menendez, one of the runners, said he was surprised at the number of people who have donned the robes for the run.

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Severe fire danger for Perth prompts ban

THE heatwave gripping much of Western Australia has prompted bushfire warnings for much of the state and a total fire ban in Perth.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) has issued severe fire danger advices for Sunday for the Central West, Upper Great Southern, and parts of the Central Wheatbelt, Pilbara and Perth and sourrounding areas.

With the mercury tipped to top 41C in Perth for the third day of the Ashes Test, a total fire ban has been issued for inland parts of the city and surrounding areas.

They include Armadale, Gosnells, Swan, Chittering, Gingin, Kalamunda, Mundaring, Serpentine-Jarrahdale and Toodyay.

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Ferry runs aground in Baltic Sea

A FINNISH ferry operator says one of its Sweden-bound vessels is stuck on rocks in the Baltic Sea but none of the nearly 2000 passengers are injured or in any danger.

Viking Line says the M/S Amorella hit the rocks after a power failure on the ship on Saturday as it was on its way from the Finnish port of Turku to Stockholm with 1945 passengers.

In a statement, the operator said a minor leak has been found in a ballast tank but stressed the ship was not taking in water.

The Aland Islands, a group of semi-autonomous Finnish islands, are midway between the two port cities and the ferry was making a scheduled stop there.

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Iran cancels Pakistan gas pipeline loan

IRAN has cancelled a planned $US500 million ($A562.49 million) loan to Pakistan to build part of a pipeline to bring natural gas from the Islamic Republic.

Deputy Oil Minister Ali Majedi said Iran has no obligation to finance the Pakistani side of the project and also doesn't have the money.

Iran has already invested more than $US2 billion to construct the Iranian side of the pipeline but there are serious doubts about how Pakistan could finance the $US2 billion needed to construct the pipeline on its territory. Iran's former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had pledged the loan.

Pakistan has welcomed an Iranian offer to approach third parties, including European companies, to finance the project.

"Pakistani officials were told in recent talks that, given the sanctions, Iran is not able to finance construction of the pipeline (in Pakistan) and has no obligation to do so," he said. His comments were posted on the oil ministry's website, shana.ir, Saturday.

Majedi complained that Pakistan has done little to construct its own section of the project. Under a valid contract, Pakistan is required to finish construction of the pipeline on its territory by the end of 2014.

"If a contractor is chosen today and pipeline construction begins today, it will take four years to complete it. Should Pakistan fail to take gas by the end of next year, Iran will demand compensation under the terms of the contract," he said.

The Iran-Pakistan pipeline is designed to help Pakistan overcome its mushrooming energy needs. Pakistanis experience frequent blackouts.

The US has opposed the project but leaders of both Iran and Pakistan have vowed to implement what they refer to as the "peace pipeline."

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US retail sales rise 0.7 per cent

US consumers ramped up spending in November on cars, appliances and furniture and made more purchases online, signalling growing confidence in the economy during the holiday shopping season.

The Commerce Department says retail sales rose 0.7 per cent, the biggest gain in five months. October's figure was also revised higher to 0.6 per cent.

Two straight months of healthy sales suggests steady hiring is encouraging Americans to spend more this holiday season, particularly on big-ticket items.

Car sales jumped 1.8 per cent and furniture purchases rose 1.2 per cent.

Excluding the volatile categories of cars, petrol and building materials, sales rose a solid 0.5 per cent in November.

Americans also are shifting more spending to online and catalog retailers.

Online and catalog sales rose 2.2 per cent last month, the most in nearly 18 months.

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Cate Blanchett nominated for Golden Globe

CATE Blanchett had better find a gown to wear to the Oscars, although Hugh Jackman, Geoffrey Rush and Chris Hemsworth likely won't have to worry about tuxedos.

For the second time in 24 hours, Blanchett confirmed her place as frontrunner for the best actress Oscar for her performance in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine.

The Australian actress was nominated for a best dramatic actress Golden Globe on Thursday along with Judi Dench (Philomena), Sandra Bullock (Gravity), Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks) and Kate Winslet (Labor Day).

On Wednesday Blanchett was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award (SAG).

The Globes and SAG Awards are the two major bellwethers for the Oscars, with nominations vital to maintaining momentum for the Academy Awards.

The Oscar nominations will be announced on January 16 and the winners on March 2.

Just as Blanchett's SAG and Globes nominations kept her on the right Oscar trajectory, Australian best actor hopefuls Jackman (Prisoners) and Hemsworth (Rush) and supporting actor Rush (The Book Thief) were all snubbed for Globes nods.

The same happened at the SAG nomination ceremony.

Oscar history says the double snubs give them little chance of scoring an Oscar nomination.

Another Australian hopeful, Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street), was an outside chance for a supporting actress nomination but she also failed to get Globe and SAG nods.

Globe voters liked Hemsworth's Rush and Robie's The Wolf of Wall Street films.

Rush received a Globe drama film nomination and Hemsworth's co-star Daniel Bruhl received a supporting actor nomination.

The Wolf of Wall Street was given a nomination in the musical-comedy picture Globe, despite the film being neither a comedy or musical, while the film's star Leonardo DiCaprio also picked up a comedy-musical actor nod.

In the TV categories, the star of Jane Campion's TV mini-series Top of the Lake, Elisabeth Moss, added a Globe nomination to her SAG nomination.

The 71st annual Golden Globe Awards will be held in Beverly Hills on January 12.

The 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be held in Los Angeles on January 18.

In other major Globe categories the best actor-drama nominees were: Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave); Idris Elba (Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom); Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips); Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club); Robert Redford (All Is Lost).

Best Actor in a musical or comedy film: Christian Bale (American Hustle); Bruce Dern (Nebraska); Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street); Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis); Joaquin Phoenix (Her)

Best Actress in a musical or comedy: Amy Adams (American Hustle); Julie Delpy (Before Midnight); Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha); Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Enough Said); and Meryl Streep (August: Osage County).

Best film drama: 12 Years A Slave; Captain Phillips; Gravity; Philomena; and Rush.

Best musical or comedy film: American Hustle; Her; Inside Llewyn Davis; Nebraska; and The Wolf Of Wall Street.

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US unemployment aid applications surge

THE number of people seeking US unemployment benefits rose 68,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 368,000, the largest increase in more than a year.

The surge in first-time applications could be a troubling sign if it lasts. But it likely reflects the difficulty adjusting for delays after the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Labor Department said on Thursday that the less volatile four-week average rose 6,000 to 328,750. That is close to pre-recession levels and generally a positive sign for job gains.

Applications had tumbled in recent weeks to nearly six-year lows, partly because of a late Thanksgiving holiday that may have distorted the government's seasonal adjustments. Economists believe this week's jump in claims was a dose of payback for those declines.

"What the seasonals give in one month they have to take back the next, hence today's number," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Applications for unemployment aid are a proxy for layoffs. A steady decline over the past year suggests that fewer Americans have lost their jobs.

Economists will track the next few weeks closely to see if that trend is reversing, or if the surge is a temporary blip caused by seasonal adjustments.

The recent drop in layoffs has coincided with a pickup in hiring. The economy has added an average of 204,000 jobs a month from August through November, up from an average of 146,000 in May through July.

Employers added 203,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low of 7 per cent, the government said on Friday.

Four straight months of robust hiring have raised hopes that 2014 will be the year the economy returns to normal.

As more Americans draw a pay cheque, incomes and consumer spending generally increase. About 70 per cent of economic activity comes from consumer spending.

However, the unemployment rate remains above the historic averages of 5 per cent to 6 per cent that are associated strong job markets.

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Fewer US homes entering foreclosure path

THE number of US homes entering the path to foreclosure or winding up repossessed by lenders has fallen to levels not seen in more than six years.

While foreclosures remain a concern in select states, the trend is the latest sign foreclosures are becoming less of a national factor on the housing recovery and more of a state and metropolitan-area concern.

Lenders initiated foreclosure action against 52,826 US homes in November, down 10 per cent from the previous month and a drop of 32 per cent from November last year, according to new data from foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc.

The last time the tally of monthly foreclosure starts was lower was in December 2005, the firm said.

Foreclosure starts increased last month on an annual basis in 15 states, including Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Oregon.

While fewer homes entered the foreclosure pipeline in November, the number of homes completing the foreclosure process also declined.

All told, lenders took back 30,461 homes last month, down 19 per cent from October and a decline of 48 per cent from November last year, RealtyTrac said.

Overall, completed foreclosures sank to the lowest level since July 2007, the firm said.

The number of homes repossessed by banks increased on an annual basis in only five states: Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut, Maine and Iowa - all states where the courts must sign off on foreclosures, a factor that typically draws out the process longer than in other states.

Some of the decline in foreclosure activity last month was due to a seasonal slowdown as the end of the year draws near. That could mean a bump in homes sold at auction or repossessed by banks early next year, said Daren Blomquist, a vice president at RealtyTrac.

"Regionally and locally, there are going to be some jumps in foreclosure numbers in 2014, but nothing we anticipate will threaten the housing recovery," Blomquist said. "It's very safe to say that the foreclosure crisis is over and behind us."

The decline in foreclosures has come about as more homeowners are keeping up with their mortgage payments. At the same time, the US housing market has emerged from a deep slump, aided by rising home prices, steady job growth and fewer troubled loans dating back to the housing-bubble days.

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US retail sales rise 0.7 per cent

US consumers ramped up spending in November on cars, appliances and furniture and made more purchases online, signalling growing confidence in the economy during the holiday shopping season.

The Commerce Department says retail sales rose 0.7 per cent, the biggest gain in five months. October's figure was also revised higher to 0.6 per cent.

Two straight months of healthy sales suggests steady hiring is encouraging Americans to spend more this holiday season, particularly on big-ticket items.

Car sales jumped 1.8 per cent and furniture purchases rose 1.2 per cent.

Excluding the volatile categories of cars, petrol and building materials, sales rose a solid 0.5 per cent in November.

Americans also are shifting more spending to online and catalog retailers.

Online and catalog sales rose 2.2 per cent last month, the most in nearly 18 months.

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US unemployment aid applications surge

THE number of people seeking US unemployment benefits rose 68,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 368,000, the largest increase in more than a year.

The surge in first-time applications could be a troubling sign if it lasts. But it likely reflects the difficulty adjusting for delays after the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Labor Department said on Thursday that the less volatile four-week average rose 6,000 to 328,750. That is close to pre-recession levels and generally a positive sign for job gains.

Applications had tumbled in recent weeks to nearly six-year lows, partly because of a late Thanksgiving holiday that may have distorted the government's seasonal adjustments. Economists believe this week's jump in claims was a dose of payback for those declines.

"What the seasonals give in one month they have to take back the next, hence today's number," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Applications for unemployment aid are a proxy for layoffs. A steady decline over the past year suggests that fewer Americans have lost their jobs.

Economists will track the next few weeks closely to see if that trend is reversing, or if the surge is a temporary blip caused by seasonal adjustments.

The recent drop in layoffs has coincided with a pickup in hiring. The economy has added an average of 204,000 jobs a month from August through November, up from an average of 146,000 in May through July.

Employers added 203,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low of 7 per cent, the government said on Friday.

Four straight months of robust hiring have raised hopes that 2014 will be the year the economy returns to normal.

As more Americans draw a pay cheque, incomes and consumer spending generally increase. About 70 per cent of economic activity comes from consumer spending.

However, the unemployment rate remains above the historic averages of 5 per cent to 6 per cent that are associated strong job markets.

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Fire kills 16 at fruit market in China

AT least 16 people died and five were injured after a fire broke out at a wholesale fruit market in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, reports said.

The fire started early on Wednesday and spread over about 1,000 square metres of the Rongjian market in Shenzhen's Guangming district, before firefighters extinguished it 90 minutes later, local officials said.

Police were still investigating the cause of the fire and detained the manager of the market, identified only by the surname Xu, for questioning.

Many tenants of the market lived above their stalls, state media reported.

The 16 dead were from four stalls, and the youngest victim was two years old, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Zhang Xiaowei, a spokesman for the Shenzhen fire department, as saying.

The 145 firefighters initially struggled to stop the fire spreading because of low water pressure at the market, other reports said.

The area where the fire broke out opened in 2008 in buildings converted from disused factories.

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UN maintains Liberia sanctions

THE United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously to maintain an arms embargo on Liberia, a travel ban on named individuals, and an asset freeze against former Liberian president Charles Taylor, his key allies and associated companies.

But a resolution adopted by the council on Tuesday asks the committee monitoring sanctions to review all those subject to the asset freeze within 90 days and determine whether they should still be subject to sanctions.

It also orders a review of all sanctions in six months "with a view to modifying or lifting all or part of the measures" depending on Liberia's progress toward disarming combatants, reforming its security sector, fully implementing a peace agreement, and maintaining stability throughout the country.

Liberia was battered by back-to-back civil wars from 1989 to 2003.

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Parliament keeps eye on post office talks

A PARLIAMENTARY committee will "keep a watching brief" on Australia Post's discussions with struggling Licensed Post Office (LPO) owners, with many fighting for survival.

In its interim report, the Senate inquiry noted there were "numerous issues" in Australia Post's relationship with post office owners.

Licensed owners have complained of having business poached by Australia Post, and of the financial viability of their agreement with the government-owned body.

"Evidence was given that many LPO operators are struggling to survive to the point where some off-site employment is undertaken to fund their operation," the report tabled in the Senate on Wednesday said.

"It is evident it has now become a fight for survival and must be considered a matter of urgency.

"To do nothing would put the future of hundreds of LPOs, principally in rural and regional areas, at risk."

The committee said it was "heartened" Australia Post was attempting to address concerns of licensed owners.

Chair of the committee, the Nationals John Williams, said the committee had agreed to keep a watching brief of the discussions.

It will release its final report by the end of March next year.

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Obesity crisis 'taken world by surprise'

THE obesity pandemic has taken the world by surprise and there is an urgent need for bold solutions, says an international expert.

Professor Shiriki Kumanyika, chair of a panel that wrote an obesity report for the World Innovation Summit for Health in Doha, said it was a relatively new problem and an unintended consequence of technological progress.

"We have been asleep at the wheel," she said at a discussion on Wednesday about the report, which describes obesity as a grave threat to national health systems and economies.

"We have to get a handle on food supply. Our report recommends that countries find innovative and economically feasible ways to reshape their food system."

These could include taxes on unhealthy foods and infrastructure changes to ensure affordable fresh food reaches remote areas.

"There is more of a contribution from overeating than there is from being inactive," she said.

"It is too easy to eat 500 or 1000 calories too many. You can do that in one meal. You can't work off that number of extra calories in a normal routine."

Solutions could also involve improved programs at schools and workplaces, as well as weight screening for children and special weight management training for health workers.

"There need to be big-picture changes on a global scale, but on a local level schools, employers and primary health care have to be part of the solution," said Prof Kumanyika of the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the International Obesity Task Force.

"Obesity is hard to talk about. It is a personal problem. But it is also a complex and urgent world health problem."

Former UK education Minister Baroness Tessa Blackstone said prevention had to involve entire governments, not just the minister of health.

She said telling people what to eat could be described as introducing a nanny state.

"But that's rubbish. We have to push aside that sort of criticism."

Blackstone noted that obesity often ran in families, and said schools should reach out to parents to ensure children ate sensibly and exercised.

"There are many parents who do not know enough about the damage that is being done to their children by some of the food and drink that they are giving them."

*Clifford Fram is in Doha as a guest of the Qatar Foundation.

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Tighter budget rules needed: think tank

THE Parliamentary Budget Office should be replaced by an independent fiscal commission to prevent a future budget crisis, a conservative think tanks says.

As Treasurer Joe Hockey prepares to hand down the mid-year budget review, the Centre for Independent Studies has called for a new body to assume responsibility for formulating the budget's fiscal and economic parameters.

It would provide the frame for the government's tax and spending decisions, and impose financial penalties on politicians should the new fiscal rules be breached.

"Strengthening our fiscal institutions and implementing legislated fiscal rules would leave us in a better position to address the budget deficit and the long-term challenges Australia faces, such as an ageing population," CIS research fellow Stephen Kirchner said on Thursday.

He said under the current Charter of Budget Honesty, commitments by politicians are far too easily abandoned or relaxed, which has allowed the budget to slip into a "state of disrepair".

"An independent fiscal commission would enforce legislated fiscal rules, including limits of budget balance, net debt, revenue and spending as a share of GDP, and a rule limiting real growth in spending," Dr Kirchner said in a statement.

In the event one of these fiscal rules being broken, the pay of all MPs would be reduced by one per cent for every percentage point breached and over the duration of that breach.

"The commission would answer to the public, not to the parliament, which is one of the flaws of the Parliamentary Budget Office," he said.

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Australian cattle tortured in Gaza

FOOTAGE of Australian cattle being tortured before being slaughtered in Gaza is among the most shocking ever captured, independent MP Andrew Wilkie says.

The footage, filmed by civilians during the Festival of Sacrifice in October, shows tagged Australian bulls and cows being kicked, stabbed and shot while being dragged - with legs bound - through streets and makeshift slaughterhouses as crowds cheer.

The most disturbing footage shows a bound animal stabbed in the eye, while another is knee-capped with bullets from an assault rifle.

Animals Australia said the abuse was sickening and in breach of Australia's live export regulations.

"There are no words to adequately describe the carnage in these videos and the scale of abuse endured by Australian cattle," Animals Australia campaign director Lyn White said.

"It is shocking and completely harrowing to watch.

"Any politician or industry supporter who has propagated the industry's clever PR line that we can improve animal welfare by being in the market should be locked in a room and forced to watch an hour of footage from Gaza."

The animal welfare agency said the footage had been provided to all MPs and Senators.

It has lodged a legal complaint about the abuse - the third in two months following breaches of regulations in Jordan and Mauritius.

Mr Wilkie said the barbaric treatment of Australian livestock in overseas markets must stop.

"Gaza is just the latest in a long line of revelations which show clearly that Australia's so-called supply chain assurance is failing," Mr Wilkie said.

"If the government doesn't have the backbone to stop the trade altogether, then it should at least commit to ban or refuse permits to all companies that have demonstrated a continuing disregard for animal welfare."

Livestock Shipping Services (LSS), the largest cattle exporter into Israel, self-reported potential breaches of Australia's live export regulations in Gaza last month.

LSS is already under investigation for breaches in Jordan in June and October.

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QBE suffers rating downgrade

Insurer QBE has had its credit rating downgraded, and its shares have continued to plunge. Source: AAP

INSURANCE giant QBE has had its credit rating downgraded due to its forecast of a $250 million loss for the 2013 calendar year.

Moody's downgraded QBE's issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to Baa2, from Baa1.

The downgrade reflects the company's weakened profitability, internal generation of capital and measures to cover its debt servicing, Moody's said.

QBE on Monday announced a series of writedowns and provisions on the various north American businesses it has acquired since 2006, which will lead to the loss for the year.

The company's share price fell heavily again on Tuesday, losing $1.18, or 9.8 per cent, to $10.82.

Almost $5.7 billion has been wiped from QBE's market value since it announced the writedowns.

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NRMA customers stuck after power outage

How to lose a $150K spinnaker

THEY are known as supermaxis, the huge, sleek, fast and very expensive yachts that battle it out each year for line honours in the nation's greatest boat race - the Sydney to Hobart.

Couple 'killed over plastering debt'

A TURKISH man is accused of repeatedly stabbing to death a couple in Melbourne while their three children aged 2, 3 and 5 slept in another room.

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WA shark policy a 'cull by another name'

Experts and conservationists have hit out at WA's tough new policies to prevent shark attacks. Source: AAP

EXPERTS and conservationists have bitten back at Western Australia's tough new policies to prevent deadly shark attacks, which include the establishment of licensed offshore "kill zones".

Following the sixth fatal attack off the WA coast in two years last month, the state government announced tougher measures aimed at preventing attacks, but denied it was a cull.

Professional shark hunters will be paid to patrol WA waters, with a licence to kill any shark bigger than three metres spotted in designated zones spanning large parts of the metropolitan and south-west coastline.

And baited hooks will also be placed along the coast to catch sharks, with a larger strike team ready to scramble into action in the event of an attack.

Premier Colin Barnett said he knew the measures were controversial but refused to acknowledge he was sanctioning a cull.

Shark academic Christopher Neff, from Sydney University, disagreed.

"This is a tool that is used to kill sharks and to reduce populations - that is by definition culling," Mr Neff said.

"It is an unfortunate policy."

Two 'Marine Monitored Areas', stretching one kilometre offshore from Quinns to Warnbro in the metro area, and Forest Beach to Cape Naturaliste and Prevelly in the state's south, will be established in coming weeks.

And drum lines - drums with a baited hook fixed to the ocean floor and designed to attract sharks - will be placed one kilometre from the shore of beaches and surf breaks, and will be monitored daily.

Federal environment minister Greg Hunt was consulted about the policies before they were revealed.

But Greens senator Rachel Siewert said she would move a motion in parliament calling on the federal government to maintain protection of the great white shark.

"The WA government's announcement opens the door to sharks being caught and killed. Measures based on the capture and killing of a threatened and protected species is not a responsible step," Ms Siewert said.

Piers Verstegen, director of the Conservation Council of WA, claimed the move could actually increase shark attack risk.

"This new cull policy amounts to indiscriminate fishing, and will not only cull potentially risky sharks, but we can expect to see dolphins, turtles, seals, nurse sharks and a range of other marine life killed off our beaches."

Treasurer Troy Buswell, who loses the fisheries portfolio on Wednesday, admitted it was likely other marine animals would be caught with the baited hooks, and it was possible tagged sharks used for research could also be caught by the new policy.

But the government insisted public safety came first.

"This does not represent a culling of sharks. It is not a fear-driven hunt, it is a targeted, localised shark mitigation strategy," Mr Buswell said.

Experts from the University of WA - who are working with the government on research into sharks - have already said a cull would be a pointless reaction, and that a surge in shark-bite incidents off WA's coast are linked to the growing population, which means more people in the water.

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Surf race teen drowned but not knocked out

An autopsy on the body of surf life saving competitor Matthew Barclay shows he died from drowning. Source: AAP

AN autopsy conducted on teen surf life saving competitor Matthew Barclay shows he died from drowning, with no sign he was knocked out by his board.

Matthew died during an under-15 board race which went ahead at the 2012 Australian Surf Life Saving Championships on the Gold Coast after several other events had been abandoned because of the rough conditions.

The championships' under-15 area referee Jenny Kenny told the inquest into Matthew's death that the board race was originally going to be held on March 29.

However, Ms Kenny said event organisers decided on the morning of March 28 to hold the board race that day after postponing the swim, board rescue and tube races because of unfavourable conditions at Kurrawa Beach.

She said those events were postponed because of the size of the 1.5 metre waves and the fact they were breaking far from the shore, creating a longer course.

The board races were considered safer for the conditions on March 28, she said.

"It wasn't an event in which we could see that there were any inherent dangers for the competitors," Ms Kenny told the inquest in Brisbane on Tuesday.

On Monday an event jet ski operator told the inquest he saw a loose board on a collision course with the unresponsive teen and assumed he must have been hit.

However, forensic pathologist Dianne Little gave evidence on Tuesday that while Matthew died from drowning, there was no sign the 14-year-old suffered head trauma.

Dr Little said there were grazes on his head and body but on examination she found they were inflicted after he died and were probably caused by his body buffeting against the sea floor.

She could find no evidence of natural disease, and toxicology and biochemistry tests showed nothing.

The pathologist said Matthew's lungs showed signs of mild chronic asthma, but ruled out the condition as a cause of death.

"There was absolutely nothing I could find at the autopsy that could explain why he drowned," she said.

The inquest was adjourned on Tuesday to a date to be fixed to allow time for a Workplace Health and Safety report on Matthew's death to be finalised.

Coroner Terry Ryan accepted a request by the Barclay family to include the report in the probe.

Outside court, Matthew's father Stephen Barclay said the delay was in the best interests of everybody and he expected the report to take a couple of months.

Over one-and-a-half days of evidence, the inquest heard the surf at Kurrawa was "challenging" on March 28, with a strong rip and waves up to two metres.

Gold Coast lifeguards expressed concerns for the safety of younger competitors but Matthew's race went ahead at 3.27pm.

Two jet ski operators saw him being tossed about by the powerful swell but were unable to rescue him due to the rough conditions.

Searchers did not find his body until the following day.

Matthew was the third teen to die while competing at Kurrawa during the Australian titles since 1996.

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Boat race pest wins appeal to stay in UK

Australian boat race protester Trenton Oldfield has won an appeal to stay in the UK. Source: AAP

BOAT race protester Trenton Oldfield has secured a victory over the British government that wanted to deport him while simultaneously declaring his family could never live in "racist" Australia.

Mr Oldfield on Monday successfully appealed against Home Secretary Theresa May's decision to kick him out of the country on the grounds that his presence was "not conducive to the public good".

Immigration tribunal Judge Kevin Moore, in overturning the deportation order, said Mr Oldfield was an asset to Britain.

"There is no doubt in my view to your character and commitment and the value you are to UK society generally," the judge said.

Mr Oldfield, originally from Sydney, has a British wife, Deepa Naik, 36, and a five-month-old baby daughter.

He's lived in the UK for more than a decade.

The Australian, 37, swam into the path of the Oxford and Cambridge rowing crews as they raced down the Thames in April 2012 to protest against elitism.

He was subsequently jailed for seven weeks.

"Australia is a particularly racist country," Mr Oldfield said on Monday when explaining that if deported he would be separated from his family.

Mr Oldfield said Ms Naik, who is of Indian descent, had never visited Australia and couldn't live there because some Indians in the community had suffered violent attacks.

There was also everyday "passive water-cooler racism", he said.

"Our home is here. Australia is on the other side of the world."

Mr Oldfield said when he disrupted the boat race he'd recently returned from Canada after seven months caring for his father-in-law who was dying from cancer.

He was saddened to realise wealthier people could afford better drugs and have a better quality of life when gravely ill.

"I was vulnerable in terms of realising how short life can be," Mr Oldfield said before breaking down in tears.

"I was very emotional. When you walk around London you see pockets of deprivation that still exist. I think I was heartbroken."

More than 250 staff and students from Oxford and Cambridge signed a letter of support ahead of Monday's hearing.

Two professors gave evidence that Mr Oldfield's work as an activist and independent publisher added to the debate about inequality.

A further 23 people wrote character references and were present at the tribunal.

The Australian's lawyer, Stephanie Harrison QC, insisted the 2012 protest was an isolated incident.

"It won't be repeated, he has learned his lesson," she said.

But Home Office representative Darren Morley insisted Mr Oldfield broke the law by endangering himself and others, and it was appropriate for the government to reject his spousal visa.

"The whole country saw this ... there's a need to be firm against this type of behaviour," he said.

Mr Oldfield's solicitor Natalia Garcia said outside the tribunal it was extremely unusual for an immigration judge to allow an appeal on the spot.

It was proof of her client's good character and contribution to the UK, she told reporters.

Judge Moore's full determination will be delivered within 10 days.

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Young locked out of property market: oppn

YOUNG people in NSW will struggle to buy property with state government cuts to the first home buyers grants effectively locking them out of the market, the state opposition says.

Monthly loan figures for October, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, show about seven per cent of loans taken to buy property were from first home buyers, shadow treasurer Michael Daley said.

In October 2010, the figure was around 17 per cent, he added.

"The disappointing figures follow (Premier) Barry O'Farrell's decision to dump the $7000 First Home Owner Grant and end stamp duty exemptions worth up to $17,990 for first home buyers purchasing existing homes," Mr Daley said.

"Instead, the government's New Home Grant Scheme has paid 9802 grants to property investors and existing home owners buying a second property - further putting first home buyers out of the market."

Under the changes, taxpayer's money is "assisting property speculators", Mr Daley said.

NSW treasurer Mike Baird said the government made the changes to increase the number of first home buyers purchasing new homes.

Grants for newly built homes are up 83 per cent in the six months to November compared to the same period in 2012, Mr Baird added.

A $15,000 grant, applicable for the next two years, is available to first homebuyers of new homes costing up to $650,000.

Stamp duty won't be charged on homes worth less than $550,000 and a reduced fee will be imposed upon those who purchase property for less than $650,000, Mr Baird said.

"Previous incentives to first homebuyers for existing properties simply increased mortgage sizes, as they increased demand without any boost to housing supply," Mr Baird said in a statement to AAP.

"We are unashamedly targeting first homebuyer incentives towards new homes."

The NSW property market, he said, was the best it had been for a decade.

"Increasing housing stock and choice will ease competition in the market and help to get more first homebuyers into the housing market sooner."

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Qld 30-year vision sets the bar high

Expanding children's literacy and numeracy levels is a primary target in a bold plan for Queensland. Source: AAP

AN ambitious 30-year plan for Queensland aims to have half of the state's population living outside the southeast and to narrow the gap between the wealthy and poor.

Ensuring all Queensland children have basic literacy and numeracy when they finish primary school is another key target in The Queensland Plan, released for review on Sunday.

Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection Andrew Powell says the bar has been set high.

"The working draft is based on a compilation of what Queenslanders have told us they want in 30 years' time," he said in a statement.

"We don't expect everyone will agree with these preliminary targets, but we now have a great opportunity as a community to realise the future we want."

Mr Powell is urging all Queenslanders to have a look at the draft to ensure the 30-year vision reflects the aspirations of the Sunshine State.

"Test us. These targets are bold, they are different and some have never been measured in Australia before," he said.

Ensuring Queenslanders have the lowest incidence of preventable diseases in Australia and increasing the life expectancy of the state's indigenous peoples are also among the 16 primary targets outlined in the draft plan.

The final Queensland Plan is expected to be released by mid-2014.

The working draft is online and will be available for review until March 7 2014.

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Free transport urged for fire recovery

The NSW Opposition wants free weekend transport to and from the Blue Mountains to boost business. Source: AAP

THE NSW government should provide free bus and train rides to and from the Blue Mountains these holidays to help businesses recover from the October bushfires, the state opposition says.

The government needs to encourage visitors back with the message that the Blue Mountains is open for business, Opposition Leader John Robertson says.

Analysis by Blue Mountains Lithgow & Oberon Tourism and Blue Mountains Economic Enterprise estimates 200 jobs and more than $47 million in tourism revenue have been lost in the six weeks following the bushfires.

Domestic day trips alone are estimated to be down by more than 144,000.

Mr Robertson says there are dozens of bus and train services to the Blue Mountains every weekend.

"These public transport services should be free and promoted across the Sydney Trains network to encourage families and tourists to plan a trip to the mountains."

Opposition transport spokeswoman Penny Sharpe says she's written to Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian asking that Labor's proposal be implemented immediately, effective until the Australia Day long weekend.

"For a family of two adults and two children it would cost $34.80 on a Saturday to travel from Central to Springwood by train ... that's $34 better spent in a Blue Mountains small business."

Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill says many visitors had been scared away by the bushfires.

"We have hundreds of thousands of hectares of world heritage listed National Park with breathtaking scenery, pristine waterways and amazing walking tracks," he said.

"We welcome any proposal that encourages visitors and their wallets to our region."

Ms Berejiklian said in a statement that the NSW government had announced funding for a campaign to encourage tourists to visit the Blue Mountains and continued to work with the community to help those impacted.

"An auction of Sydney Trains lost property items held on Saturday raised thousands of dollars that will be donated to victims of the Blue Mountains bushfire," she said.

The minister also said the government had announced residents would not be charged for water used to defend their homes during the bushfires.

Fees to replace documents such as birth certificates and driver licences had also been waived along with fees for taking bushfire waste to the tip, Ms Berejiklian said.

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Vic minister slams hospital delay claim

OPPOSITION claims that sick Victorian kids are being forced to wait due to delays in building a children's hospital are wrong and hypocrisy in the extreme, the health minister says.

Baulderstone Pty Ltd will build the 230-bed Monash Children's Hospital, with construction to begin mid-next year, it was announced on Sunday.

But opposition health spokesman Gavin Jennings says the hospital should be being finished now, not being started, with the government promising to deliver it in its first term.

"Families who have been waiting for better care for their children, continue to wait," he told reporters.

"Families are waiting longer than they should have."

Health Minister David Davis said the government had promised to start building the hospital in its first term.

He said Labor's delay claims were wrong and "hypocrisy in the extreme" because they failed to build the hospital in 11 years in government.

"(Now Opposition Leader) Daniel Andrews was parliamentary secretary for health first and health minister later and he allocated not one cent to build the Monash Children's Hospital," Mr Davis told AAP.

He said the need for a dedicated children's hospital in Melbourne's southeast was first identified a decade ago.

"This is an important hospital for Melbourne's southeast, a hospital that we look forward to seeing in operation," Mr Davis said.

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Drug arrests, seizures at Vic music fest

MORE than 100 people have been arrested for drug offences at a Melbourne music festival.

Police seized drugs including ecstasy, amphetamine, cocaine, GHB and MDMA during a sniffer dog operation at the Stereosonic festival at Melbourne Showgrounds over the weekend.

They arrested 139 people, with the majority receiving drug diversions or cautions.

Ten people were charged.

Police Senior Sergeant Mark Pilkington said it was disappointing that so many people were risking their lives by taking illicit substances.

"Believe it or not, you are taking a serious risk with your health and life every time you take an illicit substance," he said.

"We will continue to work closely with event organisers to try and limit these substances at events."

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Alcohol sends 30,000 Vics to hospital

NEARLY 30,000 Victorians were hospitalised in a 12-month period due to the effects of excessive alcohol consumption, new data shows.

Men make up the majority of those hospitalised, but there has been a big jump in the number of women ending up in hospital due to alcohol.

The data, compiled by the organisation Turning Point, shows that during 2010/11 there were 29,694 alcohol-related inpatient hospitalisations.

On average, each of those people are staying in hospital for nearly four days, meaning 113,117 hospital bed days were taken up as a result of excess alcohol consumption.

Turning Point director professor Dan Lubman said the figures were a timely warning of the dangers of alcohol as Victorians prepare for the Christmas holiday period.

"While most people are able to consume alcohol in moderation, the decision-making part of your brain becomes less effective the more you drink," Prof Lubman said.

"There is a clear link between intoxication and increased rates of road accidents, injuries and assaults."

Prof Lubman said there was a big jump in the number of women being hospitalised.

In 2001/02 there were 6727 women hospitalised for alcohol-related incidents, but by 2010/11 that number had jumped to 11,484.

Men aged between 50 and 60 years were the most likely group to be hospitalised, the research showed.

For women, those aged between 40 and 44 years and 50 and 54 years are the most likely to end up in hospital for alcohol related reasons.

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Comedy Bamboozled wins Tropfest

AFTER winning a prize in the DSLR category at the last Tropfest, Australian filmmaker Matt Hardie can now add Tropfest 22 winner to his name.

Hardie has taken home the top prize with his comedic short film Bamboozled.

The event on Sunday night was actually the second Tropfest this year - the date change meant there was one in February and one in December - and Hardie was selected as a finalist at both.

"I thought this one wasn't going to do as well to be quite honest," Hardie told AAP about Bamboozled after his win at Sydney's Centennial Park.

"We did it so quickly. We thought it was good but I really didn't think it was going to go all the way."

How wrong he was.

Not only did he win 1st prize, which includes $10,000 in cash, a new Toyota car, a trip to LA, a Nikon DSLR and lenses, but he also received Best Male Actor, an award he shares with his co-star Aaron Tsindos.

Hardie's film was announced as the winner out of 16 finalists by Legally Blonde director Robert Luketic, who made the decision along with a panel of judges including Red Dog director Kriv Stenders, filmmaker Nash Edgerton, Milk producer Bruna Papandrea, actress Susie Porter and Oscar-winning filmmaker Adam Elliot.

Tropfest founder and director John Polson also took to the stage during the announcements to reveal the TSI (Tropfest Signature Item) for next year's festival - Mirror.

Polson says he was delighted at the turnout, with thousands embracing the new date in December and the new location at Centennial Park after years at the Domain.

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