No tsunami risk from Tongan quake

A 6.3-MAGNITUDE earthquake has struck off the coast of the Pacific Island nation of Tonga but experts say there is no threat of a tsunami.

The quake reportedly struck in waters northeast of the Tongan capital, Nuku'alofa, at about 7pm local time (1600 AEST) on Saturday.

Geoscience Australia reports the impact could have been felt by people more than 600-kilometres away.

Seismologist Marco Maldoni said residents of the island nation would definitely felt shaking after the movement of tectonic plates and that that part of the world was prone to earthquakes.

"That earthquake itself happened where the Australian plate meets the Pacific plate," Dr Maldoni told AAP on Saturday.

"Thankfully this is a non-tsunamigenic earthquake - something that can potentially generate a tsunami."

Dr Maldoni said that in the past five years there had been about 200 earthquakes within that area, with another one occurring near Tonga at a magnitude of 6.2 as recently as Friday.

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Hard line on boats paying off: Morrison

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says the government's tough stance on asylum seekers is working. Source: AAP

NO people-smuggling venture had succeeded in landing asylum seekers on Australia for more than four months, the government says.

In the latest update on Operation Sovereign Borders, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday that vigorous border protection activities was deterring illegal boat arrivals, even into the post-monsoon period when weather conditions usually improve.

Mr Morrison said the practice of turning back unauthorised boats remained in effect.

"Anyone seeking to enter Australia illegally by boat will be faced with the same policies those who previously attempted illegal entry met," he said in a statement.

Mr Morrison said no one had reached Australia since December 19 and that continued this month. But 3351 on 47 boats arrived in April 2013 under the former Labor government.

The latest Operation Sovereign Borders operational update says there are now 1281 in the processing centre on Manus Island and 1177 on Nauru, making a total of 2458.

Another 1405 remain on Christmas Island. During the last week, eight asylum seekers were transferred to Nauru.

Seven unauthorised maritime arrival transferees were voluntarily returned to Iran.

Since Operation Sovereign Borders started on September 18, 220 asylum seekers have voluntarily returned to their home countries.

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NSW fisherman drowns trying to save wife

A SYDNEY rock fisherman who jumped into rough seas to save his wife has died and his mate is feared drowned.

The two men, 24 and 26, were part of a group of six that travelled to the NSW Central Coast from Sydney on Friday to go rock fishing.

The friends, some of whom are students, were on a notoriously dangerous rocky ledge at Wybung Head, near Lake Macquarie, when a woman was swept into the ocean by a wave.

The woman's husband and a friend entered the water to rescue her but disappeared. The woman survived after being washed back onto the rocks.

A major search operation was sparked about 6:30pm on Friday when the men failed to resurface.

Police say no one in the group was wearing a life jacket.

A helicopter winched the woman from the rock ledge while paramedics and police rescued three other people.

The emotional woman and her supportive friends returned to Wybung on Saturday as the Westpac Life Saver Helicopter, police and surf life savers searched for her missing husband and friend.

The husband's body was pulled from the ocean at 9am.

"The wife is absolutely devastated as you can imagine," Tuggerah Lakes police acting Inspector John Dooley told AAP.

The search has been called off but will resume at 8am on Sunday.

Local fishermen say the stretch of coast is treacherous and catches many people off guard.

"At that actual location, the people who go rock fishing aren't prepared for the danger of the sport," Peter Trenear, of Pelicans Wharf Fishing Tackle, told AAP.

"For the inexperienced, it can be life threatening."

Mr Trenear said he was washed off rocks in the same area about six years ago and had to be plucked from the ocean by a rescue helicopter.

"It was so easy, the water caught me by surprise," he said.

Insp Dooley said police had carried out several rescues and body recoveries at the spot over the years.

He warned people planning to rock fish to wear life jackets and check ocean conditions.

"You must be appropriately equipped to go down on these rock ledges," he said.

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Woolworths investigates mushroom poisoning

CANBERRA residents who may be feeling ill after consuming mushrooms bought from a Woolworths supermarket are being advised to seek immediate medical attention following a possible Death Cap mushroom poisoning.

ACT Health is investigating after three patients from the same household attended Canberra's Calvary Hospital in the last 48 hours with poisoning symptoms.

They claim to have been affected by mushrooms purchased from a Woolworths in the suburb of Dickson on April 17.

"This appears to be an isolated incident and there have been no other recent reports of Death Cap mushroom poisoning in the ACT," the territory's chief health officer Dr Paul Kelly said.

In a statement on Saturday, Woolworths advised that customers follow ACT Health's recommendations, which include seeking immediate medical attention if they experience stomach aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

ACT Health also recommends throwing away any mushrooms bought from Woolworths in Dickson around that time as a precaution.

Woolworths says it is not aware of any other cases.

"We take customer safety very seriously and are working closely with our supplier and ACT Health to investigate the claims," the company said.

In Canberra in 2012, a man and a woman died and two others were poisoned but recovered after consuming a meal which contained Death Cap mushrooms.

"People are reminded not to pick and eat any wild mushrooms. It can be extremely difficult for even experienced collectors to distinguish Death Cap mushrooms from other edible mushrooms," Dr Kelly said.

The highly toxic Death Cap mushroom is a native to Europe but has spread around the world, with populations observed in Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide. It resembles a common edible variety used in Chinese cooking.

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Rudd's batts evidence must yield answers

Former PM Kevin Rudd will appear at a royal commission into Labor's home insulation program. Source: AAP

THE relatives of four men who died installing insulation deserve answers, not apologies, from former prime minister Kevin Rudd when he fronts an inquiry, a lawyer says.

Mr Rudd will take the witness stand at the royal commission into Labor's home insulation program on Wednesday, May 14.

The bungled stimulus scheme has been blamed for the deaths of Queenslanders Rueben Barnes, Matthew Fuller and Mitchell Sweeney, and Marcus Wilson from NSW.

Lawyer Bill Potts is representing Rueben's father Murray who simply wants the former government to take responsibility for its actions.

"Rueben's father wants to know where the buck stops," Mr Potts told AAP.

"Does it stop at the PM's desk?"

Mr Rudd apologised for the three Queensland fatalities in July last year after a coroner found the scheme's rushed rollout was a significant factor in their deaths.

Mr Potts said apologies were easy to make and the families deserved concrete answers from the $20 million royal commission.

"It's not just crocodile tears we're after."

Former environment minister Peter Garrett, put in charge of the scheme, will give evidence the day before Mr Rudd, according to a witness list released on Thursday.

Former Labor senator Mark Arbib, who was charged with coordinating government stimulus programs, will appear on May 12.

The relatives of the men who died will be permitted to address the inquiry the day after Mr Rudd's appearance.

Mr Rudd will be represented by leading defence barrister Bret Walker, SC, and is expected to be pressed about the scheme's rushed rollout, including revelations two public servants were given two days to cost it.

He may also be questioned over the program's lack of installer training and what safety warnings he received before its July 1 2009 rollout.

The royal commission before Ian Hanger, QC, resumes in Brisbane on May 1.

It's expected to wind up on May 16, after former Labor frontbencher Greg Combet gives his evidence.

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New generation of Anzacs remembered

OVERSEEING Australian army operations in Afghanistan and other dangerous places, Lieutenant General Ash Power knows first-hand the ongoing, devastating consequences of war.

In his time as Chief of Joint Operations, 18 Australian soldiers have died in Afghanistan with many others wounded.

General Power will lead the Call to Remembrance at the Anzac Day dawn service in Villers-Bretonneux in France on Friday and, like so many, he has a close personal connection to the area.

His grandfather Hab Power fought on the Western Front in World War I and General Power said Anzac Day was a time to honour diggers past and present.

"If you look back to attrition warfare, the trench warfare of the First World War, thank heavens we've moved a long way from that," General Power told AAP on Thursday.

"But it's still traumatic, and each of these people we lose is a human being.

"Each of them have mums and dads, brothers and sisters, some have their own kids and the loss is significant for each of those families.

"Thankfully the scale has changed but it is a time to not only remember those remarkable generations of the two world wars but to remember the ultimate sacrifice made by so many up to today."

This is the first Anzac Day since Australia started pulling out of Afghanistan, where 40 Australian solders have died since 2001.

But General Power said the Australian Defence Force would remain busy and Australians continued to risk their lives every day in minor operations at places such as Golan Heights, the Sinai Peninsula and South Sudan.

General Power has also overseen the ADF's role in the search for the missing plane MH370, a task he will resume after Anzac Day.

He admitted he wasn't optimistic that an end to the search was in sight.

"The Indian Ocean is huge and if someone's done this deliberately to try and hide it, it's probably the best place on the surface of the earth to do it," he said.

"It's really remote and very difficult. There's not much going for us but we'll continue to work at it for a little while yet."

Foreign minister Julie Bishop will also attend Friday's ceremony in France.

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Tinkler named as ICAC witness

Mining magnate Nathan Tinkler has been named as a witness for the latest NSW corruption inquiry. Source: AAP

MINING baron Nathan Tinkler has been named as a witness in NSW's latest corruption inquiry.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) will launch public hearings for Operation Spicer in Sydney on Monday, with Mr Tinkler due to enter the witness box on Friday.

There is no suggestion Mr Tinkler has acted corruptly.

Operation Spicer will investigate allegations that former NSW energy minister Christopher Hartcher, and others, corruptly solicited, received, and concealed payments in return for MPs favouring the interests of those responsible for the payments.

Mr Hartcher is now suspended from the NSW Liberal Party.

The allegations, which centre on a period between April 2009 and April 2012, also involve fellow suspended NSW Liberal MPs Darren Webber and Christopher Spence.

ICAC will also investigate allegations that NSW MPs, including Messrs Hartcher, Webber and Spence, solicited, received and failed to disclose political donations from companies, including prohibited donors, contrary to the Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act 1981.

Further allegations include whether the business Eightbyfive entered into agreements with a series of companies including Australian Water Holdings Pty Ltd (AWH), purportedly for media, public relations and other services, in return for Mr Hartcher favouring the interests of Eightbyfive.

Australian Water Holdings was at the centre of the most recent ICAC inquiry, which ended last week.

The then NSW premier, Barry O'Farrell, resigned after appearing as a witness at that inquiry after it emerged that he was sent a bottle of expensive wine by AWH chief executive Nicholas Di Girolamo.

AWH and some of its senior managers are alleged to have engaged in improper conduct, including passing on dubious expense claims to taxpayer-funded Sydney Water.

ICAC is due to report findings from its investigation into those allegations later this year.

ICAC Commissioner Megan Latham will oversee the Operation Spicer public hearings, which are expected to last about three weeks.

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Four WA boys jailed over man's death

FOUR teenagers convicted of unlawfully killing a 28-year-old man have each been sentenced to more than four years in detention, while the victim's mother has urged them to make a better future.

Tauri Litchfield was killed in Mandurah, south of Perth, in March last year after four boys, aged 15 and 16, assaulted and chased him until he tripped over a wall and hit his head.

In sentencing on Thursday, Children's Court president Denis Reynolds said the boy who punched Mr Litchfield - after he slapped the youth on the back of the head for trying to pickpocket him - wanted to show the older man that he was the boss.

"You likely felt demeaned (by the slap) in the presence of the group," Judge Reynolds said.

He said if the boy had not started and continued to pursue the confrontation, Mr Litchfield would still be alive.

Despite suggestions Mr Litchfield had been agitated after celebrating St Patrick's Day, Judge Reynolds found he did not engage in any unprovoked violence and was extremely fearful for his safety from the "pack" of youths when he tried to escape further assault.

People should be able to walk in public alone, and deterrence was important to prevent similar violence in the community, Judge Reynolds said.

Mr Litchfield's mother, Kerry Biggs, told the court she was broken by the loss of her son and would take the pain to her grave.

"I will carry his heart in my heart forever," she said.

Ms Biggs told the teenagers they could still change their lives.

"You have an opportunity to choose how to use the rest of your lives, to make a better future for your family, your community and your children," she said.

Ms Biggs said there were no words to describe the agony and anguish she felt.

"When you have your own children, then you will understand what you took from us," she said.

Judge Reynolds, who questioned the remorse of the troubled teenagers, said he hoped they would take note of Ms Biggs' comments in their rehabilitation.

Mr Litchfield's girlfriend, Lisa Emes, said in her victim impact statement that she screamed for him to wake up in hospital so she could see his blue eyes again.

The court heard that two of the boys did not have criminal records, but two others had violent records including one who was involved in an attempted group sex attack and another who threw a brick at a person's face.

Three teenagers were each sentenced to four-and-a-half years in detention, while the instigator was sentenced to five-and-a-half years behind bars.

Each boy has already been in custody for about a year and will be eligible for supervised release orders after serving half their sentences.

A fifth boy was acquitted of any crime against Mr Litchfield, while a charge against a sixth boy was dropped during the trial.

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Cancellations on Everest as sherpas walk

ANOTHER major mountaineering company has abandoned its Everest expedition after a deadly avalanche killed 16 Nepalese guides, as the government strives to save the climbing season, a vital earner for the country.

New Zealand-based Adventure Consultants lost three people in last Friday's avalanche which struck a party of sherpas preparing routes for commercial climbers up the world's highest peak.

The company said in a statement late Tuesday that "after much discussion and consideration of all aspects, the tough decision has been made to cancel the 2014 expedition this season".

US-based Alpine Ascents International and the Discovery Channel, which intended to broadcast the first winged jumpsuit flight off the summit, have also scrapped their plans on the 8848-metre peak.

Hundreds of others at base camp who have paid tens of thousands of dollars face bitter disappointment after sherpas announced Tuesday they would abandon the season to honour their fallen colleagues.

That decision, which would wreck the season and lead to messy compensation claims, featured in crisis talks under way in Kathmandu between tourism officials, representatives of the sherpas and expedition leaders on Wednesday.

British mountaineer Phil Crampton, owner of climbing company Altitude Junkies, said immediate action was needed to "make expeditions possible this year".

He said a high-level government delegation will head to base camp on Thursday to present a document to the sherpas and address their concerns.

Before Tuesday's call to abandon the season, the guides had issued a string of demands to the government, including higher compensation for the dead and injured, an agreement to raise insurance payments and a welfare fund.

The government has offered to set up a relief fund for injured guides using up to five per cent of fees paid by climbers, while increasing life insurance payments by 50 per cent.

The amounts fall short of demands by the sherpas who want 30 per cent of climbers' fees to be earmarked for the fund and life insurance payments, set at $10,000, to be doubled.

The government, expected to earn at least $US3 million ($A3.21 million) this year from Everest climbing fees alone, has issued permits to 734 people, including 400 guides, for 32 expeditions this season.

Hundreds of anxious climbers remain at base camp, uncertain whether to leave or stay following the sherpas' announcement, with tensions running high.

New Zealand mountaineer Russell Brice, owner of top expedition company Himex, told AFP he hoped the government delegation's visit on Thursday would persuade sherpas to start climbing again.

"I hope the visit will calm tempers and the sherpas will understand the reasons for continuing the season," Brice said from base camp.

"They can continue their negotiations once the climbing season ends."

More than 300 people, most of them local guides, have died on the peak since the first ascent by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.

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Younger veterans to lead Perth Anzac march

YOUNGER post-Vietnam military veterans will be brought to the front of the Anzac Day march in Perth, one of three firsts for this year's annual commemorations.

Returned and Services League of Western Australia president Graham Edwards said they would lead the ex-military contingent, only marching behind senior veterans in cars.

With the focus of Anzac Day being World War I for the next four years - given November 2014 marks 100 years since Australian troops departed for the four-year conflict - this year's march was a good time to shine the spotlight on former servicemen from more recent hostilities, Mr Edwards said.

In another first, the RSLWA has held daily Last Post ceremonies at Kings Park's State War Memorial this week in a bid to cap ever-swelling crowds on the Anzac Day public holiday. More than 40,000 people are expected to attend on Friday.

Crowds of up to 500 people have been attending the 15-minute sunset services since they started on Sunday, with the final ceremony to be held on Thursday.

Mr Edwards said the sunset ceremonies would return in 2015.

"Anzac Day itself is getting so big, people tell us that they felt like they've lost the important connection that's there," he told AAP.

"We hope that these (sunset) services will continue to grow and people will become involved in them, because that's what it's all about."

On Thursday at 5.30pm, a service will be held at Blackboy Hill in Greenmount, where West Australian World War I troops trained before marching to Midland, catching a train to Fremantle and setting sail.

The rest of the convoy, from New Zealand and other parts of Australia, left from Albany.

"While there's a strong focus on Albany as there should be, we can't lose sight of the fact most West Australians left from Fremantle and they joined the convoy after," Mr Edwards said.

And on Friday, the dawn service at Kings Park will be broadcast live for the first time.

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Brisbane's southside on measles alert

Brisbane's southside is on measles alert after a man was diagnosed with the infectious disease. Source: AAP

BRISBANE'S southside is on measles alert after a man was diagnosed with the highly infectious disease.

It's likely he was infectious when he visited the Underwood Marketplace shopping centre between 9am and 11.30am last Thursday, health authorities say.

Public health physician Dr Kari Jarvinen says people who were at the shopping centre around that time should immediately contact their GPs.

Residents in Logan and Brisbane's southside should be particularly vigilant for symptoms, he said.

A red, spotty rash and other measles symptoms, including a fever, cough and runny nose, usually appear 10 days after infection.

Dr Jarvinen said that given the large numbers of people potentially exposed to the latest infection, further measles cases could emerge in Brisbane over the next few weeks.

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Possible MH370 debris examined by ATSB

DEBRIS washed up on a West Australian beach is being examined by authorities to determine if it is from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

The Perth-based search coordinators said on Wednesday afternoon the material washed ashore 10 kilometres east of Augusta, about 320km south of Perth.

The items are being held by Busselton police, who are awaiting instructions from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).

The Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre (JACC), led by former defence chief Angus Houston, said the ATSB was studying photographs of the material and had also passed on the images to the Malaysian investigation team.

But WA police warned against jumping to conclusions, saying items of interest had been previously reported after washing up on a WA beach and had turned out to be unrelated to MH370.

ATSB chief commissioner Martin Dolan also played down the find, which he said appeared to be sheet metal with rivets.

"It's sufficiently interesting for us to take a look at the photographs," Mr Dolan told CNN.

"The more we look at it, the less excited we get."

The search for the plane continues in a vast area of the Indian Ocean northwest of Perth and authorities have previously said it's more likely the prevailing currents would take debris west toward Africa rather than east to the Australian coast.

Earlier on Wednesday, Defence Minister David Johnston said Australia was consulting with Malaysia, China and the United States on the next phase of the search.

The autonomous underwater vehicle Bluefin-21 has scoured more than 80 per cent of the search area, centred about 855km northwest of Perth, with no items of interest discovered to date.

The Bluefin-21 is focusing on a circular area with a radius of 10km.

If the device turned up nothing, the operation would turn to more advanced side-scan sonar technology, which would be able to go deeper than the Bluefin-21, Senator Johnston said.

The Bluefin-21 loses some scanning effectiveness in water depths greater than 4.5 kilometres, but has plunged almost 4.7km on a recent mission.

While the Bluefin-21 had less than one-fifth of the seabed search area to complete, Senator Johnston estimated its mission would take another two weeks.

There are suggestions more powerful towed side-scan sonar technology, similar to that which found the Titanic in 3.8km-deep waters in the Atlantic Ocean in 1985, could soon be deployed.

The same system was used to find HMAS Sydney in 2008, which was located north of the MH370 search area.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott insisted the search would continue while there was a reasonable hope of finding something.

"Australia will not rest until we have done everything we humanly can to get to the bottom of this mystery," he told reporters.

The Bluefin-21 is focusing on a circular area with a radius of 10km where the second acoustic signal was picked up by a towed pinger locator on April 8. Acoustic signals were also picked up in the vicinity on April 5.

JACC said the area remained the best lead.

"It is important this lead is pursued to its completion so we can either confirm or discount the focused underwater area as the final resting place of MH370. This is clearly of great importance to the families of those on board," JACC told AAP.

The Boeing 777 went missing on March 8 with 239 people on board.

Malaysian authorities said a report on the items found near Augusta had been received, but there had been no verification of whether they were part of the missing flight.

Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said insights from Jean Paul Troadec, a key expert in the two-year search for wreckage from the 2009 Air France crash, and experience from the 1997 Silk Air crash, would be considered in determining the approach to the next phase of the search.

"When we have to regroup and restrategise, it's a matter of looking at all the data, whether it is satellite, whether it is radar, and that is very important as we chart our next course," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

"Those are the sort of things we will be looking at in identifying the possibility of other locations, but that will be part and parcel of the whole work in progress."

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Baird unveils 'experienced' NSW ministry

NSW Premier Mike Baird says the decision to drop Greg Smith (pic) from his cabinet wasn't easy. Source: AAP

NSW Premier Mike Baird says his new-look cabinet has the hunger and experience to transform the state.

Mr Baird on Tuesday dumped four O'Farrell ministers and promoted five new young faces into his ministry.

"It is a group that brings experience but, just as importantly, it brings a hunger," Mr Baird told reporters.

"A hunger to transform New South Wales."

Opposition Leader John Robertson slammed the reshuffle for rewarding bad ministers and for under-representing women.

Rising star Andrew Constance emerged as one of the clear winners in the new line-up, being appointed treasurer.

Pru Goward becomes planning minister, replacing Brad Hazzard who was given the role of attorney-general.

The announcement came an hour after veteran north coast MP Don Page, grandson of former prime minister Sir Earle Page, said he was retiring from politics.

Mr Baird confirmed the Nationals MP had been demoted from local government minister and paid tribute to his service to the state.

Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner said he wouldn't be surprised if George Souris - another Nationals MP who has also been demoted - would also step away from parliament before the next election.

Greg Smith was dumped as attorney-general and Robyn Parker lost the environment portfolio.

Mr Baird described Mr Smith as a "good man and a good friend", but stood by his decision to replace him as attorney-general.

Troy Grant, Paul Toole, Rob Stokes, Dominic Perrottet and Jai Rowell, who are in their 30s and 40s, were also promoted to the ministry.

Meanwhile, the reshuffle hands the Hunter ministry to Gladys Berejiklian, who represents the Sydney electorate of Willoughby, in addition to her transport portfolio.

Northern beaches MP Mr Baird replaces Mr O'Farrell as minister for Western Sydney.

He said it was "entirely appropriate" he represented the west given the many infrastructure projects being built there.

"I'm going to be there a lot," the premier said.

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Climber caught in Vic rock "squeeze test"

A rock climber has been rescued after he was stuck overnight in a crevice in western Victoria. Source: AAP

A MAN wedged in a "very, very narrow" crevice at a Victorian rock climbing mecca, dubbed the Squeeze Test, wasn't getting out of a jam in a hurry.

It took a marathon, multi-agency rescue effort, a pulley system and lots of olive oil pinched from nearby campers to finally end his 10-hour ordeal.

The 24-year-old manipulated his body through a narrow gap between two boulders, known as The Squeeze Test, at Mount Arapiles, when he became wedged late on Monday night.

Ambulance Victoria Wimmera group manager Nick Thresher said it was a "very, very narrow opening" and emergency crews knew the man wasn't going to get out in a hurry.

"It was impossible to access," Mr Thresher said.

"We knew it was going to take an awful long time."

It was initially feared the man would suffer "crush syndrome", where body parts compressed in an accident can fill with potentially deadly toxins that spread rapidly through the body once freed.

But he escaped with only minor cuts and hypothermia.

Mr Thresher said specialist paramedics, Country Fire Authority and State Emergency Service volunteers as well as police search and rescue officers rigged up a pulley system to free the climber.

The man's friends scrounged around the adjacent camping ground at the western Victorian site, described by Mr Thresher as a mecca for rock climbers, for olive oil, vaseline and even shampoo.

"We actually lubricated his body with various lubricating agents which were provided for us," he said.

The man was finally freed about 8am (AEST) on Tuesday and taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he is in a stable condition.

Mr Thresher warned climbers against attempting The Squeeze Test.

"It is a very risky activity," he said.

"Our message would be carefully consider if you really need to do The Squeeze Test," he said.

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Uluru might have royal return

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will receive a series dot paintings when they visit Uluru. Source: AAP

THE ancient heart of Australia welcomed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and gave them a special gift - a moment of peace and solitude.

On a day warm in spirit and temperature, Prince William and Kate spent Tuesday afternoon at Uluru in the Northern Territory - the site of William's first encounter with Australia more than 30 years ago.

At the end of the day, which included a welcome to country ceremony by Anangu traditional owners, they were taken on a special guided walk to the base of the desert monolith.

Anangu man Sammy Wilson took the royals on the Kuniya walk, an easy 1km return journey to the Mutitjulu Waterhole, full from recent rains that have also greened the surrounding desert, at the base of Uluru.

The royals walked the last part of the path to the waterhole alone to spend some time in quiet reflection.

For a handful of minutes, theirs was the desert kingdom.

"It's nice and peaceful down there, very peaceful," William said later.

Mr Wilson said his guests enjoyed their tour.

"They said 'Oh, we might come back," he said.

The duchess, who started the afternoon in a mauve Roksanda Ilincic dress before changing into a grey and white checked sundress, and William waved to the 50 or so onlookers who had gathered to see the royal couple ahead of their walk.

After the walk, William and Kate enjoyed a sunset viewing of Uluru, watching the rock's magnificent colour-changing display in the waning sunlight.

The viewing was a late addition to their schedule that was kept under wraps to give the royals a rare moment of intimacy - albeit one still captured by a handful of authorised media and a crowd of wellwishers.

It was their last engagement on a packed afternoon that had hundreds of locals and tourists, some having driven from Alice Springs or further afield, turning out to wish them well.

The couple's visit began with the future of central Australia, presenting certificates to graduate students at the National Indigenous Training Academy and meeting students from high schools at an afternoon tea, before ending with their immersion in the Red Centre's ancient traditions.

Anangu elders danced an "inma" - a song and story - in the red desert dust at a welcome to country ceremony at the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre where the royals were also presented with gifts.

Among Kate's gifts was a necklace of painted gumnuts and red ininti seeds from the local desert.

Although he remained behind in Canberra, baby Prince George was given a gift of hand carved wooden animals - said to be ideal for the royal sandpit.

William was given a hand-carved shield, after being presented with a barbed hunting spear made of mulga wood and kangaroo tendon bindings earlier in the day.

It was the first visit for the young royal family but a return for William, whose journey to the Red Centre as a babe in arms in 1983 is looked on warmly by the Anangu people and Territorians alike.

Cecilia Cadell met the royals on the Kuniya walk and said hello.

"She was beautiful - she said hello, it makes you have goosebumps," she said.

Melbourne visitor James Bremner, who watched the media pack at the Uluru visit, pitied the royals.

"I feel sorry for them, in a way, that the can't have a normal life as such," he said.

William and Kate will spend the night - their first away from George in Australia - at the exclusive Longitude 131 resort, situated in the desert close to Uluru.

The resort's 15 luxury tent pavilions feature king-sized beds, prestige bathrooms and sweeping private views of Uluru.

On Wednesday the couple fly to Adelaide, where they will visit Elizabeth, named after William's grandmother, the Queen.

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Biden tells Ukrainian leaders US with them

VICE President Joe Biden has told Ukrainian political leaders the United States stands with them against "humiliating threats" and he encouraged them to root out corruption as they rebuild their government.

In the most high-level visit of a US official since crisis erupted in Ukraine, Biden told leaders from various political parties in Kiev on Tuesday he brings a message of support from President Barack Obama as they face a historic opportunity to usher in reforms.

"The opportunity to generate a united Ukraine and getting it right is within your grasp," Biden said.

"And we want to be your partner and friend in the project. We're ready to assist."

Biden spoke to nine Ukrainians in a hearing room with gilded mouldings at the parliament, or Rada, as the media looked on.

The group included three candidates running for president in the May 25 election - most notably billionaire chocolate magnate and front-runner Petro Poroshenko. Biden told the candidates he hopes that they have more luck than he did in two presidential runs.

Biden also met privately with acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov and acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and later planned to meet with democracy activists. After his meetings, Biden plans to announce new technical support to the Ukrainian government for energy and economic reforms.

The vice president's visit comes at a critical time, days after a tenuous international agreement was reached to de-escalate violence in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russia insurgents oppose the government in Kiev.

"You face some very daunting problems and some might say humiliating threats are taking place," Biden said.

Biden told the lawmakers a priority for the US is to help them become independent from Russian energy supplies. "Imagine where you'd stand today if you could tell Russia to keep your own gas," Biden said.

He said they had an historic chance now that former President Viktor Yanukovych has fled the country.

"This is a second opportunity to make good on the promise of the Orange Revolution," Biden said in a reference to 2004 protests that overturned a widely criticised election that had given Yanukovych the presidency. Yanukovych later took office but left the country after violent protests in February.

Biden added, "You have to fight the cancer of corruption that is endemic in your system right now."

He mentioned cleaning up the court system and finding the right balance of power between the president and Rada.

"I want you to know I do not underestimate the incredible pressure you all are under," Biden said.

"I do not underestimate the challenges you all face. And I do not underestimate the frustration you all must feel when someone like me comes along to say what a great opportunity this is for you all."

But he added that the upcoming election may be the most important in the country's history. "The truth of the matter is your fellow countrymen expect a whole lot from you right now," he said.

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More than 400 charges in Operation Unite

MORE than 400 charges have been laid for assaults and drink driving offences in Western Australia during the eighth Operation Unite targeting alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour.

Total statistics from Thursday to Sunday night included 433 charges, 165 arrests and 200 summons.

They include 21 assaults, as well as 15 people caught driving under the influence, 43 people in excess of 0.08 per cent, 12 people in excess of 0.05 per cent and two people in excess of 0.02 per cent.

Specialist squads made up of officers from the Liquor Enforcement Unit and the Regional Operations Group joined the operation in WA for the first time.

Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan said last week that the excessive consumption of alcohol was still the most significant factor contributing to night-time violence.

Operation Unite is not about restricting people from having a good time, it is about continuing to raise community awareness about the dangers of determined drunkenness and the impact it has on others, he said.

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Royals' quiet day makes news

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will spend a day of rest in Canberra before heading north. Source: AAP

THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were supposed to be having a day free of official engagements, spending the day in Canberra but it proved too tempting for the paparazzi.

The royal couple and their baby were photographed unawares in the ground of Government House at Yarralumla, with vision making news broadcasts across the country.

Kate was filmed taking a stroll with her son in the grounds, with the images showing Prince George being carried on his mother's shoulders, pushed in a buggy and on Kate's lap as the pair played together.

William and Kate were also filmed without their knowledge walking hand in hand along the foreshore of Lake Burley Griffin, casually dressed in shirts, jumpers and jeans. At one point, Kate is captured giving an odd little kick.

The pictures taken on a rest day during their tour Down Under may be seen by aides as an intrusion into the couple's privacy.

Although there has been no official word from Kensington Palace, it was tweeted that the palace has requested that the media refrain from intruding on the family's privacy.

On Tuesday, William and Kate will tour Uluru.

The visit will be only their second night away from their son during their 19-day tour of Australia and New Zealand. George, who turns nine months on Tuesday, is expected to remain in Canberra with his nanny.

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NSW police breath-test 60,000 during blitz

ALMOST 60,000 people have been breath tested by NSW police who have issued more than 2000 traffic fines and charged 58 motorists with drink driving during the Easter road blitz.

They've handed out 910 speeding notices and another 1,500 tickets for other offences since Operation Tortoise began on Friday.

On Sunday afternoon, a 25-year-old man was breath tested after Deniliquin police saw him swerve onto the wrong side of the road.

He allegedly blew 0.261, more than five times the limit, and was charged with high-range drink driving and is due before Finlay Local Court in June.

A 19-year-old woman was on Sunday morning charged after being caught behind the wheel with an alleged blood-alcohol concentration of 0.163.

She also caught the attention of police while driving down the wrong side of a Cronulla road.

In the early hours of Monday morning a man, 24, was allegedly clocked speeding through a 80km/h zone at 140 km/h.

"The driver was issued a traffic infringement notice for exceeding speed by more than 45km/h and his licence was suspended for a period of six months," police said.

Traffic and highway patrol's commander Assistant Commissioner John Hartley said it's disappointing people were drink-driving despite consistent warnings from police.

"If you're going out to have a drink you need to find another way home, driving is simply not an option," he said.

Despite the heavy traffic only two people have died, down from three during Easter last year.

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Mickey Rooney laid to rest in California

Hollywood veteran Mickey Rooney has been laid to rest at a private funeral in California. Source: AAP

MICKEY Rooney has been laid to rest at a private funeral in California.

Family and friends of the Breakfast at Tiffany's star bid farewell to the beloved actor at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Saturday, following a memorial service on Friday.

The funeral comes a week after Rooney's conservator and attorney Michael Augustine, and Rooney's estranged wife, Janice Rooney, debated on where to hold the send-off. The two parties eventually settled on the popular site, where other Hollywood legends are buried.

Rooney, 93, died on April 6.

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New intensive care beds for Vic babies

The Victorian government has promised sick babies will have more intensive care beds in Melbourne. Source: AAP

SICK babies will have more intensive care beds in Melbourne, the state government has promised.

Five new neonatal intensive care unit cots will be funded in the May 6 state budget, taking the state's capacity to 100 baby beds.

Health Minister David Davis said $4 million of capital funding would get the cots ready, with a further $5.6 million a year set aside to staff them.

"As well as newborns, this specialist equipment supports babies after surgery, infants requiring long-term ventilation and those suffering from seasonal illnesses such as bronchitis," Mr Davis told reporters on Sunday.

He said the beds were most often used for babies who were born early and had complications from birth.

Mr Davis said Victoria handled the most difficult cases from Tasmania, South Australia and southern New South Wales.

"We do carry a larger-than-our-share load, but we do that willingly," he said.

"We have very capable hospitals."

The new cots will be installed at the Royal Children's Hospital, Monash Medical Centre, the Royal Women's Hospital and Mercy Hospital for Women.

Mr Davis said they would be rolled out once negotiations with Victoria's health services were complete.

Opposition health spokesman Gavin Jennings said the government was playing catch up because it failed to keep up with demand for intensive care treatment for babies.

"We've had situations where our babies have had to be sent interstate because we haven't had enough intensive care beds," he told reporters.

"The last time that that was measured, it was running at about one baby a month being transferred out of Victoria to receive intensive care. Clearly that is not good enough."

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Man arrested over Qld mum's death

Police are investigating the suspicious stabbing death of a woman in far north Queensland. Source: AAP

A MAN has been charged with murder over the death of a mother of two in far north Queensland, police say.

The 27-year-old woman died after being stabbed in a Cairns unit in the early hours of Sunday morning.

A number of people who were at the unit saw the attack, Detective Acting Superintendent Bruno Asnicar said, and a man, 32, who knew the woman, was arrested.

"The witnesses are quite rightfully very upset," Det Supt Asnicar said.

"We will work with them, we'll put them in touch with the right people to speak to, victims of crime assistance and so on and so forth, to try to get them through it."

The woman, who has two children aged two and eight, lived at the unit off and on.

A Lockhart River man has been charged with murder and is due to appear in the Cairns Magistrates Court on Monday.

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Pakistani TV host survives gun attack

Pakistani police say gunmen have shot at famous television talk show host Hamid Mir in Karachi. Source: AAP

UNKNOWN gunmen on motorbikes have opened fire at a prominent Pakistani television anchor on a busy road in the southern port city of Karachi, officials say.

Hamid Mir, who hosts a popular talk show on Pakistan's Geo News channel, was travelling to his office from the airport when his car came under attack, senior police official Peer Muhammad Shah said.

"Four gunmen riding on motorbikes started firing at the car near Karsaz (east of the city) when Mir's car was passing through. He received three bullets in the lower parts of his body," Shah said.

Karachi police chief Shahid Hayat confirmed the incident.

"Hamid Mir has received three bullets but the doctors told me that he is out of danger," Hayat said.

Geo's Islamabad bureau chief Rana Jawad said he had talked briefly to Mir on his mobile phone as he was under attack.

"I spoke to him briefly when he was escaping, he said they have shot him and now they were following him," Jawad said.

"He has been shot thrice, in the pelvic (area), abdomen and thighs," he added.

Mir has long been a critic of the country's powerful intelligence agencies and military for their alleged role in the disappearance of thousands of people in the restive southwestern province of Baluchistan.

Amir Mir, brother of Hamid and also a journalist, accused the country's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency of responsibility for the attack, saying the wounded television anchor had felt threatened before the attack.

"He had told me that if anything happens to him, the ISI chief General Zaheer-ul-Islam would be responsible for it," he said.

He blamed a "disgruntled faction of the army and ISI" for attempting to assassinate his brother.

"The ISI chief was not happy with him because he exposed their human rights abuses in Baluchistan, he said.

"The army and its powerful intelligence agency cannot bear criticism from journalists."

He added the army disliked perceived attacks on the military's role in politics.

Pakistan's intelligence agencies have long been accused of harassing and threatening journalists.

Last year Hamid Mir survived an attack in Islamabad when a bomb planted under his car was defused before it could go off.

The journalist, who hosts a long-running talk show on Geo News, had also complained of receiving death threats from the country's intelligence agency.

The army described the accusations as baseless in a statement via the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the armed forces, which said it "condemned the incident and demanded an independent enquiry".

The statement added that "raising allegations against ISI or the head of ISI without any basis is highly regrettable and misleading".

Last month Raza Rumi, a prominent television anchor known for his outspoken critical views of the Pakistani Taliban, survived a similar assassination attempt in Lahore.

Rumi's driver died of the injuries he sustained.

Earlier in March, Pakistan announced it would set up a special commission to protect journalists and will include press freedom as part of peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban.

Rights groups have called Pakistan one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.

According to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, seven reporters lost their lives in Pakistan last year.

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Former NSW premier Neville Wran dies

Former long-serving New South Wales Premier Neville Wran, has died aged 87. Source: AAP

NEVILLE Wran, who was premier of NSW for a decade, has died after suffering dementia. He was 87.

His family was by his bedside when he died just before 6pm on Sunday at the Lulworth House nursing home in Sydney's eastern suburbs, where he had been in care for the past two years

"This is of course a very sad time for us all, but in fact a blessed release for Neville," his wife Jill Hickson said in a statement to AAP.

"Dementia is a cruel fate and I have been grieving the loss that comes with it for some years.

"But I hope now, especially in this political climate, people will join me in celebrating the life of a great man, a true political hero."

Bob Carr, who surpassed Mr Wran's record for the longest continuous service as NSW premier, said Mr Wran set a template for successful Labor leaders, including prime ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating.

"He was a master politician. He taught contemporary Labor a great deal," Mr Carr told Sky News.

"He presented a model of stable state government that had a big impact on future Labor governments that followed his."

Mr Carr said Mr Wran showed Labor governments could be moderate and trustworthy after the tumult of the Whitlam years.

"They remarked he was the barrister Labor briefed to get it back into government ... when people though after the defeat of 1975 federally that it would never be a serious party for government again," Mr Carr said.

The NSW Labor party said "NSW lost a true Labor great" with the death of Mr Wran.

"Vale Neville Wran, the brightest of his generation. He transformed his Party and his State," Labor pollster Bruce Hawker tweeted.

Barry O'Farrell, who last week stood down as NSW premier, tweeted: "Sad news. Neville Wran helped build NSW incl initiating our sister-state relationship with China's Guangdong province in 1979."

Mr Wran led the Labor government in NSW from May 1976 to July 1986, before dramatically announcing his resignation to a shocked Labor conference.

He was a successful lawyer before entering parliament in the Legislative Council in 1970. He moved to the lower house in 1973 before becoming Labor leader.

In 1976, he led Labor to government in a tight election, forming government after a 10-day wait, with the support of an independent.

Mr Wran and his government were involved in damaging scandals.

In 1983, he stepped aside while a royal commission examined allegations he'd tried to influence a magistrate over a misappropriation hearing against rugby league boss Kevin Humphreys. He was cleared.

Prisons minister Rex Jackson was jailed for selling early releases and chief magistrate Murray Farquhar was jailed for perverting the course of justice. Senior police were caught up in corruption scandals.

Mr Wran was fined $25,000 for contempt of court after declaring his belief in the innocence of his old friend Lionel Murphy, the High Court judge facing a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

After politics, Mr Wran had success in the business world, including running a merchant bank with Malcolm Turnbull, now Communications Minister in Tony Abbott's cabinet.

Mr Wran was married twice, first to Marcia Oliver, whose son he adopted before they had two more children, and then to Ms Hickson, with whom he had two children.

He was put into care as dementia took hold two years ago.

Ms Hickson paid special tribute the nursing staff of Lulworth House who had been caring for the former premier.

"They really are angels," she said.

NSW Premier Mike Baird said he was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Mr Wran, whom he described as a towering figure in the NSW Labor Party and in the state during the 1970s and 80s.

Mr Baird pointed to Mr Wran's achievements, including the electrification of several regional rail services, establishing the Darling Harbour precinct and being instrumental in creating national parks.

He said many features of democracy in NSW, including four-year terms, public funding and disclosure laws, and a democratically elected Legislative Council bore Mr Wran's imprint.

"Kerryn and I would like to pass on our deepest condolences to Jill Wran and to Mr Wran's children," Mr Baird said in a statement.

"His legacy is positive and lasting."

The NSW government will offer the Wran family a state funeral, Mr Baird said.

The head of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, where Mr Wran was inaugural chairman, paid tribute to his 14 years at the helm before retiring in 2008.

Executive director Robert Graham said Mr Wran oversaw the institute's growth, from having few staff to a team of more than 130 world-class scientists.

"Neville was incredibly generous and inclusive, encouraging those around him and seeking their views," Professor Graham said in a statement.

"He possessed consummate political skills and tact, and always kept the interests of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute at the front and centre of his work.

"We're grateful for his mentoring, guidance and wisdom. He will be sorely missed by us all."

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull tweeted: "Farewell Neville Wran 1926-2014."

Former NSW premier Kristina Keneally tweeted: "Neville Wran was a great man, a true gentleman and a visionary Labor leader. We are all better for his life. God bless."

NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson paid tribute to Mr Wran, saying: "Very sad to hear the passing of #NevilleWran. A great @NSWLabor legend who led us back to Govt in NSW in 1975. A humble man & true leader."

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