Fmr Qld race boss worked for gambling firm

BOB Bentley doesn't think holding senior positions at Queensland Racing and a betting firm at the same time ever led to a conflict of interest.

Mr Bentley was the first witness called before the Queensland Racing Commission of Inquiry into horse, greyhound and harness racing industries under the former Labor government.

He was grilled on Thursday about his time as chairman of the racing body between 2002 and 2012, specifically because he was a Tatts Group director at the same time.

Counsel assisting James Bell QC said that, under a deal, Tatts paid to use Queensland Racing information for it's betting businesses until 2008.

Tatts then began to withhold fees which eventually amounted to $91 million.

Tatts' actions were raised with Queensland Racing chairman Mr Bentley, who sought advice on whether they were allowed.

He asked a Tatts director whether the firm's actions were legal and the director told Mr Bentley they were under the deal.

"I see nothing wrong with that," Mr Bentley told the inquiry.

"Where else was I going to ask."

Mr Bell responded: "You could ask a lawyer, who's representing the company (Queensland Racing) you're the chairman of."

Mr Bell also tabled a deed the former chairman had signed in 2011, which gave four Queensland Racing board members a substantial raise in entitlements, including waiving the notice period for their resignations.

All four received substantial payouts upon quitting the board days after the Liberal National Party came to power in 2012.

The deed gave Mr Bentley legal indemnity and stipulated that Queensland Racing would pay his legal fees.

Mr Bell questioned whether he had done that because he knew he'd gone too far with the board entitlements.

"We suspected that if ... the government had changed (after the election) then this very thing (an inquiry) may very well happen," Mr Bentley said.

"Our detractors (political opponents) are very skilled at this sort of thing."

At one point Mr Bentley explained how he'd sought legal advice to end speculation about a conflict of interest arising from him holding senior positions at Queensland Racing and Tatts simultaneously.

"I asked, 'let's put this issue to bed, let's get proper advice and do it'," Mr Bentley said.

Mr Bell replied: "Did that get it put it to bed?".

"Nothing in racing ever gets put to bed if someone's got a problem," Mr Bentley replied.

The inquiry is set to continue on Friday.

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WA premier braces for more school strikes

More than 20,000 people have come together to support an unprecedented teacher's strike across WA. Source: AAP

MORE than 20,000 people have come together to support an unprecedented teacher's strike across Western Australia.

And beleaguered Premier Colin Barnett has been warned it could be just the beginning of a potentially lengthy fight with unions over school funding.

Teachers, principals, education assistants, school support staff, parents and children flocked to a mass rally to protest job losses and funding reforms that unions claim will deprive schools of millions of dollars.

More than 60 schools across the state closed for the morning, with 23 rallies across WA adding their voices to the mass protest in Perth, despite teachers being threatened with having their pay docked for attending.

A defiant government continued to insist the strike was disruptive, unnecessary and unjustified - but still agreed to meet union leaders next week to listen to grievances.

"This campaign will keep running. It will keep growing. This government has to learn that it can't build stadiums at the expense of our children's education," Carolyn Smith from United Voice said.

"Colin Barnett and (education minister) Peter Collier continue to hide from the truth, but the community is determined - we're not going away."

Opposition leader Mark McGowan told the rally it was obvious the premier had a major fight on his hands to convince the public his plans to reform school funding was correct.

"I am looking at the thousands and thousands of people here today and I am thinking 'Mr Barnett, you picked the wrong people,'" Mr McGowan said.

"These are not reforms, these are cuts."

The day after WA lost its AAA credit rating from agency Standard and Poor's, Mr Barnett said there was no connection between the state's dwindling economic power and the decision to reshape education funding.

He lambasted Mr McGowan for talking down the state's schools.

"How can the Leader of the Opposition go out and talk about children suffering. What do you think this is, Bangladesh?," Premier Barnett said in parliament.

More than 5000 people attended similar stop work meetings in regional areas, including 2000 in Bunbury, 500 in Albany, 520 in Pinjarra and 200 in Port Hedland.

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Vic crews face long factory fire fight

FIREFIGHTERS will work into the night to bring a large blaze at a Melbourne factory under control.

Fire broke out in the flooring factory at Dandenong South at about 6pm (AEST) on Thursday, sending thick smoke into nearby suburbs.

More than 100 CFA and MFB firefighters were working to bring the blaze under control and aerial appliances were attacking the flames from above, a CFA spokeswoman said.

"It is expected to be a protracted incident into the night, because once the fire is under control we have still got the blacking out and cleaning up to do," she said.

The cause of the fire is yet to be established.

Residents in the nearby suburbs of Hallam and Hampton Park are being urged to stay indoors and keep doors and windows closed.

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Man charged over murder of Sydney father

A MAN has been charged with murder over the fatal stabbing of a Sydney father.

Doonside man Cheyne Duncan, 33, died in Westmead Hospital on Wednesday afternoon after he was attacked with a machete while walking his children home from school.

A 21-year-old man was on Thursday morning arrested over the attack and later charged with his murder.

Bail was refused and he's due before Blacktown Local Court on Friday.

Teddy bears, flowers and cards have been left near the site of the murder.

"I love you dad," says a note written by one of Mr Duncan's children.

Another man injured in the attack has been released from hospital.

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New US ambassador posts video welcome

Incoming US ambassador John Berry hopes to boost trade and investment between the two countries. Source: AAP

INCOMING United States ambassador John Berry has sent a video message to Australians, introducing himself as a nature lover who hopes to boost channels of trade and investment between the two countries.

Shown strolling through the National Zoological Park in Washington DC where he was once director, Mr Berry, 54, arrives in Canberra as a first-time diplomat having most recently been charged with heading up personnel management for the administration of President Barack Obama.

Openly gay, Mr Berry hails from Maryland and studied at the University of Maryland and Syracuse University.

"I love the outdoors," Mr Berry says in his transmission posted on the US Embassy's website.

"My spouse Curtis Yee is a triathlete from Hawaii who loves anything involving salt water and waves. We both can't wait to explore your beautiful country."

Mr Berry says he is the second generation of his family to serve America in the Pacific, after his father fought as a marine in the Solomon Islands and Cape Gloucester.

"As ambassador I hope to deepen our cooperation in science and conservation in addition to strengthening our strategic alliance and increasing our trade and investment," the diplomat said.

"The United States and Australia share a proud past and we hope for an even brighter future.

"I look forward to strengthening the friendship ... and learning more about your culture and history."

Mr Berry replaces Jeffrey Bleich, who returned to the US in early September after a four-year term in Canberra.

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Not enough case workers to save Zoran

NEIGHBOURS and daycare staff repeatedly reported the suspected abuse of Zoran Ivanovski but case workers weren't able to intervene and potentially save the two-year-old's life because they didn't have the resources.

Zoran Ivanovski, who lived in Wollongong, died in August 2012 from multiple blunt force injuries to his head and body.

His mother Tamie Leanne Apps has been charged with his murder and was denied bail in July.

On Wednesday night, several current and former child care workers broke their silence on a tragic death that has become a focus for the NSW parliament.

They said Zoran's case had been discussed numerous times during several weeks but staff numbers were too low for a home visit.

"The managers ... could see that it was a case that needed to be allocated, they wanted to allocate it, but there wasn't any staff or capacity to do so," a case worker who wished to remain anonymous told the ABC.

"There were a lot of horrific circumstances to a lot of the reports," said Rob Bosevski who left the Family and Community Services department in 2012 after eight years.

"You would sit there shaking your head thinking 'we should be getting to all of these,' but you can't.

"That is a tragedy."

Neighbour Kira Akrivos told the ABC "everyone in the neighbourhood was worried about Zoran."

"He just didn't look right."

She and several other reported their concerns to police, who visited Zoran's home and reported their findings to welfare services.

Staff at a daycare centre also reported bruises on the boy's body on three separate occasions.

The department of Family and Community Services was notified as many as nine times about Zoran's injuries, the ABC reports.

But case workers weren't able to save Zoran.

"All children that fit criteria should be allocated should be responded to. Unfortunately you can't," Mr Bosevski said.

Case workers should be dealing with between six and eight complex matters simultaneously, he said.

"I know case workers were carrying loads of 12, 16, in out-of-home care, 25 or more."

"There is no physical way that you can get to everyone of those matters."

Family and Community Services Minister Pru Goward was accused by the opposition on Wednesday of misleading parliament and spinning "a web of deceit" about caseworker numbers in Wollongong.

Following Zoran's death, Ms Goward told parliament not a single Wollongong worker had been cut.

But a series of internal emails show a drop in staff numbers at an office in Wollongong.

In June 2011 the Wollongong office had 43.9 fulltime equivalent but this had decreased to 32.7 by December last year.

The emails indicate staff were to be cut to 29 fulltime equivalent from January of this year.

The opposition has called on Ms Goward to resign and opposition leader John Robertson accused her of playing with the numbers.

"This minister can try and dress it up, she can mince her words," he told reporters.

"The fact is there has been a reduction from 44 to 33 staff in an 18-month period."

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Biden's niece arrested after scuffle

US Vice President Joe Biden's niece has been arrested after getting into a scuffle with police. Source: AAP

THE niece of Vice President Joe Biden is being accused of striking a New York City police officer.

Police said on Tuesday they took Caroline Biden into custody after responding to a report of a dispute at her Tribeca apartment.

Police said the 26-year-old scuffled with officers as they tried to break up a fight between her and her roommate. They said she lunged at an officer, struck another officer and resisted being handcuffed. They didn't say what the fight was about.

Biden was arrested on charges of obstructing governmental administration, harassment and resisting arrest. She was given notice to appear in court on October 29, and released.

The vice president's office declined to comment.

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Oppn wants to cut aiport train ticket fee

The NSW Upper House will review the "station access fee" for Sydney airport. Source: AAP

THE NSW Upper House is set to examine whether the "station access fee" for Sydney's airport should be dropped, a move the opposition says would "slash" the cost of a train ticket.

Removing the $12.30 fee, which earns the government about $4 million a month, would increase patronage and alleviate congestion around the airport, opposition transport spokeswoman Penny Sharpe said.

"The roads around the airport will be at practical capacity by 2015," she said.

"I want to look into lowering the rail fare to increase patronage and deal with serious congestion on the roads around Sydney Airport."

A report from the inquiry is expected in February.

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Nth Korea won't co-operate with UN body

THE head of a UN human rights probe says he can't get answers from North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and his government is responding with slander.

Former Australian High Court justice Michael Kirby, who heads the UN commission examining North Korea's human rights record, said on Tuesday that his July 16 letter to the leader hasn't been answered, and the government has offered no evidence to contradict graphic testimony of human rights abuses in the secretive nation.

Kirby, a former judge in Australia's highest court, told the UN Human Rights Council that the commission it created in March nonetheless gathered testimony from dozens of victims and experts at public hearings in Seoul and Tokyo last month that has "given a face and voice to great human suffering."

For example, he said, the commission heard from a young man imprisoned from birth, who said he lived on rodents, lizards and grass and saw his mother and brother executed.

It also heard from a young woman who said she saw another female prisoner forced to drown her own baby in a bucket, Kirby said, and a man who said he was forced to help collect and burn the corpses of prisoners who died of starvation.

"The commission invited the authorities of Democratic People's Republic of Korea to attend the public hearings in Seoul and make representations, but received no reply," Kirby said.

"Instead, its official news agency attacked the testimony we heard as 'slander' against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, put forward by 'human scum'."

In a June 19 dispatch, the KCNA news agency also denounced the witnesses as "wild dogs in human form" who had become "the main player in the confrontation farce under the patronage of the south Korean puppet group and brigandish US imperialists".

"An ounce of evidence is worth far more than many pounds of insults and baseless attacks," Kirby told the 47-nation Council based in Geneva, which is the UN's top human rights body.

"So far, however, the evidence we have heard has largely pointed in one direction - and evidence to the contrary is lacking."

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Man who defaced Queen's portrait in court

A FATHERS' rights campaigner has denied defacing a portrait of the Queen displayed in Westminster Abbey.

Tim Haries, 42, is alleged to have smuggled a can of spray paint into the abbey on June 13 before defacing the picture painted by Australian-born artist Ralph Heimans.

Appearing at London's Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, the Fathers4Justice campaigner pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing criminal damage of more than STG5000 ($A8584).

Haries, an electrician from South Yorkshire, was given conditional bail to return to the court for trial on January 6.

The case is expected to last one or two days.

The painting had been on display in the abbey's Chapter House for only a few weeks before it was vandalised with paint.

It was unveiled in London last year for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

The oil on canvas, which measures 9ft by 11ft and depicts the Queen in the cacrarium of Westminster Abbey, also known as the Coronation Theatre, is valued at around STG160,000.

It shows her in a moment of solitary reflection, standing at the centre circle of the Cosmati pavement, on the exact spot where she was crowned.

Immediately after the damage was done, a picture was taken and the image uploaded to the internet.

Haries allegedly shouted "Fathers4Justice!" when he was arrested.

The artwork had to be removed from public display for repairs before going back on show in July.

Haries was supported by a number of Fathers4Justice campaigners of both sexes in the public gallery - many of them wearing purple - although the group said the act at Westminster Abbey was not an official protest.

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