Bob Carr reveals plane, lobbyist hassles

Former foreign minister Bob Carr is set to release a new book later this month. Source: AAP

FORMER foreign minister Bob Carr likes his breakfast oats steel-cut and his Wagner opera with English subtitles.

So, his latest book - Diary of a Foreign Minister - could well be subtitled First World Problems.

But he says the book is intentionally full of self-parody and irony because it's the stuff of life - and that's "too short to be taken seriously".

However, it's not all diet regimes and complaints about business class travel.

Mr Carr also reveals a "very unhealthy level" of influence the Israeli lobby had in Canberra, saying he decided to breach cabinet confidences because the public deserved to know what went on.

NewSouth Publishing describes the book - due to hit the shelves at the end of April - as the "best picture ever published of a politician on the world stage and Australia's changing place in the world and in our region".

But it is also expected to reveal Mr Carr's multi-faceted personality - eccentric, obsessive, passionate and self-deprecating.

The faults and foibles of air travel feature heavily, according to reports.

In the book Mr Carr publishes a letter from Singapore Airlines responding to complaints he made about inflight entertainment.

"Please accept my sincere apology if any part of our First Class inflight offering fell below your expectations," the letter says.

"Specifically, I have taken note of the lack of English subtitles for the Wagner Opera Siegfried."

The former minister rails against business class travel: "No edible food. No airline pyjamas. I lie in my tailored suit."

On another flight, he blasts the airline for its "ceramic food" and seat design that "owe a lot to the trans-Atlantic slave trade".

On his diet and exercise regime, Mr Carr reveals his favoured breakfast is steel-cut organic oats and berries and two poached eggs.

Mr Carr said on Wednesday night he made no apologies for wanting to arrive on missions for Australia in the best condition possible.

"It was such an inherently unhealthy lifestyle, living on planes, subsisting on that cuisine, I thought it would have knocked about two years off my life," he told ABC TV.

But he wanted his book also to shine lights on the dark corners of politics, particularly the role of the conservative pro-Israel lobby from Melbourne.

He says its influence in then-prime minister Julia Gillard's office reached an unhealthy level.

"I found it very frustrating that we couldn't issue, for example, a routine expression of concern about the spread of Israeli settlements on the West Bank," he said on Wednesday.

The matter came to a head in arguments over Australia's position on Palestine seeking increased non-state status at the United Nations.

He thought hard about breaking cabinet confidences on this issue but said in the end the public's right to know how foreign policy was made outweighted other considerations.

The book will retail for about $50 with proceeds going to Interplast Australia and New Zealand, a not-for-profit organisation that funds and delivers reconstructive surgery on poor children in developing countries.

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Alcoa posts 1Q loss on smelter shutdowns

Alcoa has posted a first quarter loss of $A192.65 million due to lower aluminium prices. Source: AAP

ALCOA Inc. lost $US178 million ($A192.65 million) in the first quarter as revenue fell on lower aluminium prices, but profit beat expectations after excluding charges to idle capacity at aluminum smelters and mills.

The company said the price it was paid for aluminum dropped 8 per cent from a year ago. The weak commodity prices are driving Alcoa to shift away from smelting. It is closing a smelter in New York state and another in Australia and cutting capacity at others in Brazil.

When those moves are complete, Alcoa will have shed 28 per cent of its smelting capacity since 2007.

Instead, Alcoa is shifting its focus to selling more finished products for use in building aircraft, cars and other goods.

Its engineered-products division posted a record first quarter. Some of those products, like a new lightweight wheel for heavy-duty trucks, are designed to appeal to companies and consumers who are looking for lighter, fuel-efficient vehicles.

Alcoa predicts that demand for aluminum in aircraft will grow by 8 per cent or 9 per cent this year, with smaller increases for metal used in construction and cars. Overall global aluminum demand will grow 7 per cent this year, about the same as last year, the company says.

New York-based Alcoa said on Tuesday that the first-quarter loss was 16 US cents per share and compared with net income of $US149 million, or 13 cents per share, in the same period last year.

The company said that excluding write-downs to reduce smelting and milling capacity, it would have earned 9 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected an adjusted profit of 5 cents per share.

Revenue fell 6.5 per cent to $US5.45 billion, below analysts' forecast of $US5.57 billion.

Alcoa shares ended regular trading at $US12.53, up 6 cents. In less than an hour of late trading after the first-quarter results were announced, the shares were up 29 cents, or 2.3 per cent, to $US12.82.

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GM to invest $449M in 2 Detroit factories

US carmaker General Motors will invest $A485.96 million in two Detroit-area factories. Source: AAP

GENERAL Motors says it's investing $US449 million ($A485.96 million) in two Detroit-area factories to build the next generation Chevrolet Volt hybrid electric car.

The company says the investment eventually will bring a second shift at the Detroit assembly plant that makes the Volt and other cars.

But it wouldn't say how many jobs would be added or when the people would be hired.

The plant now employs about 1600 on a single shift.

GM says it will invest $384 million at the assembly plant and another $65 million in a battery pack plant in nearby Brownstown Township.

The company didn't release any details on the next generation Volt.

The current version can go about 38 miles on battery power before a small gasoline generator kicks in.

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More relocatable units for Vic prisons

MORE shipping container-style "relocatable units" are being rolled out to boost the capacity of Victoria's prison system.

The Victorian government has announced another 27 units will be installed by August at two correctional facilities near Geelong, a gain of 81 medium-security beds.

"Relocatable units are already providing an important, immediate boost to capacity in Victoria's corrections system, and today's announcement will build on this," Corrections Minister Edward O'Donohue said on Wednesday.

"The security and design of the units will be consistent with the standard security accommodation already at Fulham and Marngoneet prisons."

The government has previously likened the units - which each house three inmates - to mining camp accommodation and has also pointed to their use in prisons in Western Australia, South Australia and New Zealand.

Expansion plans for Victoria's Loddon Prison, announced in March, include 15 of the units.

The government says it has added 1000 prison beds since 2011 with another 2500 in the pipeline, including the 1000-bed prison under construction at Ravenhall in Melbourne's west.

However, Community and Public Sector organiser Andrew Capp said the use of relocatable units, known as "dongaS", was inadequate because the doors could be prised open.

"The government is increasing the escape risks at the prisons that use these dodgy Dongas putting officers the community and other prisoners at risk," he said.

Mr Capp said Corrections Victoria had re-classified medium-security prisoners in walled prisons to those in lower security levels so they could be shifted to the units without fences at Dhurringile, Beechworth and Langi Kal Kal, and issued with monitoring bracelets that were not reliable.

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Post-mortem in unexplained Geldof death

Bob Geldof says his family is "beyond pain" at the death of his daughter Peaches at the age of 25. Source: AAP

BRITISH police say they are investigating the unexplained death of media personality Peaches Geldof and will hand their findings to a coroner.

A post-mortem will be performed in the next few days on 25-year-old Geldof, who was pronounced dead by paramedics at her home in Wrotham, southeast of London, on Monday.

Kent Police said on Tuesday officers were investigating the "unexplained sudden death", but did not consider it suspicious.

Peaches Geldof was the daughter of Irish musician and Band Aid founder Bob Geldof and TV presenter Paula Yates, who died of a drug overdose in 2000. She grew up in the glare of Britain's press, which revelled in the late-night antics of her teenage years.

More recently, she married for a second time, to musician Tom Cohen, had two children and worked as a broadcaster and writer. She said her drug-taking years were behind her.

Bob Geldof said the family was "beyond pain".

"What a beautiful child. How is this possible that we will not see her again? How is that bearable? We loved her and will cherish her forever," he wrote in a statement.

Cohen said: "My beloved wife Peaches was adored by myself and her two sons Astala and Phaedra and I shall bring them up with their mother in their hearts every day. We shall love her for ever."

Peaches Geldof was just 11 years old when her mother Paula Yates, died from an accidental heroin overdose aged 41.

Yates divorced Bob Geldof in 1996 after forming a relationship with INXS frontman Michael Hutchence.

Hutchence was found dead in a hotel room in Sydney, Australia, in 1997, and Yates went on to lose custody of the three daughters she had with Geldof - Peaches, Pixie and Fifi - the following year.

Bob Geldof later adopted Yates and Hutchence's daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily.

Geldof's death came as a shock to Britain's entertainment and fashion circles. She was a frequent attendee at fashion shows in London and New York, and was photographed just last week at a London show for the Tesco brand F&F.

Geldof was a prolific tweeter and the final message she sent on Sunday was a picture of her as a child with her mother, with the message "Me and my mum".

A host of celebrities including Phillip Schofield, Holly Willoughby, Ellie Goulding, Lorde, Simon Cowell and Lily Allen paid tribute.

Model Daisy Lowe posted a picture of a broken heart on Twitter.

Geldof's death was the lead story in many British newspapers on Tuesday, with several using the last photo she posted on Twitter - of her as a toddler with her mother.

Commentators noted the tragic parallels to the life and death of Yates. In The Guardian, columnist Hadley Freeman said "the shock of Geldof's death comes from the loss of a young woman - still only 25 - who many of us had followed since her birth, who seemed so close to finding the stability that had eluded her mother."

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Evacuation at Sydney food factory

Workers have been evacuated from a factory in Sydney after a grain silo threatened to explode. Source: AAP

WORKERS have been evacuated from a food processing plant on Sydney's lower north shore after a grain silo threatened to explode.

Emergency services rushed to the factory in Lane Cove on Tuesday night amid reports the temperature inside the silo had risen beyond safe levels.

Staff were evacuated and firefighters pumped carbon dioxide into the silo to try and lower the temperature.

"If the temperature increases over the next few hours we could have some problems," said Fire and Rescue NSW Inspector Ian Krimmer.

"If the temperature remains static or decreases we'll be a lot happier."

Emergency services are expected to remain at the site for most of the evening.

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Invest in Australia, PM to tell China

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has outlined the benefits of what he says is a historic deal with Japan. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott hopes to spur free trade talks with China this week by assuring investors they're welcome to do business in Australia.

Mr Abbott will depart for China on Wednesday, where he's expected to address the Boao Forum in Hainan before taking his trade message to Shanghai and Beijing.

The prime minister formalised Australia's free trade agreement with South Korea on Tuesday, a day after concluding long-running talks with Japan on a similar deal.

He's hoping to carry that momentum into the final leg of his North Asia trip, and will challenge any perception that Australia can be a risky place to do business.

"What I'll be wanting to reassure the Chinese government is that we are genuinely open for business," he told reporters in Seoul on Tuesday.

Under the FTAs signed with Korea and Japan, investors had to accept that any proposed farm buyouts over $15 million would be automatically scrutinised.

China reportedly doesn't like this clause, but Mr Abbott said many significant Chinese bids had been approved by the federal government.

He ambitiously promised at the election to secure free trade deals with the economic powerhouses of North Asia - Japan, South Korea and China - within a year.

With Japan and Korea out of the way, trade negotiators could now redouble their efforts on China.

But the prime minister said he wanted a good deal with China and wouldn't be drawn on when he expected talks to wrap up.

"Two out of three of these deals within seven months is pretty good progress," he said.

"We will do a deal with China if and when it is clearly in both our countries best interests to do so."

Mr Abbott will wrap up his visit to Seoul with a state dinner hosted by President Park Geun-hye.

The two leaders agreed in bilateral talks on Tuesday to deepen defence ties, and could consider developing links between Australian and Korean military technology companies.

North Korea, not surprisingly, was discussed at depth. Mr Abbott said Pyongyang was a threat to regional security and should be treated as a "rogue and outlaw state".

At the dinner, Mr Abbott will unveil a photo of President Park as a young girl with her father, a former Korean leader, and her mother planting a tree at Canberra's Korean embassy on her first overseas holiday.

The image is a moving tribute to her family legacy and the bilateral relationship, as both of President Park's parents were separately assassinated in political attacks.

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Collombet murder suspect before Qld court

AN itinerant man extradited to Queensland following his arrest in northern NSW will face a Brisbane court accused of the bashing murder and rape of French student Sophie Louise Collombet.

The 21-year-old Griffith University business student was on her way home after a night class when attacked in south Brisbane on March 27.

Her battered and naked body was found at Kurilpa Park, at the edge of the city's busy South Bank precinct, the following morning by a jogger.

Benjamin James Milward was arrested by NSW police near a Coffs Harbour shopping centre shortly before 3pm (AEST) on Monday afternoon.

Brisbane homicide detectives were dispatched that evening, and an application for Milward's extradition to Queensland was approved by Coffs Harbour Local Court Magistrate Robert Walker on Tuesday morning.

Queensland Police said on Tuesday evening the 25-year-old had been charged with murder, rape, deprivation of liberty and robbery and would appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Milward's mother, Diane, on Tuesday visited the rotunda where Ms Collombet's body was found to pay her respects and lay flowers.

"I am heartbroken," she told News Corp Australia.

"We are all so sorry and sad and it shouldn't happen to anybody - and a beautiful girl like Sophie; she's just gorgeous, it's just wrong."

Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart had earlier called Ms Collombet's father Guy Collombet to inform him of Milward's arrest.

"I spent some time on the phone with him. He was very dignified and grateful for the information," he told reporters.

A vigil in honour of Ms Collombet will be held in Brisbane's city centre on Thursday night to mark the two-week anniversary of her death.

Griffith University's Women's Association is helping organise the event.

"It was something important to organise to stand together to mourn her life and stand up against violence against women," spokeswoman Stephanie Kameric told AAP.

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Abbott breaks new ground in Japan

Federal Labor says the PM shouldn't sign up to a token trade agreement with Japan. Source: AAP

TONY Abbott will walk away from his first trip to Japan with a free trade agreement and a closer strategic partner in the region.

He and counterpart Shinzo Abe have confirmed an historic free trade deal between Australia and its second-largest trading partner after seven years of negotiations.

The prime minister is calling the achievement a milestone in the 60-year bilateral relationship that will foster even stronger future ties.

"I hope that thanks to this agreement that has been finalised today that Australia can be pivotal to ensuring that in the years and decades to come the people of Japan have energy security, resource security and food security," Mr Abbott told a bilateral meeting with Mr Abe on Monday evening.

It's expected they will ratify the agreement when Mr Abe visits Australia and addresses a joint-sitting of parliament in July.

The deal is a major coup for Mr Abbott, who wanted to finalise it as a matter of priority during his two-day visit to Tokyo.

Australian negotiators led by Trade Minister Andrew Robb worked around the clock in order to secure the agreement just moments before Mr Abbott was due to attend an private dinner at Mr Abe's residence on Sunday.

Trade officials say the final result is unprecedented, with Australian exporters tipped to gain significant advantages over competitors and preferential access to Japan's agriculture markets.

Australia's beef farmers are being touted as the big winners, with a reduction in tariffs set to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars for the sector.

The terms on beef aren't as generous as the South Korean FTA signed in December but given fierce resistance from Japanese farming groups to liberalised trade, the Abbott government is claiming victory.

Gains were made for dairy, horticulture and fruit and vegetable exporters, and Australian consumers should also notice a change.

Japanese whitegoods, electronics and cars will become cheaper in Australia, with about $1500 expected to be shaved off the price of an average vehicle.

Japanese investments will now only be referred to the Foreign Investment Review Board if proposals are worth more than $1 billion - up from $248 million.

It's the second trade deal clinched by the government since taking office and brings Mr Abbott a step closer to fulfilling his promise of signing deals with Japan, China and South Korea within a year.

But he's also broken new ground in defence, with both leaders agreeing they want to elevate the bilateral security relationship to a new "special" level.

They will restart the "2+2" meetings on defence co-operation, with their defence and foreign ministers to meet in Tokyo in June.

Mr Abbott also became the first foreign leader invited to address Japan's most senior security council.

It's not clear how these blatantly strategic outcomes will wash in Beijing or Seoul, given Mr Abbott arrived in Japan with a trade agenda.

But there was no question he was among friends in Tokyo, having been extended a rare private dinner invite with Mr Abe and an audience with the Japanese ruling monarch, Emperor Akihito.

He will leave Japan on Tuesday for a brief visit to South Korea before continuing to China.

Labor has welcomed the completion of negotiations but pledged to scrutinise the agreement closely to ensure it is in Australia's national interest.

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Whistleblower got it wrong: Salvo boss

An inquiry has heard how a resident of a Salvation Army boys home received financial compensation. Source: AAP

SALVATION Army commissioner James Condon says he already had a process in train to remove an officer with a sex abuse record before a whistleblower contacted authorities.

Mr Condon, the territorial commander of the Salvation Army in NSW, Queensland and ACT, told a hearing in Sydney on Monday that his absence due to a meeting in London in early 2013 had probably contributed to a delay in removing Colin Haggar as director of a crisis shelter for women and children.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard that Mr Haggar confessed to indecently assaulting an eight-year-old girl in 1989, and was dismissed from the Salvos, but was re-admitted in 1993 and subsequently promoted.

Additional allegations were made against him in 2013.

Captain Michelle White said on Friday that concerns about Mr Haggar had been raised with Mr Condon in early 2013.

Ms White said that delays by Mr Condon in fulfilling mandatory reporting requirements prompted her to report to the NSW Ombudsman on September 4, 2013 that there was an active Salvation Army officer with a known history of child related sexual abuse.

But asked on Monday if it was only after Ms White's actions that he considered reporting Mr Haggar to the Ombudsman and the Office of the Children's Guardian, Mr Condon replied: "No, it wasn't."

He said a decision had been made to "have a fresh look at all historical cases", including those involving Haggar, in preparation for the royal commission.

"We were reporting to the ombudsman, reporting to the police ... we were in the process ... we were absolutely committed to doing the right thing."

Mr Condon said that following a meeting with Ms White, he also made phone calls, including to Mr Haggar, informing the senior Salvo that he should not have any responsibility for children at the shelter.

Mr Condon said he opposed the promotion of Mr Haggar to lieutenant colonel but it was army policy to promote a husband when a wife was taking an executive role. Mr Haggar's wife Kerry, also a lieutenant colonel, had been made secretary for business administration and a member of the Salvation Army executive.

Mr Condon told the hearing that he accompanied Mr Haggar to Parramatta police station in the early 90s to report the assault, recalling that an officer at the station told Mr Haggar that unless the victim or the family of the victim came forward, there was nothing police could do.

The commission was also told on Monday that the Salvation Army had no plans to use the defence of vicarious liability in historical cases of child abuse, unlike the Catholic Church which had argued in another matter that it could not be held vicariously responsible for historical abuse.

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