China FTA talks are 'sensitive': Gillard

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has told Chinese media in Australia the two countries are working through economic sensitivities as they continue negotiations over a Free Trade Agreement.

Ms Gillard met about 30 members of the Chinese media after speaking at the Victorian Labor Party state conference in Melbourne on Saturday - just weeks after her trip to China.

The press conference, which was organised just for Chinese media, included members of local Chinese media groups, and China's state-run Xinhua news agency.

Ms Gillard was asked by the journalists what the major obstacles were on reaching an FTA with China.

Ms Gillard said Trade Minister Craig Emeraon had been working to secure an agreement on some issues where the prospects of agreement were very good.

"There are sensitivities on both sides, we are economies that are rich, that are complex, that have many industry segments in them," she said.

"That's true of the Australian economy, we've got a diverse economy, rich in its diversity, China has an increasingly diverse economy too.

"We'll keep working on it ... we'll keep working on better and further exchange between China and Australia, both in trade and in investment."

Ms Gillard was also told many Chinese were worried about United States Marines being based in Darwin, but she said no concerns had been raised by China's president or premier over that plan.

"There is no reason for concern," she said.

Ms Gillard was also forced to defend the government's immigration policy, including its crackdown on 457 visas.

"We are doing what Australian governments have always done and will always do, which is to adjust our immigration settings in light of the needs of our economy at that time," she said.

Ms Gillard said the 457 visa crackdown ensured the visas were used for their true purpose and that positions were firstly filled by qualified Australian workers.

"We have a non-discriminatory immigration policy, it is not targeted at any one country, it is non-discriminatory and from time to time we change policy settings depending on economic needs," she said.

Xinhua journalist Bobby Xu said the Chinese saw their nation's relationship with Australia as very important.

"We are very interested in the coming elections and also the relations between China and Australia," he said.

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Marshall to run for Nats in Torbay's seat

THE Nationals have backed Adam Marshall to stand in the NSW by-election sparked by the snap resignation of MP Richard Torbay.

The former Gunnedah mayor won Nationals preselection for the NSW seat of Northern Tablelands on Saturday, the party's state chair Niall Blair said on Twitter.

The seat was vacated when former speaker Mr Torbay quit the NSW parliament last month, a day after the Nationals asked him to step down as their candidate for the federal seat of New England.

The information that led to his axing was referred by the Nationals to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Alexander "Jock" Laurie, a fourth-generation grazier from Walcha, had resigned his position as National Farmers' Federation president to stand against Mr Marshall for preselection in the Northern Tablelands.

A third contender was Nationals staffer Claire Coulton.

Mr Marshall will face competition for the seat when Northern Tablelands voters go to the polls on May 25, with NSW Labor last week announcing it would field a candidate.

"We believe local residents deserve an opportunity to send a message to the Liberals and Nationals that they won't stand for attacks on local schools, hospitals and primary industries," NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson said at the time.

Mr Robertson conceded Labor would face a challenge in the seat.

Nominations for Labor candidates for the by-election close on Monday.

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NSW keen to extend Governor Bashir's term

PREMIER Barry O'Farrell has asked NSW Governor Marie Bashir to extend her commission for six months.

Professor Bashir is due to stand down in February next year but will now retire on September 26, 2014.

Mr O'Farrell says the Queen supports the move.

"Her Majesty has welcomed my suggestion to extend the Commission of Her Excellency the Governor," he said in a statement on Friday.

"I will now formally submit that request to The Queen for approval."

He said Professor Bashir was one of the state's most loved governors and he regretted her decision to stand down.

"As a person of Lebanese descent, there is no better example of the success of our multicultural society than Professor Bashir, who had a very successful career in health and academia before being appointed Governor," he said.

She was appointed the 37th Governor of NSW on March 1, 2001.

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Police arrest former Pakistani ruler

POLICE in Pakistan say they have arrested former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in connection with a case involving his decision to fire senior judges while in power.

Police officer Mohammed Khalid said on Friday that authorities arrested Musharraf overnight from his home on the outskirts of Islamabad. He fled there from court Thursday after an Islamabad High Court judge rejected his bail and ordered his arrest.

Khalid said Musharraf was presented before a judge at Islamabad District Court on Friday who will decide whether he will be taken to jail or held under house arrest.

Local TV footage showed Musharraf entering the court in Islamabad amid high security.

Musharraf's lawyer Malik Qamar Afzal says the judge asked police to keep Musharraf in their custody.

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East-West Link still top priority: Abbott

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott has not steered away from promising funds for Melbourne's proposed East-West road tunnel, despite warnings in a new report that it might not be the best option.

The 18km road project, which would connect the Eastern Freeway and the Western Ring Road, has secured a pledge of $1.5 billion in federal funding if Mr Abbott wins the September election.

But a Victorian auditor-general's report on road congestion has warned the East-West Link may not be the most cost-effective solution, pointing out that there's no statewide congestion plan in place to help leaders choose infrastructure priorities.

A business case for the city road project, detailing traffic predictions and estimated costs, has not yet been given to Infrastructure Australia.

But Mr Abbott said the East-West Link was now the top infrastructure priority in Victoria.

"The East-West Link is the missing link in Melbourne's arterial road system," he told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.

"Are there other important projects? Yes, there are. Is this going to solve all of Melbourne's problems for all time? No, it won't.

"But right now, this is by far the most important road infrastructure project in Victoria."

Premier Denis Napthine has said he wants to convince Mr Abbott also to fund Melbourne's planned Metro rail tunnel - a rail link that would require a building a new 9km tunnel with five new stops.

Mr Abbott said he'd met Dr Napthine to discuss funding but wasn't convinced that urban rail could get federal support.

"It's only very recently, under the current government, that there's been substantial commonwealth support for commuter, urban rail projects," he said.

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Boston bomb suspect captured in pictures

US officials are denying reports that a suspect has been detained over the Boston Marathon bombings. Source: AAP

US investigators have found images of a suspect who may have planted the bombs that killed three people and maimed scores more at the Boston Marathon.

No arrest has been made. But images from a surveillance camera and still pictures could mark a breakthrough ahead of Thursday's visit to the city by US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle in what was being billed as a mission of "healing."

Two days after two bombs tore through crowds on the marathon finish line, wounding 180 people, Boston remained on edge.

Boston courthouse and part of a hospital used for the victims were briefly evacuated, while conflicting reports of an arrest brought a stern rebuke from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

But a law enforcement official told AFP on Wednesday that "there is an image of a person, of a potential suspect."

Investigators were working "to locate and identify that individual," the official added.

The Boston Globe said the images may have captured the suspect planting one of the two bombs. Separate media reports indicated there were pictures of the suspect running away while other people slumped to the ground during the blast.

With no claim of responsibility made for the attack, the FBI said it has launched a "worldwide" hunt.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick appealed for patience over the pace of the investigation.

"They are making progress. But it's going to take time," Patrick said on CNN. "Every hour, we're closer."

The FBI released photographs of the mangled metal remnants of a pressure cooker believed to have been used for one of the bombs, which sprayed nails, ball bearings and metal pellets into the crowds.

The lid of one pressure cooker was found on the roof of a nearby hotel.

Doctors at hospitals where the injured were taken say ball bearings and nails taken from patients were being used in the investigation.

George Velmahos, Massachusetts General Hospital's chief of trauma surgery, said the metal was being handed over to police. He said 12 nails were taken from inside one patient alone.

Peter Burke, chief trauma surgeon at Boston Medical Centre, said some of the nails were about five centimetres-long.

US authorities have thrown virtually every investigative agency into the hunt for the bombers.

Obama has condemned the attack as "an act of terror" and vowed that the attackers "will feel the full weight of justice."

He will be joined by his wife to attend a special inter-faith service for the victims at Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Thursday morning.

About 100 of the injured have left Boston hospitals, but about 10 remain in critical condition and will require new operations.

Boston's federal courthouse and part of the Brigham and Women's Hospital, where many victims were taken, were evacuated on Wednesday.

Hundreds of people went to the courthouse after reports that a suspect had been arrested for the attacks.

But the reports were denied by Boston police and the FBI criticised what it called a number of "inaccurate" press reports since the attacks.

"Since these stories often have unintended consequences, we ask the media, particularly at this early stage of the investigation, to exercise caution and attempt to verify information through appropriate official channels before reporting," it said in a statement.

Boston has held emotional tributes to the dead, who include eight-year-old Martin Richard, Boston University graduate student Lu Lingzi of China and restaurant manager Krystle Campbell.

About 1000 people attended a candlelight vigil in a park near the boy's home on Tuesday night and hundreds went to other events in the city and at the university. Thousands of tributes to Lu were posted on Chinese websites.

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NSW L-plater charged with dangerous drive

A LEARNER driver has been arrested in a toilet block after allegedly driving a ute dangerously at 60km/h over the speed limit on the NSW mid-north coast.

Police say the 22-year-old woman was detected travelling at 160km/h in a sign-posted 100km/h zone on the Pacific Highway at Nabiac at about 9.45pm (AEST) on Tuesday.

Officers gave chase and found the utility stopped on the median strip further up the highway after the driver appeared to have lost control.

Police said the driver was arrested after she was found in a nearby toilet block.

She has been charged with dangerous driving, exceeding the speed limit, being an unaccompanied learner, negligent driving and dishonestly obtaining property.

The property offence relates to an alleged failure to pay for fuel at a service station in Wauchope on Monday.

The woman is due to appear in Taree Local Court on May 14.

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Gillard urges kids to live up to Anzacs

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has urged students to do their best to live up to the Anzac legacy.

Ms Gillard gave a brief address to an Anzac service for schoolchildren in Melbourne's eastern suburbs on Wednesday.

She said the Anzacs had set an excellent example at Gallipoli of how the rest of the nation should behave.

"All of us can be proud of what they achieved," Ms Gillard said.

"We can be worthy of the nation for which they gave so much.

"We can set aside a space in our hearts where forgetting never reaches and thanksgiving never stops."

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Vehicle sales down in March

The Australian Bureau of Statistics says sales of new motor vehicles fell 0.6 per cent in March. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIAN sales of new motor vehicles fell 0.6 per cent in March.

There were 95,113 new vehicles sold in March, seasonally adjusted, compared with 95,716 in February, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.

In the year to March, new motor vehicle sales rose 4.5 per cent, seasonally adjusted.

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NSW homes cheaper after law changes: govt

A NSW government paper recommends speeding up the approval process for many types of developments. Source: AAP

NEW homes will be cheaper to build under the NSW government's overhaul of the state's planning system, says Planning Minister Brad Hazzard.

About 80 per cent of development proposals will qualify for fast-tracked decision making under the changes, estimated to save businesses and families about $174 million a year.

Most of these applications, which include new homes and home extensions, will be determined in less than 25 days.

Mr Hazzard said the government was slashing millions of dollars in red tape.

"That should translate into far faster processes, and holding costs are what contributes to the expense of homes, so we are anticipating that will have downward pressure," he said.

He was unable to put a figure on the cost saving for new homes but said it was logical to expect a drop in prices if more housing was coming in to the market.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said the white paper represented the most significant reform of the state's planning laws in more than 30 years.

"What we are delivering is an opportunity for communities and councils to work together to plan their suburbs, their streets and their regions.

"To deliver homes more affordably, to deliver the jobs closer to where people work and to do so at the same time as infrastructure is being delivered."

Under the changes, communities will have a legal charter to participate in upfront planning of areas, deciding where developments will go, what type they will be and what infrastructure will be needed to support them.

Community consultation was the centrepiece of the reforms, Mr Hazzard said.

"There will be guaranteed capacity for the community to have their say on how they see their local area developing."

"The community will be able to own this planning system, they will own what happens in their local area."

However, he conceded, "There is no question it is a mighty challenge to get the community to switch on at an earlier stage".

State opposition leader John Robertson said the proposed planning laws would give more power to developers.

"This is a regime which will give developers everything they want.

"It will exclude local communities from having a say at the most critical point of the planning process - that is, when the detailed development applications go to a council and no-one in the local community will have a say on anything."

Opposition planning spokesman Luke Foley said it would remove the general consultation process with communities in the preliminary stages of community engagement.

"Whilst cutting out the consultation at the point when development plans become a reality - that is a very cynical breach of faith with people who voted for a return of planning powers to local community."

Greens MP David Shoebridge said the proposals would favour developers over local communities.

"It's very clear that this legislation is intended to privilege developers, builders and construction, while local communities and local environment will play second-fiddle."

He said local councils will be sidelined on planning decisions with fewer representatives on regional planning boards.

"Local councils will become government patsies, they will just implement the decisions being made by the regional planning boards.

"Who would have thought that two years into the O'Farrell government, we would be looking back to the corrupt and broken scheme of planning under Labor and thinking they were the good days for planning in NSW."

The white paper is now open for community consultation for the next ten weeks. Legislation will be introduced to parliament in the second half of this year.

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Policies unaffected by hunger strikes: PM

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard says asylum seekers going on hunger strike won't succeed in pressuring the government to change its policies.

Ms Gillard was commenting on a group of 27 asylum seekers on hunger strike at a Melbourne detention centre.

Last week, the government confirmed one of the asylum seekers had received treatment for dehydration.

While the immigration department won't comment on why the detainees are on strike, it is believed they have been granted refugee status but have had their release into the community refused due to adverse ASIO assessments.

Ms Gillard on Monday stressed the importance of assessing would-be refugees on security grounds.

"We've got duties and obligations to the nation here in terms of properly assessing who's a refugee and making appropriate security assessments," she told ABC Radio.

"You do not change your circumstance as an asylum seeker or a refugee with an adverse security assessment through hunger striking."

Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul said the detainees were very weak but had resumed drinking fluids.

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Tech-wise firms expect more income: survey

SMALL and medium businesses using cloud computing and websites expect to earn more revenue than firms that don't.

Software provider MYOB's March 2013 Business Monitor released on Monday shows the financial gap between firms confident with the online world and those that are wary was expanding, but the adoption of online technologies had changed little in the past nine months.

In a study of more than 1000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), 16 per cent used cloud computing in business, up from 14 per cent in July 2012. Firms saying they had a website was unchanged at 38 per cent.

Cloud computing allows access to a shared pool of programs and sites, usually via the internet, as opposed to using individual computer software.

Firms saying they used the cloud were 106 per cent more likely to expect revenue to rise in the past year than those that didn't, up from 53 per cent in July.

Businesses with a website were 60 per cent more likely for revenue to increase, up from 53 per cent.

"It's obvious that as time goes on, Australian business operators using cloud computing are increasingly likely to achieve positive financial results," MYOB chief executive Tim Reed said in a statement.

"That said, I'm surprised fewer than one in every six say they use cloud in business."

Mr Reed said MYOB research showed the need for business to embrace online technologies.

SMEs wanted more government involvement in preparing the sector for an online future, with more than half of respondents stating they would vote for the political party that offered free government-funded training to small business, he said.

Accessing data from anywhere was the most popular reason for using the cloud (52 per cent), while 36 per cent said they liked their staff having the ability to work remotely.

The top reason for those not using cloud computing was a lack of knowledge about its functions and concern over making the "right business decisions" (35 per cent).

This was followed by firms saying they were not "very tech-savvy" and lacked confidence in looking at it for their business (22 per cent).

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New ad campaign to cut smoking rates

A NEW wave of hard-hitting ads will focus on the suffering caused by smoking to try to slash smoking rates.

The ads for the federal government's Stop Before The Suffering Starts campaign will run on television, radio, online and print media, as well as social media, from Sunday.

They highlight the toll taken by smoking-related illnesses and the impact on smokers and their families.

"Many medical conditions caused by smoking can result in not just death, but in living for years of suffering with disabling health problems," Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said in statement on Sunday.

The goal was to reduce smoking rates from around 25 per cent of the population to 10 per cent by 2018.

Tobacco smoking remains the single largest cause of preventable premature death and disease in Australia, killing 15,000 Australians each year and costing the economy $31.5 billion.

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Aust could lose historic square: activists

AUSTRALIA risks losing a unique and valuable part of its history if plans to revamp the nation's only remaining pristine Georgian-era square are approved, local activists say.

Community Action for Windsor Bridge (CAWB) says parts of the historic Thompson Square in Windsor, northwest of Sydney, are being threatened under plans to replace the nearby Hawkesbury River bridge.

The Roads and Maritime Services said the work is required because the existing bridge is more than a century old and deteriorating.

It said no heritage buildings in the square would be demolished but work will potentially impact on its "heritage values and archaeology".

Construction is scheduled to start mid to late 2013 once planning is approved.

Historian Peter Luck said the nation will lose another part of its unique and valuable history if the work goes ahead.

"We are in danger of ... saying a familiar farewell to a piece of Australia which embodies the Macquarie era, the beginning of Australia's so called 'age of enlightenment'," he said in a statement on Sunday.

"Thompson Square is a gem, miraculously preserved until the 21st century.

"It would be a great pity if it survived so brilliantly, only to be destroyed by historical carelessness and short-sightedness."

He said the bridge was still "in good nick" for use by moderate traffic, but was not suitable for heavy traffic.

"Perfect colonial Georgian buildings and incessantly rumbling B-doubles make a bad mix."

CAWB said a rally scheduled for Sunday to protest against the plans has been met with opposition from locals, after finding a number of their promotional placards removed from their posts in the morning.

"We know there is very small group of locals who seem to have a passionate commitment in getting rid of the historic bridge," spokeswoman Kate Mackaness told AAP.

"People don't seem to have the best interest of Windsor at heart, and I'm not sure what's generating this."

Ms Mackaness said during the construction of the bridge will also be a "disaster" for local business.

The group has so far 12,000 petition signatures and is gaining more support, she said.

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