Ads needed to stop boat people: Bowen

Chris Bowen has defended government advertising of its new hardline approach to asylum seekers. Source: AAP

TREASURER Chris Bowen has defended government advertising of its new hardline approach to asylum seekers, saying it was important to get its message to potential boat people overseas.

The government on Saturday paid for full page newspaper advertisements across the country stating: "If you come here by boat without a visa you won't be settled in Australia".

The ads come a day after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced Labor's tough new policy on boat people, which will resettle those who arrive by boat in Papua New Guinea rather than Australia.

The national campaign will be followed by advertisements overseas.

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon said he would make a formal complaint about the ads to the Auditor General, which he described as a blatantly political campaign paid for by the taxpayer.

But Mr Bowen said it was important to advertise the new boats plan in Australia, because recent migrants from countries such as Iran, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan would communicate it back to their home countries.

"And tell them, look the policy has changed in Australia, the law's changed, please don't come by boat because you'll get resettled to Papua New Guinea," Mr Bowen told Sky News.

"It is very important that people in Australia understand the new policy settings and it is very important that people down the chain of supply of boats to Australia understand it as well.

"We know this, people smugglers will lie about this.. and they will try and convince people that it's still a good idea to spend money to come to Australia by boat."

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NSW hospitals at risk of infection

The Opposition says cuts to the number of cleaners in hospitals could lead to serious infections. Source: AAP

THE NSW opposition is warning of an infections outbreak following reports of a drastic drop in the number of cleaners at some of NSW's busiest hospitals.

Opposition health spokesman Andrew McDonald cited a recent report which found Royal North Shore Hospital was down 67 full time cleaners compared to numbers in 2010.

During the same period Westmead Hospital lost 20 full time cleaners while the Nepean Hospital was down 25.

Across the greater Sydney region there has been an overall loss of 139 full time cleaners, Dr McDonald said.

"Slashing the number of cleaners in our hospitals is a huge infection risk and highly dangerous," he said.

The average hospital cleaner cleaned a minimum of 35 beds per week or 1820 beds per year, while unclean beds, wards and operating theatres could lead to serious and deadly infections, he said.

"Golden Staph and Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci (VRE) still kill people in NSW hospitals in 2013," he warned.

"Cutting the number of cleaners also means vacant beds are left empty for hours until they can be cleaned, while more patients sit waiting to be admitted in the emergency department."

Mr McDonald blamed the staff reductions on the O'Farrell government's $3 billion cut to health funding.

"A huge reduction in cleaners and the number of cleaning hours in our hospital is what happens when you cut $3 billion from the health system."

But a spokeswoman for Northern Sydney Local Health District denied the cuts.

She said Royal North Shore Hospital had employed 44 more cleaners since July 2011, taking the number of cleaners to 186.

This represents a 30 per cent increase in staff, she added.

A spokeswoman for Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District said cleaning staff at Nepean Hospital had increased by 7.8 Full-time equivalent (FTE) positions since July 2011.

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Dumped ALP candidate blames naivety

DUMPED federal ALP candidate Jeffrey Salvestro-Martin says naivety and inexperience has landed him before the NSW corruption commission.

Mr Salvestro-Martin was disendorsed as Labor's candidate for the northwest Sydney seat of Bennelong after he was called before the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

He and others at Ryde Council are accused of accepting undisclosed political donations in the form of free advertising ahead of local government elections last September.

Mr Salvestro-Martin on Friday produced a summary of account statements that he said showed he had paid for a number of ads in a local newspaper, The Weekly Times.

But Assistant Commissioner Theresa Hamilton told him the documents only showed that "someone" had paid for the ads.

Asked why he would have used his personal MasterCard or cheques rather than his campaign fund to pay for advertising, Mr Salvestro-Martin blamed his "naivety, my fault, my inexperience".

Mr Salvestro-Martin, who until this week had Labor's backing to run for John Howard's former seat of Bennelong, told the inquiry he had limited political experience.

The 2012 local government election was the first time he had run at the top of a political ticket, he said.

"As second on a ticket (at the previous election), I was always instructed as to what to do and how to do it," he said.

The inquiry has also heard Mr Salvestro-Martin was aware of "inducements" or "implied threats" directed to the council's acting general manager Danielle Dickson.

She'd been handed control over whether council would pay legal costs in a Supreme Court action relating to the ousting of former general manager John Neish.

But a phone call intercepted days before the costs decision was delegated to Ms Dickson reveals Ryde mayor Ivan Petch told Mr Salvestro-Martin he was planning to "give her a good firm talking to".

"(I'll) say 'Listen, a lot of people have been watching - the majority of council have been watching - how you handle the matter'," Mr Petch said.

"'And if you ever want to be the general manager of this place, I'd tread very carefully if I were you'."

Counsel assisting the commission Jason Downing said Mr Petch's plans to take Ms Dickson aside were "grossly improper".

"But at the time, you made no comment other than suggesting that you absolutely agree," he told Mr Salvestro-Martin.

The inquiry continues.

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'Improving' Mandela turns 95 in hospital

Millions of people around the world have marked Nelson Mandela's 95th birthday. Source: AAP

NELSON Mandela has entered a seventh week in hospital, the day after his 95th birthday was marked by millions of people across the world, heartened by news that the anti-apartheid icon is showing signs of improvement.

Ndileka Mandela told AFP on Thursday that her grandfather is "steadily improving" and "using his eyes, nodding".

That message was echoed by President Jacob Zuma who said after visiting his predecessor's Pretoria bedside he "found him really stable and I was able to say 'happy birthday' and he was able to smile".

That is a dramatic turnaround for the ailing peace icon, who just weeks ago was thought to be close to death.

Mandela was rushed to hospital on June 8 with a recurring lung infection that had already put him in hospital three times in less than a year.

Outside the Pretoria facility which has been the focal point of a national vigil for the last 41 days, there were joyous scenes.

Revellers sang anti-apartheid struggle songs, as schoolchildren read poems dedicated to a man nearing the end of his long walk that took him from political prisoner to South Africa's first black president.

"Tata (father) Mandela has once again proved that he is a fighter," said well-wisher Agnes Shilowane, a local university student.

Thursday's news was a relief elsewhere in the country to South Africans who marked Mandela Day with a panoply of good deeds.

Biker gangs cleaned streets, volunteers painted schools and politicians spent 67 minutes on worthy projects - all to mark Mandela's 67 years of public service.

Near Pretoria, Zuma tried to channel Mandela's cross-community appeal by delivering government housing to poor whites.

Messages of support also poured in from around the world - and even from astronauts on the International Space Station - to mark the anniversary, which many feared Mandela would not live to see.

US President Barack Obama - who was unable to visit Mandela during a trip to South Africa last month - led tributes to the peace icon, calling on people to honour him through volunteer work.

In New York, Mandela Day was marked by the showing on giant screens in Times Square of The Power of Words, a short film based on excerpts from his most memorable speeches.

Other well-wishers included the Dalai Lama, former US president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary, US actor Morgan Freeman and Mandela's former jailer FW de Klerk, who went on to share the Nobel Peace Prize with him.

"Mandela's place in South Africa's history is assured," former president De Klerk said in a statement.

"His legacy of courage, perseverance and magnanimity will continue to inspire us - and people throughout the world - for generations to come."

The Mandela family also did their bit, with his grandchildren volunteering at a children's home.

They then gathered at the hospital for lunch, along with Mandela's third wife Graca Machel, who also celebrated 15 years of marriage to her husband on Thursday.

"The 67 minutes was the highlight of our day and also the time we spent with grandad and family. It was really a phenomenal day," Mandela's granddaughter Ndileka told AFP.

He was "excited" to have the family, including at least four great-grandchildren, gather around him for his birthday. "He always does, especially when he sees the little ones. It was good for him," said Ndileka.

The birthday meal included Mandela's favourite food, including "oxtail, prawns, dumplings and vegetables".

Another granddaughter, Zaziwe Dlamini-Manaway, distributed food at a school.

"I think it's important for us to give back," she said.

"We are a family, we hope for him to come home, and we know the whole nation would hope the same thing, and the whole world."

The United Nations declared the Nobel Peace laureate's birthday Mandela Day in 2010, but for many this year it takes on extra poignancy.

Clinton, UN leader Ban Ki-moon and Andrew Mlangeni, who was a prisoner with Mandela, honoured the legendary freedom fighter in a special ceremony at the UN headquarters.

In central Lisbon the Don Pedro IV Square was to be renamed Nelson Mandela Square, and an open-air Mandela-themed opera concert was planned in Paris.

On Saturday, Melbourne will hold a concert featuring local and African artists.

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Vic Crown Casino bouncers avoid jail

A COUPLE assaulted by two Crown Casino bouncers alongside their friend who later died say justice has not been served.

The two bouncers avoided jail after Matthew Anderson and his partner Olivia Ferguson were thrown to the floor, put in painful "shut-down" holds and escorted to separate exits of the Melbourne casino.

Their friend Anthony Dunning, who was also brought to the ground and restrained in the same incident, suffered a cardiac arrest and died in hospital.

Quoc Hai Tran, 35, was convicted of assault, intentionally causing injury and unlawful imprisonment on Ms Ferguson and fined $8000 in the Victorian Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Jacques Tony Fucile, 31, was convicted of intentionally causing injury and unlawfully imprisoning Mr Anderson and fined $6000.

Another bouncer, Nicholas Vladamir Levchenko, 27, was fined $2000, but escaped conviction after being found guilty of unlawful imprisonment against Mr Anderson.

Three other Crown bouncers were charged over Mr Dunning's death, but were acquitted last year.

Justice Lex Lasry described the assaults as extreme and disproportionate acts of violence against two patrons willingly leaving the casino.

But he said their crimes did not warrant jail, with the temporary loss of their security careers a serious penalty.

"If I impose convictions for these offences you, Quoc Tran and Jacques Fucile, will lose your career for a period of 10 years," Justice Lasry said.

"That is a significant punishment."

Mr Anderson said there was no justice in the sentence.

"We're just extremely disappointed with the outcome," he told reporters outside court.

"We're more disappointed with what happened in Anthony's trial. Justice hasn't been served."

The pair will now take legal action against the casino.

The incident occurred when Ms Ferguson and Mr Anderson realised their friend, Mr Dunning, was being escorted from the casino for being intoxicated on the night of July 3, 2011.

Ms Ferguson and Mr Anderson were both willingly leaving the casino, when Ms Ferguson turned to slap Tran in response to something he had said.

Justice Lasry said Tran's move to throw her to the ground, kicking off the incident, was extreme.

"The way you so forcefully put Ms Ferguson to the ground was an extraordinary reaction to a slap; there were six of your colleagues around you and any threat which you might have faced was minimal."

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Asiana passengers file suit against Boeing

A US law firm has filed a suit against Boeing over the Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco. Source: AAP

A GROUP of 83 passengers aboard an Asiana Airlines flight which crash-landed in San Francisco has filed a lawsuit seeking millions from the aircraft's manufacturer Boeing.

While a final determination of what caused the deadly crash of the Boeing 777 is years away, Chicago-based Ribbeck Law said initial reports indicate it could have been caused by a mechanical malfunction of the autothrottle.

Boeing could also have been at fault for the design of sliding ramps which deployed inside the plane, "further injuring passengers and blocking their exit to safety", Ribbeck said in a press release on Tuesday.

There were also possibly problems with the seatbelts given that police officers "had to pass knives to crew members inside the burning wreckage" so they could cut passengers free, Ribbeck said.

The class action lawsuit was filed in Chicago, Boeing's corporate headquarters.

It will be expanded in coming days to include Asiana and several component part manufacturers "who may be responsible for this disaster", Ribbeck said.

The Asiana jet from Shanghai via Seoul clipped a seawall with its tail as it came in to land at the US airport on July 6 and skidded out of control before catching fire, leaving three dead and more than 180 injured.

Zhang Yuan, who suffered severe spinal injuries and a broken leg, said it was important that victims protect their rights "immediately".

"It is terrible that the sliding ramps deployed inside the plane blocking our way to the exit door, trapping us inside the burning plane," she said in the statement.

"My husband, my daughter, other passengers and I would not have suffered such terrible injuries if the sliding ramps and the seat belts would not have trapped us in the burning wreckage."

Ribbeck filed a motion on Monday seeking to require Boeing to provide details about the jet's design and maintenance and will seek access to all of the evidence discovered in the course of the investigation.

Swift legal action is "vital" for the victims and their families because international treaties prohibit US safety regulators from making determinations of liability or fault.

"Just compensation to these families cannot be provided under the law, until liability of all parties is established first," Kelly said.

"Ribbeck Law's independent experts will monitor the official investigation and will conduct our own investigation for our clients to assign fault to each of the responsible parties for this tragedy."

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Japan will abide by ICJ over whaling: govt

FEDERAL Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says he's confident Japan will abide by whatever decision an international court makes about its controversial whaling program.

"I'm very confident that Japan, just as Australia would, will abide by the decision of the court," Mr Dreyfus said on Tuesday.

His comment comes after Japan reportedly accused Australia in the International Court of Justice of "affronting" its national dignity by campaigning to end whaling.

Japan is making its final argument in The Hague in defence of what it claims is a scientific whaling program, the ABC reports.

Mr Dreyfus said the case had been conducted "robustly" between Australia and Japan.

"This is a case that has been conducted ... between Australia and Japan, two countries that are friends, but it has been conducted in a robust way as litigation often is," he told reporters.

He said the strength of feeling on both sides of the case had exposed "the issues that need to be determined".

"That's what has happened here."

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Free legal advice abuse royal commission

ANYONE thinking about speaking to the royal commission into child sex abuse can now get free legal advice.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus on Tuesday launched Knowmore, a free national legal advice line for people interested in providing information to the commission.

Mr Dreyfus said the government will spend $18 million over four years on the service as part of a $62 million fund for legal advice related to the commission.

"A great deal of work has already gone into the setting up of this legal advisory service and it's now up and running," he told reporters in Sydney.

Run by the National Association of Community Legal Centres, it received 18 phone calls in its first three days last week.

Mr Dreyfus said the service could offer advice on issues like witness and informant protections, compensation, and "the implications of existing confidentiality agreements".

Carolyn Bond of Community Law Australia welcomed the service, saying it was important to support those dealing with the "sensitive and troubling issue" of child sexual abuse.

The provision of "culturally safe services" might also help to break down the barriers that could prevent people from speaking up, she said.

More than 5000 people are expected to share their stories with the commission, which began in Melbourne in April.

Its chairman, Justice Peter McClellan, has previously said the inquiry is unlikely to meet its final deadline of late 2015.

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Juice withdrawn as senator complains

THE Berri fruit juice company has withdrawn an imported product from sale amid criticism from independent Senator Nick Xenophon.

Berri Ltd on Monday said its Berri Truly juice, produced in Mexico, had been withdrawn because it had not met its performance benchmarks.

The company's action came on the same day Senator Xenophon launched an attack on the company for misleading customers.

He said the fact the juice was a product of Mexico was only in small print on the pack which also included the Berri logo and the words "since 1943".

South Australian Liberal MP Tim Whetstone also criticised the company for deceiving consumers and misrepresenting Australian growers.

"The whole product comes from Mexico with not one molecule of Australian content," Mr Whetstone said.

The two MPs said they planned to file complaints with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and SA Consumer Affairs arguing that the packaging would lead consumers to assume that the product contained Australian juice.

Berri said Berri Truly was the only one of its products not produced in Australia.

It said the juice complied with country of origin labelling laws and Australian food standards and was regularly monitored and tested for quality.

"We do not apologise for investing in innovation to grow the juice category in Australia," the company said in a statement.

"In the case of Berri Truly, the product required technology not available in Australia."

Senator Xenophon said the product should not have been sold in Australia in the first place.

"People assume Berri uses fruit that's grown in Berri or in South Australia at the very least, not in Mexico," he said.

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Asiana may sue over erroneous TV report

ASIANA Airlines says it is is considering legal action over a report on a San Francisco television station that used bogus and racially offensive names for four pilots on its plane that crashed earlier this month.

An anchor for KTVU-TV read the names on the air on Friday and then apologised after a break.

The report was accompanied by a graphic with the phoney names listed alongside a photo of the burned out plane. Video of the report has spread widely across the internet since it was broadcast.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has also apologised, saying a summer intern erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew.

An Asiana statement on Sunday said it's mulling legal measures against both KTVU-TV and the NTSB because the report "badly damaged" the reputation of the airline and its pilots.

It didn't say what legal measures it was considering.

Neither the station nor the NTSB commented on where the names originated.

The four pilots, who underwent questioning by a US and South Korean joint investigation team while in the US, returned to South Korea on Saturday.

South Korean officials plan to conduct separate interviews with them, South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on Sunday.

Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed at San Francisco International Airport on July 6, killing three and injuring dozens.

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Track fault blamed in French derailment

France's state rail says Friday's deadly train derailment was due to a fault in the track. Source: AAP

A TRAIN derailment near Paris that killed six people was caused by a fault in the tracks, France's state rail company says.

The SNCF said Friday's derailment, which also left dozens injured, was caused by a connecting bar that came loose at a rail switch at the station at Bretigny-sur-Orge, about 25 kilometres south of Paris.

The joint bar "broke away, it became detached and came out of its housing", said Pierre Izard, general manager for infrastructure, on Saturday.

It "lodged itself at the centre of the switch, prevented the normal progression of the train's wheels and seems to have caused the train's derailment."

The company said the switch was checked on July 4 and it was immediately ordering checks of 5000 similar joints on its network.

"We have decided to check equipment of this nature on the entire network and are starting now," SNCF chief Guillaume Pepy said.

Transport Minister Frederic Cuvillier said human error was not to blame for the accident, praising the train's driver who he said "had absolutely extraordinary reflexes by sending the alert immediately", preventing a collision with an oncoming train.

But he said France's regional rail lines were out of date.

"We cannot be satisfied with rolling stock that is 30 years old," Cuvillier said, adding: "The situation is severe, with the deterioration in recent years of traditional lines because of a lack of resources."

A railway passenger association also denounced what it called "rust-bucket trains" and the practice of coupling different types of trains together, demanding proper inspections.

President Francois Hollande was likely to face tough questions about the accident on Sunday, when he is expected to be interviewed by leading French television channels to mark the Bastille Day holiday.

A minute of silence was held at noon on Saturday on all French trains and in all stations for the victims of the accident, which took place as many were leaving for summer holidays.

The local prefect's office said the dead were four men and two women, aged between 19 and 82.

A source close to the investigation told AFP the dead included a couple in their 80s from Bretigny, three men aged 19, 23, and 60, and a young woman whose exact age was not immediately clear. Formal identifications of the bodies were underway, the source said.

In what officials described as a "catastrophe", the train came off the tracks and crashed into the station platform at 5.14 pm local time on Friday, as it travelled at 137km/h on its way from Paris to the central western city of Limoges.

Four carriages of the train jumped the tracks, of which three overturned.

One carriage smashed across a platform and came to rest on a parallel track; another lay half-way across the platform. There were 385 passengers on the train.

The local prefect said the death toll of six was final after the first of the four damaged carriages was removed from the tracks.

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Texas bans abortion after 20 weeks

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (pic) plans to sign a bill which will ban abortion after 20 weeks. Source: AAP

SUPPORTERS of abortion rights are vowing a court challenge to a new law banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy approved by the Texas legislature.

The measure tightens regulations for doctors and clinics that perform abortions, and would have the effect of shutting down many existing providers of such services.

Governor Rick Perry, who plans to sign the bill, called it the "final step in our historic effort to protect life."

He said it complies with current interpretations of the US Constitution protecting the right to end pregnancies in most cases.

State Senator Wendy Davis, who gained national prominence last month by speaking for 11 hours straight in the Texas Senate to block the abortion legislation, tweeted on Saturday that the new law was shameful and should be overturned.

"The law passed last night will undoubtedly be challenged in court," she wrote.

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