Labor, CPSU make up over job cuts

THE public sector union has made up with federal Labor after the government agreed to work with the union to reduce job losses under its $1.8 billion efficiency dividend savings targets.

The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) had suspended its election campaigning for the Labor Party over concerns the "awful decision" could cost 5000 public sector workers' jobs.

National secretary Nadine Flood said on Friday the Labor Party had heeded the union's concerns and agreed to work with them on a range of alternative savings measures to help reduce job losses if it wins the election.

"Our executive's made a unanimous decision to lift the suspension of our election campaigning, and as we stand here today folks are getting in cars and heading back into the field," she said.

Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten told about 70 CPSU members gathered in Melbourne a Labor government would work with the union and Department of Finance and Deregulation to consider the alternative savings, including the merger or consolidation of agencies.

However Mr Shorten refused to outline what those alternative savings could be, or how many jobs could go.

He also said it would ensure alternative savings did not increase pressure on service delivery or jobs in the Department of Human Services and would work to ensure regional public service jobs numbers were maintained.

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Vic killer Knight says he's no psychopath

HODDLE Street mass murderer Julian Knight says jail authorities' mistaken view he is a psychopath is affecting his chances of release.

Knight complained in the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday that he is being treated differently to other murderers.

"All other cases, they've all progressed out of maximum security within a third of their minimum term," he told Justice Anthony Cavanough.

Knight, who is representing himself, is in court accusing jail authorities of failing to provide him with a detailed sentencing plan to improve his chances of release.

"The treatment I've been subjected to is unique," he said.

"Corrections Victoria have the mistaken belief, apparently forever, that I'm a psychopath with a personality disorder."

He said this is affecting his progress through the prison system, and authorities are duty-bound to prepare prisoners for release.

Knight was jailed for life for killing seven people and wounding 19 in a shooting spree in Melbourne in 1987.

He will be eligible to apply for parole in May 2014.

Knight was reduced from a maximum security to a medium security prisoner in August last year.

He has been declared a vexatious litigant, meaning he is prohibited from starting legal proceedings without court permission, and is fighting jail authorities in up to 14 matters before the courts.

He argued prison authorities failed to take into account psychological reports recommending he be eventually moved to lower security arrangements and gradually integrated into the community.

But Claire Harris, for Corrections Victoria deputy commissioner Brendan Money, said authorities had considered those reports.

Ms Harris said sentencing plans were tailored to each inmate and were not fixed, depending on changing circumstances.

She said Knight's sentencing plan was reviewed in August last year and again in last December.

The hearing is continuing.

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Major parties shut down democracy: Greens

AUSTRALIAN Greens leader Christine Milne has accused Labor and the Liberals of shutting down democratic options after they ruled out deals with minor parties and independents to form government.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has also directed the Liberal Party to put the Greens last on all lower house how-to-vote cards.

Senator Milne scoffed at Mr Abbott's suggestion he wanted to avoid a minority government, saying he couldn't govern without the Nationals.

She described his pitch for control of both houses as "incredible arrogance".

"I am confident that people are going to say if Liberal and Labor want total control of the parliament then they are shutting down democratic options."

Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt, the only party member in the lower house, believes he can still retain his seat of Melbourne, despite the Liberals preferencing him last.

Liberal preferences helped Mr Bandt wrest Melbourne from Labor in the 2010 election.

But Mr Bandt, who holds his seat by a six per cent margin, says Mr Abbott's bid to try and unseat the Greens won't work because his party aims to win the seat in their own right.

"It speaks volumes that Tony Abbott would rather have a Labor backbencher in the seat of Melbourne than me and I wear it as a badge of honour," he told reporters.

"Tony Abbott knows that a Labor backbencher will vote to cut single parent payments, to slash university funding, to keep refugees in indefinite detention.

"The Greens won't."

Mr Bandt said his party only needed a small primary vote boost - a swing of five per cent - to win Melbourne.

Senator Milne, meanwhile, rejected suggestions the preference move had also ruled out any chances the Greens had of winning the seats of Batman, in Victoria, and Grayndler, in Sydney.

"It was always going to be a hard task for us to win those seats, but I think Tony Abbott has made it really clear to the whole Australian community that the Greens are the real opposition," she told reporters in Sydney.

Senator Milne said she was also confident the Greens could retain Melbourne.

"It shows just how effective Adam Bandt has been," she told reporters in Sydney.

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Torbay rumoured to stand for New England

OUTGOING independent MP Tony Windsor says former NSW politician Richard Torbay may emerge as a contender for his seat of New England.

Mr Torbay, who held the state seat of Northern Tablelands as an independent for 14 years, resigned in March a day after the Nationals dumped him as their candidate for New England.

He was subsequently referred to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption because of his relationship with Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid.

Mr Windsor said former Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce was favoured to win but that would depend on who else appeared.

With candidate nominations closing this week, he said there was some scuttlebutt about that Mr Torbay might "jump out of the woodwork and stand as an independent".

"Barnaby is sitting on about 40 per cent of the primary so there is a fairly significant vacuum there," he told Sky News.

Mr Windsor said if no one filled the vacuum Mr Joyce would win comfortably.

"But it's not over till the fact lady sings. I apologise for that faux pas," he said.

Mr Windsor said he believed the election campaign had been "slow and boring", highlighted by the fact Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's 'sex appeal' remark had made the news.

He believes the coalition will win the election.

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Sydney weapons find sparks border call

NSW'S police minister is urging the federal government to tighten border security after explosives and imported firearms were found in a car parked in Sydney's CBD, in what police believe was a mobile "safehouse" for bikies.

Detectives uncovered the cache of weapons and drugs in the car in a secure parking rental space in Castlereagh Street, in the Sydney CBD, earlier this year.

Police believe the vehicle was being used as a storage safehouse by the Hells Angels.

It allegedly contained 10 sticks of Powergel explosives with detonators, four rifles, a shotgun, three pistols, three silencers, ammunition and two stun guns.

Night vision goggles, balaclavas and 3kg of the illicit drug Nexus were also seized, police say.

The explosives have since been destroyed but could have had fatal consequences if detonated, while two of the seized firearms have been linked to other crimes.

NSW Police Minister Mike Gallacher says Australia is now awash with weapons because of lax border security.

"This was once the domain of the streets of LA, New York (but) sadly this sort of weaponry is now on the streets of Australia," Mr Gallacher told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.

"None of these weapons are manufactured in this country.

"They're all brought in through our borders and our borders are weak."

Mr Gallacher called on the federal government to crack down on border security "to ensure the back door to our country is not left wide open".

The "safehouse" car was identified after the Organised Crime Targeting Squad conducted a series of raids in NSW in March following an investigation into the supply of drugs, guns and explosives.

Following the raids by Strike Force Alistair, detectives arrested and charged 36 people who remain before the courts on drug, firearm and other offences.

Police were only able to reveal the discovery of the "safehouse" on Tuesday due to "operational reasons".

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No major find in Vic schoolgirl search

POLICE investigating the disappearance of teenager Siriyakorn "Bung" Siriboon say they are yet to find anything of significance in their search of a Melbourne reserve.

Clothing and animal bones were taken from Boronia reserve on Tuesday and are being examined.

Police say they have not found any human remains.

They say their search of the Old Joes Creek Retarding Basin will continue until they are satisfied there is nothing to be found.

Bung, then aged 13, vanished after leaving her house in Boronia in June 2011 on her way to school.

Homicide Squad Detective Inspector John Potter said police are searching the area after receiving new information.

"We are not convinced it's particularly credible, the information, but we need to search this area for completeness sake," he told reporters at the scene.

"This forms part of our strategy to continue to leave no stone unturned in our search for Bung."

Det Insp Potter said Bung's family are being kept updated on the search.

"We are hoping that ultimately we will find something and provide answers to the family, but at this stage we've found nothing," he said.

"At this stage they are still holding out hope that Bung is alive."

Bung left her home in Elsie Street, Boronia, around 8.30am on Thursday June 2, 2011.

She was seen by a neighbour a short time later in Elsie Street, walking towards Albert Avenue.

Bung did not arrive at school that day and has not been seen or heard from since.

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Economy is the key poll concern: survey

VOTERS are taking a keener interest in the economy and are less concerned about the carbon tax and the environment, a new survey shows.

The Australian National University on Monday released the findings of its latest ANUpoll into voter attitudes.

The poll showed concern about the economy and job security has doubled since 2010, while those citing the environment and global warming as an issue had halved.

The second most important issue was immigration and asylum seekers. This was nominated as either the top or the second top issue by 28 per cent of the 1200 randomly surveyed people.

Six per cent of respondents cited the environment or global warming as an issue, down from about 12 per cent in 2010.

Only 0.1 per cent of people mentioned the carbon tax.

"The poll results suggest that the management of the economy will be centre stage in the federal election campaign," said ANU academic Professor Ian McAllister.

Prof McAllister said the declining importance of environmental issues would have an impact on the vote for the Australian Greens at the September 7 election.

The poll also asked questions about compulsory voting, the frequency of elections and funding of political parties.

More than two-thirds of people said voting should remain compulsory, while almost 11 per cent said they would not vote if it was optional.

Sixty-two per cent of respondents said three-year terms were about right. Twenty per cent said every four years would be better.

The national survey was conducted by telephone between July 9 and 23 involving 1200 randomly selected voters and had a 2.5 per cent margin of error.

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Gay marriage conscience vote 'democratic'

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott should allow coalition MPs to exercise their democratic right in a vote on same sex marriage, an activist says.

Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) spokeswoman Shelley Argent says legalising gay marriage should be Mr Abbott's priority.

"It is time my son and Tony Abbott's sister were shown the respect they deserve and have their relationships properly recognised," Ms Argent told AAP.

"Marriage equality will cost the country nothing.

"If he (Mr Abbott) was going to be a half-decent leader he would be saying right now that he will allow a conscience vote.

"MPs should be given their democratic right to vote on it."

Ms Argent was confident gay marriage would legalised under a conscience vote.

"I think it would pass - it is surprising how many coalition MPs are in favour," she said.

In Sunday night's leaders' debate, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd pledged to introduce gay marriage legislation within 100 days if returned to government.

But Mr Abbott said there were other, more important, issues to focus on.

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New case of bird flu confirmed in China

A Chinese poultry worker has been confirmed as having contracted the deadly H7N9 bird flu virus. Source: AAP

A CHINESE poultry worker has been confirmed as having contracted the deadly H7N9 bird flu virus, the first case in the southern Guangdong province.

The 51-year-old woman is in a critical condition after she was admitted to hospital on August 3 following signs of a fever, the Guangdong Provincial Health Department said.

"She was a poultry slaughtering worker at a local marketplace," the local health bureau said in a statement on its website.

A total of 134 cases have now been reported on the Chinese mainland, including the Guangdong case.

State news agency Xinhua said that 44 people had died of the disease - which includes a recent fatality following the release of the latest official figures a month ago.

The virus was first reported in late March, with most cases confined to eastern China, and only one reported outside the mainland, in Taiwan.

Scientists reported last week the first likely case of direct person-to-person transmission of the H7N9.

However, they told people to "not panic" as the virus's transmissibility remained "limited and non-sustainable".

Local health authorities on Saturday lifted medical observations on 54 of 96 people who were placed under monitoring after they had close contact with the Guangdong patient, Xinhua said.

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Candidates bite the dust in week one

A WEEK into the election campaign and the first candidates have bitten the dust, one for offensive conduct more than a decade ago.

That was Geoff Lake, Labor candidate for the safe Victorian seat of Hotham, who it emerged had abused a Liberal councillor during a heated meeting of Monash City Council in 2002.

Details of a sexual harassment claim from the time, reportedly being shopped around by his own party colleagues, say he called Kathy Magee a "f...ing bitch" and a "f...ing slut".

It was apparently well-known and something for which Lake had repeatedly apologised.

No matter. In a hard-fought election campaign, every past transgression is fair game.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd pulled the plug, declaring Mr Lake's conduct unacceptable for a member of his team.

Then there's Ken Robertson, Labor candidate for the North Queensland seat of Kennedy, comfortably held by independent Bob Katter.

He quit after he was reported as saying Opposition Leader Tony Abbott was a bigot who would have the white Australia policy back in a flash, and that he hoped Australia never had to suffer Mr Abbott's Catholicism.

After embarrassing their own side, both men would appear to qualify as candidates from hell.

But they weren't the only political contenders who failed to see out the week.

Queensland Labor candidate Des Hardman did nothing wrong whatsoever, but was bumped in favour of former premier Peter Beattie. His departure sparked a fleeting wave of internet snickering over his name.

One Nation, traditionally a rich source of colourful candidates, didn't disappoint.

Stephanie Banister, 27, a mother of two whose day job is a welder, quit after just 48 hours as the party's candidate for the Queensland seat of Rankin, vacated by Labor's Craig Emerson.

In a jaw-dropping interview on Brisbane's Channel Seven, she referred to Islam as a country, confused the Islamic holy book the Koran with haram (Islamic term for forbidden) and seemed baffled by the national disability insurance scheme.

She accused Seven of editing her responses to make her look a moron but any viewing of the video indicates she managed fairly well on her own.

So too did Jaymes Diaz, Liberal candidate for the marginal Labor-held Sydney seat of Greenway.

In an excruciating interview on the Ten Network, he repeatedly stumbled over the coalition's policy on asylum seeker boat arrivals in a manner so awe-inspiring the ensuing video went viral.

Diaz can't so easily plead media naivety as he's an immigration lawyer who stood for Greenway in 2010.

Abbott, who admits he's done the occasional crook media interview in his time, rang to commiserate with the man who could well be one of his MPs after September 7.

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