Let's be energy superpower: Abbott

Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he wants Australia to become a global energy superpower. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA should aim to be an affordable energy superpower, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.

MR Abbott visited Houston - which is home to more than 100 Australian companies and 3700 energy firms - on Friday to announce a consulate-general would be established in the Texas city.

He said the permanent presence in the biggest exporting state in the US would allow Australia to "maximise the two-way trade and investment opportunities of the US energy revolution"."Australia should be an affordable energy superpower, using nature's gifts to the benefit of our own people and benefit of the wider world," Mr Abbott told the Asia Society dinner.More than 50 Fortune 500 companies have their headquarters in Texas, second only to New York.Australia is set to become the world's top exporter of liquefied natural gas and is already the largest exporter of black coal.Mr Abbott said he believed coal would continue to be an "affordable, dependable energy source" for many decades.Australia did not believe in "ostracising any particular fuel" or harming economic growth through a carbon tax, he said.But he said it was "prudent" to reduce emissions, which was why he would deliver a $2.55 billion direct action policy and encourage renewable energy such as wind, solar and geothermal.Chevron North America president Jeff Shellebarger, Australia's largest foreign investor, told the gathered chief executives that Australia was "setting the standard for resources policy".Chevron's Gorgon LNG project is Australia's single largest oil and gas investment.Ryan Lance, the chief executive of ConocoPhillips, said Australian resources were "important to the future of the world"."Your energy resources will power the region," he said.ConocoPhillips and Bechtel are building four of Australia's seven new LNG projects.Mr Abbott was later presented with a large Stetson cowboy hat.The prime minister, a Western movie fan, attracted laughter and applause when he cried out: "Yee ha!"

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Qld A-G had private dinner with Carmody

QUEENSLAND'S attorney-general had a private dinner at an upmarket Brisbane restaurant with Tim Carmody a week before he officially took over as chief magistrate.

MR Carmody, who this week was controversially appointed as the state's next chief justice, is being criticised for being too close to the government.

He was announced as Queensland's new chief magistrate on September 5 last year, and four days later he had a private dinner with Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie at Urbane Restaurant, documents obtained by AAP show.The personal dinner between Mr Bleijie and Mr Carmody between 7pm and 8.30pm on September 9, which took place a week before he officially took over as chief magistrate, does not feature on the public diary of ministerial meetings.But Mr Bleijie told AAP through a spokesman that personal diary events were usually exempt from public reporting rules, adding the dinner with Mr Carmody was social."I do see various members of the judiciary socially from time to time," he said."That particular dinner was a congratulatory catch-up following his honour's appointment as chief magistrate."Premier Campbell Newman announced in November 2012 a policy whereby he and his cabinet would publicly release their diaries every month.Meanwhile, former solicitor-general Walter Sofronoff QC said Mr Carmody needed to reconsider his Supreme Court chief justice appointment."He shouldn't be chief justice. He should do the gracious thing and realise that all of this has been a horrible mistake and say that he wouldn't accept the appointment," he told ABC television."Judge Carmody is somebody who has, by his own actions, identified himself too closely with the government."As chief magistrate in late 2013, he angered the legal profession by issuing a directive that only he would deal with disputed bail applications made by alleged bikies.Mr Bleijie resisted calls at the time for Mr Carmody to step down as chief magistrate, while the Queensland Law Society and civil libertarians slammed Queensland's anti-bikie laws.The attorney-general's spokesman clarified that Mr Carmody's directive last year stipulated that bikie bail matters be heard in one court room.

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Seeney lawsuit about 'integrity': Palmer

CLIVE Palmer is suing Queensland's deputy premier for defamation, only a month after he did the same thing to Premier Campbell Newman.

BUT the mining magnate-turned-federal MP, who once listed litigation as a hobby in his Who's Who entry, says the action is about personal integrity and denies he is a serial litigant.

Mr Palmer is launching defamation proceedings against Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney, a week after the senior Liberal National Party minister told ABC TV that Mr Palmer had sought special treatment for Waratah Coal in early 2012.Mr Seeney alleged Mr Palmer handed him a draft bill that would have benefited his Galilee Basin coal interests, and vowed to report it to the state's anti-corruption body.For that, Mr Palmer, a former LNP life member, is launching defamation proceedings in the Supreme Court on Monday, arguing the Crime and Misconduct Commission is too compromised to examine the issue."He's questioned my integrity as a person," Mr Palmer told reporters on Friday."If people want to say that I've done something which I haven't and question my integrity, we need to have a fair hearing on those matters and if they're lying the public needs to know about that."Mr Palmer denied litigation had become his hobby."We only litigate when there's a good reason to do it," he said.The latest action comes a month after Mr Palmer sued Mr Newman for saying the mining magnate had tried to "buy" his government.Mr Palmer has said his proposal would not have favoured Waratah Coal and would have ensured open access to infrastructure for every company operating in the basin in western Queensland.In March 2013, the government announced Indian mining giant GVK and Gina Rinehart's Hancock Coal would work with freight rail company Aurizon to build rail infrastructure from the basin to the Abbot Point coal terminal near Bowen.Mr Palmer on Friday produced four letters to him, from Mr Newman and Mr Seeney in 2012, showing they were pleased with Waratah Coal's proposals to build the rail line."I congratulate you for your efforts to date, which are contributing to the long-held vision of the Galilee Basin becoming a major new resource region," Mr Seeney said in April 2012, a month after the LNP won power.Waratah went to the Supreme Court to challenge the government's rejection of its rail proposal in October 2013."Today's claims are what we've come to expect from Mr Palmer," Mr Seeney said in a statement to AAP.Earlier, Mr Palmer said the deputy premier had lied on television."We're still waiting for the analysis to come back from our lie detector of his voice," Mr Palmer said.

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Collette and Galafassi to pay $600,000

ACTOR Toni Collette and her musician husband David Galafassi have had a partial win in their legal battle with another Sydney couple over a multimillion dollar Paddington terrace home.

COLLETTE and Galafassi will now need to cough up just over $600,000, as opposed to the nearly $815,000 initially ordered by the Supreme Court last year.

Collette and Galafassi agreed to buy the eastern suburbs home of Industrie clothing founders Nick and Susan Kelly for $6.35 million in 2011.But on December 30 that year, the day they were to complete the transaction, the couple backed out, saying they didn't have the money.The Kellys' home eventually sold in 2012 for $5.5 million and they sued Collette and Galafassi for the loss, as well as interest and land tax.In the Supreme Court hearing last year, Collette and Galafassi denied a number of the Kellys' claims and said they had failed to use "reasonable efforts" to obtain the best price possible for the Paddington terrace.But Acting Justice William Windeyer rejected this and awarded the Kellys damages of just under $815,000.This sparked Colette and Galafassi to appeal the decision.In a judgment handed down on Friday, the Court of Appeal upheld the challenge in part and reduced the couple's damages bill by more than $200,000.The court found the Kellys should not have been entitled to a "special condition interest" as the sale of the home was never completed.They ordered Collette and her husband pay $602,500.82.If the parties can't agree on costs or the judgment, they have been ordered to serve any further papers within 14 days.

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At least 15,000 at Vic budget protest

Thousands of people have marched through Melbourne in protest against tough federal budget cuts. Source: AAP

AT least 15,000 people brought central Melbourne to a standstill, demanding an end to the federal government's budget cuts.

Construction workers and unionists rallied outside Trades Hall in Carlton before leading a "Bust the Budget" march through the city to parliament house on Thursday.

Trades Hall Council estimates put the crowd at almost 40,000 but police, who turned out in large numbers, say the crowd was closer to 15,000. There were no arrests.

ACTU secretary Dave Oliver said the budget was cruel and an attack on ordinary people and the Australian way of life.

"Generations of Australians have fought hard to establish working conditions and dignity at work. They have struggled hard to build a better life and a decent society, to educate our children and to care for our sick and to look after our elderly," he said.

"But now we have a prime minister that is keen to keep the billionaires happy, and he is willing to pull all that down regardless of the cost to workers and their families.

"Why should the people who can least afford it be forced to take the hit?"

Rally organisers said the column of marchers who arrived outside parliament house stretched back to Bourke Street, almost one kilometre away.

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union national secretary Michael O'Connor said the federal government was attacking jobs.

"We have never before seen a government try to destroy the jobs of Australians like this government has," he told the crowd.

"They are trying to change our commitment to a fair go, our commitment to justice, our democratic right to organise. They think they are going to get away with it. We say they ain't."

United Voice Victorian secretary Jess Walsh said workers were angry.

"We're angry at a government that wants to make us work harder and work longer for less money and we are here today because we deserve better, and we are here on the streets with you today because we are ready to fight," she said.

Rally organisers pledged to hold further protests.

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Govt providing stability for jobs: Hockey

TREASURER Joe Hockey is taking credit for the creation of more than 100,000 full-time jobs since the start of the year.

New data shows the number of people in full-time employment grew 22,200 in May, which helped keep the jobless rate steady at 5.8 per cent for the third month in a row.

However, overall employment eased 4800 because of a 27,000 drop in part-time workers.

Mr Hockey dismissed suggestions the result was because of the previous Labor government, noting it had left office with a forecast of a 6.25 per cent unemployment rate.

"It quite clearly appears that we have turned around the trajectory," he told reporters in Darwin on Thursday.

Mr Hockey took aim at Bill Shorten, saying the opposition leader had been proven "dead wrong" by claiming big job cuts at Ford, Holden, Toyota, SPC Ardmona and Qantas would be the "end of all time".

"Our decisions to provide stability, certainty and predictability have been proven right," he said.

The fact that more than 100,000 full-time jobs had been created since the beginning of this year illustrated the fact that the government was on track with the economy.

Labor's employment spokesman Brendan O'Connor said while the unemployment rate was steady in May, the participation rate declined.

This indicated a growing problem of unemployed people giving up on finding a job, Mr O'Connor told reporters in Melbourne.

"At the moment we have a participation rate of 64.6 per cent and that is the lowest the participation rate, namely eligible job seekers looking for work, has been since the global financial crisis," Mr O'Connor said.

"So even at the time of the GFC we had more people looking for work.

"It indicates whether, in fact, people have given up looking for work because of the state of the economy and the lack of confidence in the economy, and in this government, to provide opportunities for work."

Mr O'Connor also said youth unemployment remained a problem particularly in some regional areas where it exceeded 20 per cent.

It was also a concern the federal budget would result in many young unemployed people going without welfare support for six months, he said.

"We would say to the government that they need to do more - they need to articulate a jobs plan and particularly a jobs plan for young Australian job seekers," Mr O'Connor said.

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Protecting reef should be priority: poll

A poll shows Australians want those in power to make protecting the Great Barrier Reef a priority. Source: AAP

MOST Australians want those in power to make protecting the Great Barrier Reef a priority, a new poll carried out on behalf of green groups shows.

Almost two thirds of the 1500 people polled nationally also said the reef had lost out to industrial development over the past few decades.

Two thirds of respondents also said the reef's World Heritage status made it more important to protect ecosystems, while a quarter said it made no difference.

But 15 per cent said Queensland's coal industry was vital to boosting the state's economy, even if it was at the expense of the reef's health.

The poll was conducted in April and May on behalf of WWF and the Australian Marine Conservation Society.

It comes less than a week before the World Heritage Committee discusses the reef's status as part of its annual meeting, which will be held in Qatar from June 15-25.

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Green groups facing off against Rinehart

Green groups are challenging Gina Rinehart in a Queensland court in a bid to stop a mega coal mine. Source: AAP

GREEN groups are challenging billionaire Gina Rinehart in Queensland's highest court in a bid to stop a mega coal mine.

Ms Rinehart's Hancock Coal and Indian mining giant GVK was given conditional approval in April to develop the multi-billion dollar Alpha coal mine in the Galilee Basin.

The Land Court recommended the state government either refuse the project or allow it to proceed with strict groundwater conditions.

But green group Coast and Country Association of Queensland has taken the matter to the Supreme Court.

The Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) of Queensland, which is handling the case, is seeking a judicial review of that Land Court decision, arguing the proposal should be rejected outright on climate change and groundwater grounds.

"It affects how all these future mines should be assessed in relation to the climate change impacts," EDO senior solicitor Sean Ryan told AAP.

The EDO is facing off against the GVK-Hancock consortium at a directions hearing in Brisbane on Wednesday.

The Alpha project, 360km south-west of Mackay in central Queensland, is 79 per cent owned by GVK and 21 per cent owned by Ms Rinehart's Hancock Coal.

Justice Philip McMurdo adjourned the case until October 13 for a trial.

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Man dies after car rolls in Hunter region

A 38-YEAR-OLD man has died at the scene after his car rolled and he was thrown onto the road in NSW's Hunter region.

Emergency services were called to Oakey Creek Road, Pokolbin, just after 1am on Tuesday following reports of an accident, police say.

The driver, the only occupant of the car, was apparently not wearing a seatbelt.

A report is being prepared for the Coroner.

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Don't sweat Johnson speculation: Barnett

IT'S unlikely there will be moves to oust maverick West Australian Liberal backbencher Rob Johnson from the party, Premier Colin Barnett says.

Mr Johnson has been an outspoken critic of the state government since he was deposed as police minister during a cabinet reshuffle in June 2012.

Recent media reports have suggested MLC Phil Edman, the government whip, has been trying to secure support for a motion to expel Mr Johnson from the party.

The reports speculated Mr Edman would make the move at a party room meeting on Tuesday.

But Mr Barnett told reporters before the meeting that was unlikely.

"Don't sweat the small stuff," he said.

Mr Johnson recently stormed out of a caucus meeting after disgraced former state treasurer Troy Buswell was applauded on his return to parliament after a mental breakdown and car crash controversy.

Mr Johnson revealed in August that he hadn't spoken privately with Mr Barnett since being pushed to the backbench, with their conversations limited to within the party room.

"I'm a Liberal and I will remain a Liberal," Mr Johnson said at the time.

He was being sought for comment.

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Kiwi woman charged over crystal meth haul

A NEW Zealand woman charged with smuggling five kilograms of crystal meth into Australia has been refused bail.

Customs officers at Sydney Airport stopped Tuvaine Puri, 53, as she stepped off a flight from India on Saturday afternoon.

They examined her luggage and found eight boxes containing lathe chucks - a clamping tool that holds rotating devices such as drill bits.

Hidden inside the chucks was five kilograms of methamphetamine, or crystal meth - the party drug made famous on the television series Breaking Bad.

Puri was charged with importing a commercial quantity of the drug and faced Parramatta Local Court on Monday.

She was formally refused bail and her case was adjourned to Central Local Court on Tuesday.

The maximum penalty for the offence is life imprisonment or a fine of up to $1,275,000.

The meth haul is the latest of many recovered by Australian authorities, who say smugglers and dealers have been attracted by the high value of the Aussie dollar.

In February, federal police and customs at Sydney Airport recovered 183kg of crystal meth stuffed into watertight areas of 27 kayaks.

In the past 17 months, authorities have found more than 1000kg of meth in liquid and crystal form and the biggest haul in recent times was a 565kg seizure in Melbourne.

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Man impaled in Qld quad bike crash

A LONG weekend holiday has ended badly for two young men who have suffered horrific injuries in a quad bike crash in southern Queensland.

One had his thigh impaled on a handlebar and the other sustained neck wounds from barb wire fencing in the crash at Rules Beach, about 100km north of Bundaberg, on Monday morning.

The men, in their early 20s, were airlifted to hospital in a stable condition.

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Budget could still get through: Govt

Mathias Cormann warns against about assumptions which government budget measures will be blocked. Source: AAP

THE government is still confident it can get its toughest budget measures through the upper house, despite rumblings they'll be blocked.

A $7 GP co-payment, changes to the dole and a raised pension age have proved difficult to sell, and Labor, the Australian Greens and the Palmer United Party have vowed to oppose the measures.

But Finance Minister Mathias Cormann warned against making assumptions about blocks to budget measures, saying his experience in the Senate had shown him not to take any initial opposition as gospel.

Labor had opposed the tax on higher income earners, or deficit levy, but had since decided to support it, he said.

"Immediately in the days and weeks following the budget, all sorts of people say all sorts of things," he told Sky News on Sunday.

"And then on reflection ... people progressively change their mind."

Senator Cormann said the government would not consider watering down measures before presenting them to the parliament.

The main hurdle for the government will be Clive Palmer, whose party will be key to getting the budget through the Senate after July.

Senator Cormann said he would be happy to sit down and have a meal with Mr Palmer in the "appropriate circumstances".

"Clearly we will engage with him in the battle of ideas," he said.

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull caused controversy in recent weeks for having a "social" dinner with Mr Palmer.

Senator-elect David Leyonhjelm doubts Palmer United Party members will vote together in the long term.

The three incoming PUP senators, plus Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party member Ricky Muir, don't have a "common ideology" or "anything that binds them together", Mr Leyonhjelm told Channel Ten.

"On that basis, there's no strong reason, other than a fear of outsiders I suppose, for them to work together," he said.

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Man dies in cliff fall south of Sydney

A MAN has died after falling over a cliff in the Royal National Park south of Sydney.

It's believed the man was with a group of walkers when he fell about 10 metres down the cliff, north of Little Marley Beach, about 10.30am on Sunday.

Police say the operation to retrieve the body will take several hours.

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