Qld family sleep in pub to escape cyclone

NORTH Queenslander Bruce Marshall reckons his 150-year-old pub is the safest place to be when a tropical cyclone bears down.

"She's been through a fair few cyclones... she's real sturdy," Mr Marshall told AAP as he poured a beer at the Grandview Hotel in Bowen, north of Mackay.

The 51-year-old, his partner Toni Bradtke, 42, her daughter Emma, 12, and the family dog Maggie will be camped out at the hotel when Cyclone Dylan makes landfall in the early hours of Friday.

The category two cyclone is expected to reach the mainland at Ayr or Bowen, bringing with it furious winds, torrential rain and storm surges.

Forecasters predict winds up to 150km/h.

Mr Marshall, who has managed the Grandview for about three years, reckons it's the safest place to be because its survived numerous cyclones and a couple of fires.

On Thursday night, hours before the cyclone was expected to hit, locals sat at the bar sipping beer making predictions about the severity of the storm.

It will be Bowen chef John Williams' first cyclone experience.

"We don't get anything like this in England," Mr Williams, who has lived in Australia for the past three years, told AAP.

He says it'll be something to write home about.

"I've heard a lot about cyclones but I've never witnessed one."

Meanwhile, Mr Marshall and his family have laid out mattresses on the ground floor of the pub ready for what they say will be a sleepless night.

They've decided to stay at the pub because their house, just down the road, often floods during severe storms and they're not taking any risks.

"It was terrible here today, we had two big boats come up on the foreshore," he said.

"The glass here has been covered in seaspray and the windows have been rattling.

"We've just got to see how it goes."

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Trust in government bucks global trend

AUSTRALIA appears to be bucking a global trend of distrust in governments since the election of the coalition last September.

But a new global survey suggests Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his team still have work to do.

The 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer showed trust in the Australian government as an institution jumped 14 points in the past year to 56 per cent, compared to a global average of 44 per cent.

"While trust levels in the United States and Europe have witnessed historic declines, Australia has bucked the trend and found confidence in the new government," Edelman Australia CEO Michelle Hutton said on Friday.

In its 14th year, the barometer is a global study of 27,000 participants across 27 countries examining levels of trust across the institutions of government, business, non-government organisations and the media.

Ms Hutton said the latest survey has seen a significant rise in trust across all of Australia's institutions and sectors, rebounding from the crisis in leadership.

However, before the Abbott government gets too smug, the survey also sends a warning it must work harder to engender trust among everyday Australians.

It found that three in five Australian respondents do not trust government leaders to tell the truth, while two in five do not trust them to make ethical and moral decisions.

"Last year, our new prime minister announced Australia was 'open for business' with the intent to rebuild trust among Australians and sustain confidence in business," Ms Hutton said.

"While this year's results paint a rosy picture for government and business, expectations are high - and as recent history has shown us, Australians have a low tolerance for leaders that fall short of what was promised."

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Elton John, Lady Gaga get GLAAD award bids

ELTON John, Lady Gaga and the movie Dallas Buyers Club are among the nominees for awards presented by the gay advocacy group GLAAD.

The 25th annual GLAAD Media Awards honour outstanding images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in categories including music, movies, TV and journalism.

On Thursday, GLAAD announced 93 nominees in the English-language categories, with cable channels earning 28 bids and broadcast networks receiving 11.

Netflix earned its first nomination for the series Orange Is the New Black.

There are 37 Spanish-language nominees, including a stand-alone bid in the novella category for Univision's Amores Verdaderos, which included the wedding of a gay couple.

The GLAAD Media Awards will be presented in Los Angeles and New York this spring.

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Heavyweights front probe on boat secrecy

FIVE border protection heavyweights are set for a grilling over secrecy in the federal government's asylum seeker boat crackdown.

Operation Sovereign Borders commander Angus Campbell, Defence Force Chief David Hurley, Customs boss Michael Pezzullo and Defence and immigration department secretaries Dennis Richardson and Martin Bowles are scheduled to give evidence at a Canberra hearing on Friday.

A Senate committee is examining the government's reliance on "public interest immunity" to deny the upper house access to official documents.

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Almost 8000 Kiwis enter Gallipoli ballot

ALMOST 8000 New Zealanders have already registered for tickets to the 100th anniversary commemorations of the Anzac landings at Gallipoli.

The ballot for tickets to the 2015 Anzac Day service closes at midnight on Friday.

Veterans' Affairs Minister Michael Woodhouse is strongly encouraging those interested in attending the commemorations at the Gallipoli to enter the ballot.

"As expected, interest in attending the 2015 commemorations has been high. Nearly 8000 New Zealanders have now entered the ballot for a double pass since it opened in mid-November," he said.

New Zealand has been allocated 2000 spots for the Gallipoli services, while Australia gets 8000.

The ratio is based on the number of casualties suffered by each country during the eight-month Gallipoli campaign.

Entering the ballot for attendance passes is the only way to attend the 2015 Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli. Those successful in the ballot will be given a double pass.

People can submit their applications online or by mail, though mailed applications must be postmarked January 31 to be eligible.

The ballot will be drawn in late February and applicants will be advised whether they have been successful by March 31.

"While attendance passes are free, those New Zealanders who are successful in the ballot will need to make their own travel arrangements and meet all their own costs," Mr Woodhouse said.

About 13,000 New Zealanders and 50,000 Australians served at Gallipoli, with 2721 New Zealanders and 8709 Australians killed over the eight months.

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Debate on urban projects helpful: Access

EDS: Not to be used until 0001 AEDT, Thursday January 30

By Colin Brinsden, AAP Economics Correspondent

CANBERRA, Jan 30 AAP - At a time of a fading mining investment boom, Deloitte Access Economics is pleased to see policymakers discussing Australia's creaking urban infrastructure.

The independent forecaster's latest Investment Monitor highlights the peaking nature of the resource-related investment spending with definite projects in the final months of 2013 posting the biggest drop since the depths of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.

However, Deloitte Access Economics partner Stephen Smith notes in the report on Thursday that public infrastructure, particularly for transport, has been the focus of considerable discussion in Australia over the past few months.

The federal government has directed the Productivity Commission to examine major infrastructure projects, drawing organisations such as Infrastructure Australia, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Business Council of Australia into the debate.

"That the state of Australia's creaking urban infrastructure is stirring the passions of Australian policymakers gives hope that a more efficient system of identifying, assessing, financing and constructing public infrastructure may be in store," Mr Smith said.

"However, there is also a risk that any policy changes are designed with short term growth risks rather than the longer term sustainability of infrastructure spending in mind."

The report shows the value of definite projects - those under construction or committed - dropped by almost $25 billion over the December quarter, the most significant quarterly fall since the December quarter 2008. Definite projects over the year were down 1.2 per cent.

Mr Smith said not a single new liquified natural gas (LNG) project began construction over 2013, although there was a further $2 billion cost blowout for the Gorgon LNG project.

The value of planned projects - those under consideration or possible - rose by more than $17.5 billion over the quarter.

However, a $40 billion increase in the value of projects under consideration was partly offset by a $22.3 billion fall in the value of possible projects.

Overall, the total value of projects at their various stages fell 0.8 per cent compared to the September quarter - or $7.4 billion to $866.3 billion - to be down 9.2 per cent over the year.

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Aust could take big role in nuke security

IT'S the nightmare terror scenario: an extremist group building its own atomic bomb and detonating it without warning in Sydney or New York.

A new study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) says it's tempting to think that the risks of nuclear terrorism are overblown.

"They aren't," ASPI says.

"If terrorists were able to overcome the still relatively significant challenges involved in the fabrication and successful detonation of an improvised nuclear device, the consequences could be catastrophic."

Authors Dr Tanya Ogilvie-White and Dr David Santoro said there were three pathways to nuclear terrorism.

Terrorists could acquire a ready-made bomb from military stocks; acquire materials to make their own improvised bomb; or they could attack or sabotage an existing nuclear facility or transportation to release radioactive material.

The paper says there's low-risk of such attack in Australia, although in 2005 police arrested a group of Islamic extremists who planned to attack the Lucas Heights reactor. But an attack anywhere in the world would still have consequences for Australia.

ASPI said Australia had internationally well-regarded technical and diplomatic expertise in non-proliferation.

Yet the former Labor government had cancelled the flagship Regional Security of Radiological Sources Project, launched in 2004.

Under that program, international experts worked under Australian leadership with regulatory bodies across South-East Asia to secure dangerous radioactive sources used in the health and industrial sectors. They also worked to develop plans to respond to nuclear attacks or sabotage.

ASPI said the government should now launch a new nuclear security strategy, including relaunching the Regional Security of Radiological Sources Project.

At a modest cost of around $2 million a year this would reduce the danger of nuclear terrorism and give Australia an international leadership role.

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Roache a gentleman, Kirkbride tells trial

CORONATION Street star Anne Kirkbride has told a jury that her on-screen husband William Roache was "always a perfect gentleman" around her.

Kirkbride, a stalwart of the ITV soap as Deirdre Barlow, was called as a character witness for the actor who is accused of a series of sex assaults.

Roache, 81, is accused of using his fame and popularity to exploit "starstruck" youngsters for sex in the mid to late 1960s.

He denies two counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault involving five complainants aged 16 and under between 1965 and 1971.

Giving evidence from the witness box at Preston Crown Court, Kirkbride was asked what one word she would use to describe Roache and replied: "Lovely."

Kirkbride said she had never seen anything worrying about Roache's behaviour on set with young women from when she joined the show in about 1972.

The actress swore on the Bible and then chose to stand as she was asked a number of questions by defending barrister Louise Blackwell QC.

She confirmed she had known Roache "for quite some time", after she started in the soap aged 17 or 18.

Kirkbride was asked how she felt on joining Coronation Street.

She replied: "I was terrified for my first day. Very nervous going.

"It was a completely new situation. I didn't know anybody.

"I very quickly got to know people and it became easier."

Asked what she thought of Roache on meeting him, she said he was friendly.

"I remember the first time I spoke to him was outside a lift and we had a really nice chat and he offered me a cigarette," she said.

"We shared a lot of the same interests in spiritual things. I just found him very easy to talk to."

Blackwell asked her: "At that time, if you had one word to describe Mr Roache what would it be?"

She replied: "Lovely."

Roache smiled in the dock as she made the comment.

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Fruit processor seeks govt help

SPC Ardmona needs some "real encouragement" from the federal government to stave off closure of Australia's last major fruit processor.

Federal cabinet will meet on Thursday to discuss a proposal for a one-off grant of $25 million, which would be coupled with $25 million from the Victorian government and $150 million in new investment from SPC's parent company Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA).

The investment would help the company introduce new technology and products, as it faces pressures from the high Australian dollar and a flood of cheap imported goods.

Late last year the government appointed a panel comprising business chiefs Catherine Livingstone and Dick Warburton and former Labor minister Greg Combet to report on the best way to help the Victorian-based company.

A CCA spokeswoman told AAP the panel had been impressed with the company's new product ideas and innovations and there had been a number of productive meetings with Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane and Victorian Deputy Premier Peter Ryan.

Asked whether there was a real prospect of the operations closing, the spokeswoman told AAP: "This will be a decision for the CCA board."

"They need some real encouragement to fund their very large investment and indications that the problems we've seen in managing the free market in this country - such as real reform on dumping - will also be addressed."

Liberal MP Sharman Stone, who represents the Murray electorate where the processor is based, said about 3000 jobs would be impacted by any closure.

Comments by Treasurer Joe Hockey on Wednesday suggest he's unlikely to support a rescue package.

"If we are asking the Australian people to help the government live within its means then corporate Australia must also follow," Mr Hockey told the ABC.

He said SPC's parent company made a profit of more than $200 million in the first six months of the financial year but there was a request for $50 million of taxpayers' money.

"I think you can understand why we are being very cautious, very careful about handing out taxpayers' money to companies that are profitable, let alone companies that aren't profitable."

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Surgery wait times vary: report

AVERAGE elective surgery waiting times remain stable at public hospitals throughout Australia but a national comparison shows patients in some states and territories are waiting longer than others.

Data published in a Productivity Commission report on the state of Australia's health services shows that in 2012-13 2.7 per cent of Australian patients on elective surgery waiting lists had an "extended wait" of more than a year for their procedure.

The national figure is the same as for 2011-12 but a breakdown of states and territories reveals differences.

The report shows that in Tasmania 11.5 per cent of patients waited more than 12 months.

The result was up from 9.4 per cent in 2011-12.

In South Australia one per cent of patients breached the one-year wait.

"By the end of 2012-13, there were no patients overdue for elective surgery in the South Australian public health system," the SA government said in a statement to the commission.

Data was collected from 246 hospitals across Australia for the results.

"Elective surgery patients who wait longer are likely to suffer discomfort and inconvenience," the report notes.

Another section of the report looked at the number of days women spent in hospital when giving birth, finding on average that private hospital patients spent twice as long as their public hospital counterparts.

For single, uncomplicated births, new mothers in Australia spent an average 2.1 days in hospital.

In private hospitals the average stay was 3.6 days, compared with 1.8 days in the public system.

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Vic woman dies in festival accident

POLICE are investigating the death of a woman in a tent at a festival campground in Victoria's north.

Police say a man is helping with their inquires after the Major Collision Investigation Unit were called to the scene to investigate whether the death of the 35-year-old woman from Yarraville.

MCIU Detective Inspector Bernie Rankin says a large number of people had attended the festival on the private property near Rochester, 180 kilometres north of Melbourne, and most had camped for the night.

Det Insp Rankin said the woman had suffered a fair degree of trauma.

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Salvo homes subject to inquiry

A NATIONAL inquiry into the Salvation Army's movement of staff linked to child sex abuse between children's homes in two states will open this week.

The fifth case study by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will start in Sydney on Tuesday.

The focus of the public hearing will be the response of the Salvation Army to child sexual abuse within four homes: the Alkira Salvation Army Home for Boys at Indooroopilly, the Bexley Boys in NSW; Riverview Training Farm in Queensland; and the Gill Memorial Boys Home in Goulburn in NSW.

As well as the movement of officers and staff, the Salvation Army's processes for dealing with allegations of abuse will be examined in the two-week hearing.

At a child abuse inquiry in Victoria last year it was revealed that since 1997 the Salvation Army has received 474 abuse claims, 470 of which arose from its children's homes, over 30 to 40 years.

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Uni students want more say on services

STUDENTS still aren't getting enough say in how their money is spent on university services but their union is hopeful that will improve.

A National Union of Students (NUS) report finds the funding situation at three-quarters of student organisations has improved since the introduction of the student services and amenities fee (SSAF) two years ago.

But less than one in four organisations said they'd recommend their university's method of consulting on how to spend the money in 2013.

This was a big drop from the previous year.

As well, only four out of the 31 student organisations surveyed said they got more than half the SSAF money their university collected.

NUS president Deanna Taylor said the guidelines around student consultation on how to spend the money were not clear.

Many universities were putting together committees to decide on spending SSAF funds that were stacked with university representatives at the expense of students.

Other concerns were the lack of transparency and clear timetables for consultation.

"We need students to be having a very loud and clear voice in how their money is spent so that we make sure it goes to what they want it spent on and they get the most out of the fee," she told AAP.

"We just need to keep reminding universities to engage in meaningful consultation and to respect the wishes of student representatives."

But she was hopeful new guidelines starting in 2014 would improve the situation.

The $273 annual services and amenities fee was instituted in 2012.

It can only be spent on certain campus services, not including political causes, and can be added to a student's HECS-HELP debt.

The NUS found the most common student-run services funded were student newspapers, advocacy services, sporting and non-sporting clubs, concerts, and university diaries.

The most common services jointly run by students and universities were orientation activities, international student support, welfare, and bookshops.

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Bahrain 'man dead after police shooting'

BAHRAIN'S main Shi'ite opposition bloc says a young man has died after being shot by authorities earlier this month.

The al-Wefaq bloc said on Sunday that 19-year-old Fadhil Abbas Muslim and a friend were hit with live ammunition on January 8 in the village of Markh, near the capital Manama.

It says Muslim's family received no information about him or his whereabouts until his death was confirmed on Sunday.

Bahraini authorities had no immediate comment on the allegations.

The shooting appears to match an incident announced by the interior ministry earlier this month in which it said two suspects in an investigation into a suspected weapon smuggling plot were injured while trying to flee police.

The man's father, Abbas Muslim, said his son is innocent and uninvolved in political activities.

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Political unrest unsettles Aus sharemarket

THE Australian sharemarket is in for a volatile week after turbulence in emerging markets spooked investors on Friday.

At the close on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 22.1 points, or 0.42 per cent, lower at 5,240.9 and the broader All Ordinaries index was down 21.2 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 5,254.3.

It was the third straight week local shares had finished in the red.

AMP Capital Investors chief economist Shane Oliver says the main issue worrying investors on Friday was political trouble in the emerging markets.

Mr Oliver says the instability has occurred at the same time the US Federal Reserve is winding back its monetary stimulus.

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