Category: AUSTRALIAN

Source: ABC

The world’s oldest clipper ship has been renamed City of Adelaide at a ceremony in London overseen by the Duke of Edinburgh.

The City of Adelaide was built in 1864 and carried migrants to South Australia in the late 19th century.

In the 1920s she was renamed HMS Carrick and used as a navy training ship in Scotland, and was left there to rot until a restoration project began.

During the ceremony, Prince Philip bestowed the sailing ship’s original name back upon her.

After a long battle the clipper is now returning to Adelaide via London.

It is hoped it will be back in Australia early next year.

Federal support had been held up since the change of government in Canberra, but now has been finalised.

Source: DailyTelegraph

LATEST NEWS ON THE NSW BUSHFIRES 

THE defence department has launched an investigation into whether a large bushfire at Lithgow on the western side of the NSW Blue Mountains was caused by training activity.

Defence confirmed today that an investigation is underway into the State Mine fire that started on Wednesday, the same day explosive ordnance training was taking place at the Marrangaroo training area.

“Defence is investigating if the two events are linked,” it said in a statement.

“The ongoing investigation… will review both the incident and Defence procedures.”

Meanwhile, firefighters continue to race against time to gain the upper hand on bushfires in the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Southern Highlands as calmer, cooler weather provides a window of opportunity.

But the danger is far from over, Rural Fire Service Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers says.

Bushfire ravaged Singles Ridge Road, Yellow Rock. Picture: Cameron Richardson

Mr Rogers described today’s conditions as a “pause” but said worsening conditions lay ahead with higher temperatures and increasing winds forecast by Sunday.So far, more than 300 properties in the lower Blue Mountains have been damaged or destroyed by bushfires, the NSW Rural Fire Service says.

After assessing 95 per cent of the fireground in Springwood and Winmalee the RFS has been able to establish that 193 properties have been destroyed and 109 have been damaged.

That number could change following more investigations involving other fire-hit areas.

On Friday the Insurance Council of Australia said there had already been 550 claims totalling $30 million, with the number expected to rise sharply.

At 9am this morning, the RFS reported there were 83 fires burning across the state including 19 uncontained blazes.

“We have more than 500km of fire perimeter at the moment … we’re by no means out of the woods,” Mr Rogers told ABC radio. “It’s just calmed down a little bit and obviously we’re bracing ourselves for these worsening conditions.”

West of the Blue Mountains the RFS is concerned about a fire in Lithgow which is burning over 28,000 hectares and could tear through the mountains if the wind changes direction.

A fire at Winmalee, where 81 houses have so far been confirmed lost and 37 damaged, is also unlikely to be contained ahead of the changing conditions.

A 10,000 hectare fire in Balmoral remained active after crossing multiple roads, Mr Rogers said.

In Wyong, the threat to properties has reduced after a fire at Ruttleys Road burnt more than 2500 hectares and caused the death of a 63-year-old man who suffered a heart attack defending his home.

“What we have is a time for the crews to anticipate the weather coming ahead and try and get as much containment as possible and prevent that fire threatening major population centres when we get worse weather,” Mr Rogers said.

A house completely destroyed on St Georges Parade in Mt Victoria was called “Sunnyside”.

The RFS will also provide revised numbers of homes lost, he said.Prime Minister Tony Abbott and NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell today announced bushfire affected communities will have access to disaster assistance.

Nineteen local council areas can now apply for relief with more expected to be announced in coming days.

“A very high level of threat still continues for many communities around NSW and emergency services and support agencies are working around the clock to contain these threats,” Mr Abbott and Mr O’Farrell said in a joint statement.

“While the extreme weather has eased, the threat for many communities is not yet over.”

Conditions on Sunday are expected to worsen, becoming drier with temperatures in the low 30s but the winds aren’t predicted to pick up.

Meteorologists believe no rain will fall over the weekend but showers could develop along the Victorian border on Monday.

From Wednesday light showers are predicted for the central and southern coasts.

Cloud is expected to form early next week, which would drop temperatures and increase the chance of rain, the BoM spokesman said.

“Cloud is good, always good,” he said.

Lucas Magennis, 18, with his father Michael and mother Julie beside their Winmalee home, which was totally destroyed by fire yesterday.

A COMMUNITY IN RUINS – 100 HOMES LOST IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

TAYLOR AUERBACH in Yellow Rock and BEN MCCLELLAN in Mount Victoria

THE streets reveal a disaster of unimaginable proportions.

Most residents who returned yesterday to the wasteland of burnt trees and the ash-covered shells of vehicles were beyond tears, using words such as “numb” and “shocked” to describe their emotions.

Dozens of prized homes had been replaced by jagged piles of smoking rubble, while in many cases manicured lawns remain untouched out front.

Stephanie Burton, 16, overcome with emotion as she returns to Yellow Rock in the Blue Mountains / Picture: Renee Nowytarger

Tarnie Horner looks where her room once was in Yellow Rock / Picture: Renee Nowytarger

Yellow Rock, near Springwood, was at the epicentre of an inferno that destroyed 1400ha of Blue Mountains bushland. Emergency workers fear more than 100 homes have been lost.

Pat Minney (blue shirt) and son Jake, 15 as they see their home that was destroyed in Winmalee.

But only a 12-year-old cat and Cody the eight-year-old alaskan malamute are missing – presumed dead – somewhere in the desolate animal graveyard of carcasses that line the roads.

Residents feared a similar fate for one elderly man who was missing. On Thursday night police said they were dealing with a fatality and the entire township was turned into an official crime scene.

Anja Minney stands in front of her house that was totaly destroyed at Winmalee.

But Gordon Pendlebury, a well-known Purvines Rd character, was later found safe at Springwood Sports Club.Leanne Burton was at home when the fire struck. The first she knew about the danger was when she got a text message from her son Adam shortly after 2pm to say his school had gone into lockdown.

A burnt out car sits in front of a house destroyed by bushfires in Winmalee / Picture: AFP/Greg WOOD

Within minutes the flames were threatening her building.Suddenly a neighbour’s four-year-old ran screaming towards her door. “I grabbed him, started driving down the street and I honestly thought I was going to die,” she said.

“There were fires all over me. The only way I got out was by following the telegraph poles, I couldn’t see the road.”

Evangeline Love returns to her house destroyed by bushfire in Winmalee with her son Jomei and brother-in-law Ruben Love.

We’ve got the best firefighters in the world 1:30

Shane Fitzsimmons, the Commissioner of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service became emotional when talking about the work of firefighters of NSW.

By the time the first warning text message from the NSW Rural Fire Service arrived, at 2.56pm, Mrs Burton had already left – and her house was gone.

Andrew New has lived in the mountains for 51 years.

“This is the worst fire I’ve seen,” he says. “It’s wiped out a whole community. This is devastation – a catastrophe.”

Trees have been replaced by black splinters. Absurdly, the leaves on top of them are still green.

“It didn’t crown,” confirms every local you ask.

About 50km west at Mount Victoria, a van was packed with cages of dead animals; gas continued to burn in the remains of one destroyed home; and a smouldering compost heap emitted heavy smoke a on St Georges Pde.

An aerial picture in the Springwood, Winmalee area showing burnt houses and properties.

It was clear that the firefighters and homeowners never had a chance of overcoming the flames. The fire – under control yesterday afternoon, although it continued to burn north of the town – had ripped through Mount York Rd, St Georges Pde and the Darling Causeway in the rural hamlet, destroying a dozen homes and numerous vehicles.Mick Corrigan, who stayed behind despite threats by firefighters to call the police to remove him, saved his home and his neighbour’s home.

Resident Sean Butler stands in front of his 1958 bus after fighting a fire / Picture: AAP/Dean Lewins

He says a couple up the road was forced to abandon the van full of animals.”They lost all their chickens. They had their cats in the van when it exploded,” he said.

“It (the heat) was intense.

“I feel really burnt, hot, my eyes felt like they’ve got a welding flash out of it.

“I could hardly breathe.”

Those whose houses survived were offering their neighbours food, clothing and a place to sleep.

Fire rages in the Catherine Hill Bay area / Picture Waide Maguire.

Source: TheDailyTelegraph

Alex Hayes had a close encounter with the solitary dolphin, which has been hanging around the northern beaches. Source: Supplied

TEENAGER Alex Hayes had a close encounter with this dolphin while swimming at Clontarf.

He and his mum Helen were at the harbour beach near Clontarf Reserve on Wednesday afternoon when the dolphin came up to them and about a dozen other swimmers.

The teen spent the next three hours swimming with the dolphin, and capturing the moment on film.

“Oh my god. It was amazing. It was such a good experience,” he said.

“It just kept coming back. It was just once in a lifetime. It was such an amazing creature.”

The dolphin is understood to be the solitary dolphin, which has been spotted around Pittwater and the northern beaches.

Alex Hayes playing with a dolphin at Clontarf Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

Organisations such as Marine Mammal Research and ORRCA have raised concerns the animal is not linking up with other dolphins.

Mrs Hayes said they to were concerned about the dolphin’s welfare.

“Most of us are worried as to why he is alone,” she said.

“I think he thinks humans are his pod, which is a bit of a worry.”

Alex Hayes with a dolphin at Clontarf. Source: Supplied

MMR, which has been tracking the dolphin for about a year, has warned the public to keep their distance from the dolphin.

The organisation website states that engaging with the dolphin “may be hazardous to both the dolphin and humans.”

The dolphin could attack or bite a person, MMR states, and interaction with humans could make it less inclined to join a dolphin pod.

Alex Hayes playing with a dolphin at Clontarf Picture: Supplied Source:

MMR said people were not heeding their warnings, with reports someone even roped the animal at Sussex Inlet, trying to be towed by it.

MMR researcher Michelle Blewitt said the dolphin could potentially kill or seriously injure someone if it were provoked.

“It can turn from a happy, smiling dolphin to a an aggressive, wild animal, which it is,” she said.

“They kill sharks, so they can definitely kill a human.”

She understood people interacting with the dolphin was almost inevitable, but said authorities may have to act if warnings go unheeded.

Anyone who sees the dolphin is asked to call MMR on 0431 465 073.

Linda Kozlowski and Paul Hogan with their son Chance. Photo: John Sciulli

According to gossip site TMZ, Linda Hogan has cited irreconcilable differences as the reason the 23-year marriage has ended.

The main sticking point will be custody of their 15-year-old son, Chance. Linda Hogan wants joint legal and physical custody.

Then there is spousal support, which will be substantial, as 74-year-old Paul is worth a reported $20 million.
Linda Hogan will also revert to her maiden name, Kozlowski.

According to the documents seen by TMZ, the couple separated last month. A representative for Paul says the split has been amicable.

Last month, the couple sold their Malibu mansion to Chris Hemsworth.

This will be Paul Hogan’s third divorce, from two wives – he married first wife Noelene, then divorced her, then remarried her. When it finally blew up permanently in 1986, the split became one of Australia’s ugliest celebrity divorces.

Source: TheAge

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has named a new-look ministerial lineup with an emphasis on women, working parents and those under 50.

”It’s a young team, blended with experience,” he told reporters in Canberra on Friday.

Deputy leader Tanya Plibersek will take on foreign affairs as well as international development. Senate Leader Penny Wong moves from finance to trade and investment, while her deputy, Stephen Conroy moves from communications to defence.

Tony Burke, who had both the environment and immigration porfolios in government, will be Labor’s finance spokesman. He will also take on the high-profile tactical position of manager of opposition business – going up against Christopher Pyne in the House of Representatives.

The man Mr Shorten defeated in Labor’s leadership contest, Anthony Albanese, keeps the infrastructure and transport portfolio and is also the oppositions’s tourism spokesman.

Mr Shorten said he believed his team was a “break from the past” with more senior women than ever before, and that it was both energetic and diverse.
Ms Plibersek explained her move from health to foreign affairs, saying she had a long-held interest in the area. She said she was particularly interested in the international development side.

The deputy opposition leader will also take on responsibility for the Centenary of Anzac commemorations, noting she had visited Gallipoli as a teenager and had long had an interest in history.

As expected Chris Bowen will remain as shadow treasurer. Mark Butler also stays in the high profile environment and climate change portfolio, Mark Dreyfus stays as shadow attorney-general and Joel Fitzgibbon stays in agriculture.

South Australian MP Kate Ellis secures a promotion to the education portfolio, while also keeping early childhood education.

Catherine King has similarly been promoted as shadow minister for health, while experienced Labor frontbencher Jenny Macklin remains in families and disability reform.

Rudd backer Richard Marles takes on the difficult portfolios of immigration and border protection.

Former minister for home affairs Jason Clare takes on communication, with western Sydney MP Michelle Rowland, known for her impressive knowledge of the NBN, will assist in the communications portfolio.

Canberra MP Andrew Leigh and former economics academic takes on the prized junior role of shadow assistant treasurer.

Mr Shorten has also exercised his powers as party leader to appoint some new faces as parliamentary secretaries, which were not included in his initial frontbench list announced on Monday.
Newly elected Queensland MP, and former adviser to Wayne Swan, Jim Chalmers will be a shadow parliamentary secretary to Mr Shorten, along with Jacinta Collins and Michael Danby.

Canberra MP Gai Brodtman will be shadow parliamentary secretary for defence.

Tony Zappia, Ed Husic, Warren Snowdon, Lisa Singh, Amanda Rishworth, Carol Brown and Louise Pratt were also among those named as parliamentary secretaries.

Source: ABCNew

Some of the wild donkeys yarded during a recent muster at Elkedra Station in central Australia.

Feral donkeys from central Australia are being used to guard sheep and cattle from wild dogs in New South Wales.

Amber Driver from Elkedra Station, north of Alice Springs, says a mob of more than 100 yarded donkeys captured during a recent muster has been sent east.

She says donkeys are migrating south through the Northern Territory competing with cattle for food and water.

“They are making a big impact on what little grass we have and our water supply for our cattle so it’s really good to get the numbers down in a way that can be helpful for someone,” she said.

“Otherwise, they get culled.”

An estimated five million donkeys are roaming across remote Australia.

Ranger Michael McFarlane from the Hume Livestock Health and Pest Authority in NSW says donkeys may appear docile around people but they have a healthy dislike for canines and will run them off.

He is currently training 19 of the animals to watch over sheep and cattle.

“Donkeys in any sort of number are really difficult to get,” he said.

“I was trying to get some tame ones, some quiet ones, but you just can’t get them in numbers.

“So we just sort of put the feelers out to see if we could get some information and we finally found a bloke who knew a bloke who knew a bloke, and it was just worked on from there.”

Mr McFarlane says donkeys are already used to protect livestock in Africa.

“They are using donkeys a lot over there for protection against leopards and jackals,” he said.

“It is pretty well noted around the world that they are good protectors.”

Source: News

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has called on the government to press Malaysia to back off threats against students who attend an event featuring opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim this weekend.

Senator Xenophon said the level of paranoia from the Malaysian government was just extraordinary.

“The Australian government needs to make it absolutely clear to the Malaysian government as a matter of urgency some time on Friday that these threats are completely unacceptable,” he told ABC’s 730 on Thursday.

“These students have a right to attend this forum involving Malaysia’s opposition leader without any fear of retribution.”

Mr Ibrahim, a longtime opponent of the Malaysian government who was jailed for nine years on trumped up sodomy charges, will speak at the Adelaide Festival of Ideas on Saturday.

But Malaysian students in Australia had been warned against attending.

An email from the student adviser at the Malaysian consulate in Sydney reportedly told Malaysian scholarship students to stay away.

“I wouldn’t hesitate to take stern action to those scholars who are involved. You know really well what you have signed into,” the email said, according to ABC television.

Senator Xenophon, who was barred from entering Malaysia in February and is now banned from returning there, said Mr Ibrahim was an impressive figure who had been jailed, victimised and defamed by the Malaysian government.

“There needs to be a guarantees by the Malaysian government that this threat will be withdrawn and there will be no consequences,” he said.

Plumes of smoke can be seen from a fire near Heatherbrae which has forced the closure of Williamtown Airport in Newcastle.

A HOME is ablaze, a regional airport is closed and authorities are warning of a serious threat to life as bushfires burn across NSW.

In the Southern Highlands, south-west of Sydney, a fire at the village of Balmoral, in Wingecarribee, was moving very quickly.

Rural Fire Service spokesman Joel Kursawe says there are reports one house is on fire.

“They’re saying that one house is already alight, that could be because the house was alight and it’s spread, or not, we don’t know,” he told reporters.

“It’s all happened very quickly.”

Attempts to waterbomb in Lithgow were being hindered by 90km winds, Mr Kursawe said, which were also capable of carrying embers up to six kilometres.

“The problem is when you’ve got aircraft over fires like that with (those) winds, a lot of the time they’re just getting knocked around in the sky,” Mr Kursawe told journalists at RFS headquarters in Sydney.

RURAL FIRE SERVICE MAP OF CURRENT FIRES AND INCIDENTS

Homes at Clarence, Dargan, Doctors Gap and Hartley are expected to come under threat from the fire, which has already burnt more than 1000 hectares of bushland.

Two evacuation centres have been set up at Lithgow Workers Club and Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens.

Meanwhile, more than 130 firefighters are fighting the blaze near Port Stephens.

“Some of the pictures we’re getting from up there, it’s just incredible,” Mr Kursawe said.

“It’s just a mass smoke cloud over the whole town.”

The fire at Balmoral Village was approaching the township of Yanderra and residents were being urged to move towards Bargo.

A total fire ban remains in place for several areas of the state with temperatures of 34C forecast.

It was nudging 34C in Sydney at 1pm (AEDT) with gusty winds.

The Heatherbrae bushfire near Williamtown Airport in Newcastle. Picture: Twitter
Of most concern to firefighters are three fires.

In the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, near Lithgow, more than 100 firefighters are battling a massive blaze that is skirting the village of Oaky Park and spotting into Clarence.

A new fire had also broken out at Springwood.

RFS deputy commissioner Rob Rogers tweeted: “lithgow fire becoming unpredictable. Residents please take extreme care. Very serious danger to life today”.

A Blue Mountains resident said the RFS had just knocked on his door warning the fire was approaching.

“The sky is very dark with the sun burning orange through the dark smoke,” the resident told ABC radio.

Bells Line of Road has been closed between Lithgow and Bell in both directions.

The Darling Causeway is closed northbound at the Great Western Highway in Mount Victoria.

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service has closed additional areas of the Blue Mountains National Park because of the threat.

Blue Mountains Regional Manager Geoff Luscombe said all tracks and trails in the Grose Valley, as well as lookouts along the Bells Line of Road, are now closed as a precautionary measure.

“With a very high fire danger rating there’s always a chance that the Lithgow fire could enter the park and if that happens we don’t want people walking in there,” he said.

Residents who hadn’t already evacuated before noon were advised to take shelter in their homes.

And at Port Stephens, north of Newcastle, Williamtown Airport was closed about midday and all flights in and out were suspended because of a bushfire burning nearby.

Passengers are advised to not come to the airport and to contact their airline for flight details.

Smoke from the Port Stephens fires, not far from where four homes were lost on Sunday, was visible from the Newcastle CBD.

The dramatic scene at Williamtown Airport, Newcastle. Picture: Twitter @WynRichards
Similar conditions on Sunday resulted in six homes being lost to fires at Port Stephens, north of Newcastle, and near Kempsey on the north coast.

The airport was closed after a fire burning near Heatherbrae breached containment lines fanned by gusty winds, the RFS said.

Properties around Tomago Road, Cabbage Tree Road, Barrie Close, and Williamtown Drive may also come under threat, the RFS warns.

Smoke from the fire is visible from the Newcastle CBD.

In the Blue Mountains region, residents of Clarence and Oaky Park have been urged to seek shelter and protect themselves from flying embers, with properties there expected to be threatened.

Those who had planned to leave their homes in a bushfire should have left by noon (AEDT), NSW Fire Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.

Conditions were worsening with winds expected to reach up to 95km/h.

“History will show, too many lives are lost when people flee at the last minute,” he said.

The fire broke out near an army range on Wednesday afternoon, with explosions and detonations making it too dangerous to send in firefighters and aircraft.

Mr Fitzsimmons says the fire would take some time to control given the sweltering conditions and its geographic location.

It’s expected to skirt to the northeast of Lithgow and head into the mountains as the winds pick up.

Conditions were worsening this afternoon with winds expected to reach up to 95km/h.

If the high winds do fan the blaze, it could disrupt the Western rail line through the area, Mr Fitzsimmons said.

A 367-hectare bushfire is also burning 15km east of Singleton, in the Hunter Valley, but is being controlled.