Sydney road and railway line reopen

A MAIN road and part of a railway line that were shut after a train malfunction on a level crossing in Sydney's northwest have reopened.

Garfield Road at Riverstone and the T1 western railway line between Mulgrave and Quakers Hill station are open but the Transport Management Centre says delays could still occur on trains in the area.

No delays are expected on local roads.

Supplementary buses are running and users of public transport are being asked to allow extra travel time.

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Man arrested after shots fired in Tas

A man is in custody after shots were reportedly fired in a Tasmanian street. Source: AAP

A MAN is in custody after shots were reportedly fired in a Tasmanian street.

Police received calls from the public reporting several shots being fired in the street by a man in Swansea on Tasmania's east coast, just before 5pm (AEDT).

Investigations are continuing.

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US man dies in Vic skydiving accident

A man has plunged to his death in a skydiving incident in Victoria's northeast. Source: AAP

A US citizen has plunged to his death in a skydiving incident in Victoria's northeast.

The man, 33, had a parachute malfunction and fell a considerable distance in Drysdale Road, Euroa, about 12.30pm (AEDT), an Ambulance Victoria spokesman said.

The man was in cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived and they tried to resuscitate him but he died at the scene.

Police said the man was a US citizen and they are in the process of notifying his family.

They will prepare a report for the coroner.

The Australian Skydiving Association has been notified.

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Severe storm warning for wind and hail

ANOTHER round of severe thunderstorms is set to pummel the southeast.

7.30pm: Sharon Wheatley said the earlier storm battered her property near Rathdowney.

"I was watching the clouds from the doorway and saw that one hailstone drop into the yard, nothing else, just that one, so I stuck a bucket over my head and ran out and grabbed it," she said.

"Gradually a few more dropped. There was no rain at first, just large hail dropping from the sky.

"I had to move from the doorway because they were smashing on the concrete outside and chunks were flying in at me. Then they just came down solidly for maybe 10 minutes or so."

"I had to move from the doorway because they were smashing on the concrete outside and chunks were flying in at me." Picture: Sharon Wheatley at Rathdowney

7.15pm: The weather bureau has warned that while one severe thunderstorm is skirting dangerously close to Brisbane's CBD, another one is brewing just over the NSW border.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Peter Otto said an earlier warning was still current for areas to the west of Brisbane, but the storm was unlikely to reach the city centre.

Further west, he said golf-sized hail stones have fallen on Mt Barney, with larger stones reported at Boonah.

"That storm is moving over the Ipswich area at the moment," he said.

"There is another cell south of the border that is likely to hit Rathdowney in the next half hour and it may head north after that. It's another very dangerous storm with large hail stones expected."

6.45pm: Very dangerous thunderstorms are forecast to affect Rosewood, Marburg, Lake Manchester, Upper Brookfield and Fernvale by 7.20 pm and Enoggera Reservoir, Enoggera, Mount Nebo, Highvale, Samford and Albany Creek by 7.50 pm.

Other severe thunderstorms in northern NSW are forecast to affect Mount Barney, the McPherson Range, Rathdowney, Maroon Dam, Kooralbyn and Lamington National Park by 7:50 pm.

Damaging winds and large hailstones are likely, with hail larger than golf balls reported at Boonah earlier.

6.20pm:  The Bureau of Meteorology has updated their thunderstorm warning, alerting residents that very dangerous thunderstorms were moving north.

The storms were detected on weather radar near Boonah, Aratula, Harrisville, Peak Crossing, Bundamba Lagoon and the area south of Amberley.

Very dangerous thunderstorms are forecast to affect Ipswich, Redbank Plains, Amberley, Rosewood, Marburg and Lake Manchester by 6:50 pm and Lowood, Fernvale, Mount Nebo, Highvale, Samford and the D'Aguilar Ranges by 7:20 pm.

Other severe thunderstorms were located near Bonalbo(NSW). Damaging winds and large hailstones are likely.

Hail larger than golf balls was reported at Boonah at around 5:40pm.

5.20pm: The weather bureau issued a severe thunderstorm warning after storms were detected over the Scenic Rim region near Mount Barney, Laravale and Kooralbyn.

The southeast Queensland warning said damaging winds and large hailstones are likely.

Forecasters from the Bureau of Meteorology said the thunderstorms were moving in a northerly direction, with Brisbane, Ipswich and the Gold Coast put on alert.

The storms are predicted to hit Beaudesert about 5.30pm.

More to come.
 

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services advises that people should:
* Move your car under cover or away from trees.
* Secure loose outdoor items.
* Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
* Avoid using the telephone during a thunderstorm.
* Beware of fallen trees and powerlines.
* For emergency assistance contact the SES on 132 500.
 

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Vic ALP elects new shadow cabinet members

Labor's Martin Foley (pic) and Wade Noonan have been elected to the Victorian shadow cabinet. Source: AAP

THE Victorian Labor party has elected two new members to its shadow cabinet.

Albert Park MP Martin Foley and Williamstown MP Wade Noonan were elected during a meeting of the state parliamentary Labor Party on Thursday afternoon.

"I look forward to both Martin and Wade playing an important role in the shadow cabinet as we prepare for the 2014 state election," Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said in a statement.

The move follows resignations from several Labor MPs who have announced they won't contest the election, including high-profile former government ministers Justin Madden and John Lenders.

Portfolios will be announced in due course, Mr Andrews said.

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PM Abbott hosts his first COAG

Prime Minister Tony Abbott will host his first COAG meeting in Canberra on Friday. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott will use his first meeting with state premiers and chief ministers to start the groundwork for delivering the coalition's paid parental leave scheme.

Mr Abbott will host his first Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting at Parliament House in Canberra on Friday.

The coalition promised at the election to roll out a scheme to pay mothers who give birth after July 2015 up to half their annual salary for 26 weeks, capped at a salary of $150,000 a year.

COAG will discuss how the plan, costing $5.5 billion a year, will fit in with existing state public sector parental leave schemes.

Mr Abbott said during the election campaign there would be no extra cost to state governments and the national scheme would be an improvement to existing state schemes.

However, he said he wanted to have an "adult discussion" with the premiers about its details.

The scheme is to be paid for by a levy on Australia's largest businesses.

COAG will also discuss ways to fast-track and fund major infrastructure and boost jobs in manufacturing.

The manufacturing talks had been scheduled well before the announcement of Holden ceasing car production from 2017, but is now expected to take greater prominence.

Mr Abbott will talk to the premiers about his plans for a white paper on reform of federal-state relations.

The prime minister said in a speech when he was opposition leader that COAG had become "a talk shop, not a decision-making process" and the roles of the federal, state and territory governments needed to be better defined.

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Japan plans $60b economic stimulus

JAPAN'S Cabinet has approved billions of dollars of stimulus spending in a supplementary budget meant to perk up a faltering economic recovery and cushion the impact of a sales tax rise next April.

The Y5.5 trillion ($A59.49 billion) in fresh stimulus approved on Thursday is aimed at creating at least 250,000 jobs and is heavily weighted toward construction projects. It also includes Y600 billion ($A6.5 billion) in payments to home buyers and one-time payments of Y10,000 ($A108) per child to low and middle-income families.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised the extra stimulus to counter a 3 percentage point increase in sales tax to eight per cent in April.

Parliamentary approval of the stimulus in early 2014 is expected since Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partners hold majorities in both houses.

Japan's economy, the world's third-largest, emerged from recession in late 2012, growing at a brisk 4.3 per cent pace in the first quarter of the year. However, the pace of expansion slowed to 1.1 per cent in the third quarter as corporate investment remained sluggish and exports were sapped by lacklustre growth in emerging economies.

So far, the biggest driver for the recovery has been hefty government spending, which is also the type of spending the tax rise is aimed at making up for.

The economy may get a boost in coming months as consumers speed up major purchases to beat the sales tax rise. But the government has forecast a short-term contraction in the economy after the higher tax takes effect. Another increase in the sales tax, of 2 points, is expected in 2015.

Abe appears to have forced Japan out of its deflationary rut with a growth strategy centred on pumping trillions of dollars into the economy through public spending and aggressive monetary easing by the central bank.

The flood of money has helped weaken the Japanese yen, boosting corporate profits in yen terms and making exports of some Japanese manufacturers more cost competitive. It is also helping to spark inflation, thanks to rising costs for a wide range of imported commodities, from crude oil to soybeans to computer parts.

The supplementary budget approved Thursday, along with local government spending on public works and grants for lending to small enterprises, is meant to put another Y18.6 trillion ($A201.19 billion) into the economy. Abe says this will add a full percentage point to Japan's gross domestic product.

The spending does not involve any new public debt since much of the money to be used was left over from previous, unspent budgetary allocations. The rest comes from taxes and other government revenues.

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PM tributes troops in valedictory speech

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has kicked off parliament's annual valedictory speeches, marking 2013 as the year Australian troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan.

Following a tribute to retiring clerk of the House of Representatives Bernard Wright, Mr Abbott praised the service of Australian troops after almost a decade in the Afghan province of Uruzgan.

"Our troops have done a magnificent job, but they've paid a high price," he said.

"We hope that the years of service and sacrifice will be honoured by a province and a country that respects the values that we tried to bring to that province."

He said the nation had also endured floods in Queensland and fires in NSW.

"But so often in this country, nature at its worst brings out Australians at their best," he said.

He noted the change of government in September and promised it would be for the better.

"I am determined to ensure that it is a very long time indeed before this country has three prime ministers in one year," he said.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten acknowledged the thousands of Holden workers who will soon be out of a job following the announcement that the company will cease manufacturing in Australia.

"We will continue to stand up for their futures every day," Mr Shorten said.

He too noted the devastation of natural disasters across the country, which began with the Tasmanian bushfires earlier in the year.

"The worst in over 30 years, through one of the state's harshest heatwaves," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss described the past year as "long and somewhat tumultuous" while his Labor counterpart Tanya Plibersek said it had certainly been curious.

"I don't think history will look kindly on the last parliament," Mr Truss said.

"It was raucous and I don't think it reflected well on the process of our democracy."

Ms Plibersek said people watching the nightly news would have thought the past year was almost entirely one of conflict but parliament had achieved things.

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First anniversary of Hendra virus vaccine

A year since the launch of the Hendra vaccine, the push continues for mandatory horse vaccination. Source: AAP

A YEAR on from the launch of the Hendra vaccine, the push continues for mandatory vaccination of horses against the deadly virus.

Since the launch of Equivac HeV support has grown with the vaccine maker, Zoetis, last month saying 150,000 horses have been treated since it was released in November last year.

Racing Queensland, leaders from within Equestrian Australia, the CSIRO, The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) and the Queensland Horse Council, have backed moves towards mandatory vaccination.

Hendra, which can spread from flying foxes to horses and then to humans, was first identified in Queensland in 1994 when a trainer and 20 horses died.

The virus has since killed three more people and about 70 horses in Queensland and northern NSW, as it spread south.

Equestrian Australia chairman Warwick Vale says he supports mandatory vaccination at high risk events.

"I think that the events community will come to realise that the single best tool for risk mitigation of this disease is vaccination," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Associate Professor James Gilkerson, the director of the Centre for Equine Infectious Diseases at the University of Melbourne says Hendra is an endemic disease and is not going away.

"If you're worried about a disease that is carried by bats, the best thing you can do is make sure that the population of most concern, in this case horses, is highly vaccinated, he said.

Zoetis General Manager Mike van Blommestein said that in the face of the threat of the disease moving south, researchers were concentrating on rapid diagnosis and prevention, and ways to control outbreaks.

On Tuesday Zoetis launched a documentary about the battle against Hendra virus to mark the first year of the vaccine's use.

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Alleged killer feared death by fork

A Queensland man accused of murdering his wife was afraid she would kill him so he pushed her. Source: AAP

A QUEENSLAND man accused of murdering his wife was afraid she would kill him with a kitchen fork so he pushed her, causing her to fall onto tiles and die, a court has heard.

Klaus Andres, 70, has pleaded guilty to interfering with Li Ping Cao's corpse by dissolving her body in a wheelie bin of acid, but says her death was an accident.

On Tuesday, Andres told the Supreme Court the pair had argued about sex, money and their relationship in the kitchen of their Cairns home on October 30, 2011.

He says Ms Cao, 42, was screaming and that she scratched his face and then stabbed his hand twice with a fork.

Principal Crown Prosecutor Nigel Rees asked Andres if he feared for his life.

"Definitely, yes," Andres said.

"A person or Li Ping could kill me with a fork if she got the right position."

He later added: "I protected myself".

Andres says he pushed his wife on the chest with one hand and she fell to the ground and died suddenly.

He went to dial 000 but didn't make the call as he thought he would be blamed for her death.

"... in my opinion there is nothing that could be done (to revive Ms Cao)," he said.

In the days that followed he put her body in a wheelie bin, dissolved her body in acid and poured the remains down a storm drain.

Only Ms Cao's prosthetic teeth were found by investigators.

Andres admits lying to police, his family and Ms Cao's friends to cover up her death, but says he didn't mean to kill her.

Mr Rees told the court Andres murdered his wife because it would cost him a lot of money to divorce her.

"I never attacked Li Ping in the whole five years and I never assaulted her," Andres said.

He also denied an accusation that he suffocated his wife.

Andres says Ms Cao wouldn't be entitled to his assets as they had been transferred to a family trust.

Specialist forensic pathologist Professor Johan Duflou told the court there are a number of circumstances in which a person can die suddenly after a fall or blow, but it is rare.

He says it's possible wounds on Andres' hand visible after Ms Cao's death were caused by a fork.

"To me it's a possibility, but there's nothing there that specifically says fork to me."

The trial continues.

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BHP focussed on reducing expenditure

BHP Billiton boss Andrew Mackenzie has confirmed plans to cut capital expenditure by 25% this year. Source: AAP

BHP Billiton chief Andrew Mackenzie says his main aim is not growing volumes, confirming plans to cut capital expenditure by 25 per cent this year and further next year.

BHP will also continue to cut costs after reducing controllable cash costs by $US2.7 billion ($A2.97 billion) the 12 months to June 30, he said at an investor briefing in Houston in the US.

The comments highlight the difference in leadership between Mr Mackenzie and his predecessor Marius Kloppers.

When Mr Mackenzie took the reins as chief executive in May it was with a mantra of controlling cost inflation in a world of lower commodity prices.

On Tuesday he reaffirmed plans to increase production by 16 per cent in the 2013/14 financial year and next, but believes the resources giant can grow while returning cash to shareholders and spending less.

"My principle aim is not to grow volumes," Mr Mackenzie said.

"My principle aim is to create value and free cash flow."

Capital expenditure had been allowed to run too high in the past, he said, with a level of $15 billion more appropriate than the $U22 billion spent last year.

Rio Tinto said last week it planned to halve its spend to $US8 billion by 2015.

Of the forecast production growth between now and 2015, 69 per cent will come from iron ore and petroleum.

Those two divisions have dominated capital expenditure in recent years, due to growth in Western Australian iron ore operations and an expansion into US shale oil and gas.

With much of the costly investment work done, capital was falling and output rising in petroleum, Mr Mackenzie said.

He defended the expensive shale assets as a fantastic opportunity for the future.

BHP's energy portfolio, which includes oil, gas, coal and uranium, would also benefit from an estimated two-thirds jump in energy demand from Asia's emerging economies by 2030, Mr Mackenzie said.

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ACCC appeals in ANZ price fixing case

The ACCC is appealing a ruling clearing ANZ of alleged price fixing in the mortgage market. Source: AAP

THE competition watchdog is appealing a recent ruling by the Federal Court clearing ANZ of alleged price fixing in the mortgage market.

The Federal Court in November dismissed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) application.

The ACCC had alleged ANZ had required mortgage broker Mortgage Refunds to limit the size of refunds to customers arranging ANZ home loans, which amounted to price fixing as Mortgage Refunds was a competitor in the home loan market.

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Federal govt suspends Ranger operations

THE federal government has told Energy Resources of Australia that it cannot resume processing uranium until regulators are happy with the integrity of the Ranger mine site at Kakadu following a massive leak of toxic slurry.

The Australian government suspended processing operations at the Northern Territory mine after a leach tank with a 1.5 million litre capacity burst and spilled out a radioactive and acidic slurry at 1am on Saturday.

ERA have not yet said how full the tank was at the time.

"I have told ERA that they cannot resume processing at Ranger until the company demonstrates the integrity of the processing plant to the satisfaction of the regulatory authorities," Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said in a statement on Monday.

He said ERA must also prove that Kakadu National Park and human safety are protected.

"I understand the concerns of traditional owners and local residents and can assure them that governments will continue to ensure the mine operates to the highest standards."

About 30 people attended a snap rally at ERA's Darwin office on Monday, where the director of the Environment Centre NT accused ERA of covering up environmental damage caused by the spill.

"I think they're lying," Dr Stuart Blanch told AAP.

"It's clear there's contaminated water from the burst tank on soil."

The Environment Centre NT said the slurry spill overflowed levee banks designed to contain it and got into the mine's stormwater drain system, and want independent scientists to be permitted on-site to determine the damage.

The supervising scientist, who is the federal regulator of the site, has already begun a full investigation.

"Preliminary reports indicate that the spill was contained within the plant area and that there is no threat to the surrounding environment or human health outside the immediate area," Mr Macfarlane said.

But the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation (GAC), which represents the Mirarr traditional owners of the land, says it has no faith in regulators.

Supervising Scientist Richard McAllister was a water and environmental engineer for an ERA subsidiary for several years during the 1990s.

"There's historically been a revolving door of personnel between the Office of the Supervising Scientist (OSS), the NT government and the company, and it speaks to the need for a clear independent assessment," GAC CEO Justin O'Brien said.

He called Ranger "a hillbilly operation, run by a hillbilly miner with hillbilly regulators".

Bryan Wilkins, regional organiser of the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, said that during the tank's construction and installation in 1993 or 1994 the welding was not properly tested.

"I know it wasn't - I was there," he told AAP.

Mr Macfarlane has established a taskforce consisting of the NT Department of Mines and Energy, NT WorkSafe, the Supervising Scientist and the Department of Industry to manage the response to the leak.

There have been more than 200 safety breaches and incidents over the past 30 years at the site, according to the Environment Centre NT, and this is the third incident in the past month alone.

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US approves new hepatitis C drug

HEALTH officials in the United States have approved a highly anticipated hepatitis C drug that is expected to offer a faster, more palatable cure to millions of people infected with the liver-destroying virus.

The Food and Drug Administration says it has approved the medication Sovaldi from Gilead Sciences Inc in combination with older drugs to treat the main forms of hepatitis C that affect US patients.

Current treatments for hepatitis C can take up to a year of therapy and involve weekly injections of a drug that causes flu-like side effects, an approach only cures about three out of four patients.

Sovaldi is a daily pill that in clinical trials cured roughly 90 percent of patients in just 12 weeks, when combined with the older drug cocktail.

Between 3 million and 4 million Americans are estimated to carry the blood-borne virus, though most do not even know they are infected. Others have tested positive but are waiting for more effective treatments to become available. Hepatitis C symptoms may not appear until two or three decades after infection, though the virus can cause liver failure, cirrhosis and cancer if left untreated.

Dr Donald Jensen of the University of Chicago said he's optimistic that new drugs like Sovaldi will increase treatment of the disease, which is blamed for 15,000 US deaths per year.

"I'm hoping that these new, less toxic therapies will drive more people to get tested and more primary care physicians to test their patients, knowing that the therapy is going to be more effective and easier," said Jensen, who directs the university's center for liver diseases.

Gilead said it will price the drug at $US84,000 ($A92,282.34) for one 12-week supply. Patients with a less common subtype of the disease may need to take the drug for 24 weeks, raising the cost to $168,000 for one course of treatment. Drugs already on the market run between $25,000 and $50,000 for a course of treatment.

The approval comes as the US government urges all baby boomers to get tested for the disease. People born between 1945 and 1965 are five times more likely than other age groups to have hepatitis C, with many having contracted the virus by sharing needles or having sex with an infected person in their youth.

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CCTV plan for Sydney gets go-ahead

A PROPOSAL for extra CCTV cameras in Sydney's busiest nightspots is set to become a reality after the City of Sydney Council endorsed the plan.

At a council meeting on Monday night, council unanimously carried the proposal to install the 10 new cameras in Surry Hills, the CBD and Kings Cross.

The push for extra security follows the one-punch death of teenager Thomas Kelly.

Mr Kelly died after he was king hit in Kings Cross in July 2012.

After the CCTV plan gained the rubber stamp, Lord Mayor Clover Moore said in a statement the new cameras would bring the total number in council's city network to 97.

"Our entire CCTV network is monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week and we work closely with the NSW Police Force, regularly providing video footage and intelligence," she said.

Recently Ms Moore took a swipe at the state government, which she claimed was responsible for law and order.

She said council had stepped in to fund CCTV because no one else had.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said on Sunday co-operation between the state and city council had seen a reduction in violence in Kings Cross following Mr Kelly's death.

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Search on for new PNG Defence chief

PAPUA New Guinea's Defence Force Chief will have his term temporarily extended until a successor is found, prime minister Peter O'Neill says.

Brigadier General Francis Agwi made history during PNG's 2011-2012 political impasse by frequently denying high level political requests to declare martial law.

He refused to involve the armed forces in the 10 month, high-stakes battle between the Supreme court-backed former prime minister Sir Michael Somare and parliament-backed Mr O'Neill.

He was also briefly taken captive by a group of soldiers during a military mutiny sparked by supporters of Sir Michael.

"Agwi has shown professionalism and dedication in his years of service to the military and country," Mr O'Neill said in a statement on Monday.

"He led by example in maintaining stability in the force and I would like to thank him on behalf of the people of PNG for a job well done."

General Agwi's term as commander would have expired at midnight on Monday.

Mr O'Neill said the process to select the general's successor is underway.

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Do right thing on carbon, MRRT: Abbott

Scrap carbon and mining taxes, Prime minister Tony Abbott (pic) tells Senators in a video message. Source: AAP

TONY Abbott has called on the Senate to do the "right thing" and vote to scrap the carbon and mining taxes, saying December is the time to deal with "unfinished business".

The prime minister and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will on Monday fly to South Africa for Nelson Mandela's memorial service, missing most of the final week of parliament.

But with the government staring at defeat on its push to scrap both the mining and carbon taxes, Mr Abbott posted a message on YouTube directed at Australian voters and the Senate.

"December is the time to deal with unfinished business - and to clear the decks for a good start to the new year," he said in Sunday night's message.

"At the election, you voted to scrap Labor's carbon and mining taxes.

"So, I call on the Senate to do the right thing this week and to scrap Labor's bad taxes to give our economy the clean start it needs for 2014."

Mr Abbott said axing the carbon tax would save Australian families hundreds of dollars a year, while scrapping the mining tax would boost job security.

In spite of the appeal, the coalition is likely to suffer mixed fortunes on its legislation this week.

The Greens have thrown the coalition a lifeline on the debt ceiling, with changes expected to be passed by the Senate on Monday.

However, it's almost certain the stoush over the carbon and mining taxes won't be resolved, regardless of Mr Abbott's threats to keep parliament open until Christmas.

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said Labor's opposition to the tax repeals was not motivated by revenge.

Labor was not being obstructive because of Mr Abbott's own obstructionism in opposition, he said.

"We'll call it as we see it, and we'll call it on its merits," Mr Bowen told Sky News on Sunday.

"It's not revenge. It's staying true to our values.

"When people vote Labor, they expect us to stay true to our values, and we'll be doing that."

Environment Minister Greg Hunt demanded Labor back the government's carbon tax legislation, saying: "We don't want delays. We don't want excuses".

"This is the week when the carbon tax should be voted upon and should be repealed," he told reporters in Melbourne.

Question Time this week is expected to be dominated by debate over the future of the car industry and Qantas, as well as the secrecy behind the government's immigration policies.

But the prime minister and opposition leader won't be taking part until Thursday, when they are expected to return to the hurly burly of Canberra.

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Second motorcyclist killed in Tasmania

A MOTORCYCLIST has died after colliding with a utility in country Tasmania, in the second motorcycle fatal in the state in 24 hours.

Police say the Honda 600cc bike collided with the ute at Beaconsfield in the state's north, at about 11am (AEDT) on Sunday.

The 47-year-old motorcycle rider from Beaconsfield died at the scene.

Speed is believed to be a factor, police say.

The 77-year-old ute driver was badly shaken, but did not suffer any injuries.

The death comes after a 58-year-old motorcyclist, who had earlier been taking part in the annual toy run, died in a single vehicle crash at Claremont in Hobart's north on Saturday afternoon.

A 17-year-old female passenger was also injured in the crash and taken to hospital in a stable condition.

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John Legend lands his first Aussie No.1

John Legend's All of Me has become his first No.1 single in Australia, topping the ARIA chart. Source: AAP

JOHN Legend's All of Me has become his first No.1 single in Australia, topping the ARIA chart.

Legend is in the country touring as support act to Alicia Keys, and while the racy video clip featuring his wife, model Chrissy Teigen, must have given the song its initial viewings, the track has sold enough to be certified Gold in Australia after four weeks in the charts.

The Monster for Eminem and Rihanna is back down to No.2 after three weeks at the top, while Magic! climb four places to a new peak of No.3 with Rude.

Spending their eighth week within the Top 10, Pitbull and Ke$ha climb back up to their former high of No.4 for a third non-consecutive week, while Avicii is back down two places to No.5 with Hey Brother, and Guy Sebastian holds at No.6 with Like a Drum.

Katy Perry is down three places to No.7 with Roar, Bastille and Justice Crew hold at No.8 and No.9 respectively, while the new No.1 album holder in the country, Taylor Henderson, is back up a couple of places to No.10 with Borrow My Heart.

Over on the ARIA albums chart, the self-titled debut set for Taylor Henderson is the new No.1 this week.

After a single week at the top, One Direction drop down a place to No.2 with Midnight Memories, while climbing up a place to a new peak of No.3 is Willy Nilly - The 12th Man's Biggest Hits for comedian Billy Birmingham, which pushes Prism for Katy Perry down to No.4.

Human Nature climb a place to a new peak of No.5 with The Christmas Album, while Michael Buble returns to the Top 10 with 2011/2012 No.1 album Christmas, rising five places to No.6 this week, accumulating its 16th week within the Top 10.

The self-titled album for Dami Im drops four places to No.7 and Eminem is down three to No.8 with The Marshall Mathers LP 2.

Robbie Williams drops a couple of places to No.9 with Swings Both Ways and Lorde is down two spots to No.10 with Pure Heroine.

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NSW police say hoon driver laws working

Hoon driver laws introduced in NSW have made the roads safer, police say, with over 120 cars seized. Source: AAP

NSW'S car hoon laws have resulted in more than 120 cars being impounded and 500 sets of number plates being seized, the state government says.

Under the laws introduced in July last year, police can immediately seize an offending driver's vehicle and have it towed to a holding yard where it will be impounded for three months.

Officers also have the power to immediately remove an offending driver's number plates at the roadside - and they won't be returned for three months.

Under the laws, if people drive their car after their number plates have been seized their vehicle can be permanently confiscated.

Premier Barry O'Farrell said on Sunday that car hoon selfishly put others' lives at risk when they drive recklessly.

"The message to lunatics who treat our streets like racetracks is simple - if you want to keep your car, slow down and obey the law."

The laws apply to car hoons involved in police pursuits, caught exceeding the speed limit by more than 45km/h or committing hoon type offences such as an aggravated burn-outs or participating in street races.

Deputy Police Commissioner Catherine Burn said the laws were having a big impact, and since coming into force 123 vehicles have been impounded and 513 sets of number plates seized.

Traffic and Highway Patrol Command chief, Assistant Commissioner John Hartley, said hoon drivers would not only lose their car or number plates for three months, they could also have their licence immediately suspended, lose points from their licences and receive heavy fines.

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