Obeid books 'a shambles, yes, but no sham'

Paul Obeid (R), the son of former Labor MP Eddie Obeid, has given evidence at a corruption inquiry. Source: AAP

A SON of former Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid has admitted encouraging an accountant to lie about his family's mining interests and giving inaccurate evidence to a corruption inquiry, but has denied being involved in a "sham".

During a day of marathon questioning at the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Wednesday, only Paul Obeid made it into the witness box - though three of his brothers were also due to give evidence.

The ICAC is investigating allegations that the former NSW mining minister Ian Macdonald rigged a 2008 tender process for coal exploration licences in the Bylong Valley.

It is also investigating whether Eddie Obeid, also a former state Labor minister, and his family gained substantial financial benefit from inside information about the process.

Counsel assisting the commissioner, Geoffrey Watson SC, told the witness his family had purchased land in the Bylong Valley just before it was opened up for coal exploration.

Mr Watson said Paul Obeid was "part of a deal" with Mr Macdonald to create a mining tenement in the region, which he denied.

"That sounds like a Hans Christian Andersen novel," Mr Obeid said.

"What did you do to tell anybody in the public that a mining minister, a friend of your father, had created a mining tenement that increased the value of your property four-fold?" Mr Watson asked.

Mr Obeid responded with a question of his own: "Why did I need to tell anybody?"

Over nearly five hours of testimony, Paul Obeid was variously asked to spit out his gum, told to stop laughing and accused by ICAC Commissioner David Ipp of "deliberately being provocative".

At one point a visibly frustrated Mr Ipp adjourned the inquiry, telling Mr Obeid's counsel Graham Turnbull that proceedings would resume after Mr Turnbull had a word with his client about interrupting the commissioner.

But the commissioner and the witness found themselves in agreement after Mr Obeid struggled to decipher years-old ledgers detailing transactions made by and for members of his family.

"It sounds like a sham, doesn't it," Mr Watson said of one loan noted in the ledgers.

"Oh, I wouldn't call it a sham," Mr Obeid said.

"It certainly looks like a shambles to me," Mr Ipp weighed in.

Mr Obeid responded, "I can't disagree with that."

Mr Obeid later said he and "the boys" did not initially disclose their interests in coal mining when they dealt with mining firm Cascade Coal because after years of being "relentlessly pursued" by the media, the Obeids valued their privacy.

In a private interview with Mr Watson in August last year he said Cascade was "certainly" aware of the Obeid link, but on Wednesday he said he "can't stand by that", conceding the Obeids were more coy in their early dealings with the firm.

"We decided to play a bit of a game of chess," he said.

"(The media) agenda is to cause us harm. We've learned, over many years, why stick your head out to get slapped."

He also admitted encouraging an accountant, John Campo, to lie to the Sydney Morning Herald, though he did not back Mr Watson's assertion that the lies were designed to conceal further the family's mining interests.

"I call them little white lies, which are trivial untruths," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday he told the commission he could not explain how confidential maps of the area around Bylong Valley came to be in his office.

Mr Ipp says he will deliver findings in July and give "urgent" advice within two weeks to the NSW government about how it should amend the state's mining laws.

The inquiry continues on Thursday and Mr Macdonald is scheduled to appear on Monday.

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Barnett plays law and order election card

LAW and order was top of the West Australian government's agenda when it fired its first official election campaign salvo.

The move to propose yet more mandatory legislation for serious offenders - usually a vote winner - came less than two hours after Premier Colin Barnett requested the issuing of election writs for the March 9 election.

He also came out swinging at the previous Alan Carpenter and Geoff Gallop-led Labor governments, labelling them "an embarrassment" that discredited and brought shame on the state because five ministers were forced to resign or were sacked after becoming embroiled in Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) inquiries.

WA Labor leader Mark McGowan fired back, saying Treasurer and Transport Minister Troy Buswell was an embarrassment who kept being promoted - referring to years of scandals involving bra-snapping and chair sniffing, and more recently, a defamation suit against his ex-lover, independent MP Adele Carles, over public comments she made about his antics.

Mr Barnett defended Mr Buswell, making a distinction between abusing one's position as a minister and private behaviour.

"A great embarrassment in government is your behaviour as a minister," Mr Barnett told reporters.

"I've got great respect for Troy Buswell. I think he is an outstanding minister.

"Compare that to Labor ministers who misused their position.

"Has Troy misused his position? No.

"Big difference."

The premier said his comments about Labor's historical CCC dramas was relevant because "it tells you something about the nature of the Labor party and the people in the Labor party", and should not be forgotten. And while he didn't want to drag up "long history", he also touched on the WA Inc era of the 1980s.

Opposition police spokeswoman Michelle Roberts also mentioned the CCC, referring to Mr Barnett's proposed legislation to expand the corruption watchdog's powers, which he had not succeeded in pushing through in his first term.

"Colin Barnett can simply not be trusted," Mr Roberts said.

She said the Liberals' proposal on Wednesday - to hand mandatory jail terms to burglars who seriously hurt or sexually assault residents while thieving - was necessary.

But only because the WA government had so far failed to deal with home burglaries.

"Their dismal record on legislative reform should give Western Australians little confidence that their promise would ever be delivered," she said.

"The best way to fight crime is to have cops on the beat."

Ms Roberts said the Barnett government had reneged on its 2008 election promise to increase police numbers by 500 - a pledge put forward by the opposition on Tuesday and welcomed by the police union.

There had been a 15 per cent rise in offences against the person between 2010 and 2012, and a 12 per cent rise in property offences in 2012, she said.

Mr Barnett said overall crime had fallen nine per cent under his leadership, but burglaries had risen substantially.

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Anti-doping agency to get more powers

AUSTRALIA'S anti-doping agency is set to gain police-like powers to compel suspect athletes and other people to turn up for questioning and hand over documents on request.

Sports Minister Kate Lundy said a recent review of Cycling Australia conducted by former justice James Woods QC showed there was plenty of work to be done to address the challenges of doping in sport.

Senator Lundy said revelations from international cycling showed that doping could be well organised and systemic and conducted in parallel with a comprehensive testing regime.

"With doping becoming increasingly sophisticated, it is less likely that anti-doping violations will be detected through analytical means alone," she said.

In a second reading speech that was tabled in parliament on Wednesday to introduce the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Amendment Bill 2013, Senator Lundy said analytical testing would remain a fundamental and valuable means to address doping.

But the US Anti-Doping Agency was only able to establish a case against Lance Armstrong and the US Postal Service cycling team through non-analytical investigation, collecting sworn testimony and documentary evidence.

Senator Lundy said the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) currently had no power to require somebody to attend an interview or produce documents and had to rely on their cooperation.

The new bill will give ASADA the power to require someone to attend an interview or produce documents.

The ASADA chief executive will be able to issue disclosure notices requiring a person to comply, with a fine of up to $5100 for people who don't.

Senator Lundy said a key strength of ASADA's investigative capabilities was its relationship with agencies such as Customs and the Therapeutic Goods Administration. That would be strengthened with an amendment to postal legislation to allow information sharing between ASADA and Australia Post.

The legislation also gives the ASADA chief executive the ability to engage directly with sporting bodies on the issue of sanctions for those who commit doping violations.

"The message is clear - with these amendments, athletes and support persons who are involved in doping have a greater chance of being caught. People will have no option but to assist ASADA in undertaking its investigations and intelligence activities," Senator Lundy said.

Debate was adjourned.

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British gay vote sparks new Aussie debate

BRITAIN'S move to legalise gay marriage has sparked fresh calls for Australia to follow suit.

A same-sex marriage bill passed its first hurdle in the British House of Commons by 400 votes to 175. The bill must now pass the House of Lords - the equivalent of the Senate - before becoming law.

The breakthrough on Wednesday quickly reignited the gay marriage debate in Australia.

Australian Greens MP Adam Bandt said Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott - both of whom oppose gay marriage - risked being on the wrong side of history.

"If Catholic Spain can allow people to marry each other regardless of their gender, if Britain can do it, if the president of the United States of America thinks it is time to change, then Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott should back it as well," Mr Bandt said.

"This is a matter of not if, but when."

Last year both houses of the Australian parliament rejected a same sex marriage bill sponsored by Labor backbenchers. Mr Abbott refused to allow coalition MPs a conscience vote on the bill.

South Australian Environment Minister Ian Hunter, who married his gay partner in Spain last year, said the British vote should send a strong message to Australia's federal leaders.

All the countries we liked to compare ourselves to were adopting gay marriage and Australia was being left behind, he said.

"We are going to start to look like the deep south in terms of this issue," he told AAP.

Australian Marriage Equality national convener Rodney Croome said the majority of Australians would be pleased to see such resounding support for gay marriage from a country like Britain.

"But this will be tinged with embarrassment that Australia is falling further behind and may soon be the only developed, English-speaking country without marriage equality," he said.

Mr Croome predicted many Australian couples would travel to Britain, or even use UK consulates at home, to marry if the British bill became law.

"It is sad that these couples will not have their marriages recognised under the law of the country they live in," he said.

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Wild Thing singer Reg Presley dies in UK

Reg Presley (R), lead singer of 1960s rock band The Troggs, has died at his home in England aged 71. Source: AAP

REG Presley, lead singer of British 1960s rock band The Troggs, has died aged 71, a friend says.

Presley, best known for hits including Wild Thing and Love Is All Around, had announced a year ago that he was battling cancer and would retire from the band.

Veteran music journalist Keith Altham, a close friend of Presley's, wrote on his Facebook page that the singer had died "surrounded by family and friends" on Monday at his home in Andover, southeast England.

"My dear old pal Reg Presley of The Troggs died today," he wrote.

"He was one very real person in a sometimes very unreal world. Our thoughts are with his wife Brenda and the family and those legion of fans who loved his music and his band. I will miss him hugely."

He added that the singer had suffered a number of recent strokes as well as being diagnosed with cancer.

Presley's daughter Karen told the music website WENN: "He passed away peacefully at home and myself, my brother and our mother were with him. We're absolutely heartbroken."

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Work bans by nurses at third WA hospital

NURSES at Fremantle Hospital plan to impose work bans on Wednesday, joining colleagues at two other hospitals as they press their pay claim with the WA government.

The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) was originally seeking a 20 per cent wage rise over three years, but members who attended a union meeting at Royal Perth Hospital on Monday said they would accept a minimum 15 per cent increase over the same period.

The state government has offered public sector nurses a three per cent per year wage rise - equivalent to inflation - and a further 1.25 per cent per annum if they give up certain conditions of employment.

Nurses at Royal Perth Hospital adopted the work bans on Monday, followed by Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital on Tuesday.

While the wrangling continues with the Health Department of Western Australia, they will not be doing any work that does not directly involve the care of a patient, including removing rubbish, cleaning toilets and bathrooms, and moving medical equipment in and out of theatre rooms.

They say they've been forced to do work that would normally be done by orderlies and cleaners - positions that have been cut back.

ANF state secretary Mark Olson said the work bans would slow down the operations of any hospital where they were implemented, suggesting more were in store.

The first casualty would be the state government's rule that patients are treated and cleared from emergency departments within four hours, he said.

Mr Olson said the rule relied heavily on the goodwill of nurses.

"It will be impossible for hospitals to continue to get patients out of the emergency departments within the designated four hours," he said.

"For that to happen, nurses have to clean rooms and equipment, clean operating theatres, move patients, move furniture and equipment or collect medications and fill out paperwork for patients being discharged - all of which will no longer be happening at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital after today."

Mr Olson called on the WA government to "show some respect and make nurses a decent offer".

Public sector nurses will hold a mass meeting on February 18 - the first in 12 years, Mr Olson said - to discuss taking further measures to push their case.

"It will start to have an effect on the theatre list," he said.

"The (health) minister (Kim Hames) is hoping if he ignores it, it will go away."

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European stocks stable in opening trade

EUROPEAN stock markets are steady at the start of trading.

London's FTSE 100 index of top companies was up 0.05 per cent at 6,249.70 points at the open on Tuesday.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 firmed 0.07 per cent to 7,643.54 points and in Paris the CAC 40 drifted 0.13 per cent lower to 3,654.32.

European equities tumbled on Monday and the euro dropped against the dollar amid fears of political turmoil in Spain and Italy, with banking shares suffering some of the heaviest losses.

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Brother-in-law killer claims self-defence

A MAN accused of murdering his brother-in-law in Perth has claimed it was self-defence, despite an elaborate escape in which he fled Australia and evaded police for more than a decade.

Anthony Carl Prestidge is on trial in the West Australian Supreme Court charged with the wilful murder of Andy Arthur Ball on September 10, 2002.

In her opening address, prosecutor Linda Petrusa said Mr Ball's body was found on September 12, 2002, under some bed sheets in the kitchen at his home with only his feet poking out.

A post mortem examination revealed he had died from a severe head injury with extensive fracturing of the skull and some brain injury, she said.

He had been struck with "a large degree of force" to the back of the head and had been lying on the floor bleeding when he was struck a second time, she said.

Ms Petrusa alleged Prestidge committed the murder and then fled to the Perth International Airport where he made a call to a friend saying he would meet up with them soon, only to instead board a flight to Bali moments later.

She said his actions demonstrated a consciousness of guilt.

Mr Ball, who was then 24, had been married for four years to Prestidge's sister, Angela, and they had two children.

But the relationship was both mentally and physically abusive, and Ms Ball had been hospitalised in 2001 for a broken cheek bone, a fact she shared with her brother when he came from London to visit them in August 2002, Ms Petrusa said.

After talks with her brother, Ms Ball decided to finally leave her husband in September 2002.

Before his death, Mr Ball had told some neighbours that if anything happened to him it would be Prestidge's fault, Ms Petrusa said.

Defence lawyer Helen Prince argued that while Mr Ball's death was a tragedy, her client had acted in self-defence when Mr Ball came to him with a knife believing Prestidge was having an affair with his own sister.

Mr Ball had thought Prestidge was going to tear his family apart and that his wife was going to take his children overseas, Ms Prince said.

"Tony will always have to live with that," she said.

There was a difference between criminal responsibility and moral responsibility, Ms Prince said.

The fact that Prestidge had fled did not indicate a consciousness of guilt over the crime, and the fact that he covered the body with sheets indicated some care for the victim, she said.

The trial continues.

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Whistleblower backs down after fraud claim

THE whistleblower who alleged corruption at a West Australian hospital won't give evidence to a public inquiry after it was revealed she is wanted for fraud and identity theft in America, but there are other witnesses who could.

Ashton Foley, whose damning allegations to a parliamentary committee against the privately run Peel Health Campus sparked a government inquiry, has admitted she was imprisoned in the United States for about six weeks in 2008 on fraud and identity theft charges.

Records in the US show Ms Foley, under the alias Michelle Marie Foley, is still wanted there on warrant issued in Georgia in 2011 over charges of theft and identity fraud.

The ABC reports she plans to return to the US to sort the mess out.

After quitting her job on Monday as chief executive of the Orbost Regional Health centre in Victoria, Ms Foley has now said she won't give evidence to the WA inquiry headed by Professor Bryant Stokes.

"I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't because, if I don't (give evidence), they'll say I've lied all along," Ms Foley told News Ltd.

"And if I do testify, they'll try to discredit my evidence anyway."

Andrew Martin, of Orbost Regional Health, confirmed to AAP that Ms Foley had offered her resignation, and it had been accepted by the board.

He also said they would look into their recruitment process, following the revelations.

Peel Health Campus' current chief executive, Neale Fong, said the hospital now wanted criminal investigations launched into Ms Foley's qualification claims, which she gave to both the WA parliament and her former employers.

"We have been shocked at what has been unearthed. It was not a deliberate attempt to try and go and find material on Ms Foley. It kept coming out, and will keep coming out," Mr Fong said.

"It is a serious offence to lie to a parliamentary committee. That is a matter for the parliament and the police to get involved in.

"We will be reporting this to the police, because she was employed at the Peel Health Campus under the misunderstanding she had these qualifications."

WA Premier Colin Barnett slammed the opposition for running hard with Ms Foley's claims, saying the party had milked her allegations for political mileage, which he labelled "reprehensible".

Opposition spokesman Ken Travers said on Monday that WA Labor was not ashamed of playing a central role in exposing the many problems at the hospital near Mandurah, south of Perth, and getting inquiries under way.

"There are so many issues that were raised that, in my view, warrants serious inquiry." he said.

"The bullying, the intimidation, the turnover of senior staff. There clearly has been a problem down at Peel Health Campus and it requires an investigation."

Mr Travers said it was a shame that there was not a full judicial inquiry.

Damning evidence about the hospital did not solely come from Ms Foley and there were in fact many witnesses, he said.

"It comes from a whole range of witnesses who have highlighted problems with that health campus that need thorough investigation."

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Two more bodies found after Mexico blast

The death toll from an explosion at an office building in Mexico has risen to 35, officials say. Source: AAP

MEXICO'S state-owned oil company says it has found two more bodies amid the rubble of a headquarters building damaged by a still-unexplained blast.

The find raises the death toll of Thursday's explosion to 35 people.

Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, operations director Carlos Murrieta had said that rescue crews were looking in the rubble for several more people reported missing, and believed their bodies were in the building's most damaged part.

The bodies of two of the four more people reported missing by their relatives were recovered on Sunday.

Officials still have not given any cause for the explosion, though they have said they suspect it was an accident.

The blast also injured 121 people.

Rescuers had initially concluded their search on Friday but resumed operations when they suspected more bodies were in the rubble.

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