Govt won't reveal when boats turned back

THE federal government won't reveal whether asylum seeker boats have been turned back to Indonesia, but insists it will be transparent about its border protection policies.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison and Operation Sovereign Borders Commander Lieutenant General Angus Campbell on Monday held their first weekly media briefing on the coalition's new military-led operation to stop asylum boat arrivals.

The minister said the government would be open about boats arriving and the number of people transferred to regional processing countries, but "tactical" issues would not be discussed with the media.

He was asked whether that meant the government would not publicly discuss instances of boats being turned back to Indonesia - a key plank of the coalition's border protection policies.

"Operational and tactical issues that relate to current and prospective operations ... will not be the subject of public commentary from these podiums," he told reporters.

"Our joint operations with our good friends in Indonesia and our other partners are matters that we will deal with directly with them."

He said there may be media briefings for "significant incidents" at sea, citing the previous government's practice of holding media conferences after boats capsized.

There were limitations on what could be discussed "for the protection and safety of the people who are doing our service for our nation", he said.

Acting opposition leader and former immigration minister Chris Bowen condemned as a "disgrace" the decision to keep information on boat turn-around operations from the public.

"I think it's an extraordinary lack of transparency on behalf of the new government," he told AAP.

Lieutenant General Campbell says one boat with 33 people on board has arrived since the coalition government launched its operation to stop the boats on September 18.

He said boat operations were "challenging and, on occasion, risky" but navy and customs personnel did the work "magnificently".

Mr Morrison said the government would aim to send all asylum seekers to Nauru or Papua New Guinea's Manus Island within 48 hours of arriving on Christmas Island.

"If people are fit to get on a boat, they'll be quickly deemed fit to fly," he said.

"Issues relating to health and other matters will be progressed increasingly at the other end."

Labor MP Richard Marles said the government must explain what health provisions would be provided to asylum seekers sent to Manus Island.

"There are serious concerns in terms of diseases which are prevalent in that part of PNG," he told Sky News.

"Will vaccinations be provided and will there be enough time for them to be effective by the time people go to Manus Island?"

Mr Morrison will meet Nauru's justice minister in Canberra on Tuesday and will travel to PNG later in the week.

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Case against Patel set to start

Ex-Bundaberg surgeon Jayant Patel pleaded not guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to a patient. Source: AAP

THE Crown is expected to open its case against former Bundaberg surgeon Jayant Patel on Tuesday following delays in selecting jurors.

Patel, 63, is accused of unnecessarily taking out the colon of patient Ian Vowles while he was a director of surgery at the Bundaberg Base Hospital in 2004.

He pleaded not guilty in the District Court in Brisbane on Monday to causing grievous bodily harm.

Several jurors were discharged and replaced after raising matters privately with Justice Terence Martin during a lengthy empanelling process.

Justice Martin warned the process would be more complicated than usual because of the extensive media coverage surrounding the case.

Once empanelled, jurors were required to answer a questionnaire assessing their ability to be impartial.

The trial continues.

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ALP wins McEwen in federal election

Labor's Rob Mitchell has retained the Victorian seat of McEwen by 345 votes. Source: AAP

THE ALP may have lost the election, but it has managed to hold onto the final undeclared Victorian seat of McEwen.

Counting is complete in the central Victorian seat and Labor MP Rob Mitchell has held onto it by about 345 votes.

Mr Mitchell will let the Australian Electoral Commission officially declare the seat, but said "it is just a formality now".

His Liberal opponent Donna Petrovich has contacted him and released a statement conceding defeat.

"It has been a long, challenging and extremely close count since election day, however as the final ballots are tallied I concede that Labor has retained the seat," she said in the statement.

Labor suffered a swing of about 10 per cent against it in McEwen and Mr Mitchell blamed this on the ALP's "internal issues".

Ms Petrovich gave up her upper house Victorian seat to contest the federal seat.

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Prince Harry to visit Australia

Britain's Prince Harry will make his first official visit to Australia in October. Source: AAP

PRINCE Harry will make his first official visit to Australia in October.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the royal visit on Monday, adding that he looked forward to welcoming the fourth-in-line to the British throne.

"Australians have great warmth towards members of the royal family," Mr Abbott said in a statement.

The playboy prince, 28, will attend numerous events held to mark the centenary of the first entry of the Royal Australian Navy's Fleet into Sydney, including the harbour city's International Fleet Review.

The event is being held from October 3-11.

Captain Wales, as he is known in the military, is an operational Apache helicopter pilot with the British Army Air Corps.

Although he visited Australia during a gap year in 2003, this will be the popular royal's first official visit representing the Queen.

The Prime Minister's office said further details of the visit would be released closer to the date.

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Flight chaos as HK readies for typhoon

SEVERE Typhoon Usagi is barrelling towards Hong Kong, shutting down one of the world's busiest sea ports and throwing flight schedules into disarray from Europe to the United States.

Usagi - which means rabbit in Japanese - packed winds of 165 kilometres per hour as it closed in on China's densely populated Pearl River Delta, forcing some residents in vulnerable areas to tape up windows and stock up on supplies.

The storm, described by meteorologists as the most powerful anywhere on Earth this year, killed two people in the Philippines and unleashed landslides in Taiwan en route to Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Observatory, issuing the second of a five-step tropical storm warning, said it was likely to bring "severe" disruption to the city with transport systems affected and expectations of high waves and flooding in low-lying areas.

At the Chek Lap Kok airport, airline counters were besieged by anxious passengers hoping to rebook their flights after the Cathay Pacific group said it was cancelling all its flights from 6pm (2000 AEST)on Sunday.

With many other airlines following Cathay's lead, only a handful of flights were still scheduled to land or take off after 6pm.

Incoming flights from London, Sydney and Chicago among other cities were cancelled, and thousands of people risked being stranded at their point of origin or in Hong Kong.

Operators at Hong Kong's maritime cargo port, one of the busiest in the world, ceased work late on Saturday, stranding many giant tankers in sea channels not far from shore.

The financial hub is well versed in typhoon preparations and enforces strict building codes, so rarely suffers major loss of life as a result of tropical storms.

But the observatory warned against complacency, saying that Usagi was set to become the strongest storm to hit Hong Kong since 1979 when typhoon Hope killed a dozen people and injured 260.

On its way to Hong Kong and southern China, Usagi forced the evacuation of some 3400 people in southern Taiwan, dumped more than 70 centimetres of rain on Hualien city, and forced more than 100 flights to be cancelled to and from the island.

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Community vote for NSW Labor candidates

NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson says Labor will hold community preselections in five NSW seats. Source: AAP

LABOR will hold community preselections in five NSW seats, in a bid to open up the party.

NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson says members of the community will be able to join with local branch members to vote for their Labor candidate for at least five seats before the 2015 state election.

The community preselections will be held for the seats of Balmain, Newtown, Campbelltown, Londonderry and Strathfield.

"This is an exciting moment for the Labor party and shows we are serious about opening our party up to new people and new ways of thinking," he said in a statement on Sunday.

In addition to the five seats, community preselections would also be held in other seats where locals were eager to embrace the new process, he said.

"I want this process to begin as soon as possible and for all community preselections to be completed by March next year."

The announcement comes as Labor's Anthony Albanese and Bill Shorten campaign for the federal Labor leadership.

The pair are travelling the country in a bid to win over grassroots ALP members who will for the first time get a 50 per cent say in a ballot to elect the federal parliamentary leader.

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Keith Urban has No.1 album in Australia

Country music star Keith Urban has scored his second No.1 album in Australia with Fuse. Source: AAP

KATY Perry has reclaimed No.1 on the ARIA singles chart with her track Roar.

Having been superseded by Redfoo last week, Perry returns to the top for a fourth week.

Redfoo's Let's Get Ridiculous has dropped to No.3, behind Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball.

At No.4 this week is Jason DeRulo with Talk Dirty, featuring rapper 2 Chainz.

Lana Del Rey's Summertime Sadness remix is steady at No.5.

Climbing to a new peak of No.6 is Something I Need for OneRepublic.

Avicii is back up one spot to No.7 with Wake Me Up, while Love Me Again by John Newman drops back two spots to No.8.

Drake's Hold on, We're Going Home has shot up five places to No.9 ahead of Eminem's Berzerk at No.10.

The top three albums in the country are all new entries this week, with Australian country music star Keith Urban taking out the top spot with his ninth studio album Fuse.

This becomes his second No.1 album in Australia after 2012's The Story So Far.

The debut album for Tom Bergling, better known as Avicii, enters at No.2.

Jack Johnson, who is heading to Australia for a national tour in December, has debuted at No.3 with his sixth studio album From Here to Now to You.

With three big new entries, it pushes last week's top four albums down three places each, with AM for The Arctic Monkeys down to No.4, If You Wait by London Grammar at No.5, The Truth About Love for Pink at No.6 and Fleetwood Mac's 25 Years - The Chain at No.7.

Passenger is back up one place to No.8 with All the Little Lights, followed by Loud Like Love from Placebo at No.9

Bruno Mars returns to the Top 10 at No.10 with Unorthodox Jukebox following the release of his new single Gorilla.

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5 Freo arrests as Dockers fans cheer

WA Police say only five arrests were made in Fremantle after the team won the AFL preliminary final. Source: AAP

THOUSANDS of euphoric Fremantle Dockers fans have celebrated wildly in the port city after the AFL team's convincing win against Sydney Swans, but only five arrests were made for minor offences.

West Australian police said the charges mostly stemmed from offences like failing to obey a move-on notice and obstructing police.

All arrests were in the Fremantle CBD after the Dockers 25-point win over the Sydney Swans in Saturday night's AFL preliminary final in Perth.

"Given the huge numbers, the crowds were actually pretty well-behaved," a police spokeswoman said.

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Firies save homes from large bushfires

LATEST:FIREFIGHTERS have brought a huge bushfire under control after residents had been advised to leave homes for their own safety.

At 5.34pm, the Department of Community and Safety advised the Watch and Act alert for Sunshine Acrews and Nikenbah near Hervey Bay had been cancelled.

There is no longer any threat to properties after the bushfire around Vanderwolf Road and Barrenjoey Road, Nikenbah and Pindari Crescent and Barrenjoey Road, Sunshine Acres was brought under control.

Authorities said fire crews will remain on scene to strengthen containment lines and will continue to patrol the blaze tomorrow.

Residents in the area are expected to be affected by a large smoke haze tonight, and are advised to close windows and doors and keep medication close by if suffering from a respiratory condition.

Motorists traveling in the area are advised to drive to conditions.

5.18PM: FIREFIGHTERS are still battling a blaze that has burned an area the size of almost 180 football fields near Hervey Bay.

The fire broke out at Nikenbah just before 3pm and was expected to affect parts of Sunshine Acres.

A Department of Community Safety spokeswoman said about 200ha of land had been burned and residents were urged to enact their bushfire plan.

Those who decide to stay and defend their property should take precautionary measures including:

• Put on protective clothing
• Drink lots of water
• Move car/s to a safe location
• Close windows and doors and shut blinds
• Bring pets inside and restrain them (leash, cage or secure room) and provide water
• Wet down fine fuels close to buildings
• Remove garden furniture, doormats and other items
• Seal all gaps under doors and screens
• Fill containers with water - eg bath, sinks, buckets and wheelie bins
• Have ladders ready for roof space access (inside) and against roof (outside)
• Have generator or petrol pump ready
• Check and patrol outside for embers and extinguish any spot fires and seek shelter as the fire front arrives.

Residents are advised to call Triple Zero (000) if their property comes under threat.

For regular updates, switch on your local radio station or visit the Rural Fire Service Queensland website at ruralfire.qld.gov.au or at fire.qld.gov.au.

EARLIER: A LARGE, fast moving bushfire is burning near Hervey Bay with residents advised to leave their homes for their own safety.

The Rural Fire Service has told residents near Old Rifle Range Rd at Nikenbah to enact their bushfire plan and to leave now if their plan is to do so or if they don't have a plan.

They have been told that leaving is the safest option.

A Department of Community safety warning said only people who had well prepared and defended homes should stay with fire fighters making no guarantees every home can be protected.

Currently, 15 fire crews are working to contain the blaze which is burning near Booral Road and Pindari Crescent at Sunshine Acres.

"Residents should not expect a firefighter at their door," the warning read.

They have warned that property may be consumed by the fire at Nickenbah with the chance power, water and mobile phone supply may be lost in the area over the coming hours while the fire rages.

The fire broke out about 2.45pm at Vanderwolf Rd at Nikenbah and is travelling quickly in a north west direction.

It is expected to effect the areas of Old Rifle Range Rd and Barrenjoey Rd at Nikenbah.

Fire fighters are having difficulty controlling the fire and are warning that spot fires may occur ahead of the fire front and embers are being thrown from the fire.

The Department of Community Safety is warning residents it will be very hot and windy as the fire approaches and it could make breathing, hearing and seeing difficult.

Police are asking motorists to stay away from Booral Road at Sunshine Acres due to the fire.

Motorists are also being urged to not travel to the area.

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UK island swimmer going strong

AN endurance swimmer has made good progress through the night in her attempt to become the first person in nearly 30 years to swim solo, non-stop, around the Isle of Wight.

Anna Wardley is undertaking the challenge as part of her bid to complete circumnavigations of five islands.

The 37-year-old, from Gosport in Hampshire, set off yesterday at 10.31am from Ryde Sands and is expected to complete the 56.4-mile swim in about 30 hours.

Only three people have completed the feat, with the last successful attempt in 1984.

She has passed the famous Needles landmark and is making her way round to the east side of the island this morning.

Heather Ewing, spokeswoman for the challenge, said: "She's looking good this morning, although her arms are looking a bit tired and it has got to be hurting by now. That said, she's very cheerful and demanding a bacon sandwich if any are made for the support team."

Wardley said before setting off: "It's been nearly 30 years since this challenge was last successfully completed, so I'm under no illusions how tough it will be.

"There will be a time when I'll be swimming against the tide through the night, almost on the spot for hours. I'll also see the sun set and rise, and we'll be racing against the clock to reach critical points to beat the tide.

"However just knowing people are thinking of me and willing me on will definitely help when the going gets really tough, and it's a huge boost knowing that I'm raising money for such fantastic charities."

Wardley is attempting the swim under the rules of the British Long Distance Swimming Association wearing just a standard swimming costume, goggles and a swimming cap.

It is the culmination of her two-year Five Island Swim Challenge raising funds for the Samaritans, the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and Sail Africa, with her target set at STG50,000 ($A85,470).

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