Too many ship types lift navy cost: Griggs

IF a car hire firm had to buy cars the way the navy has to buy ships, it could go broke, Navy chief Vice Admiral Ray Griggs reckons.

FOR an overall fleet of 52 vessels, the navy operates 14 different classes from 13 different ship designers with engines from 13 different makers.

Ship radars come from 11 different firms and there are 14 different control systems."If you ran a small hire car fleet with this sort of overhead you would be tearing your hair out, if you weren't broke. Yet commonality too often takes a back seat to upfront acquisition costs," he told the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.Vice Admiral Griggs, who leaves the navy top job next month, says Australian naval shipbuilding is at a crossroads.With the air warfare destroyer program running late and local shipbuilders performing below international standards, the government has warned it could look offshore for the navy's next frigates.The stop-start nature of shipbuilding projects means having to relearn lessons and paying the price in delays and cost increases.Vice Admiral Griggs thinks they should either buy everything offshore or maintain a continuous build program to gain the full economic benefits.The diversity of navy ships and systems adds to training requirements, cost, complexity of support and the size of the spares inventory.Recently a ship had to sail without fully operational communications because the three contractors in Australia who could work on the system were not around.Two were overseas on holidays and one had gone bush and was out of mobile range.Greater fleet commonality would reduce the likelihood of this occurring."We need to get better at understanding the balance of benefits. Is it better to accept a higher acquisition cost in the interest of commonality," he said.

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Fault still no.1 on Australian box office

HOW To Train Your Dragon 2 came close but couldn't knock The Fault in Our Stars from its top spot on the Australian box office.

THE adaptation of John Green's bestseller remained no. 1 for the second weekend in a row with $2.438 million, although How to Train Your Dragon 2 was nipping at its heels. According to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia, the animated sequel earned another $2.170 million in preview screenings, jumping from fifth to second, with its official release not until June 19.

It pushed Tom Cruise's new sci-fi/action flick Edge of Tomorrow into third place and Angelina Jolie's Maleficent into fourth.The new Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore comedy, the critically panned Blended, debuted at no. 5, while another new entry of note, Australian film The Rover by Animal Kingdom director David Michod, came in at twelfth on the ladder.X-Men: Days of Future Past starring Aussie Hugh Jackman slipped two places to sixth, while Seth MacFarlane comedy A Million Ways to Die in the West dropped one spot to seventh.Grace of Monaco starring Nicole Kidman remained steady at eighth place, while comedy Bad Neighbours fell two spots to ninth and The Trip to Italy finished off the ladder in tenth, pushing Godzilla into no. 11.

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WA basketballer socks it to sarcoma

ADAM Deans thought he was a bit sore from playing football.

BUT when the fit 16-year-old broke his femur simply walking down the stairs in 2005, doctors biopsied his leg to discover the bone had been weakened by osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer.

Less than a month later, Deans' left leg was amputated above the knee and he began eight months of chemotherapy."I didn't know what it was ... to be honest it didn't really bother me - the word I was fixated on was cancer," he said."I was so tall I couldn't sit in any of the beds at a children's hospital, so I was taken to an adult hospital."Like Deans, many diagnosed with the disease have never heard of sarcoma even though 15 per cent of paediatric cancers in Australia are sarcomas as well as 10 per cent among youths aged 15 to 25.Despite this, less than one per cent of the cancer research dollar is spent on sarcoma research.Fortunately, nine years on and Deans still calls himself not only a cancer survivor, but a sporting champion selected to represent Australia in South Korea at the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation World Championships.Not everybody diagnosed with the disease is as lucky as Deans: Abbie Basson, who started up Perth-based organisation Sock it to Sarcoma, lost her three-year battle with Ewing's Sarcoma in 2011.But her work has been carried on by her family, with the organisation holding several public events as part of the inaugural West Australia Sarcoma Awareness Week from June 16 to 21.Abbie's mother Mandy urged people, especially youths, not to dismiss symptoms like feeling tired or pain as a sport injury, but to ask their GP to refer them to a primary bone and soft tissue tumour specialist."Don't get it misdiagnosed, put it off as a sport strain or back pain," she said."As a result, the cancer gets the opportunity to spread."

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Ambulance Vic named in ATSB death report

A MAN who died after being crushed by a crane on a cargo ship lay injured while an ambulance trying to reach him was locked out of the port.

AMBULANCE Victoria had neglected to train officers in how to open gates at Portland - a massive multi-berth facility about 300km west of Melbourne - says a report into the incident.

A crew member telephoned for help for the ship's injured but conscious Chinese assistant electrician but the emergency operator at first could not find the port on a mapping system and so dispatched an ambulance to the general location.Paramedics faced a locked and unmanned gate, unaware that the ambulance service had been provided with swipe cards, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau reported on Monday.They drove to a second gate seeking access and then back to the original entry point where they were lucky to meet a staff member.Despite the hold-up, paramedics reached the man 13 minutes after they were called.Forty-nine minutes later, after a delay arranging to open the gates to leave, the ambulance arrived at Portland Hospital.Shortly afterwards the man died.The ATSB concluded the electrician had been working without proper approvals near an operating crane on the deck of the Singapore-based Toucan Arrow when he was crushed on October 7, 2013.A warning light in the area was inoperative and, because of background noise, he is unlikely to have heard the alarm warning of the crane's approach.Although no one witnessed the incident, a torn strip of his clothing was found on a hatch lid against which he is believed to have been pinned as the remote-controlled crane moved along the deck.The ATSB found the ship's master failed to alert port authorities and therefore an emergency response, including manning of port access gates, did not occur.The ambulance service had not taken up an offer by the port authority to take paramedics on a familiarisation tour of the port.In response, Ambulance Victoria said it was impractical to hold access cards for the variety of sites that may call on its services.Portland-based paramedics have since undergone retraining.

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Firies cancer law not ruled out: Vic govt

Volunteer firefighters rally in Melbourne for access to compensation for cancer contracted at work. Source: AAP

THE Victorian government says it hasn't ruled out changing the way firefighters access cancer compensation as hundreds rallied in Melbourne to try to break down barriers to claims.

THE government says it simplified cancer claims for firefighters and encouraged both career and volunteer firefighters to lodge a claim if they believe they had contracted cancer as a result of their duties.

"The Victorian government is not ruling out presumptive legislation and will continue to consider new medical and scientific evidence as it becomes available," a government spokesperson said.Volunteer Fire Brigades president Bill Watson said firefighters wanted a law that lists the 12 typical "firefighter" cancers and presumes them to be work-related, providing the firefighter has enough years of service behind him or her and relevant risk exposure.Mr Watson said there is plenty of evidence firefighters are more likely to suffer certain cancers, but it can be difficult to prove which fire or chemical incident caused their illness."It's not like a broken bone where you know exactly when and where it happened," Mr Watson said."The burning car or house fire you attended today may cause a cancer that doesn't show up for decades, which makes it nearly impossible to prove it was work related."The federal government introduced presumptive legislation in 2011.Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia also have laws that recognise the link between firefighting and cancer.Mr Watson said any legislation would have to include eligibility guidelines."We're not after a free ride," he said."We just want to make sure they're looked after if they get sick."The Victorian government has been under pressure to make changes to the way compensation is accessed after a 2012 report found firefighters who trained at the CFA Fiskville site had been exposed to dangerous chemicals going as far back as the 1970s.Last year they introduced a review panel to assist both volunteer and career firefighters seeking compensation for cancer caused by their work.Opposition leader Daniel Andrews said Labor would introduce the legislation if elected in November."I have committed to the introduction of presumptive rights," Mr Andrews said.

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Nicole Kidman for top Shanghai honour

NICOLE Kidman is to be honoured with an outstanding contribution award at the Shanghai International Film Festival in China.

HUGH Grant and John Woo will present the Australian actress with her latest accolade at the opening ceremony on Saturday, while artist Qin Yi will honour actor and director Jiang Wen with the Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Film Award.

Kidman will be hoping the festival will be a better experience than her visit to Cannes last month, when her new film Grace of Monaco was savaged by critics.Kirsten Dunst, John Cusack, Hayden Christensen, Jackie Chan, Tony Leung, Li Bingbing and Korean superstar Rain are expected to attend the opening gala, according to The Hollywood Reporter.The film festival will open with a restored version of 1964 movie Two Stage Sisters and close with Transformers: Age of Extinction.A jury led by actress Gong Li will decide the winner of the Golden Goblet from the 15 films in competition.

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Get out of Iraq now, warns Bishop

Australia ready to help with humanitarian crisis in Iraq, but no troops envisaged says Julie Bishop. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIANS have been told to leave Iraq immediately by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who has described the escalating crisis as deeply disturbing.

INSURGENTS from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have taken a swathe of mostly Sunni Arab territory in northern Iraq in an offensive that has brought fighting to within 80km of Baghdad.

The worsening crisis prompted Ms Bishop to urge Australians to leave "immediately".

"The airport in Baghdad is still open. Commercial flights are still operating out of Baghdad," she told the Ten Network. 

"But if Australians must stay in Iraq, they must ensure that their personal circumstances and their security is absolutely safe." 

The Australian embassy in Baghdad would be "very constrained" in the support it could provide, she said. 

On Saturday US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered an aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf as President Barack Obama considers possible military options, after he ruled out sending troops into Iraq. 

Speaking to reporters in Houston, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he would wait to see how the US responds to the situation before developing an Australian response. 

Ms Bishop said the US would take the lead when it came to any military action. 

"I didn't envisage a circumstance where we would be sending in troops," she said. 

"But we certainly stand ready to support the humanitarian crisis should a request be made." 

She defended the 2003 military intervention in the country, which she supported as a member of the Howard Government. 

"I thought Saddam Hussein was one of the worst dictators on the planet at that time. His removal was a good thing," she said. 

Greens leader Christine Milne said following the US into Iraq was not going to "fix" the violence in the country. 

"We do not want to follow the United States blindly as John Howard did (in 2003)," Senator Milne told ABC Television. 

"Clearly it didn't work last time in Iraq and it won't work this time." 

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Afghan bomb kills 11 amid vote fraud claim

Afghans have braved threats of violence and searing heat to vote in the presidential elections. Source: AAP

A ROADSIDE bomb killed 11 people including five election workers in northern Afghanistan, officials said Sunday, as a prolonged vote count began after the presidential run-off election.

ELECTION officials were sifting through fraud complaints from both candidates, and analysts said the lengthy count could be the trickiest phase in the country's first democratic transfer of power.

More than 50 people were killed on polling day Saturday by militant attacks, including the 11 whose bus was hit by a roadside bomb in Samangan province and five members of one family who died when a Taliban rocket hit a house near a polling station.Eleven voters in the western province of Herat had their fingers - which were dipped in ink to register their ballot - cut off by insurgents, Deputy Interior Minister Ayoub Salangi said.But despite the Taliban attacks, Saturday's election drew a high turnout of about seven million voters in a contest between former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani.The White House praised voters' courage and called the elections "a significant step forward on Afghanistan's democratic path".The US, along with the UN, also urged the two candidates not to trade unproven fraud allegations, but both Abdullah and Ghani raised the issue immediately after polls closed."It is win or lose now," said Kate Clark, director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network."The voting is only one phase of the election, and there is still a lot that could change. Being a good loser doesn't gain you much here."If it is close and fraud looks to have been a lot, and either candidate wants to really make a fuss, then we could be in for months of wrangling."The 2009 election, when outgoing President Hamid Karzai retained power, was marred by massive fraud that shook the US-led international effort to develop Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.A credible election and smooth handover of power would be a major achievement for Afghanistan's backers after 13 years of hugely costly military and civilian assistance.All foreign combat troops are due to withdraw by the end of this year."Allegations of fraud need to be addressed," US ambassador James Cunningham said after polls closed on Saturday."But the candidates and their supporters should refrain from premature judgments and from criticism that is not supported with clear evidence."The preliminary result is due on July 2, before the complaints period begins, and the final result is scheduled for July 22."We have urged the candidates to act as statesmen, future presidents, rather than people simply in a competition with each other," said Nicholas Haysom, the deputy chief of the UN mission.Reflecting international fears of a contested result, he said candidates must "exercise patience" as the count got underway.The Electoral Complaints Commission said it had registered about 275 complaints by Sunday morning."There were violation cases where the supporters of the presidential candidates forced voters to vote for a certain candidate," said spokesman Mohammad Nader Mohsini."Supporters were also offering money for voters to vote for a certain candidate."He said allegations had also been raised of interference by election officials and the security forces.

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Twin Vic house fire deliberate: crews

TWO neighbouring homes have gone up in flames in a suspicious fire in inner Melbourne.

A WOMAN was the only resident present when the blaze ignited just after 3.30pm on Saturday and was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

MFB commander Rick Gili said damage to the adjoining homes in Highett Street, Richmond, was estimated at up to $800,000."It appears it's deliberate," he told AAP.Both houses are uninhabitable and other accommodation is being arranged for the residents.

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Fatal blast in Syrian town by Iraq border

A STRONG explosion in a town market in Syria near the border with Iraq has killed a number of people, Syrian state media and activists report.

SYRIAN state TV said Saturday's blast in the town of Mayadeen killed 30 people and wounded many others.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says eight people were killed and many others wounded, including some who are in critical condition.Mayadeen is about 60km from the Iraqi border in Syria's eastern oil-rich province of Deir el-Zour, which has seen heavy fighting among rival rebel factions as well as between government forces and opposition fighters.The blast came days after jihadists launched a wide offensive in northern and central Iraq capturing much of the border between the two countries.

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