No tsunami risk from Tongan quake

A 6.3-MAGNITUDE earthquake has struck off the coast of the Pacific Island nation of Tonga but experts say there is no threat of a tsunami.

The quake reportedly struck in waters northeast of the Tongan capital, Nuku'alofa, at about 7pm local time (1600 AEST) on Saturday.

Geoscience Australia reports the impact could have been felt by people more than 600-kilometres away.

Seismologist Marco Maldoni said residents of the island nation would definitely felt shaking after the movement of tectonic plates and that that part of the world was prone to earthquakes.

"That earthquake itself happened where the Australian plate meets the Pacific plate," Dr Maldoni told AAP on Saturday.

"Thankfully this is a non-tsunamigenic earthquake - something that can potentially generate a tsunami."

Dr Maldoni said that in the past five years there had been about 200 earthquakes within that area, with another one occurring near Tonga at a magnitude of 6.2 as recently as Friday.

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Hard line on boats paying off: Morrison

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says the government's tough stance on asylum seekers is working. Source: AAP

NO people-smuggling venture had succeeded in landing asylum seekers on Australia for more than four months, the government says.

In the latest update on Operation Sovereign Borders, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday that vigorous border protection activities was deterring illegal boat arrivals, even into the post-monsoon period when weather conditions usually improve.

Mr Morrison said the practice of turning back unauthorised boats remained in effect.

"Anyone seeking to enter Australia illegally by boat will be faced with the same policies those who previously attempted illegal entry met," he said in a statement.

Mr Morrison said no one had reached Australia since December 19 and that continued this month. But 3351 on 47 boats arrived in April 2013 under the former Labor government.

The latest Operation Sovereign Borders operational update says there are now 1281 in the processing centre on Manus Island and 1177 on Nauru, making a total of 2458.

Another 1405 remain on Christmas Island. During the last week, eight asylum seekers were transferred to Nauru.

Seven unauthorised maritime arrival transferees were voluntarily returned to Iran.

Since Operation Sovereign Borders started on September 18, 220 asylum seekers have voluntarily returned to their home countries.

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NSW fisherman drowns trying to save wife

A SYDNEY rock fisherman who jumped into rough seas to save his wife has died and his mate is feared drowned.

The two men, 24 and 26, were part of a group of six that travelled to the NSW Central Coast from Sydney on Friday to go rock fishing.

The friends, some of whom are students, were on a notoriously dangerous rocky ledge at Wybung Head, near Lake Macquarie, when a woman was swept into the ocean by a wave.

The woman's husband and a friend entered the water to rescue her but disappeared. The woman survived after being washed back onto the rocks.

A major search operation was sparked about 6:30pm on Friday when the men failed to resurface.

Police say no one in the group was wearing a life jacket.

A helicopter winched the woman from the rock ledge while paramedics and police rescued three other people.

The emotional woman and her supportive friends returned to Wybung on Saturday as the Westpac Life Saver Helicopter, police and surf life savers searched for her missing husband and friend.

The husband's body was pulled from the ocean at 9am.

"The wife is absolutely devastated as you can imagine," Tuggerah Lakes police acting Inspector John Dooley told AAP.

The search has been called off but will resume at 8am on Sunday.

Local fishermen say the stretch of coast is treacherous and catches many people off guard.

"At that actual location, the people who go rock fishing aren't prepared for the danger of the sport," Peter Trenear, of Pelicans Wharf Fishing Tackle, told AAP.

"For the inexperienced, it can be life threatening."

Mr Trenear said he was washed off rocks in the same area about six years ago and had to be plucked from the ocean by a rescue helicopter.

"It was so easy, the water caught me by surprise," he said.

Insp Dooley said police had carried out several rescues and body recoveries at the spot over the years.

He warned people planning to rock fish to wear life jackets and check ocean conditions.

"You must be appropriately equipped to go down on these rock ledges," he said.

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Woolworths investigates deadly mushrooms

WOOLWORTHS has advised any customers who may be feeling ill after recently buying mushrooms from an ACT supermarket to seek immediate medical attention following a possible Death Cap mushroom poisoning.

ACT Health is investigating three cases of possible poisoning by Death Cap mushrooms which may have been purchased from a Woolworths in the suburb of Dickson.

Three patients from the same household attended Canberra's Calvary Hospital in the last 48 hours with symptoms of Death Cap mushroom poisoning.

"This appears to be an isolated incident and there have been no other recent reports of Death Cap mushroom poisoning in the ACT," the territory's chief health officer Dr Paul Kelly said.

In a statement on Saturday night, Woolworths advised that customers who feel ill to follow ACT Health's recommendations and seek immediate medical attention.

ACT Health also advised people who bought mushrooms from Woolworths Dickson around April 17 to throw them away as a precaution.

Woolworths says it is not aware of any other cases.

"We take customer safety very seriously and are working closely with our supplier and ACT Health to investigate the claims," the company said.

In Canberra in 2012, a man and a woman died and two others were poisoned but recovered after consuming a meal which contained Death Cap mushrooms.

"People are reminded not to pick and eat any wild mushrooms. It can be extremely difficult for even experienced collectors to distinguish Death Cap mushrooms from other edible mushrooms," Dr Kelly said.

The highly toxic Death Cap mushroom is a native to Europe but has spread around the world, with populations observed in Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide. It resembles a common edible variety used in Chinese cooking.

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New generation of Anzacs remembered

OVERSEEING Australian army operations in Afghanistan and other dangerous places, Lieutenant General Ash Power knows first-hand the ongoing, devastating consequences of war.

In his time as Chief of Joint Operations, 18 Australian soldiers have died in Afghanistan with many others wounded.

General Power will lead the Call to Remembrance at the Anzac Day dawn service in Villers-Bretonneux in France on Friday and, like so many, he has a close personal connection to the area.

His grandfather Hab Power fought on the Western Front in World War I and General Power said Anzac Day was a time to honour diggers past and present.

"If you look back to attrition warfare, the trench warfare of the First World War, thank heavens we've moved a long way from that," General Power told AAP on Thursday.

"But it's still traumatic, and each of these people we lose is a human being.

"Each of them have mums and dads, brothers and sisters, some have their own kids and the loss is significant for each of those families.

"Thankfully the scale has changed but it is a time to not only remember those remarkable generations of the two world wars but to remember the ultimate sacrifice made by so many up to today."

This is the first Anzac Day since Australia started pulling out of Afghanistan, where 40 Australian solders have died since 2001.

But General Power said the Australian Defence Force would remain busy and Australians continued to risk their lives every day in minor operations at places such as Golan Heights, the Sinai Peninsula and South Sudan.

General Power has also overseen the ADF's role in the search for the missing plane MH370, a task he will resume after Anzac Day.

He admitted he wasn't optimistic that an end to the search was in sight.

"The Indian Ocean is huge and if someone's done this deliberately to try and hide it, it's probably the best place on the surface of the earth to do it," he said.

"It's really remote and very difficult. There's not much going for us but we'll continue to work at it for a little while yet."

Foreign minister Julie Bishop will also attend Friday's ceremony in France.

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Heineken returns to growth in Europe

Brewer Heineken has returned to growth in its crucial Western Europe market in the first quarter. Source: AAP

HEINEKEN says it has returned to growth in its crucial Western Europe market in the first quarter, after a long period of stagnation.

Organic sales - a figure which strips out the effects of currencies and acquisitions - grew by 3.4 per cent.

However, the Dutch-based brewer's reported sales fell because of the strong euro and because its Eastern European sales shrank. Earnings were lower because of one-off gains in the same period a year ago.

Net profit was 143 million euros ($A214.25 million), against 227 million euros a year ago. Sales fell 2.6 per cent to 4.08 billion euros.

Heineken said that like-for-like sales in Western Europe, where it is the largest brewer, were up 1.8 per cent to 1.51 billion euros.

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Rudd's batts evidence must yield answers

Former PM Kevin Rudd will appear at a royal commission into Labor's home insulation program. Source: AAP

THE relatives of four men who died installing insulation deserve answers, not apologies, from former prime minister Kevin Rudd when he fronts an inquiry, a lawyer says.

Mr Rudd will take the witness stand at the royal commission into Labor's home insulation program on Wednesday, May 14.

The bungled stimulus scheme has been blamed for the deaths of Queenslanders Rueben Barnes, Matthew Fuller and Mitchell Sweeney, and Marcus Wilson from NSW.

Lawyer Bill Potts is representing Rueben's father Murray who simply wants the former government to take responsibility for its actions.

"Rueben's father wants to know where the buck stops," Mr Potts told AAP.

"Does it stop at the PM's desk?"

Mr Rudd apologised for the three Queensland fatalities in July last year after a coroner found the scheme's rushed rollout was a significant factor in their deaths.

Mr Potts said apologies were easy to make and the families deserved concrete answers from the $20 million royal commission.

"It's not just crocodile tears we're after."

Former environment minister Peter Garrett, put in charge of the scheme, will give evidence the day before Mr Rudd, according to a witness list released on Thursday.

Former Labor senator Mark Arbib, who was charged with coordinating government stimulus programs, will appear on May 12.

The relatives of the men who died will be permitted to address the inquiry the day after Mr Rudd's appearance.

Mr Rudd will be represented by leading defence barrister Bret Walker, SC, and is expected to be pressed about the scheme's rushed rollout, including revelations two public servants were given two days to cost it.

He may also be questioned over the program's lack of installer training and what safety warnings he received before its July 1 2009 rollout.

The royal commission before Ian Hanger, QC, resumes in Brisbane on May 1.

It's expected to wind up on May 16, after former Labor frontbencher Greg Combet gives his evidence.

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Tinkler named as ICAC witness

Mining magnate Nathan Tinkler has been named as a witness for the latest NSW corruption inquiry. Source: AAP

MINING baron Nathan Tinkler has been named as a witness in NSW's latest corruption inquiry.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) will launch public hearings for Operation Spicer in Sydney on Monday, with Mr Tinkler due to enter the witness box on Friday.

There is no suggestion Mr Tinkler has acted corruptly.

Operation Spicer will investigate allegations that former NSW energy minister Christopher Hartcher, and others, corruptly solicited, received, and concealed payments in return for MPs favouring the interests of those responsible for the payments.

Mr Hartcher is now suspended from the NSW Liberal Party.

The allegations, which centre on a period between April 2009 and April 2012, also involve fellow suspended NSW Liberal MPs Darren Webber and Christopher Spence.

ICAC will also investigate allegations that NSW MPs, including Messrs Hartcher, Webber and Spence, solicited, received and failed to disclose political donations from companies, including prohibited donors, contrary to the Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act 1981.

Further allegations include whether the business Eightbyfive entered into agreements with a series of companies including Australian Water Holdings Pty Ltd (AWH), purportedly for media, public relations and other services, in return for Mr Hartcher favouring the interests of Eightbyfive.

Australian Water Holdings was at the centre of the most recent ICAC inquiry, which ended last week.

The then NSW premier, Barry O'Farrell, resigned after appearing as a witness at that inquiry after it emerged that he was sent a bottle of expensive wine by AWH chief executive Nicholas Di Girolamo.

AWH and some of its senior managers are alleged to have engaged in improper conduct, including passing on dubious expense claims to taxpayer-funded Sydney Water.

ICAC is due to report findings from its investigation into those allegations later this year.

ICAC Commissioner Megan Latham will oversee the Operation Spicer public hearings, which are expected to last about three weeks.

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Brisbane's southside on measles alert

Brisbane's southside is on measles alert after a man was diagnosed with the infectious disease. Source: AAP

BRISBANE'S southside is on measles alert after a man was diagnosed with the highly infectious disease.

It's likely he was infectious when he visited the Underwood Marketplace shopping centre between 9am and 11.30am last Thursday, health authorities say.

Public health physician Dr Kari Jarvinen says people who were at the shopping centre around that time should immediately contact their GPs.

Residents in Logan and Brisbane's southside should be particularly vigilant for symptoms, he said.

A red, spotty rash and other measles symptoms, including a fever, cough and runny nose, usually appear 10 days after infection.

Dr Jarvinen said that given the large numbers of people potentially exposed to the latest infection, further measles cases could emerge in Brisbane over the next few weeks.

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Tasers rolled out across country Victoria

Officers in all 24-hour police stations in regional Victoria will be given Taser stun guns. Source: AAP

HUNDREDS of Tasers will be rolled out in police stations across regional Victoria following a trial of the stun guns.

Officers in all 24-hour stations in country Victoria will get Tasers after police trialled the devices in six major regional centres.

Deputy Commissioner for Regional Operations Tim Cartwright said police were still taking a "softly softly" approach to Tasers given community concerns about their use.

Mr Cartwright said officers had drawn Tasers about 60 times but only fired them on seven occasions during the trials over the last four years.

There were no serious injuries when the Tasers were fired, he said.

He said it was difficult to distinguish between the use of capsicum spray and Tasers but there had been a continuing decline in injuries to officers and the people they dealt with.

"At the same time, the number of confrontations has increased quite markedly," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"Typically we see people either on drugs or alcohol or with mental illness or a combination of factors trying to do harm to themselves or others.

"Given the number of confrontations that we have we've been very pleased with the results."

Mr Cartwright said metropolitan officers would not be equipped with Tasers as the critical incident response and special operations group teams already carried the devices and were on hand in those areas 24 hours a day.

He said in the long run Victoria Police would want all officers to be equipped with Tasers.

"We've been very careful in our approach and continue to be careful in our approach but it is another opportunity for our members to minimise the risk to themselves and members of the community."

The rollout of 580 new Tasers to 24-hour stations in 29 regional areas will cost $13.5 million.

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