Aussie 'bikie links' in Thai shooting

This gun was photographed on a police desk as the Australians were interviewed. Picture: Phuketwan.com Source: Supplied

TWO Australian men with alleged links to an outlaw motorcycle gang have been arrested in Phuket over the shooting of two German tourists.

The men were allegedly involved in an altercation with a Danish man over a motorbike at Patong Beach on Tuesday.

Johann Baschenegger, 41, and Joseph Woerner, 71, were wounded near the Baan Pirin Hotel about 7.45pm in Soi Sansabai, according to Thai news service Phuketwan.

Shea, believed to be from Sydney, was arrested at The Aussie Bar in Soi Bangla.

Cohen, reportedly a long-term expat who owns a hotel in Patong, was arrested in the OTOP bar sector off Rat-U-Tit 200 Pi Rd.

Police are questioning the men, believed to have links to either the Rebels or Bandidos motorcycle gangs, over the incident.

The shooting victims were taken to Patong Hospital.

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Oil strike: Outback find 'can fuel Australia'

A Linc Energy drilling rig in the Arckaringa Basin surrounding Coober Pedy Source: adelaidenow

SOUTH Australia is sitting on oil potentially worth more than $20 trillion, independent reports claim - enough to turn Australia into a self-sufficient fuel producer.

Brisbane company Linc Energy yesterday released two reports, based on drilling and seismic exploration, estimating the amount of oil in the as yet untapped Arckaringa Basin surrounding Coober Pedy ranging from 3.5 billion to 233 billion barrels of oil.

At the higher end, this would be "several times bigger than all of the oil in Australia", Linc managing director Peter Bond said.

This has the potential to turn Australia from an oil importer to an oil exporter.

"If it comes in the way the reports are suggesting, it could well and truly bring Australia back to (oil) self-sufficiency," Mr Bond said.

State Mineral Resources Development Minister Tom Koutsantonis said there were exciting times ahead for SA's resources industry.

"Shale gas and shale oil will be a key part to securing Australia's energy security now and into the future," he said.

Linc has hired Barclays Bank to find an investment partner for the next stage of the project, costing $150-$300 million.

The company aims to drill up to six horizontal wells to further confirm its figures, but Mr Bond is confident the region will be home to oil production.

The need to build another oil and gas hub, like the Santos production facility at Moomba, depends on the size of the discovery.

"If it really takes off, that's when you start to look at Moomba-type pipelines."

Mr Bond said there was the potential for a US-style "shale oil" boom in SA.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week the US could pass Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer this year, thanks to the shale oil explosion.

Shale oil extraction involves using new technologies to drill vertically and then horizontally for distances of more than one kilometre through shale rocks that contain oil.

The process was once prohibitively expensive but advances have created a new oil boom in the US.

Mr Koutsantonis said: "We have seen the hugely positive impact shale projects like Bakken and Eagle Ford have had on the US economy.

"There is still a long way to go, but investment in unconventional liquid projects in South Australia will accelerate as more and more companies such as Linc Energy and Altona prove up their resources."

Mr Bond said the potential in SA was "massive", but even at the lower end of estimates - about 3.5 billion barrels - it was still very large.

"If you look at the upper target, which is 103-233 billion barrels of oil, that's massive," he said.

"The opportunity of turning this into the next shale boom is very real.

"If the Arckaringa plays out the way we hope it will, and the way our independent reports have shown, it's one of the key prospective territories in the world at the moment." Mr Bond said each well could flow at 1000-2000 barrels per day.

"You put in 50 of them and that's a lot of oil," he said. "We have a very good idea that this will be an oil-producing asset."

Mr Bond said Linc had so far spent about $130 million in the Arckaringa Basin, drilling four deep wells and "a couple of dozen" shallower wells.

British company Altona Energy was scheduled to start drilling this month to discover more resources for a proposed coal to liquids and power project also in the Arckaringa Basin.

That project, which could cost up to $3 billion, would involve an open-cut coal mine and possibly a 560 megawatt power plant.

The Linc Energy reports, from consultants DeGolyer and McNaughton and Gustavson Associates, are available on the Australian Securities Exchange website.

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'They don't know me' - Peris fights back

Nova Peris has rejected claims whe will be a 'maid' to the Labor Party. Picture: Kym Smith Source: The Daily Telegraph

The dumping of NT senator, Trish Crossin, to make way for Nova Peris has caused a backlash in the ALP.

NOVA Peris has hit back at a Northern Territory Liberal Minister who claimed she would become a "maid" to the Labor Party, as rank-and-file anger at Julia Gillard intensified.

Alison Anderson, an Aboriginal former Labor politician Tony Abbott last year attempted to draft to run against Warren Snowdon in his NT seat of Lingiari, claimed Ms Peris would be fetching tea and changing sheets for the party.

She also questioned whether the indigenous Olympic gold medallist understood issues of poverty in remote Aboriginal communities.

Ms Peris was only admitted to the Labor Party yesterday, a day after the Prime Minister announced she had ended the career of Senator Trish Crossin and would use the party national executive to place Ms Peris into the top spot on Labor's Senate ticket.

"We're only ok to be on the verandah of the Labor Party, but today they have a maid that will do the sheets and serve the cups of tea," Ms Anderson said.

Ms Peris said anyone questioning her "connection to country and the work" she has done for other Aborigines did not know her.

"I've worked with remote communities improving health and education not just in the East and West Kimberley but right around Australia," she said.

Alice Springs Labor Party branch president Rowan Foley, one of a number of high profile indigenous Labor members in the NT, rejected Ms Anderson's wording, but agreed with the sentiment.

"There were very strong indigenous (former) members of (the NT) parliament that could have been asked, obviously they weren't for a reason. I think the reason is because they are strong people who know how to stand up to the party machine," he said.

"That (maid reference) is not the language I would have used, but there is a difference between experience and inexperience. Why would you go to a doctor who has got no experience when you have got a doctor who is experienced."

Mr Foley believed the bid to use Ms Peris to stem an indigenous voter revolt which swept Labor from office in the NT in August would not help Mr Snowdon.

Indigenous politician Marion Scrymgour who was Deputy Chief Minister of the NT for Labor and who had planned to seek preselection said she believed her past criticism of the government ruined her chances.

"If Canberra is afraid to have a person stand up in a robust way, have the debate on behalf of people in the Northern Territory, then I don't want to be part of that process," she told the ABC.

It is understood Ms Crossin, a 15-year Senate veteran, who was yesterday chairing a committee into the government's new anti discrimination laws, had no inkling Ms Gillard and Labor Secretary George Wright had been planning to oust her for seven weeks.

She will still seek preselection.

"I have now realised that this morning the National Executive will be taking over the preselection process," she said yesterday.

"I intend of course to nominate and I would encourage any other Labor Party member in the Territory to nominate."

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Pledge to slash Grand Prix costs

Many Herald Sun readers are angry more than $30 million is going to Bernie Ecclestone and his company in licence fees to stage the Grand Prix. Source: Herald Sun

THE Baillieu Government has vowed to cut Grand Prix costs further after it was revealed the race's licence fee is now more than $30 million a year.

Both sides of politics have vowed to continue supporting the event, saying it is crucial to the state's major events calendar.

Tourism Minister Louise Asher declined to comment on the secret Ecclestone licence fee - revealed in yesterday's Herald Sun - but said taxpayers had footed a big overall bill for the race.

"We think the taxpayer subsidy is too high, under the contract signed by the previous Labor government," she said.

"We are attempting to work within that contract to get some of the costs down."

She said the Government would negotiate a new contract for Melbourne to host the race after 2015, and would seek a better deal for taxpayers.

"That is precisely my responsibility as minister - to assess what is good value for taxpayers (and) to preserve Victoria's tourism status in the world," she said.

"It will be on (the Baillieu Government's) heads, in terms of the contractual negotiations that we undertake in the future."

Ms Asher said "overall, the Grand Prix has proved to be fabulous for Melbourne".

Grand Prix Corporation chief executive Andrew Westacott responds to revelations that Victoria pays $30 million a year for the rights to stage the Grand Prix in Melbourne

"It has branded us, given economic benefit, it employs people, it adds excitement," she said.

"In terms of tourism, Sydney has the Opera House, Queensland has the Great Barrier Reef, central Australia has Ayers Rock. We in Victoria, both sides of politics, have tried to position Melbourne as a major events capital."

Many heraldsun.com.au readers were angry that so much of their money was going to billionaire Bernie Ecclestone and his company.

But Shadow Treasurer Tim Holding backed the Government pursuing the event for Melbourne after 2015, saying it was a truly "blockbuster" event that boosted the state.

"The cost borne by taxpayers by far and away is outstripped by the economic benefits to Victoria," he said, insisting the race still represented excellent "value for money".

Mr Holding and Ms Asher denied anyone from their parties were involved in leaking the details of Mr Ecclestone's fee.

The Herald Sun was unable to contact Mr Ecclestone. Victoria Events Industry Council chief executive Dianne Smith said the GP "delivers a combined annual economic impact of more than $1.4 billion".

"The Formula Money report last year assessed that the race alone has generated exposure for Melbourne valued at $816 million in the past four years," she said.

"The Australian Grand Prix attracts a large international television audience with millions of people from more than 150 countries across Asia, Russia and surrounding countries, Europe and Latin America, tuning in."

matthew.johnston@news.com.au

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Inflation fall could mean more rate cuts

THE Reserve Bank has room to cut interest rates further this year if needed to combat signs of renewed economic weakness after official figures showed price pressures easing for consumers.

However, most economists and market watchers expect the Reserve will hold fire at its first meeting of the year on February 5, preferring to wait and see the impact of 1.75 percentage points of cuts delivered over the past year and a half.

An official inflation report released by the Bureau of Statistics yesterday found the cost of the average basket of goods and services bought by Australian households climbed just 0.2 per cent in the final three months of December, and 2.2 per cent over the year.

This was a sharp deceleration in price pressures from the 1.4 per cent rise recorded in the three months following the introduction of the carbon tax.

Falling prices for vegetables, computers, TVs and pharmaceuticals were behind the tamer than expected inflation report.

The cost of electricity rose 17.7 per cent last year, but actually fell 0.1 per cent in the final three months as the impact of the carbon tax subsided.

Fruit prices tumbled 19 per cent last year and lamb prices fell 12.4 per cent.

However, the cost of some essential services rose, with childcare up 8.6 per cnet, medical services up 9.4 per cent and secondary school costs up 7.7 per cent.

Despite the overall weakening in price pressures, an economist at Barclays, Kieran Davies, said the Reserve Bank was likely to sit tight at its February meeting.

"The world economy has improved slightly, while recent domestic data show that earlier rate cuts are starting to have an impact on asset prices, consumer confidence and the housing market."

But the chief economist at JP Morgan, Stephen Walters, expects the cooling jobs market - suffering the effects of a high exchange rate - would prompt the Reserve to cut interest rates again this year, if not next month then soon.

"We believe officials still have lingering doubts over what will fill the "growth gap" once mining investment peaks later this year, so have been biased towards supporting growth in the non-mining economy."

Meanwhile, the global economic recovery is set to be even slower than expected in the year ahead, as the world's leading forecaster dampens its outlook.

The International Monetary Fund said global growth should reach 3.5 per cent in 2013, slightly below its October forecast of a modest 3.6 per cent growth for the year.

The IMF said factors that have weighed on global activity were easing, but at a slower rate than predicted.
 

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Geeks, not spooks, our new enemy spies

Prime Minister Julia Gillard will reportedly cite China and cyber attacks as key security concerns.

ONLINE identity fraud, commercial espionage and disruption of public services will be the focus of the new national security plan, following a huge spike in cyber hacking.

The plan identifies cyber security, partnerships between governments and business, and the rise of Asia as the key areas for Australia to focus on over the next five years.

The cyber security strategy will be headlined with a new national headquarters, combining capabilities across the Attorney-General's Department, Defence, ASIO, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Crime Commission.

A report, Strong and Secure: A Strategy for Australia's National Security, says the move comes after a 42 per cent increase in cyber attacks over the past two years.

Almost 440 cyber security incidents were responded to last year.

"If left unchecked, cyber-related threats have the potential to undermine confidence in our social and economic stability and our prosperity," the report said.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday said the focus on cyber was particularly important given the growth of the internet and technology, particularly with the expansion fo the National Broadband Network.

"Malicious cyber activity will likely be with us for many decades to come, so we must be prepared for a long, persistent fight," Ms Gillard said.

The government formulated the strategy following the end of the post-9/11 era to focus on the new challenges after a decade of war in Afghanistan in the so-called war on terror.

The plan said the coming years will be era of state-based security threats rather than non-state groups.

But the opposition singled out Labor's border protection failures as proof it had no idea how to keep the nation secure on top of $5.5 billion worth of cuts to the Defence budget.

Senator George Brandis said that "under Gillard's leadership, we have whittled away our ability to defend ourselves to the point where even the United States is openly questioning our commitment and complaining we are not responsibly playing our part."

The strategy will be updated every five years.

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Can there be too many Australians?

Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

PEOPLE are overwhelmingly against a bigger Australia, almost three-quarters of us hoping the population does not hit the 40 million mark projected by 2050.

In a Galaxy poll of 1000 people for News Limited, the majority of respondents nominated 30 million people as the preferred mark.

There are currently 23 million people living in Australia.

One quarter of people said they wanted things to stay the same while 8 per cent wanted the population to shrink.

Only 13 per cent voted for 40 million citizens - the mark likely to be hit by 2050 - and 70 per cent hoped that wouldn't happen. Less than five per cent hoped for 50 million countrymen.

But former Treasurer Peter Costello, who famously urged parents to have a child for Australia, said people weren't considering the makeup of the growing population.

"When I encouraged families to have one for mum, one for dad, and one for the country, what I was drawing attention to was the fact that we are an ageing population," he said.

"To me one question is whether it should be a big Australia or a small Australia.

"A more important question is should it be a young Australia or an old Australia."

He said having a high percentage of retirees meant fewer taxpayers paying crippling tax rates.

The country would not be able to afford all its services like healthcare and welfare and economic growth and living standards would decline, he said.

"Whether the population is 20, 30, 50 or 100 million, what we need to do is we need to get a higher proportion of younger people," he said.

"We've got to keep our birthrates up if we want to have a balanced population of young and old people."

Mr Costello said the problem had been on the Howard Government's agenda but had been forgotten by Labor.

A spokeswoman for Population and Communities Minister Tony Burke said the Gillard Government did not have a population target but was working toward a "sustainable Australia".

"Population change is not only about the growth and overall size of the Australian population," she said.

"It is also about the needs and skills of our population, how we live, and importantly, where we live."

The right mix of services, jobs and education opportunities, affordable housing, amenities in cities, outer suburbs and regional areas were all an important part of that, she said.

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Katter Senate nominee in gay slur

A SENATE nominee for Bob Katter's Australia Party has refused to back down from a controversial tweet in which he declared he would not let a gay person teach his children.

Senate nominee and father of five Bernard Gaynor denied he was homophobic following his tweet which read: "I wouldn't let a gay person teach my children and I am not afraid to say it."

It comes after Bob Katter admitted regretting the homophobic advertisements that ran during the 2012 state election.

Mr Gaynor said: "If we value free speech and democracy then we would respect the right of Christians to hold their views about right and wrong. And as a Christian, the homosexual lifestyle is immoral."

"I don't think Bob would have a problem with me saying this. As a parent, we should have the discretion over who teaches our children."

Mr Gaynor has five children aged one to 10.

"It is my responsibility as a parent to ensure my children have good teachers.

"Bob's comments about the advertisements that ran last year is a completely separate issue."

After the State Election, Katter told an audience with former prime minister Kevin Rudd that we would regret homophobic advertisements aired by his party "for the rest of my days".

Mr Katter's Australia Party's ads, of a pixelated black and white image of an older gay man with a young lover, went to air during the Queensland election campaign.

Mr Katter said they were a "simple example of insensitivity" and "a political mistake of major proportions".

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