March deplores violence against women

ABOUT 3000 people have marched down the street where Melbourne woman Jill Meagher went missing to protest at violence against women.

The night march in Brunswick on Saturday was part of the long-running global Reclaim the Night movement which condemns violence and harassment towards women.

Organisers held the event in Sydney Road where Ms Meagher disappeared last month.

Ms Meagher, 29, was killed in the early hours of September 22 during a short walk home after drinks with friends, triggering widespread public outrage.

Sianan Healy, 34, of Preston, said the march highlights that the streets are still not always safe for women.

"The Jill Meagher case has proven that to a lot of women and men as well, which is why it's become such a potent issue," she said.

Progressive Law Network founding member Penelope Swales said it was important to raise awareness that violence against women is wrong.

"It shouldn't take a murder such as one that happened here recently to bring that to people's awareness," she said.

Ms Swales said changes are needed to how women victims of violence are dealt with by the law.

"When they complain, they need to be taken seriously," she said.

Writer Clementine Ford told the crowd that attitudes blaming women who have suffered violence need to change.

"Those things weren't done to Jill Meagher because she was on the street at 2am," she said.

"They weren't done because she had been drinking or because she was wearing a dress.

"Jill Meagher was raped and murdered because somebody else decided to do it."

Last month, about 30,000 people marched down the same thoroughfare in a tribute to Ms Meagher.

Adrian Ernest Bayley, 41, of Coburg, has been charged with her rape and murder and is due to appear at a committal mention early next year.

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Libs could win ACT vote but not govt

THE Liberals are on track to win more seats than Labor in the ACT Legislative Assembly but may not be able to form government.

With more than half the vote counted, the Liberals have won 38.6 per cent, gaining a swing of 7 per cent.

Labor's vote has held steady, also at 38.6 per cent while the Greens have garnered 10.8 per cent.

If that trend continues the Liberals could win eight seats - up two - Labor seven and the Greens two - down two.

However the Greens leader Meredith Hunter is in a tight race with Summernats car festival founder Chic Henry, running for the Australian Motorists Party, which could leave the minor party with just one seat.

Across the territory, the Greens have suffered a 4.8 per cent rebuff from the 2008 election.

However, Green MLA Shane Rattenbury said most of the early voting came from pre-polls and he expected the party's vote to lift when more of the votes from Saturday were counted.

Liberals have been saying the Greens should heed the signal the electorate sent in negotiating which party they would support to form government.

"Should we get eight seats we have a very strong case for government," Liberal MLA Jeremy Hanson said.

Liberal leader Zed Seselja repeatedly has said he would not be offering the Greens a ministry position, which he did in 2008.

But he has shied away from questions on whether or not he would negotiate with them at all.

Mr Rattenbury said the Greens weren't interested in "baubles" like ministries, they wanted good policy outcomes.

"So far Zed's been the one that's said he didn't want to work with us," he said.

The Greens consistently have said they would wait and see the final results before starting any negotiations.

Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur said her party had worked with the conservatives during the past term.

"The Greens have done deals with the Libs in the past," she said.

"We'd hope to talk to Zed Seselja."

Chief Minister Katy Gallagher earlier on Saturday said she wouldn't rule anything in or out.

But she did highlight her responsibility for maintaining the parliamentary agreement between Labor and the Greens over the past four years.

"I have shown that I can work with Greens," she told reporters in Canberra.

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Iraq gunmen kill 3, say police

GUNMEN have killed three policemen and a prison official in attacks in Baghdad, Iraqi authorities say.

The first attack took place early on Saturday morning when gunmen opened fire on a police patrol in the Shi'ite Muslim neighbourhood of al-Shaab, killing two policemen and wounding another, police said.

In downtown Karradah, gunmen on Friday night attacked the house of a police lieutenant colonel who worked with the State Identity Directorate, killing him, police said.

Health officials at nearby hospitals confirmed the deaths. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to the media.

Meanwhile, gunmen with pistols fitted with silencers killed Haider al-Sultani, an official at Taji prison, in a drive-by shooting that seriously wounded another employee, said Haider al-Saadi, a spokesman for the Iraqi Justice Ministry.

The Taji prison lies in a town with the same name, 20km north of Baghdad.

The attack took place during the morning rush hour while the two were travelling on Canal Highway in eastern Baghdad, al-Saadi added.

Violence has decreased in Iraq since the peak of the bloodletting in 2005-08, but insurgents still frequently attack government officials and security forces in an attempt to undermine the Shi'ite-led government.

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US military curfew in Japan after rape

THE US military says it's imposing a nationwide curfew on all military personnel in Japan after two servicemen allegedly raped a local woman in Okinawa.

From 11pm to 5am all of the approximately 47,000 members of the US armed forces stationed in Japan, as well as any there temporarily, must stay on base or in their homes.

The curfew begins on Friday night and no end date has been given.

"I'm immediately issuing a curfew to all military personnel in Japan, both temporary and assigned," Salvatore Angelella, the Commander of US Forces in Japan, told reporters on Friday.

He said "core value retraining" would also take place and commanders would be reviewing policies on leave.

"Japan is one of our greatest allies, most trusted partners and the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Pacific. We'll continue to do all we can to ensure the US-Japan relationship remains strong," Angelella said.

The announcement came after the arrest of two sailors on Tuesday over the alleged rape of a local woman, a potential flashpoint in relations between the US military and their reluctant Okinawan hosts.

Around half of all Japan-based personnel and the majority of US bases are in Okinawa, an island chain where anti-American feelings are easily stirred.

Previous criminal incidents associated with the bases have sparked large-scale demonstrations, with protesters demanding a trimming of the US footprint.

The US has moved quickly to try to hose down the latest episode.

At a specially-convened press conference, US Ambassador to Japan John Roos said: "The United States will co-operate in every way possible with the Japanese authorities to address this terrible situation."

"I understand the anger that many people feel with respect to this reported incident," he said. "I have a 25-year-old daughter myself, so this is very personal to me."

Okinawa police said they arrested Christopher Browning and Skyler Dozier Walker, both 23, on charges of raping and injuring the woman on Tuesday, hours before they had reportedly planned to leave the island.

The local woman, whose identity was not revealed, suffered neck injuries in the alleged attack, which media reported took place on the street.

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Oldfield cops six-month jail sentence

AUSTRALIAN boat race protester Trenton Oldfield has been hit with a six-month jail sentence for causing a public nuisance at this year's Oxford-Cambridge rowing race.

The anti-elitism campaigner delayed the annual race in London by 25 minutes after swimming out in front of the crews on April 7.

In delivering her verdict at a west London court, judge Anne Molyneux was damning of Oldfield.

"Your offence was planned," she said.

"It was deliberate. It was disproportionate. It was dangerous. You have shown no regret."

Oldfield will be due for release after serving three months of the sentence.

The 36-year-old London-based activist said in court last month that he was protesting against inequality and that the boat race symbolised elitism within Britain.

The former Sydney schoolboy rower said last month the severe budget cuts in the Britain had tipped him over the edge.

A 12-person jury at Isleworth Crown Court last month found him guilty of causing a public nuisance.

Oldfield, who has worked heavily in social projects and with volunteer groups over the past decade in London, had not committed a criminal offence before jumping in the Thames six months ago.

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Obama, Romney swap bile for biting humour

BARACK Obama mocked his damaging "nap" in the first debate and Mitt Romney lampooned the president's jobs record, as the White House foes cloaked hostility with humour at a charity dinner.

Obama and his Republican foe on Thursday night mixed punchlines and self-mockery at the Al Smith Memorial Dinner in New York with a layer of collegiality barely disguising their bitter rivalry just 18 days before a razor's edge election.

The tuxedo-wearing candidates sat at the top table of the glittering white-tie affair, separated only by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, just two days after their latest acrimonious debate.

Romney got the first turn to speak and his debut zinger took a shot at his own wealth, saying it was nice for him and wife Ann, resplendent in a black and white dress with a cape, to slip into clothes they would wear around the house.

His speech, perhaps with more of a cutting edge than Obama's later remarks, joked his challenger had come up with a new slogan after good employment data this month: "You're better off now than you were four weeks ago."

Romney said Obama's presidency was in its final months and said the Democrat, derided by some conservatives as a socialist, was looking around at the wealthy audience and thinking "so little time, so much to redistribute".

In his stand-up routine, Romney also took a shot at the media, which many Republicans think is biased towards Obama.

"My job is to lay out a positive vision for the future of the country. Their job is to make sure that no one else finds out about it."

Obama and Romney had earlier greeted one other, before the well-heeled crowd at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, with smiles and handshakes, but the reality of a closely contested race simmered below the surface.

The president also started out in self-deprecating tone, noting he had shown more energy in their second debate on Tuesday, than in his disastrous first effort two weeks ago.

"I was really well-rested after the nice long nap I had in the first debate!" Obama joked, before going on to poke fun at multimillionaire Romney's bulging wallet after a career as a venture capitalist.

"I went shopping at some stores in Midtown, Governor Romney went shopping for some stores in Midtown," Obama joked.

The president, with his trademark beaming smile, also ribbed Romney for his gaffe-strewn foreign tour earlier this year, and noted that he was mocked as a celebrity in 2008 because he was so popular abroad.

"I am impressed with how well Governor Romney has avoided that problem."

Obama also noted that the unemployment rate, now at 7.8 per cent, was at the lowest point of his presidency before adding: "I don't have a joke here, I just thought it'd be useful to remind everybody..."

But as is traditional at the dinner, in memory of former New York governor Smith, the first Roman Catholic to run for president in 1928, Obama and Romney both praised one another as honourable family men.

Before the jokes, Obama sat down with Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's satirical The Daily Show and denied his administration had reacted with "confusion" to the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

The president, parrying Republican claims of a cover-up, said he had passed on information to Americans about the attack as soon as he had it, and promised to fix any security lapses it revealed.

Stewart also asked Obama about communications problems within his administration following the attack and security issues, saying the US response to the tragedy had not been "optimal".

"When four Americans get killed, it's not optimal. We're going to fix it. All of it," Obama said, referring to perceived security lapses around US diplomatic personnel in Libya.

Some Republicans were already complaining that the president's use of the word "optimal" betrayed what they say is the lack of seriousness with which he dealt with the crisis.

Obama's performance at the second debate in Long Island on Tuesday steadied supporters reduced to panic after the first debate.

But there was bad polling news on Thursday to further rattle Democrats as the president slipped seven points behind Romney in Gallup's daily national tracking poll.

The former Massachusetts governor led 52 to 45 per cent among voters likely to cast ballots in the November 6 election.

But in two swing states crucial to Obama's hopes of reelection, the president was holding firm and was up 51 to 43 per cent in Iowa and led Romney in Wisconsin by 51 to 45 per cent.

If Obama picked up those two states and added bellwether Ohio to the list of safe states in his column, he would be guaranteed a second White House term.

Obama and Romney will meet in their last debate, in Florida on Monday, to discuss foreign policy, and Obama said he was already looking forward to confronting the Republican on Iraq.

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Violence breaks out at Greek protest

VIOLENCE has broken out at an anti-austerity demonstration in Athens during a 24-hour general strike, with youths pelting riot police with petrol bombs and rocks.

Riot police responded with tear gas to disperse the troublemakers during the clashes on Thursday in the capital's central Syntagma Square, as thousands of people marched through the streets.

Greek workers are holding their second general strike in a month, protesting new austerity measures the government is negotiating with the debt-ridden country's international creditors.

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Rebels 'hit Syrian oil and gas pipelines'

SYRIA'S state news agency says rebels have blown up two oil and gas pipelines in the northeast near the Iraqi border.

The agency, SANA, says the attack hit one oil and one gas pipeline on Thursday near the city of Deir al-Zour.

The pipelines ran between Deir al-Zour and the city of Palmyra in central Syria.

Anti-regime activists posted a video online purporting to show the blast site, with thick smoke billowing into the sky.

The video could not be independently verified.

SANA quoted an oil ministry official saying the lines were immediately shut off, the fires were extinguished and repairs would begin soon.

Rebels seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad have repeatedly bombed such pipelines.

Activists say more than 33,000 people have been killed in 19 months of violence.

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First MRRT revenue due by end of October

TREASURY will learn how much revenue is earned from the mining tax only at the end of October, a Senate hearing has been told.

The budget papers forecast the minerals resource rent tax (MRRT) would earn $3 billion in 2012/13 but there are doubts it will due to weaker commodity prices.

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are expected to make the first payments of the new tax from Monday.

Treasury tax analysis division general manager Roger Brake said his department would receive the first details from the Australian Tax Office from late October.

"It would not be until the following week to get the return forms," Mr Blake said in Canberra on Thursday.

Treasury revenue group executive director Rob Heferen said there was uncertainty in analysing the first MRRT instalment payment in great detail.

"The instalment payment may provide some indicators about what happened in that quarter, but to extrapolate to the year from that, when there will be specific factors that need to be taken into account, is quite risky," Mr Heferen said.

"That's not unique to this tax, that's across a range of taxes."

But Mr Heferen said the first payments would still provide an outline for what might occur with the MRRT.

Mr Heferen, a member of the government's business tax working group, said the body would release a draft paper for comment by the end of October, which would provide some finding or recommendations from the group's consultations.

"The working group's role is really based to make an argument about whether or not the corporate rate should be reduced, and then have recommendations about how that might be paid for," Mr Heferen said.

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Legal action over British Marmite in NZ

A CANTERBURY man trying to import a British version of Marmite is facing legal action from Sanitarium, the Kiwi maker of the dark yeasty spread of the same name.

New Zealand Customs seized the shipment of the British spread, labelled Ma'amite, imported by Rob Savage in August.

The shipment was impounded as part of a standard screening process offered to organisations by Customs to identify products that infringe trademarks.

Sanitarium has held the trademark for Marmite in New Zealand for more than 80 years, the company said in a statement.

The company said it had been in discussions with Mr Savage about his impounded products and tried on several occasions to negotiate a settlement.

While a verbal compromise was reached, this was not formalised and Sanitarium said it was then necessary to begin legal action.

"We are, and always have been, willing to continue our dialogue with Mr Savage should he wish to settle this matter amicably," Sanitarium said.

The company said it doesn't oppose the product in question, but it was taking action to protect its trademark.

Sanitarium noted the British product is freely available in New Zealand under the name "Our Mate".

The British spread looks and tastes different to New Zealand-made Marmite.

Kiwi Marmite has been off the supermarket shelves since March, after the Christchurch earthquake forced Sanitarium to close its sole New Zealand production plant in November 2011.

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Qld's child watchdog may cut research

QUEENSLAND'S child protection watchdog says it will consider cutting back research and analysis work to cope with a five per cent budget cut.

Elizabeth Fraser, Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian, told a budget estimates hearing that her budget would be reduced by $2.4 million each year over the period of the forward estimates.

She said the commission would be able to absorb the reduction through introducing cost efficiencies and there had been no permanent job losses.

She said it would also be able to continue to fulfil its legislative functions.

But Ms Fraser said she may start having to make cuts to services.

"Our priority in our statute is always for vulnerable groups within the child and youth populations, and we will always prioritise our activities towards making sure those services are made available," she told the hearing.

"In that re-prioritisation, the areas which will be looked at is our capacity to look at broader research and analysis work which may need to be considered."

Child Safety Minister Tracy Davis said the department took on an unfunded child safety black hole of $72 million in 2011-12, rising to $78 million in 2012-13.

To make some savings, the Neighbourhood Centre program and the Youth at Risk and Youth Support programs had 10 per cent budget cuts. One-off grants for emergency relief would also no longer be provided.

"While we've had to make tough decisions, delivering frontline support and services most in need remains front and centre of the department's activities," Ms Davis told the hearing.

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Europe hopes lift Asian markets

ASIAN markets were boosted on Wednesday on increased confidence in the eurozone after Moody's held off cutting Spain's credit rating, while Madrid looked to move closer to asking for a bailout.

A successful bond auction for Greece added to the sense of optimism, while the euro maintained its gains seen in late trade Tuesday as investors sought out riskier assets.

Tokyo jumped 1.21 per cent, or 105.24 points, to 8,806.55, Sydney added 0.82 per cent, or 36.7 points, to 4,528.2 and Seoul was 0.70 per cent higher, adding 13.61 points to 1,955.15.

Hong Kong rose 0.99 per cent, or 209.57 points, to 21,416.64 and Shanghai was up 0.32 per cent, or 6.81 points, at 2,105.62.

Moody's gave debt-addled Spain some much-needed room on Tuesday when it held the country's rating at Baa3, one notch above "junk", citing the European Central Bank's willingness to buy government bonds to stabilise its borrowing rate.

It also pointed to Madrid's commitment to implementing fiscal and structural reforms necessary to improve its finances as well as efforts to restructure the banking sector and strengthen the banks. However, the agency kept it on a "negative outlook".

Also, a senior Spanish official has said that Madrid was considering a request for a line of credit from Europe's European Stability Mechanism (ESM) rescue fund, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The comments soothed investors fears over Spain as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has so far refused to ask for help, despite the parlous state of the economy, saying he wanted to study the terms of a rescue.

"The latest headlines from Madrid imply that a formal request for aid is inevitable," said Ashraf Laidi, chief global strategist at City Index.

Greece managed to complete a successful short-term bond auction at lower rates as hopes rise that it will be given a little more breathing space to carry out much needed reforms to get its economy back on track.

And in Germany, Europe's key economic driver, the closely-watched ZEW institute's calculator of investor confidence rose for the second month in a row in October, in line with a slight easing in regional debt concerns.

The news out of Europe sent the euro surging against the yen and US dollar.

And in early European trade the single currency bought $US1.3103 and 103.17 yen, compared with $US1.3096 and 103.31 yen in New York late Tuesday. The dollar was at 78.73 yen compared with 78.89 yen.

Wall Street provided a healthy lead thanks to impressive earnings reports from Mattel, Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson.

The Dow climbed 0.95 per cent, the S&P 500 rose 1.03 per cent and the Nasdaq added 1.21 per cent.

But the main focus this week is on China, where third quarter growth figures are due to be released on Thursday, with investors hoping for improved figures and the beginning of a pick-up after a slowdown for most of the year.

Oil prices were mixed. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, rose 21 cents to $US92.30 in the afternoon while Brent North Sea crude for December delivery shed six cents to $US113.94.

Gold was at $1749.60 at 1030 GMT (2130 AEDT) compared with $1740.00 late Tuesday.

In other markets:

-- Singapore closed flat, edging down 1.14 points to 3,045.67.

Singapore Airlines gained 1.82 per cent to Sg$10.61 and City Developments advanced 1.73 per cent to Sg$11.78.

-- Taipei closed flat, dipping 6.62 points to 7,464.40.

Hon Hai Precision fell 0.23 per cent to Tw$87.4 while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co was 0.11 per cent lower at Tw$87.4.

-- Manila closed 0.71 per cent, or 38.44 points, higher at 5,438.38.

SM Investments gained 2.22 per cent to 807 pesos while Philippine Long Distance Telephone slipped 1.03 per cent to 2,680 pesos.

-- Wellington rose 0.62 per cent, or 24.48 points, to 3965.18.

Telecom gained 1.5 per cent to NZ$2.44 and Sky City climbed 2.1 per cent to NZ$3.90.

-- Bangkok added 1.07 per cent, or 13.79 points, to 1,301.28.

Mobile telephone giant Advanced Info Service gained 4.62 per cent to 204.00 baht, while Bangkok Bank lost 0.53 per cent to 189.00 baht.

-- Kuala Lumpur gained 0.43 per cent, or 7.15 points, to 1,660.67.

Malayan Banking ended up 2.2 per cent at 9.28 ringgit while CIMB Group Holdings rose 1.3 per cent to 7.65 ringgit. Telekom Malaysia lost 2.1 per cent to close at 6.10 ringgit.

-- Jakarta added 0.20 per cent, or 8.45 points, to 4,337.53.

-- Mumbai rose 0.18 per cent, or 33.07 points, to 18,610.77.

India's private Tata Power rose 2.12 per cent to 103.7 rupees while private housing finance firm HDFC rose 1.22 per cent to 752.35 rupees.

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Opposition denied grilling in Ashby case

THE opposition has been denied the opportunity to grill some of the government lawyers involved in James Ashby's case against the commonwealth.

Shadow attorney-general George Brandis wanted to question in a senate estimates committee on Tuesday some of the 17 Australian Government Solicitor (AGS) lawyers directly involved in the case.

But Ian Govey, AGS chief executive, refused, citing a principle established by former coalition government attorney-general Daryl Williams.

"What is in issue is the way in which the Australian government solicitor has conducted this litigation and the competency with which it has conducted the litigation," Senator Brandis said.

The case in question was Mr Ashby's Federal Court proceedings launched in April against both the commonwealth and former Speaker Peter Slipper.

He alleged he had been sexually harassed by Mr Slipper while working in the Speaker's office.

Text messages sent by Mr Slipper formed the key part of his case, which lawyers from the AGS office supplied in early June with a CD spreadsheet of all 15,400 text messages from Mr Ashby's iPhone.

Despite lodging an application in mid June to have the case struck out as an abuse of process, the commonwealth later opted to settle with Mr Ashby, paying him $50,000 compensation.

Mr Brandis asked why the commonwealth made the application without properly considering all 15,400 text messages they had retrieved from Mr Ashby's phone.

"This application to terminate Mr Ashby's proceedings, strangle them at birth as it were ... the most radical application that can be made in civil proceedings was done on an incomplete view of the evidence and apparently an incomplete understanding of the evidence as well," he told the Senate estimates committee.

Attorney-General's department legal services group head David Fredericks said there were so many texts he did not have full knowledge of all of them by the time the application was made.

"But certainly in view of council and in view of AGS, there was sufficient knowledge of text messages to support the abuse of process application that was brought," he said.

Mr Govey defended the decision to settle with Mr Ashby, saying the threshold requirement was the existence of at least a meaningful prospect of liability being established.

"Legal advice had been given that this requirement had been met," he said, adding that this did not mean the claim had to be strong or likely to succeed.

Mr Govey said the AGS had to take into account the costs of continuing the action in determining the settlement sum.

Among those costs was the $4800 per day paid to the commonwealth's legal counsel, eminent lawyer Julian Burnside.

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German investor sentiment up for 2nd month

INVESTOR sentiment in Germany rose for the second month in a row in October, data showed on Tuesday, as recent uncertainty on the financial markets has abated somewhat.

The widely watched investor confidence indicator calculated each month by the ZEW economic institute climbed to minus 11.5 points this month from 18.2 points in September.

The reading was better than expected. Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a more modest rise to minus 15 points in October.

"This is the second consecutive rise in the indicator," ZEW said in a statement.

"It shows that, from the point of view of financial market experts, the economic risks for Germany have lessened somewhat. The easing of uncertainty on the markets in recent weeks has contributed to this," the statement said.

While there were still more analysts predicting a cooling down of the German economy than an improvement, "the proportion ... has shrunk," ZEW added.

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Abbott fails to raise boats plan with SBY

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott has discussed asylum-seeker policy with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, but has again passed up the opportunity to raise his plan of "turning back the boats".

Mr Abbott has consistently called for the Australian government to better communicate with Jakarta when it makes foreign policy decisions that impact on its nearest neighbour.

But in a meeting with Dr Yudhoyono in Jakarta on Monday, Mr Abbott chose not to raise his plan of turning asylum-seeker boats around, a key plank in his border protection policy.

Instead, he is understood to have spoken with Dr Yudhoyono of the need to combat people smuggling through the regional framework known as the Bali Process.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who attended the meeting between Mr Abbott and Dr Yudhoyono, said there "was no specific identification of the need to ... turn around boats".

The Indonesian government is known to be staunchly opposed to the plan.

"The two sides identified the need to strengthen the Bali Process, reflecting the fact that the challenge is one that must be shouldered by countries of origin, countries of transit, as well as countries of destination," Mr Natalegawa said.

Earlier in the day, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen taunted Mr Abbott about not having discussed the policy with Dr Yudhoyono in another meeting in Darwin in July.

"Now, if Mr Abbott has the guts to raise turning back the boats with Mr Yudhoyono, that will be a significant development considering he didn't have the guts to raise it last time they met," Mr Bowen said.

"Unless Mr Abbott can change that position, then he is just all talk about turning back the boats."

The decision by Mr Abbott to again pass up the opportunity to raise the plan with Dr Yudhoyono came after he earlier in the day continued his criticism of the Gillard government, which he says has neglected Indonesia in terms of foreign policy.

"As far as humanly possible, a coalition government would try to deal with its Indonesian counterpart as a candid friend and never make decisions that impact on Indonesia without discussing them first," Mr Abbott told a business lunch.

Following the talks with the president, Mr Abbott spoke of importance of the relationship with Indonesia.

"It is a testament to the strength and importance of Australia's relationship with our nearest neighbour that such a meeting was able to take place," he said.

During the meeting with Mr Abbott, Dr Yudhoyono spoke of the need for Australia and Indonesia to continue to co-operate in the fight against terrorism.

"We are very serious in combating terrorism and that's why we need to continue our partnership and co-operating in making this region safer, in ensuring that we not surrender to acts of terrorism," Dr Yudhoyono said.

Mr Abbott, who has been in Jakarta since Friday after attending a memorial for the 10th anniversary of the Bali bombings, praised Dr Yudhoyono for his efforts in combating terrorism.

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PM touches down in India

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has arrived in India for a three-day visit aimed at improving Australia's ties with the rising South Asian giant.

Ms Gillard touched down in New Delhi on Monday afternoon local time after making a surprise visit to Afghanistan to visit Australian troops and hold talks with President Hamid Karzai.

Ms Gillard will be working hard to get the relationship with India on track after a troubled few years that included racist attacks on Indian students in Melbourne.

On Tuesday, she will visit two of Delhi's slum areas, home to some of the world's poorest people.

She'll later attend the official opening of Oz Fest, the largest Australian cultural festival ever staged in India.

On Wednesday, she will meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Pranab Mukherjee and other senior government figures for talks on regional security issues, trade and investment.

The leaders are expected to announce minor progress towards uranium sales.

Ms Gillard will also meet with Opposition Leader Sushma Swaraj and National Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi, widow of assassinated former president Rajiv Gandhi.

She leaves New Delhi on Wednesday night and arrives back in Australia on Thursday.

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Six aid workers kidnapped in Niger: report

THE governor of the province of Maradi in central Niger says that six aid workers from a local group have been abducted from the guesthouse where they were sleeping.

Governor Sidi Mohamed says that late on Sunday night unidentified men in two Toyota pickup trucks seized the six workers of the aid group Bien-Etre Familiale, meaning "family health," who were sleeping in a guesthouse owned by CARE International.

Mohamed says the six were all African, including one from Chad and five from Niger.

The Toyotas then sped off, heading north.

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Man's car stolen in Gold Coast attack

A MAN has been cut on the head with a knife and had his car stolen during a burglary on the Gold Coast.

The 26-year-old was assaulted after three men entered his home in Miami on Sunday morning, armed with a knife and a firearm, police said.

They demanded his car keys and one of them struck him on the head with the knife. He was later treated for a cut to his head at Gold Coast Hospital.

The men fled in the man's grey 2011 model Commodore sedan. Police have appealed for information.

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Four die on Vic roads over the weekend

A FATAL quad bike accident in central Victoria on Sunday has taken the state's road toll to four over the weekend.

The latest death occurred when a 58-year-old Murchison man lost control of his quad bike, which was towing a trailer full of wood, when the road he was travelling on changed from bitumen to gravel.

Police say it appears that when the rider hit the gravel, the trailer jack-knifed, causing the quad bike to flip and trapping the man underneath.

A neighbour who heard the accident alerted emergency services, but the man died at the scene.

His death takes the state's road toll to 222, five more than for the same period last year.

On early Sunday morning, a man died when his car veered to the other side of the road in Doncaster and hit a tree.

On Saturday, a female passenger aged in her 60s died after a station wagon plunged off a road in southwestern Victorian and hit a tree.

And a newborn baby died on Saturday after its mother was involved in a car crash at Point Cook on Tuesday and she gave birth prematurely.

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Two injured during junior rodeo in Qld

A 12-YEAR-OLD boy has abdominal and head injuries after falling from a steer during a junior rodeo in Queensland.

He suffered the injuries in the fall at Kumbia, 20km southwest of Kingaroy.

A 16-year-old boy was also injured during the Kumbia Junior Rodeo, organised by the National Rodeo Association.

A rescue helicopter airlifted the younger boy, from Cherbourg, to the Mater Children's Hospital, where he is in a stable condition. His parents were at his bedside on Sunday night.

The teenager suffered injuries to his lower left leg and was taken to Kingaroy Hospital by road.

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