Cops firing blanks in sex exemption debate

Police in Hawaii may lose a law that allows them to have sex with prostitutes while on the job. Source: AAP

POLICE in Hawaii are facing the prospect of losing an exemption that allows them to have sex with prostitutes while on the job.

The state's Senate Judicial Committee chairman, Clayton Hee, has announced plans to get rid of the exemption in Hawaii's prostitution law that permits police to have sex, so long as it's part of an investigation.

His announcement at a committee hearing this week followed expressions of outrage after police had lobbied to keep the exemption for the so-called morals officers who are charged with the responsibility of investigating prostitution.

"To condone police officers' sexual penetration in making arrests is simply nonsensical to me," Hee said.

State legislators have been working to revamp Hawaii's decades-old law against prostitution. They toughened penalties against pimps and those who use prostitutes, and they also originally proposed scrapping the sex exemption for officers on duty.

But Honolulu police said last month that they needed the legal protection to catch lawbreakers in the act. Otherwise, they argued, prostitutes would insist on sex to identify undercover officers.

The legislation was then amended to restore the protection and the revised proposal passed the House and is now before the Senate.

While police say the exemption is necessary, Myles Breiner, a former Honolulu prosecutor who now works as a defence lawyer, testified that some of his clients who are prostitutes often complained to him that police had sex with them before making an arrest.

"How do we expect people to follow the law when the police engage in criminal conduct," Breiner asked.

Police testified in writing and in person to the House Judiciary Committee in February that keeping the exemption protected undercover officers from being found out. They said internal department protocols protected citizens against abuses.

Law enforcement experts say there's never any need to have sex with a prostitute to make an arrest, because the agreement to exchange money for sex is sufficient evidence of a crime.

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Double bombing kills seven in Iraq

A DOUBLE bombing has killed seven people north of Baghdad.

Police say the attack happened on Saturday morning when a roadside bomb exploded in a commercial street in the city of Tikrit.

Minutes later, a car bomb struck officers arriving to inspect the first blast.

Officials say five policemen and two civilians were killed and 18 people were wounded in the bombings.

Violence has spiked in Iraq since last April, a surge unseen since 2008. The relentless attacks have become the government's most serious challenge.

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Road accident kills 35 in Pakistan

A COLLISION between two passenger buses and a petrol tanker killed 35 people in southwest Pakistan on Saturday, officials said, with many of the victims burning to death.

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Nats will do better at re-run poll: Joyce

THE Nationals will improve their performance at the re-run West Australian Senate election, Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce says.

The party - which began in the west - missed out on a seat at the September poll because of preference deals wrangled by minor parties including the Australian Sports Party.

Shane Van Styn and Colin de Grussa are running again at the April 5 election, but former AFL star David Wirrapanda has decided he won't.

"We had David Wirrapanda and he did a good job - we got a better vote than one of the senators that got in, it's just that our preference flow wasn't right but this time, the preference flow is better for us," Mr Joyce told Fairfax radio on Friday.

"We've got a better position (on the ballot paper) in box B.

"There was an overwhelming desire for change at the last election and I suppose the National party, because they stand on their own, got run over a bit in it.

"But this election is different."

Mr Joyce said the party's policy platform was centred on abolishing the carbon tax, progressing trade agreements and more infrastructure in WA.

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No sweet tooth for Australian cake champ

FOR an award-winning cake decorator who spends Monday to Friday surrounded by the temptations of her sugary creations, Jacquie Goldstaiz's palate is a blessing in disguise.

"I never bake for me. I just really love fresh fruit and vegetables," she said.

"The only time I really taste cake is to make sure it's the right flavour or it's not too dry."

Ms Goldstaiz's artistic flair earned her the championship title and a $2000 prize at the Australian Cake Decorating Championships in Sydney on Friday.

The Gold Coast woman's marzipan fruit creation took two months to make.

While the competition version was not edible, Ms Goldstaiz estimates a real cake would take two weeks to create and would weigh about 10 kilograms.

Throughout her five-year career, Ms Goldstaiz has created cakes in the shape of a Louis Vuitton bag, a Native American head and a diving helmet.

But somehow the former florist manages not to overindulge.

"To me, it's an art," she said.

"I never look at it as a cake and never look at it as something to eat."

Her winning confection will return to Queensland to take prime position in her cake-decorating shop.

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Decades-old fire to be extinguished

A fire that's been burning for years in a section of a Victorian coal mine may be put out for good. Source: AAP

A FIRE that may have been burning since the 1970s in a disused part of a Victorian mine will have to finally be put out as it now appears to have a new source of oxygen.

The fire, nicknamed Old Faithful, has been smouldering for years in the Hazelwood open-cut mine's northern batters under a clay cap placed by mine operators to block its oxygen supply.

CFA incident controller Bob Barry said that since fires came through the area in February, Old Faithful seemed to be smoking more.

"It could get progressively worse because they don't know where the oxygen source is coming from," Mr Barry said on Wednesday.

"The best thing for us to do at the moment is to pull the clay off and see what's underneath and if we can suppress it, let's dig it out and suppress it once and for all."

Machinery will be brought in on Thursday morning to break open to cap. Mr Barry said the fire "could have been burning since the '77 fires".

"Every now and again it pops up with a little bit of smoke," Mr Barry said.

Old Faithful is not related to the February 9 blaze which caused smoke to blanket the nearby town of Morwell.

He said to put Old Faithful out once and for all would be a significant win.

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Trauma study targets 300 Vietnam veterans

300 Vietnam veterans will take part in a Queensland-based study into post-traumatic stress disorder. Source: AAP

HAUNTED by images of mangled bodies, Vietnam veteran Tony Dell hasn't slept for more than four hours a night during the past 40 years.

When he returned home in 1968 after serving a year in Vietnam he became introverted, edgy, angry, had difficulty sleeping and his marriage broke down.

It wasn't until 2008, when he began talking about the war, that he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"I still get flashbacks ... bullets whizzing over your head and mangled up bodies," the former Australian Test cricketer told AAP from his home on the Sunshine Coast.

"The problem is it sinks into your subconscious and stays there and it ferments and eventually it comes out as PTSD."

Keen to create more awareness around the disorder which affects five to 10 per cent of Australians, Mr Dell on Wednesday became the first of 300 Vietnam veterans to take part in a new Queensland-based research project into PTSD.

The Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation and RSL Queensland study will look at the health risks of PTSD such as heart disease and cancer, and the role genetics plays.

"We think that stress is interacting with genes that predispose people to these diseases," lead researcher Queensland University of Technology Professor Ross Young told AAP.

Of those veterans involved in the study, half suffer from PTSD.

Prof Young is hopeful the year-long study will improve diagnosis, treatment and potentially prevention.

Mr Dell treats his symptoms by exercising and talking about his war experience, and has spent the past several years encouraging others to speak to out.

"If I'd talked about the war when I first got home things wouldn't have been so tough," he said.

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Shark attack may have been mackerel

A 10-YEAR-OLD girl injured in what was thought to be a shark attack may have been bitten by a mackerel.

The girl suffered "very minor injuries" to her hand when she was bitten on Tuesday afternoon while swimming off the main beach at Lennox Head, a spokeswoman at Lismore Base hospital told AAP.

Initially it was believed she had been attacked by a shark. But authorities say they aren't sure what is responsible for the injuries.

"They don't know if that's actually correct," the spokeswoman said of the shark attack theory.

Georgia Laddin, from the Lennox Head girls surfriders told News Corp Australia it wasn't a shark.

"It was a mackerel. She's been bitten by a fish," she said.

"She's fine, she's OK. She's one of the local girls who surfs down there."

A police spokeswoman told News Corp Australia the girl's thumb was scratched.

No further detail was available and the girl's family don't want to speak to media.

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Joyce fends off more jobs speculation

The opposition is holding off on a decision on Qantas law changes until an inquiry is tabled. Source: AAP

QANTAS chief Alan Joyce will not rule out sending more jobs offshore if able to do so under legislative changes being considered by federal parliament.

The airline is committed to slashing 5000 jobs as part of a $2 billion cost-cutting program, and as the coalition government proposes changes to the Qantas Sale Act, Mr Joyce will not forecast how many additional Australian positions could be lost.

"I'm not going to rule anything in or anything out," he told a Senate hearing in Canberra on Tuesday.

The airline boss faced repeated questioning about the impact on jobs of changing the Act, which would allow greater foreign ownership of Qantas's domestic arm.

But he said the airline has done no such modelling and refuses to deal in hypotheticals.

"We have no more plans on that," Mr Joyce said when asked of the jobs impact on different divisions of the company including maintenance, flight crew, catering and management.

Mr Joyce's position at the Qantas helm, which he has held since 2008, came under fire from Labor senator Sam Dastyari, who cited a drop in share price of more than 50 per cent since his appointment.

"If it was in the interests of shareholder value ... for you to resign would you do so?" Senator Dastyari asked.

Mr Joyce insisted that he has the support of the Qantas board.

"The important thing is to have the support of the shareholders and I continuously meet with the shareholders," Mr Joyce said.

A refresh of the Qantas board is the answer to the airline's problems, not legislative changes to the Act, Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association federal secretary Stephen Purvinas told the hearing.

"I would suggest that the government stop dealing with the current board of management until such time as they replace the CEO, they replace the chairman and they put someone with aviation background on the board," Mr Purvinas said.

He said the board is made up of bankers and people with corporate backgrounds, who lack an understanding of aviation issues.

Furthermore he said Qantas has purposefully lost money to back the federal government into a corner to change the Act.

"Qantas are intentionally creating this drama and all of the hype around them struggling internationally so that they can suck you guys into changing the Qantas Sale Act," Mr Purvinas said.

The Senate economics committee is due to report on March 24.

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Hi-tech serenity for people with dementia

Healthcare expects are using gaming technology to bring serenity to people living with dementia. Source: AAP

HEALTHCARE experts have found a way to bring serenity to the lives of people with dementia - thrill-a-second gaming technology.

They want to use the technology to create virtual experiences people can enjoy at home or in care centres.

The idea is to replace bouts of anxiety, agitation and depression with a distraction that is calming and engaging.

Alzheimer's Australia Vic has teamed up with Opaque Multimedia, a Melbourne digital-design studio, to develop the technology, which will use the same consoles as other video games.

Their first project is a virtual forest, which will allow people with dementia to control their environment as they wave their arms to make the wind gust through the trees.

"It creates a complete sensory experience of sight, sound and kinetic interaction," says Alzheimer's Australia Vic CEO Maree McCabe.

"Imagine being able to take a person with dementia out of their everyday experience and into a virtual environment through which they will experience awe, wonder, giggles, amazement and joy," Ms McCabe told AAP over the phone from San Francisco, where she is attending a game developers' conference to source crowdfunding.

She says the idea was inspired by a previous IT project aimed at helping people understand what it feels like to have dementia.

The forest is just the beginning, Ms McCabe says. She is excited about other concepts such as a beach experience or a festive Christmas scenario.

"The developers are using the same technology as the most visually impressive video games," says Opaque Multimedia director Norman Wang.

This will break new ground in the use of virtual sensory therapies to create feelings of safety, novelty and stimulation, he adds.

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Govt called on to encourage Chinese money

The Australia China Business Council has met with ministers ahead of Tony Abbott's visit to China. Source: AAP

BUSINESS groups want the federal government to do all it can to encourage Chinese investment in Australia to help build much needed infrastructure.

The Australia China Business Council met with a number of ministers in Canberra on Monday, including Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who will lead a trade delegation to China in mid-April.

The council's national president Duncan Calder said Australia must do all it can to deliver a level playing field for Chinese investment.

His call follows recent University of Sydney/KPMG research which found in 2013 Australia was overtaken by the United States as the preferred destination for China's direct investment.

"Anything we can do to encourage Chinese investment ... can only be positive for the Australian economy," Mr Calder told reporters.

Mr Calder said he was encouraged by what he heard at the meetings, which centred around cutting regulations and making it simpler and easier for business to succeed.

"What we want is just to make sure that the environment in which trade occurs is one where there is no 'big government," Mr Calder said.

Over 135 council members from around Australia attended the networking day at Parliament House.

It included sessions with Mr Abbott, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, Treasurer Joe Hockey, Trade Minister Andrew Robb, Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane and Small Business Minister Bruce Billson.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Palmer United Party Leader Clive Palmer also took part.

Freight operator Aurizon's managing director Lance Hockridge said all ministers spoke of the importance of the relationship with China and how that translates into real and tangible benefits for Australians.

"The prime minister and the other ministers going to China in two or three weeks is a tremendous representation of the commitment and change that we are seeking," Mr Hockridge told reporters.

He said the relationship with China offers opportunities that simply cannot be taken for granted.

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