Man jailed for killing gay housemate

Aaron James Johnstone, 29, said he lost control after his drunk housemate Phillip Higgins, 46, propositioned him in September 2006.

He told police he kicked and punched Mr Higgins before dropping the platypus statue on him. He also struck him with a chair.

Johnstone was today sentenced to 18 years' jail with a minimum term of 14 years at the Victorian Supreme Court.

Justice Robert Osborn described the injuries suffered by Mr Higgins, which included six broken ribs and a battered face, as horrific.

He said Johnstone moved into the rented flat of Mr Higgins and was his friend for some years.

"Your attack was a savage betrayal of his trust and generosity," Justice Osborn said.

He said that even if Mr Higgins made advances towards his friend, his reaction was outside of what an ordinary person would do.

"I do not accept that even if Mr Higgins had made homosexual advances to you in the terms you now assert, the ordinary person might be so provoked to totally lose control and do what you did.

Justice Osborn said Mr Higgins' injuries, which included six broken ribs and a battered face, were horrific.

The court heard Johnstone moved into the rented flat of Mr Higgins and was his friend for some years.

"Your attack was a savage betrayal of his trust and generosity," Justice Osborn said.

The judge said he took into account that Johnstone was affected by alcohol at the time of the bashing, his conduct was followed by some degree of remorse and he was relatively co-operative with police.

Justice Osborn said Mr Higgins, a disability pensioner, was described to the court as having a kindly and generous nature and his bloody and violent death had a deep impact on his family.

"Phillip Higgins' family has lost a dearly loved member in circumstances which will leave them with a permanent sense of overwhelming hurt and loss," he said.

Boats slower since Malaysia proposal

Deal to send 800 boat people from Australia to Malaysia will be signed within weeks - and includes a plan to give each refugee a barcode for indentification as soon as they arrive.

Senior Home Affairs officials said the refugees who arrive in the country will not be given special treatment.

During a one-hour meeting with opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison, Malaysian Home Affairs senior deputy secretary-general Dato Alwi bin Haji Ibrahim detailed how the refugee swap would work. The deal is set to be signed in early July.

The only remaining "sticking point" is which country would be responsible for sending immigrants back to their country if they did not meet the refugee criteria. Each of the 800 boat people who arrive in Malaysia will be screened by national security and tested for communicable diseases.

They would be issued with a special barcode, which only immigration officials - not police or RELA - can scan with mobile phones.

Our number of boat arrivals is about a third of that, way down, so it is a very significant reduction."

Seven boats carrying more than 300 asylum seekers have arrived since the government's announcement.

Mr Bowen maintained the recent arrivals would be processed in "a third country".

He said Australia and Malaysia were still working through "one or two operational issues" to finalise the deal.

The government was still talking with Papua New Guinea about the possibility of reopening the Manus Island detention centre despite that country's political upheaval.

Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare this week stepped down to battle illness.

"They have had a change of prime minister, a considerable Cabinet reshuffle; they have had some issues to work through and that is perfectly appropriate," Mr Bowen said.

"We continue to talk to PNG of course but it is also appropriate that we give them time to sort through their domestic political situation.

Bush mailman dies aged 96

Esmond Gerald (Tom) Kruse, MBE 28 August 1914 – 30 June 2011 was a former mailman on the Birdsville Track in the border area between South Australia and Queensland. He became known as the result of John Heyer's 1954 film The Back of Beyond, and in the year after the film's release, in the 1955 New Year Honours, Kruse was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for "services to the community in the outback".

Early life

Kruse was born at Waterloo in South Australia to Harry (Heinrich) and Ida Kruse. He was the tenth of their twelve children. He left school when he was 14 years old, and worked as a casual labourer on local farms. However, due to the Depression, he "went 'bush'" around 1934 to work in John Penna's haulage business which ran out of Yunta in the mid-north of South Australia. 

Kruse married Audrey Valma Fuller (known as Val) on 24 January 1942 in Adelaide, South Australia. They had four children: Pauline, Helen, Phillip and Jeffery.

The Birdsville Track and The Back of Beyond

In 1936 Harry Ding bought the mail contract from John Penna and Kruse began his first run on 1 January of that year. Kruse bought the mail contract in 1947. He sold the contract in 1963.

Kruse worked the Birdsville Track mail run from 1936 to 1957, driving his Leyland Badger truck. He delivered mail and other supplies including general stores, fuel and medicine to remote stations from Marree in north-west South Australia to Birdsville in central Queensland, some 325 miles (523 kilometres) away. Each trip would take two weeks and Tom regularly had to manage break-downs, flooding creeks and rivers, and getting bogged in desert dunes.

Tom Kruse came to fame with the release of John Heyer's documentary The Back of Beyond in 1954. While the film follows a "typical" journey made by Kruse, showing the various people he met along the Track and the sorts of obstacles he faced, this particular journey was closely scripted and includes a number of re-enactments and a 'lost children' story. John Heyer had undertaken a research trip with Kruse earlier. Shooting on the film began in late 1952. He was appointed MBE in 1955.

The Leyland Badger

Kruse abandoned the truck on Pandie Pandie Station near Birdsville in 1957. It was located in the desert in 1986 during the Jubilee Mail Run re-enactment, and retrieved in 1993. A group of enthusiasts led by Neil Weidenbach, with the help of Tom, fully restored the Badger between 1996 and 1999. The truck is now kept at the National Motor Museum, at Birdwood in the Adelaide Hills.

Later life

Tom retired in 1984, and moved to Cumberland Park in Adelaide. In May 1986, South Australia's 150th Jubilee, Tom re-enacted his run, with 80 vehicles joining in the northbound convoy. There was a second re-enactment In 1999, and in October of that year the Leyland was trucked to a few kilometres out of Birdsville so Tom could drive it into the township for celebrations. The next morning it was loaded with mail for "The Mail Truck's Last Run" to Marree. A major reason for the event was to raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. This run resulted in another documentary, Last Mail from Birdsville - the Story of Tom Kruse. As well as this a book written by Kristin Weidenback entitled Mailman of the Birdville Track was also written about Tom's life.

In 2000 Tom was inducted into the National Transport Hall of Fame in Alice Springs, and in 2003 he was officially recognised as an Outback Legend by Australian Geographic magazine. Also in 2003, Tom and his truck, the Badger, were nominated South Australian icons by the National Trust of Australia.

In 2008, bronze busts of Tom were placed in the National Motor Museum at Birdwood, at Waterloo (his birthplace), and at Birdsville and Marree.

He died in Adelaide, aged 96, on 30 June 2011.

Sydney woman faces $1.3m fraud allegations

Woman has been charged with fraud after police discovered she had allegedly obtained more than $1.3 million in fraudulent motor claims and loans.

Between September 2010 and December 2010, police will allege the woman lodged 46 motor equity insurance claims which had a combined total of $509,000.

The woman allegedly set up a bank account under a false name which she used when lodging the claims.

It is further alleged that in December 2010, the woman applied for, and was granted, a home loan of $720,000. Again it is alleged the woman used the false bank account to apply for the loan.

Following exhaustive inquiries, City Central Detectives today arrested the woman at a home in Gladesville.

She was taken to Ryde Police Station where she was subsequently charged with 10 counts of fraud.

Between September and December 2010 the 31-year-old filed 46 motor equity insurance claims worth $509,000, using a bank account set up under a false name, NSW police allege.

Around the same period she also obtained a home loan worth $720,000, using the same false bank account, it is claimed.

Detectives arrested the woman at a home in Gladesville, on Sydney's north shore, today.

She was taken to Ryde police station and charged with 10 counts of fraud.

She's due to appear at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on July 20.

New Schapelle Corby theory emerges

Baggage handler stashed four kilograms of cannabis into Schapelle Corby's bag so he would not be caught with the drugs, a woman has claimed on Nine News tonight.

Corby is serving a 20-year term for smuggling more than four kilograms of marijuana to Bali in October 2004.

The woman, going by the name of "Sue", gave a sworn statement that a baggage handler "hid" a large bag of marijuana at the time Corby went through Brisbane Airport.

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Sue, a clinical counsellor with a remote area health service, told Nine she had been in a relationship with a baggage handler in October, 2004 - the month Corby went to Bali.

She said her boyfriend told her about the day a fellow employee came to work with a "big bag" of cannabis.

"When the supervisor came down, he got the shakes," she said.

"The first thing he did was look for somewhere to hide it and he grabbed one of the bags that was behind him and hid it in there."

Sue said she had come forward after all these years because her conscience had weighed heavily on her.

Corby's Australian lawyer, Kerry Smith-Douglas, told Nine Sue's statement should trigger another judicial review of the case in Indonesia.

And the first thing he did was look for somewhere to hide it. And he grabbed one of the bags that was behind him and hid it there.

"When he was talking about a big bag, he meant a big bag."

It remains unclear if Indonesian or Australian authorities will pay any attention to the claim.

Sue said she had come forward now because of her conscience.

"What if she is really innocent and she has to do 20 years? What if she doesn't make the 20 years?" she added.

Sue said she used to work as a clinical counsellor in north Queensland and signed a statutory declaration regarding her claims for the Nine Network.

She said she was happy to co-operate with police and could give them the name of one of the men allegedly involved.

Corby's Australian lawyer Kerry Smith-Douglas described Sue's statutory declaration as "extremely important".

It's not the first time claims have emerged about baggage handlers planting marijuana in Corby's bags.

In 2008 unionists demanded a public apology over an "outrageous allegation" that Australian baggage handlers tampered with Corby's luggage.

Government to look at building north Queensland abattoir

Indonesia will delay the granting of new import permits for Australian cattle while negotiations continue in an attempt to resolve the ban on live exports.

The permits, once issued, are expected to be increased to make up for a shortfall in the number of cattle imported from Australia in the first six months of the year, according to an official with Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture.

The official, who asked not to be identified, said on Thursday that live cattle import permits for the next three months had not been issued and would be delayed because of the ban on exports from Australia.

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The current tranche of permits, which are issued every three months, expired on Thursday.

But in a positive sign for Australian cattle producers, the Indonesian official said it was also unlikely Jakarta would issue more import permits to other countries for the next quarter.

Indonesia does source a small amount of live cattle from other countries, but the official said that number had "already been fixed".

Joni Liano, from the Indonesian Meat Importers' Association, confirmed on Thursday that import permits for the next three months had not yet been issued.

An enormous swathe of Australian cattle country currently isn't served by local meat processing facilities," he said.

"If you draw a line diagonally from just above Townsville to Perth, you would find no abattoirs north of this line."

He said a new abattoir would provide an alternative market for producers and reduce the costs associated with trucking cattle large distances to southern processing plants.

The recent ban on live exports to Indonesia has highlighted the problems facing the industry and put more than 60,000 tonnes of beef a year at risk, he said.

Mr Mulherin said abattoirs placed strategically across the region would have access to more than three million head of cattle. But other export markets should also be explored, he said.

Mr Ludwig was politely received as he told the audience he was working hard to re-open trade by improving conditions in Indonesian abattoirs.

Robert Walker from Agforce has said he hopes the minister has a plan to resume the trade with some Indonesian abattoirs.

"We're confident that there are at least 11, if not 25 abattoirs that meet Australian standards and that the trade, in some form, can open up immediately.

Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli, /ˌɛʃəˈrɪkiə ˈkoʊlaɪ/; commonly abbreviated E. coli; named after Theodor Escherich) is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms (endotherms). Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some, such as serotype O157:H7, can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls. The harmless strains are part of the normal flora of the gut, and can benefit their hosts by producing vitamin K2, and by preventing the establishment of pathogenic bacteria within the intestine.

E. coli bacteria are not always confined to the intestine, and their ability to survive for brief periods outside the body makes them ideal indicator organisms to test environmental samples for fecal contamination. The bacterium can also be grown easily, and its genetics are comparatively simple and easily manipulated or duplicated through a process of metagenics, making it one of the best-studied prokaryotic model organisms, and an important species in biotechnology and microbiology.

E. coli was discovered by German pediatrician and bacteriologist Theodor Escherich in 1885, and is now classified as part of the Enterobacteriaceae family of gamma-proteobacteria.

Diversity

As more is known about certain organisms, such as genetic information, the taxonomic classification of species is changed to reflect the advance in knowledge, however in the case of Escherichia coli due to its medical importance, this has not occurred (namely split into several genera/species) and remains one of the most diverse bacterial species: only 20% of the genome is common to all strains. In fact, from the evolutionary point of view, the members of genus Shigella (dysenteriae, flexneri, boydii, sonnei) are actually E. coli strains "in disguise" (i.e. E.coli is paraphyletic to the genus).

A strain of E. coli is a sub-group within the species that has unique characteristics that distinguish it from other E. coli strains. These differences are often detectable only at the molecular level; however, they may result in changes to the physiology or lifecycle of the bacterium. For example, a strain may gain pathogenic capacity, the ability to use a unique carbon source, the ability to take upon a particular ecological niche or the ability to resist antimicrobial agents. Different strains of E. coli are often host-specific, making it possible to determine the source of faecal contamination in environmental samples. For example, knowing which E. coli strains are present in a water sample allows researchers to make assumptions about whether the contamination originated from a human, another mammal or a bird.

A common subdivison system of E.coli, but not based on evolutionary relatedness, is by serotype, which is based on major surface antigens (O antigen: part of lipopolysaccharide layer; H: flagellin; K antigen: capsule), e.g. O157:H7) (NB: K-12, the common laboratory strain is not a serotype.)

New strains of E. coli evolve through the natural biological process of mutation and through horizontal gene transfer. Some strains develop traits that can be harmful to a host animal. These virulent strains typically cause a bout of diarrhoea that is unpleasant in healthy adults and is often lethal to children in the developing world. More virulent strains, such as O157:H7 cause serious illness or death in the elderly, the very young or the immunocompromised.

E. coli is the type species of the genus and the neotype strain is ATCC 11775, also known as NCTC 9001,[22] which is pathogenic to chickens and has a O1:K1:H7 serotype. However, in most studies either O157:H7 or K-12 MG1655 or K-12 W3110 are used as a representative E.coli.

Biology and biochemistry

E. coli is Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic and non-sporulating. Cells are typically rod-shaped, and are about 2.0 micrometres (μm) long and 0.5 μm in diameter, with a cell volume of 0.6 – 0.7 (μm)3. It can live on a wide variety of substrates. E. coli uses mixed-acid fermentation in anaerobic conditions, producing lactate, succinate, ethanol, acetate and carbon dioxide. Since many pathways in mixed-acid fermentation produce hydrogen gas, these pathways require the levels of hydrogen to be low, as is the case when E. coli lives together with hydrogen-consuming organisms, such as methanogens or sulphate-reducing bacteria.

Optimal growth of E. coli occurs at 37°C (98.6°F) but some laboratory strains can multiply at temperatures of up to 49°C (120.2°F). Growth can be driven by aerobic or anaerobic respiration, using a large variety of redox pairs, including the oxidation of pyruvic acid, formic acid, hydrogen and amino acids, and the reduction of substrates such as oxygen, nitrate, dimethyl sulfoxide and trimethylamine N-oxide.

Strains that possess flagella can swim and are motile. The flagella have a peritrichous arrangement.

E. coli and related bacteria possess the ability to transfer DNA via bacterial conjugation, transduction or transformation, which allows genetic material to spread horizontally through an existing population. This process led to the spread of the gene encoding shiga toxin from Shigella to E. coli O157:H7, carried by a bacteriophage.

Role in disease

Virulent strains of E. coli can cause gastroenteritis, urinary tract infections, and neonatal meningitis. In rarer cases, virulent strains are also responsible for haemolytic-uremic syndrome, peritonitis, mastitis, septicaemia and Gram-negative pneumonia.

Laboratory diagnosis

In stool samples microscopy will show Gram negative rods, with no particular cell arrangement. Then, either MacConkey agar or EMB agar (or both) are inoculated with the stool. On MacConkey agar, deep red colonies are produced as the organism is lactose-positive, and fermentation of this sugar will cause the medium's pH to drop, leading to darkening of the medium. Growth on Levine EMB agar produces black colonies with greenish-black metallic sheen. This is diagnostic of E. coli. The organism is also lysine positive, and grows on TSI slant with a (A/A/g+/H2S-) profile. Also, IMViC is {+ + – -} for E. coli; as it's indole-positive (red ring) and methyl red-positive (bright red), but VP-negative (no change-colourless) and citrate-negative (no change-green colour). Tests for toxin production can use mammalian cells in tissue culture, which are rapidly killed by shiga toxin. Although sensitive and very specific, this method is slow and expensive.

Typically diagnosis has been done by culturing on sorbitol-MacConkey medium and then using typing antiserum. However, current latex assays and some typing antisera have shown cross reactions with non-E. coli O157 colonies. Furthermore, not all E. coli O157 strains associated with HUS are nonsorbitol fermentors.

The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists recommend that clinical laboratories screen at least all bloody stools for this pathogen. The American Gastroenterological Association Foundation (AGAF) recommended in July 1994 that all stool specimens should be routinely tested for E. coli O157:H7.[citation needed] It is recommended that the clinician check with their state health department or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine which specimens should be tested and whether the results are reportable.

Other methods for detecting E. coli O157 in stool include ELISA tests, colony immunoblots, direct immunofluorescence microscopy of filters, as well as immunocapture techniques using magnetic beads. These assays are designed as screening tool to allow rapid testing for the presence of E. coli O157 without prior culturing of the stool specimen.

Vaccination

Researchers have actively been working to develop safe, effective vaccines to lower the worldwide incidence of E. coli infection. In March 2006, a vaccine eliciting an immune response against the E. coli O157:H7 O-specific polysaccharide conjugated to recombinant exotoxin A of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (O157-rEPA) was reported to be safe in children two to five years old. Previous work had already indicated that it was safe for adults.A phase III clinical trial to verify the large-scale efficacy of the treatment is planned.

In 2006 Fort Dodge Animal Health (Wyeth) introduced an effective live attenuated vaccine to control airsacculitis and peritonitis in chickens. The vaccine is a genetically modified avirulent vaccine that has demonstrated protection against O78 and untypeable strains.

In January 2007 the Canadian bio-pharmaceutical company Bioniche announced it has developed a cattle vaccine which reduces the number of O157:H7 shed in manure by a factor of 1000, to about 1000 pathogenic bacteria per gram of manure.

In April 2009 a Michigan State University researcher announced that he has developed a working vaccine for a strain of E. coli. Mahdi Saeed, professor of epidemiology and infectious disease in MSU's colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Human Medicine, has applied for a patent for his discovery and has made contact with pharmaceutical companies for commercial production.

Former Vic top cop Sir Ken bugged

Phones of the Deputy Commissioner, who was ordered to take annual leave after giving notice of his resignation last month, were bugged following a stand-off with the Chief Commissioner, over Simon Overland's suspicions that he was leaking information to the press.

The OPI launched its extraordinary investigation into Sir Ken after receiving a complaint from Mr Overland, shortly after the chief asked Sir Ken to stand down.

Sir Ken has been using his wife's phone since being ordered on leave, for fear his phones were being tapped.

The Herald Sun understands there has been an audit of Sir Ken's phone records and emails.

Sir Ken has backers within the State Government, arising from anger at a perceived belief that Mr Overland was too close to the former Labor government.

Senior police sources have confirmed with the newspaper that the OPI launched its surveillance at the request of police chief commissioner Simon Overland.

Communications of Sir Ken and his close associates have been intercepted for weeks, the report says.

The ministerial staffers targeted in the operation have reportedly been identified as supporters of Sir Ken.

Ombudsman George Brouwer is also believed to have launched an investigation into the OPI probe of Sir Ken and whether it has abused its powers in doing so.

Sir Ken last month revealed he would leave Victoria Police in August, but just days later Mr Overland ordered him out of the force with immediate effect.

Police Association secretary Sen-Sgt Greg Davies wanted to know what crime Sir Ken was suspected of committing that would have led to his phones being bugged.

"It would be very nice to know what major offence, that would carry at least seven years in prison, has triggered the ability to get a warrant to intercept his phone, that the OPI or anyone else believes Ken Jones committed," he said.

Sen-Sgt Davies said if it was true Sir Ken's phone was being bugged, the community may never know why.

"Just as with Noel Ashby and Paul Mullett, we will never know what offence he has supposed to have committed," he said.

It's understood that the OPI has been monitoring communications of Sir Ken, his wife, and close friends for weeks.

The OPI has also reportedly focused on the communications of one or more people working in sensitive government positions, who are identified as Sir Ken's supporters.

Victoria Police refused to comment last night.