Wild Vic winds cause damage, injuries

Wild winds have caused havoc across Victoria due to a cold front and an intense low pressure system. Source: AAP

A VIOLENT winter storm has blasted Victoria, leaving several people injured, trees toppled on cars, buildings damaged, snow in alpine regions and more than 80,000 homes without power across the state.

THE State Emergency Service (SES) received more than 2500 calls on Tuesday as a strong cold front and an intense low pressure system combined to give Victoria an icy return to winter.

Up to one metre of snow is expected at some of the state's ski resorts by Wednesday as wind and rain persist overnight.Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Kevin Parkyn said such an intense weather system, affecting the whole state, hits Victoria only once every few years."Victoria's mild start to winter certainly came to an abrupt halt today as a winter with a bomb brought wild winds, rain, hail and even snow across the alpine peaks," he said.Peak gusts included 128km/h at Cape Otway, 122km/h at South Channel Beacon and 113km/h at Fawkner Beacon in Port Phillip Bay, 102km/h at Essendon Airport and 104km/h at Melbourne Airport.During the wild weather a woman was injured after a brick wall collapsed in Yarraville and several drivers were also injured by trees falling onto their cars.A woman was showered with glass when a tree fell on to her car in Werribee and a driver in Clunes was injured when a tree fell on the road.In the city a woman was lucky to escape serious injury when she was struck by roof sheeting.SES chief officer (operations) Trevor White said most calls for help came from southern Victoria including 1600 in metropolitan Melbourne. Around 700 calls across the state were for building damage, with most others for fallen trees.He expected a surge in calls on Tuesday evening as people returned home to survey any damage.Flying debris caused problems throughout the day with unsecured trampolines and garden furniture becoming dangerous missiles in the wind.The west coast, including Warrnambool, was hard hit earlier in the day, with about 30 properties along the Merri River suffering minor flooding. Most damage was confined to outbuildings.It also forced parents to collect their children from a Warrnambool kindergarten.The Yarra River burst its banks at Southbank and other coastal flooding was recorded at Elwood and Frankston.Mr White said winds cut power to more than 80,000 customers at the height of the storm.The hardest-hit areas included Bacchus Marsh, Werribee, Point Cook, Bendigo, Bundoora, Watsonia North, Monbulk, Hawthorn and the Mornington Peninsula.A spokesman for Powercor said crews are working to restore all services.Roads across the state were cut by fallen trees and flash flooding.Speed limits were reduced to from 80 to 40km/h on the 53-metre West Gate Bridge at the height of the storm.Mr Parkyn said Victoria had not seen the last of the wild weather."We're in for a windy week, so it's not over yet, although we have seen the most intense winds for the week," he said.

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Tas subsidies questioned by commission

CANBERRA should keep closer tabs on the cost of taking passenger cars on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry, an inquiry has found.

A PRODUCTIVITY Commission report released on Tuesday made a raft of recommendations that would bring changes to federal subsidy schemes aimed at assisting freight and vehicle movements in and out of the island state.

The Bass Strait ferry should be the focus of joint state and federal government discussions ensuring greater transparency around operator TT-Line's pricing, the report reads.It also recommended investigating whether a subsidy offered by the Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme is reaching its intended recipients.Despite the commission's questions, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has committed to retain the scheme.It is one of a range of Tasmanian shipping subsidy programs which have already received $2 billion in federal funding, with the same amount due to be spent over the coming 15 years.But the Productivity Commission has found some of the schemes are not the best means of supporting the state's economic development.As subsidies they have unintended consequences, including perversely increasing the costs of goods for Tasmanians, the commission reported.A small number of companies - largely in the manufacturing sector - are taking advantage of the majority of subsidy payments.It instead suggests the adoption of a volume-based, flat rate subsidy for freight.The main commodities leaving Tasmania and eligible for the subsidy have been frozen and fresh vegetables, newsprint, wood products and beer.Incoming freight has predominantly been beer bottles and cans, wheat and animal feed.Regional Development Minister Warren Truss welcomed the report which also makes reform recommendations to maritime regulation."Keeping prices more affordable for shippers and passengers ... will help put Tasmania on a more level playing field compared with mainland operators," Mr Truss said.

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Newman says ALP wrong on TAFE fee rises

QUEENSLAND'S premier has accused the opposition of playing Nostradamus over TAFE fee increases.

LITERACY and numeracy fees for disability pensioners have risen from $140 to $800 while tuition fees for a diploma in marketing have increased from $2400 to $6000, Labor says.

It predicts that fees will go up even more as previously subsidised courses incur full fees and a new Queensland Training Assets Management Authority makes TAFE campuses pay full commercial rent.But the Liberal National government insists there is no link between course costs and infrastructure arrangements.Premier Campbell Newman said hefty TAFE fee increases would be unlikely when asked about Labor's predictions."It's interesting to see they're playing Nostradamus," he told reporters on the Sunshine Coast on Sunday."I don't believe that's the case."TAFE is being re-focused so it meets the needs of employers so we create jobs."Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said the government had a secret agenda, after Labor uncovered leaked TAFE documents which say "costs could increase again for the start" of the first semester in 2015.They are answers to student questions and comments such as, "Are costs likely to increase next year?" and "I feel ripped off"."We've now heard of secret plans where TAFE fees are going to be skyrocketing in this state," Ms Palaszczuk told reporters.Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek insists fees aren't actually rising, with a spokeswoman explaining in a background statement to AAP that subsidies were being reduced to some courses that didn't align with skills shortage areas.

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Qld premier coy on chief justice pick

QUEENSLAND'S premier has held his first media conference in five days, but was coy when questioned about his government's controversial selection of Tim Carmody as the state's new chief justice.

SINCE Campbell Newman last stood before reporters, Judge Carmody's controversial addition to the Supreme Court has been approved by the state's governor.

Judge Carmody's meteoric rise has divided the judiciary, with critics arguing he's too inexperienced and too close to the government.But Mr Newman has declined to offer any new comment on the appointment of Judge Carmody, even though Court of Appeal justice John Muir has joined senior legal figures in slamming the appointment process."Go back to what I've said when I announced it about a week and a half ago," Mr Newman told reporters on the Sunshine Coast."You've got my comments."Late last week, Governor Penelope Wensley issued writs for the July 19 Stafford by-election, where the ruling Liberal National Party is considered the underdog despite its seven per cent margin.Asked why the media wasn't invited to that event, Mr Newman pointed to his June 5 speech to parliament."The announcement was made in parliament, look at the record," Mr Newman said, adding media weren't usually invited for by-election declarations."I've held many press conferences since I made the announcement in parliament."Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk accused the premier of hiding from voters during the past week, with Mr Newman's last media conference on Tuesday in Mount Isa."The premier has been in hiding now for over a week, afraid to front the music, afraid to talk to people in this state," she told reporters in Brisbane.The premier was on the Sunshine Coast on Sunday holding a community cabinet in Maroochydore, which is also in Clive Palmer's federal seat of Fairfax.A cabinet meeting is being held in the same beachside suburb on Monday.It would come three days after Mr Palmer lodged a defamation writ against Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney in the Supreme Court, after he alleged on the ABC that the mining tycoon had sought special favours for his Waratah Coal interests in the Galilee Basin in 2012.Mr Palmer is also suing Mr Newman for defamation after the premier claimed that he tried to "buy" the Queensland government.

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GG visits Ord irrigation scheme

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Pregnant woman airlifted to hospital

A PREGNANT woman has suffered serious head injuries after a car crashed into a northwest Sydney house, also injuring a teenage girl and another woman.

THE 25-year-old, who is four months pregnant, has been airlifted to Westmead Hospital with serious head and leg injuries, police say.

The girl, 14, also suffered head and leg injuries and was taken to hospital along with a 48-year-old woman, who sustained pelvic injuries."All three remain in a stable condition," police said.They were hit while standing on the front veranda of a Windsor Downs home on Saturday afternoon.The male driver was treated by paramedics and has been taken for mandatory drug and alcohol testing.His male passenger wasn't hurt.Police have established a crime scene and are investigating.

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Royals defend apartment spending

THE British royal family has defended spending a seven-figure sum refurbishing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Kensington Palace apartment.

THE taxpayer will foot the bill for extensive work on the property, including installing a new roof, overhauling the electrics and carrying out significant plumbing works.

A royal spokesman said repairs and refurbishments - reported to cost in the region of STG4 million ($A7.30 million), though this figure was not confirmed by the royal household - would also see a "significant amount of internal building" to "return the residence to function as a living space".William and Kate's Kensington Palace apartment was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and was the home of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon. Margaret remained there after their divorce and lived there until her death in 2002.The living space was last refurbished in 1963."This is the Duke and Duchess's one and only official residence. It is here that they plan to stay for many, many years to come," a royal spokesman said."We also had to take into account the fact that Kensington Palace is a scheduled ancient monument, and all elements of the refurbishment had to be agreed with English Heritage. Often this meant ensuring a high standard of work in line with the historical significance of the Christopher Wren building."He said William and Kate "paid privately" for all the internal furnishings, including carpets and curtains. They were also at pains to ensure that the specification is not extravagant."As with any other part of the estate, it was the royal household (TRH) who were responsible for the refurbishment of the residence - where they could in the course of the procurement process, TRH helped to bear down on cost," he added."The household oversaw the planning, tendering and project management of the refurbishment and were responsible for the budget and spend."

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Family heartbroken after aged home deaths

THREE and a half years ago, Marie Darragh was frail, ill and on the brink of death.

SHE was placed in the St Andrews Nursing Home in Ballina as her family desperately hoped for the best.

Within years, her health had turned around.After giving up smoking, Ms Darragh turned to sugar to get her fix and earned the affectionate nickname "sugar fairy" for her fierce sweet tooth around the nursing home.It was this new-found health and happiness that made the 82-year-old's suspected murder in May all the more shocking."It's total heartbreak," daughter Janet Parkinson told AAP on Thursday."Because when she went in there she was ready to die. She was so frail and it has taken them three and a half years to get her where she was."They built her up and she had to go this way ... that's the heartbreaking thing."Ms Darragh and fellow resident and friend Isobella Spencer, 77, were found unconscious in their beds on May 10.They died hours later.The same night, a third woman was attacked at the home and admitted to hospital but survived.St Andrews Aged Care says she is in good health and is back at the facility.The fact Ms Darragh and Ms Spencer died unexpectedly, in the same location and on the same night, sparked a homicide investigation.Detectives believe they have a good idea of how both women died and have questioned nursing home staff."Obviously we are looking at the actions of staff members that night. However, we are keeping an open mind," Detective Superintendent Mick Willing said on Wednesday.Ms Parkinson said she had her own suspicions about what happened, but could not speak highly enough of the nursing home staff."Obviously I have missed something," she said.She said Ms Darragh, a grandmother to 11 and mother of three, "loved" living at the nursing home.Police have not disclosed any further details about the women's deaths but said there was no "existing threat" at the nursing home."I want to make it absolutely clear that we believe this is an isolated incident," Det Supt Willing said.In a statement, St Andrews Aged Care chief executive officer Pip Carter had no fears for the safety of residents."We understand the pain of losing a loved one and we are doing all we can to assist police," she said.

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