Nobody knows where Sandra will blow

CYCLONE Sandra is expected to be declared tomorrow when a big low 770km northeast of Townsville increases in intensity.

It will be the second Queensland cyclone of the season and Weather Bureau forecasters expect it to move east to southeast tomorrow and Saturday but stay well offshore.

It is not expected to affect the coast over the next three days.

World meteorological computer models cannot agree whether New Caledonia, Fiji or Australia will eventually feel its brunt.

It is being steered by two major weather systems and it remains unclear which will become the dominant force.

Weather Bureau forecaster Pradeep Singh said the low was travelling at 35km/hr and the further it moved away from Queensland, the better.

Mr Singh said Coral Sea cyclones had a reputation for erratic patterns.

"Some behave," he said. "Yasi did. It had a reasonably consistent track but some you see have really erratic paths.

"They do all sorts of things. They go north, go south, do loops and this one might live up to the reputation."

Mr Singh said this event also showed the difficulties in using computer modelling to predict cyclones, with a variety of opinions coming out of calculations.

"Basically, it shows it's just too early to say," he said. "As well, there's a couple of other high level systems that also will have an impact on its direction."

CLOSE TO THE WIND: Kite surfers enjoy windy conditions at Bulcock Beach, Caloundra. Picture: Glenn Barnes

Meantime, the high is producing gale force winds and a big swell, with waves to 7m recorded by an Environment Department buoy off North Stradbroke Island.

Conditions are expected to cause more problems on already eroded beaches and swells of more than 5m were also recorded off Mackay.

Mr Singh said although showers would remain along the coastal strip, the low would draw moisture away from Australia for the next few days, disappointing graziers who were desperate for rain in many western areas.

The bureau issued a high fire danger warning for the Channel Country.

Wivenhoe Dam is at 88 per cent and Somerset is at 100.2 per cent.

Meantime, the body of a Leyburn resident, 64, who went missing in Darling Downs floods last week was found in the Condamine River south of Toowoomba.

Police have still not found the man's four-wheel drive or his dog.

Overnight, it was reported that Cyclone Sandra was expected to develop from a monsoon low and could hit severe strength, Category 3, or higher.

Yesterday, predictions put the developing low as turning into a tropical cyclone by late Thursday or early Friday.

But that prediction has now been revised, with the low possibly intensifying to a cyclone as early as Thursday morning.

The system is currently sitting 500km east-northeast of Townsville and is moving steadily eastwards.

The Bureau of Meteorology is reporting the system is producing a large wind field which will bring big swells to Queensland beaches within the next few days.

Weather Bureau forecaster David Grant said heavy rain and storms would occur along the east coast today but then move offshore.

"It's a weird thing, but as the cyclone develops it will have the effect of drawing moisture offshore with it," he said.

"This should leave big seas the immediate major east coast impact.

"Our models are showing the system will remain offshore at least into the weekend," he said. "After that we should know if it's going to develop a westward track."

Isolated showers will remain along the coastal strip with showers and storms in the west.

Rain continued in central and north Queensland yesterday, with falls up to 100mm in a strip between Cairns and Mackay. A weather station at Mt Jukes, near Mackay, has recorded 750mm of rain in the week to 9am yesterday.

It comes as a report released by the Climate Commission says extreme east coast rainfall was influenced by climate change.

Report author Will Steffen said climate change was increasing the risk of extreme weather but determining the nature of that influence on rainfall was more complex than for temperature-related events.

"Australia has always been a land of extremes. However, climate change is now making many types of extreme weather worse, particularly heat waves and bushfires," Professor Steffen said.

"We remain very concerned that the risk of extreme weather events increases as we continue to emit more and more greenhouse gases."

Queensland Floods Appeal distribution committee chairman Terry Mackenroth said residents whose homes were inundated in the wake of Cyclone Oswald needed to lodge applications for emergency funding by March 18.

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Shares in Sharp up 17%

SHARP has announced a Y10.4 billion ($A109 million) deal with South Korean rival Samsung.

In a rare move for a Japanese firm, it will sell a three per cent stake to the South Korean company.

The deal, announced after the markets closed on Wednesday, will make Samsung Sharp's biggest foreign shareholder.

Early reports of the deal sent Sharp shares soaring more than 17 per cent in early trade before ending 14.04 per cent higher. Samsung was up 0.65 per cent.

The Japanese firm said the deal would help shore up its troubled finances while boosting "mutual trust" as the firms look to benefit from Sharp's leading liquid-crystal display technology for mobile phones and tablets.

Samsung said the investment "would lay a firm foundation to secure a steady supply of LCD panels from diversified sources".

Sharp, which has announced a separate 4.94 billion yen capital injection deal by US chipmaker Qualcomm, is also a major panel supplier to Samsung rival Apple.

The decision to accept a capital injection from a foreign firm marks a major comedown for both Sharp and Japan's manufacturers, said Hiroshi Sakai, chief economist with SMBC Friend Research Centre.

"For Japan, it is symbolic and shocking news, as Sharp, which used to be a frontrunner in the panel industry, is struggling while its rival Samsung has raced past it," he said.

He added that the news "should not be any surprise" given Samsung's leading position in the global electronics market.

The deal will not solve all of Sharp's woes, he added, as the firm cuts jobs and overhauls its business after saying in February its loss in the nine months to December had doubled to about $US4.6 billion.

Given the sector's struggles, deals between Japanese and foreign rivals are likely to increase, Sakai said.

"Many other Japanese electronics makers are struggling to survive. But they still have attractive technologies and some foreign rivals are quite interested in them," he said.

Sharp - which last year put up its Osaka headquarters as collateral to clinch crucial bank loans - has been hammered by lower-cost rivals in its liquid-crystal display business.

Rival Sony, meanwhile, is selling off its headquarters in Manhattan and a major building in Tokyo to raise cash, while Panasonic is undergoing a similar painful restructuring after losing about $US6.77 billion in the nine months to December.

The Samsung-Sharp deal gives the South Korean company more access to the market without investing in new production plants, analysts said.

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SA economy to grow, premier says

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill says the state's economy is robust. Source: AAP

THE South Australian economy will continue to grow this year as it has for the past decade, Premier Jay Weatherill says.

Brushing off grim spending figures and opposition suggestions the economy is in recession, Mr Weatherill said SA's finances remained robust.

He said some sectors of the economy were soft, but government measures to support areas such as housing construction were paying dividends.

"We have grown every year for the past 10 years," the premier told reporters on Wednesday.

"Last year we grew by 2.1 per cent and we expect to grow this year as well."

Opposition treasury spokesman Iain Evans raised the recession question after the state's final demand figures retracted over the past two quarters.

He also pointed to falling exports.

"On all the key economic measures South Australia has gone backwards for two consecutive quarters in both trend and seasonally adjusted terms," Mr Evans said.

"How would the premier define a recession?"

But Mr Weatherill said final demand figures only measured a portion of economic activity and the state's overall performance was best measured in terms of gross state product which was only calculated at the end of the financial year.

In the recent mid-year budget review the government forecast the economy to grow by 1.75 per cent in 2012/13, down from the May budget forecast of 2.5 per cent.

On other matters, Mr Weatherill has given some support to a call from independent MP Bob Such for all government agencies to be subject to an efficiency and effectiveness review ahead of the next state budget.

"That's a worthy thing to give some consideration to," he told state parliament.

Mr Weatherill said there had been a "pretty mindless" debate recently about the size of the public service when the real issue was its effectiveness.

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WA Labor's Wyatt targets two Lib ministers

WEST Australian opposition young gun Ben Wyatt has taken rapid fire aim at two government ministers, calling for one to be sacked and warning that the other has his eye on the state's top job.

Mr Wyatt was swift to decry corrective services minister Murray Cowper on Tuesday after it emerged he was being investigated over alleged illegal land clearing at Wedge Island's holiday shack community, 30km north of Lancelin.

Mr Cowper said he used a small earthmover to clear sand piled up next to his shack, which it turns out is not allowed under the Environmental Protection Act.

Mr Wyatt pounced, saying it was not tenable for a minister to be under investigation and that he should be sacked.

Tuesday was also the second consecutive day Treasurer Troy Buswell was firmly in Labor's sights, with the opposition warning the scandal-prone minister was next in line behind Mr Barnett.

Mr Buswell is a predictable target for Labor given his previous varsity-style antics and his current defamation action against former lover and independent MP Adele Carles.

Labor is unrelentingly warning voters that a vote for the Liberals is a vote for Mr Buswell, as Saturday's state election approaches.

But Mr Barnett shot back, "As I have said previously, if re-elected, I will serve a full second term".

He recently indicated that he might even stick around for the 2017 election.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Mark McGowan is on board a campaign bus touring WA's south including the hotly contested seat of Albany, held by the party's Peter Watson with a margin of 0.2 per cent.

Deputy Premier Kim Hames was also in Albany, announcing a promise to inject more funds into the Centennial Park Precinct development.

Mr Barnett has been to Albany twice since Labor kicked off its election campaign in late January.

Back in the metropolitan area, the Liberals pledged to move more than 500 public servants to a new building in Joondalup in Perth's north as part of their push to decentralise many state government functions to suburban office precincts.

After the daily election promises petered out, the bunfight began again, with Mr Barnett saying a new Labor radio advertisement claiming Fiona Stanley Public Hospital in the city's south had been privatised by the Liberals was untrue.

"Labor's claim is a desperate lie designed to scare members of the WA community," he said.

"Labor claims we will privatise public assets. This is also untrue.

"We will not privatise Western Power, we will not privatise the Water Corporation, and we will not privatise hospitals.

"The claims by Labor are simply lies."

It's the second time a radio advertisement has stoked flames during the campaign.

Labor took exception last week to a Liberal ad that claimed the opposition's planned airport rail line would terminate 1.5km from the terminal, calling for it to be immediately pulled from the airwaves.

The ad continues to run.

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WA court dismisses Puddy killer appeal

CONVICTED murderer Cameron Mansell has had an appeal against his conviction for contempt of court dismissed.

Mansell was sentenced to life in prison with an 18-year minimum in November 2011 after a jury found him guilty of murdering Perth multi-millionaire Craig Puddy, who went missing in May 2010.

After his conviction, Mansell had 48 counts of stealing, regarding a separate matter, to address in Perth Magistrates Court.

He was warned that he would be held in contempt when he refused to appear in court via video link from prison on three occasions in December 2011, despite an order from Magistrate Joe Mignacca-Randazzo and instruction from the prison superintendent and his own lawyer.

The matter was discussed at a later hearing in which Mansell was given an opportunity to argue why he should not have a contempt of court conviction against him.

Mansell appeared in person on December 22 and tendered three letters he had written to the court, including one where he apologised to the two magistrates involved.

In the letter to magistrate Mignacca-Randazzo, Mansell stated that a person in custody should have a right to choose to appear in person before the court.

He claimed that appearing via video link in prison clothes would be prejudicial to how he was perceived.

His lawyer also argued that it was not Mansell's intention to show contempt.

But magistrate Mignacca-Randazzo still recorded a conviction.

Mansell appealed the matter, claiming that because he was not present in the courtroom his act of refusal could not constitute contempt "in the face of the court" as the law suggested.

He also questioned the fairness of the proceedings.

Mansell suggested that his acts were not serious enough to constitute contempt or, alternatively, that the magistrate should have exercised his discretion not to record a conviction.

However, in the court of appeal on Tuesday, Justice Stephen Hall rejected the appeal.

"Whilst the appellant's letters have been referred to as 'letters of apology' that is a characterisation which may be doubted," he said.

"The letters do contain expressions of regret for what occurred. However, they also seek to justify the appellant's course of action."

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No evidence of 457 visa rorts: coalition

THE federal government's crackdown on 457 visas amid claims of rorting is based purely on union rhetoric, not evidence, the opposition says.

PM Julia Gillard and Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor have failed to produce any departmental report as evidence of widespread rorting of the scheme, Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says.

"Instead, they have simply channelled the rhetoric of their union masters," Mr Morrison said in a speech to the Urban Development Institute of Australia's National Conference.

The crackdown also undermined the government's views on the scheme from just two months ago, he said.

"If there is widespread rorting of 457s, as the Prime Minister now claims, then her previous minister, Chris Bowen, clearly didn't think so," Mr Morrison told the conference in Melbourne on Tuesday.

Only in January, he said, a spokesman for Mr Bowen had said the government "had the balance right" on the visas.

"The only thing that has changed since then is that the prime minister is desperate to shore up the union support that keeps her in the job."

Even if the rorting claims proved to be true, the government only had itself to blame for failing to protect Australia's borders and policing its skilled migration program, Mr Morrison said.

A record high number of the visas occurred last financial year, with more than 125,000 granted, he said.

"If Labor believes that the current number of 457s being granted is too high, it is their own doing, it is their own record," Mr Morrison said.

Temporary migration with a focus on skills is vital both to Australia's economy and its historical reputation as arguably the most successful immigration nation on earth, he said.

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Cambodia's Khmer Rouge trial suspended

CAMBODIA'S war crimes court has been forced to suspend the trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders because of a strike over unpaid wages - the latest setback to the troubled UN-backed tribunal.

About 20 Cambodian translators and interpreters are refusing to work until they receive their salaries for the past three months, court spokesman Neth Pheaktra told AFP on Monday, adding that the trial was adjourned "indefinitely".

"I appeal to the donor countries to help resolve the issue by providing more funds to the national side of the court," he said.

About 270 Cambodian employees at the UN-backed hybrid court - including drivers, prosecutors and judges - have received no pay since November.

The tribunal has been frequently cash-strapped since it was set up in 2006 to find justice for the deaths of up to two million people under the hardline communist Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s.

In late 2011 the court ran out of funds to pay hundreds of Cambodians workers until it received new funding from Japan several months later.

The tribunal, whose top donors also include the European Union, Australia, France, Germany and Britain, urgently needs some more than $US7 million ($A6.90 million) for 2013.

It has been hit by a string of high-profile resignations amid allegations of political meddling, as well as concerns about slow progress due to the octogenarian defendants' ill health.

In a reminder of the frail condition of the elderly accused, former Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary, 87, was hospitalised again on Monday for the latest in a string of ailments.

"He vomited every time he was given food. He is very weak now," his Cambodian lawyer Ang Udom told AFP.

Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge wiped out nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population through starvation, overwork or execution in a bid to create an agrarian utopia during their 1975-79 rule.

Ieng Sary, along with "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea and one-time head of state Khieu Samphan, deny charges of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

The court has so far achieved one conviction, sentencing former prison chief Kaing Guek Eav to life in jail for overseeing the deaths of some 15,000 people.

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PM says she understands families' problems

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard "understands" how bleak life can be for families and says it's unfortunate Labor's attempts to help people deal with cost-of-living pressures will be contested at the federal election.

Ms Gillard told the Nine Network on Monday that Labor has been working to alleviate cost-of-living pressures in western Sydney and elsewhere in Australia.

"I understand it can be really tough," Ms Gillard said.

"Which is why we have got the school kids' bonus to help with the costs of getting kids to school.

"You know, shoes on the feet, the uniforms that you need to buy, the books, the pens, the paper.

Unfortunately, the bonus and other measures would be contested at the next election, she said.

"We are saying they should definitely stay because they help people manage cost-of-living pressures."

In a lighthearted interview on Ten Network's The Project, Ms Gillard was asked whether Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's appearance in western Sydney on Monday amounted to stalking and what she was going to do about it.

"I don't think that there's anything that I could take up in a legal way, or anything like that," Ms Gillard joked.

"(I'm) not worrying about it. He can kind of, you know, knock himself out and do whatever he wants to do, and I'll get on with my job."

Broadcaster Steve Price alluded to her 2010 election stop at Rooty Hill, and "a whole range of promises that you've not been able to keep".

"Why should anyone believe any of the promises you're making this time around?" he asked.

"You're always such a bundle of joy, aren't you?" Ms Gillard quipped.

"It's just such a positive outlook on the world.

"I don't know what happened in your household this morning, but I got out of bed feeling very energetic and ready to get out in western Sydney."

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PM says she understands families' problems

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard "understands" how bleak life can be for families and says it's unfortunate Labor's attempts to help people deal with cost-of-living pressures will be contested at the federal election.

Ms Gillard told the Nine Network on Monday that Labor has been working to alleviate cost-of-living pressures in western Sydney and elsewhere in Australia.

"I understand it can be really tough," Ms Gillard said.

"Which is why we have got the school kids' bonus to help with the costs of getting kids to school.

"You know, shoes on the feet, the uniforms that you need to buy, the books, the pens, the paper.

Unfortunately, the bonus and other measures would be contested at the next election, she said.

"We are saying they should definitely stay because they help people manage cost-of-living pressures."

In a lighthearted interview on Ten Network's The Project, Ms Gillard was asked whether Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's appearance in western Sydney on Monday amounted to stalking and what she was going to do about it.

"I don't think that there's anything that I could take up in a legal way, or anything like that," Ms Gillard joked.

"(I'm) not worrying about it. He can kind of, you know, knock himself out and do whatever he wants to do, and I'll get on with my job."

Broadcaster Steve Price alluded to her 2010 election stop at Rooty Hill, and "a whole range of promises that you've not been able to keep".

"Why should anyone believe any of the promises you're making this time around?" he asked.

"You're always such a bundle of joy, aren't you?" Ms Gillard quipped.

"It's just such a positive outlook on the world.

"I don't know what happened in your household this morning, but I got out of bed feeling very energetic and ready to get out in western Sydney."

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Brisbane cops another drenching

BRISBANE is on track to have its wettest day since the Australia Day holiday weekend, with almost 70mm of rain soaking the city since 9am and more heavy falls expected.

Some suburbs have copped even bigger dumps with Corinda Heights recording 86mm in six hours.

Despite the rainfall stretching from just south of Bundaberg to the Gold Coast, and Kingaroy in the west, Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Praveep Singh said Brisbane had borne the brunt of the low pressure system.

More wet weather news: Dancers rescued from flooded Gabba street

"We've probably had in excess of 100mm since last night," said Mr Singh.

"There could be more heavy falls tonight, in the vicinity of 50 to 60mm. That should start to ease around midday tomorrow."

Mr Singh said a low pressure system and a "good feed of moist east to northeasterly winds" was responsible for the latest deluge.

It follows on from a wet February and late January with more than 520mm recorded in the city.

So far the wettest day this year has been January 28, when 145mm fell on Brisbane.

Dozens of roads have been covered in water throughout Brisbane, and there are reports of surface damage on the Western Freeway at Indooroopilly.

Motorists are urged to drive with extreme care and avoid crossing flooded roadways.

Meanwhile, another Queensland town is preparing for a flood as rain continues to drench the state.

The local council is doorknocking homes at Dalby, in southern Queensland, where the Myall Creek is expected to peak at three metres on Saturday night.

Heavy rain in Vulture Street, South Brisbane this afternoon. Pic: Kimberley Vlasic

Western Downs Mayor Ray Brown says water starts to enter homes when the water reaches 2.8 metres.

It's another blow to residents who experienced significant flooding on the Australia Day weekend and a severe flood two years ago.

The council is also monitoring the nearby towns of Chinchilla and Moonie which are on flood alert.

Heavy rain has also fallen in the regions around Mackay, Bundaberg and Rockhampton on the state's central coast and Brisbane and the Gold Coast in the southeast.

Forecasters expect about 100mm of rain to fall on Bundaberg in the next 24 hours.

Mayor Mal Foreman said people are anxious, as the town has been flooded three times in the past two years.

"People are saying, 'when is the rain going to stop?"' he told ABC Radio.

Meanwhile the government is keeping a close eye on its dams in the southeast.

The Bureau of Meteorology has advised the rain will continue in the short term and there will be heavy falls later this month.

Water Supply Minister Mark McArdle says releasing water from the dams will reduce the risk of flooding.

"The ground is currently saturated so the rain will all run off into the Somerset and Wivenhoe Dams," he told AAP.

"We want to make certain those dams are at a precautionary level of 88 per cent as best as we possibly can."

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