Inquiry into 'sex plot'

A group of sailors from HMAS Success has been sent home and an inquiry is underway after they allegedly plotted a challenge to have sex with as many female crewmates as possible. The sailors allegedly detailed their plot in a document called "The Ledger" where dollar values were placed on each woman's head, during an overseas deployment in May, the Seven Network . Larger amounts were offered if the sailors could sleep with a female officer or a lesbian and sailors challenged each other to have sex in various locations, including on top of a pool table, the report said. The arrangement was discovered while HMAS Success was visiting Singapore. The captain ordered the sailors to immediately return home to Australia after they were formally interviewed. The Defence Department has launched a formal inquiry into the incident and confirmed an unspecified number of sailors from the Success, one of the fleet's biggest ships, returned to Australia in May. "The matter concerning sailors who were returned to Australia from HMAS Success in May 2009 remains under investigation, so the veracity of any allegations has yet to be confirmed," Defence said in a statement to the Seven Network. "The individuals were removed from the ship after an equity and diversity health check, which led to a formal inquiry being initiated. "During the equity and diversity health check a number of concerns were raised by female crew members. These concerns are now subject to formal inquiry." The statement said the navy demands a working environment "free from unacceptable behaviour". It warns all of its staff to "treat others fairly" and that any form of unacceptable behaviour "will be dealt with".

5 July 2009 | 12:02 pm

Inquiry into 'sex plot'

5 July 2009 | 12:02 pm

Inquiry into 'sex plot'

5 July 2009 | 12:02 pm

Inquiry into 'sex plot'

5 July 2009 | 12:02 pm

Sailors embroiled in sex game scandal

The Defence Department has confirmed it is investigating claims Australian sailors engaged in a sex-for-money competition. Channel Seven news aired claims sailors from the HMAS Success ran a contest to see who could sleep with the most female crew members. Cash points were assigned and records were allegedly kept in a book known as 'The Ledger'. Dollar values were placed on each woman's head. The sailors reportedly dared one another to have sex in numerous locations, like the top of a pool table, and more money was on offer if a sailor could sleep with a female officer, or lesbian. It is alleged the contest was discovered when the ship was in Singapore in May. The captain ordered the sailors to immediately return home to Australia after they were formally interviewed. A Defence Department spokesman would not confirm how many sailors were involved but says the men were removed from the ship and a formal inquiry is now underway. "The matter concerning sailors who were returned to Australia from HMAS Success in May 2009 remains under investigation, so the veracity of any allegations has yet to be confirmed," Defence said in a statement to the Seven Network. "The individuals were removed from the ship after an equity and diversity health check, which led to a formal inquiry being initiated. "During the equity and diversity health check a number of concerns were raised by female crew members. These concerns are now subject to formal inquiry." The statement said the navy demands a working environment "free from unacceptable behaviour". It warns all of its staff to "treat others fairly" and that any form of unacceptable behaviour "will be dealt with". - ABC/

4 July 2009 | 2:05 pm

Call for increased training for childcare workers

The head of Australian Community Children Services has welcomed recommendations to the Government to increase staff training and numbers at childcare centres. An expert panel has told the Federal Government that all childcare staff should be trained to a TAFE or university level. The panel also recommended that the staff to child ratio be increased. The organisation's national convenor, Prue Warrilow, says working with children requires a high level of education. "Determining minimum qualifications and ensuring that there are early childhood degree qualified working with children is fantastic," she said. "And certainly improving the ratios for children, because most states have a one to five ratio for children aged nought to two years, which is just a ratio of neglect." However the new recommendations would likely increase the cost of childcare for parents if they are implemented. Ms Warrilow says the higher level of care for children outweighs the cost. "If you can imagine one adult holding a baby and bottle-feeding that baby, and having four other babies on the ground that they're responsible for that could be in some kind of distress, I think a parent would understand having a better child-staff ratio would have much better care and education outcomes for their child," she said.

4 July 2009 | 7:16 am

Hundreds farewell 'Bob the truckie'

Canberra grandfather Bob Knight, the innocent victim of a recent shoot-out in Sydney, has been remembered for his sense of humour, love of dogs and as "Bob the truckie", a regular on talkback radio. Hundreds of mourners packed into a Canberra church on Saturday to farewell Mr Knight who died when a stray bullet hit him in the head while he was driving past a KFC restaurant in Sydney's southwest. The bullet was fired during a shoot-out involving up to six people in the car park of the Milperra fast food outlet on the evening of June 25. Sydney commercial radio station 2UE host Murray Wilton developed an on-air friendship with Bob who called in every week for more than 10 years. Mr Wilton, who spoke at the funeral service, said "Bob the truckie" had a strong following because he was a down-to-earth quintessential Aussie. "Listeners liked to hear what he had to say and they wanted to comment on it," he told reporters outside the church. "You couldn't shut him up, he loved to talk ... and you didn't want to get rid of him so there was that odd occasion where we did drop the news, and we probably shouldn't have, to continue to talk to him."

4 July 2009 | 6:02 am

'Australia' tourism bid a failure: Tollner

The Northern Territory Opposition tourism spokesman says the latest tourism figures show the Government has failed in its bid to attract national and international tourists. The Australian Bureau of Statistics figures for the March quarter show a fall in occupancy rates in hotels, motels and serviced apartments across the Territory. Dave Tollner says the new statistics show the Government's hope for the movie Australia to attract overseas tourists has failed. "The Government put significant funds into advertising campaigns around the movie Australia, which subsequently flopped," he said. "And in other areas they've also failed. For instance, we've heard nothing from the Tell 20 campaign. People aren't visiting." The statistics show NT following a national trend, but Mr Tollner says the Government has not listened to advice that it needs to refocus its marketing campaigns. "I think the Territory Government's marketing campaigns have failed," he said. "I warned the Territory Government about it at the start of the year. "They said they were immune to the global financial crisis and not to worry. The fact is these figures show that we aren't immune from it and that the marketing efforts have failed."

4 July 2009 | 6:00 am

Sydney welcomes first elephant calf

The first baby elephant to be delivered in Australia has been born at Taronga Zoo. After three hours of labour, the male calf was delivered at 3:00am to Thong Dee, originally a street elephant in Bangkok. Keepers say the mother was initially surprised by the birth and it took some time before they could introduce her to the calf. Both calf and mother are doing well. Taronga Zoo director Guy Cooper said veterinarians are happy with the calf's progress. "The tiny calf was delivered ... in the Zoo's Elephant Barn," he said in a statement. "She was quite magnificent and her success is a tribute to the incredibly hard work our elephant keepers have done to support our elephants as a true family unit. "They were with her throughout the night and have been sleeping at the barn to support Thong Dee the instant she went into labour." The Zoo said Thong Dee's companions - Porntip, Pak Boon and Tang Mo - watched on with interest as the baby was delivered. Porntip is expecting Taronga's first calf conceived via artificial insemination early next year. Pak Boon is also pregnant, carrying the Zoo's second naturally conceived calf, and will likely give birth in early 2011.

4 July 2009 | 3:43 am

Children die in tower-block blaze

Six people including a three-week-old baby have died in a massive fire at a tower block in London, the city's emergency services say. "There were six fatalities - three adults and three children," a London Fire Brigade spokesman said after Friday's blaze in Camberwell, south London. Some 30 people who were in "immediate peril" trapped inside have been rescued, he added. The blaze was under control and there were no of people still trapped inside. Witnesses gave distressing accounts of how those trapped by the fire screamed and pressed their faces up against the windows as they battled to escape the flames and smoke. The Metropolitan Police said that those who died were a three-week-old baby, two children aged about six and seven, a woman in her 30s and two other adults. A further 12 people were taken to hospital, many suffering the effects of smoke inhalation. Around 100 firefighters were sent to the fire, which started on the fourth floor of the local authority-owned block and spread to the 11th. The fire took hold just before 4.30pm local time. "There were kids screaming, there was all sorts of stuff going on," witness Rob Atthill told BBC television. "The people I was with, they climbed on the roof to see what was happening and they could see faces of people in the windows, people were trying to smash windows, it didn't look very good." Michael Thompson, 17, a resident of the tower block, added: "There was a big bang that sounded like an explosion. "People were screaming. I heard people shouting: 'Fire, fire'. "I called 999 (Britain's emergency telephone number) when I saw the flames and they said they were already on their way. I could smell the smoke from inside my flat so I closed the windows. "This black smoke was pouring out of the windows." An investigation will now be held into the cause of the fire. "It is too early to say what led to the fire and police officers are working with the London Fire Brigade investigation team to establish the cause of the fire," the Metropolitan Police said. London's Ambulance Service said three people died at the scene and three others later in hospital. Uninjured survivors were being taken to an emergency centre set up at a nearby church hall. The 1960s building contains 108 flats and is owned and managed by the local council, with residents living there on a leasehold or tenant basis. AFP

4 July 2009 | 2:02 am

Casino won't house asylum seekers: Evans

The Federal Government is rejecting reports it has struck a deal to use a casino on Christmas Island to house asylum seekers. A boat carrying 194 people entered Australian waters last weekend - the biggest boatload since the Tampa. It is thought most of the latest arrivals are ethnic Tamils fleeing Sri Lanka. Like hundreds of other asylum seekers, they were taken to Christmas Island. Immigration Minister Chris Evans says while there is still room in the Christmas Island detention centre, the Government is looking into alternative accommodation in case of overflow. Senator Evans told ABC1's Lateline program last night that talks have been held with the casino but no agreement has been reached. "What we've done is we've spoken to all the owners of possible accommodation on Christmas Island, and amongst those discussions we spoke to the owners of the casino," he said. "Unfortunately the casino is very run-down, but we were looking at the possibility of using their old staff quarters for immigration." - Impending overflow? - The high security centre on Christmas Island can hold as many as 1,200 people, according to the Department, but its normal capacity is 800. Right now, nearly 580 men are waiting for their claims to be processed. All up, there are around 720 asylum seekers on the island. Government policy is to only hold people long enough for basic checks, and the Opposition says an overflow is imminent. "It's approaching full capacity," Opposition immigration spokeswoman Sharman Stone said. "And if we get more 200-person boats, as we have in the last little while, yes, you could say we need Plan B and we need it urgently." Immigration lawyer David Manne says capacity is a direct result of how long people are kept in detention. "A lot of the questions around whether it's full depend upon whether the Government actually properly implements its new detention policy," he said. "There is evidence, clear evidence, that some people have been held for longer periods than they should have been under the policy and that essentially the policy was clearly contravened." - Economic strain - Mr Manne has been to Christmas Island to meet clients and he says its distance creates a massive extra cost for lawyers and the staff from government agencies. "Just to get there from the Australian mainland costs roughly the same as it does to get to Europe, to fly to Europe," he said. He says the remote location serves to deny basic rights when claims are processed. "The examination of that claim on Christmas Island is conducted by Australian officials outside the basic safeguards of the law in Australia," he said. "And that again is not only discriminatory, but potentially, not only a fundamentally inferior process, but potentially a very dangerous one." Dr Stone says a softer policy from the Government is attracting people who left their home countries years ago. "We would immediately look at the visa categories for people arriving on unlawful boats who were for a long time in a second country before, if you like, shopping around and deciding to buy their way into Australia," she said. And with a worsening economy, asylum seekers could potentially create problems. "No country can afford an open-door policy in relation to migration. We simply don't have the resources to settle people properly," she said. "We also have a community backlash if you have in a difficult economic circumstance, not enough employment for all, more and more people who can't be found work." But Senator Evans denies the Government has let its guard down. "We still have excision of offshore islands. We still have mandatory detention [and] we still have very strong border controls which we've increased," he said. "We still have really strong engagement in anti-people smuggling measures, including an extra $650 million in the last Budget to help combat people smuggling. "So, there's no softening of our efforts to combat people smuggling and there's no softening of border security. "There were some changes in terms of detention arrangements, but quite frankly, that's a very different thing."

4 July 2009 | 1:00 am

Centaur trail leads to Japan: researcher

The man heading the search for the World War II hospital ship the Centaur says he will head to Japan to hunt for clues to its final location. 268 people were killed when the Centaur was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine off south-east Queensland in 1943. David Mearns met with families of victims and survivors in Brisbane yesterday and told them a search later this year will focus on two areas around 25 miles off Moreton Island. He says if the ship is found it'll be filmed and photographed, but not moved. "This will be strictly look but don't touch," he said. He says one of his next stops will be Japan but so far authorities there have released no useful information. "All those inquiries so far have turned up negative," he said. "I have to say that I'm not very optimistic that we're going to find a piece of information in Japan but we're going to look. "We're going to continue on and I will myself be visiting there ultimately to make sure we've looked everywhere." The captain of the Japanese submarine that sank the Centaur was later convicted for war crimes.

4 July 2009 | 1:00 am

Recruitment excuses not helping Indigenous children: Opposition

The Northern Territory Opposition says the Government must do whatever it takes to recruit more child protection workers. A Productivity Commission report on Indigenous disadvantage has found that in the last two years, the rates of Indigenous child abuse and neglect have risen from 16 to 35 in every thousand. NT Chief Minister Paul Henderson says his Government has put more resources into the Child Abuse Taskforce, but it's having difficulties recruiting more child protection staff because it's tough work in remote locations. The Country Liberals' spokeswoman for Children and Families Jodeen Carney says the Government should do whatever it takes to recruit more frontline workers. "It's just not good enough to provide excuses, the fact is, there were three child protection workers in the Child Abuse Taskforce in Alice Springs last year and there are still three this year," she said. "I'm not sure, frankly, how well Government is recruiting, or how passionately Government is recruiting for child protection workers. "The Northern Territory Government should do whatever it takes to get more child protection workers in the Northern Territory. "It's not good enough to have recruited only eight in the last 12 months in the Territory. "The Government should hang its collective head in shame at such an embarrassingly low figure."

4 July 2009 | 12:24 am

RSPCA protests NT croc safari push

The RSPCA is hoping to persuade Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett to reject the Northern Territory Government's plan to allow crocodile safari hunting. The Territory Government says traditional owners should have the business opportunity of allowing 25 saltwater crocodiles to be shot for sport on their land. It is considering more than 100 written submissions from interest groups and the public before putting the plan to the Commonwealth for approval. RSPCA spokeswoman Bidda Jones says the argument about offering Aboriginal communities new ways of making money does not stand up. "In the current management plan, there's no dollar value given for the revenue that might arise from this," she said. "There's currently trophy hunting of introduced animals on Aboriginal land. "There's no evidence that revenue from that actually does flow back to Aboriginal communities. "If there were evidence I'm sure that the Northern Territory Government would be presenting it." Michaela Johnston from the Gulpulul Aboriginal Corporation in Arnhem Land says a quota of 25 crocodiles would not generate much income. She says her group hopes a trial of the plan will see it expanded. "We'd like to see the numbers increased to at least 100," she said. "So out of the current plan that they've got allocated for now in the new draft management, out of the 500-odd animals that they've got allocated, 100 of those animals should be looked at game hunting. "Twenty-five's not going to have a huge increase in employment." She said safari shooters would have to pass a competency test. "They're not just yobbos from out back wanting to blow [up] a crocodile," she said.

3 July 2009 | 11:49 pm

Mars explorer caught in tight spot

IT HAS happened to countless motorists driving off the beaten track. One moment you are purring along, enjoying the sights, the next you are bogged. But getting bogged when the nearest help is more than 280 million kilometres away can mean serious trouble. NASA's six-wheeled Martian robot Spirit has been stuck fast, sunk to its axles in deep dust, for two months. To help it escape, engineers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, have created a sandbox replica of the scene on the red planet with a full-scale rover model. "Our objective is to make it as Mars-like as possible," the Spirit's project manager, John Callas, told the Herald. This week the engineers drove their model into the sandbox, bogging it just like Spirit. Over the next few weeks they will beam radio commands to their sandbox rover, testing ways to drive it out of its artificial trap. If they find a successful technique, it will be tried on the real Martian rover. NASA has created a website, www.jpl.nasa.gov/freespirit, so the public can follow the rescue. Spirit was investigating an outcrop of volcanic rock dubbed Home Plate, so named because its shape reminded scientists of a baseball field, when it hit unusually soft soil. Despite being repeatedly ordered to turn its wheels to drive several metres, Dr Callas said, "it was moving only millimetres. That tells us you are in trouble." Spirit was instructed to reach out with its mechanical arm and use a camera to look under its belly. "The good news is that the rover is not sunk to the belly," Dr Callas said. However, the pictures also revealed "there is a rock under there that we have to worry about". If the rover sinks any further "it will be like getting your off-road vehicle stuck on a tree stump." To build the mini-Mars landscape, engineers and scientists mixed and shovelled about three tonnes of play sand, pottery clay and diatomaceous earth, a material often used in swimming pool filters, into their sandbox. While the ingredients do not match the Martian soil's chemistry, the mixture has a similar strength. "It is representative of the trouble Spirit is in â€¦ in very, very fluffy soil with very little load bearing strength," Dr Callas said. "It's like talcum powder, but not as fine grained. It clings to the wheels and they lose traction." Adding to their problems, the rover is tilted on a 12-degree slope. Its front-right wheel stopped working three years ago. Spirit and its sister rover, Opportunity, have been bogged before. "On Mars every day is a challenge," Dr Callas said. "But it's never been quite as serious." He noted that Spirit, designed "to last three months on Mars, and drive a kilometre at the most", had survived for 5Â½ years and had travelled more than 7.7kilometres. Dr Callas said: "My money is on the rover."

3 July 2009 | 5:00 pm

Parents to count cost

THE cost of child care is set to rise under recommendations being considered by the Federal Government that all staff be trained either to TAFE or university level and more staff be employed at each centre. A panel of 11 child-care professionals and developmental experts has told the Government the ratio of staff to children must rise to ensure children receive the best preparation for school. It argued that the higher cost of more highly qualified staff would be outweighed by a rise in development. Yesterday the Minister for Child Care, Kate Ellis, said the Government's strategy for children aged up to eight was the first step towards a national child-care system. Ms Ellis said new guidelines for child-care centres would better prepare children for school. "The framework has a strong emphasis on play-based learning in recognition that play is the best vehicle to help young children learn," she said. The strategy also aims to ensure that indigenous children receive the kind of child care that increases their chances of performing well at school. Ms Ellis is privately considering the panel's recommendation that staff-to-children ratios be boosted to at least 1:3 (one staff member for every three children) under two years of age; 1:5 for two- and three-year-olds, and 1:10 for those aged up to five. The panel found overwhelming evidence that children learn most in the first years of their lives. It praised the work of staff without qualifications but said they should not be counted towards staff-to-child ratios. It wants each centre to have at least one university-educated early childhood teacher. A meeting of state and federal ministers on Thursday agreed on higher staff qualification levels and ratios but no details of the proposed changes have been made public. A spokesman for Ms Ellis said more information would be published soon. At present, minimum standards for training and the numbers of staff vary from state to state. Many centres have ratios matching the expert panel's recommended levels, although they are not required to do so. Centres often employ university-trained early childhood teachers but have difficulty doing so because they are more likely to work in schools where they are better paid. In NSW, all centres will be required to have one staff member for every four children under the age of two from next year. The union representing child-care workers, the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union, favours higher qualifications and more staff.

3 July 2009 | 5:00 pm

Women stretched to snapping point

THE Howard government's family policies left a legacy of stressed, overworked parents and set gender equity back a decade, a new study shows. Despite their high academic achievements over the decade, women are now less likely than in 1997 to work full-time while their children are young. And when they do, they take on more of the housework and child care. A study by Lyn Craig and Killian Mullan, of the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of NSW, shows the ascendancy of the family model promoted by the former prime minister: a father in full-time work and a mother in part-time work, depicted in his speeches as "the policeman and the part-time sales assistant". The 1.5-earner family became the predominant form between 1997 and 2006, from 35 per cent of all couples with children under five to 46 per cent. But life for parents grew harder and less equal. By 2006, all parents were more likely to report feeling stressed. "There was reduced gender equity and strikingly increased reported time pressure," the study found. Based on 772 families in 1997 and 652 families in 2006, and using Australian Bureau of Statistics data, the research will be presented at the Australian Social Policy Conference next week. It shows part-time working mothers put in as many hours overall as full-time working mothers - when paid work, housework and child care were tallied - and worked longer than their 1997 counterparts. The Howard government promoted the 1.5-earner model with family tax policies that provided most benefits to single-earner families and to couples with an 80:20 income split. During a decade of economic growth, more mothers of preschool-aged children moved into jobs, leading to a 7 per cent fall in the proportion of "traditional" families headed by a male breadwinner, and the proportion of mothers of preschoolers working full-time fell from 14 per cent to 11.8 per cent. The full-timers put in fewer hours at their jobs but did much more child care and housework than those in 1997. As a result, their workload grew to surpass that of their husbands. The men's workload barely shifted, so the gender division of labour became less equal. "I thought there might have been a movement to full-time work because â€¦ part-time work is associated with lower wages and poorer career prospects," Dr Craig said. Unsurprisingly 93 per cent of full-time working mothers reported feeling highly stressed compared with 79 per cent in 1997. About 80 per cent of part-time working mothers were also highly stressed, up from 73 per cent. And the proportions of stressed fathers rose. Dr Craig said paid parental leave would help solve the "stress problem". Sian Ryan, a senior associate at a law firm and mother of two, increased her work from three to four days a week when her son turned one. Her husband works in the racing industry on race days only. "It's not a progressive model for dads to be working long full-time hours and mums to do part-time jobs and work hard at home," she said. "It's about sharing responsibility for care of the children."

3 July 2009 | 5:00 pm

Swine flu cases rise to 1157

SWINE FLU is continuing to spread throughout NSW with four people in intensive care, 22 in hospital and 1157 confirmed with the virus, although the real figure is likely to be much higher, health authorities say. The NSW chief health officer, Kerry Chant, said most people with influenza will recover without treatment and do not need any testing and should stay home until their symptoms subside. However, a senior clinical adviser to NSW Health's chronic disease program, Ron Penny, said anyone with flu symptoms or lung disease should wear face masks. "If you look at images taken in Japan and China and so forth, all the people who've got symptoms are wearing masks," Professor Penny said. "I've tried to introduce these but culturally we're not ready for it." There are almost 5000 cases of influenza A (H1N1) 09 confirmed across Australia and 10 people with the virus have died. The Federal Minister for Health, Nicola Roxon, said a sample of 3000 swabs sent to various pathology laboratories found about one in six were positive for the novel H1N1 virus, while many others were seasonal influenza. She said sentinel testing, introduced as part of the "protect" phase of the pandemic plan, had not found any significant mutation of the virus or the emergence of a strain resistant to anti-viral medication, such as Tamiflu. But indigenous people appear to be more susceptible. Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders account for 3.5 per cent of cases and 5 per cent of hospitalisations. A review published in the medical journal The Lancet this week said the high rates of smoking, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes in indigenous populations rendered them more vulnerable to swine flu. Michael Gracey, a medical adviser to the Aboriginal organisation The Unity of First People of Australia, said the death of a young desert-dwelling Aboriginal man with underlying medical conditions "highlights the susceptibility of large numbers of indigenous people to such infections". "Many Aboriginal people died even in very remote parts of Australia during the great influenza pandemic of 1918," he said. Meanwhile, in a stinging article in the Medical Journal Of Australia on Thursday, a Melbourne doctor, Peter Eizenberg, said deficiencies in the implementation of the national pandemic plan has made the role of front-line doctors "extremely difficult". He said doctors did not receive personal protective equipment fast enough, test results were delayed by up to three weeks and communication about government policy changes was unclear. "It is only due to the low virulence of the virus that this pandemic has merely stressed our local service delivery and not completely paralysed both our and the statewide response," his report says. But the federal chief medical officer, Jim Bishop, said the national response was "appropriate, proportionate and successful". A survey of 638 people released yesterday found more than half were only "a little bit concerned" about swine flu, while one-third were not concerned at all.

3 July 2009 | 5:00 pm

Chinese billionaire funding our MPs

A LITTLE-KNOWN Australian-Chinese property billionaire has emerged as the largest offshore benefactor of Australia's political parties. Chau Chak Wing has poured more than $2 million into the coffers of the Liberal, National and Labor parties in the past decade. In the two financial years that had the heaviest impact on the last federal election - 2006-07 and 2007-08 - he gave $980,000 to the Coalition and $402,000 to Labor. Yet despite the generous gifts to both sides he has stayed well below the radar in debates about Australia's burgeoning links with China, and is barely known outside the political and business elites in both countries. He eclipses the Macau entrepreneur Stanley Ho as a donor because Labor returned most of Mr Ho's money after the 2007 election. Dr Chau told the Herald he was just a "small businessman" who was fulfilling the role of a "good and responsible citizen". "When I make those donations, I do not put any conditions on the contribution." The former prime minister John Howard told the Herald: "I had a very positive view of his contribution to the relationship [with China]. "He always struck me as a person interested in a genuine way in building relations between China and Australia. I never discussed donations with him â€¦ the access he had was not so frequent as to even justify that question." Dr Chau is a Chinese-born Australian citizen but has channelled most of his donations through his overseas companies - the Kingold Group in China, the HK Kingson Investment in Hong Kong and another Hong Kong entity, Chun Yip Trading. Federally, Labor has vowed to ban foreign donations, but legislation to achieve this has stalled in the Senate. Dr Chau educated his children in Australia and operates from a base in the booming city of Guangzhou, capital of his native Guangdong province. Political and business leaders say he has been instrumental in facilitating Australian trade and investment deals with China worth billions of dollars. As well as the strong links Dr Chau forged with Mr Howard and senior Coalition ministers, he seems to have been adept at singling out future stars of the Labor Government. In 2004 and 2005 he partially funded trips to China for the future prime minister, Kevin Rudd, the future treasurer, Wayne Swan, the future foreign affairs minister, Stephen Smith, and the future agriculture minister, Tony Burke. He also paid for a trip to China in 2005 by Mark Arbib, then the NSW Labor secretary and recently appointed by Mr Rudd as Minister for Employment Participation. In Sydney Dr Chau was well known to the former premier Bob Carr and his successor, Morris Iemma. Dr Chau's daughter, Winky, worked for both premiers as a community relations adviser. She joined Mr Carr's office in 2004, the same year her father opened a Chinese-language newspaper in Sydney, the Australian New Express Daily. Ms Chau has since gone into business with Mr Iemma, offering consultancy services for companies seeking business in China. Mr Carr told the Herald that she had "performed excellently". He said Dr Chau was "an asset to Australia". "The fact that you have someone with good connections in China â€¦ I think there would be something wrong with us if we didn't take up an opportunity like that." In 2007 Mr Iemma appointed Dr Chau an honorary NSW ambassador to Guangzhou.

3 July 2009 | 5:00 pm

NSW leads nation in bankruptcy

THE number of Australians filing for bankruptcy and entering into other forms of debt agreements has increased in the past three months, compared with this time last year. Figures published by the government agency Insolvency and Trustee Services Australia yesterday show the number of bankruptcies, debt agreements and Part X insolvency agreements between April and June rose 3 per cent, to 9437. They also rose compared with the number reported between January and March. The figures reflect rising unemployment, difficulty meeting loan repayments on mortgages, credit cards and other personal debts, and business failures. Bankruptcies, which usually make up about 75 per cent of all forms of insolvency, were flat in the three months to June, at 7014. The number of NSW residents filing for bankruptcy fell 9 per cent compared with last year, to 2532. NSW was still the nation's leader when it comes to bankruptcies, closely followed by Queensland and Victoria. The number of Part X agreements, which are seen as preferable to bankruptcy, grew. There were 28 in NSW and 107 nationwide.

3 July 2009 | 5:00 pm

Buy Oz Australia