Palmer to re-form UAP party for election

BILLIONAIRE miner Clive Palmer has come good on threats to set up his own political party, saying he will personally run for federal parliament.

Mr Palmer told ABC TV on Thursday he was re-forming the United Australia Party (UAP), which was dissolved in 1945, and had applied for registration in Queensland.

The former life member of the Liberal National Party (LNP) said the new UAP would contest 127 lower house seats in the September federal election, and stand for all seats in the Senate.

"I definitely will be (personally) standing for federal parliament," he confirmed, without revealing which seat.

"I definitely will be running in a seat in Queensland, but it would be presumptuous of me (to say which one).

"Like any political party, it's got to have its own preselections.

"By the end of next week we'll be announcing some of our candidates for federal parliament."

The original UAP was established in 1931 and was the predecessor to the Liberal Party, with Robert Menzies serving as a UAP prime minister between 1939 and 1941.

Late last year Mr Palmer gave up his life membership of the LNP after a bitter and public dispute with the Newman government in Queensland, and since then has threatened to set up his own party.

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Legacy donations stolen from NSW RSL club

DONATIONS for the families of defence personnel have been stolen from an RSL club on the NSW south coast in a "shocking" robbery in the early hours of Anzac Day, police say.

An unknown number of people broke into the Bomaderry club about 2.20am (AEST) on Thursday after a rock was thrown at a glass door, they say.

The only thing reported missing was a replica digger's tin hat used to collect donations for Legacy, a charity that supports the families of defence services personnel.

Police said the amount of money stolen was not known.

"We are particularly shocked by this theft, given it occurred just four hours before the Anzac Day Dawn Service in Bomaderry," Shoalhaven duty officer Inspector Bruce Griffin said.

He's urged anyone with information about the incident to contact them.

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Remains found in missing Vic woman's home

HUMAN remains have been found in the home of an 82-year-old Melbourne woman who has been missing for almost two years.

Phyllis Kelly was last seen on August 20, 2011, at the State Theatre, just after 6pm.

She had not accessed her bank account since then and police had made public calls for information about her disappearance, having held grave fears for her welfare.

Police, accompanied by a pathologist, searched the woman's home on Little Charles Street in Fitzroy on Thursday after receiving authority from the coroner to conduct the search.

The remains will now be taken to the coroner for testing, a police spokeswoman said.

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40 survivors found in Bangladesh collapse

FORTY people have been found alive in a room inside a collapsed garment factory compound in Bangladesh, the army said in an announcement greeted by loud cheers from waiting relatives.

"We've found 40 people alive in a room," an army spokesman announced at the scene of the country's worst industrial accident, near Dhaka.

"They are being rescued," he added to wild applause from the crowds.

More than 230 people are so far known to have died in Wednesday's disaster but many more are still trapped under the rubble at the Rana Plaza, in the town of Savar.

Thousands of relatives of people still missing have gathered at the site to watch the rescue effort.

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UN votes to send peacekeepers to Mali

THE UN Security Council has unanimously backed sending up to 12,600 international troops and police to take over from French and African forces battling Islamist guerrillas in Mali.

The United Nations is aiming for a July 1 start by the new force, but the 15-nation council will decide later whether the conflict has eased enough for the handover.

French troops moved into Mali in January to halt an Islamist advance on the capital Bamako and have since forced the al-Qaeda-linked militants into desert and mountain hideouts.

France is to keep up to 1000 troops in Mali and they will maintain responsibility for military strikes against the Islamists, who are now waging a guerrilla campaign.

UN resolution 2100 authorises France to intervene if the UN troops are "under imminent and serious threat and at the demand" of UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

The resolution authorised the new force to use "all necessary measures" to stabilise major cities, protect civilians and help the government extend its authority over the vast West African nation.

"The adoption of this resolution confirms the unanimous international support for the stabilisation of Mali and France's intervention," said France's UN envoy Gerard Araud.

Mali's Foreign Minister Tieman Hubert Coulibaly called the resolution "an important step in the process to stem the activities of terrorist and rebel groups".

The proposed UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali, to be known by its French acronym MINUSMA, would have a maximum of 11,200 soldiers and 1440 police.

Mali's army launched a coup in March 2012, which unleashed the chaos that allowed Tuareg rebels and their erstwhile Islamist allies to take over the north of the country and impose a brutal Islamic rule.

Many shrines in Timbuktu and other cities were destroyed, and public executions and amputations staged.

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US weekly jobless claims drop

NEW claims for US unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since mid-March, the government says, in a fresh sign of a slowly improving job market.

Initial jobless claims totalled 339,000 in the week ending April 20, down from the prior week's revised reading of 362,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

The decline in new claims, which indicate the pace of layoffs, was sharper than analysts expected. The average estimate was for 351,000 claims.

Last week's reading was the lowest since the week ending March 9, when claims hit a five-year low of 334,000.

A Labor Department official noted that claims data were particularly volatile in the weeks near the Easter holiday, which this year fell on March 31.

The four-week moving average, which helps to smooth out volatility, fell by 4,500 to 357,500 last week.

According to employment data published in early April, the US unemployment rate dipped in March by one-tenth of a point to 7.6 per cent, the lowest rate since December 2008.

But the improvement came because people dropped out of the workforce, not because of job growth, which was a paltry 88,000 last month.

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Palmer to re-form UAP party for election

BILLIONAIRE miner Clive Palmer has come good on threats to set up his own political party, saying he will personally run for federal parliament.

Mr Palmer told ABC TV on Thursday he was re-forming the United Australia Party (UAP), which was dissolved in 1945, and had applied for registration in Queensland.

The former life member of the Liberal National Party (LNP) said the new UAP would contest 127 lower house seats in the September federal election, and stand for all seats in the Senate.

"I definitely will be (personally) standing for federal parliament," he confirmed, without revealing which seat.

"I definitely will be running in a seat in Queensland, but it would be presumptuous of me (to say which one).

"Like any political party, it's got to have its own preselections.

"By the end of next week we'll be announcing some of our candidates for federal parliament."

The original UAP was established in 1931 and was the predecessor to the Liberal Party, with Robert Menzies serving as a UAP prime minister between 1939 and 1941.

Late last year Mr Palmer gave up his life membership of the LNP after a bitter and public dispute with the Newman government in Queensland, and since then has threatened to set up his own party.

Mr Palmer said there were key differences between his new political party and the Liberals, including on refugee policy and the axing of the carbon tax.

The party already had a number of "notable Australians" that wanted to stand for federal parliament, he said.

"The United Australia Party, it's a reformation of the original party ... which has had three prime ministers in our history and is a shining example of where we should go."

Before his falling out with the LNP, Mr Palmer had considered running against Treasurer Wayne Swan in his Brisbane seat of Lilley.

But asked if the deputy prime minister should be looking over his shoulder, Mr Palmer would only say: "I'm sure there will be a good candidate running there.

"It will be up to the United Australia Party to decide who runs everywhere," he said.

"Wayne Swan is a very nice guy. His problem is he can't count. He said we'd have a balanced budget but it's going to be $60 billion over."

Mr Palmer dismissed comparisons with former Queensland premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen's aborted "Joh for Canberra" campaign in 1987.

As to whether formation of the party was part of a push to one day be prime minister, the billionaire businessman said: "It's up to the people to decide.

"As you know, the people of Australia elected me as a living national treasure, and that was their choice not mine," Mr Palmer said.

"Whatever it goes, I think I'm prepared to do.

"After all, it's really crazy to think that a person that's never run anything more than a tuckshop can run a trillion dollar economy."

Mr Palmer said there were key differences between his new political party and the Liberals, including on refugee policy and the axing of the carbon tax.

The party already had a number of "notable Australians" that wanted to stand for federal parliament, he said.

"The United Australia Party, it's a reformation of the original party ... which has had three prime ministers in our history and is a shining example of where we should go."

Before his falling out with the LNP, Mr Palmer had considered running against Treasurer Wayne Swan in his Brisbane seat of Lilley.

But asked if the deputy prime minister should be looking over his shoulder, Mr Palmer would only say: "I'm sure there will be a good candidate running there.

"It will be up to the United Australia Party to decide who runs everywhere," he said.

"Wayne Swan is a very nice guy. His problem is he can't count. He said we'd have a balanced budget but it's going to be $60 billion over."

Mr Palmer dismissed comparisons with former Queensland premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen's aborted "Joh for Canberra" campaign in 1987.

As to whether formation of the party was part of a push to one day be prime minister, the billionaire businessman said: "It's up to the people to decide.

"As you know, the people of Australia elected me as a living national treasure, and that was their choice not mine," Mr Palmer said.

"Whatever it goes, I think I'm prepared to do.

"After all, it's really crazy to think that a person that's never run anything more than a tuckshop can run a trillion dollar economy."

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Man charged over bus driver assault

A MAN will face court after he allegedly bashed a bus driver in western Sydney.

Police said they charged the man, 42, with assault occasioning actual bodily harm following an incident on a bus at Chester Hill about 11.15am (AEST) on Wednesday.

The man allegedly got on the bus and argued with the driver, 51, then punched him repeatedly in the head.

The alleged attacker was arrested and refused bail, and will front Bankstown Local Court on Friday.

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UFO 'was awesome and I hope I see more'

A Caboolture man says he saw unexplained lights in the sky above his home - twice! He thinks it was a UFO and he hopes it comes back. The alien from ET, the Extra Terrestrial (pictured), knows just how he feels. Source: Quest Newspapers

A CABOOLTURE man has reported multiple sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects just 2km out from the main town centre.

Josh Philip, of Broadway Court, claims he saw two UFOs, one on January 5 near his home and another on January 30 flying over nearby Toohey Street.

Mr Philip decided to speak out in the hope others may be able to corroborate the sightings.

The first sighting, he said, was of a bright white light travelling much slower and lower than a normal plane.

"It was so smooth and silent, just gliding through the air," he said.

In the second sighting, Mr Philip said a similar light was travelling northwest before making a sudden 40-degree turn and then disappearing.

"I can't explain it, it was awesome and I hope I see some more," he said.

Maps provided by Australia's air traffic controller Airservices showed the Caboolture area was a main thoroughfare for aircraft travelling to Caboolture, Redcliffe and Brisbane airports.

A spokeswoman said Airservices did not routinely log reports of unexplained air traffic activity or strange lights.

Mr Philip said the look and movement of the lights he saw were different to normal planes.

He reported both cases to UFO Research Queensland, a group that logs sightings and holds monthly UFO discussion groups at Kenmore Library, Kenmore.

The group's president, Sheryl Gottschall, said reports of UFO sighting were difficult to explain without other witnesses and photographs.

She said UFORQ helped support people who had seen something unusual or had a close encounter.

Sheryl Gottschall is president of UFO Research Queensland, a group that logs sightings and holds monthly UFO discussion groups in Kenmore. Picture: Chris Mccormack

"It's really important they get the support they need until they can come to terms with something that shakes up their world view," she said.

Have you spotted anything strange over Caboolture? Tell us below or email editorial@cabooltureherald.com

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Abbott to win over G4 on climate action

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott has plans to play a lead role in convincing China and the United States to sign up for a global climate change deal if he wins government.

Opposition climate change spokesman Greg Hunt said under a coalition government Australia would still be part of a UN climate change process but would also pursue action with key members of Group of 20 nations.

"Where a real global agreement will come is when China and United States reach a point of common position and when that's backed up with India and the EU," Mr Hunt told ABC TV on Thursday.

Mr Hunt said Australia would chair the G20 summit in Brisbane next year and it was in a unique position "to bring together the G4 as the basis for a global agreement".

"I think (Tony's) a fantastic negotiator," he said.

At a community forum in Geelong on Thursday night, Mr Abbott told swinging voters a coalition government would scrap the carbon tax by the middle of 2014.

Instead the coalition would implement its direct action policy, which focuses on storing carbon in soil and vegetation.

It offers firms incentives to reduce their carbon pollution emissions but won't raise revenue, Mr Hunt said.

He fobbed off past comments from former Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull that this was a recipe for "fiscal recklessness".

"The power sector is saying to us they are not expecting to increase their emissions," Mr Hunt said.

"If someone went rogue there's always the provision to take action, but we aren't expecting Australian firms to do that."

Mr Hunt confirmed the opposition would allocate the same amount of money toward climate action as it did at the last election, despite having three years less to reach the 2020 carbon emission reduction target.

The coalition's plans to store carbon in soil may be in doubt.

The ABC reported that a yet to be released CSIRO three-year study into carbon soil storage has found over time soil changes were within the range of 0.3 to two tonnes of Co2 equivalent per hectare per year or lower.

At the top end of that scale, a land mass of 75 million hectares would be needed to abate 150 million tonnes of Co2 equivalent.

Whereas the lower end figure would require 500 million hectares or two-thirds of the country's land mass.

Asked if this was achievable, Mr Hunt replied: "I don't accept that's what we're proposing or that's the only way to do it."

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