Rudd: I released F-bomb documents

Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gets frustrated before taping an interview and drops the f-bomb.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd in his famous YouTube video Source: Supplied

KEVIN RUDD has revealed he released hundreds of pages of documents relating to his complaints over the federal police investigation Operation Mesco into who leaked his expletive-laden video.

In a bizarre development, Mr Rudd has confirmed he lodged a freedom of information request into his own correspondence with the Federal Police, before releasing hundreds of pages of correspondence relating to "Operation Mesco'' this week to the media.

Letters: Operation Mesco letters through FOI

The documents relate to his complaints the investigation had concluded without key staff being interviewed.

The new documents include records of interview with a staffer in Families Minister Jenny Macklin's office denying involvement in the theft or distribution of the video, details of a search of the Prime Minister's office and the findings of a search warrant executed on Sydney Morning Herald computers after an anonymous tip-off regarding the leaked footage.

A senior departmental official also writes in an email that after she told Mr Rudd the case would not proceed, "the victim indicated considerable frustration ... may consider a complaint to the Attorney (Nicola Roxon) or others".

This week, an article in the Sydney Morning Herald stated that  "Freedom of Information documents obtained by Fairfax Media'' revealed the Attorney-General's Department had never asked the US Department of Justice to require YouTube to reveal the details of the user, "HappyvegemiteKR", who posted the leaked video.

It has emerged however that the FOI request was in fact lodged by Mr Rudd's office, who had access to the letters all along because the former prime minister wrote them.

Despite the publication, the Attorney-General's department is now refusing to provide the same documents to other media outlets on the grounds they could jeopardise an ongoing investigation.

In response, Mr Rudd confirmed he lodged the FOI request himself and offered to provide all the documents to  News Limited.

"Mr Rudd has said on many occasions that the leaking of this video was of great concern as it related to possible criminal acts and the security of documents and information held by the government,'' a spokesman said.

"Mr Rudd's office has agreed to multiple FOI consultations seeking full access to these and many other documents and will continue to do so.

"Mr Rudd also requested through FOI all documents relating to the AFP investigation and the assistance of the Attorney General's department to assist in responding to a number of queries from journalists.''

Mr Rudd said today his interest was seeing justice done.

"The bottom line is that this was a significant event in Australian politics, it involved the theft of Commonwealth property in the documents I have FOI'd from both the Federal Police and the Attorney-General's department their conclusion is that a crime against the Commonwealth Crimes Act has been committed and this involved the theft of Commonwealth property," Mr Rudd said.

"That is a serious matter and we should get to the bottom of it."

Rudd supporters maintain the video was leaked within hours of the Prime Minister's office learning that News Ltd  planned to publish comments from Labor MP Darren Cheesman calling for Julia Gillard to resign as PM.

They argue the video was a "shock-and-awe'' tactic by the Gillard camp.

Gillard supporters have long complained Mr Rudd has used the police investigation into the leaked video to stir the leadership pot in Labor ranks.

In his November 16 letter to Australian Federal Police commissioner Tony Negus, Mr Rudd writes:  "I take these offences seriously. They do not constitute a trivial matter."

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Red tape saps dying sailor's energy

Kurt MacKenzie was gassed aboard a Navy vessel and his lung capacity is now down to 37 per cent. Picture: Quinn Stuart Source: The Sunday Telegraph

A FORMER senior navy sailor has accused Defence of delaying his compensation claim as he battles a slow and painful death.

Now 44, Kurt MacKenzie was a fit 37-year-old member of the navy's elite ``green team'' training outfit when he was accidentally gassed with lethal Hydrogen Sulphide on board a poorly designed Armidale Class patrol boat off Darwin in August 2006.
After the gassing he was prematurely released from hospital and his treatment was so poor that he now has just 37 per cent lung capacity.
He also suffers from numerous other ailments, including curvature of the spine, narrowing of the oesophagus and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He is not eligible for a lung transplant.
Mr MacKenzie, who lives in Brisbane, is permanently on oxygen and will never work again. He was earning $100,000-a-year at the time of his gassing and today is paid a pension of $1900-a-fortnight.

He has waited six and a half years and doesn't want to be finish up like Navy sailors from the HMAS Voyager disaster who had to wait 35 years for justice and compensation.
Mr MacKenzie has a Veterans gold health card so his health care is free, but the Navy and the government have refused to pay him compensation.
``All I want is to be able to pay my mortgage and protect my family,'' he said.
His wife Sue and his two sons have been provided compensation payments, but Mr MacKenzie has been told for years that his claim was ``on the chief of navy's desk'' or ``on the minister's desk''.
News Limited has discovered that it is actually in the hands of faceless lawyers and bureaucrats in the Defence Legal Department.
Senior Navy officers are frustrated by the delay and the minister's office says it has not even seen a claim.
A former navy officer said authorities should make a decision so Mr MacKenzie could move on.
His father, John MacKenzie, describes his son's treatment as ``disgusting''. He said Kurt loved the navy and all he ever wanted as a boy was to go to sea with the senior service.
``We gave him to the navy as a healthy, A1, fit 17-year-old and we got him back a total wreck,'' he said.
``They are waiting for him to die but while ever I've got breath I will fight the bastards.''
The MacKenzie family demanded a board of inquiry into the gassing incident, but the navy refused and produced two ``secret'' internal reports that have not been given to the family. The latest report was handed to Navy chief Vice-Admiral Ray Griggs in December.
In typical bureaucratic fashion Defence refused to say what, if any, recommendations defence legal would make to government on the MacKenzie claim and two other high-profile Navy compensation cases.
``As these applications are currently under consideration, it is not appropriate to disclose what recommendations have been made in respect of the applications,'' it said.

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Bad taste new weapon against smokes

The Federal Government may regulate flavours in a  bid to make cigarattes less attractive to younger people. Picture: Thinkstock. Source: Supplied

THE flavour and ingredients of cigarettes would be regulated, smoking in movies controlled and the cost of tobacco would sky-rocket under a radical Government blueprint to stop one million Australians smoking.

The five-year war on smoking would also see an end to discounted cigarettes, restrictions on the number of retailers that can sell smokes and big tobacco forced to report how much they spend on marketing.

Smokers should brace themselves for "regular staged increases'' in tobacco taxes that will push the price of a pack of cigarettes over $20.

The hardline nine-point plan to toughen tobacco control is part of a National Tobacco Strategy endorsed by state and federal Health Ministers in November and released without fanfare on January 2.

Plain packaging rules that came into effect last December require all cigarettes to be sold in drab brown packets with health warnings covering most of the pack, now governments want to regulate what's in the cigarettes inside the pack.

There are currently no restrictions on the ingredients in cigarettes apart from state regulations prohibiting fruit or confectionery-flavoured cigarettes.

The five-year tobacco control strategy says cigarette companies use additives such as sugar, honey, licorice and cocoa to "enhance the taste of tobacco smoke to make the product more desirable to smokers, especially those experimenting with tobacco''.

"Further regulation of the contents of tobacco products and of tobacco product disclosures is an important area of tobacco control that warrants additional investigation,'' the strategy says.

The Federal Government has commissioned an options paper on how to do it.

Anti-tobacco lobby Action on Smoking and Health says ingredient regulation would give the government power to limit the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and make them less addictive.

Plain packaging for cigarettes was introduced in 2012, now the governent wants to go further. Picture: Kym Smith

"Governments could say to manufacturers: 'shows us evidence that this is not causing harm or reduce the nicotine to a level that is not addictive','' ASH spokeswoman Anne Jones said.

Removing flavouring from cigarettes would make them less palatable to children, she said.

Regulating the portrayal of smoking in movies, TV programs, music clips, video games is also being explored.

Anti-tobacco campaigner and University of Sydney academic Professor Simon Chapman says any attempt to regulate movies and television shows would be difficult and undesirable.

"I don't believe the state should jump into the entertainment media and say, our conception of a good society means we should eliminate the portrayal of smoking in art and literature," he said.

"Do we say we should ban crime films because they glamourise crime or car chases?"he asked.

"The government would do better to ask YouTube to change its policy of effectively allowing cigarette companies to flout advertising laws by showing branded cigarette advertisements on the internet that showed women seductively smoking cigarettes."

The plan for regular increases in tobacco tax could raise the federal government over $1 billion a year.

Every $1 increase in the price of tobacco is associated with a 2.6 per cent decline in smoking among low income earners, the strategy says.

Tobacco excise was increased by 25 per cent in April 2010 and a smoker buying a pack of 30s every day is now paying $74 a week in tax for their habit.

Another 25 per cent rise in tobacco excise would raise the federal government $1.25 billion.

The strategy also commits state and federal governments to research the potential benefits of  "placing controls on the number and type of tobacco outlets in the community".

It suggests introducing a licensing scheme to restrict who can sell cigarettes.

The sale of cigarettes at supermarkets, petrol stations, milk bars, newsagents and licensed premises "contributes to the notion that tobacco products are a normal part of everyday life and are relatively harmless,'' the strategy says.

British American Tobacco said tobacco was already a heavily regulated product and "as yet we haven't seen the impact, if any, of the more recently introduced tobacco regulations such as plain packaging".

"British American Tobacco Australia is supportive of tobacco policy which is evidence-based and where due process and consultation with stakeholders has been undertaken," a spokeswoman said.

The nine point plan:

1. Protect public health policy, including tobacco control policies, from tobacco industry interference
2.  Strengthen mass media campaigns to: motivate smokers to quit and recent quitters to remain quit; discourage uptake of smoking; and reshape social norms about smoking
3. Continue to reduce the affordability of tobacco products
4. Bolster and build on existing programs and partnerships to reduce smoking rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
5. Strengthen efforts to reduce smoking among populations with a high prevalence of smoking
6. Eliminate remaining advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products
7. Consider further regulation of the contents, product disclosure and supply of tobacco products and alternative nicotine delivery systems
8. Reduce exceptions to smoke-free workplaces, public places and other settings
9.  Provide greater access to a range of evidence-based cessation services to support smokers to quit.

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NRL's 'dirty' half dozen named by ACC

Australian Crime Commission CEO John Lawler speaking at a press conference after the release of an ACC report into drug and crime links to Australian sport. Picture: Gary Ramage Source: News Limited

THE drug and corruption scandal enveloping Australian sport has snared six National Rugby League clubs, with the revelation they are named in the Australian Crime Commission's explosive report.

Facing a backlash over the refusal to name implicated clubs and players, ACC chief executive John Lawler said he was working with the individual codes to work out if there was a way for full disclosure to take place.

But Mr Lawler told The Sunday Telegraph the release of club names would have to be within the law, which states there cannot be any adverse impact on a club or individual. While the codes were aware of the clubs involved, they were under strict legal obligations not to release the names publicly, he said.

He said there may be some scope for self-disclosure.

"I will work with the clubs over the weekend and next week to look if there is a way for those clubs to work around those legal constraints," Mr Lawler said. "There is a long way for this to play out yet.

"I am very confident in the report's findings. This is no beat-up. We have sworn testimonies. We have corroborated evidence.

"We have quite a significant amount of intelligence. We are very confident in the findings."

Mr Lawler said he was sympathetic to clubs and players that were in the right, but the purpose of the report was intended to be an "alert" to everyone to improve their safeguards against drug taking - a point he felt had been missed in the hunt for names.It also served as a trigger for players, coaches and individuals to come forward to police.

"This is about making sure that they are alert to the risks and vulnerabilities, and that they are actively doing something about it," he said.

"What's happened has happened. That needs to be investigated. But, more importantly, we should be trying to prevent this occurring."

"There may be players using substances or contemplating using substances that our alert will hopefully prevent. We also have criminals out there, that we know are doing this.

"We are not going to declare who they are but this is a way of putting the frighteners into them, so they are aware authorities are aware of them." Justice Minister Jason Clare said the commission had also given the names of individuals to NSW and Victorian police.

"I understand that people want the Australian Crime Commission to name names. And they have - they have given names to the police and the anti-doping authority," he said.

The Sunday Telegraph has confirmed that a major element of the ACC report is focused on a criminal network that had sought to expose players who had been supplied with banned substances.

According to sources close to the investigation, players were tricked into taking so called "supplements", only to be later told that they had in fact taken banned substances.

The players were then later called upon and threatened with being "outed" as drug cheats unless they agreed to fix matches or pay money. According to sources, several players had fallen victim to the bribery racket and were mostly confined to the NRL and not other codes.

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Holden saves best for last Commodore

A digital image created by News Limited of what the new performance flagship SS Holden Commodore will look like.  Photo illustration: Will Pearce Source: News Limited

• Final Commodore unveiled on Sunday
• Packed with new, hi-tech features
• Live updates on today's reveal on Twitter with @JoshuaDowling

AUSTRALIA, your new Holden Commodore is almost ready.

It's been seven years in the making - the longest wait for a new model in the Commodore's 35-year history - and it will also be the last of its type, as we've grown to know it.

Holden has confirmed the Commodore badge will live on beyond the new model's 2016 horizon but that car will likely be a four-cylinder, front-wheel-drive sedan sold globally but adapted for local conditions.

The Commodore has been rear-wheel-drive since 1978 - and so has every top-selling Holden sedan since the first "FX" was built in 1948.

Holden is due to release the first pictures of the new 2013 Commodore in Melbourne today, but we have an exclusive photo illustration of the performance flagship "SS" that will lead the Commodore's export revival to North America, where it will also race as a Nascar for the first time.

Holden has loaded the new Commodore with technology.

Due in Australian showrooms in June, it will be able to park itself via sensors in the front and rear bumpers, and warn the driver of a crash in stop-start traffic.

The new Commodore will also be available with the internet music service Pandora for the first time.

Drivers of top-line models will be able to see their vehicle speed and other key information reflected into the windscreen in a digital "heads-up" display, similar to some BMWs.

The "new" model is in fact a major update of the Commodore released in 2006. Rather than create a new car from the ground up, Holden remodeled the front and rear appearance and added technology.

The V6 and V8 engines are carried over from before but the new model is expected to be about 10 per cent more fuel efficient due to the use of weight-saving aluminium in the bonnet, boot and underbody, said to trim 40kg from the car's overall mass.

Holden is hoping for a reversal of fortunes with the new model after the Commodore posted its lowest sales ever last year - in a record new-car sales market.

----------------------------------

HI-TECH HOLDEN

What's new:

• Self-parking technology
• Forward collision warning in low-speed traffic
• Heads-up display on high grade models
• Internet music radio service Pandora
• Large infotainment touch screen
• Sensor key with push button start
• Electronic park brake
• Aluminium boot, bonnet and underpinnings
• About 40kg less weight overall

What's not:

• The sedan's body, doors and glass
• The door handles
• The side mirrors
• The V6 and V8 engines (but they are 10 per cent more efficient)
• The rear of the wagon and ute

------------------------------

It is banking on some buyers coming back to the brand one last time before the Commodore is replaced by a new global car to be built alongside the Cruze in Adelaide until 2022.

Holden has not said what shape the 2017 "Commodore" will take, but News Limited has been told it is a four-cylinder front-drive sedan similar in size to a Toyota Camry.

Holden boss Mike Devereux promised last Friday that the future model would be called a "Commodore" – but whether Australians will let the iconic badge appear on a four-cylinder front-drive car remains to be seen.

Live updates on today's Holden Commodore reveal on Twitter with @JoshuaDowling

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Third death linked to Victorian cheese

Jindi soft cheeses have been recalled after the deaths of three people connected to an outbreak of Listeria. Photo: Supplied Source: Herald Sun

A THIRD person has died following a listeria outbreak linked to soft cheeses produced in Victoria.

Victoria's acting chief health officer, Dr Michael Ackland, has confirmed the death of a 68-year-old New South Wales man in late January was linked to the listeria contamination of Jindi cheese products, Fairfax reported today.

An 84-year-old Victorian man and a 44-year-old Tasmanian man have also died of listeria infection. A pregnant NSW woman miscarried. More than 20 other cases have been reported.

Jindi has voluntarily recalled all batches of cheese manufactured up to January 6.

Listeria, a bacterial infection, has a long incubation period and more people could become ill.

The Victoria health department says it acted promptly to contain the outbreak, but has warned there could be more cases.

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Hundreds of firefighters battle blazes

Gippsland is ravaged by fires last month. Picture: Erin Marie Source: Herald Sun

VICTORIAN firefighters have been kept busy battling two major fires in the state's east and a number of smaller blazes closer to Melbourne.

A control centre spokesman said 195 firefighters battled the 81,000-hectare Aberfeldy fire in Gippsland in Victoria's east on Saturday.

"It's burning in steep difficult terrain," the spokesman said.

Closer to Melbourne, a watch and act alert was downgraded to an advice warning for communities near an out-of-control fire at Kerrie, northwest of Melbourne.

There are 22 trucks at the scene.

"That's likely to burn into the night and probably won't be brought under control till morning," the spokesman said.

"There's a lot of smoke and activity but it's not threatening houses or property."

A fire at Arthurs Creek, northeast of Melbourne, is under control.

Conditions at a second major fire at Harrietville in alpine country in the northeast had eased, the spokesman said.

A watch and act alert has also been downgraded to an advice warning for the Hotham Heights and Dinner Plain areas, but all residents are believed to have been evacuated.

Wind gusts and spot fires were still a worry in the area as 312 firefighters, 11 aircraft and 60 vehicles worked on the fire on Saturday.

The spokesman said wind gusts were making the fire difficult to predict.

A watch and act warning is in place for Dargo at the southern side of the Harrietville fire that has so far burned around 16,000 hectares.

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Australia and NZ cement ties

John Key looks on as Julia Gillard briefs the media on an asylum-seeker deal between New Zealand and Australia in Queenstown. Source: Getty Images

JULIA Gillard and John Key have met for talks in Queenstown, announcing greater co-operation on people smuggling and closer economic ties.

Thirty years of close economic ties between Australia and New Zealand have been cemented with a series of new agreements, but NZ's prime minister is the first to admit they're not on an even footing.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard took part in bilateral discussions with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key in Queenstown on Saturday, ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Closer Economic Relations trade deal, signed in March 1983.

That deal has paved the way for several new announcements, including a crackdown on exorbitant mobile roaming rates in both countries, further streamlining trans-Tasman travel through SmartGate, simplifying investment in each other's country, and recovering student debt.

Ms Gillard and Mr Key also announced greater co-operation on people smuggling, with New Zealand allocating 150 places in its annual refugee quota of 750 to refugees processed in Australian detention centres, from 2014.

While the leaders talked up the mutual benefits of the new arrangements, Mr Key openly admits it's an "asymmetrical" relationship.

"There's an argument that we need them more than they need us, given they're our largest source of tourists, our biggest export market, our largest investor," he said.

"We do have to work hard with that relationship, because there's lots of options for Australia and they could just choose to ignore us if they wanted to."

Ms Gillard was saying nothing of the sort during her time in the picturesque South Island's town, describing the relationship as "one of family" - a point she first made when in 2011 she became the first foreign leader to address New Zealand's parliament.

"There is a bond between Australia and New Zealand that is different to any bond that we share in any other part of the world," she says.

"The very fact that it's fundamental to our soul and how we perceive ourselves - the legend of ANZAC is part of us and it's part of New Zealand forged in history, here in contemporary times, and always here for the future."

It was fitting, then, that Ms Gillard on Saturday announced a new Australian memorial at New Zealand's National War Memorial, currently under construction in Wellington, ahead of the Anzac centenary in 2015.

Ms Gillard flies back to Australia on Sunday morning.

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