Commodore to set pace at Daytona

The Chevrolet Pace Vehicle lineup includes (clockwise from front): Chevrolet SS, Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at the Daytona International Speedway. (Photo by Steve Fecht for Chevrolet) Source: Supplied

MOVE over Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, the homegrown Holden Commodore has hit the big time in the USA.

Australia's favourite sedan was unveiled as a Chevrolet at Daytona Speedway overnight, and is due to make its first NASCAR appearance this weekend in the hands of superstars Jeff Gordon and Danica Patrick and 14 other top-level Chevrolet drivers.

The Commodore is also guaranteed to lead the Nascar field in its first ever outing – as the pace car for the Daytona 500, the season opener  and biggest race of the year, with crowds of up to 250,000 people on race day.

The former boss of Holden, Mark Reuss, who hatched the plan to revive the Commodore's export program and put it in front of one of the world's biggest sport TV audiences, unveiled the car in an airport hangar behind the famous motor speedway. 

"I've been working on this deal since my first month back here in 2009," Reuss, now the boss of General Motors in North America, told News Limited. 

"It might not be the biggest export deal for Holden, but it is the most significant to date. It's the best example yet of Holden's capability, and gives Chevrolet a type of car it has never had." 

The Commodore is Chevrolet's first V8 performance sedan in 17 years, and is loaded with technology never seen on its other models. 

Former Holden boss Mark Reuss and champion NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon unveil the new Chevrolet, a rebadged Holden Commodore.

Reuss revealed that the reason the new Commodore has so much technology – including several firsts for Chevrolet such as self parking, a heads-up display and a crash alert system – is because North America pushed for it.

"We needed it on our car, so the Holden had to have it. It's a win for both of us," Reuss said. 

Chevrolet has modest sales expectations for the new Commodore, which goes on sale in the US in November after its Australian showroom debut in June. But Reuss is quietly confident it will become Chevrolet's "hero car". 

"This is a hero car for the whole Chevrolet brand," Reuss said. "We've said before that we expect to sell about 5000 a year, but we have 3000 dealers across the country. So it shouldn't be too hard to top that." 

The Chevrolet SS looks the same as the Commodore SS but has a different badge and a bigger, more powerful V8 engine. It has the same high-performance 6.2-litre LS3 V8 engine found in the Corvette and local Holden Special Vehicles models. 

In US trim, the Chevrolet SS has a power output of 309kW and 563Nm (compared to the maximum output of 325kW and 550Nm from the HSV GTS), the same as when it was sold as the Pontiac G8 GXP in 2009. 

Chevrolet's 2013 NASCAR race car is rebadged Holden Commodore.

Shipments of the Commodore to North America as a Chevrolet are due to begin in November. It marks the brand's fourth attempt at an export program to the world's second-biggest car market. 

In 2004 and 2005 Holden shipped 31,500 Monaros as a Pontiac GTO – more than twice the number of Monaros sold locally over four years. 

About 41,000 Commodores were shipped as Pontiacs between November 2007 and February 2009, almost equivalent to Holden's annual sales of Commodore at the time. But the deal ended when the Pontiac brand was axed after the restructure of General Motors in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis. 

Holden began to export the Caprice limousine to North America as a police car in early 2011. It has shipped about 6000 to date – more than double the number of Caprices sold locally over the same period. 

Reuss indicated Holden could keep building the new VF Commodore beyond the 2016 deadline – if US demand takes off. "That's a champagne problem to have. I'm sure the guys at Holden can find a way to keep building it if they had to. General Motors and the guys at Holden can be very resourceful."

Follow Joshua Dowling on Twitter

Chevrolet's 2013 NASCAR race car is rebadged Holden Commodore.

Holden has finally unveiled its VF Commodore, which is the first new Commodore to be released since 2006.

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Whale killed in Australian waters

Sea Sheperd activists took vdieo of this minke whale which ahd been harpooned by one of the japanese whaling vessels on february 15. Picture: Sea Shepherd

Sea Shepherd says Japanese whalers illegally killed a large minke whale in Australian waters. Source: AAP

THE federal government says whaling by Japan is illegal wherever it happens, after a large whale was harpooned in Australian waters.

Anti-whaling activists at Sea Shepherd said Japanese whalers killed a large minke whale on Friday in Australian waters off Antarctica near the Davis Research Base.

The group has posted photos and video of the incident online.

You can see the video here:

Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson said when the protesters tried to block the transfer of the harpooned whale's carcass from one vessel to another, the irate whalers tried to ram their boat.

Environment Minister Tony Burke said the focus should not be on which part of the ocean this happened.

"It doesn't matter what part of the ocean it is in, Australia's view is that it is just as illegal," Mr Burke told reporters.

"That's why we have taken Japan to the International Court of Justice.

"I think it would be a terrible situation if we started to go down the path of arguing that in one part of the ocean we thought whaling was okay and in others it wasn't."

Coalition environment spokesman Greg Hunt said the best way to deter whalers and minimise the risk of dangerous confrontations would be to have a customs vessel patrolling known or likely trouble spots.

"The sensible action here is to have a cop on the beat," he said.

"The mere fact of an Australian-flagged vessel says to the whalers that we are watching, and says to the protesters: you've got to abide by international maritime law.

"Anything less is just negligent."

But Mr Burke said the opposition's proposal would make the situation even worse.

"Could you imagine what a boost to Japanese whaling it would be if there was an Australian vessel just watching on and nodding," Mr Burke said.

"It's much better that we have taken the legal action that we have taken, that we are in the International Court of Justice, that we are getting closer and closer to decision day there."

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Hope for thousands crippled by dye

Maureen McLean, of Wyong on the NSW Central Coast, is one of thousands of Australians who is suffering from a commonly used medical treatment that failed and now is in severe pain. Picture: Liam Driver Source: News Limited

• Dye used for spinal X-rays for 40 years
• Linked to crippling pain, other ailments
• Case likened to tobacco and asbestos legal battles

THEY are the forgotten Australians - 60,000 victims of a devastating medical practice that has left them crippled with pain, paralysed and incontinent.

This week they enjoyed a rare ray of light when Federal Parliament said they deserved the help and support of the drug company linked to their suffering.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which for 42 years marketed a dye used in an X-ray procedure connected to their pain, has been told to set up a charitable foundation to help.

However, while the pharmaceutical giant told News Limited it was "considering" the parliamentary report's recommendations, it has so far not yet committed to providing any assistance.

Medical experts who gave evidence to a parliamentary inquiry have compared the case to the harm caused by tobacco giants and asbestos company James Hardie.

"I sit back and think: cigarettes, mesothelioma - I go through it all. These people have suffered mainly because they were using a dye, Myodil, with no alternative," Professor Michael Sage, past president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of radiologists told the roundtable.

Between 1945 and 1987 tens of thousands of Australians were injected with a dye during an X-ray procedure called a myelogram that at the time was the only way for doctors to see the spine clearly before surgery.

The federal government, state health authorities and doctors sanctioned the use of the chemical even though they knew evidence had emerged in medical journals as early as the 1950s that it was linked to a condition called arachnoiditis that causes burning back, neck and leg pain.

The condition is caused by the inflammation and fusion of the nerves and membranes of the spinal cord and is estimated to have affected around one per cent of patients who had the procedure.

Pain expert Professor Michael Cousins told the parliamentary roundtable victims suffered pain that was burning and "like bolts of electricity" - just moving to the end of the bed can be enough to trigger a paroxysm of pain.

Patients can also experience loss of muscle function, paraplegia, incontinence, unpleasant sensations such as ants walking on the skin or having hot water poured on one's legs. Many are wheelchair-bound.

Arachnoiditis sufferer Maxwell Scott told the committee he now existed on an electric wheelchair and a bed, transferring from one to the other by means of a slide board.

News Limited first exposed the issue of spinal injections in 2002 and it was raised in federal parliament but the plight of the victims was ignored by the government even though its own medical regulator had evaluated the dye and approved it for general marketing.

Liberal MP Steve Irons pushed for a parliamentary investigation after being approached by a constituent and says it's time for GSK to "act like a good corporate citizen" and set up a charitable foundation to help the victims.

"I guess if you look at GSK's website they talk about openness and transparency, but I felt they hadn't taken responsibility for this and assisted the people who were affected," he said.

"Where you take no responsibility it smacks of the tobacco industry's approach to smoking and cancer," he told News Limited.

The parliamentary roundtable said it had no power to order GSK to pay the victims' compensation - that was a matter for the courts.

In 2000 GSK faced a class action from 140 Australian victims of the dye, the case was settled out of court and the payouts were confidential .

In 1995, 3,600 UK victims sued GSK but only 426 received an average payout of 16,000 British pounds in an out of court settlement.

In a statement this week GSK said it "had the utmost sympathy for the people who have been, and are, afflicted by arachnoiditis" and believed it had "acted responsibly at all times in relation to the supply of myodil".

"Arachnoiditis is a complex condition that may be caused by a number of conditions such as spinal infections, surgery and trauma," the company said.

Many victims can't get a diagnosis from their doctors, who also fear legal action, and many have their legal options complicated because they had surgery after a myelogram.

There is currently another compensation case underway in Australia but the president of victim support group The Australian Arachnoiditis Sufferers Association NSW, Maureen McLean, says lawyers have warned victims they "could lose their homes if they sue the company unsuccessfully".

"It just doesn't seem fair," she said.

John Hagerman who had a myelogram in the 1970s is greatly disappointed at the parliamentary roundtable's findings.

"There are thousands of Australians suffering like hell and no direct course to have it properly investigated," he said.

He wants someone to be made legally responsible for the suffering cause by the dye.

ARACHNOIDITIS: KEY FACTS

• 1945-87: oil based dyes Myodil and Pantopaque injected for use in spinal x-rays
• 1956: article in The Lancet links Myodil to persistent pain in head, neck, back and legs
• 1960s: two articles in journal Radiology link the dye to arachnoiditis and call for it to be removed after x-ray
• 1969: US officials ask producers of Pantopaque to state on the product it should be removed after x-ray
• 1970s: UK doctors decide to remove Myodil after the x-ray because of concerns
• 1971: GSK inserts on its product information advice for Myodil that "occasionally arachnoiditis has been reported".
• 1973: GSK changes product information to "emphasise the importance of removing as much Myodil as possible at the time of investigation"
• 1979: federal Department of Health approves an application to register Pantopaque for general use in Australia
• 1980s: Pantopaque and Myodil (1987) withdrawn from sale
• 1995: 3,600 UK patients seek compensation from GSK in relation to Myodil, 426 get a small settlement.
• 2000: GSK reaches out court settlement with around 140 Australian claims in relation to Myodil

OTHER GSK LEGAL AND REGULATORY BATTLES

• 2003: GSK drug Seroxat, a common anti-depressant, was banned for use in children aged under 18 in the UK because of concerns it triggered suicides
• 2010: The licence for GSK's diabetes drug Avandia was revoked in Europe because of evidence that it could cause heart failure and heart attacks.
• 2011: GSK settled a US lawsuit over Avandia but continue to fight compensation claims over the drug in Britain. (Avandia is still sold in Australia)
• 2012: GSK was hit by a $3 billion penalty in the US after revelations it handed out cash, rock concert tickets, pheasant hunting trips to induce doctors to prescribe medicines for unapproved conditions.

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I'm no bigot, says anti-Islam MP

Geert Wilders, leader of The Party for Freedom, is bringing his anti-Islamisation message to Australia. Picture: Ferguson John Source: The Daily Telegraph

CONTROVERSIAL Dutch MP Geert Wilders has delivered a message to Australia ahead of a series of speaking events across the nation: "I am not the devil."

The anti-Islam campaigner has been allowed to enter the country after the federal government relented and agreed to give him a visa, claiming it did not want to make him a cause celebre by continuing to block his trip.

His inflammatory views have created fiery debate in Europe for years and he is set to deliver the same message in Australia after being invited by the Melbourne-based anti-Islamisation Q Society.

The 49-year-old told News Limited he was not a "monster from Mars", a bigot, an extremist, a racist, a far right-winger - nor anything else he has been labelled.

"I represent one million people in one of the most tolerant and oldest democracies in the world and I address real problems for real people which are ignored by the political elite, and say things about the nation of Islam; for me this is very normal that is what I am," he said.

Mr Wilders said he is a one-man mission to warn Australia of the dangers of Islamic immigration and loss of national identity.

"I hope you can learn from the mistakes we made about immigration and the lack of guts to define Islam for what it is," he said.

Anti-fascist demonstrators react to supporters of Dutch politician Geert Wilders in London, Friday, March 5, 2010. Anti-fascist demonstrators scuffled with police as Wilders brought his film denouncing Islam and the Quran to Britain's august House of Lords. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

"I am not talking about the people (Muslims). I've met very friendly and hospitable people in Arab and Islamic countries. I am talking about the ideology of Islam."

Wilders said he knew of the ANZACs story but warned the spirit that propelled our nation years ago was at risk of being lost.

"I believe Islam and freedom and incompatible and I think we should be awake to this terrible ideology that is coming to our countries and societies and getting stronger, stronger, stronger and we are not fighting it we are appeasing, appeasing, appeasing and we lost track of what we really are and what we should be and what our grandparents, also in Australia with the Anzacs, what they fought and died for to liberate Europe," he said.

Wilders, who controls the balance of power in the Dutch parliament as leader of the fourth largest political party, is scheduled to speak in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

The Islamic Friendship Association has said the Muslim community have the right to peacefully protest the speaking events but recommended people simply ignore Mr Wilders visit so as not to draw further attention to his extremist messages.

Wilders says his views are not popular but he felt someone had to say something and he had nothing to lose.

In 2004, two assassins armed with grenades were caught after an hour-long siege in the Hague plotting to murder the platinum-blond Wilders.

He has a small army of bodyguards who watch him around the clock and has to live in various safehouses and even an army barracks and prison facility and at one stage could only see his family once a week.

He continues to receive death threats with a fatwa declared.
He had been banned from the UK but eventually was allowed in but then had to move his speaking tour due to protests.

He has also been prosecuted in civil and criminal courts in the Netherlands over his "race hate" views but he was acquitted with the courts declaring what he was saying was not illegal.

He says he doesn't think his presence in Australia would interrupt the federal election and no politician wanted to meet him anyway but he hoped the issue of Islam could be discussed.

"In the interest of the parties in Australia, if I may give them one advice, to address the problem not label anything talking about culture and Islam as extreme or far right or whatever they are saying," he said.

"People must be represented, problems must be addressed and solutions must be found and by ignoring the problem or labeling people as crazy or devils if they talk about it or come and visit won't help them anyway."
 

 

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More kids growing up in rental homes

A new generation of children are growing up in rental houses. File image Source: The Courier-Mail

MORE Australian children are growing up in rental homes, a new analysis of Census figures show.

The proportion of families with at least one child aged 15 years or younger who are renting rose from 24.6 per cent in 2006 to 26.9 per cent in 2011, according to the analysis by Australians for Affordable Housing.

Campaign manager Joel Pringle said more families in rental accommodation was a sign of financial stress.

"Many young families are finding themselves stuck in a rent trap, unable to purchase a home, but also struggling to afford high rents, which make saving for a deposit incredibly difficult."

New figures released last week reveal the number of first home buyers in the property market fell to an 8 and a half year low last month.

According to Mr Pringle: "Housing remains unaffordable, and many people are struggling."

First home buyers getting older

More young people are also choosing to rent or live at home for longer before buying their own home.

According to economics professor Mark Wooden of the University of Melbourne, the age of the typical first home buyer is getting older as young people increasingly stay longer in education and take longer to get married.

"We know that age of leaving home has been gradually rising over time, so it's very likely that age of first home buyers is also rising."

Staying at home was also a more comfortable option these days, Professor Wooden said.

"In earlier days young people were effectively driven out of home by the lack of space. Parents today are wealthier and have large homes which can more easily accommodate adult children and their lifestyle than was true in the past, making it more attractive for young people to stay with parents."

Meanwhile, a greater supply of new rental apartments in inner city areas was luring more young people to rent for longer.

"More high quality rental apartments in attractive areas in the inner city may be leading some to choose rental over home ownership on the urban fringe."

Email Jessica Irvine.  Twitter: @Jess_Irvine

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Countries where you never want to get sick

Australians eyeing an overseas holiday this year are being urged to check which countries will help them with the cost of essential medical treatment - or risk being left with huge bills. File picture: Valeriu Campan Source: Leader

AUSTRALIANS eyeing an overseas holiday this year are being urged to check which countries will help them with the cost of essential medical treatment - or risk being left with huge bills.

Travellers who get sick or injured in popular destinations such as the US and Canada will be left high and dry, while those who visit less frequented spots like Malta and Slovenia are taken care of.

Our government has reciprocal health care agreements with eleven countries, which means Australian residents can get help with medical costs.

They include New Zealand, the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy and Norway.

But there is no agreement with Commonwealth member countries Canada or Singapore, or tourist hot spots such as Indonesia, Thailand or Fiji.

A Department of Health and Ageing spokesman said agreements were negotiated with countries with a health system of a similar standard to Australia's, and where a roughly equal numbers of visitors travel between Australia and the partner country.

"Entitlements usually include access to public hospital treatment, out-of-hospital consultations and pharmaceuticals, on the same terms as apply to residents of that country,'' he said.

"Depending on the country, certain types of treatment are free but in some cases treatment is subsidised and will involve patient co-payments.''

Insurance Council of Australia spokesman Campbell Fuller said it was important to take out private travel insurance regardless of whether the country you are visiting does or doesn't have a reciprocal health agreement.

"For travel insurance to take effect you have to have suffered a financial loss so countries where there's a reciprocal health arrangement there may be less of a financial loss,'' he said.

"But even if there is an agreement in place you may be incurring other costs relating to an injury including things like cancellation, third party treatments and ambulance transfers, which may form part of a potential claim.''

Cover-More Travel Insurance spokesman Zach Brookes said the type of help travellers get from reciprocal agreements varies from country to country.

"If you are hospitalised in Italy you will be taken care of in the public health system but the nursing staff there are a bit different to what you expect in Australia,'' he said.

"Here nurses take care of things like feeding you and changing bed linen - in Italy family members take care of those kind of duties.

"They're the kind of things the 24 hour emergency team help with when you buy travel insurance.''

John Kan and Rachel Evans, from Willoughby in Sydney, faced a hospital bill of up to $1 million after Ms Evans went into premature labour in Canada at 26 weeks and found her travel insurance didn't cover the labour or the baby Piper's hospital care.

The couple was charged $8120 a day for the 90 days Piper spent in the neonatal ward, not including doctors and specialist fees.

Ms Evans said she was surprised Canada was not covered by a reciprocal health agreement.

"Had she been born in Slovenia or the United Kingdom we would have been covered,'' she said.

"You should check agreements between countries and check the fine print on travel insurance policies.''

Mr Fuller recommended travellers visit the website findaninsurer.com.au to find the right product for their needs and the country they are visiting.

COUNTRIES AUSTRALIA HAS RECIPROCAL HEALTH AGREEMENTS WITH

• New Zealand
• United Kingdom
• Republic of Ireland
• Sweden
• The Netherlands
• Finland
• Italy
• Belgium
• Malta
• Slovenia
• Norway

COUNTRIES AUSTRALIA DOESN'T HAVE RECIPROCAL HEALTH AGREEMENTS WITH

• Canada
• United States
• Fiji
• Indonesia
• Thailand
• China
• Singapore
• Hong Kong
• Japan
• Germany

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Labor plan to sandbag 25 seats

A leaked Labor election battle plan sparked accusations Julia Gillard is sugar-coating an electoral bloodbath. File image: Kym Smith Source: The Australian

• ALP will target 25 seats with cash and manpower
• Concerns list sandbags Julia Gillard's support base
• Electorate is 'volatile' say strategists

A LEAKED election battle plan has revealed Labor's target seats list across Australia for the 2013 poll and sparked accusations Julia Gillard is sugar-coating an electoral bloodbath.

Obtained by News Ltd Sunday papers, the ALP's target seats document reveals the 25 federal seats officials will sandbag at the election with cash and manpower.

It confirms the Labor Party's battle is holding the line in NSW and Victoria with not a single Liberal-held seat on Labor's target seat list as vulnerable to attack.

The Greens' seat of Melbourne held by Adam Bandt is also in the ALP's sights, despite the fact that his support was crucial to Ms Gillard forming government.

Independents Andrew Wilkie, Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor's electorates are not on the target seats list however, although officials said the ALP was still hopeful of taking the Tasmanian seat of Denison from Mr Wilkie.

But Labor strategists are despondent the target seats lists is more concerned with protecting the Prime Minister's leadership, amid fears up to 20 Labor MPs could be thrown out of office.

State officials have previously ignored target seats lists in the past to run their own campaign in defiance of the ALP head office and some sources suggested strategists may choose to do so again.

"It's all wrapped up in the leadership. They can't have a frank discussion about what seats are at risk further up the pendulum,'' a Labor strategist said.

"They're trapped. I understand why they've got the list they've got. But the minute they have an honest conversation with people Julia Gillard has got to have some difficult conversations.''

Another senior strategist predicted a "reconciliation'' would happen closer to the September 14 poll that reflected seats on much bigger margins that were clearly in play.

"The electorate is volatile and what's in play is not the standard electoral pendulum,'' he said.

With the Coalition running hard on second tier marginal seats on bigger margins, the Labor Party remains concerned that seats including the central Victorian seat of McEwen held by Rob Mitchell is in the firing line and needs more resources and even Bendigo held by the retiring Steve Gibbons.

The target seats list nominates three marginal Labor Victorian seats as crucial to defend: Corangamite held by Labor's Darren Cheeseman, Deakin held by Mike Symon and La Trobe held by Laura Smyth.

New South Wales emerges as ground zero for Labor with the most seats in danger according to Labor's list, closely followed by Victoria and Queensland. Tasmania has also turned toxic for the ALP with seats on traditionally big margins regarded as in the danger zone.

The target seats list also nominates eight Liberal seats as vulnerable to attack including Brisbane, Forde, Longman and Bonner in Queensland, Hasluck and Swan in WA, Boothby in SA and Solomon in the NT.

Accusing Julia Gillard's team of failing to confront the reality of Labor's position, state officials are now scrambling to fund-raise and tap unions to help run campaigns in second tier ALP seats at risk which have been left off the target seats list.

They fear seats on much bigger margins in NSW, Queensland and Victoria remain high risk and could be starved of resources.

The target seats list is used to allocate political funding bodies on the ground to campaign and advertising priorities.

"You name it, it's basically the main game,'' a Labor source said.

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Nick off: Mr X deported from Malaysia

Nick Xenophon in the holding area in Kuala Lumpur airport after he was detained under police guard. Source: adelaidenow

SOUTH Australian Senator Nick Xenophon snacked on McDonald's and table crackers as he awaited deportation from Malaysia for being a threat to national security.

The Independent Senator is due to arrive in Melbourne in the morning after he sparked a diplomatic incident when he was detained at Kuala Lumpur airport during unofficial parliamentary business.

The independent Senator was stopped immediately on arrival in Malaysia, held in custody for 16 hours and put under security detail.

He was scheduled to board an Air Asia flight tonight.

"It is absolutely laughable - I was due to have a meeting with a senior Government Minister among others," Senator Xenophon said from an interrogation room where he was being held.

"The people detaining me have been polite but they told me the orders to get me out of the country immediately came from `high up'.

"They told me I am being deported under Section 81 of the Immigration Act, which says I pose a threat to the security of the country

"This was supposed to be a low-key visit by members of the major parties but now it has blown up into an international incident. It confirms all the concerns that have been raised about people being opposed to any kind of electoral reform."

His detainment triggered a diplomatic incident, with Foreign Minister Bob Carr demanding his immediate release.

"We are seeking a full explanation of this," he said. "We think it is sad for a friendly country to deport an Australian member of Parliament, who was up there for peaceful purposes.".

Australia's concerns were immediately raised with Malaysia's Foreign Minister, the Minister for Home Affairs and the Malaysian High Commissioner to Australia.

Austalian High Commissioner Miles Kupa was allowed to see Senator Xenophon late yesterday - bringing him a takaway meal to supplement the biscuits he was fed - and he was moved from an interrogation room adjoining female prison cells to an office area before being taken to an airport lounge.

Senator Xenophon co-authored an international observers' group report released last year on the Malaysian electoral system that was critical of gerrymanders and that called for significant electoral reform.

His deportation caused an Australian delegation of MPs to cancel their planned visit to the country. Liberal MP Mal Washer, Nationals Senator John Williams and ALP MP Steve Georganas were to join Senator Xenophon to meet Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, as well as Malaysia's minister in charge of parliamentary affairs Mohammed Nazri ahead of Malaysia's elections.

Senator Xenophon joined the Customs queue on arrival at Kuala Lumpur but was told there were "irregularities" with his passport and was taken to an interrogation room.

He was told he was not allowed to make calls but managed to make a call to the Sunday Mail when he was briefly left unattended and send a photograph of himself.

"I am effectively a prisoner here," he said. "The whole situation is ridiculous; we are meant to be the closest of friends with Malaysia. We are meant to be having a people-swap deal on asylum seekers but so far it looks like the only person being swapped is me."

Senator Xenophon, who paid for his own trip, had planned to stay in Malaysia until Tuesday night.

He plans to hold a press conference upon his arrival into Melbourne.

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