Dead pigs in China river exceed 13,000

The number of dead pigs found in a river running through Shanghai has reached more than 13,000. Source: AAP

THE number of dead pigs found in a river running through China's commercial hub Shanghai has reached more than 13,000, as mystery deepened over the hogs' precise origin.

Shanghai had pulled 9,460 pigs out of the Huangpu river, which supplies 22 per cent of the city's drinking water, since the infestation began earlier this month, the Shanghai Daily reported.

Shanghai has blamed farmers in Jiaxing in neighbouring Zhejiang province for dumping pigs which died of disease into the river upstream, where the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday another 3,601 dead animals had been recovered.

The Jiaxing government has said the area is not the sole source of the carcasses, adding it had found only one producer that could be held responsible.

Shanghai said it had checked farms in its southwestern district of Songjiang, where the pigs were first detected, but found they were not to blame, the Shanghai Daily said.

The scandal has spotlighted China's troubles with food safety, adding the country's most popular meat to a growing list of food items rocked by controversy.

Samples of the dead pigs have tested positive for porcine circovirus, a common swine disease that does not affect humans.

"Due to some farming households having a weak recognition of the law, bad habits, and lack of increased supervision and capability for treatment have led to the situation," the national agriculture ministry's chief veterinarian Yu Kangzhen said.

Yu attributed a higher mortality rate among pigs to colder weather this spring, though he ruled out an epidemic, the ministry said in statement posted on its website over the weekend.

The thousands of dead pigs have drawn attention to China's poorly regulated farm production. Animals that die from disease can end up in the country's food supply chain or improperly disposed of, despite laws against the practice.

In Wenling, also in Zhejiang, authorities announced last week that 46 people had been jailed for up to six-and-a-half years for processing and selling pork from more than 1,000 diseased pigs.

China faced one its biggest food-safety scandals in 2008 when the industrial chemical melamine was found to have been illegally added to dairy products, killing at least six babies and making 300,000 people ill.

In another recent incident, the American fast-food giant KFC faced controversy after revealing that some Chinese suppliers provided chicken with high levels of antibiotics, in what appeared to be an industry-wide practice.

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US backs Aust and NZ's Antarctic plans

The US is backing a proposal by Australia and NZ to set up marine sanctuaries in Antarctica. Source: AAP

HAILING the waters of Antarctica as a living laboratory, the United States has joined Australia and New Zealand in appealing for the creation of marine sanctuaries in the most remote and pristine part of the world.

The United States and New Zealand have drawn up a proposal for a marine sanctuary covering 1.6 million square kilometres of the Ross Sea, which would be the world's largest reserve.

Nations led by Australia, France and the European Union also want to protect 1.9 million square kilometres of critical coastal area in the East Antarctic.

But the proposals were blocked when talks in November at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) - comprising 24 countries and the European Union - ended without resolution amid concerns from Russia and China.

Now the nations in favour are boosting their efforts to get the two sanctuaries approved at a special meeting of the group in Germany in July.

"Antarctica is a collection of superlatives. It's the highest, coldest, the windiest, the driest, the most pristine and the most remote place on Earth," US Secretary of State John Kerry told a gathering organised by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

"And it has beguiled humankind for centuries as people have sought to understand it," he added, arguing that the waters of the Southern Ocean, home to 16,000 species, are a "living laboratory."

Kerry told the gathering at the National Geographic Society he believed the world can "work together to ensure that Antarctica remains a place devoted to peace and devoted to expanding human understanding of this fragile planet."

"This is one of the last places we could do this, and I think we owe it to ourselves to make it happen."

But conservationists argue the proposals do not go far enough to protect marine life - notably the Antarctic toothfish, which is fished in huge quantities and served as Chilean sea bass on restaurant tables around the world.

The Ross Sea proposal, while creating a reserve to protect Adelie and emperor penguins, as well as killer whales and Weddell seals, would still allow some 3,000 tonnes of toothfish to be commercially caught each year.

"We wanted New Zealand to come up with a much stronger proposal, and they just didn't, and they dug their heels in, and basically the US had to go for New Zealand's proposal," documentary film-maker Peter Young said.

"It doesn't matter how sustainable this quota is, we shouldn't be in the last place. We don't take buffalo from Yellowstone. We don't take kiwi from the forests in New Zealand. We should not fish from the Ross Sea."

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Xstrata cuts 100 jobs

GLOBAL miner Xstrata says it will axe about 100 jobs as part of a decision to close its Brisbane office.

The weak global coal market including poor prices and a high Australian dollar, as well as high costs, have been blamed for the decision.

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Mistress warned after lying about call

Accused killer Gerard Baden-Clay was facing debts of around $1 million at the time his wife disappeared.

FOLLOW our rolling coverage of day five of the committal hearing to determine if Gerard Baden-Clay will stand trial for murder of wife Allison.

4.27pm: HOMICIDE detective Peter Roddick has denied telling Toni McHugh that Gerard Baden-Clay had had affairs with other women.

"I don't believe I told her ... I asked her if she was aware of any other relationships," he said.

"I didn't volunteer any names to her."

He said detectives had to issue a warning to Ms McHugh before she gave her fifth statement after discovering she had earlier "failed to disclose" a phone call with Baden-Clay.

"She told us she had not had any contact with Gerard Baden-Clay and we were aware that that was untrue," he said.

Mr Davis asked how police were aware of the phone call.

"I'm not really sure how to answer that ... covert technology," Det Sgt Roddick said.

Det Sgt Roddick denied giving Baden-Clay any instructions to stay away from the ground search in case he stumbled upon a crime scene.

"It wasn't given to him by me and I'm not aware of that direction given to him per se," he said.

COURT: An artist's sketch of Gerard Baden-Clay's mistress Toni McHugh during the committal hearing in Brisbane.  Ms McHugh gave a tearful account on the stand in day four of the committal hearing to determine if Gerard Baden-Clay (inset) will stand trial for the murder of his wife Allison (inset right).

4.09pm: A FORMER homicide detective said investigators initially looked into whether Allison Baden-Clay's mental health had anything to do with her disappearance.

Detective Sergeant Gavin Pascoe, who was a Homicide investigator at the time, said they spoke to Allison's psychologist following discussions with two of her friends.

"We looked into what her health had been like, definitely," he said.

Defence barrister Peter Davis asked whether it would be fair to say that Baden-Clay was a person of interest in the investigation very early.

"Yes, I'd agree with that," Det Sgt Pascoe said.

Mr Davis asked whether Baden-Clay had been told to stay away from the ground search for his wife in case he came upon a possible crime scene.

"No, I don't recall that at all," the detective said.

"Not to my knowledge - but that's possible, yes."

3.50pm: ALL six plant species found in Allison Baden-Clay's hair and on her body were found in the car port area of her backyard, the court has heard.

WITNESS: Brookfield woman Christine Skrzeczynski contacted police as she believes she was the person spoted walking along Boscombe Rd on the morning Allison Baden-Clay was reported missing.

But four of those plant species could not have come from the Kholo Creek area at Anstead where her body was found.

Dr Gordon Guymer, director of the Queensland Herbarium, was given samples of plant material found in Allison's hair, arms and around her head to compare to plant species at her home and the Kholo Creek.

Dr Guymer visited both locations and listed the plant species found in each area.

He told the court only two of the plant species found on Allison's body could be found at Kholo Creek.

"The other species I did not observe, did not see (at Kholo Creek), even though I conducted an extensive survey," Dr Guymer said.

"All the plant species were present in the vicinity of the house.

"On the back patio there was a very good coverage of leaf litter."

He said some of the species found on Allison's body that were growing in her back yard were not found in nearby Brookfield houses.

Mr Davis asked whether Dr Guymer had looked for plant debris during his survey of the creek area.

WITNESS: Brookfield woman Cerian Morris said she heard sounds on the night Allison Baden-Clay disappeared.

"You were looking for plants of one species that were actually growing - you weren't looking for debris?" he said.

"No, that's true," he replied.

"Obviously plants flow down creeks," Mr Davis said.

3.22pm: AN insect expert has told the Brisbane Magistrates Court about different caterpillar species and whether they would irritate the skin.

Professor Myron Zalucki, an entomologist and insect ecologist, said while most caterpillars were harmless, some had poisonous "hairs" that would cause pain and irritation.

"Very painful, very painful," he said of some species of caterpillar.

"It lasts quite a while and you would probably head off to the doctor."

Prof Zalucki said he had looked at photographs of injuries on Baden-Clay's chest but could not give an opinion on whether they had been caused by a caterpillar.

Defence barrister Peter Davis asked whether Prof Zalucki thought Baden-Clay had been bitten.

WITNESS: Dr Candice Beaven said Gerard Baden-Clay told her he injured himself while shaving with an old razor.

"(If it) had lodged in the chest area and discharged its hairs, it would cause irritation, that's possible," Prof Zalucki said.

When asked whether Baden-Clay's injuries looked like irritation from a caterpillar, he said "that's hard to judge".

"One tends to break out in red patches," he said.

"Different people will react in different ways."

Prof Zalucki said he could not find any evidence of poisonous caterpillars, the kind that would cause skin irritation, in the Brookfield area.

"We went to the site where this supposedly occurred," he said.

"I could not find any nests on those Acacia trees.

"I then searched the literature ... and it is limited ... and could find none."

11.22am: Defence barrister Peter Davis said only one of the three routes Brookfield woman Christine Skrzeczynski takes on her morning walk would have had her on Boscombe Rd for any length of time.

Ms Skrzeczynski believes she was the person police were seeking who was spotted walking on the morning Allison Baden-Clay was reported missing.

She said she did not remember which of the three routes she would have taken that morning.

Ms Skrzeczynski said she usually leaves home between 6.15am to 6.30am to get to her job as a teacher librarian by 7am.

''To go the long route takes longer so I would leave for work a little bit later,'' she said.

''Sometimes I don't feel like the whole long way - sometimes I choose to do a shorter one because I'm feeling a little bit lazy.''

11.05am: A woman has come forward to say she believes she was the person spotted walking along Boscombe Rd, Brookfield, on the morning Allison Baden-Clay was reported missing.

Christine Skrzeczynski, a Brookfield resident, said she read in The Courier-Mail during Gerard Baden-Clay's bail hearing that a witness had seen a woman walking down Boscombe Rd matching Allison's description.

''I came forward because at the time of the bail hearing, just before Christmas, I read in The Courier-Mail that a witness had seen a lone woman walking on Boscombe Rd,'' she said.

''I thought there was a very strong likelihood that that would be me."

Ms Skrzeczynski said she always walks that route in the mornings that she works.

''I do that without fail, whatever the weather, and I don't see other people walking at that time in that location.''

Ms Skrzeczynski, a woman of similar age to Allison with blonde hair, provided evidence to the court that she had worked that day.

She also provided the court with photographs of outfits she would wear while walking.

10.57am: A financial advisor has been called to the stand and then dismissed without cross examination.

Tommy Laskaris, a financial advisor, said he knew Baden-Clay and his wife through dealing with their finances.

The court was adjourned so defence barrister Peter Davis could read some financial documents.

When the hearing resumed, Mr Davis said he did not need to question Mr Laskaris.

RELATED COVERAGE:

BADEN-CLAY: Tears in court as mistress testifies

DAY FOUR: Rolling coverage of Gerard Baden-Clay's committal hearing

DAY THREE: Gerard Baden-Clay's business partners testify

DAY TWO: Former Qld minister hears screams in the night

INSIGHT: Love and death laid out in court

10.11am: A Brookfield woman has confirmed she heard sounds on the night Allison Baden-Clay disappeared.

Cerian Morris was not cross examined by the defence team and was on the stand for about a minute.

She was not asked for any details of what she heard.

10.07am: A second doctor has told of a series of explanations Gerard Baden-Clay provided when he went to see her about scratches on his face, neck and body.

After visiting a doctor in Kenmore the morning after he reported his wife missing, Baden-Clay went to see a second doctor at 4.30pm in Taringa.

Dr Renu Kumar said she was told by Baden-Clay that he had cut himself shaving with an old razor.

She said she also looked at injuries on his chest and his armpit.

The court heard Baden-Clay told her he had caused the injuries on his chest and armpit by scratching himself.

''That looked consistent,'' she said.

The court heard she queried scratch marks on his chest, wondering whether the direction of the scratches meant they could be self-inflicted.

''Why can't you scratch yourself in the sternum?'' defence barrister Peter Davis asked.

''It's easily reachable by both hands.''

Dr Kumar said it was possible.

''I was concerned about the direction of the scratches,'' she said.

''I suppose when you are scratching with your own hand it's more of an arch.

''So that's what I was clarifying.''

The court heard Baden-Clay told her the scratches on his neck were from a caterpillar.

''He told me a caterpillar landed...and he scratched the caterpillar away,'' she said.

A large patch of grazing was from scratching an ''itch'', the court heard.

''He was itchy and he scratched himself there,'' she said.

9.47am: A general practitioner who looked at scratches on Gerard Baden-Clay's face the day after he reported his wife missing has told how he claimed to have cut himself shaving with a blunt razor.

Baden-Clay went to see Dr Candice Beaven at the Kenmore Clinic Medical Centre at 8.30am on April 21 and asked her to look at his injuries.

The real estate agent has been charged with the murder of his wife Allison and interfering with her corpse.

The six-day committal hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence to send him to trial.

The court heard Dr Beaven made extensive notes on her consultation with Baden-Clay about a week later.

''He obviously said that he injured himself while shaving with an old razor,'' defence barrister Peter Davis said.
Dr Beaven agreed.

''He said that he had been in a rush and that he had cut himself while shaving with a blunt razor,'' she said.

''He said initially that he thought it may have been in one motion and then I queried it because it was unusual that there were three separate abrasions and he said that he couldn't be sure because he was in a rush and it may have happened it a few.''

RELATED COVERAGE:

BADEN-CLAY: Tears in court as mistress testifies

DAY FOUR: Rolling coverage of Gerard Baden-Clay's committal hearing

DAY THREE: Gerard Baden-Clay's business partners testify

DAY TWO: Former Qld minister hears screams in the night

INSIGHT: Love and death laid out in court

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Qld MP Driscoll still facing allegations

A ROOKIE Queensland MP has been unable to shake off allegations of misusing taxpayer funds despite an attempt to explain himself in parliament.

Redcliffe MP Scott Driscoll has faced a raft of allegations in recent weeks, including claims of sexual harassment, financial mismanagement and improper business dealings.

Mr Driscoll defended himself in parliament on Tuesday, saying he had done nothing wrong other than failing to declare that his wife received more than $500 in income from a private company she runs.

Premier Campbell Newman has stood by his first-term MP, saying there's nothing to suggest he's unfit for public office.

The premier said investigations so far by the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC), and ongoing departmental probes, had all turned up nothing.

But Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk repeatedly attacked the government in parliament on Tuesday, saying Mr Driscoll had not done enough to explain himself.

"We have heard today a very brief explanation from the member for Redcliffe ... and it does not go to the root of all the questions that need to be answered."

Ms Palaszczuk said Mr Driscoll had other irregularities in his pecuniary interests register and listed 13 specific questions the opposition felt he still needed to answer.

Mr Newman said Mr Driscoll had become subject to "trial by media", a scenario he had encountered himself during last year's state election.

"I, myself, and my wife know only too well about ... trial by media, but particularly the tactics of the Australian Labor Party to use the CMC as a political weapon to attack people," he told parliament.

The latest claims against Mr Driscoll, published in The Courier-Mail on Tuesday, accuse him of using his electorate office and staff to run a retail lobby group he used to head.

He's also faced sexual harassment claims from former employees of the Queensland Retail Traders and Shopkeepers Association and calls to produce the association's books amid claims that about $700,000 was spent inappropriately.

Mr Driscoll's wife has also been accused of inappropriately receiving taxpayer funds from another organisation with which Mr Driscoll was involved, the Regional Community Association of Moreton Bay.

But the MP says he's the target of a campaign of "falsehoods" and the attacks on his wife have been particularly upsetting.

The CMC confirmed on Tuesday that it received a referral from the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services on November 27, 2012.

It alleged official misconduct against Mr Driscoll.

The CMC says it found at the assessment phase of the complaint, that the matter did not involve official misconduct and therefore fell outside its jurisdiction.

The commission pointed out in its statement on Tuesday that the assessment process is separate to an investigation.

The CMC said it's assessing all new relevant information on the matter to decide whether or not it needs to take any further action.

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Half a million new homes for Sydney

NSW Planning Minister Brad Hazzard has unveiled a 20-year blueprint for Sydney's growth. Source: AAP

A 20-YEAR blueprint for Sydney's growth has identified a need for more than half a million new homes by 2031 but lobby groups want clarity about where they will be built.

Unveiling the strategy on Tuesday, Planning Minister Brad Hazzard said 545,000 new homes would be needed to cater for a population of 5.6 million Sydneysiders in 20 years - a 17 per cent increase on the number forecast in 2010.

Seventy per cent of the additional 1.3 million people who will set up homes in Sydney will be the children of current residents.

"We're trying to be less constrictive and restrictive and what we are saying is the market place should have far more of a say in what the mix of housing is and where it will be," Mr Hazzard said.

"We can make forecasts on where we believe it should be, but we are not going to do what Labor did ... they allowed the planners to be the sole determinant."

Urban Taskforce CEO Chris Johnson said the obvious location for higher density housing was around transport nodes and town centres.

But a range of housing types was needed, including new houses on the city's fringe and apartments in existing suburban areas.

"We need more detail on the type of housing densities planned, particularly for existing urban areas," he said.

Patricia Forsythe, executive director of the Sydney Business Chamber, said the strategy needed to address the density of housing along transport corridors.

"We need to increase housing density along existing transport corridors as a matter of common sense to continue to maintain a working city.

"Many existing transport corridors, especially along railway lines, have old three-storey walk-up apartment buildings that are reaching their use-by date.

"Reforming the planning and strata systems could see a flurry of building activity to redevelop these buildings into higher density, modern apartments."

Housing Industry Association executive director NSW, David Bare, said "urgent action is required".

As part of the plan, the government also wants to create 625,000 extra jobs over the next two decades, with 50 per cent of them in western Sydney.

The draft metropolitan strategy divides Sydney into nine key areas, known as "city shapers". These include growth corridors along Parramatta Road, Anzac Parade and the North West Rail Link, and an enhanced role for Parramatta as Sydney's second CBD.

A western Sydney employment area would be developed south of Mt Druitt.

"We need to make sure in whatever we plan, the jobs are near houses, the houses near jobs and infrastructure is there to connect them," Mr Hazzard told parliament.

He said western Sydney was at the heart of the government's economic strategy.

"Sydney is in effect the Aladdin's Cave, but the part of the Aladdin's Cave that is the critical part is the west," he said.

"The west is where the treasure lies for people to tap."

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Cost for water on the rise in southeast

RATEPAYERS in five southeast Queensland Council areas, including Brisbane, will pay an extra 3.9 per cent for water and sewerage this coming financial year.

Confirming the news this afternoon, Queensland Urban Utilities, which services the Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Somerset and Scenic Rim council areas, said the increase should amount to about $28 to $37, or 53 to 71 cents per week for the average residential bill.

But consumers could be in for another hit yet, with the State Government yet to reveal any changes to the component of water bills that it controls - bulk water charges.

The increase comes after Queensland Urban Utilities froze its residential water and sewerage prices for the 2012-13 financial year.

QUU chief executive Louise Dudley said factors including increased operating costs and lower-than-expected growth had been taken into account when determining the increase.

Ms Dudley said she understood some found it hard to pay their bills and payment plans had ben developed to help those in need.

Charges for non-residential customers will also increase by 3.9 per cent in 2013/14, with final prices to be released in June.

Changes to the QUU water and sewerage access charges will be reflected on residential accounts issued from July 1 while consumption charges, including the state's bulk water charge, will be reflected on accounts issued from October 1.

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