Mitchell will play No.1 for South Sydney for the first time in Saturday night's Charity Shield after being named there by the Rabbitohs on Tuesday.

He played fullback as a junior and started there 16 times for the Roosters in 2016 before NSW and Australia No.1 Tedesco arrived in 2018.

Both Tedesco and Cronk believe their former Sydney Roosters teammate can star in the role but reckon he faces a challenge to adapt after being the world's best centre.

"With fullback you've got to be on the ball every minute of play," Tedesco said at Fox League's season launch.

"It's not that easy just to transition and become a gun straightaway.

"It's going to take him time but it's about being on the ball and supporting and repeat efforts. That's probably the hardest thing about fullback.

"But once he (gets used to it), there's no reason why he can't really excel in that position."

While Mitchell was linked to numerous clubs in the summer, he eventually landed at the Rabbitohs in January.

The move allows him to play fullback given he had Tedesco ahead of him at the Tri-colours.

But Cronk claims it is the Rabbitohs who will benefit more than Mitchell, after losing Greg Inglis and half their starting pack from last year.

"Souths needed Latrell more than Latrell needed Souths," Cronk told AAP.

"He was obviously in a situation where that contract came up.

"But Souths have lost (Sam) Burgess, (George) Burgess, (John) Sutton and moved Cam Murray to an edge.

"And Damien Cook needs quick play-the-balls to do his thing so (halves) Adam Reynolds and Cody Walker can jump off the back. Latrell brings those."

Cronk believes Mitchell's benefit will be two-fold, after providing quick play-the-balls on kick returns.

He can also provide Walker opportunities at five-eighth, drawing the eyes of defenders as he looms as an attacking option.

But the champion ha;fback also warned that it won't be easy.

"There is no doubt he has to work harder than he has the past few years," Cronk said.

"He's going to touch the ball 20 times from fullback, have 20 carries, as opposed to in the centre position where he touched the ball 10 times.

"He needs to work to build up a base where he is as effective from his first touch to his last like James Tedesco or Tom Trbojevic.

"But of course (he can succeed there); he is one of the most talented players in the competition."

The NRL club confirmed Furner, whose son is current Raiders chief executive Don Furner, passed away aged 87 on Monday night.

Furner coached Canberra between 1982 and 1986 before guiding the Raiders to their first grand final with co-coach Wayne Bennett in 1987.

"He had such a massive impact on the club and was around the club for many, many years after he finished coaching here before he did get quite ill," Stuart said.

"His ability to recruit and manage players in the early parts of the Raiders foundation years was years beyond himself.

"The amount of Sydney players he attracted to the club here early which was wonderful for the club because it's very hard to rebuild a club but it's even harder to start a club.

"There was some very quick success here under Don Furner.

"Winning that first grand final (in 1989) I still remember the joy they got out of what they had built and achieved and it was only seven years.

"It was five years to make a grand final and seven years to win a grand final. That's unheard of, that comes off the back of great management and great coaching."

Furner coached Australia between 1986 and 1988 and his other son David coached the Raiders between 2009 and 2013.

Stuart, who grew up with Furner Jr and has known the family almost all his life, revealed Furner Sr was the reason he played rugby union before switching to league with the Raiders.

"I remember being offered a contract here. Then Don told me to go and try and achieve the most you possibly could out of rugby union and then come back and talk to us and that was probably the greatest piece of advice that you could get as a young boy," Stuart said.

"That was the man-management of Don; it wasn't about the Raiders it was about the person. He gave me great advice and I always cherished that.

"He was a fun man to be around and I was very fortunate to have spent a lot of my childhood days at the Furner household and with old Don there as a father, he was a character and loving father."

Hugo Benscher, 89, was found bound and gagged with head injuries in his Paradise Point home on June 21, 1992.

Son Ron admitted he had given up hope that anyone would ever be arrested for his father's brutal murder.

"The way my father was killed at the age of 89, he was hit over the head, tied and gagged and he suffocated to death.

"A terrible way to go. They showed no mercy, no compassion, no heart, no feelings towards and old, sick feeble man."

"The murderer has had 27 years of freedom now surely it is time for the guilty party to pay."

At the time of murder there had been a string of burglary and home invasions in near canal estates.

Born in Hamburg in 1903, Mr Benscher came to Australia in 1948 and invented the inflatable ball bladder and valve for sporting equipment.

He lived in Sydney before retiring to the Gold Coast in 1986 where he lived alone.

Mr Benscher was last seen the day before the murder and received a phone call at 8pm before his body was found the next day.

Cold Case detectives launched a full review into the unsolved 27-year-old homicide investigation this year.

Police offered a $250,000 reward for help to solve the cold-case murder and detectives have not ruled out further arrests.

"Police believe there are more people who possess information about the murder of Hugo Benscher and may be more willing to give information following today's arrest," Detective Senior Sergeant Tara Kentwell said.

A nickel brooch recovered during the investigation may be linked to the murder, police said.

A Launceston man, formerly of the Gold Coast, was extradited from Tasmania to Brisbane on Tuesday where he was charged with one count of murder.

He will face Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

The clashes occurred in New Delhi on Monday, a day before US President Donald Trump was to visit the capital.

The violence took place as Trump was being feted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad.

There were no protests in New Delhi on Tuesday, when Modi was hosting Trump in the capital for the official portion of his visit to India.

During Monday's protests, police fired tear gas and used canes as they charged at the protesters in several districts of New Delhi.

The rival groups hurled rocks at each other in the area and set some houses, shops, vehicles and a petrol pump on fire. Police closed access to two metro stations in the area.

Police spokesman Anil Kumar confirmed seven deaths in the violence. The Press Trust of India news agency said about 50 protesters were wounded.

One police officer was killed in the violence after he was hit by rocks, police officer Anuj Kumar said. Eleven police officers were injured as they were hit by rocks trying to separate rival groups, police said.

Also Monday, Hindu nationalist and communist groups held pro- and anti-US street demonstrations in the capital.

India has been rocked by violence since parliament approved a new citizenship law in December that provides fast-track naturalisation for some foreign-born religious minorities but not Muslims.

Critics say the country is moving toward a religious citizenship test.

Ah Chee and Birchall are attempting to find their place in a settled Lions backline after off-season moves from Gold Coast and Hawthorn respectively.

Brisbane's consistency of selection last season was a key part of the club's rise from 15th in the 2018 campaign to second on the ladder in last year's home and away fixtures.

Andrews, along with established players such as Marcus Adams, Alex Witherden, Darcy Gardiner and Daniel Rich were mainstays at the back for coach Chris Fagan.

Both Ah Chee and four-time premiership winner Birchall are attempting to rebuild their careers after injury woes in recent times, and Andrews has lauded the way both have given their all to integrate with their new teammates.

"There's been some serious competition for spots and everyone's improving because that pressure for spots is there," Andrews said.

"We've really tried hard over the pre-season to integrate them into our system. Particularly as a back six, the way we work as a unit and the trademark that we live by as defenders.

"They've spent a lot of time learning that. Very intuitive guys, always willing to ask questions and that."

Andrews is also looking to acquire some new tricks of his own when he takes part in the AFL's State of Origin bushfire relief match on Friday.

The 23-year-old is part of the All Stars squad to face a Victorian selection at Marvel Stadium, a selection he views as a massive honour.

"To be viewed amongst the league to be able to play in that game, it's something that I'm really proud of and I'd imagine when my career eventually does finish something that I'll look back on very fondly," he said.

"Being in Brisbane we don't get a massive exposure to other teams and other players from other clubs so it's a really good oportunity for me to go down there, meet some other guys, see how they go about it and take as much away from it as I can."

Buderus, who played 257 games for his hometown club from 1997-2013, will oversee several aspects of the business including football, recruitment and salary cap management.

Buderus joins new head coach Adam O'Brien as well as recruitment manager Alex McKinnon and assistant coaches David Furner and Willie Peters in a new-look backroom for the club.

Regarded as one of the club's greatest players, Buderus won the 2004 Dally M medal and captained both NSW and Australia.

He also coached the Knights in a caretaker capacity in 2015.

As well as his Knights' role, the 42-year-old will continue as part of NSW State of Origin coach Brad Fittler's staff with the Blues chasing a third-straight series win in 2020.

"The opportunity to be back involved at the club that I love so much was too good to turn down," the 2001-premiership winner said.

"This is a whole new direction for me post-football but it's an exciting one."

Buderus will officially begin work with the club on March 16 and replaces experienced administrator Brian Canavan.

The Magpies take on Melbourne in the curtain-raiser for the AFL's bushfire relief game from 5.35pm AEDT at Marvel Stadium on Friday evening.

The Diamonds will face an All-Stars side in Netball Australia's bushfire charity match in Sydney on Sunday and Brazill is confident she can feature in both.

"I'm hoping I pull up well," she told reporters on Tuesday.

"There have definitely been talks about how much time I can get on court and is it even possible.

"It's still touch-and-go how much I'm going to play but if I have my way I'll be playing both, 100 per cent."

The cause is close to Brazill's heart with her family's property near the NSW town of Bargo narrowly avoiding being claimed by the bushfires that ravaged the area.

"It's really special to be a part of, especially for me after my home town was really affected by the fires," she said.

"I think the fire ended up being between 500m to a kilometre away before the wind changed, so we were extremely lucky.

"(But) we lost a lot of animals just because of the heat.

"So many of my school friends and family members lost their houses, it's devastating, but to see the community get behind them (is great)."

Collingwood's clash with the Demons is a pivotal Conference B match-up, with the second-placed Pies and their fourth-ranked opponents separated by percentage only.

Both suffered their first losses of the season last weekend, Collingwood going down to Fremantle by three points and Melbourne losing to St Kilda by five points.

Australia's batting has been wobbly during the early stages of the T20 World Cup, with the weight of expectation appearing to affect some of the players.

The tournament favourites were dismissed for 115 in their loss to India last week, and they were in all sorts of trouble at 3-10 against Sri Lanka on Monday before pulling through for the win.

Mooney entered the tournament in strong form after posting scores of 65, 6, 16, 50, and 71 not out in the recent tri-nations T20 series against India and England.

But she is yet to fire at the World Cup, with the left-hander dismissed for six in both matches so far.

Mooney will be aiming to turn things around in Thursday's clash with Bangladesh in Canberra.

The 26-year-old averages 78 in her five T20Is at Manuka Oval - the best international record of any player, male or female, at the venue.

That run includes an unbeaten 117 off 70 balls against England in 2017.

Mooney said although it was nice playing at a ground where she has enjoyed a lot of success, it wouldn't change her mindset.

And she's confident a good score is just around the corner for her.

"The nature of T20, it's pretty fickle. When you play a certain brand of cricket, it's either going to come off or it's not," Mooney said.

"You've just got to live with the days that it doesn't. I'm pretty comfortable with where I'm at with my game.

"I feel like I've evolved a little bit in the last 12 months, so I know that it's just going to take one game for it to come off and I'll be flying."

Australia must beat Bangladesh and New Zealand to have a chance of reaching the semi-finals.

The pressure on Australia has been immense in their home World Cup, and Mooney said it's something the players have embraced.

"I think it's really cool. It's amazing that the Australian public has got behind us in the fashion they have," Mooney said.

"I think pressure is a privilege, and we're the best team in the world.

"We've earnt that right a little bit to have that, and we can wear it as a badge of honour or we can crumble under it.

"Just like everyone else here, we're here to win the World Cup, we're here to win the games and be in that final at the MCG."

Port's fixture against St Kilda in Shanghai on May 31 is in doubt amid the spread of the coronavirus which originated in China.

"My view, I think that March is the very latest (to decide) ... and I would have thought mid-March to be honest," Port's chief executive Keith Thomas told reporters on Tuesday.

"If circumstances are changing and looking like they're improving, we may give it a bit more time but we're just taking a very flexible approach at the moment.

"We are like everyone else in the world really, we are just watching it really closely.

"From our point of view, we don't play until May 31 so we have got time and we will take our time and make what will be a very important decision."

Thomas said his club, St Kilda and the AFL were taking advice from the Australian and Chinese governments and the World Health Organisation.

Port have played a premiership game in Shanghai the past three seasons and Thomas said regardless of the outcome of this year's fixture, it wouldn't alter the club's China strategy.

"There will be financial impact if it doesn't go ahead," he said.

"That impact gets bigger the closer you get to the game as you start to build infrastructure around it so that's a consideration.

"But it's not the most important consideration.

"We see this as a short-term moment that we're having to deal with. It doesn't adversely affect our thinking about China as a strategy.

"It's just a moment we're needing to deal with like just about every other company in Australia."

Thomas said if the game went ahead, the club wouldn't force players to travel.

"They (players) are keen advocates for the game," he said.

"They trust the club's processes and that we have their best interests at heart and that we will make a decision that will in no way compromise anyone's health.

"If we decided to make that call (to travel) and a player decided that he didn't want to go for whatever reason, there's no way that we force that.

"But our players have not expressed any of those concerns."

In the NSW South Coast town of Mogo, fire destroyed a third of the town in late December, claiming the home and business of Peter Williams.

Mr Williams says the debris of his old converted church serves as a painstaking reminder of everything lost.

"This place is still a mess," he told AAP.

"It's taking a very long time to clear and we just want to start getting back to normal."

Sky News reported over the weekend the federal government's bushfire royal commission announcement had stoked confusion regarding who would collect the tab for waste disposal.

In question time on Monday, opposition leader Anthony Albanese asked Prime Minister Scott Morrison whether he was attempting to reduce the federal government's funding commitment by not including disposal costs.

Mr Morrison said the proposal was an arrangement between the federal treasurer, state treasurer and the National Bushfire Recovery Agency.

"What we proposed is what was announced," Mr Morrison said on Monday.

The disposal is split between the two governments, which has led to slow clean-up efforts.

Mr Williams described the federal government's work as "fairly disappointing", with state efforts slightly better.

Glen Innes Severn Council mayor Carol Sparks said her local government area in the NSW northern tablelands is still waiting for clean-up efforts after fires passed through Wytaliba and Torrington in November last year.

Although the majority of the shire is green, she said the clean-up is now more difficult after recent rain caused flooding.

"They (government) didn't really get onto the job soon enough, I guess it wasn't a priority but people are frustrated, that's for sure," Ms Sparks told AAP.

Ms Sparks said the army is currently in the area but heavy rain has halted real progress, in particular the redevelopment of the Old Grafton Road Mann River crossing bridge.

This has hindered the Wytaliba community from accessing other towns and stopped children from attending school.

"Bureaucracy has caused all sorts of hold-ups, but people are being resilient," she said.

Coach Ricky Stuart confirmed Scott will feature against the Bulldogs as he waits to hear if NRL boss Todd Greenberg will stand him down ahead of an impending court date.

Scott is accused of assaulting a female police officer and a male senior constable before being tasered and arrested following Australia Day celebrations.

The 22-year-old hasn't played for Canberra yet after joining on a four-year deal worth a reported $1.8 million from Melbourne this off-season.

"He's playing this weekend. That still has to be dealt with by the powers that be but he's available to play this weekend," Stuart said.

"He is looking forward to playing some football. He's remorseful in regards to what's happened and it would be an understatement to say we haven't taken this seriously.

"We genuinely have and it's been an ongoing situation but I can genuinely say he's remorseful about the choices and the situation he got himself into, but it's not the Wanda Beach Murders either."

Stuart will take around 26 players to Port Macquarie to face Canterbury with English superstar John Bateman (shoulder) the only one of his best 17 sidelined.

England international halfback George Williams will make his club debut and Stuart is eager to see how he performs alongside five-eighth Jack Wighton.

"I just hope he finds a bit of cohesion and combination with Jack," Stuart said.

"He's played a lot of football with (Canberra hooker) Josh Hodgson from a national point of view but he hasn't been able to do a lot of training with Jack.

"He's had a thigh injury and been out of the main session for three or four weeks of the five or six weeks we've had, so to get 50 or 60 minutes on the weekend will be really important for both those boys."

Tiffany Anna Taylor, 16, disappeared on July 12, 2015, after allegedly meeting Rodney Wayne Williams, 65, for a paid sexual liaison via the Oasis website.

Her body has never been found.

Williams pleaded not guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Tuesday to murdering Ms Taylor at Waterford West, south of Brisbane.

But prosecutor Philip McCarthy QC says police found traces of Ms Taylor's blood in Williams' Hyundai sedan.

"On the glove box, on the headrest of the passenger seat ... on the front passenger seat, on the gear stick of that car and by the passenger side door handle," he said during his opening address to the jury.

Mr McCarthy said detectives also found CCTV footage of Williams' car on the Ipswich Motorway with a female passenger.

Williams then allegedly exited into the remote Larapinta industrial area, where his car remained stopped for about 20 minutes.

"Something happened before (Williams' car) returns to the cul-de-sac that is part of the industrial area," Mr McCarthy said.

Mr McCarthy said Williams then drove to the Esk-Ferndale region, where police have since searched dams and bushland without success.

Later in the day, Williams allegedly set about laying a false trail of communication with the teen on the Oasis website.

A message sent about three hours after Williams allegedly picked her up said: "Sorry I didn't turn up, decided I wasn't going to pay for it".

But Mr McCarthy said this was a lie, one of the many Williams told police after he murdered Ms Taylor.

He also told the jury Williams attempted to flee from Brisbane to Darwin a day before an interview with police.

All this was evidence Williams was responsible for Ms Taylor's disappearance, he said.

The Reds' record 64-5 defeat of the Sunwolves was reward for three previously encouraging but fruitless weeks on the road.

It pushed them to second in the Australian conference and ninth overall, with this Saturday's clash against the Durban-based Sharks (3-1) shaping as the perfect litmus test for the improved side.

"The best way to vent was to do good stuff; we're glad we could put them to the sword and the vibe's been good since," captain Liam Wright said.

"We wanted to put up ... that 80-minute performance, but we still let up at stages which we'll try and fix this week."

Wright knows the lapses in previous games can't be repeated against the in-form South African outfit, who he says will test his young team's football smarts at Suncorp Stadium.

Lightning-fast winger Makazole Mapimpi and fullback Aphelele Fassi tormented the Melbourne Rebels in their Ballarat win last weekend, while they are complemented by a typically brutish South African forward pack.

Wright, born in Durban before his move as a child to Brisbane, knows what's coming on Saturday but says the challenge is to be clever enough to stop it.

"They tend to kick the ball back, make us play out and use on-ballers to win it back, play off turnovers and attack out wide from there with their pace," he said.

"That opens up opportunities for us; they're going to make us play with the ball a lot, so we have to manage that well, use our game managers to put us well into their end and trust our defence to keep us there.

"A big part of it is not overplaying our hand ... playing smart footy, getting to the right end of the field and jumping on their errors."

Doing so would be a step in the right direction after the Brumbies, Lions and Jaguares all overcame second-half deficits against the Reds because they failed to adapt to their opponents' tactical shifts.

Almost 12,000 fans turned up for the side's first home game last week and Wright said he felt the sense of occasion as they looked to prove their credentials this weekend.

"We are playing for them, so it was awesome to see them show faith in us and hopefully they'll do it again this week," he said.

He also said the bushfires could lead to greater bilateral cooperation on ways to adapt to climate change and water scarcity.

Reuven Rivlin arrived in Australia on Friday for a week-long visit and on Tuesday addressed the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce in Sydney.

He is the first serving Israeli president - a largely ceremonial role - to visit Australia in 15 years. Executive power is vested in the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who next week will go to the polls for the third time in 12 months.

Mr Rivlin on Tuesday said Israelis had prayed for an end to the Australian bushfire crisis and hoped the tragedy could encourage closer ties.

"That tragedy, that terrible disaster, is an example of a crisis that might lead to real breakthroughs in the way we cooperate with our challenges, your challenges, caused by climate change," Mr Rivlin said.

"Both of our nations are familiar with the complex craft of turning harsh conditions into remarkable success."

Spruiking his country as a "start-up" and "innovation" nation, Mr Rivlin said he saw similarities in the Israeli and Australian mindsets.

Two-way trade between the countries in 2018 was worth almost $1.3 billion.

"The strong friendship between Australia and Israel is built on shared values and a long history," the former Speaker of the Israeli Knesset said.

"But it's also based on the striking similarity between our spirits."

Mr Rivlin did not address the media nor make reference in his speech to the Israeli-Palestine conflict. Gaza militants on Monday fired rockets towards Israel - which responded with air strikes - for the second consecutive day.

The Penfolds owner said on Tuesday its staff in China were yet to return to work amid virus containment controls set in place by Chinese authorities, a scenario that has also hurt its partnership network, including wholesalers, retailers and logistics providers.

Post-Chinese New Year consumption had been significantly affected as the virus continues to spread, Treasury said.

Treasury had forecast 5.0 per cent to 10 per cent growth in earnings for the year.

A further update is expected at the company's full year result later this year.

A glut of cheap wine had already soured Treasury's US performance in the first half.

The company joins other local firms such as Blackmores and Qantas in flagging a likely coronavirus hit with investors during the past few days.

Australian stocks have plunged for a second day after fears the coronavirus could become a pandemic sparked a major sell-off on global markets.

Treasury shares were 4.56 per cent lower at $11.10 by 1537 AEDT.

The Sydney-based company told the ASX on Tuesday its net profit after tax increased by 1.2 per cent to $7.9 million, although this equated to a 60 per cent increase on the year before when $2.9 million non-recurring gain on sale was excluded.

Johns Lyng's first-half normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were up 77.7 per cent to $20 million, while total sales revenue increased by 53.1 per cent to $233.7 million.

The company, which repairs damaged properties for insurers, said the result was driven by a consistently high volume of business-as-usual activity in its insurance building and restoration services segment, which recorded a 41.5 per cent increase in sales revenue.

It also said the Sydney hailstorms in December 2018 and Townsville floods in early 2019 contributed to its catastrophic events sales revenue jumping by 154.4 per cent to $38.2 million.

Chief executive Scott Didier said Johns Lyng had built an unrivalled capacity to respond and assist in driving recovery efforts when extreme events occurred.

"While weather and accidents are unpredictable, it's certainly no fluke that we achieve results like this," he told the ASX on Tuesday.

"The events serve as a reminder not only of our capacity to respond but equally the fact that our performance is not tied to regular economic cycles. Rather, we are linked to the vagaries of the environment".

Mr Didier said the company was also in the midst of responding to six non-forecast "catastrophic" events, including the summer bushfires and recent storms in NSW and Victoria.

"These have led to an unprecedented record number of registrations and job volumes and we expect these to be reflected in performance in the second half of FY20 and into FY21," he said.

The company announced a fully franked interim dividend of 1.8 cents per share.

Johns Lyng stocks had risen by 3.07 per cent, or eight cents, to $2.69 by 1452 AEDT.

* Before politics: Counsel at the WA Director of Public Prosecutions from December 2004 to January 2006, then a barrister and solicitor in private practice

* 2006: Won the Victoria Park by-election, triggered by the resignation of former Premier Geoff Gallop

* 2017: Became the first indigenous treasurer at a state or federal level in Australia

* 2019: Forecast five years of budget surpluses in WA after five years in the red

REACTIONS TO MR WYATT'S RESIGNATION:

* Federal minister for indigenous Australians and relative Ken Wyatt: "While we belong to different political parties, we share an unwavering commitment to the people of WA and indigenous Australians across our nation."

* Federal finance minister and WA Senator Mathias Cormann: "It's been a privilege to work with him to resolve a number of key federal-state issues of importance to our state."

* Former WA Liberal treasurer and leader Mike Nahan: "Although we are fierce opponents in the chamber, your departure will be a great loss for the Labor party and parliament."

* WA Liberal leader Liza Harvey: "On behalf of the Liberal opposition, I would like to thank Ben Wyatt for his significant contribution to public life in WA."

* Former federal Labor MP Tim Hammond: "First and foremost a dear and lifelong mate, Ben Wyatt leads from the front, both in politics, and even more so in his commitment to his nearest and dearest. I'm incredibly proud of him and confidently predict he will not regret this decision one bit. Well done, brother."

* CCI WA chief executive Chris Rodwell: "Western Australia will lose a disciplined hand at the economic tiller. Mr Wyatt has clear foresight about the economic challenges for our state and a strong vision for growing our economy ... he played a defining role in achieving reform of the GST."

Most relate to the alleged killing of non-combatants during operations from 2005 to 2016, Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force James Gaynor said in a report tabled in parliament on Tuesday.

Others involve cruel treatment of these people.

The inquiry, which started in May 2016, is being led by NSW Supreme Court judge Paul Brereton.

He and a team of 14 military officers had interviewed 338 witnesses by July in an attempt to get to the bottom of rumours of wrongdoing by Australia's special forces soldiers.

The inquiry is focused on the treatment of people who were clearly non-combatants or who were no longer combatants, not on decisions made in the heat of battle.

It is also examining the organisational, operational and cultural environment of the special forces.

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds expects the inspector-general will give the inquiry's report to the Chief of Defence Force within months.

That will include recommendations as to what action should be taken against any soldiers found to have committed war crimes.

"Where there are serious rumours and allegations raised about the conduct of our ADF members, Australians would rightly expect that they are thoroughly examined according to the rigorous and well-established processes in place," Senator Reynolds said.

"Australians would also expect that ADF members are treated with utmost fairness throughout these processes."

Mr Gaynor said the inquiry's task had been very difficult because it started from following up vague rumours of serious wrongdoing by SAS soldiers.

"The inquiry team has had to find out what rumours there were, and then to try to track each rumour through multiple witnesses and documentary records back to its source," his report says.

"It has also taken some years for members of the special forces community - both those who continue to serve and former members - to develop sufficient confidence in the inquiry and the genuineness of Defence senior leadership's desire to find out if the rumours are true, to be prepared to make disclosures to the inquiry.

"Gaining the confidence and trust of some of these witnesses, whose ADF careers have been spent in an environment in which secrecy is treated as fundamental, has required considerable effort and time."

Some witnesses were only just now willing to tell what they knew.

Mr Gaynor says the final report should "provide closure for the many serving and former soldiers who have lived with concerns about the subject matter of these rumours for many years".

He hoped it would allow the special forces to move on by exposing past misconduct and making clear that was separate from its current operations.

Senator Reynolds highlighted the legal, psychological, medical, pastoral, and social work support services available to witnesses and other people involved in, or impacted, by the inquiry.

A parallel police investigation into the war crimes allegations is also under way.

The Australian Rail Track Corporation, the federal agency in control of the section of track at Wallan where the crash happened, said the removal will be completed on Tuesday.

"The recovery and safe removal of the final train carriages and locomotives from the Wallan derailment incident site is expected to be completed today," ARTC said in a statement.

Transport for NSW contractors put the lead locomotive on a specialised flatbed truck about 1pm Tuesday, while two carriages were lifted on to trucks on Monday night.

The trucks will leave for Sydney on Wednesday and return later in the week to load the two remaining carriages from the site.

ARTC contractors have already begun repairing the tracks ahead of signalling works starting.

"The site is being carefully controlled to ensure the safety of all those who are now involved in the site recovery and repair," ARTC said.

"We acknowledge that the community is seeking to understand what caused the incident and we will continue to provide full support to the ongoing investigation which will look at all potential factors."

The XPT train from Sydney to Melbourne derailed at Wallan on Thursday night, killing experienced driver John Kennedy and his pilot, a 49-year-old man from Castlemaine in Victoria.

It was revealed on Monday, Mr Kennedy raised concerns with a friend about train faults on previous journeys along the same route.

"My last six Melbourne return trains have been very late or cancelled mainly due to train fault issues," an email sent to Australian National University professor Clive Williams on February 3 read.

"Three of the six runs I was down to one engine, on another trip I had no 'speedo' and the only trip without a train fault was disrupted by the big derailment last week."

It is believed the derailment mentioned in Mr Kennedy's email relates to a freight train that left the tracks on January 29 at Barnawartha, about 200km north of Wallan.

Investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau were on the scene from Friday morning and will release a preliminary report after 30 days, ahead of a final report in 18 months.

Crichton was solid in his first appearance as a three-quarter in the club's World Club Challenge win over St Helens on Sunday morning.

And, after making a living in the forwards over the first four years of his career, Crichton now is a strong chance of finding a new home in the backline.

Tedesco believes it's where he'll play in their season-opener against Penrith.

"To be honest, he's probably our best solution at the moment," Tedesco said at Fox Sports' NRL launch on Tuesday.

"We have a few young guys who you probably can't throw them in week in, week out, to start the year. I think Angus did a good job for us.

"And I can't see why he can't handle (it). He'll obviously keep working and keep learning new things out in the centres, but pretty solid."

There was a brief scare during the match when Crichton went down with a sickening concussion, however was cleared of serious injury.

"Obviously he got his head in a bad position and got concussed, but he was fine after the game. He was fine yesterday as well," Tedesco said.

The focus for the defending premiers now turns to their preparations for a shot at a historic three-peat, a potential feat Tedesco was quick to shut down.

Roosters coach Trent Robinson objected to any talk of going back-to-back last year before his side claimed consecutive titles with their triumph over Canberra.

"People always ask about it, but pretty similar to last year. We didn't think about going back-to-back," Tedesco said.

"We just kept thinking about what we had to do on the training park, the things we need to keep winning week in, week out, and focusing on the game ahead."

The Roosters finalise their pre-season with a trial against Newcastle in Gosford on Saturday, however it is unclear how many of their regulars will play.

Meninga faces one of the toughest tasks in the NRL, trying to help rebuild the Titans as head of performance after three years in the bottom three.

Fifita is off contract at Brisbane at the end of this year after a breakthrough 2019 where he made his Queensland debut, and has been linked to the Titans.

"He's a marquee player, and a marquee player so young," Meninga said of the 20-year-old.

"You can invest in a player like Dave for a long period of time.

"He's a bit like (Jason) Taumalolo who you can bank a team around and he can bring a lot of talent to the club.

"If he is available he is someone we would love to talk to. We're a club on the up so if Dave becomes available we would certainly be having those conversations."

Meninga virtually used Tuesday's media call at Fox League's season launch as a sales pitch to Fifita, who he has previously coached for Australia in the nines.

He pointed out that the Titans under new coach Justin Holbrook are virtually the only other option for the powerful second rower if he was to leave Brisbane.

"I don't know (if he will leave). He would be really happy with the Broncos. They have nurtured him since he was a young boy," Meninga said.

"He is very family orientated ... his mum and dad play a big role in his decision making.

"We hear he doesn't want to venture too far, he doesn't want to come to Sydney.

"So with those things in mind there is only other option for him, that's the Titans."

Meninga also noted the star's background as a Titans junior, and that other ex-coast prodigies had returned to the club from the Broncos.

"Dave himself grew up there with Keebra Park ... it's an attraction," Meninga said.

Meanwhile Sam Burgess also confirmed he met with Fifita last December for South Sydney, but said the door had been closed with Jai Arrow signed for 2021.

"There's no space left," Burgess told AAP.

"He's a wonderful player, I wish him all the best in the future. I just went up to see what he was all about and meet him as a person."

But regardless, former Brisbane assistant and Fifita's Origin coach Kevin Walters insisted he didn't believe Fifita would leave the Broncos.

"He's been in that club for a long time and I'm sure that he really loves being around the place," Walters said.

"It's going to take something really special to get him out of that situation."

A third passenger from the Diamond Princess cruise ship tested positive for COVID-19, the state's chief health officer Brett Sutton confirmed on Tuesday.

The trio were repatriated to Victoria and are recovering in isolation.

This new confirmed case has brought the state's total number of people infected with the deadly virus to seven.

Four people who previously tested positive for the virus in Victoria have recovered, the state's health department told AAP.

The confirmation of several positive cases among the group of 164 evacuees from the Diamond Princess brought Australia's confirmed coronavirus cases to more than 20.

Globally, nearly 78,000 people have been infected in 29 countries.

People who have been in mainland China in the past fortnight should self-isolate for 14 days after leaving the Asian nation, authorities advise.

Meanwhile, a Melbourne hospital confirmed it didn't have any positive cases of COVID-19, but had put six members of its staff in isolation.

The Box Hill Hospital said six staff were undertaking self-isolation for people determined to be in close contact with the virus.

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation said that nurses put in isolation can take a special leave and payment.

Oates lost six kilos and spent nine days in hospital on a drip after Christmas when a leg cut led to a recurrence of a staph infection he'd endured two years ago.

"If you'd asked me a few weeks ago whether I'd get back to top form I would have said no because I'd never felt so weak, slow and unfit in my life," Oates wrote on the club's website.

"I found it so tough to run, do gym and I felt as though I had no speed."

The Queensland State of Origin representative will start on the wing in Saturday's final tune-up at Redcliffe against the Titans.

Former skipper Darius Boyd comes in after being rested last week, with Jesse Arthars dropping back to the bench in an extended 26-man squad.

Tom Flegler will start at prop and Tevita Pangai will play in the second row, with captain Alex Glenn (hamstring) rested until their season-opener.

David Fifita will play on the other edge after turning out for the Indigenous All Stars team last Saturday.

In other team news for the league's final weekend of pre-season matches, Wayne Bennett will trot out at full-strength South Sydney team for the annual Charity Shield in Mudgee.

That includes marquee signing Latrell Mitchell, as well as new captain Adam Reynolds, and Cameron Murray in his new position in the second row.

They'll take on a St George Illawarra Dragons side featuring Trent Merrin for the first time since his departure in 2015, while James Graham has again been rested.

Cronulla have also named their best available 17, with Matt Moylan (hamstring), Bronson Xerri (shoulder) and Josh Dugan (knee) unavailable.

All three are battling to be fit for round one.

Penrith pair James Fisher-Harris and Kurt Capewell are set for their first action of the pre-season in a full-strength team in their hit-out against Parramatta in Bega.

Canterbury captain Josh Jackson and teammate Adam Elliott are another two who get to blow the cobwebs out in their trial against Canberra.

"He was in a fetal position .. curled up," Rebecca Horton testified on Tuesday in the NSW Supreme Court.

Her former partner, Charlie Younes, 45, has pleaded not guilty to murdering 18-year-old Steven Copo Horton in October 2013 at the Emerton house she had just moved into in Sydney's west.

Steven was born with severe intellectual and physical disabilities and was incapable of walking and talking, but could move himself about by crawling or shuffling along on his bottom.

Crown prosecutor Rohan Cooley alleged Younes "used a hand or hands to force, in some fashion, by applying pressure to the neck area of the deceased, force him under the water, thereby in effect drowning him".

Ms Horton said Steven, whose mental age was that of a toddler, was "happy all the time", everything made him excited and he constantly made "happy scream" noises.

She got together with Younes in 1997 but the relationship deteriorated by 2013 and he reacted angrily when she moved into the Emerton house a week before her son's death.

"He wanted me to go back to the other house," she said.

"Then he wanted to move into that house and sell his house... It wasn't going to happen."

Younes kept on turning up at the new house and had wanted to stay over the night before her son died, but she told him to leave.

"Just after two o'clock in the morning I heard Charlie screaming out my name," she said.

She jumped out of bed, saw other family members in the hallway and Younes either in the bathroom entrance or more inside the room.

Steven, who was wearing his pyjama pants, was in a fetal position in the bath.

They placed him on his bed, but "you could tell he had died".

Ms Horton said she did not think her son could have pulled out the pin on the bolt on the "half" door to his bedroom to get out into the hallway, or then to have moved quietly past his wheelchair in front of the door.

"When he is crawling around he continually makes noises," she said.

While he could have pulled himself into the bath, there would have been some noise and she did not think he would be able to turn on the taps.

Mr Cooley told the jury Younes told ambulance officers something like he had found Steven after waking up and hearing water running.

He told police at the scene he had been watching TV when he heard the water running for some time.

He said he thought Ms Horton was having a shower, but when he went to investigate, found Steven's body.

In his later police interview, Younes gave a third version saying he knocked on the front door as he didn't have a key, but couldn't alert anyone to let him in.

Younes said he thought he heard water running so he went to the back of the house where the bathroom was located, "shimmied up" through an open window and discovered Steven dead in the bath.

Ms Horton will be cross-examined by defence lawyer Leah Rowan on Wednesday.

They just shouldn't be in coal.

Adam Bandt, who took over the party's leadership three weeks ago, says people are often surprised to hear his pro-mining message.

Over the past two years, he's held meetings in coal mining communities with unions, councils and local businesses, and he's got more planned in NSW, WA and Queensland.

Mr Bandt says Australia owes a debt of thanks to mining workers for powering the country and his unexpected message is that the best job for a coal miner is another mining job..

"I've had the guys in the hi-vis vests just sitting there with their arms crossed sort of glaring at me all the way through," Mr Bandt told AAP on Tuesday.

"They'd come up to me afterwards and say, 'I don't agree with everything you say, but you're the only one here who's telling us the truth and being honest with us'."

He believes coal communities know the transition away from the highly polluting fuel is coming and they're crying out for leadership and honesty.

"I'll be pushing hard to, in fact, expand mining in areas that will set Australia up to be a renewable superpower."

That includes expanding the lithium industry in WA that can supply batteries for the world, and looking at rare earths and other minerals in Queensland that will be vital to a zero-carbon economy.

This revamped vision of mining is part of Mr Bandt's push for a Green New Deal, similar to that being implemented in Europe and promoted in the US.

He describes it as an exit strategy from the jobs, climate and inequality crises the country is stuck with right now.

His approach to the leadership is seen by some as more aggressive than his predecessors, particularly on climate action.

But he says ramping up the rhetoric is needed to properly convey the situation's urgency.

Mr Bandt talks passionately about warnings that the world is on track to warm by more than three degrees and what this will mean for his own daughters.

"The prime minister, in particular, has been misleading with his words and has led people into a false sense of security," he says.

"We've got to confront the reality of what is the grim life that's ahead for our kids unless we act in the next 10 years."

And he accuses Labor and the unions of being no better with their reassurances that coal will be part of the nation's economic future.

"If we don't have a plausible jobs-rich alternative for these communities, then the conservatives are going to keep winning elections in Queensland."

That's the message one Liberal senator wants to send as Australia stares down a killer pig disease and a stink bug that decimates crops.

"It's not just because we don't want to wake up in the middle of the night with a swarm of yellow crazy ants deciding to nest on our face and temporarily blind us," Queenslander James McGrath told parliament on Tuesday.

"It is because of the importance of the agriculture industry to Australia."

Legislation passed federal parliament on Tuesday making minor tweaks to biosecurity laws which allow more computerised decision-making.

The government is trying to streamline biosecurity arrangements as the country tries to fend off threats from the devastating African swine fever and the brown marmorated stink bug.

Labor supported the bill, but senator Glenn Sterle criticised the coalition for shelving a tax on imports designed to fund biosecurity measures.

"The Morrison government cannot use this bill as an excuse to not properly fund Australia's biosecurity system," he said.

"The government has failed to even introduce its own biosecurity levy which it announced in the 2018 budget."

The town about 500 kilometres west of Brisbane is bracing for flooding on Tuesday and Wednesday after weekend downpours.

The Balonne River may peak at 12.5 metres on Thursday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

This height is about 1.5m over Balonne Highway which runs through the town.

An emergency declaration was issued for St George by Queensland Police on Tuesday morning.

Police have asked residents to avoid using personal watercraft in the river system, saying it is likely to increase damage and property loss.

Homes in St George are at risk of flooding and sandbags are being provided, says Balonne Shire Mayor Richard Marsh.

"Residents in these areas are asked to warn neighbours, secure their belongings and relocate as soon as practical," Cr Marsh said.

"Ergon Energy have advised that power outages will occur in this area once the river reaches 12m."

The town of Dirranbandi - about 90km south of St George - is also preparing for flooding forecast for Friday.

The declaration has been issued for the Balonne River from Beardmore Dam to the Queensland-NSW border - about 140km.

Beardmore Dam, north of St George, which supplies water to the region has been spilling for almost a fortnight.

The dam was on the brink of being empty at the start of February and filled in less than two weeks, according to Sunwater.

The dam is now overflowing after being at just six per cent of capacity earlier this month.

"Sunwater expects that inflows will provide more than 12 months' urban water supply to St George," Sunwater said.

Towns across the state's southwest and southern interior have experienced flooding this week.

Charleville, Mitchell and Surat have all had flooding after the recent downpours, and its effects are expected to be felt for weeks, according to the bureau.

"It will take a number of weeks for the waters to recede there completely," forecaster Lauren Pattie said.

"There are a number of roads which have been cut in that part of the world, and it will be a little while before they are open again."

The Knights on Tuesday confirmed a high-grade medial ligament injury in Mata'utia's right knee, ruling him out for six weeks.

There are two weeks left until the club's season-opener against the Warriors at McDonald Jones Stadium on March 14.

Mata'utia was shaping as a contender to start the year in the second row alongside Lachlan Fitzgibbon under new coach Adam O'Brien this season.

The Knights are already light on in backrowers in their top-30, with only veteran Aidan Guerra and uncapped rookie Brodie Jones their other options.

Elsewhere, Cronulla have also confirmed an ACL tear for hooker Cameron King, who is likely to miss the entire season.

It is a cruel blow for the 28-year-old, who was hoping to re-ignite his NRL career following a move from the Super League.

Sharks captain Wade Graham said it was shattering for his new teammate.

"They need to wait for bone bruising to go before they can do the surgery. It's not ideal for him. He came back, he got an opportunity with the club," Graham said at the Fox League launch.

"He trained well in the pre-season, playing his first game, and to go down in those circumstances is really sad. But the club will stick with him.

"It's unfortunate for him."

Graham himself is expected to take part in their final hit-out against Manly on Sunday despite picking up an ankle complaint during the All Stars match.

Winger Ronaldo Mulitalo has been ruled out with a knee injury he picked up in their trial defeat to Canterbury, but is likely to be available for round one.

Fullback Matt Moylan could be a chance of playing against the Sea Eagles in what will be his first appearance of the pre-season due to a hamstring issue.

Front-rowers Andrew Fifita and Braden Hamlin-Uele are also hopeful of getting their first minutes of the pre-season for the game in Kogarah.

Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak on Tuesday said he would continue to carry out his duties until the president approved his resignation.

"We also cannot leave our country without direction like a car without a driver," he said at the presidential office.

He said the decision on whether to announce another election or call political parties to form a new government would rest with President Francisco Guterres Lu Olo.

The coalition government led by Matan Ruak has been divided because the budget for 2020 has been blocked by the opposition and government parties.

The president said on February 10 that fresh elections were the final recourse and asked parties with parliament seats to move politically to provide a good solution to the impasse.

In response to that request, the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction party led by Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao formed a coalition with five other parties to form a new government.

"We believe that these 34 seats will guarantee the stability of the new government, " Gusmao said on Saturday.

The signing process was attended by 1996 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos Horta, the strongest current candidate to become prime minister.

Gusmao said if the impasse is left alone, it will bring great destruction to the country's economy, making small communities vulnerable.

If the coalition agreement results in the formation of a new government, the Revolutionary Front for an Independent Timor-Leste party and the Popular Liberation Party would be in the rumored opposition. They would hold 31 seats in the parliament.

The coalition would continue the past government's 2030 strategic plan for development. It would give full attention to people in rural areas to improve their lives, guarantee national stability as a determinant factor for national development and continue negotiations of land and sea boundaries with Indonesia.

President Lu Olo on Monday questioned if the new coalition would renominate nine cabinet members rejected since June 2018.

The coalition did not comment on those nine candidates, but Gusmao previously stated the party would not replace people whose inaugurations are still pending, citing the principles and credibility of his party.

The new deal will see Mayne, who was already contracted for 2020, remain at the Magpies until at least the end of the 2021 season.

It continues a remarkable turnaround for the former Fremantle forward, who endured a rough start to his time at Collingwood in 2017, having moved to Victoria as a free agent.

Mayne played just three senior games that year and wallowed in the VFL, seemingly out of Magpies coach Nathan Buckley's plans.

In an attempt to offload Mayne and his contract - reportedly worth $500,000 per season - Collingwood attempted to trade him back to the Dockers.

The Magpies and even considered giving Fremantle a better draft pick than the one they would receive for Mayne in the trade.

But the deal fell through and Mayne was instead handed a career lifeline in 2018 as a wingman, playing 21 games as Collingwood reached the grand final.

The 31-year-old has since become a valuable contributor at half-back, featuring in 42 of the Magpies' past 48 games.

"I'm really pleased to have another year to share in the Collingwood experience," Mayne said.

"The journey so far has been tremendously rewarding, personally and professionally.

"There have been a few twists in the tale but so much to be grateful for and the faith we have shown in each other makes me very proud."

Mayne has played 217 games since making his AFL debut with Fremantle in 2008.

University of New South Wales Urban Development and Design lecturer Benjamin Driver says many structures lost this summer may not have adhered to current building codes and may be too expensive to reinsure or rebuild.

"Bushfires are changing and their ferocity has been unprecedented this season," Mr Driver told AAP on Monday.

"We need to have a major review of how we build in this country."

Mr Driver believes "underinsurance" - the lack of adequate insurance to cover losses or damages - could be a major issue for communities in the near future.

He highlighted concerns for towns close to national parks such as the Blue Mountains or Lane Cove on Sydney's north shore.

"People may get paid out by their insurer this time, but the heightened risk of bushfires in their areas may mean it won't be covered next time," he said.

UNSW environmental planner Dr Scott Hawken says the convergence of bush and urban areas stems from poor planning policy.

"We have areas of urban sprawl embedding into bushfire hazard areas ... and their unsuitable suburb design leaves them prone to the risk of bushfires," Dr Hawken said in a statement on Friday.

"Our desire to be closer to nature means that traditional urban dwellers have moved into bushfire-risk areas, and they're not as prepared for the risks and how to manage those."

Mogo resident Peter Williams lost the historic church he converted into a home and business in the south coast bushfires.

With no insurance, Mr Williams says he plans to rebuild the business, but hopes to move his home somewhere safer.

"It's not a priority to get the house sorted, but we need the business to get an income," Mr Williams told AAP on Monday.

"I'm hoping we can rebuild same as before but it'll need to be fireproofed now."

Mr Williams said fundraising support had been helpful, but he feared Mogo locals could struggle financially once the rebuilding process begins.

Dr Hawken and Mr Driver said long-term planning needed to be a priority, rather than emergency reconstruction.

"The individual buildings and building codes and the superficial management of vegetation ... it is all 'small picture'," Dr Hawken said.

"These fires are on a previously unimaginable scale so we need a comparable large-scale response in terms of how we design our settlements, how we keep them cool and how we adapt to these extreme climate events."

Mr Driver said cities and towns need to be "more resilient" and called for better accessibility, no more cul-de-sacs and improved water management.

"We need to fully understand our relationship with the bush, the landscape is getting so dry," he said.

"We are an incredibly wealthy country, but we don't often build things as well as we should."

The bushfire royal commission will investigate and make recommendations on land-use planning, zoning and building standards, as well as the construction of public infrastructure.

As the nation grapples with the economic fallout, the prime minister confirmed 15 people who returned to Australia had been cleared of the virus, while seven others from the Diamond Princess cruise ship have mild symptoms.

The self-isolation procedures for 30,000 Australians and their families returning from China had worked.

Mr Morrison described the virus as an "unknown global shock".

"This is not like a global financial crisis. This is a global health crisis," he told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.

Even without travel bans, there would have been a significant reduction in the international movement of people.

"When planes aren't coming in, planes aren't going out and the bellies of those planes aren't taking Australian products into those markets," Mr Morrison said.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said his department had not yet finalised its advice on the economic impacts.

"The message is very clear, the impact will be more significant than the bushfires, and it plays out more broadly across the Australian economy," Mr Frydenberg said.

The prime minister said speculation about the impact on the budget bottom line was unhelpful.

"Hands up those who thought there was going to be a coronavirus epidemic when the budget was released last May? Of course no one did," Mr Morrison said.

Labor's shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers warned the government against using the virus and the impact of the devastating bushfires as cover for not transforming the economy.

"Scott Morrison desperately wants Australians to forget that the economy was already floundering badly on his watch before most of us had even heard of coronavirus and before the fires hit," he told reporters.

Australia has imposed a strict travel ban on visitors arriving from China.

The prime minister appears reluctant to extend the ban to other countries where the virus has taken hold.

"We have no advice from the medical experts to suggest that that should be done at this point," he said.

But Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said significant outbreaks of the virus outside of China were a concern.

In particular, the rate of deaths in Iran indicated the number of cases there was probably higher than reported, he said.

To date, there have been 79,331 confirmed cases of the virus worldwide and 2618 deaths.

A potential vaccine created by Australian researchers is being tested.

The government has also opened up applications for $2 million in research grants for the development of a vaccine.

Sage had planned to sell 80 per cent of the club to LFE but he advised Football Federation Australia on Monday night that the deal would not proceed.

The news will come as a huge relief to Glory fans who had expressed fears about LFE and the group's business model.

LFE is reportedly being sued in London and New York over various business matters.

The company has big dreams to buy eight or nine soccer clubs all around the world so they can create an "ecosystem" of assets that fans can access with bitcoins.

LFE's founder Jim Aylward conducted one disastrous interview after another in his attempts to promote the group's first club acquisition.

On each occasion he refused to detail what means LFE would use to buy the Glory - or any other club for that matter.

But he promised big things, including a deal with an English Premier League club.

Perth released a statement earlier this month confirming they had entered into an "asset sale and purchase agreement" with LFE.

The only obstacle at that point seemed to be Football Federation Australia, which needed to approve the deal.

But as questions began to swell over LFE and its dubious past, Sage seemingly backtracked and insisted that no deal had been agreed upon.

Instead, he flew to London to meet with Ayles to conduct his "due diligence".

Confusing matters further was the fact that Sage had been appointed chairman of LFE in January.

Sage's term as chairman was expected to start in March - about the time when the sale of Perth would go through.

It now seems unlikely that Sage will stay on as chairman of LFE given the spectacular collapse in negotiations.

FFA confirmed on Tuesday morning that the sale of the Glory to LFE would not go ahead.

"On Thursday 13 February, Tony advised FFA that he had received unsolicited interest from a potential buyer being the London Football Exchange and would be travelling to London to work with his lawyers to organise a due diligence process," the FFA said in a statement.

"At no time did Tony Sage request FFA to review any application for sale.

"Last night, Tony officially advised the FFA head of leagues Greg O'Rourke that following a due diligence process, the transaction will not be pursued."

The Chris Waller-trained gelding will become only the fourth horse in the past 50 years to carry 58kg or more to win the Group One 1200m sprint at Flemington should he emerge victorious on March 7.

Only Shaftesbury Avenue (58kg, 1991), Black Caviar (58kg, 2011) and Hay List (58.5kg, 2011) have achieved that feat.

Nature Strip is a triple Group One winner in the past 12 months having taken out The Galaxy (1100m) at Rosehill, the Moir Stakes (1000m) at The Valley and the Darley Sprint Classic (1200m) at Flemington in November.

A total of 30 horses remain in contention for the Newmarket Handicap after Tuesday's release of weights.

Lightning Stakes winner Gytrash is second top weight with 56kg with Zoutori and Deprive next in line with 54kg.

Loving Gaby, the winner of the Manikato Stakes (1200m) at The Valley last October and a first-up third in the Lightning Stakes has 51.5kg and is one of 11 three-year-olds remaining in the entries, which also includes Exceedance (53kg), Bivouac (53kg) and Libertini (50kg).

Should Nature Strip not be an acceptor, weights will be raised 1kg to reach a minimum top weight of 57kg at acceptance time.

The final field with barriers will be declared on March 4.

The 57-year-old woman was admitted to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital on Monday, Queensland Health said in a statement on Tuesday.

She is being treated in isolation and is in a stable condition.

The woman was among the Australian travellers evacuated from the cruise ship, which remains in lockdown off Yokohama in Japan after the virus took hold among passengers and crew.

Australians evacuated from the vessel were taken to a holding facility at Howard Springs near Darwin to complete two weeks in quarantine, but seven of them have since fallen ill.

On Saturday, two other Queensland women who have the virus were also flown from the Howard Springs centre to Brisbane for treatment. The women, aged 54 and 55, were taken to the Prince Charles Hospital in stable condition.

The husband of one of those women was taken to the hospital as a precaution. He has not tested positive for the virus.

Of the seven cruise ship passengers who've contracted coronavirus, three are from Queensland, two from Victoria, and one each from South Australia and Western Australia.

At tea on day two, the Redbacks inched their way to 1-64 at barely two runs an over after NSW were dismissed for 373 just before lunch.

Opener Henry Hunt batted through the session to reach just 19, while Callum Ferguson moved along smoothly to be unbeaten on 44, passing 8,000 Shield runs in the process.

Trent Copeland took the only wicket in the first over after lunch with Jake Weatherald top-edging a hook to fine leg to be out for a duck.

Earlier, the Blues' tail added crucial runs after recommencing at 7-294.

Young allrounder Jack Edwards hit a composed 48 not out, while paceman Harry Conway posted a career-best 31 as the duo added 76 for the ninth wicket.

Joe Mennie added two wickets to his day one haul to finish with 6-103.

Ladder-leading NSW can all but shore up a spot in the final with victory, while fourth-placed SA have little room to move if they wish to stay in the hunt for next month's season decider.

The 1-0 derby defeat to Baumjohann's former team at Bankwest Stadium in round three remains Sydney's only loss in an otherwise dominant campaign.

Since then the Sky Blues have gone 13 matches unbeaten in the league to open up a whopping 13-point lead at the top of the table.

The German's history with the Wanderers is not a motivating concern for him before Friday's rescheduled derby at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, but he is eager to set the record straight after that derby loss in October.

"I think that was one of our best games and we had so many chances and could have won this game," Baumjohann said.

"It's just hard to accept that that's the only game that we've lost but we're pretty confident and have worked hard."

The Sky Blues resumed normal service last week with a 3-0 win over a defiant Central Coast Mariners on Sunday - just day's after their 4-0 thumping by Ange Postecoglou's Yokohama F. Marinos in an Asian Champions League clash in Japan

A lot of the focus in the build-up to Friday's derby will be on Baumjohann but he is adamant he's not bothering about any stick he may receive from Wanderers fans.

"It is normal when you change from one side to the other in the city," the 33-year-old said.

"Not everyone is happy but I also said this before, I don't care about them, the most important thing is that our fans love me and this is what I care about."

The Tigers are 2-91 at tea on day two at Bellerive Oval in reply to the visitor's first innings of 371, headlined by Green's unbeaten 158.

Both Tasmanian openers fell in Tuesday's middle session with rookie Charlie Wakim (44 not out) providing most resistance.

Jordan Silk (11) was trapped lbw by Joel Paris before Alex Doolan (24) edged Aaron Hardie to second slip the ball after drinks.

Earlier, Green notched his highest first-class score in what was his third century of the season.

The 20-year-old prodigy, touted by many as Australia's long-term Test allrounder, struck 19 fours and two sixes in the mature 283-ball knock.

Green's score eclipsed his 126 against South Australia and unbeaten 121 against Queensland earlier this summer.

He has 617 runs for WA this season, the second most, at an average of 77.12.

The Warriors' tail frustrated Tasmania in the opening session after the visitors resumed the day at 6-291.

Sam Rainbird picked up two scalps including a stubborn Matthew Kelly (20) and was the pick of the Tigers' quicks with 5-77.

Green brought up his ton late on day one and shared a century stand with fellow young talent Josh Philippe (63).

Green sprung to prominence as a 17-year-old in 2017 when he took 5-25 against Tasmania on debut in the Shield but hasn't bowled in recent months due a stress fracture in his back.

Resuming after lunch at 2-79, the second-placed home side crashed to be 8-168 in pursuit of the Vics' 9-330 dec.

Will Sutherland was the chief destroyer claiming three wickets in two overs as Queensland lost 3-3.

Sutherland then had Bulls' skipper Jimmy Peirson bowled later in the same spell to end the session with figures of 4-41.

Lachlan Pfeffer (50) top-scored for Queensland while youngster Nathan McSweeney added 24, but the pair fell in quick succession to kick-start the collapse almost immediately after the break.

Queensland's last hope of a competitive total went with Sam Heazlett caught behind off the bowling of Chris Tremain (1-35) for 34.

Scott Boland has figures of 2-40, while Peter Siddle (1-28) started the rot with the key wicket of Test opener Joe Burns (5) who edged a magnificent delivery to wicketkeeper Seb Gotch.

Victoria, who have been the dominant side in the competition over recent years, declared at their overnight score as they chase the win they require to stay in touch with the leaders.

Mr Wyatt, who is also responsible for the Aboriginal affairs, lands and finance portfolios, will continue in his current roles until the March 2021 election.

"My family has experienced a personal health issue, which prompted this consideration and the kind of future I want to have with my family," he said on Tuesday.

"While I do not intend to go into the finer details of these personal experiences, today I am announcing that in the interests of my family I have decided not to stand as a candidate at the 2021 election."

Mr Wyatt said while his decision had not been easy, he wanted to consider "other options" with his family.

"My children are of an age that leaves me with a short time to relish new experiences with them, while they still want to hang out with me and before they reach senior levels of high school," he said.

Mr Wyatt entered parliament in 2006 following the Victoria Park by-election, triggered by the resignation of former Premier Geoff Gallop.

In 2017, the 45-year-old former lawyer, who is related to federal minister Ken Wyatt, became the first indigenous treasurer at a state or federal level in Australia.

Mr Wyatt thanked Premier Mark McGowan for his "unwavering support" and friendship, and said his time in politics had been an incredible experience.

"I doubt I will ever have a job as diverse, challenging and satisfying as the role I have had as treasurer of the state," he said.

"Last year, I delivered my third budget ... I had achieved the most important outcome that had been set for me at the 2017 election. That is, to return the economy to growth and to restore the finances to health.

"Western Australia is now in surplus and we are the only state government in Australia that is reducing debt."

Mr Wyatt had sought to challenge for the Labor leadership in 2011, but withdrew when he realised he did not have the numbers to defeat then opposition leader Eric Ripper.

The following year, Mr McGowan was elected the leader unopposed.

Mr McGowan described Mr Wyatt as a close friend and said he had considered him to be a future premier of WA.

"I respect and understand his decision to bring his political career to an end next year and focus on his young family," Mr McGowan said.

"Political life has many challenges, but the hardest challenge is finding the right balance between work and family life. I know just how hard it is.

"Ben has done an exceptional job as the treasurer."

Political analyst Harry Phillips told AAP it was a sad day in politics, but it was difficult to measure how Mr Wyatt's departure might affect the forthcoming election.

"I think it will be a very serious blow to the Labor Party. I think he's highly regarded as a competent treasurer," he said.

"I would judge him as an outstanding treasurer and an outstanding parliamentarian. There are very few critics of his performance."

Mr Wyatt will hand down his final budget in May.

WHY?

* COVID-19 is spreading in South Korea, Iran, Italy and in numerous other countries

* It is difficult to quantify the impact on demand for goods, services and global growth given no one is sure how long it will last and if it can be cured

* There will be disruption to supply chains if countries close borders to contain outbreaks that could see global trade grind to a halt

* Markets at record highs, such as the Australian Securities Exchange, are down in line with other markets, like commodities, that have already dropped

WHAT IS THE IMPACT ON LOCAL SHARES?

* Since late January, a raft of Australian publicly listed companies have issued warnings the coronavirus will hurt their earnings in the short term

* Travel companies, education businesses, food stocks and oil and gas producers are among those whose revenue will be affected in the next few months

WHO'S TALKED ABOUT COVID-19 ON TUESDAY?

SERKO - The online travel and expense management business said bookings have begun to drop off in the past week so revenue growth would be at the bottom of its guidance range

BLACKMORES - Vitamin maker Blackmores said the coronavirus threat would have a material impact on its full-year result

APPEN - The developer of datasets for machine learning said its China operations were young and its targets modest so the outbreak should have a negligible impact on full-year earnings

SEEK - Online jobs listing provider said the virus had had a significant impact on business and hiring conditions within China and across Southeast Asian markets.

A day after revealing he harbours a dream of competing in the NRL for a powerhouse club such as Melbourne or the Sydney Roosters, Savea says his heart is also set on donning a Toa Samoa jersey.

His comments to a podcast host earlier on Tuesday reaffirmed his desire to play the 13-man code from as early as next year, when his NZ Rugby contract expires.

"A big part of why I wanted to go to league was because I could play for Samoa because of the rules. So that's been a thing that's pondered my mind," he told Kiwi bookmaker Mark Stafford.

"(I've) been following hard out on the World Rugby rules and that stuff. For me it's how proud the Samoan people are and I know how much Samoans give to rugby internationally ... my old man's face if he knew that I was going to play (for Samoa)."

Under World Rugby regulations, Savea is eligible to represent New Zealand only for the remainder of his Test career.

The back rower has won 44 caps and emerged last year as arguably the country's finest current player, being crowned All Blacks player of the year and Super Rugby player of the year at the 2019 NZ Rugby awards.

In a previous podcast hosted by former Warriors half Isaac John, Savea said rugby league was a stage to test himself on, having been inspired by the deeds of code-hopping All Blacks team-mate Sonny Bill Williams.

Savea's stance sets up a fascinating battle for his services.

Hurricanes assistant coach Chris Gibbes admitted they would be desperate to retain their dynamic matchwinner, who is currently sidelined by a knee injury.

Gibbes said he never realised Savea was considering another sport but was unsurprised.

"He's not the first is he? They're competitive athletes who watch a lot of sport and it's probably natural for him to want to have a crack at it," he said.

"The bottom line is that Ardie's part of us and we want him long term. We want to win a championship and we want him to be part of it."

After feeling sick for several weeks, Ms Speers went to a doctor who ordered blood tests.

He told her she was pregnant but further tests showed that wasn't the case.

Doctors discovered a 13cm malignant tumour on her right ovary, kickstarting a difficult 12 months of treatment.

"There was no specific ovarian cancer support at my hospital. I was the youngest on the ward by a very long way," Ms Speers told an event at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday.

"Mine was the cancer people whispered about."

Ms Speers endured her "darkest hour" after being given the OK to return to work as a tax lawyer in London.

"I was frightened, I was vulnerable, and no longer the career-climbing chartered accountant and solicitor I was before my cancer," she said.

"So many amazing women have lost their battles with ovarian cancer and my survivor guilt was at times unbearable."

Ms Speers eventually contacted Ovarian Cancer Australia where she connected with other women who had walked in her shoes.

"We need funding for awareness and research, and that goes without saying. But the psychological support of our women and their families is very important too," she said.

Ms Speers was speaking at an annual event run by Ovarian Cancer Australia aimed at rallying political support for combating the condition.

More than 4000 women are living with ovarian cancer at any given time, with four diagnosed each day.

There is only one support professional for every 600 sufferers.

Just 46 per cent survive the condition, making it the most lethal women's cancer and the sixth most common cause of cancer deaths in Australia.

Two women who spoke at last year's Ovarian Cancer Australia event - journalist Jill Emberson and Kristen Larsen - have since died.

The organisation has asked the federal government for $9 million from to help fund 21 ovarian cancer nurses.

Scott Morrison said his government was committed to the "brighter future" that Ms Emberson and Ms Larsen campaigned for.

"No amount of funding can ever be enough in this area and that's why I think it will always be true to say, there can always be more that can be done," the prime minister said.

He noted the federal government has invested $20 million in ovarian cancer medical research and $15 million in clinical trials for gynaecological cancers.

Labor health spokeswoman Chris Bowen said among the challenges posed by the disease is that early detection is so difficult, with no screening test available.

But he's confident a test will be developed to help improve survival rates.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union has agreed to call off its industrial action during the month of March and will take part in discussions convened by the government to reach a new pay deal with Yarra Trams.

Public Transport Minister Melissa Horne had for months resisted calls by the union to intervene in the dispute, describing it as a negotiation involving the union and a private company.

"It is not my job to do either the union's job for them in negotiating that or to do Yarra Trams job in negotiating their agreement," she said last month.

Mediation between the two parties will begin on Tuesday and will include senior leadership from both Yarra Trams and the RTBU.

The session will be facilitated by the head of Industrial Relations Victoria, with Ms Horne expected to attend "when required".

"The government facilitating mediation does not make the state party to the agreement," a government spokesman said in a statement.

"We continue to encourage both parties, Yarra Trams and the RTBU, to come to an agreement as soon as possible."

The agreement means legal action to put a stop to the strikes will also be withdrawn.

"We welcome a return to productive negotiations," Yarra Trams CEO Julien Dehornoy said in a statement.

Talks between Yarra Trams and the union broke down last year as the tram operator pushed for a new enterprise agreement that would allow more part-time rostering.

The tram operator wants to lift the current cap on part-time employees from four per cent to 15 per cent and has offered 12 per cent wage increases over four years.

The union is calling for a five per cent pay rise a year over as well as improved rostering and job security.

Chief executive Andrew Bassat says the subdued economic conditions affected overall net profit, which was $75.6 million.

However, he is pleased revenue was up 15 per cent to $883.7 million.

"Our results will fluctuate somewhat with the (economic) cycle but in the areas we can control we are pleased with our progress," Mr Bassat said.

Investors have backed the business since the figures were published on Tuesday.

Shares were trading higher by 1.65 per cent to $22.78 at 1337 AEDT.

Seek operates in Australia, Asia and Latin America. The Australian operation grew revenue by one per cent despite an eight per cent fall in ad revenue.

Other services, such as talent search, helped overcome the Australian ad revenue loss.

Seek claims to have 37 per cent of online job listings in Australia.

Hong Kong, its biggest market in Asia, was affected by political unrest. Revenue growth for the region was flat as a result.

Latin America produced weak results, which was expected.

A better-performing unit was investments.

Revenue improved by 27 per cent from this category, which includes Chinese subsidiary Zhaopin, Online Education Services and early-stage ventures.

The ventures group involves stakes in online employment and education providers such as human resources software vendor Employment Hero.

Mr Bassat said full-year results would be affected by the coronavirus outbreak, softer economic conditions and investments.

He said forecasting the impact of the virus was impossible but Seek was significantly under-earning.

Shareholders will receive an interim dividend of 13 cents per share. That is less than the interim dividend of 24 cents per share paid last year.

SEEK KEY FIGURES

* Net profit down 24 pct to $75.6m

* Revenue up 15 pct to $883.7m

* Interim dividend of 13 cents per share, down from the 24 cents per share interim dividend last year.

The Labor government went on day two of selling its 10-year, waste crisis fix on Tuesday, unveiling $96.5 million in grants for businesses to turn recyclable goods into other products.

There's money for businesses to build waste sorting facilities, increase recycling in their daily operations and a business innovation centre to solve waste woes.

There is no "hard and fast number" on how much more capacity is needed to take the recyclables away from landfill, Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters at Coca-Cola Amatil in Melbourne.

"Clearly there is a gap now and we need to try and fill that by a co-investment model," he said, adding more players were needed.

Coca-Cola Amatil has already switched seven out of 10 of its bottles to 100 per cent recycled plastic, from Taiwan, and are working to get the others to that same point, the company told reporters.

The grants are part of a 10-year plan being drip-fed out by the government.

On Monday it revealed Victorians would eventually get four bins - general, food and organic, glass, and plastic, metal and paper - to better separate products and a container deposit scheme. But both would be years away.

The government is yet to decide what form the container scheme will take, materials to be collected, and how much money people will get back.

A dedicated waste authority will be established to ensure a basic service standard.

GRANTS ANNOUNCEMENT:

* An extra $28m for the Recycling Victoria Infrastructure Fund for businesses to build sort and process recycling infrastructure

* $30m for technology to create products

* $10m for businesses to reduce waste in daily operations

* $10m for processors towards waste-to-energy initiatives

* $11.5m to treat hazardous waste

* $7m for a Business Innovation Centre

McKenna flew back to Belfast this month after a bout of homesickness but has maintained his fitness levels while away and is expected to hit the ground running on his return to Melbourne.

"We've been in constant contact with Conor over the period of time that he's been away and I hope that he's been enjoying himself and relaxing," Bombers assistant coach Mark Harvey said.

"We'd like to think that he comes back pretty soon and that we can have him available for selection (in round one) as well.

"It's looking promising and our support staff have done an enormous job with him."

Pressed on McKenna's specific return date, Harvey said: "I'd like to think early next week."

Harvey said the rebounding defender would have no trouble slotting straight into the team to face the Dockers at Marvel Stadium on March 21 despite not having a full pre-season match under his belt.

"He's done the majority of pre-season and he's still training over there (in Ireland)," Harvey said.

"Conor's a guy that comes up really quick. He's got good speed and agility, and his endurance is around our top 10 no matter what.

"So, I would say that Conor, pending when he does come back, that he'll be available for round one."

Essendon granted McKenna leave to miss a match last year so he could attend his brother's wedding in Ireland.

Harvey said the club would consider accommodating the player with more time off this season to manage his homesickness.

"That's a possibility," Harvey said.

"Last year he went home for a wedding during the season, those sorts of things might be discussed moving forward."

Monday's cases are up from 409 cases a day earlier, the commission revealed on Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases on the mainland so far to 77,658.

The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China had reached 2,663 as of the end of Monday, up by 71 from the previous day.

The central province of Hubei, the epicentre of the outbreak, reported 68 new deaths, while in the provincial capital of Wuhan, 56 people died.

Harrowing audio of the police interview with Akiir Muo was played at an inquest into the tragedy on Tuesday.

Ms Muo was taken hostage by James Gargasoulas after she witnessed him stabbing his brother early on January 20, 2017.

He warned her if police found him, he would "run everyone down in the city".

As police followed Gargasoulas, he pushed Ms Muo from his stolen car near the West Gate Bridge before leading officers on a chase into the city.

Ms Muo was then taken to a St Kilda police station where she was kept in an interview room for hours and not spoken to until after the Bourke Street Mall rampage.

Police say they first heard her talk about Gargasoulas' chilling words to her that morning more than an hour after the attack.

But it wasn't until 7pm that day that Ms Muo learned the extent of what had happened from Sergeant Lachlan Watson, during a burger run at a McDonald's drive-through, after her interview.

"I know what he's done. He's just stabbed his brother," Ms Muo can be heard saying in the audio recording.

"He did exactly what he told you. He ran people over," Sgt Watson replied.

"Oh my God. Oh my God," Ms Muo cried, repeatedly.

"There's three or four people dead. Another one that's pretty close to dead, I understand," Sgt Watson added.

"Were they adults or kids?" Ms Muo asked.

"Well...," Sgt Watson said, before Ms Muo again cried: "Oh my God."

Sgt Watson was certain Ms Muo sincerely did not know about the massacre.

"I have no doubt she was hearing it for the first time. You can hear it, it's excruciating," he told the inquest.

Counsel assisting, Paul Lawrie, earlier warned the confronting audio could be "triggering" for victims' families.

Ms Muo had also told police during her interview that Gargasoulas threatened to kill her, himself and his mother if officers caught up with him.

She said in her statement she told officers who arrested her at the scene that Gargasoulas was going to the city to run people down, a claim they have rejected during the inquest.

Assistant Commissioner Stephen Fontana said last week he did not know why Ms Muo was not interviewed sooner.

Mr Fontana, who authored a near 500-page internal review into the massacre, found there was "no explanation" about the "lack of police action in relation to Muo's disposition as a victim, witness or offender".

"A high priority should have been given to interviewing Muo much earlier," he wrote.

Ms Muo, who was Gargasoulas' on-off girlfriend for about five months, has been called to give evidence but authorities cannot find her.

Gargasoulas was jailed in February 2019 for at least 46 years for killing six pedestrians and injuring 27 others.

The inquest continues for a final day of testimony on Wednesday, with victims' families scheduled to address Coroner Jacqui Hawkins.

Reynolds fulfilled a boyhood dream on Tuesday, named as the new captain of the club he supported as a child and his family marched for to have reinstated into the NRL in 2000.

A leader by nature at halfback, Reynolds will have hooker Damien Cook and halves partner Cody Walker as his deputies in 2020.

But the trio have a tough task ahead of them, to fill what coach Wayne Bennett has labelled as "a huge void" in leadership.

Burgess, Inglis and Sutton are the only players to captain the club in the past six years, and all led the team out at times in 2019.

All have since too retired, taking 781 NRL games out the window with them.

But with the trio all remaining as part of the Rabbitohs' coaching staff, Reynolds will be able to take a leaf out of their books in 2020.

"They tend to give us advice, pretty often they are out on the training paddock with us," Reynolds said.

"They tip us when they need to here and then. It's great to have them still involved in the club.

"We're continually challenging each other at training and growing as a (new) leadership group.

"We're getting better every week and that's only going to improve."

Bennett had wrestled with the decision over the off-season, before leaning towards Reynolds over Cook and Walker given his history with the club.

"What swung me in the end is he was born here and played his whole career here. It means so much to him personally," Bennett said.

"He has had a lot of good leaders around him, and he has learned from that.

"There is a huge void with Sam going, and Greg and John all in the one year. But I'm confident these guys will pick the slack up.

"I know Sam and John and Greg are still here - because they care about the club and love it - and they aren't going to let it slide by poor leadership."

Reynolds grew up in Redfern and debuted for Souths in 2012 and has played 183 games for the club.

He put the honour on the same level as playing State of Origin for NSW.

"I grew up across the road from Redfern Oval in apartments on Elizabeth Street and always wanted to play for Souths," Reynolds said.

"So to have the chance to captain the team is amazing.

"As a kid you always dream of it, whether or not I believed it would happen was a different story."

The prolonged trade war between the United States and China during 2019 crimped demand for aluminium and drove prices down, with the company on average earning about 25 per cent less per tonne of alumina sold compared with last year.

Excluding one-time items, net profit for the year came in at $US326.6 million ($A494 million), down from the $US689.9 million it earned a year earlier and 11 per cent below a Jefferies estimate of $US366 million.

However, the miner expects the situation to improve across 2020, given prices have already shown some stability since the start of the year.

"Aluminium demand is expected to grow in 2020 as trade friction subsides. This will contribute to a balanced alumina market and China is expected to absorb any surplus rest of world production," chief executive Mike Ferraro said.

Alumina's shares were up one cent, or 0.46 per cent, to $2.17 at 1135 AEDT amid a wider market downturn.

Glen Eira, Port Phillip and Stonnington councils will refund more than 200,000 fines after Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass found they acted illegally when subcontracting challenged parking fine reviews to Tenix.

The fines were issued between 2006 and 2016 and take in popular areas including St Kilda and the Chapel Street shopping precinct.

"The legal issues have not been tested in court, so I cannot definitely determine the lawfulness of the councils' actions," Ms Glass said on Tuesday.

"But I can express my opinion, which is that the three councils acted contrary to law."

Ms Glass said the law "strongly suggests" internal reviews must be decided by the issuing agency.

The three councils disagree with the Ombudsman's findings but will refund the fines anyway.

They argue officials still had the final say over each fine review, but Ms Glass found they "rubber-stamped" the contractor's recommendations.

In one example, a council officer approved 107 recommendations from a private contractor from 107 fines in just one minute.

"The suggestion that council officers were making genuine decisions on the evidence was simply not credible," Ms Glass said.

"It is also apparent that none of the three councils disclosed who was making internal review decisions, each of them providing a similar squiggle by an anonymous officer."

It comes after Kingston and Monash councils announced last year they would repay 46,000 fines amounting to $4.9 million because of similar issues.

In a statement, Glen Eira Council said the issue had been "vexed by multiple and conflicting legal opinions and unclear communications" from the state government.

"While we have always held the view that we were conducting reviews lawfully, we have welcomed the Ombudsman's consideration, and will be guided by her recommendations," a spokeswoman said.

Both Port Phillip and Stonnington councils believed they had acted lawfully and urged the government to remove "ambiguity" from the Infringements Act.

Shadow Attorney-General Edward O'Donohue noted state government agencies also used contractors for similar internal reviews and demanded the government identify them publicly.

Premier Daniel Andrews said councils should take action on the Ombudsman's recommendations.

PARKING FINE REFUNDS:

*Glen Eira has more than 36,000 affected fines valued at $3.67 million.

*Port Phillip has more than 87,000 affected fines valued at $8.8 million. Port Phillip noted that, when other administration costs were included, the total cost to the council would be $10.83 million.

*Stonnington has almost 81,000 affected fines valued about $6.9 million.

*Applies only to motorists who unsuccessfully appealed an infringement from July 2006 to August 2017.

It'd be hard to blame Cleary for being superstitious; at times last season he must've thought dark forces were conspiring against him.

It's been about 12 month since an investigation begun into the involvement of Penrith players in a sex tape scandal that help would derail their NRL season.

"Last year I was pretty happy with the pre-season. We had a good first trial," coach Cleary tells AAP.

"And then everything changed that week."

For the rest of the campaign there were only rare glimpses of a side widely tipped to challenge for the premiership.

This year, Cleary is confident the doubters will be eating crow.

Entering his second season since his controversial return to the club, Cleary insisted players are more settled in their roles and the culture has been reset.

He feels more ready than he did the previous summer.

"I still didn't know who I was coaching until late October (in 2018)," Cleary said.

"This year, I could actually process what we did, what we needed to change, what we need to improve.

"As the head coach, I'm much better prepared this year."

That's vital, because improvement is needed across the board after Penrith's attack ranked just 13th in 2019 - despite boasting NSW's State of Origin halves.

One of those, veteran five-eighth James Maloney, is gone, heaping pressure on Ivan's son Nathan, as well as youngster Jarome Luai, to create opportunities.

The addition of Trent Barrett as attacking coach is expected to help.

But, having defended the combination for most of last year, Cleary now concedes that, as a duo, Maloney and Cleary struggled at times to steer the ship.

"You could probably be forgiven for saying that when one of them played on their own, the team actually ran better," the coach said.

This year, Cleary has no hesitation in declaring who's in control of the team, saying Nathan is ready to be the leader.

"(He) probably was last year as well, but he's definitely ready now," Cleary said of his son.

"It's nice and clear what we're pushing for: clarity."

Also gone from last year's squad are Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Waqa Blake, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Wayde Egan.

Incoming are the less-heralded Zane Tetevano and Kurt Capewell while Cleary was delighted to have lured hooker Api Koroisau back to Penrith.

"I was pretty happy we got that one sorted," he said.

"Api's definitely already made a significant impact here."

Cleary said last year's high expectations on the Panthers were way off the mark, having not made the top four since 2014.

"I think if you'd ask every coach, they'd probably prefer there's not a massive amount of external pressure, or pressure that's not justified," he said.

Not that he doesn't feel the clouds hovering over him again.

"Every team starts every year feeling pretty good about their chances. In that sense, everyone's under pressure," Cleary said.

PENRITH

Finishes over the past three seasons: 2019 - 10th, 2018 - 5th, 2017 - 7th

Coach: Ivan Cleary

Captain: James Tamou

Key gains: Api Koroisau (Sea Eagles), Zane Tetevano (Roosters), Kurt Capewell (Sharks)

Key losses: Reagan Campbell-Gillard (Eels), Siona Katoa (Bulldogs), Wayde Egan (Warriors), Tim Grant, Sam McKendry (retired), James Maloney (Super League), Frank Winterstein (unsigned), Tyrell Fuimaono (Dragons)

Best team: 1. Dylan Edwards, 2. Josh Mansour, 3. Dean Whare, 4. Brent Naden, 5. Brian To'o, 6. Jarome Luai, 7. Nathan Cleary, 8. James Tamou, 9. Apisai Koroisau, 10. Moses Leota, 11. Viliame Kikau, 12. Liam Martin, 13. James Fisher-Harris. Bench: 14. Kurt Capewell, 15. Zane Tetevano, 16. Isaah Yeo, 17. Jack Hetherington

Predicted finish: 12th

The action movie, which stars Tom Cruise, was scheduled for a three-week shoot in Venice, but that has now been stopped after more than 200 people tested positive for the virus in Italy.

It is the largest number of confirmed cases of the disease outside Asia.

In a statement, Paramount Pictures said it was following the advice of the Venetian government and using an "abundance of caution" in halting production.

"During this hiatus we want to be mindful of the concerns of the crew and are allowing them to return home until production starts. We will continue to monitor this situation, and work alongside health and government officials as it evolves," the studio said.

It is understood Hollywood star Cruise, 57, was not in Italy for filming.

The film industry is facing the prospect of losing hundreds of millions of dollars as it moves to deal with the strain of coronavirus, also known as Covid-19.

Paramount has already postponed the Chinese release of its family adventure Sonic The Hedgehog while cinemas across the country - the world's second largest box office market - have been closed.

The Chinese premiere for No Time To Die, the latest James Bond film, has also been cancelled.

And Disney faces a headache over its Mulan remake, which is set for release next month.

If cinemas in China are still closed, Mulan's box office take could suffer a significant blow.

Co-captain Josh Hodgson says the premiership window is wide open for the Raiders but warns they must be ready to become the hunted after going to close last season.

They've retained the bulk of their squad with the biggest change being the arrival of England international George Williams replace Aidan Sezer at halfback.

The left-edge combination of Joey Leilua and Jordan Rapana has departed with Curtis Scott recruited from Melbourne to play centre.

The Raiders now have all of their spine players contracted until at least 2022.

Hooker Hodgson, Williams, five-eighth Jack Wighton and fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad have all committed long-term in pursuit of the club's first premiership since 1994.

"We've also got Josh Papalii, Joe Tapine, Elliott Whitehead, quite a lot of the side are locked down for the next three years so it's a really good opportunity for us," Hodgson told AAP.

"We've just got to keeping working leading into what's going to be a big couple of years for us after the bitterly disappointing loss last year.

"But we're not looking too far ahead.

"It doesn't matter how good we did last year, every team starts on zero and we'll definitely be one of those teams getting hunted."

Sezer directed play alongside Hodgson in 2019 and the latter backed Australia and NSW utility Wighton to take over that role after his successful switch from fullback to the halves last season.

"Jacko was outstanding for us last year and in pre-season he looks very sharp," Hodgson said.

"His kicking game is on point, he's so strong running, he's agile, he's really a full package No.6.

"The organisational role is going to be his lead this year with Aidan moving on, he'll pull the strings alongside me and he's already really stepped up there.

"George (Williams) will give us that real threat both sides of the ball when he sees space.

"He's pretty quick and has a short kicking game too which is handy close to the line."

Hodgson's fellow co-captain Jarrod Croker emphasised the core group are staying in Canberra to win a premiership.

"We didn't achieve anything last year. We had a good year but we didn't win the comp and our goal is to win the comp so it's back to square one," he said.

"Every club is starting round one with a clean slate and there's no easing into it.

"We'll be hunted from round one so we've got to adjust and we've got to adapt and we've just got to better."

Star Englishman John Bateman is battling to be fit for round one after undergoing shoulder surgery.

CANBERRA

Finishes over the past three seasons: 2019 - 2nd, 2018 - 10th, 2017 - 10th

Coach: Ricky Stuart

Co-captains: Josh Hodgson and Jarrod Croker

Key gains: George Williams (Wigan), Curtis Scott (Melbourne).

Key losses: Aidan Sezer (Huddersfield), Joey Leilua (Wests Tigers), Jordan Rapana (rugby union).

Best team: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Jarrod Croker, 4. Curtis Scott, 5. Bailey Simonsson, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. George Williams, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. Sia Soliola, 11. John Bateman, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Joe Tapine. Bench: 14. Michael Oldfield, 15. Corey Horsburgh, 16. Hudson Young, 17. Dunamis Lui.

Predicted finish: 5th

But the federal Resources Minister Keith Pitt is unimpressed.

Equinor said the proposed oil drilling was no longer deemed "commercially competitive".

"We will engage with the federal and state authorities regarding our decision to discontinue the exploration program," the company's local boss Jone Stangeland said on Tuesday.

"We hold an exploration permit offshore Western Australia and will maintain other ongoing interests and activities in Australia."

Mr Pitt is disappointed by the decision and is encouraging other proponents to fill the void.

"I know many will find Equinor's decision not to proceed with this oil exploration project in the Great Australian Bight extremely disappointing, and it is particularly hard for South Australia," he said.

"The Bight Basin remains one of Australia's frontier basins and any proposals for new oil and gas fields in this area will be assessed fairly and independently."

The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association is also gutted, saying the project could have shored-up local energy supplies and eased Australia's reliance on imported oil.

Australia's independent regulator approved the oil drilling in December.

An earlier study found oil exploration in the Great Australian Bight could create 2000 jobs and generate more than $7 billion in annual tax revenues.

Greenpeace and others have welcomed the withdrawal as "a win for the environment".

"This is an incredible win for people power and nature after years of relentless campaigning by coastal communities, indigenous traditional owners, surfers, the seafood industry, tourism operators and other local businesses," chief executive David Ritter said.

The Environmental Defenders Office has been representing the Wilderness Society in a bid to overturn Equinor's environmental approvals.

The EDO has hailed the legal action as a factor in Equinor's decision, saying the company would have had to go back to the drawing board if the move was successful.

The case is due to appear in the Federal Court next week but may no longer be necessary.

BP, Chevron and Karoon Gas have all withdrawn from the Bight but Santos, Murphy Oil and Bight Petroleum still have plans to drill there.

"The only way to protect coastal communities and the Great Australian Bight's unique marine life is to rule out drilling permanently," Mr Ritter said.

"The Australian government should now impose a permanent moratorium on oil drilling in this precious marine wonderland."

His lawyer, Tina Glandian, entered the not guilty pleas on his behalf to six counts of felony disorderly conduct. She also told Judge James B Linn that she has asked the Illinois Supreme Court to halt the case.

A sombre looking Smollett, 37, entered the Cook County courthouse in Chicago wearing sunglasses and sporting a beard, flanked by his legal team and surrounded by reporters.

"He's obviously frustrated to be dragged through this process again," Ms Glandian told reporters after the hearing.

She called the revived prosecution "an ordeal" for Smollett and said he has the support of relatives, some of whom flew out from California to be with him.

"He's strong, he's resilient, he'll get through this, but he's frustrated," she added.

Smollett pleaded not guilty to 16 counts in the same courthouse last year, weeks before the Cook County state's attorney Kim Foxx's office abruptly announced it was dismissing the case, angering police and local government.

Smollett's lawyers also have filed a motion in Cook County court arguing that the refiling of charges violated protections against being charged twice for the same crime, known as double jeopardy.

Prosecutors have said double jeopardy does not apply because Smollett was not prosecuted last year.

Judge Linn on Monday set a $US20,000 ($A30,000) personal recognisance bond, which means Smollett does not have to pay any of it. He was not taken into custody, and his next court date is March 18.

Special prosecutor Dan Webb represented the state. Ms Foxx's office is not involved in the new case against Smollett.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the defence motion filed with Illinois' high court argues that the appointment of the special prosecutor was legally flawed.

Smollett has repeatedly denied police allegations that he staged the attack to get attention and further his career.

Smollett, who is black and gay, told police two masked men attacked him as he was walking home in the early hours of January 29 2019.

He said they made racist and homophobic insults, beat him and looped a noose around his neck before fleeing, and that at least one of his attackers was a white man who told him he was in "MAGA country", a reference to President Donald Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again".

Weeks later, police alleged that Smollett had paid two black friends to help stage the attack because he was unhappy with his salary as an actor on Empire, a Fox series filmed in Chicago that follows a black family as they navigate the ups and downs of the recording industry.

The friends, brothers Abimbola "Abel" Osundairo and Olabinjo "Ola" Osundairo, were among those who attended Monday's proceedings.

If Smollett's case makes it to trial, they would be the state's star witnesses. The brothers are bodybuilders and aspiring actors whom Smollett knew from the Empire set and the gym.

The Yahagi-trained horse won Sunday's Grade One February Stakes at Tokyo to confirm plans to bring him to Sydney for the $3 million Doncaster on April 4.

Ridden by Christophe Lemaire, Mozu Ascot was a dominant 2-1/2 length winner over K T Brave.

A son of champion Frankel, Mozu Ascot has won seven races from 21 starts including the 2018 Yasuda Kinen.

"He is a great horse who has now won both a turf Grade One and a dirt Grade One," Yahagi said.

"His condition was better than the previous race, so I expected the result, although I was nervous.

"I will take him to Australia to contest the Doncaster Mile, and the main target this year would be the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile."

The result missed consensus estimates of $US366 million profit and came despite production rising 11 per cent to 27.9 million barrels of oil equivalent as operations rebounded from the February 2018 Papua New Guinea earthquake.

Revenue for the 12 months to December 31 rose 3.2 per cent to $US1.58 billion compared with 2018.

"Clearly, the last six months have been challenging for all of us," the company's new managing director, Keiran Wulff, told shareholders and analysts at the Museum of Sydney on Tuesday.

Mr Wulff said Oil Search was conducting a comprehensive strategic review in conjunction with Bain & Co and Goldman Sachs that would examine its PNG assets, its long-term vision and how the company positioned itself as the energy industry transitioned from fossil fuels.

The report would be presented to shareholders in September, Mr Wulff said.

"It's our intention to be a model for social and environmental responsibility," said Mr Wulff, Oil Search's former president of Alaska operations.

Oil Search also announced its total resources nearly doubled during the year, increasing to 497 million barrels of oil reserves following appraisal drilling at its Pikka Unit on the North Slope of Alaska that Oil Search acquired in 2018 and 2019 for a total of $US950 million.

It expects to make a final investment decision in the second half on its Alaska operations, where it expects to have more than 800 personnel in the field, and is planning to sell off 15 per cent interest of its 51 per cent stake in the Pikka Unit to bolster its liquidity.

If the project moves forward Oil Search could be producing up to 30,000 barrels of oil per day in Alaska from late 2022, reaching full production of 135,000 barrels per day from 2025 from three well pads.

This year, Oil Search expects to produce 27.5 million to 29.5 million barrels of oil.

Mr Wulff said he believed its joint venture partner ExxonMobil and the PNG government would eventually reach agreement on terms for developing the P'nyang gas field after they broke down January 31.

Oil Search declared a final dividend of 4.5 US cents per share, unfranked, down from 8.5 US cents a year ago.

At 1407 AEDT, Oil Search shares were down 2.4 per cent to $6.005 amid a broader market selloff.

The report was the final one for Peter Botten, Oil Search's managing director since 1994, who oversaw the growth of the company from a small exploration company worth around $200 million to a regionally significant operator.

OIL SEARCH

* Revenue for year ended December 31 up 3.2pct to $US1.58b

* Net profit down 8.4pct to $US312.4m

* Final dividend of 4.5 US cents (about 6.8 Australian cents) compared with 8.5 US cents a year ago.

At close, shares in the Sydney-based company were up 6.5 per cent to $25.40, after being down as much as 16 per cent in early trade amid a broad market sell-off.

Appen announced the Figure Eight business it bought in April helped it grow revenue by 47.1 per cent to $536 million for the year to December 31.

Appen, which develops human-annotated datasets for training artificial intelligence algorithms, said underlying net profit had beaten its previously upgraded guidance by rising 32 per cent to $64.7 million.

Statutory net profit after tax dropped by 0.3 per cent, or $117,000, to $41.6 million, while statutory earnings rose 29 per cent to $87.9 million, reflecting the impact of the transaction costs relating to Figure Eight.

The result was was driven by a "stand-out" 32 per cent increase in speech and image data types revenue to $67.7 million, the company said was achieved through growing demand" for "high-quality training data for a richer set of artificial applications".

Appen's relevance team also enjoyed a 37 per cent increase in revenue to $430 million.

Chief executive Mark Brayan said despite the stock market roller-coaster he was pleased with Figure Eight's "return to form" and the underlying growth coming through the business.

"My job is to deliver results and I'll leave the share price reactions to the experts, but it was a pretty turbulent day for us and other no doubt," he told AAP on Tuesday.

Mr Brayan said the integration of Figure Eight and Appen had begun with major components expected to be completed by the end of 2020, while set-up of the company's US government operations were on track and would enable greater participation in government contracts.

The chief executive also said Appen's operation in China - the firm has its headquarters in Shanghai, as well as a data delivery in Wuxi - was growing fast.

"China first of all is an AI market that potentially rivals the US, hence our investment into China was to participate in that market," he said.

"We're investing into China, but we're doing it in a measured fashion - we're not overly exposed to China. All things being equal, I think we'll enjoy good growth from China and a meaningful contribution over the next few years."

Meanwhile, Mr Prayan expected the coronavirus outbreak to have a "negligible" impact on Appen's FY20 group revenue and earnings, given its China operations were young and its targets modest.

"With coronavirus, because of our low reliance on China currently, any domestic impact is not going to affect the group's revenues on a worldwide basis," he said.

"Where we may see a bigger impact is for our US customers that rely on China for supply of their hardware.

"And whilst that doesn't directly impact our business, if our major US customers suffer material slowdowns, then they just cut costs across the board, and that may impact the work we do with them."

Appen announced an interim dividend of five cents per share, partially franked, up from four cents per share the year before.

Here's a look at the once-powerful producer's journey towards the verdict:

October 2017: The New York Times newspaper and New Yorker magazine detail numerous allegations against Weinstein, triggering a cascade of accusations against other powerful men and the spread of the #MeToo movement.

May 2018: Weinstein is arrested in New York on charges of criminal sexual act and rape. The latter charge stems from allegations made by Jessica Mann, who says he raped her when she was an aspiring actress in 2013.

July 2018: Prosecutors add charges to Weinstein's indictment based on allegations by former production assistant Mimi Haleyi, who says he forced oral sex on her in 2006.

October 2018: A judge throws out a criminal sexual act charge involving Lucia Evans, a marketing executive who says Weinstein forced oral sex on her in 2004.

August 2019: Prosecutors obtain a new indictment, allowing them to call Sopranos actress Annabella Sciorra as a witness. Her allegations of rape in the early 1990s are too old to be charged on their own, but can support the charges of predatory sexual assault.

December 11, 2019: Weinstein and his bankrupt film studio reach a tentative $US25 million ($A38 million) settlement with some women who have accused him of sexual assault, in a deal that could end nearly all civil lawsuits against him.

January 6, 2020: Prosecutors in Los Angeles charge Weinstein with raping one woman and sexually assaulting another in 2013.

January 7, 2020: Jury selection begins in the trial in New York State Supreme Court, which is set to be closely followed around the world as the highest-profile #MeToo case to go before a criminal court jury.

January 23, 2020: Sciorra testifies that Weinstein pushed his way into her New York apartment. "He got on top of me and he raped me," she says tearfully.

January 27, 2020: Haleyi recounts how Weinstein held her down and forced oral sex on her. During cross-examination, she acknowledges that she continued sending him friendly emails.

January 31, 2020: Mann begins several days of testimony, during which she describes in graphic detail how Weinstein allegedly manipulated and raped her. She says during cross-examination that she entered into a relationship with him and sent him flattering messages.

February 13, 2020: In the defence closing arguments, Weinstein's lawyer Donna Rotunno portrays her client as the the victim of "overzealous" prosecutors spinning a false "narrative".

February 14, 2020: In her closing arguments, prosecutor Joan Illuzzi highlights Weinstein's "lack of human empathy" and says his actions are a "hallmark of a predator".

February 18, 2020: The jurors begin deliberations after hearing weeks of testimony from six accusers, as well as from experts and other witnesses.

February 24, 2020: The panel of seven men and five women reach a verdict. They convict Weinstein of a criminal sexual act and rape in the third degree, though not of the most serious charges of predatory sexual assault.

Weinstein is immediately taken to prison, where he awaits sentencing on March 11.

ASIO boss Mike Burgess says right-wing extremists are regularly meeting in Australian suburbs to salute Nazi flags, inspect weapons, train in combat and share their hateful ideology.

The extreme right-wing had been in ASIO's sights for some time but came into sharp focus after the Christchurch terror attack last year.

The home affairs minister said an individual or organisation's ideology was of no consequence to him or Australia's security agencies.

"If somebody is going to cause harm to Australians, I just don't care whether they're on the far right, far left, somewhere in between: they will be dealt with," Mr Dutton told reporters on Tuesday.

"If the proliferation of information into the hands of right-wing lunatics or left-wing lunatics is leading to a threat in our country, then my responsibility is to make sure our agencies are dealing with it, and they are."

Mr Dutton said left-wing extremist groups included Islamic terrorists.

"I don't care whether they're neo-Nazis or they're part of some cell that's been involved in a fight in the Middle East," he told ABC.

Labor used question time to attack the government on what it saw as a lack of action on right-wing extremists.

"Why has the Australian government not listed a single right-wing extremist group as a terrorist organisation?" opposition Defence spokesman Richard Marles asked.

Mr Dutton said he would consider listing right-wing extremist groups as terrorists if he was advised by ASIO to do so.

The government pointed to its national security legislation, including its encryption busting laws.

"Whatever their cause of hate, whatever their motivation to do Australians harm, this government is standing up to them," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

Guards at the Adelaide Youth Training Centre will have body-worn cameras attached to their uniforms to capture audio and video footage during incidents.

The trial will determine if the cameras reduce the severity of incidents and level of force required to de-escalate a situation.

It also aims to improve the quality and accuracy of incident reporting, the state government said on Tuesday.

SA police currently use body-worn cameras, but their introduction in a prison is a first for the state.

Human Services minister Michelle Lensink said trials from interstate showed body-worn cameras acted as a potential deterrent.

"Young people at the Adelaide Youth Training Centre can present with challenging behaviour," Ms Lensink said.

"With this in mind, management can often be challenging and even with the best practice and support techniques, incidents can occur.

"It's important we use this trial to ensure we continue to protect young people and staff while maintaining young people's privacy."

Staff from the juvenile prison will be consulted in the coming weeks to determine trial guidelines, including when the cameras are used.

The trial is expected to start in March and will run for six months.

In addition to the body camera trial, the centre also plans to introduce a full-body scanner by July 2020 to better detect goods being smuggled into the prison.

Grant has been on edge for weeks with a proposed loan deal - that would have sent him to the West Tigers for a season in exchange for centre Paul Momirovski - believed to have been blocked by the NRL.

But with second-choice hooker Smith to miss 4-6 weeks due to a facial fracture suffered in the All Stars game, Grant is now effectively the back-up for Cameron Smith.

"I'm not too sure (where it leaves me) at the moment," Grant said on Tuesday.

"Obviously I've got to look after the Storm first, I don't want to be selfish and leave when they're in need of another back-up hooker if Brandon's out and obviously the club will look at that too.

"In saying that, it could affect it.

"But I'm just sitting at the moment, waiting to see the verdict and see what the club comes up with on both parties - from the Tigers and the Storm."

Grant, who has made just two NRL appearances, said he was prepared to play a role in the middle if called upon.

The 22-year-old is contracted to Melbourne until the end of 2022.

"I obviously feel that I'm ready and the next step for me is to develop my game playing NRL but in saying that, Cam's the GOAT (greatest of all time) and if he wants to play for as long as he wants to, he will," Grant said.

"I've learned a lot off him and can't thank him enough for what he's done for me the last couple of years.

"So at the moment I'm biding my time and he deserves all the respect to be there and if I'm going back to Q-Cup then I'm just going to keep working on my trade there."

Grant was confident he and the younger Smith could co-exist at the Storm if Cameron Smith does retire.

"We both really enjoy playing alongside each other because we see the game very similar, so we can read each other's game a bit," he said.

"So I'm pretty excited in the future to either play alongside him or in a rotation with him."

The convenience store, petrol station and refinery firm also announced chief financial officer Matthew Halliday will become interim chief executive next week as current boss Julian Segal prepares to stand down amid an $8.8 billion bidding war for the company.

Caltex said it had been unable to find a permanent successor to Mr Segal as the takeover battle played out between Britain's EG Petroleum and Canadian Couche-Tard.

Mr Segal had announced his impending retirement in August and will now leave the role on March 2.

Fuels and infrastructure head Louise Warner has been named interim chief operating officer.

"Given our recent announcements regarding the receipt of revised and new proposals to acquire Caltex, it is not possible for us to complete this search at this time," chairman Steven Greg said.

"The interim appointments we announce today will ensure we can continue to engage with interested parties on a potential transaction, while continuing to execute our strategy."

Caltex last week announced EG Group had entered a competing bid to a twice-improved $8.8 billion offer from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.

EG Group offered $3.9 billion in cash for Caltex's convenience store business and separate shares in a new, listed infrastructure and refinery company made up of Caltex's remaining assets.

For 2019, Caltex Australia's profit on a historical cost basis was down 31 per cent to $382.8 million, slipping from $560 million a year ago despite an improved second half, as "the Australian economy remained weak".

Operating profit on a replacement cost of sales basis fell 38 per cent to $344 million, above the midpoint of the $320 million to $360 million guidance offered in December.

The fuels and infrastructure segment delivered earnings of $450 million, including an above-guidance $380 million once the Lytton effect is stripped out, which was down 21 per cent on the prior year.

Total fuel and infrastructure fuel sales volumes increased by 3.0 per cent to 21.1 billion litres in 2019, driven by a 36 per cent increase in international sales volumes.

However, Australian sales volumes, which includes convenience retail and Australian wholesale fell by 3.0 per cent to 16.3 billion litres, with jet volumes down 4.7 per cent amid margin pressure from elevated freight costs.

Convenience retail delivered an earnings result of $201 million, down 35 per cent on 2018 but in line with the guidance of $190 million to 210 million in earnings.

"Retail fuel volumes in 2019 were impacted by economic weakness in addition to a more competitive retail fuel market," the company said in its release to the ASX.

Petrol margins strengthened in the second half but diesel margins, which were more heavily affected by a weak economy, remained soft.

Total fuel production was 5.8 billion litres, a 6.0 per cent decrease on 2018, reflecting impact of the unplanned outages, planned turnaround and inspection shutdowns, and the economic decision to reduce feedstock purchases.

Revenue from ordinary activities ticked up 3.0 per cent to $22.3 billion.

The company will pay a fully franked 51 cents per share, down from 61 cents a year ago.

Shares in the company were trading 0.52 per cent lower at $34.29 by 1020 AEDT amid a wider downturn for the benchmark ASX/200.

CALTEX REPORTS TOUGH FY RESULT

* Profit on a historical cost basis down 31pct to $382.8m

* Profit on a replacement cost of sales basis down 38pct to $344m

* Final dividend 51 cents per share, fully franked, down from 61 cents a year ago.

She wrote the personal column in the West Australian on Tuesday, a day after parliament reflected on the murder of Hannah Clarke and her three children.

Dr Aly says it has been difficult for her to talk about the murders carried out by Ms Clarke's estranged husband Rowan Baxter in Brisbane last week, because she is a survivor of domestic violence at the hands of her former spouse and father of her children.

"I have known men like that. Men who see their partners and their children as their possessions and nothing more," she wrote.

"Abusers who explode with rage when their power is taken away and they can no longer control their partners."

The MP said she had followed "age-old" advice passed down on how woman should deal with such violence.

"Advice that warned me not to be rash and that cautioned me that leaving my husband and provider would make me destitute -- not to mention unattractive and alone," she said.

"I've been patient. I've stayed. I've nursed my bruises and I've hidden my pain. And I've stayed silent. For a long time I stayed silent. But no more."

Dr Aly said no amount of talking will stop domestic violence.

Australia needs a national campaign that will reach into every home with the clear message that such violence is a criminal offence and will not be tolerated, she said.

Women who want to leave violent relationships also need support, including safe housing, she said.

"Despite all the pain and abuse I suffered, leaving the father of my children was the hardest decision I have ever made," she said.

"Until we start taking action on domestic violence, nothing will change. Words and gestures in parliament are nice but they don't solve problems or create the urgent change needed to help women today."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said countering domestic violence was a priority for his government every day.

The federal government continues to implement the fourth national domestic violence action plan and the issue will be raised at a COAG meeting in a few weeks time.

"This issue doesn't know politics. It just knows that there is hurt and pain and tragedy and devastation to families and every day addressing that is a priority for me and my government," he told reporters.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

Lifeline 13 11 14

The investment and superannuation platform increased funds under administration by 58 per cent to $15.8 billion at December 31, up from $10 billion a year ago in what the company called a "record first half".

Revenue rose by 11.1 per cent, or $5.4 million, to $54 million in the six months to December 31 as the firm's market share increased to 1.6 per cent to September 30, from 1.1 per cent the year before.

"Advisers and their clients are increasingly choosing specialist platforms as they provide enhanced functionality and choice to better meet client needs," the company said in its release to the ASX.

"The HUB24 platform is becoming available to an increasing number of advisers given the transition away from institutional alignment towards alternative licensee model."

The company announced an unfranked dividend of 3.5 cents per share, up from 2.0 cents per share the year before.

Hub 24's stocks had dropped by 2.71 per cent, or 29 cents, to $10.38 at 1018 AEDT amid a wider downfall.

If only it were that easy for the Reds at Anfield on Monday.

The runaway Premier League leaders were given a shock for the first time in months, requiring second-half goals by Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane to complete a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over relegation-haunted West Ham.

"I didn't feel any nerves around Anfield," Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said. "I don't think anyone in the stadium thought it wasn't possible."

Liverpool tied the record for consecutive top-flight wins at 18 and successive top-flight home victories at 21, but not without a scare.

When Pablo Fornals gave West Ham a shock 2-1 lead in the 55th minute, Liverpool trailed in the league for the first time since November and their ambitions of becoming only the second team to go through a Premier League campaign unbeaten - after Arsenal in 2003-04 - were under serious threat.

But after Salah's 68th-minute shot squirmed through the arms and legs of West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski and over the line in front of The Kop, Mane completed the comeback in the 81st.

"We just tried to keep going, that's the mindset drilled into us by the manager," said Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, who set up the team's first and last goals. "It paid off in the end."

A 26th win in 27 league matches restored Liverpool's 22-point lead over Manchester City and left Klopp's team needing only four more victories to clinch a first league title since 1990.

City are about to lose their crown and might also lose their record for successive top-flight wins next week.

Liverpool, chasing a 19th league title, can move onto 19 wins in a row by beating another side fighting relegation, Watford, away on Saturday.

"I never thought it would be broken or equalled," Klopp said. "We did it and I cannot believe it happened, to be honest."

It looked like it was going to be business as usual for Liverpool when Georginio Wijnaldum headed home a cross from Alexander-Arnold.

But the majority of Anfield was stunned when Issa Diop pulled away from his marker to glance a corner from Robert Snodgrass inside the near post.

Then 10 minutes into the second half, the Reds fell behind in a league game for the first time since November 2 at Aston Villa when substitute Fornals turned in a low cross.

Liverpool were staring at their first loss since a 2-1 defeat at Manchester City on January 3 last year until Fabianski's error.

Worse was to come for West Ham as Alexander-Arnold crossed to Mane who made no mistake.

"The disappointing thing is the individual mistakes," said Hammers manager David Moyes.

"We performed really well as a team but we go away with no points and it's the points we need."

Labor frontbenchers Penny Wong and Kristina Keneally passed a motion on Tuesday condemning Ms Arndt's comments about the murders of Queensland mum Hannah Clarke and her three children.

"Ms Arndt's comments are reckless and abhorrent," the motion read.

"The values that underpin Ms Arndt's views on this horrific family violence incident are not consistent with her retaining her Order of Australia."

Pauline Hanson and her One Nation colleague Malcolm Roberts were the only senators who voted against the motion.

Liberal frontbencher Jonathon Duniam said the government's support was not designed to interfere with the independence of the Australia Day Council, which is reviewing Ms Arndt's honour.

"Comments like those expressed by Ms Arndt are abhorrent and unacceptable," he told parliament.

"There are never any excuses or justifications for family violence or the evil that Hannah Clarke and her children experienced."

Ms Arndt came under heavy fire last week for congratulating Queensland police for keeping an open mind including the possibility that Ms Clarke's estranged husband Rowan Baxter might have been driven too far.

Senator Hanson said the motion was a direct attack on Ms Arndt and detective inspector Mark Thompson, who stood aside after a controversial press conference the day after the murders.

Det Insp Thompson said police were keeping an open mind about whether the deaths were a case of a "husband being driven too far by issues" or a woman and children suffering extreme domestic violence.

"It is the role of the police to investigate this unconscionable incident and that may very well include triggers that led to the event," the One Nation leader said.

But Senator Keneally said the motion was carefully crafted to avoid condemnation of police.

Earlier, she urged her upper house colleagues to "stand firm" and make it clear there was no excuse for family violence.

"There is nothing plain and simple about using your position with an Order of Australia to spread comments that could be seen to be inciting violence, that seem to be condoning violence," she told reporters.

Governor-General David Hurley has forwarded complaints about her Order of Australia to the body that manages the awards.

The Sydney-based firm was plagued by law changes in China over the interim period, as well as packaging costs, which resulted in net profit of $18.2 million.

Blackmores earlier this month slashed its full-year profit guidance and said it was scrapping its interim dividend in a market update.

The company's revenue was down five per cent to $303 million for the six months to December 31.

Revenue in Australia and New Zealand alone was down 20 per cent to $115 million.

China's changes to e-commerce laws, aimed at reducing counterfeit goods, took a large toll on sales.

Blackmores also bought a manufacturing plant in Melbourne in October, and there were costs from changes to volumes and materials.

The plant will improve research and development.

The final $20 million payment for the site will be paid in the second half.

Blackmores also said on Tuesday the coronavirus threat and higher costs from manufacturing would have a material impact on its full-year result.

Full-year profit is expected to be between $17 million and $21 million.

Discussing the overall result, chief executive Alastair Symington said costs had increased at a greater pace and company structure had become complex.

Management is aiming to simplify its product line and operations.

Blackmores will start designing products for what it called "the modern career woman" in China.

It will also use its manufacturing and partnerships in Indonesia and India to help growth.

Shares in the business were down 2.14 per cent to $68.23 at 1049 AEDT amid a wider downturn.

BLACKMORES KEY FIGURES

* Net profit down 46pct to $18.2 million

* Revenue down 5pct to $303 million

* No dividend. Previous interim dividend was $1.50 per share, fully franked

Estia flagged in December that poor press from the royal commission into the aged care sector had hurt occupancy rates.

The aged care provider said on Tuesday that its first-half revenue was up 9.0 per cent $316 million but its net profit was down 32 per cent to $14.3 million for the six months to December 31 and its profit before tax had dropped 30 per cent.

Estia said profit had declined because it ensured quality of care and service despite government funding rates not being enough to cover rises in operating costs, principally staff.

The company employs about 7,500 people as nurses, care attendants, catering and support staff at 69 homes in NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.

Estia said it has not been asked to appear before the royal commission into aged care.

It says reform is needed to support a sustainable and high-quality aged care sector where funding and financing arrangements support the financial viability of efficient providers and provide investment returns sufficient to attract the capital required to meet the increase in expected demand and quality.

It also said none of the recommendations of the interim report would have direct or significant impact on its strategy or operations.

The company declared an interim dividend of 5.4 cents per share fully franked.

* The virus has infected nearly 77,000 people and killed more than 2500 in China, most of them in Hubei.

* More than 3000 medical staff in China have been infected, an official at China's National Health Commission said on Monday.

* The coronavirus outbreak can still be beaten, the World Health Organisation said on Monday, insisting it was premature to declare it a pandemic.

* Beijing warned its citizens on Monday against travelling to the United States, saying that Chinese tourists have been treated unfairly due to excessive prevention measures.

* Outside China, the outbreak has spread to about 29 countries and territories, with a death toll of about two dozen, according to a Reuters tally.

* The coronavirus death toll climbed to seven in Italy with some 220 infections on Monday.

* An air transport strike planned for Tuesday in Italy has been postponed until further notice.

* France on Monday blocked coach passengers coming from Milan over concerns one Italian on board might be infected, local health authorities said. Ireland cautioned citizens against travelling to virus-hit parts of Italy.

* South Korea reported 231 new cases, taking total infections to 833, health authorities said on Monday.

* Hong Kong's government warned residents on Monday to avoid all non-essential travel to South Korea.

* Hong Kong said it had 74 confirmed cases, up from 69 on Saturday. The death toll is three.

* Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Iraq on Monday recorded their first new coronavirus cases, all people who had been in Iran, raised its virus toll to 12 dead and 61 infected.

* Afghanistan confirmed its first case, declaring a state of emergency in a territory bordering Iran.

* Iraq shut a border crossing with Kuwait to travellers and trade at Kuwait's request.

* Qatar will ask passengers from Iran and South Korea to remain in home isolation or a quarantine facility for 14 days, Qatar Airways said on Monday.

* French minister said on Monday he saw no need to shut transport borders between France and Italy despite the spread of coronavirus.

* A third passenger from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan died on Sunday, while confirmed cases have reached 691.

* Greek organisers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic flame lighting ceremony said on Monday they have taken extra precautions for the torch's months-long relay.

* The Trump administration has backed off plans to quarantine patients from the cruise ship at a federal facility in Alabama.

* Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund predicted the outbreak would lower China's growth this year to 5.6 per cent and shave 0.1 percentage points from global growth.

* Finance chiefs of the world's top 20 economies vowed to monitor the virus impact on global growth and act if needed.

* China will intensify efforts to help cushion the blow to the economy from the virus that authorities are still trying to control, President Xi Jinping said.

* China's trade council says 3325 force majeure certificates related to the outbreak have been issued as of Feruary. 21, covering contracts worth around 270 billion yuan ($A57.89 billion).

* Vietnam's central bank ordered commercial banks on Monday to cut or delay loan payments from virus-hit firms.

* European shares suffered their biggest slump since mid-2016 on Monday and oil plunged almost 5 per cent in reaction to a jump in coronavirus cases in Italy, South Korea, Japan and Iran.

Civil protection officials said at least 229 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Italy.

State television on Monday night reported the seventh death of an infected person - all of whom had pre-existing medical conditions and were elderly.

Inter Milan announced on Monday that its Europa League match against Ludogorets will be played at the San Siro without fans in the stands.

The decision was widely expected and Ludogorets had announced shortly before that Inter had sent it a letter stating that the city's health authorities have allowed the match to go ahead behind closed doors.

Ludogorets added that UEFA has said it is monitoring the situation and will react immediately if anything changes.

Italy's football federation (FIGC) said on its website that it had made the request to the government for matches to be played without fans in attendance "to safeguard the sporting competition" - noting there is little time for make-up dates considering all elite soccer competitions must be completed by May 24 because of the European Championship.

Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora also proposed the closed-door plan to Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte - although no final decision had been made.

"Playing all sports behind closed doors for the next week could be possible, because then fans can more easily stay at home," said Maurizio Casasco, the president of the Italian federation for sports physicians.

"But the clubs have to be in agreement.

"There's more than just soccer in Italy. It's an issue that regards all sports."

Four Serie A games scheduled for the previous round on Sunday were postponed, including Inter's game against Sampdoria at the San Siro.

Turin-based Juventus are scheduled to host Inter on Sunday in the return of former coach Antonio Conte.

Other games scheduled for northern Italy on the weekend include Udinese-Fiorentina on Saturday and AC Milan-Genoa on Sunday.

With fewer concerns in southern Italy, Napoli's Champions League match against Barcelona at Stadio San Paolo in Naples on Tuesday was slated to be played as planned.

Serie C cancelled all games in its leagues, which have teams in the north.

Volleyball and rugby games were also suspended nationwide through next weekend.

The Socceroos striker says the A-League isn't currently competitive from top to bottom, despite the salary cap in place, and the addition of more foreign players could increase interest in the division.

An overhaul of the A-League salary cap could result in the addition of up to 60 marquee players next season, according to reports.

The proposed change would see foreign players exempted from the competition's salary cap, which could allow all 12 A-League clubs to sign up to five marquee players each.

As it stands, Australian top flight clubs are only allowed two marquee players outside of the salary cap per club.

"Great stuff, we have to follow this (proposal). It's something that the league would need. It's the tonic that teams would need," Jamieson told RSN.

Jamieson pointed out the gap between the top and bottom in last season's table and says the league should be opened up.

"We look at the league now. We had a chat with the Players Football Association yesterday.

"The league in itself is quite open. Last year there were 42 points between last and first in a salary-cap league. If you're going to have that in a salary-cap league then open it up a little bit in regards to the foreigners too.

"Let teams invest in the foreigners outside the cap. Get some names. I'm not talking about big, big names but I'm talking about quality names coming from the Premier League that can really help teams.

"The reason for the salary cap is to make it (the A-League) competitive. At the moment it isn't competitive."

The Aussie tennis star says having events played on the red dirt during the hard court season is damaging to the future of tennis.

Kyrgios also took issue with Gianluca Mager's jump in the world rankings from 128th to 77th after the Italian reached the final of the Rio Open on Sunday.

"If you think having all these clay court tournaments whilst we are in the midst of the hard court season is good for the sport and the future of tennis continue to argue," he responded to a post by a Twitter user.

Mager - who had to qualify to get into the main draw of the ATP 500 event in Rio and beat top seed Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals-finals - is now ranked above the likes of Australian young gun Alexei Popyrin, Frances Tiafoe and Vasek Pospisil.

"How many wins on hard court and grass court has he had?" Kyrgios asked about Mager.

Kyrgios insisted he was not taking aim at fellow players but rather the going after the tournaments rather than individuals.

"I'm not going at anyone," Kyrgios replied to a Twitter user's subsequent defence of Mager.

"I'm going at these tournaments."

The 24-year-old also retweeted a post that described the Rio Open and the Chile Open as 'a f***ing joke', adding his own caption which read 'Factsssss'.

Kyrgios, who had withdrawn from his past two scheduled events in New York and Delray Beach due to injury, is in Acapulco, Mexico, and due to begin the defence of his ATP 500 title against Ugo Humbert on Wednesday.

The Tony Pike-trained five-year-old won a trial earlier in this month and made use of perfect conditions at Ellerslie ahead of a two-start Sydney campaign.

"He galloped over 1000 metres at Ellerslie," Pike told NZ Racing Desk.

"I was thinking of taking him up to Counties for an exhibition gallop on Thursday but obviously they got some rain over the weekend and it was a good surface at Ellerslie.

"He ran good time and pulled up nice and fit and well so he'll head to Sydney on Monday week and run fresh-up.

"We've pencilled in the Canterbury Stakes and the George Ryder and then obviously we'll assess it after that.

"We'll probably give him a week or ten days in the paddock in Sydney then head up to Brisbane for the same races we ran in last year."

The Bostonian won the Group One double of the Doomben 10,000 (1200m) and Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) before finishing 11th in the Stradbroke Handicap (1400m).

Speaking at times through tears, Vanessa Bryant praised her husband's devotion to their family as she addressed thousands of fans gathered at Staples Center to remember Bryant and 13-year-old Gianna.

"God knew they couldn't be on this Earth without each other," Vanessa Bryant said. "He had to bring them home to have them together. Babe, you take care of our Gigi."

The service took place at the downtown arena where Bryant played for the Los Angeles Lakers for the final 17 seasons of his two-decade NBA career.

Thousands of Lakers fans, many wearing Bryant's jersey or team colours, attended the tearful gathering to honour Los Angeles' most popular athlete and a global basketball icon.

The ceremony began with Beyonce performing her songs XO and Halo with dozens of backup musicians. Alicia Keys performed Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata later in the program, and Christina Aguilera sang Ave Maria.

The two-hour program concluded with Dear Basketball, Bryant's Academy Award-winning short film.

After Jimmy Kimmel welcomed the crowd, Vanessa Bryant remembered the family's life with Gianna and her three siblings and then eulogised her husband. They had been together since 1999.

"He was the most amazing husband," she said. "Kobe loved me more than I could ever express or put into words. I was fire. He was ice. Vice versa at times. ... He was my everything."

The mourners included Lakers greats such as Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Pau Gasol.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver joined Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Phil Jackson and dozens of current NBA players, including Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving and Los Angeles natives James Harden, Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan. Celebrities such as Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez also attended.

Jordan, the Chicago Bulls great whose career was wrapping up as Bryant's was starting in the late 1990s, praised Bryant as "one of my dear friends. He was like a little brother. ... As I got to know him, I wanted to be the best big brother that I could be".

O'Neal and Bryant joined the Lakers together in 1996, and they won three consecutive championships during eight tumultuous seasons in purple and gold.

"Kobe and I pushed each other to play some of the greatest basketball of all time," O'Neal said. "I'm proud nobody has accomplished what the threepeat Lakers have done since the Shaq and Kobe Lakers did it."

Vanessa Bryant was followed on the podium by basketball stars Diana Taurasi and Sabrina Ionescu. Kobe Bryant was a passionate advocate for women's basketball, and Gigi Bryant was a promising young player.

"If I represented the present of the women's game, Gigi represented the future, and Kobe knew it," said Ionescu, the Oregon star who was mentored by Bryant.

The concourse was a sea of people dressed in the team colors of purple and yellow and others in black. On the scoreboard, the Bryant family's life flashes by in pictures.

The service began just hours after Vanessa Bryant sued the owner of the helicopter that crashed in the fog last month. The wrongful-death lawsuit claimed that the pilot, Ara Zobayan, was careless and negligent by flying in cloudy conditions.

The first day of the WikiLeaks founder's extradition hearing in a London court heard a series of revelations by lawyers for the US government and Assange's legal team.

Assange, 48, is facing 17 charges of violating the US Espionage Act and one of conspiring to commit computer intrusion over leaking and publishing thousands of classified US diplomatic and military files in 2010.

Barrister Edward Fitzgerald, for Assange, told the packed court a witness will confirm the US had contemplated more "extreme measures" against the Australian.

"Such as kidnapping or poisoning Julian Assange in the embassy," he said at Woolwich Crown Court, referring to Assange's seven-year asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

James Lewis QC, for the prosecution, said some US informants disappeared after WikiLeaks published their real names.

"The US is aware of sources, whose redacted names and other identifying information was contained in classified documents published by WikiLeaks, who subsequently disappeared, although the US can't prove at this point that their disappearance was the result of being outed by WikiLeaks," Lewis said.

He said Assange was also charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for helping former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, then called Bradley, hack a password hash so he could hide his identity while accessing and downloading classified files.

Lewis said the extradition hearing wasn't a trial and all Judge Vanessa Baraitser had to decide was whether Assange's alleged offences were crimes under UK laws.

"Reporting or journalism is not an excuse for criminal activities or a licence to break ordinary criminal laws," he said.

But Assange's defence argued he was being pursued for "ulterior political motives".

Fitzgerald detailed how the Americans had spied on his meetings with lawyers in the embassy and added charges to their extradition request in order to supersede a Swedish extradition request.

"Again this is not about criminal justice. It is about the manipulation of the system to ensure the US government was able to make an example of Julian Assange," he said.

Fitzgerald also maintained that US congressman Dana Rohrabacher had indeed offered Assange a pardon on orders of President Donald Trump, which both men denied last week.

"President Trump denies everything and we say 'well, he would, wouldn't he'," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald argued if Assange were extradited he would face discrimination because of his foreign nationality, which denied him free speech protections under the US First Amendment.

He warned it would be unjust given his long battle with depression and high risk of suicide.

Assange, who looked relaxed in the dock and wore a grey suit and grey sweater with a white shirt, is unlikely to give evidence, his lawyers said.

But the Australian unexpectedly stood as the judge was about to rise for the lunch break, saying the sound of protesters outside the court was distracting.

"I cannot concentrate and the noise outside is not helpful, even though I appreciate the public support - they must be disgusted with the proceedings," he said.

The charges against Assange carry a total sentence of 175 years imprisonment in the US.

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Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Tuesday announced the review to be led by education expert David Gonski and former public servant Peter Shergold.

"We want students to think of TAFE the same way they think of university, as a leading institution for furthering their education and gaining the skills of the future," Ms Berejiklian said in a statement.

The review is expected to consider a HECS-style program for TAFE students, greater industry involvement in courses and making sure courses are up to date.

Opposition spokesman Jihad Dib said rebuilding TAFE needs to be a priority for the state, but believes this review could be "the government walking away from TAFE".

"It worries me that this could lead to a running down of TAFE as well as the privatisation of TAFE which the premier has not ruled out," Mr Dib told AAP on Tuesday.

"TAFE should be an institution, not a pop-up shop."

Mr Dib said a HECS funding option could create financial barriers and argues courses should be made more accessible.

"There are courses out there that should not see people graduate with a debt, especially when we have such a skills shortage in this state," he said.

"The shortage is not going to improve by slugging a fee on it."

Asked if she would rule out privatisation during question time in parliament on Tuesday, Ms Berejiklian said the government would always control the courses available and would keep investing billions in TAFE every year.

"But if the question is whether we are open to industry making a contribution on top of that, the answer is yes," the premier said.

She added later: "If the question is whether we are selling off TAFE, the answer is an absolute no. This is about increasing our opportunities".

The NSW Teachers Federation argues TAFE should be free and the review instead should be an opportunity to highlight the detrimental effect private providers have on the sector.

"The race to introduce private providers has been a disaster for students who now face high fees and fewer opportunities to study the full range of courses at their local TAFE," president Angelo Gavrielatos said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Electrical Trades Union also slammed the proposal, claiming HECS-style loans would lump apprentices with huge debts and worsen skills shortages.

This was echoed by NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge who said making TAFE free could be a blessing for regional areas.

"We can afford to make TAFE free, and doing so would provide a dramatic boost to regional areas, kick start new industries and give workers the skills they need for quality jobs with a future," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

The review is expected to report back by July.

A devastated de Minaur had to be convinced to withdraw from his home grand slam with an abdominal muscle tear just days before the Melbourne Park tournament.

But the 21-year-old was cleared to return at this week's ATP Tour event in Acapulco, Mexico where he lost 3-6 6-4 6-3 in the opening round to Serbia's world No.50 Miomir Kecmanovic in just under two hours.

He will now reunite with Nick Kyrgios to lead Australia against Brazil in the Davis Cup qualifier at Memorial Drive in Adelaide on March 6-7.

"He still wanted to play the Australian Open even with the tear he had in the abdominal muscle," Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt told reporters on Tuesday.

"The facts were that a lot of senior members of the medical staff had to tell him what it could cause if he did go out there and made it worse.

"... He's been doing really well in practice but getting on the match court, you never know, so I'll keep a really close eye on that.

"The biggest thing is that (the injury) is probably out of his mind, so he can go out there and actually compete and not think about it.

"If he pulls up well then he'll be ready to go for Davis Cup, but first he's got to get back in that routine of playing tough matches again."

De Minaur started the Australian summer as the country's top-ranked player but has slid to No.25 in the standings, with Kyrgios at No.23 on the back of his stirring Australian Open run.

Kyrgios will also make his competitive return in Acapulco, as the defending champion, after being troubled by a wrist injury since his fourth-round exit at the hands of Rafael Nadal in Melbourne.

John Millman (No.40), Jordan Thompson (No.64) and James Duckworth (No.83) complete Australia's five-man Davis Cup squad.

Duckworth is poised to make his cup debut.

"It's a great story for Ducks, who gets an opportunity after a tough five years or so with a lot of injuries," Hewitt said.

"I know what it means to him to be part of a Davis Cup team ... I think this is good satisfaction for a guy who has worked extremely hard, even at the age of 28, to get an opportunity."

Brazil have yet to announce their team, expected to be anchored by Thiago Monteiro, the nation's highest-ranked singles player at No.88.

The winner of the qualifier will progress to the Davis Cup finals in Madrid in November.

Accusations against Weinstein helped fuel the #MeToo movement of women speaking out about mistreatment. Hollywood celebrities also founded Times Up, an organisation dedicated to fighting sexual harassment and abuse across all industries.

Below are some of the reactions to the verdict.

* "My testimony was painful but necessary. I spoke for myself and with the strength of the eighty plus victims of Harvey Weinstein in my heart. While we hope for continued righteous outcomes that bring absolute justice, we can never regret breaking the silence. For in speaking truth to power we pave the way for a more just culture, free of the scourge of violence against women," actress Annabella Sciorra, one of the prosecution witnesses in the trial, said in a statement.

* "Today is a powerful day & a huge step forward in our collective healing," tweeted actress Rose McGowan, who has accused Weinstein of raping her.

* "For the women who testified in this case, and walked through traumatic hell, you did a public service to girls and women everywhere, thank you," tweeted actress Ashley Judd, one of the first women in October 2017 to publicly accuse Weinstein of sexual misconduct.

* "Gratitude to the brave women who've testified and to the jury for seeing through the dirty tactics of the defense," tweeted actress Rosanna Arquette, who has said she resisted unwanted sexual advances by Weinstein.

"We will change the laws in the future so that rape victims are heard and not discredited and so that it's easier for people to report their rapes," she added.

* "While it is disappointing that today's outcome does not deliver the true, full justice that so many women deserve, Harvey Weinstein will now forever be known as a convicted serial predator," the Silence Breakers, a group of Weinstein accusers, said in a statement.

"This has been a flawed process from the beginning but has further exposed the difficulties women face in coming forward to tell the truth about powerful abusers," the statement added.

* "This trial - and the jury's decision today - marks a new era of justice, not just for the Silence Breakers, who spoke out at great personal risk, but for all survivors of harassment, abuse, and assault at work," Time's Up president and CEO Tina Tchen said in a statement.

"The jury's verdict sends a powerful message to the world of just how much progress has been made since the Weinstein Silence Breakers ignited an unstoppable movement," Tchen added.

* "Today's outcome in Harvey Weinstein's New York trial is the result of the decisions of multiple women to come forward to journalists and to prosecutors at great personal cost and risk. Please keep those women in your thoughts today," New Yorker journalist Ronan Farrow, who broke stories about allegations against Weinstein, wrote on Twitter.

* "Harvey Weinstein has been handcuffed & taken to jail!" said Rosie Perez, who testified at Weinstein's trial to bolster the account of friend and fellow actress Annabella Sciorra.

* "Harvey Weinstein operated with impunity and without remorse for decades in Hollywood. Yet, it still took years, and millions of voices raised, for one man to be held accountable by the justice system," the Me Too organisation said in a statement.

"This case reminds us that sexual violence thrives on unchecked power and privilege. The implications reverberate far beyond Hollywood and into the daily lives of all of us in the rest of the world," the statement added.

The wrongful death lawsuit filed by Vanessa Bryant in Los Angeles Superior Court said the pilot was careless and negligent by flying in cloudy conditions January 26 and should have aborted the flight that killed all nine people aboard.

The lawsuit names Island Express Helicopters Inc., operator of the service, and Island Express Holding Corp., owner of the craft. It also targets pilot Ara Zobayan's representative or successor, listed only as "Doe 1" until a name can be determined.

Calls to Island Express Inc. seeking comment were not answered, and its voicemail was full.

The lawsuit asserts Zobayan was negligent in eight different ways, including failing to properly assess the weather, flying into conditions he wasn't cleared for and failing to control the helicopter.

It was filed the morning that a star-studded public memorial service for Kobe Bryant, his daughter and all the victims, including Zobayan, in Los Angeles.

Zobayan, Bryant's frequent pilot, was flying the basketball star, his daughter Gianna, and six of their friends to a basketball tournament at his Mamba Sports Academy when the helicopter crashed in Calabasas.

Zobayan had been trying to navigate in heavy fog that limited visibility to the point that the Los Angeles police and sheriff's departments had grounded their helicopter fleets.

The NTSB hasn't concluded what caused the crash on the outskirts of Los Angeles County but said there was no sign of mechanical failure. A final report isn't expected for a year or so.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for Vanessa Bryant's grief, sorrow, loss of companionship and funeral expenses, among other things. It also seeks punitive damages to "deter future wrongdoing," the lawsuit said.

Island Express Inc. issued a statement January 30 on its website saying the shock of the crash had prompted it to suspend service until it was appropriate for staff and customers.

The company has had at least three previous helicopter crashes since 1985, two of them fatal, according to the NTSB's accident database.

HOW DOES HE LOOK?

* The Australian wore a grey suit, grey sweater and white shirt at his extradition hearing at London's Woolwich Crown Court.

* He has spent most preliminary hearings reading through case documents in a casual manner, and the first day of his extradition hearing was no different.

* He was clean-shaven with his hair cut short.

WHAT HAS HE SAID?

* Not much. Assange has to say his name and birthdate at each hearing, usually taking a long pause before saying the year - 1971.

* On Monday he broke his usual silence to address the judge: "I cannot concentrate and the noise outside is not helpful, even though I appreciate the public support (from noisy protesters) - they must be disgusted with the proceedings."

WHAT WILL HE SAY

* Not much. Despite media and human rights monitors' interest in hearing him speak to both assess his health and hear his version of events, Assange is unlikely to testify. "It's very unlikely that he would," his barrister Edward Fitzgerald said on Monday.

WHAT HAVE OTHERS SAID ABOUT HIS HEALTH?

* Defence barrister Edward Fitzgerald: "It would be oppressive and unfair to expose Julian Assange to the very high risk, if not certainty, of suicide if he is extradited to the US."

* Neuropsychiatry professor Michael Kopelman: "Mr Assange shows virtually all the risk factors which researchers from Oxford have described in prisoners who either suicide or make lethal attempts."

* Assange's father John Shipton: "I don't speak about that (his son's depression and suicide risk) because I get a bit upset."

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The American teenager, who last beat a top-10 opponent on the way to her first Grand Slam semi-final at the French Open last year, struck 27 winners in a display of relentless aggression and saved all three break points on her own serve.

Svitolina, who finished the 2019 season as runner-up to Ashleigh Barty at the WTA Finals, has struggled this year, having reached just one quarter-final at the Thailand Open after a third-round Australian Open exit.

The Ukrainian struggled to land her first serve during most of the contest and her poor shot selection ultimately proved her undoing.

Anisimova, 18, will next meet either former world No.2 Svetlana Kuznetsova or Polish teenager Iga Swiatek.

"I think the most important thing was just staying focused and clearing my head, just not putting too much pressure on myself and just trying to enjoy (it)," Anisimova said.

"So I'm really happy to be back and kind of playing my own tennis again."

Greece's Maria Sakkari celebrated breaking into the top 20 for the first time by defeating German Julia Goerges 6-4 6-3.

Sakkari, seeded 15th, won the opening four games in each set on her way to the second round for the first time in Doha after three attempts.

"She's got a big serve and a big game. You have to be careful with her and you have to come up with a good game plan to beat her," the 24-year-old Sakkari said.

"It's a dream come true to be in the Top 20 players. But I don't want to stop here. I see myself much higher and that's what I'm going to work for. It's a good goal, but I need to work more."

Sakkari next plays Czech Tereza Martincova who beat Japan's Misaki Doi in three sets.

The underrated paceman reinforced his value in a tight loss to South Africa in Port Elizabeth, taking 2-21 to be the pick of the quicks.

On a deck well-suited to his arsenal of variations and slower balls, Richardson outshone first-choice quicks Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins to continue a strong run of form since earning a national recall at the start of the summer.

His figures in that period - 10 wickets at 18.90 and an economy rate of 6.5 per over - highlight his skill bowling in the middle overs and at the death.

But Richardson is aware he has little margin for error if he wants to be part of Australia's T20 World Cup campaign later this year, having spent the better part of 12 months in the white-ball wilderness after being dropped midway through 2018.

"I've just got to perform, because my name isn't as big as those other guys," Richardson said ahead of the series-decider in Cape Town on Wednesday night (Thursday morning AEDT).

"When you talk about Cummins and Starc, they do it a little bit differently. I'm probably not as sexy as those guys in terms of they bowl 145km/h plus.

"That type of wicket (in Port Elizabeth) suits me perfectly because I can bowl those variations. But it's just something I've got better at ... I wanted to run in and bowl as fast as I could when I was 21 and I think you just learn over time you've got to be a bit smarter."

While a maiden T20 World Cup berth is Richardson's to lose, Australia also have Sean Abbott and Jhye Richardson in reserve in South Africa and a hungry Josh Hazlewood waiting in the wings.

"If I keep getting picked and I keep performing, I think I'll be there," Richardson said.

"Those two blokes on the bench are breathing down my neck and there's Josh Hazlewood back home as well, so there's some good competition.

"But I think I'm giving myself a good opportunity to be there in six months' time."

Every city Australia has visited during the white-ball tour of South Africa has brought its own reminders of one of the sorriest chapters in the nation's cricketing history.

But the T20 series-decider in Cape Town on Wednesday night (Thursday AM AEDT), Smith and Warner's first visit to Newlands since the tumultuous 2018 Test series, looms as a significant final step in their rehabilitation.

Smith spoke of being in "a pretty dark space" upon returning to Australia in disgrace and he and Warner were forced to mend fractured relationships with teammates before returning to again scale the cricketing summit.

South African crowds have been overwhelmingly hospitable towards them so far during the family-friendly T20 series.

"I've pretty much been overwhelmed by the support we've had from the fans," Warner said.

"The fans were just outstanding (in game two in Port Elizabeth), they were very respectful, didn't cop anything on the fence.

"The past is the past and we've got to focus on what's ahead.

"A series win means the world to us and that's what this game is about."

The Australian camp are also hoping the series-decider will provide an early taste of the heat that will come with hosting the T20 World Cup later this year.

Australia's women had considerable expectations placed upon them before their shock opening-round World Cup loss to India and Aaron Finch's side will face similar pressure at the men's tournament in October.

"That's the point, I assume, of these series, to try and emulate that going forward into a World Cup," paceman Kane Richardson said.

"I know a week ago, England and South Africa were in that same position in the third game so it's valuable experience for everyone. Just try and learn from it and win on Wednesday night.

"We obviously want to win every game and win every series but I think looking forward, the big picture is if we can get those chases right in a World Cup final or a semi or something like that, we'll take the experience now."

Australia have never bettered their runner-up finish at the T20 World Cup in 2010.

Richardson said the tourists hoped to take valuable lessons from a middle-order collapse in Port Elizabeth that cost them the chance to take out the series.

Fears of a global pandemic have sent markets into a tailspin, with European equities markets suffering their biggest slump since mid-2016.

However China's actions to lock down affected areas, especially in Wuhan, have probably prevented hundreds of thousands of cases, the head of the World Health Organisation delegation in China said.

"They're at a point now where the number of cured people coming out of hospitals each day is much more than the sick going in," Bruce Aylward said on Monday.

The surge of cases outside mainland China triggered sharp falls in global markets as investors fled to safe havens.

European equities markets suffered their biggest slump since mid-2016, gold soared to a seven-year high and oil tumbled nearly 5.0 per cent.

The Dow Jones Industrials dove to a two-month low while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were at their lowest in three weeks on Monday, all off by more than 3.0 per cent.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said using the word "pandemic" did not fit the facts.

"We must focus on containment while preparing for a potential pandemic," he told reporters in Geneva, adding that the world was not witnessing an uncontained spread or large-scale deaths.

The epidemic in China peaked between January 23 and February 2 and has been declining since, the WHO said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking in Geneva, said it was still possible to contain the disease.

But he cautioned, "if some do not do everything that is needed, this can still become out of control with dramatic consequences in global health and the global economy".

The White House is considering asking lawmakers for emergency funding to ramp up its response to the fast-spreading virus, a White House spokesman said.

"We need some funding here to make sure that we ... protect all Americans, that we keep us safe," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said on Fox News Channel.

Liang Wannian of China's National Health Commission said while the rapid spread had been halted, the situation was still grim.

He said over 3000 medical staff were infected, most in Hubei province surrounding Wuhan, probably due to the lack of protective gear and because of fatigue.

Excluding Hubei, mainland China reported 11 new cases, the lowest since the national health authority started publishing nationwide daily figures on January 20.

The coronavirus has infected nearly 77,000 people and killed more than 2500 in China, most of them in Hubei.

Overall, China reported 409 new cases on the mainland, down from 648 a day earlier, taking the total number of infections to 77,150 cases as of February 23.

The death toll rose by 150 to 2592.

But there was a measure of relief for the world's second-largest economy as more than 20 province-level jurisdictions, including Beijing and Shanghai, reported zero new infections.

Outside mainland China, the outbreak has spread to some 29 countries and territories, with a death toll of about two dozen, according to a Reuters tally.

South Korea reported 231 new cases, taking its total to 833.

Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Afghanistan and Iraq reported their first new coronavirus cases, all in people who had been to Iran, where the toll was 12 dead and 61 infected.

Europe's biggest outbreak is in Italy, with some 150 infections - compared with just three before Friday - and a sixth death.

Djokovic, who helped Serbia to victory in the ATP Cup before lifting his eighth Australian Open title last month, struck 22 winners and did not face a break point against wildcard Jaziri in a near-faultless display.

"It's a great way to start out the tournament," Djokovic, who is playing in Dubai for the first time since 2016, said.

"I miss playing here. I really enjoy it. I enjoy night sessions... I think I've done everything as well as I imagined it to be for the first match.

"Of course, there's things that always can be improved, things that can be better. But I have to be satisfied with the performance."

Djokovic is chasing his fifth title in Dubai and his first since 2013.

The 32-year-old Serb will next face Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, who overcame Egypt's Mohamed Safwat 4-6 6-4 6-0.

"I lost to him (Kohlschreiber) in straight sets in Indian Wells last year. I am aware of what he's capable of," said Djokovic.

"He likes actually playing top players on a big stage. He has lots of experience. I certainly will not underestimate him."

Seventh seed Karen Khachanov recovered from a break down on two occasions in the opening set before cruising to a 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 victory over Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin.

The 23-year-old Russian dropped just one point on his first serve in the second set to improve his win-loss record to 8-5 this season.

German prosecutors and police said the suspect, a 29-year-old German citizen, was being treated for injuries sustained in the incident on Monday and they were looking into all possibilities.

He had been arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide, according to police.

"This is a terrible day, this is a terrible deed," said Peter Beuth, interior minister of Hesse, the western German state where Volkmarsen is located.

A third of those injured were children, he said, and police still had no indication of the possible motive.

"It can be assumed that it was intentional," police spokesman Henning Hinn said at the scene, where debris from the carnival littered the ground and a silver Mercedes-Benz car that appeared to have been involved was taped off by police.

He said eight to 10 of around 30 people injured were seriously hurt. "Among those who are seriously injured are children, unfortunately," he added. Bild newspaper said some of the injuries were life-threatening.

German news website HNA cited witnesses saying the man appeared to have targeted children and had driven "at full throttle" into the crowd, which had gathered for a traditional procession ahead of the Christian season of Lent.

"People were coming towards me, crying," Bild newspaper quoted local county commissioner Reinhard Kubat as saying.

"There were mainly injured children in the street, but also older people. Children came up to me and said it sounded like 'Plop, plop, plop' whenever the car ran over a person."

Police called off all carnival parades in Hesse as a precautionary measure, but said they were not aware of any danger elsewhere in Germany.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her thoughts were with the injured and their relatives and thanked police and medics.

The incident comes less than a week after a man shot dead nine people before killing his mother and himself, in one of the worst racist attacks in Germany since World War II.

Police cars and ambulances rushed to the scene in Volkmarsen, a small town 260 miles (420 km) west of Berlin.

German media said the driver deliberately broke through plastic barriers set up by police around the parade area, where 1,00 people were expected to gather.

The car continued driving through the crowd for about 30 metres before coming to a halt, a witness told local broadcaster Hessenschau.

In 2016, a Tunisian man with Islamist militant ties ploughed a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people. He was later shot dead by Italian police after he fled Germany.

Once one of Hollywood's most influential producers, Weinstein, 67, was on Monday found guilty of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping Jessica Mann, a one-time aspiring actress, in 2013.

Officers helped Weinstein unsteadily to his feet before leading him away. His lawyer said Weinstein, who has used a walker throughout the trial, was ordered to be taken to a medical facility at New York City's Rikers Island jail complex.

A spokesman for Weinstein said later that the one-time movie mogul was diverted instead to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, which has a unit that provides medical care for jail inmates.

The spokesman, Juda Engelmayer, told Reuters he did not know why Weinstein went to Bellevue or how long he would be there. But a number of news outlets, including Variety, reported that he had complained of chest pains.

Either destination would be a sharp contrast to the posh Four Seasons hotel where the producer of such acclaimed films as The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love started his day.

After the verdict Arthur Aidala, Weinstein's lawyer, quoted his client as saying, "I'm innocent. I'm innocent. How can this happen in America?"

His sentencing hearing was set for March 11. The attorney vowed to appeal.

Weinstein never testified in his defence. He told reporters during the trial that he had wanted to speak but his lawyers said it was unnecessary because the case against him was weak.

Actress Rose McGowan, who had accused Weinstein of rape, wrote on Twitter: "Today is a powerful day & a huge step forward in our collective healing."

A statement for the #MeToo movement said: "The jury worked with an incredibly narrow and unjust set of laws governing sexual assault, and though he was not convicted on all counts, Harvey Weinstein will have to answer for his crimes."

Weinstein faces up to 25 years in prison on the sexual assault conviction. He was also convicted of third degree rape - sexual intercourse without consent - which carries a prison sentence of up to four years.

The jury of seven men and five women acquitted Weinstein on the most serious charges, which carried a potential life sentence.

A long legal battle in the appeals courts is likely to ensue. At the start of the trial, defence lawyers accused the judge of bias, the prosecutors of withholding evidence, and the media of turning the trial into a circus.

Weinstein still faces sexual assault charges in California, which were announced just hours after his New York trial began on January 6. Dozens of women have also filed civil lawsuits against him.

More than 80 women, including famous actresses, accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct stretching back decades. He denied the accusations and said any sexual encounters were consensual.

The jury acquitted Weinstein on two counts of predatory sexual assault and first degree rape - forcible sexual intercourse - of Mann.

A conviction on predatory sexual assault would have required the jury to find Weinstein committed an alleged assault against actress Annabella Sciorra and at least one of the alleged crimes against Haleyi or Mann.

Sciorra, best known from the television show The Sopranos, testified Weinstein forced his way into her home one night, raped her and forced oral sex on her. The accusation, from the early 1990s, was too old to be charged as a separate crime.

NSW Council for Intellectual Disability senior advocate Jim Simpson said there was a perception three decades ago that "these people just don't matter like other people".

Things have improved but it is still a major problem, Mr Simpson told the disability royal commission's health care hearing in Sydney on Tuesday.

"There most certainly has been a perception that these are other people, out of sight, out of mind, segregated away from society, a view that people with intellectual disability are lesser people with lesser rights," Mr Simpson said.

"I think there would still be many medical practitioners who would think that for a lot of people with intellectual disability it would be a blessed release for the person and for their family for them to die.

"That's the hangover we still have from a terrible history."

Mr Simpson questioned whether families were getting balanced information about the very positive lives that people with disability can lead, as opposed to the emphasis on any medical challenges.

He said there has been strong research since the mid-1990s showing health conditions not being adequately diagnosed in people with intellectual disability, and people dying far too early.

He said there had been some good steps forward in NSW in recent years and there would hopefully be advances nationally.

"The fact that it has taken so long to get to that point and the fact that there is just so much more that needs to happen if we are going to address those preventable deaths has been and remains a national disgrace."

About 400 Australians with intellectual disability die each year from potentially avoidable causes, an expert told the royal commission last week.

Mr Simpson said the health sector inadequacies facing people with cognitive disability demanded a fundamental commitment to action by governments, health organisations and disability support providers across Australia.

Sport Integrity Australia will be established after federal parliament passed legislation on Monday night with bipartisan backing.

The agency will bring together the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, the National Integrity of Sport Unit and integrity functions of Sport Australia.

Sport Minister Richard Colbeck said it was essential for a cohesive and well-resourced national body to combat integrity concerns.

"Australians love their sport and we expect our sport to be clean," he told the Senate on Monday.

"When it isn't, it damages the confidence of participants and viewers, and the games they hold close to their hearts."

Sport Integrity Australia will focus on anti-doping, intelligence, education and policy delivery.

Match-fixing in suburban competitions, the use of supplements by AFL and NRL teams and cricket's sandpaper scandal are among Australian sport's recent integrity issues.

The new agency is a response to the Wood review, commissioned by the government in 2017 to examine sporting integrity in Australia.

The government's political opponents used debate on the bill to criticise the government over the sports rorts scandal.

The coalition has been mired in controversy over a $100 million grants program the auditor-general found heavily favoured marginal seats.

"It is galling the government is in here talking about sport integrity when they have none of it," Labor senator Nita Green said.

Greens senator Janet Rice said the government was also under pressure over a separate program meant for female change rooms that doled out cash for pools in Liberal seats.

"Introducing a bill in this place entitled Sport Integrity Australia, what chutzpah, while they are in the midst of a massive corruption scandal on sports rorts," she told parliament.

ASIO boss Mike Burgess has sounded the alarm on the rise of espionage, interference and right-wing extremism.

Mr Burgess also revealed ASIO had uncovered a sleeper agent running a major spy ring.

"The level of threat we face from foreign espionage and interference activities is currently unprecedented," he said in his annual threat assessment.

"It is higher now than it was at the height of the Cold War."

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told parliament Mr Burgess' speech was a stark reminder of the threats Australia faced.

"We are facing an unprecedented level of threat both in terms of those terrorist cells and people that would conduct themselves in the dark art of foreign interference," he said.

He wanted to make sure intelligence agencies had enough resources to deal with these threats.

Mr Burgess said in recent years ASIO had been consistently detecting and regularly disrupting espionage operations in Australia.

New espionage and foreign interference laws were delivering dividends, with foreign intelligence services forced to change their tactics, he said.

"Wherever possible, ASIO seeks to 'detect and protect' before damage is done."

He said ASIO had recommended visa cancellations when foreign agents had been identified trying to travel to Australia, and foreign agents had been intercepted at Australian airports.

He gave the example of a foreign "sleeper" who had quietly built community and business links while secretly maintaining contact with his offshore handlers.

"The agent started feeding his spymasters information about Australia-based expatriate dissidents, which directly led to harassment of the dissidents in Australia and their relatives overseas.

"In exchange for significant cash payments, the agent also provided on-the-ground logistical support for spies who travelled to Australia to conduct intelligence activities."

However, ASIO disrupted the operation.

Mr Burgess also made mention of right-wing extremists, saying ASIO advice earlier this year led to an Australian being stopped from leaving the country to fight with an extreme right-wing group.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said ASIO has been looking at right-wing extremists for a long time.

"Terrorism and extremism come in many different flavours and many different colours and it's important that all of our efforts are keeping Australians safe," he told reporters.

Mr Dutton said whether extremists were left or right-wing - or whether foreign agents were from China, Russia or Iran - was of no consequence to him or Australia's national security agencies.

Centre manager and bus driver Michael Glen Lewis and childcare worker Dionne Beatrice Grills faced Cairns Magistrates Court on Tuesday charged with the manslaughter of the three-year-old.

Lewis made a call to triple-zero after finding the boy dead on the Goodstart Early Learning Centre bus last Tuesday afternoon, media reported.

According to the transcript of the call read out to the court, Lewis told the emergency operator: "Oh my God, this kid is dead.

"The child was left on the bus all day. So sorry, buddy.

"I'm going to jail. Oh my God, my whole life is over."

Police allege the boy was left on the bus when it was parked for the day outside Hambledon State School, about 1.7km from Goodstart's Edmonton centre, which Lewis managed.

Lewis, 45, was driving the minibus that collected the child from his home about 9am that morning. The manager found the boy's body inside the baking vehicle when he returned to it at 3.15pm that day.

The court was told the boy was a victim of a criminal act of negligence, it was reported.

Grills, 34, was also on the bus on the morning of the boy's death. She was a casual employee who had been working at the centre for less than a month, the court was told.

Earlier on Tuesday, Acting Detective Inspector Jason Smith spoke to reporters outside the court, saying the charges should provide answers for the boy's devastated family.

"The manslaughter charge refers to an act or a mission which is negligent and has brought about the death of another person," he said.

"The family is suitably distressed and very upset about this. And hopefully, now that the matter is before the court, they'll get the answers that they need."

Goodstart has formally stood aside the two workers. It's pick-up and drop-off services remain suspended nationally, and its Edmonton centre is closed.

One of the boy's relatives, Sydney man Thomas Namok, has told the ABC he's struggling to comprehend what happened.

"We're all distraught at the moment. We just can't believe this has happened. We just want answers," he said.

"He was just a cheerful little boy we would always laugh every time he's around. That's what I remember of him. It's going to be sad he's not going to be around anymore."

Lisa Rose Halcrow, 40, will next face court on May 6 after appearing in the Warwick Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning.

Halcrow faces charges of murder and grievous bodily harm following an 18-month investigation into the death of two-year-old Connor Horan.

Connor was staying with Halcrow in August 2018 when he died after suffering multiple internal and head injuries, police say.

He was rushed to the hospital by his babysitter but was dead on arrival at the Warwick Hospital.

Police were initially told Connor had fallen down the stairs.

Last month, Connor's family made a plea to the public for anyone with information to go to the police.

His grandmother, Deborah Ballard, said the family missed the "happy dance" he used to do.

"We just need to know what happened to my grandson," she said in January.

"Please, anybody out there, please, please come forward with information."

Days later, two homes in Warwick and a car were turned into crime scenes and Halcrow became the centre of the investigation.

She was arrested and charged on Monday.

"This was a very tragic incident and our detectives have been committed to finding answers for Connor's family," Detective Acting Inspector Matt Howard said on Monday following the arrest.

"I'd like to particularly thank the members of the public who assisted the investigative team over recent weeks with valuable information to the case.

"I think there will be a bit of relief for the members of the community in Warwick."

Kim Dorsett says there was nothing surprising about the scathing coronial findings on Monday that the Gold Coast theme park had failed in all aspects of safety resulting in the deaths of four people.

Queensland's industrial regulator is now considering whether the park's owner Ardent Leisure should face criminal charges that could result in fines of up to $3 million and expose individual executives to hefty fines or even jail time.

But the families of the dead may have another long wait ahead of them, with Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace saying the Office of Industrial Relations has 12 months to decide what action to take.

Kim Dorsett lost her daughter Kate Goodchild, son Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi when the Thunder River Rapids ride malfunctioned in October 2016. Mother-of-two Cindy Low also died.

Ms Dorsett says Coroner James McDougall exposed safety failing after safety failing as he delved into the tragedy, and the findings were entirely unsurprising.

"It was something that we heard bit by bit, add-on by add-on, every day - that the policies and procedures just weren't being followed," she told the Nine Network on Tuesday.

"As the coroner said yesterday they couldn't be followed because people didn't know what they were."

Ms Dorsett said the names of her children and the other two victims must never be forgotten.

For her, every day spent in the inquest, listening to confronting evidence, was a way to give her lost kids a voice.

"I always felt that while I was there, they were there. I never want those four people to be forgotten. That's what this is really about."

Ms Dorsett said Ardent Leisure was now in "a world of hurt" and it's up to authorities what happens next, but added: "I don't think it's over for them".

"They have said they're sorry for the circumstances that we find ourselves in. I have never actually had an apology: 'Sorry you are now missing three important people out of your lives', yeah."

"I have never actually had 'I'm sorry we did this'."

Coroner James McDougall has referred Ardent Leisure to the Office of Industrial Relations for possible prosecution under workplace laws.

External engineer, Tom Polley, has also been referred to the Board of Professional Engineers for failing to properly inspect the ride.

All four victims died after being flung into a mechanised conveyor when their raft collided with another and partially flipped after the water pump failed, causing water levels to drop.

The malfunction was the third that day and the fifth in a week, and no automated shutdown function was installed despite recommendations.

Ms Low's husband Mathew has been scathing towards the theme park operators, saying: "Dreamworld was a catastrophe waiting to happen because of their barefaced disregard for safety and maintenance".

The tournament hosts were staring at an early exit after crashing to 3-10 in reply to Sri Lanka's 6-122.

The match was effectively a knockout contest for Australia given they lost their opener to India.

Haynes (60 off 47 balls) and captain Meg Lanning (41no) guided Australia to a five-wicket victory with three balls to spare.

Australia need to beat Bangladesh in Canberra on Thursday and New Zealand in Melbourne on March 2 in order to have a chance of making the semi-finals.

Depending on other results, net run rate could decide which two teams progress from the group.

The pressure and expectation on Australia have been immense during the World Cup, and Haynes hopes the fighting win over Sri Lanka is the start of a winning run.

"Hopefully it just settles our group down a little bit," Haynes said.

"The other day (in the loss to India) it didn't go to plan, but that's the nature of tournament cricket - you don't always have it your own way.

"We knew we were going to get challenged at different times. Playing T20 cricket you are riding this wave of emotion and momentum.

"I think more than anything it will be really nice to carry that on heading into Canberra and that game against Bangladesh."

Australia showed great spirit against Sri Lanka, but their batting remains a concern.

The defending champions could only muster 115 against India, and their early wobbles against Sri Lanka showed some more cracks.

Haynes feels the team can continue to build from this point.

"I hope (the win over Sri Lanka) showed a bit of our character," Haynes said.

"To be able to get over the line right at the end there, it's going to hopefully create some wonderful momentum heading into the rest of the tournament."

Ross McDonald says he can't recall seeing a briefing prepared on Priya and Nades Murugappan and their Australian-born daughters Kopika and Tharunicaa, aged four and two, who are detained on Christmas Island.

The family are challenging their deportation in the Federal Court on the basis that Tharunicaa's right to apply for a protection visa wasn't fulfilled.

Justice Mark Moshinsky heard on Tuesday Mr Coleman had oversight over the family's case until July 2019, when it was passed to Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.

Lawyers for the family, who had settled in the Queensland town of Biloela, say the Home Affairs department prepared a briefing for Mr Coleman in April 2019, giving him background information on the current situation and options for handling the matter.

A second draft of the briefing was prepared in May, but ultimately was never acted upon.

Mr McDonald said he couldn't recall receiving the April briefing, despite records showing he was given a hard copy and requested further information.

He also couldn't recall giving the briefing to Mr Coleman, but when asked if the minister had requested the information, he fell silent.

"I have no comment," he said.

The court also heard Mr McDonald intervened when a request for information was made by independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie about the case.

He said Mr Wilkie should not be told Mr Coleman was considering lifting a legal bar to allow Tharunicaa to make a protection visa application.

Maritime arrivals are barred from applying for visas while in Australia and, despite being born in Australia, the young girl was given the same status as her parents.

Mr Dutton lifted the bar for 7500 arrivals in July 2017, which the family's lawyer Angel Aleksov argues included Tharunicaa as an individual.

However, that has been challenged by government lawyers, arguing the then-one-month-old was part of her mother's application.

Mr Coleman has been on leave for unknown personal reasons since mid-December and has not been called as a witness.

Mr Aleksov suggested his unavailability as a witness might be a factor in their closing submissions on Tuesday afternoon.

O'Connor was in top form in the No.10 jersey at Suncorp Stadium as the Reds picked up their first 2020 win, an emphatic 64-5 victory.

The 52-Test Wallaby says the performance shows what the Reds are capable of and has him dreaming of bigger things.

"We want to do something this season and it's very possible with our confidence," O'Connor said.

Having led in the second-half of their three previous matches before falling to defeat, Saturday's big win was an important step for the Reds.

O'Connor is now challenging his teammates to back up the performance this Saturday at home against the Sharks.

The South African team has won three and lost one so far and 29-year-old O'Connor is in no doubt about the importance of the fixture.

"This is moment-defining in our season," he said.

"It's just about progressing and building from this win because there was some great positives.

"We threw the ball around well and we stuck to game plan well.

"Obviously the boys have probably seen the highlights reel and whatnot but for us to keep grounded, there's little things we need to work on."

In reply to India's 6-142, Bangladesh put up a brave fight before finishing at 8-124 in Monday's match.

The win lifted India (2-0) to the top of their group, ahead of NZ (1-0) and Australia (1-1).

Verma cracked 39 off 17 balls, with her knock featuring four sixes and two fours.

Jemimah Rodrigues (34 off 37) and Veda Krishnamurthy (20no off 11) chipped in with handy scores.

But it was Verma who stole the show at the top of the order, with the opener punishing the Bangladesh attack to all parts of the ground.

"It's amazing that a 16-year-old is playing cricket for India," bowler Shikha Pandey said.

"She's been given a free licence to play her game.

"There's another 16-year-old - Richa Ghosh - who also played today. It's amazing to see them doing what they're doing for us.

"It can only go up for them. I'm really pleased to have such young kids in the team. They're fearless. They do not play against names. There's no baggage. They express themselves on the field."

Bangladesh moved to 3-66 in the 12th over to give themselves a chance of causing a major upset.

But with the required run rate creeping up, Bangladesh lost wickets at regular intervals to fall short of victory.

Nigar Sultana Joty scored 35 off 26 balls, while opener Murshida Khatun chipped in with 30.

Diminutive India spinner Poonam Yadav, who destroyed Australia's batters last week, snared 3-18 in another strong display.

The final results of the 2019 NAPLAN tests, released on Tuesday, show writing improved across all years in all states and territories compared with the previous year.

But for Years 5, 7 and 9, those results are still lower than the base year of 2011, the first time comparable tests were done.

The head of national testing authority ACARA, David de Carvalho, described the results as a national upward movement.

"I don't think we can get too excited about this at this stage, one swallow does not make a summer, but if this was to be repeated, this kind of improvement in the coming NAPLAN results, it would be an encouraging trend," he said.

"What happens in 2020 will be an important source of information about what might be behind the change."

The results showed the beneficial way NAPLAN could call attention to problems.

"We've had a national debate about our declining writing results in NAPLAN over the last few years," Mr de Carvalho said.

"One possible explanation for the uptick last year was that the renewed efforts and focus on writing that has been undertaken across jurisdictions is bearing fruit."

Some states have questioned the usefulness of NAPLAN, with NSW, Queensland and Victoria reviewing whether the standardised testing gives parents and teachers diagnostic information in the most efficient way.

Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan said the tests did provide valuable information.

"The Morrison government continues to back NAPLAN because our community deserves to know how our students and schools are performing," he said.

Critics have also suggested the tests are behind an apparent flatlining of student results over time.

Before NAPLAN was instituted in 2008, there was no nationally consistent testing to compare the achievements of all students.

Mr de Carvalho said it wasn't correct to say results were flatlining, highlighting improvements in the average scores in most domains and years in the decade since testing began.

Those improvements are most pronounced in the primary school years, a trend Mr de Carvalho said was also seen in international results.

Labor's education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said the latest results combined with those from international testing did not paint a pretty picture of Australian students and the nation couldn't afford for the next generation to be held back.

Gauff, who continued her dramatic rise by reaching the fourth round on her Australian Open debut last month before losing to eventual champion Sofia Kenin.

Florida-based Gauff has enjoyed a sensational run on the professional circuit since July last year when she reached the fourth round of Wimbledon in her first major championship appearance.

She also advanced to the US Open third round before lifting her first WTA title in Linz, Austria at the end of the 2019 season.

Assange, 48, appeared at London's Woolwich Crown Court on Monday for the first day of a hearing that is likely to last several months.

The Australian's father John Shipton was among the supporters inside the court, while scores of people gathered outside, many chanting "free Julian Assange!"

The protesters carried placards with messages including "Jail the war criminals", "Don't shoot the messenger" and "Don't extradite Assange: Journalism is not a crime".

Speaking to reporters earlier, Shipton criticised "the oppression of journalism (and) the ceaseless malice directed at Julian".

The US Justice Department says it charged Assange with conspiring with former US military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to leak a trove of classified material in 2010.

Assange, his lawyers and his supporters have opposed his transfer to the US since his arrest in April.

They claim he would not get a fair trial and could face a prison sentence of up to 175 years if convicted.

"Today journalism itself is on trial," said the Defend Assange Campaign, which has organised protests on Monday in cities including Berlin, Brussels, Vienna, Athens, New York, Washington, Sydney, Seoul and Mexico City.

Paris-based Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) also called for Assange's release and said it has sent monitors to the hearing in London.

"It is an unprecedented step for us to undertake this type of international trial-monitoring mission in an established democratic country, which would be more typical in countries ranked much further down our World Press Freedom Index," the head of RSF's London bureau Rebecca Vincent said.

The Council of Europe's human rights commissioner Dunja Mijatovic has also urged Britain not to allow Assange's extradition, saying the case raises important concerns about press freedom and the protection of the rights of whistleblowers.

The UN rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer has found Assange displayed "all the symptoms typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture" after visiting him in prison in May.

London's Metropolitan Police arrested Assange again in April at the Ecuadorian embassy for failing to surrender to an earlier warrant issued by a British court in relation to a Swedish extradition request.

A court sentenced Assange to 50 weeks in prison in May for breach of bail conditions linked to the Swedish charges of sexual assault, which were later dropped.

At stumps on day three, Australia A were struggling at 5-180 in their second innings, still requiring 72 runs to make the Lions bat again.

In reply to the Lions' 428, they were rolled for 176 in the first innings of the day-night fixture.

The hosts were made to follow-on and found themselves in all sorts of trouble at 4-85 in their second dig before Josh Inglis (35), Patterson (43no) and Wildermuth (16no) steadied the ship.

Nic Maddinson avoided the early carnage to score 52 but Usman Khawaja (4), Marcus Harris (24) and Moises Henriques (4) went cheaply.

Craig Overton and Dom Bess snared two wickets apiece, with Australia A's hopes of holding on for a draw now largely resting in Patterson and Wildermuth's hands.

Wildermuth top-scored in the first innings with an unbeaten 50.

"We've had another good day in the field but we know there's still work to be done tomorrow if we're to win the game," England Lions batsman Keaton Jennings said.

"Patterson and Wildermuth are good batsmen and I'm sure they'll do everything they can to frustrate us and take the game as deep as possible.

"Our bowling throughout the day was generally good and even when decent partnerships started to form we held our nerve to take advantage of any breakthrough and put the Australian batsmen under pressure.

"Winning any game in Australia is difficult, so hopefully we can push on to victory tomorrow."

Doedee had been expected to make his comeback in an under 23 trial game against Port Adelaide this weekend after having surgery last March.

But the 22-year-old has hyperextended his left knee at training and been ruled out of playing any preseason matches.

"There is some minor bone bruising evident on MRI which is a setback," Adelaide's head of football Adam Kelly said.

"It is likely Tom will not be available for selection in our final (preseason) game."

Adelaide's final official preseason game is against Gold Coast on March 6, ahead of their premiership season opener against Sydney on March 21.

"Everyone at the club obviously wants him back in our AFL team as soon as possible," Kelly said.

"However we will need take into account our upcoming playing schedule, with a view to him returning in the early rounds of the season."

Mike Burgess, the boss of Australia's domestic intelligence agency ASIO, says terrorism remains a threat.

"As a father, I find it truly disturbing to see cases where extremists are actively trying to recruit children who have only just started high school and are as young as 13 or 14," he said as he delivered his first annual threat assessment on Monday.

"Our view is that the threat of terrorism will remain a constant feature of the global security environment in 2020 and the threat to Australia and Australian interests will remain.

"The number of terrorism leads we are investigating right now has doubled since this time last year."

Australia's terrorism threat level remains at "probable" and would remain unacceptably high for the foreseeable future, Mr Burgess said.

"The unfortunate reality is that, right now, terrorists are still plotting to harm Australians," he said.

Of great concern was the use of the internet and new technologies.

The director-general of security said that while messaging apps and greater global connectivity had been a "force for good", they also had a dark side being used in nine out of 10 priority counter-terrorism cases.

"Technology should not be beyond the rule of law," he said, praising laws that came into force a year ago.

"I can confirm that ASIO has used the Assistance and Access Act to protect Australians from serious harm.

"We needed to take advantage of the new powers within 10 days of the legislation coming into effect - a clear indication of its significance to our mission. And I'm happy to report that the internet did not break as a result.

"The bottom line was this, these new powers helped ASIO prevent a real risk of injury to Australians."

The laws enhance the obligations of communications services to assist agencies, establish new "computer access warrants" for law enforcement and strengthen agencies' existing search and seizure powers to access unencrypted data on computers and mobile phones.

Mr Burgess said right-wing extremism was real and growing, citing one example of ASIO advice leading to an Australian being stopped from leaving the country to fight with an extreme right-wing group on a foreign battlefield.

"While we would expect any right-wing extremist inspired attack in Australia to be low capability - that is a knife, gun or vehicle attack - more sophisticated attacks are possible," he said.

Mr Burgess also voiced concerns about Australia being the "target of sophisticated and persistent espionage and foreign interference activities".

However, new laws dealing with foreign interference had "caused discomfort and possibly pain for foreign intelligence services".

"ASIO has uncovered cases where foreign spies have travelled to Australia with the intention of setting up sophisticated hacking infrastructure targeting computers containing sensitive and classified information," he said.

"We've seen visiting scientists and academics ingratiating themselves into university life with the aim of conducting clandestine intelligence collection."

In one case, a foreign "sleeper" agent in Australia had fed information back to spymasters about expatriate dissidents, which led to them and their families being harassed.

Mr Burgess revealed ASIO had recommended visa cancellations to stop foreign agents trying to travel to Australia, and intercepted foreign agents when they arrived.

"The level of threat we face from foreign espionage and interference activities is currently unprecedented. It is higher now, than it was at the height of the cold war," Mr Burgess said.

The Bob Brown Foundation on Monday filed legal action in Hobart Magistrates Court against the ban, issued last week by WorkSafe Tasmania.

The edict prevents activists from the foundation from protesting in the state's forests unless they abide by certain workplace health and safety regulations.

"I think the prohibition is illegal and unconstitutional," Dr Brown said outside the court.

Lawyer for the foundation, Roland Browne, believe the regulator doesn't have the power to issue such a broad-ranging edict.

He told media it also fails to comply with the relevant act and the edict is contrary to the constitution because it stops communication about government and political matter.

The foundation has requested an urgent court hearing.

"In the meantime the peaceful protest will proceed to defend Tasmania;s beautiful forests, not least the Tarkine," Dr Brown said.

"We will stop protest action when they stop destroying Tasmania's World Heritage value forest and its wildlife."

Several Bob Brown Foundation protesters were arrested earlier this month after chaining themselves to machinery and gates at forestry operations in the northwest Tarkine rainforest.

WorkSafe has previously indicated the protest ban is about protecting the safety of activists and workers, although the regulator says it is unable to comment specifically on the legal action.

It claims protesters have engaged in high-risk construction work and are at risk of falling from wooden tripods and platforms.

The regulator also has issues with the risk of protesters falling or being crushed when climbing machinery.

The decision is likely to affect A-League premiers Perth Glory, whose AFC Champions League visit to southeast Korean club Ulsan, scheduled for March 4, looks set to be played behind closed doors.

The K League made the announcement after an emergency meeting in Seoul on Monday as the country grapples with the viral outbreak that began in China and has infected nearly 80,000 people globally.

The number of reported cases in South Korea reached 763 on Monday, including seven deaths.

While the majority of infections in South Korea have been recorded in the southeastern city of Daegu, there are concerns that the virus could spread nationwide.

On Friday, the K League postponed the opening games of the season for Daegu FC and nearby Pohang Steelers, scheduled to be held this Saturday, but now all games will be suspended until further notice.

The organisation also decided that the Asian Champions League games set to be hosted by South Korean clubs in March - including Perth's visit to Ulsan next Wednesday - will go ahead, but in empty stadiums.

But deputy NSW coroner Elaine Truscott says there is currently insufficient evidence to charge the "sole suspect" responsible for Rodney Scarman's death.

The 52-year-old's body was found on Boxing Day 2011 in his Waterloo unit block.

His skull was fractured, larynx crushed and torso substantially beaten, while his blood had seeped under the closet door, Ms Truscott said.

Outlining the likely manner of Mr Scarman's death, she said he went to a nearby unit block on Christmas Day and confronted someone he erroneously believed was responsible for a $160 debt.

"This confrontation was met by the occupant inflicting blunt force injuries to Rodney Scarman which resulted in him falling which have occasioned further injuries," Ms Truscott said in her findings on Monday.

His body was left in situ for hours, allowing rigor mortis to set in, before the suspect then moved the body in a wheelie bin to Mr Scarman's unit block.

"This person then moved the body to Mr Scarman's unit block likely intending to return Mr Scarman to his own unit but rather than negotiating the stairs ... left him in the utility closet," the coroner said.

Police had made several appeals to the public for information but didn't believe they had enough evidence to charge the sole suspect, she said.

"I agree with that conclusion but note that advances in technology and future occurrences may lead to a resolution of this investigation," she said.

Much of the police case remains suppressed to protect future investigations.

The case will be registered with the unsolved homicide unit.

Mr Scarman's sister addressed the inquest about her brother's gentle ways, artistic skills and struggle with substance abuse.

She spoke of the grief she had in knowing that he suffered a violent death, the coroner said.

More than 100,000 people packed into the world's largest cricket stadium in Modi's home state to give Trump the biggest rally crowd of his political career.

The event was the pinnacle of the day's enviable trio of presidential photo-ops, sandwiched between Trump visits to a former home of independence leader Mohandas Gandhi and a planned tour of the famed Taj Mahal.

Nearly everyone in the newly constructed stadium in Ahmedabad in western India sported a white cap with the name of the event, "Namaste, Trump" or "Welcome, Trump".

Embarking on a whirlwind 36-hour visit, Trump opened his speech by declaring that he had come to deliver the message that "America loves India, America respects India and America will always be faithful and loyal friends to the Indian people."

The boisterous scene featured musicians on camels and a musical medley of Bollywood hits and Trump's campaign rally playlist, including numerous Elton John songs that seemed to puzzle most of the crowd.

While some of his foreign trips have featured massive protests and icy handshakes from world leaders, in India he instead received a warm embrace from the ideologically aligned and noted hugger Modi.

In Ahmedabad hundreds of billboards featured the president and first lady Melania Trump and thousands lined their motorcade route.

His first stop was Gandhi's home, where Trump donned a prayer shawl and removed his shoes to inspect the spinning wheel used by the famed pacifist.

Tens of thousands of police officers were on hand to keep security tight and a new wall has come up in front of a slum, apparently to hide it from presidential passers-by.

The cricket stadium was packed with revellers, many of whom sported Trump and Modi masks, as they sat in searing heat. Scores of attendees streamed out before Trump finished his 27-minute speech.

Trump lavished praise on both Modi and the democracy he leads, touting an effort to lift residents out of extreme poverty, saying "India gives hope to all of humanity."

"The story of the Indian nation is a tale of astounding progress," Trump said. "Today I say to every Indian, north and south ... take pride in the glories of your past. unite for an even brighter future and let our two nations always stand together as powerful defenders of peace and liberty."

Trump and the first lady were to visit the Taj Mahal, the immense white marble mausoleum built in Agra in the 17th century.

The visit comes at a crucial moment for Modi, a fellow populist, who has provided over a steep economic downturn and unfulfilled campaign promises about job creation.

The president will conclude his whirlwind visit to India on Tuesday with a day in the capital New Delhi, including meetings with Modi over stalled trade talks and a gala dinner.

The two nations are closely allied, in part to act as a bulwark against the rising influence of China. Trump announced at the stadium that India would soon buy $US3 billion of American military equipment.

Trade tensions between the two countries have escalated since the Trump administration imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium from India. India responded with higher penalties on agricultural goods and restrictions on US medical devices. The US retaliated by removing India from a decades-old preferential trade program.

Alluding to tense trade negotiations, Trump voiced optimism that a deal could be reached but also lightheartedly told the rally crowd about Modi: "Everybody loves him, but I will tell you this. He's very tough."

The Greg Eurell-trained Star Missile, who has hundreds of part-owners in the Hancox Racing No.8 syndicate, finished fourth in public voting to secure his spot in the $5 million All-Star Mile (1600m) at Caulfield on March 14.

Star Missile finished eighth in a 1400m open handicap at Flemington, won by Galaxy Raider, on his return from a spell last Saturday week and is nominated for two stakes races at Flemington and a handicap in Adelaide on Saturday and a benchmark race at The Valley on Friday night.

While Eurell said he would ideally like to run Star Missile on the big track at Flemington, no decision has yet been made.,

"I'll see how he works in the morning and speak to the syndicate manager," Eurell said.

"But he has come out of his first-up run well. There's absolutely no issues there so he's certainly on track at the moment.

"It will just be a matter of seeing how he lines up in the morning and trying to work out which race."

Nominations for the Group Two Blamey (1600m) at Flemington have been extended after 12 entries were taken on Monday.

The winner of the Blamey will be offered a wild card into the All-Star Mile if, unlike Star Missile, they don't already have a spot in the field.

Star Missile is 17th in the ballot for the Group Three Shaftesbury Avenue Handicap (1400m) which has 20 nominations including stablemate Blazejowski who will run with Damien Oliver to ride.

Eurell said Star Missile's first-up run on face value was a little disappointing but also believed the inside barrier draw did not suit him.

"He's not a horse that likes to be inside horses," he said

"He proved that the way he won the Country Final on Oaks day at Flemington last spring when he came down the outside."

The winner of the Toorak Handicap and Cantala Stakes in Melbourne in the spring, Fierce Impact made an impressive return when second in the C F Orr Stakes to three-year-old Alabama Express.

Trainer Matthew Smith hopes a good performance in the Group One Chipping Norton Stakes will be enough to get the horse into the $5 million All-Star Mile.

Fierce Impact was galloped on during the Orr but has since won a barrier trial at Hawkesbury in preparation for Saturday's 1600m-feature.

"He just had a couple of superficial cuts on a hind leg," Smith said.

"He was over it quickly and won his trial well.

"He is a happy horse and in a good space so I expect him to go well again."

Brenton Avdulla rode Fierce Impact in the trial and takes the ride on Saturday.

Smith said he and the horse's owners considered Saturday's Futurity Stakes won by Streets Of Avalon because it offered the winner a ticket to the All-Star Mile at Caulfield on March 14.

"We thought about the Futurity but decided to stay at home for the Chipping Norton," Smith said.

"If he goes as well as I think he will, then I hope he gets one of the wild cards into the race.

"But the Chipping Norton won't be easy looking at the nominations.

"It could turn out to be the best field he's been in yet."

There were 18 entries taken on Monday including New Zealand star Te Akau Shark, perennial fan favourite Happy Clapper and George Main Stakes winner Avilius.

The Jamie Richards-trained Te Akau Shark is the favourite in early Chipping Norton markets after claiming his first Group One win in his native New Zealand earlier this month.

Te Akau Shark created a big impression in Australia in the spring with his second to Kolding in the Epsom Handicap and third in the Cox Plate behind Lys Gracieux and Castelvecchio.

The Eagles are set to give boom recruit Tim Kelly his first run out in Thursday night's pre-season match against Essendon at Lathlain Park.

Fellow former Geelong player Jarmaine Jones is also likely to feature as he chases a supplemental-selection career lifeline.

But utility Elliot Yeo is unavailable as he and defender Brad Sheppard represent the All-Stars against Victoria in the AFL bushfire relief match.

West Coast midfield coach Nathan van Berlo said it is crucial to give a midfield boosted by Kelly's arrival plenty of time to build chemistry.

The explosive South Fremantle product also needs to acquaint himself with star Eagles ruckman Nic Naitanui, as well as Luke Shuey, Andrew Gaff, Jack Redden and the support cast.

"It would be great to get a full complement in there and see that mix working together before round one, but that's out of our control at the moment," Van Berlo said.

"It (chemistry) is important. From a midfield point of view, something we have tried to focus on throughout the pre-season is trying to get some continuity and chemistry with the group.

"With Tim coming into the mix now it is important that he gets some connection with the rest of the midfielders, and the forward line too if he spends some time there."

Naitanui has managed just 20 games in the past three seasons because of serious knee injuries and missed out on the 2018 premiership.

He played five matches late last season on limited game time and Van Berlo said the Eagles would take a similar approach in 2020 to maximise their No.1 big man's output.

"The way we're going to manage him going forward is with limited game time," Van Berlo said.

"I guess a bit of what you saw last year is what you'll get again from Nic, but his presence when he comes into the ruck and plays on-ball for us is huge.

"The more that we can get him out there and playing in the ruck is obviously our No.1 priority."

Van Berlo confirmed spearhead Josh Kennedy would play against Essendon, but fellow key forward Jack Darling is still recovering from a fractured cheekbone.

Alligator Blood prevailed over Catalyst by a short head when they fought out the C S Hayes Stakes (1400m) last Saturday week.

They will clash again in the $1 million Guineas (1600m) at Flemington with Catalyst shading his rival for favouritism.

Catalyst ($2.60) meets Alligator Blood ($2.80) one kilogram better at set weights while C F Orr Stakes winner Alabama Express and C S Hayes Stakes third placed Chenier are the other fancies at $6.

"Obviously if we won the C S Hayes it would have been great but we wanted to leave the racecourse knowing that he was competitive and he certainly answered those questions for us," Chipperfield said.

"He's third-up now. We're meeting them at equal weights and he's been looking for a mile.

"He's only had the one mile Group One race in New Zealand and won it very easily, with the best final 600 metres he's ever run.

"Hopefully we can get a decent track on Saturday and we'll see that brilliance he's got in the finish that we didn't really see in the Hayes because of the rain and the downgrade of the track."

Catalyst won the NZ 2000 Guineas (1600m) in November at his only attempt at the distance.

"After the Hayes and the way he's pulled up, and now we meet Alligator Blood at level weights and we want a mile, I'm not saying we can win the Guineas but I'm pretty confident we can get one up on Alligator Blood," Chipperfield said.

"Alligator Blood is an absolute warrior. I don't how he didn't lie down after that run. He's had to peak 10 times and he just keeps fighting."

Chipperfield said Catalyst had come through his Australian debut in super order.

"I gave him an easy gallop on Saturday and he went unbelievable," he said.

"I'm very, very happy with him. He'll be at his peak for the Guineas.

"We're not going to have too many concerns. The barrier draw is the only box to tick now."

Damian Lane, who has the Guineas ride, will gallop Catalyst on Wednesday.

The fate of Malaysia's ruling coalition had been in doubt after weekend talks between some of its members and opposition groups on forming a new government that would exclude Mahathir's anointed successor Anwar Ibrahim.

The pair had joined forces to win the 2018 election and oust the long-running United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), in an alliance based on a promise that Mahathir would cede power to Anwar.

The tussle between Mahathir, who at 94 is the world's oldest prime minister, and Anwar, 72, has shaped Malaysian politics for decades and tension has persisted.

"The letter has been sent to His Royal Highness the King at 1pm," Mahathir's office said in a statement on Monday.

Anwar was due to meet with the king and it was not clear if he had the political support to stake a claim on forming a government.

It was also not immediately clear what the king's next step would be and whether Mahathir could form another government with the support of other parties, including UMNO.

If no grouping had more than the 112 members needed for a parliamentary majority, fresh elections are an option, a person close to Mahathir's party said.

The party, Bersatu, has quit the ruling coalition along with 11 lawmakers from Anwar's PKR party, including Malaysia's Minister of Economic Affairs Mohamed Azmin Ali, they said in separate statements.

Anwar's wife Wan Azizah Ismail is the deputy prime minister of the country and would be the highest figure in the government if Mahathir's resignation is accepted.

On Sunday, Anwar had accused Mahathir's party and "traitors" in his own PKR party of plotting to form a new government with UMNO.

Sources said Mahathir's party and a faction in Anwar's party met officials from UMNO and Islamist party PAS in efforts to form a new coalition and possibly back Mahathir to serve out a full five-year term as prime minister.

The political turmoil, together with region-wide worries at the spread of the coronavirus, sent Malaysia's currency, bonds and stock market lower.

The ringgit fell 0.8 per cent on the day - its steepest slide in three years - to its lowest level in almost six months.

The main stock market index fell to an eight-year low and bonds fell, forcing yields on 10-year government bonds up 5 basis points, their biggest jump since October.

Outgoing chairman Cameron Clyne was due to step down at the annual general meeting on March 30, bringing to an end a tumultuous time in the role which oversaw the Super Rugby axing of Western Force and costly court dispute with Israel Folau.

However Clyne announced on Friday he would stand down immediately, with former Test skipper McLean called on as one of the board's most senior directors, having served for the past eight years following a stint as president from 2005-09.

"The remainder of the board had a discussion and they all looked at me," McLean told AAP.

"It was unexpected but by doing it now he's (Clyne) given the opportunity for a steadier transition for new directors and a new chair."

The move means McLean, 66, will have oversight at a crucial time amid the governing body's broadcast rights negotiations, collective bargaining agreement and 2027 Rugby World Cup bid.

The plan is that one of three incoming board directors will be anointed chair and McLean will fill the position until that person is ready to transition into the role.

"The chair is a high-profile role and whoever is chosen and elected will benefit from having some time to build relationships and gain an understanding of all the major work happening across the rugby landscape before they step into the role," McLean said.

"Ultimately, there are some major pieces of work that are either nearing completion or getting underway, including the negotiations around the media rights, Rugby World Cup bid process, World Rugby positions and a Collective Bargaining Agreement, and we believe this change will provide added stability at a crucial time."

Asked if he would consider taking on the chair role permanently, the former Wallabies captain said it wasn't "his plan at this point in time".

"I'm confident there will be candidates there that fit the bill," he said.

"It doesn't surprise me that there are a lot of people who want to be involved (with the board) as they tend to think things aren't as bad as they're made out to be both on and off the field."

Despite rugby's declining popularity in Australia, McLean sees brighter times ahead, particularly in an Olympic year and with a World Cup bid in the offing.

"We're in a position now where I can see so much depth in our younger brigade of players that will hold us in good stead for the next five years," the 31-Test former Wallaby said.

"That's been displayed by the Brumbies and in the Reds on the weekend and the Australian under 20s so we're creating a pretty solid foundation and that's really important."

John Kennedy, the Canberra man named as the driver of the XPT diesel locomotive that derailed at Wallan, sent an email to Australian National University professor Clive Williams on February 3.

The 54-year-old complained to his friend about several train faults and how he had to manage malfunctioning trains.

"My last six Melbourne return trains have been very late or cancelled mainly due to train fault issues," the email read.

"Three of the six runs I was down to one engine, on another trip I had no 'speedo' and the only trip without a train fault was disrupted by the big derailment last week."

It is believed the derailment mentioned in Mr Kennedy's email relates to a freight train that left the tracks on January 29 at Barnawartha, about 200km north of Wallan.

Investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau spent Saturday examining the scene of the derailment, and looking at the maintenance of the train and railway as well as signalling data.

It was reported the train was supposed to slow to 15km/h as it was diverted through a different part of track near Wallan station.

Some passengers from the XPT have said it was speeding when it derailed.

Professor Williams rejected these claims.

"He wouldn't have been speeding. He would only be doing that if the signage was incorrect or he hadn't been informed that the speed limit had been reduced," Prof Williams said.

"He was careful to stick to the speed limit, he wouldn't be speeding knowingly because that's not acceptable."

Work to remove the derailed train started over the weekend.

Three cranes were at the scene of the derailment early on Sunday, starting a wreckage removal process that will last at least three days.

The ATSB is to release a preliminary report in about a month, ahead of a final report in 18 months.

Currie, 28, was in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court for a hand-up committal hearing on Monday.

He is facing charges of fraud dating from November 2016 to March last year alleging he used an unregulated horse supplement designed to enhance race performance.

No date was set for a trial in the Toowoomba District Court but it is likely to be later this year.

Currie, who is now living on the Gold Coast, was granted bail and did not enter a plea.

He is currently banned from training and faces further racing charges at the end of his criminal trial.

Bradley Robert Edwards, 51, is on trial in the WA Supreme Court accused of murdering Sarah Spiers, 18, Jane Rimmer, 23, and Ciara Glennon, 27, in 1996 and 1997.

The former Telstra technician admits raping a 17-year-old girl he abducted and dragged through Karrakatta cemetery in 1995 and attacking an 18-year-old woman as she slept in her Huntingdale home in 1988.

Former Macro Taskforce investigating officer Detective Sergeant Jim Stanbury testified on Monday about the DNA breakthrough at a UK lab in 2008 that linked Ms Glennon's murder to the 1995 rape.

Det Sgt Stanbury and former PathWest scientist Laurie Webb had delivered some exhibits,, including Ms Glennon's fingernails, to the UK lab for low copy number DNA testing.

"We saw that there had been no testing of that item (her left thumbnail) previously and considered it to be a good item for specialist forensic DNA testing," the detective said.

He said testing on a combined sample of Ms Glennon's left middle fingernail, known as AJM42, and her left thumbnail, known as AJM40, revealed a profile "consistent with DNA coming from two people - male and female".

The male profile was run through the UK's DNA database but returned no match.

It was later run through WA's database, which matched it to the unsolved cemetery rape case.

Det Sgt Stanbury said it was "definitely a turning point" for the investigation.

"Now that we had this match to the sex assault ... we had a living witness, we had a description of the person responsible, we had a vehicle ... that was possibly involved, we had a method (or) style of assault ... and of course we had the highly discriminating DNA profile," he said.

Det Sgt Stanbury said police no longer had to rely on alibis.

"We could target individuals for interview and for DNA and if their DNA didn't match, they would be eliminated from the investigation," he said.

Det Sgt Stanbury said he flew to New Zealand in 2009 to retrieve DNA extracts still in storage there following testing done in 2004.

More items were taken to the UK for testing and after the lab shut down a couple of years later, Det Sgt Stanbury arranged for about 500 exhibits to be returned to Perth.

"Everything was sealed and sealed again, perhaps in another bag, and then sealed in the crate," he said.

"Then we arranged for them to be couriered back to Perth."

Among the exhibits were items related to other high-profile murders, including that of Supreme Court registrar and mother-of-two Corryn Rayney in 2007 and 11-year-old Gerard Ross in 1997.

Under cross-examination, Det Sgt Stanbury was asked about obtaining witness statements from other officers, including one who had handled the rape victim's clothes.

Det Sgt Stanbury denied suggesting any content for her statement.

Defence counsel Paul Yovich will resume cross-examining the detective on Tuesday.

St Kilda's Kate Shierlaw (misconduct), Brisbane's Emily Bates (rough conduct), GWS' Alicia Eva (rough conduct) and Adelaide's Dayna Cox (rough conduct) have all been charged by the match review officer.

The quartet have been offered $400 fines, reduced to reprimands if they plead guilty.

Police and State Emergency Service crews have searched through dense vegetation close to the Eyre Peninsula home of Daryl Norris but said no new evidence had been found.

The 59-year-old was last seen at his home in Cleve about 8.30pm on Tuesday February 4 wearing brown cargo shorts and a t-shirt.

He left home on foot with some food but without his mobile phone or wallet, or any personal items.

Mr Norris walks with a limp. Police believe he could have fallen and may be in need of medical attention.

Kerr says he will not be reinventing the wheel when he prepares the surface for its next major meeting featuring the $5 million All-Star Mile in three weeks.

The one difference will be the rail position from three metres out to six metres.

The track for Saturday's meeting was a talking point after appearing to favour horses close to the fence and on the pace.

"I certainly went into the day thinking the track was in really good order after the rain we'd had on the Tuesday and Wednesday," Kerr told RSN927 .

"We didn't require any irrigation leading into the meeting and pretty much the last thing we did to the track was on the Tuesday when we gave it a cut.

"Then the rain came and it just slowly improved. Once the rain stopped on the Wednesday it improved into the Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

"I was pretty happy where it sat on Saturday morning but obviously it didn't pan out that way."

Kerr said he decided last Monday to put the rail out from the true position to three metres to eliminate most of the wear from the Orr Stakes meeting two weeks earlier.

"With the sport that we are, you do have days where there are reasons for track bias. Whether that be wind or wear on a rail move that hasn't quite recovered from the previous meeting but none of those were significant on the day," he said.

"But certainly three or four of those may have had minor contributions and it's just added up on the day.

"That's really the only thing we can come up with. Up and down the track yesterday and this morning and certainly there's nothing even now that stands out that indicates why it raced like it did.

"We'll move the rail out to six metres for the All-Star Mile meeting and prep it up as we normally do and certainly have the fingers crossed.

"But Caulfield in the 10 years that I've been here, it's probably played that way probably a handful of times. It's just unfortunate that was the case on Saturday.

"We certainly won't be reinventing the wheel as far as preparation goes leading into All-Star Mile."

Department for Environment and Water Conservation and Wildlife director Lisien Loan says the three-day workshop will identify short- and long-term strategies for Kangaroo Island's unique and threatened wildlife in the move from emergency response to recovery.

"It will be the first time that the national scientific community has met with conservation managers on Kangaroo Island to discuss in detail the impact of the recent fires on wildlife, including our threatened and endemic species, so it is a significant event," she said.

Bushfires in December and January caused major damage across the island, blackening more than 200,000 hectares, including most of the famed Flinders Chase National Park.

The loss of habitat has raised concerns for a number of species including glossy black cockatoos, dunnarts, echidnas, pygmy possums and bandicoots.

Thousands of the island's koalas were also killed.

The workshop, to run from Tuesday to Thursday, will look at the impact of the fires on native animals and review the emergency response.

It will also identify opportunities for partnerships with the community, research institutions, industry, government and the philanthropic sector.

Police arrested the 40-year-old woman in Warwick on Monday following an 18-month investigation.

Police were told Connor, who was in the care of his babysitter, had fallen down stairs.

He died in hospital on August 19, 2018 from multiple injuries.

Connor's family made a public appeal in January for anyone with information to come forward.

Days later police searched two Warwick houses and one vehicle as part of their investigation into the boy's death.

The babysitter was also charged with one count of grievous bodily harm.

"This was a very tragic incident and our detectives have been committed to finding answers for Connor's family," Detective Acting Inspector Matt Howard said.

"I'd like to particularly thank the members of the public who assisted the investigative team over recent weeks with valuable information to the case."

"I think there will be a bit of relief for the members of the community in Warwick."

The babysitter will appear in the Warwick Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Devlin has flourished under new coach Ufuk Talay at Wellington but missed out on the Olyroos squad that secured Olympic qualification at January's AFC U-23 Championship in Thailand.

"There was a bit of me that would have absolutely loved to be there," Devlin said.

"For any kid growing up they want to put their country's jersey on and for me that's no different. I would do anything to play for Australia at any level. It would be an absolute honour, that's definitely something that I am striving for.

"To miss out on the qualifiers was what it was, and that was fine. It was maybe a blessing (in disguise) that I missed out. The boys still qualified, which is unbelievable, and I got to still play regular first-team football and I've (since) kept my spot.

"The goal, now that the boys did such a great job to qualify, is to hopefully have my name in the mix and to go to the Olympics. That's an absolute dream of mine."

Coach Arnold has made it clear that the players who qualified for the Olympics are not guaranteed to keep their spot in the side, opening the door for in-form youngsters like Devlin.

The tenacious midfielder admitted it would be tough to earn selection, especially given the Olyroos can include three over-age players in their 18-man squad for Tokyo 2020.

"It will be so tough. There's so many good young Australians for those 15 or so spots for the players who are under-23," Devlin said.

"But all you can do is work as hard as you can and hopefully you're putting your name in the mix.

"All you can do is what you can control, and that's playing well and training well and working hard. I know I'll do that and hopefully it pays off."

G8, which has brands including Community Kids, Early Learning Services and Great Beginnings, on Monday reported a profit of $62.5 million for the year to December 31, factoring a hit from new leasing standards.

The business has 492 centres across Australia and Singapore.

Revenue for the year rose 7.2 per cent to $920.1 million as like-for-like occupancy growth of 1.1 per cent narrowly beat the downwardly revised 1.0 per cent guidance offered in November.

Underlying earnings slipped 2.8 per cent to $132.5 million, also in line with the guidance that was amid a glut in the childcare market.

The company will pay a fully franked final dividend of 6.0 cents per share, down from 8.0 cents a year ago.

G8 shares closed 5.21 per cent lower at $1.73, just above the six-year low of $1.72 it hit during the session.

Chief executive Gary Carroll said the group made solid progress amid challenging industry conditions.

"While G8's network has been impacted by supply in recent years, the rate of growth in supply impacting G8 centres has reduced significantly," he said.

However, there has been significant instability in the market to date in 2020 due to events such as bushfires and the coronavirus.

"This has flowed through to the group's occupancy with year-to-date like-for-like occupancy slightly behind prior year," the company told the ASX.

"Given the recent and continuing market volatility, it is too early to form a clear view on the Group's underlying occupancy performance."

The company says it will manage any instability with "cost management".

G8 closed 16 centres upon lease expiry last year and sold 25 in Western Australia.

The business bought 15 centres during the period.

Brisbane were outplayed in their opening pre-season fixture against Port Adelaide in Burpengary on Sunday, slumping to a 21-point defeat.

After a stellar 2019, the Lions season ended in three straight defeats including back-to-back finals losses at home.

Lions legend Jonathan Brown was commentating on Sunday's game for Fox Sports and repeatedly said the team's ball use was predictable and ponderous.

Brown said the lack of ball movement had been exposed by GWS in last year's semi-final at the Gabba and feared teams would have taken note heading into 2020.

McCarthy acknowledged the Lions will come under increased scrutiny after going from 15th in 2018 to second last year but said maintaining their own performance was the biggest challenge for the season ahead.

"We don't know what opposition teams are thinking about us," he said.

"We try not to look into it too much either but I definitely feel there's a bit more expectation on us to perform this year having jumped from 15th to second last year.

"It's hard to know what opposition teams are thinking, we've just got to prepare as best as we can and we have no complacency on board. All we can do is rock up and perform the best we can."

Having only picked up eight disposals in Sunday's match, McCarthy's own form needs to improve for the final pre-season clash with Carlton in a two weeks.

"Whilst only having a small amount of possessions isn't always reflective of your impact, it is a good measurement of how hard you've worked to outnumber at the ball," he said.

"Personally I wasn't up to scratch yesterday so that's something I'm always working on to try and contribute as much as possible."

The injury-prone former Fremantle and Gold Coast midfielder was handed a career lifeline by the Demons this month despite another setback with his troublesome calf muscles.

He remains in the club's rehabilitation group and was on light duties at training on Monday.

Bennell, 27, managed just two games during a frustrating four-year stint with the Dockers - both of which came in 2017.

"Harley's travelling really well both on and off the field," Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said.

"He's settled in really well to our group, clearly he's training and rehabbing.

"We've got no expectation on Harley playing early in the season.

"We want to get him back into full training first off.

"When that happens we'll be guided by our high performance team and our medical team.

"In an ideal world, when would we see him? Middle of the year would be a really good-case scenario for us."

The news is much better for new Melbourne captain Max Gawn, who is progressing well in his recovery from a knee injury sustained during the club's pre-season training camp last month.

Gawn, who said he was a certainty for round one, is targeting the pre-season series fixture against Hawthorn on March 6.

"We've got a game against North Melbourne this week, just a scratch match, that I tried to play in but Goody (Goodwin) told me no," Gawn said.

"The next one after, which is Hawthorn down at Launceston, I think I should be a chance and then go into round one."

Melbourne finished second-last with just five wins last year and face the daunting proposition of taking on premiership fancies West Coast at Optus Stadium in their 2020 season opener on March 22.

Motlop was recruited along with Rockliff for the 2018 season but the ex-Geelong speedster has struggled to maintain selection in the Power side.

But after Motlop's three goals and 21 disposals in a preseason win against the Lions on Sunday, Rockliff says the exciting winger is ripe to lock down a spot.

"He has had an outstanding summer," Rockliff told reporters on Monday.

"His running capacity is unbelievable - he covers the ground at high speed, he gets to a lot of contests.

"There were passages of play yesterday where he was in defensive 50 and then he'd turn up inside 50 in the same chain of play.

"Not many players can go with him when he's up and about and running and getting to contests; his ball use is sensational as well."

Port dumped Motlop for the last five rounds last season amid inconsistency which plagued his eight seasons at the Cats.

"He would probably admit himself that he wasn't at the level he wanted to be last year," Rockiff said.

"But he has set himself up with an outstanding summer and if he can play like yesterday, he will trouble a fair few oppositions."

Rockliff was also heartened by key forward Charlie Dixon kicking 4.3 against renowned Lions defender Harris Andrews.

"He's in a really good place at the moment, really happy off the field as well which no doubt helps him on-field," he said.

"Seven shots on goal on an All Australian defender from last year ... we can't wait to see what he can do this year."

WHY WAS AN INQUEST HELD?

* Four people - Cindy Low, Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi - died in 2016 when the Thunder River Rapids ride malfunctioned

WHAT DID THE CORONER SAY?

* The ride was "completely unsafe" at the time

* The tragedy was a "unique and catastrophic incident"

* "Shoddy record-keeping was a significant contributor"

* Safety procedures were "rudimentary" and "unsophisticated"

* That nobody else had died was "more good luck than good management"

WHAT DID THE CORONER RECOMMEND?

* Dreamworld owner Ardent Leisure should be referred to the Office of Industrial Relations (OIR) for possible prosecution

* Tom Polley has been referred to the Board of Professional Engineers for failing to properly inspect the ride

* Amusement park rides inspection and licensing regulations be improved

* A Code of Practice be developed for the amusement ride industry in Queensland

* Australia adopt best practice safety requirements from Europe and America

* More engineers be properly trained to inspect amusement rides

* Australian safety standards for water rides be improved in line with rollercoasters

WHAT DID THE FAMILIES SAY?

* "The easier part was burying them, the harrowing part is living without them" - Ms Goodchild's and Mr Dorsett's mother Kim Dorsett

* "Words alone cannot express the extent of our grief. Not a day goes by where she is not spoken about" - father Shane Goodchild

* "Dreamworld cares about saving face and the bottom dollar" - Ms Low's brother Michael Cooke

* "She had the heart of a tiger, soft and nurturing, stubborn and dogmatic... all of the best character traits rolled into a tiny five-foot package. Our heart aches daily as we try to be grateful for the decades we had. There just weren't enough" - Cindy Low's husband Matthew Low

* "I could write you a thousand impact statements but I still could not relate the grief and loss" - Ms Low's mother, Donna Cooke

WHAT'S NEXT?

* The OIR will decide whether to prosecute Ardent Leisure

* Ardent Leisure will address the media on Monday afternoon

The park operator's ASX-listed shares fell by as much as 21.3 per cent to a new four-month low of $1.11 on Monday after Queensland coroner James McDougall referred the company to the Office of Industrial Relations to consider whether it had broken workplace laws.

Cindy Low, Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi died in October 2016 when a water pump on the Gold Coast theme park's Thunder River Rapids ride malfunctioned.

In his findings, Mr McDougall said there was a "systemic failure" in all aspects of safety at Dreamworld, with the systems in place "frighteningly unsophisticated".

The tragic incident and the ensuing coronial inquest has decimated Ardent's revenue during the past three years as visitors continue to steer clear of the park.

At Friday's first-half result, the company warned the latest round of bad press would likely hurt attendances further.

By 1435 AEDT on Monday, the company was trading 16.67 per cent lower at $1.175.

Since the incident, the company has undergone a corporate restructuring, a management reshuffle, booked huge writedowns and sold its Australian bowling and arcade assets in an attempt to stem the financial bleeding and get customers back.

In 2018, Ardent Leisure wrote down the value of its Dreamworld theme park by $75 million as it reported a net loss of $90.7 million for the year, having slipped from a $63 million loss in 2017.

In August, the company actually narrowed its full-year loss to $60.9 million as revenue jumped at its US entertainment centres, even though Dreamworld continued to struggle.

However, the entertainment group's first-half net loss widened by 3.0 per cent on Friday to $22.5 million, with the company admitting visitors were returning more slowly than expected.

Ardent's shares, while higher than nine-year nadir of 91 cents hit in October last year, had at their lowest point on Monday fallen 56 per cent since the incident.

Ardent fell from the ASX/200 in September.

The company says it will respond to the coroner's findings on Tuesday.

Cleary sits on the league's competition committee, which vetoed the proposal late last year before the ARL Commission opted to push through with the rule change.

At the time, there were no guidelines as to how the idea would be implemented.

"No one really knew how it was going to work," Cleary told AAP.

"(So) it's on the commission, which is fine.

"As a coach, I would say there is a lot of uncertainty around it. We haven't even broached it with (our) players yet.

"I hope it's not too bad (but) I think there's going to be a lot of confusion."

The league got its first taste of the challenge system at a top level during Saturday's annual All Stars match on the Gold Coast with mixed success.

Maori captain Adam Blair was unsuccessful with his challenge, while Indigenous skipper Joel Thompson got knocked back because it wasn't during a stop in play.

The NRL will get one final look at the hastily introduced rule change during Saturday's Charity Shield match before it is officially approved next week.

It would be one of the rare occasions the ARLC tinkers with the laws of the game without the approval of the competition committee.

In theory, Cleary is supportive of the idea and he likes the NFL model, where video replays aren't used until a challenge by a team.

However, he also sees the need to eradicate the howler in try-scoring situations.

"I was actually a fan of doing it like the NFL, where we don't have the video unless your captain's challenging something," Cleary said.

"It's a bit like cricket; you might get two or whatever it is. You keep going until you get one wrong.

"I wouldn't mind that (because) I'm a bit old-fashioned.

"I get it if it's a try-scoring situation, you'd probably want to get that right.

"I don't mind the concept of taking a bit of heat off the refs and putting it on the players.

"I'm just not sure whether this way is the best way.

"We'll see."

Runner-up in the Epsom Handicap and third in the Cox Plate, Te Akau Shark claimed a first Group One win in the BCD Sprint at Te Rapa on February 8.

He has been posted the $2.50 favourite for Saturday's Chipping Norton (1600m) at Randwick, Sydney's first Group One day for 2020 with the weight-for-age feature won for the past four years by the now-retired Winx.

Group One winners Avilius and Fierce Impact are at $5 and $6 respectively with 18 entries taken on Monday.

Te Akau Shark's trainer Jamie Richards has also brought Probabeel from New Zealand for another tilt at an Australian Group One win in the Surround Stakes (1400m)

Last spring the filly finished second to Funstar in the Flight Stakes (1600m).

The Chris Waller-trained Funstar has not raced since the Flight while Probabeel has had two starts for two wins including the Karaka Million 3Y0 Classic, beating Australian-trained colt Conqueror.

Probabeel is the TAB's third favourite at $5 with Funstar at $3 and Godolphin's Thousand Guineas winner Flit at $3.50.

Flit showed she had returned in good order with her win in the Light Fingers Stakes last Saturday week.

Waller had considered starting Funstar in the Light Fingers but decided to stick to his original plan.

"She's going well," he said.

"It was always the plan to run in the Surround and then go second-up into the Phar Lap Stakes or Keith Nolan then on to the Vinery."

In her three-year-old autumn before her 33-winning streak began, Winx ran fifth in the Surround, won the Group Two Phar Lap (1500m) and finished fifth again in the Group One Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m).

The prime minister was speaking in federal parliament on Monday, less than a week after Ms Clarke was murdered by her estranged husband Rowan Baxter, along with their three children.

Mr Morrison said the country sends its love to those grieving the family, stressing they have a right to be furious about the "terrible crime".

"Everything we have done across this country to protect women and children didn't protect Hannah and her children from this evil," he said.

"I believe state, territory and national governments, all of us, and our agencies and importantly the judiciary, we must all reflect again on these terrible murders.

"We must reflect on how and where the system failed Hannah and her children, as it has failed so many others. It is so frustrating. It's so devastating."

The prime minister said enough is known about the circumstances of the murders to know that they "should not have happened" and a Queensland inquest into the deaths will reveal the truth.

"Hannah deserved to feel safe and be safe, and to watch her joyous and wonderful children grow up. And Aaliyah and Laianah and Trey deserved to have a childhood that was innocent, and to have lives that were long and joyous."

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said the nation must confront the awful truth that domestic violence is an epidemic, with an average of one woman a week murdered by her current or former partner.

He reiterated his call for a national domestic violence summit.

"The memory of Hannah Clarke and her three beautiful children must galvanise us all into further action to eliminate violence against women and children," he told parliament.

"We can't accept this is normal. We have it in us to be so much better. Lives depend on it, as we see all too often.

Party leaders in the Senate also reflected on the murders, with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson saying Baxter had committed the "ultimate act of betrayal".

His "disgusting action" has further added fuel to an already difficult debate about family law which has "seen many decent men deprived of their parental rights", the senator added.

"Please do not let this bastard's action reflect on all men," she said.

Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick will seek to establish an urgent Senate inquiry to pressure all levels of Australian government to take further action to prevent violence against women and children.

"We all need to bang on the doors of government to demand real action," he said in a statement.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

Lifeline 13 11 14

Luke Richard William Thomas, 39, pleaded not guilty to four charges - including behaving in an offensive manner near a public school - when he appeared briefly at Newtown Local Court on Monday.

The Manly man was arrested a week ago along with a 31-year-old woman - who will face court in March - after police received reports the couple was performing "a sexual act" in Weekley Park in Stanmore.

Police allege the incident occurred at 8.30am about 100 metres from a primary school as children were on their way to morning classes.

The 39-year-old was also charged with wilful and obscene exposure as well as two counts of possessing a prohibited drug after allegedly being caught with 0.3 grams of methamphetamine and 0.6 grams of cannabis.

He entered not guilty pleas to all charges on Monday and is scheduled to appear in court again on April 6.

Smith's season was thought to be over after he hurt his knee in Saturday night's All Stars match, amid fears of a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

But scans on Monday showed only a partial tear for the Indigenous All Star, with his medial ligament copping the brunt of the damage with a complete tear.

The 26-year-old will go under the knife and is expected to be sidelined for at least 12 weeks, meaning he could still be fit to play from as early as round 11.

Meanwhile Watene-Zelezniak is a chance of playing in Canterbury's final trial match against Canberra on Saturday in Port Macquarie.

The Kiwis captain was taken to hospital after injuring his back during his acrobatic opening try for the Maoris on the wing.

He suffered bruising but will still travel to the squad to Port Macquarie and is therefore not in any doubt for the NRL season opener against Parramatta on March 12.

It is a big relief for coach Dean Pay, who had already lost Keiran Foran with a shoulder injury through representative football last year.

Elsewhere, St George Illawarra will be made to sweat on the fitness of front-rower Josh Kerr, who is yet to receive results on the severity of his knee injury from the All Stars clash.

The bench forward has had a stellar pre-season with impressive performances in both the Nines and All Stars before being injured.

Meanwhile, Kerr's fellow Dragons prop Korbin Sims is expected to be fit for the opening round against the Wests Tigers, as he recovers from an arm injury.

Sims still has some bruising but could play in Saturday's Charity Shield against South Sydney in Mudgee.

The Vics limped to 5-100 after being sent in to bat before Gotch and Matt Short sparked a revival in what is a must-win match for the Shield holders.

Victoria had reached 9-330 when bad light brought a premature end to a rain-affected day in Brisbane.

Gotch was on 67 and seemed certain to be stranded when the ninth wicket fell but the 26-year-old crashed 35 runs in a matter of overs to end the day unbeaten on 102.

The late spree included three sixes in a single Xavier Bartlett over and comes after Gotch scored his maiden century just last week against NSW in his 22nd first class match.

Short was unlucky not to post a defiant century but was marooned on 98 for 10 balls and the length of the tea break before being trapped lbw by Bulls' star bowler Bartlett.

Short was felled early in his innings by nasty blow flush on the shoulder off the bowling of Billy Stanlake but recovered to play a sparkling innings, which included 17 boundaries.

Bartlett starred for Queensland taking career-best figures of 5-85 before his figures blew out in the final overs as Gotch took control.

Cameron Gannon collected 2-77 and Stanlake returned 2-59 for a Queensland side missing frontline trio Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson and Michael Neser on Australia A duty.

The Vics lined up without key batting personnel with Nic Maddinson and Marcus Harris also on Australia A duty.

Debutant allrounder Jonathon Merlo struck a four with the second ball he faced but was clean bowled by the impressive Bartlett a delivery later.

Legislation passed parliament on Monday to let employers off the hook for non-compliance with the retirement savings guarantee.

To qualify for the amnesty, employers will have to come forward voluntarily and pay all employee entitlements.

Penalties and administration fees will be waived, allowing payments to be tax deductible in the same way as regular super contributions.

Employers who fail to come forward during the amnesty will face fines of up to double the unpaid entitlements.

Crossbench senators backed the government's bill, with Labor and the Greens voting against it.

Assistant Superannuation Minister Jane Hume expects more than $160 million of super will be returned to workers who would otherwise miss out.

'This policy is all about reuniting hardworking Australians with their super," she said on Monday.

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg said Labor opposed the measures because union-linked industry super funds rejected any changes to the system.

"Voting against it and arguing against it is arguing against the workers that people on the other side of the chamber purport to represent, which is just extraordinary," he told parliament.

About 7000 employers have already come forward and the same amount is expected to own up after the bill's passage.

Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michelle O'Neil said superannuation formed a major part of the wage theft crisis gripping the country.

"This law will recover a tiny fraction of the billions in super estimated stolen since the beginning of the system and will do nothing to change behaviour in the business community," she said.

Unions want the right to superannuation included in the National Employment Standards so repayment can be more easily pursued.

"This is a shameful act by a government which it seems will stop at nothing to cater to employers at the expense of working people," Ms O'Neil said.

Labor frontbencher Jenny McAllister said the amnesty was unfair.

"If you are an employee and you steal from your employer, you have the book thrown at you. The police will come around to your place," she said.

"But, under this government's plan, if you are an employer and you want to steal from an employee, no worries, so long as you say sorry."

Industry Super Australia chief Bernie Dean said one in three Australian workers had been ripped off.

"That members will be reunited with their super is a good thing, but this bill does little to fix the causes of the $6 billion unpaid super scandal," he said.

Actor Yunxiang Gao and Chinese film producer Jing Wang have pleaded not guilty to multiple rape and indecent assault charges, arguing the woman consented to the sexual acts.

The incident at Sydney's Shangri-La Hotel in the early hours of March 27 in 2018 is the subject of a retrial in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court.

The retrial began on Monday and is expected to last four-to-five weeks.

Gao and Wang, both 37, are alleged to have raped the woman following a night of drinking at a wrap party for a Chinese TV series filmed in Sydney.

Crown prosecutor Phil Hogan said Wang came onto the alleged victim at a CBD karaoke bar and the affection "was very much in one direction only".

A number of people returned to the Shangri-La where Wang was staying and the woman was told other members of the Chinese crew would be in his room.

Gao then came into the room and allegedly kissed her and started undressing her.

The woman would testify she said "no" and told the men she had her period.

"She made it clear she was resisting and didn't want this to happen," Mr Hogan told the jury.

The men then allegedly carried out various sexual acts against her will before Gao left and Wang again raped her.

However, Gao's defence barrister, Murugan Thangaraj SC, said the woman had told differing versions of events to several people, including that she was dragged into the hotel room.

"This was a lie," Mr Thangaraj said.

Wang's barrister, Margaret Cunneen SC, said everything which happened in the hotel room was with the complainant's "very full and clear agreement".

"There was no sexual assault of any kind," Ms Cunneen said on Monday.

"The case involves no criminality and certainly no crimes of an extremely serious nature which have been alleged."

Evidence will begin on Tuesday with a video replay of the complainant's testimony given at the first trial.

The oil refiner said it would take in about 1 million-1.5 million barrels less crude due to the turnaround, which it does once every four years, and added that the maintenance work would reduce its gross refining margin, without providing a figure.

Maintenance work on the residual catalytic cracking unit (RCCU) and other associated processing units at the plant in the state of Victoria is expected to cost between $110 million and $140 million, Viva said on Monday.

Viva's 120,000-barrels-per-day Geelong refinery is the second largest among Australia's four refineries and supplies about 10 per cent of the country's needs.

The company plans to import refined products to replace lost production during the turnaround, Viva Chief Executive Scott Wyatt told analysts in an earnings call.

Viva on Monday reported a 41 per cent fall to $135.8 million in full-year underlying profit on a replacement cost basis, which strips out the impact of crude oil inventory and foreign exchange moves.

The annual numbers came in at the bottom-end of the petroleum refiner's forecast provided in December, as refining margins late in the year were squeezed by high premiums for light sweet crude and disappointing demand for marine diesel.

Viva had been counting on strong demand for marine diesel to be blended with fuel oil during the transition for ships to meet new sulphur emissions limits under IMO 2020.

"That hasn't really lifted diesel cracks as much as we would expect but it has lifted the demand for light sweet crudes, which are obviously part of the diet for our refinery and other refineries in the region as well," Wyatt said.

"That's what's really weighed on refining margins more recently, through the back-end of last year and early this year."

Viva's shares were up three cents, or 1.09 per cent, to $2.78 at 1355 AEDT.

Assured and creative performances when switched to five-eighth for the Queensland Reds' past three Super Rugby matches have 29-year-old O'Connor in the frame for the vacant role when the Wallabies host Ireland in July.

A dashing outside back as a youngster, O'Connor admits he wasn't ready to be Australia's chief playmaker when thrust into the No.10 jersey by coach Robbie Deans in the cauldron of the 2013 British and Irish Lions series.

Criticism of his time in that position still stings but, encouraged by the new outlook on life he's gained through his work with men's wellness organisation Saviour World, O'Connor would love to erase those demons if given the chance by new Wallabies coach Dave Rennie.

"It genuinely hurt and I can admit that now," said 52-Test veteran O'Connor.

"Going back there now, you can't run away from your problems, you can't hide from things.

"You take them on and once you defeat it, that's the whole point of living, to experience life and these sorts of things, these challenges."

While he's relishing being in the No.10 jersey for the Reds, O'Connor admits there's plenty of room for improvement in his game.

The departures of Christian Lealiifano, Bernard Foley and Quade Cooper have put the Wallabies' No.10 jersey up for grabs with Matt Toomua and Brumbies young gun Noah Lolesio the other main contenders.

"They're both playing well. Obviously Matt's been in the saddle a long time. I grew up playing with Matt and he's an all-out 10 I believe in my books. Controls the game well," O'Connor said.

"Noah, he's shown what he can do, played good attacking footy. It's just a matter of time whether he can develop quick enough. It takes a while to learn how to play 10.

"You can play it at schoolboy or you can play it even at Super Rugby but at Test level, it's a much different game and I found that out when I was younger.

"The margins for error are tiny. The pace of the game is higher, the contact's are higher.

"Good luck to them both and good luck to me I guess as well."

Dansie was found guilty in December of the murder of his wife Helen, 67, by pushing her wheelchair into a pond at Veale Gardens, in the Adelaide parklands, in 2017.

He is due to be sentenced on Thursday with prosecutors calling previously for the 71-year-old to get a longer non-parole period than the mandatory minimum of 20 years.

In the Court of Criminal Appeal on Monday, defence counsel Greg Mead SC argued the guilty verdict, delivered by a judge alone, was unsupported by the evidence despite the judge finding it highly unlikely that Mrs Dansie's death was an accident.

"The evidence was simply insufficient to enable the judge to jump from the finding that an accident was highly unlikely to a conclusion that murder was proved," Mr Mead told the court.

He said the financial motive for the killing the Crown had advanced was also "tenuous".

Mr Mead said Dansie's actions immediately after his wife's death and his contact with police, including lengthy interviews and conversations, were "entirely how you would expect an innocent man to act".

Prosecutor Jim Pearce QC said while he did not concede there was "force" in the issues raised by the defence it was open for the appeal court to hear the argument.

Justice Trish Kelly agreed and listed the appeal to be heard in March.

At recent sentencing submissions, Dansie's son Grant said it had been a relief when his father was convicted.

"I'm glad that Peter Dansie has been finally found guilty after the despicable, cold and callous crime," Grant Dansie said.

"It was sickening to think how mum spent her last moments. I truly hope he receives the harshest sentence he deserves."

During his trial, the court heard Dansie told police he briefly climbed into the pond after his wife fell in, but got out to call triple zero.

He told an operator he tried to keep Mrs Dansie's head above water and manoeuvre her to the edge of the pond in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue her.

But prosecutors argued it was no accident that Mrs Dansie's wheelchair ended up in the pond, and that her husband's story was implausible.

In reasons for his guilty verdict, Justice David Lovell ruled that all four elements of murder had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

"To put it another way, I find that Mr Dansie, deliberately and with intent to kill Mrs Dansie, pushed her wheelchair, in which she was sitting, into the pond in the gardens," he said.

"As a result of that action, Mrs Dansie drowned in the pond."

The win solidified Sanders' front-runner status as the race turned to Saturday's presidential primary in South Carolina.

The Vermont senator was trounced in the state by more than 40 percentage points in 2016, but he is hoping that his success in diverse Nevada will prove to black voters in South Carolina that his campaign has broad appeal.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden, has been confirmed as the second-place getter in Nevada, and is looking to South Carolina for a commanding victory that can keep his candidacy alive through Super Tuesday.

The March 3 contests will unfold in 14 states and award one-third of the delegates needed for the Democratic nomination.

With time running short, moderate Democrats are increasingly nervous that Sanders' call for a political "revolution" would drive voters away from the party, in the matchup against President Donald Trump.

The House majority whip and top-ranking black Democrat Jim Clyburn, from South Carolina is expected to endorse Biden this week.

The congressman had earlier pointed to the impact a Sanders nomination would have on districts Democrats flipped to take control of the House in 2018.

"In those districts, it's going to be tough to hold on to these jobs if you have to make the case for accepting a self-proclaimed democratic socialist," he said.

Sanders' campaign argued he will bring in new and infrequent voters - largely progressives, young people and voters of colour - who have been alienated from the process and seek a drastic overhaul of Washington, not merely trying to oust Trump.

He dominated his Democratic rivals in Nevada, pulling far ahead of Biden, the runner-up, and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who came in third. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren landed in fourth, while Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and California billionaire Tom Steyer were in a close race for fifth as the Nevada Democratic Party continued to tabulate results.

Sanders' new status was clear as his rivals sharpened their focus on him.

On Sunday, Buttigieg ripped Sanders' for his massive and often combative online following, saying the nominee's job is to "mobilise not polarise the American majority."

The Melbourne-headquartered firm said it made $50.1 million in profit for the six months to December 31, with revenue up 4.6 per cent to $569.3 million, compared with the same period in 2018.

RWC said it now expects to earn full-year profit of $140 million to $150 million, compared with prior guidance of $150 million to $165 million.

Reliance Worldwide shares closed on Monday down 26.5 per cent to a six-month low of $3.42.

"The financial performance for the period was lower than plan," Reliance Worldwide said in a statement.

"While we had flagged softness and uncertainty in some markets, ultimately most markets were weaker than expected and consequently sales growth was lower than projected."

Reported sales in the Americas grew by 7.0 per cent, missing internal growth targets as US remodelling activity slowed and RWC deferred sales promotions.

In Australia, it kept sales flat despite new housing starts being down 21.5 per cent for 12 months that finished September 30, RWC said.

RWC managing director Health Sharp said company reduced manufacturing volumes due to the lower sales activity, helping boost cash flow from operations by 163 per cent to $112.8 million and enabling the company to increase its interim dividend from 4.0 cents to 4.5 cents.

Mr Sharp said that some of RWC's new products outside of its core business of plastic and brass push-to-connect plumbing systems - such as its ultrasonic home water monitor - had ramped up at a lower rate than anticipated, and it was looking at alternative ways to commercialise new products.

"The fundamentals of the RWC business remain strong," Mr Sharp told analysts on a conference call.

"Our core business in our major markets in the UK, USA and Australia are solid."

Reliance said it planned to close a manufacturing plant in Tennessee and consolidate US manufacturing in Alabama at a cost of US$4 million.

The company said it was monitoring the effect on COVID-19 coronavirus would have on its supply chain but so far sees a minimal short-term impact.

RELIANCE WORLDWISE PROFITS DROP

* Net sales in the six months to December 31 up 4.6pct to $569.3m, compared to the same period in 2018

* Reported net profit after tax down 23.8pct to $50.1m

* Interim dividend per share of 4.5 cents per share, compared with 4.0 cents a year ago.

Savea is among the All Blacks' best and is contracted to New Zealand Rugby until the end of 2021.

With the 26-year-old having played 44 Tests for New Zealand since his debut in 2016, he would almost certainly spark a bidding frenzy among NRL clubs.

The loose forward would likely fit the mould of a second-rower in the NRL and will be the biggest name convert from union to the NRL since Sonny Bill Williams in 2013.

Currently sidelined with a knee injury, the Hurricanes star said he was inspired to make the switch after playing alongside Williams for New Zealand.

"100 per cent (I want to play rugby league)," Savea told the Ice Project podcast with former Kiwis half Isaac John.

"I just think they (the players) do a lot more in terms of off the field stuff than New Zealand. And also, just a new challenge. I want to test myself.

"Learning a whole new game and seeing if I can dominate or play the way I play in union and if I can do that in league. That excites me.

"Seeing guys like Sonny do it and the way that has benefited him. It kind of plays on my mind a bit."

"It sucks that I got this injury because I was low key thinking about it (switching to league) for next year."

A dynamic and powerful runner, Savea has also played rugby sevens and also possesses speed that would make him a threat on the edge for any team.

He also played outside centre as a junior, meaning he could be used in the backline.

The Wellington junior said he would have his eyes on playing for Melbourne or Sydney Roosters if he joined the NRL in pursuit of success.

"Strategically I would want to go to a team that was good or dominating, like the Melbourne Storm or the Roosters," he said.

The possible future interest would come as a gift to both teams, who have dealt with the losses Will Chambers and Latrell Mitchell over the off-season.

The Roosters also had success in 2013 with Williams, but he had played five years in the NRL with Canterbury between 2004 and 2008.

The former Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC winger links up with coach Carl Robinson, who he played under at MLS club Vancouver Whitecaps.

"To have the chance to return to Australia and link up with Carl once again is fantastic, and I'm really pleased to have signed here in Newcastle," Ibini said.

"I've been training hard on my own for a little while now, I'm feeling fit and I'm really excited to get back into a team environment and push for a spot in that starting XI."

Ibini previously had stints at Shanghai Dongya, Club Brugge - where he never played a game after a serious leg injury - Vancouver Whitecaps and Emirates Club.

The 27-year-old won the K League with Jeonbuk last year and will bolster the Jets' attacking stocks.

"I've obviously worked with Bernie in the past, I know what he can do, and I think he'll fit in well with this team," Robinson said.

"Bernie's played more than 100 times in the Hyundai A-League, so he brings plenty of experience with him which is important."

The winner of six of her nine races, Gem Of Scotland easily won a trial on her home track at Toowoomba last Tuesday.

The filly's immediate aim is the $300,000 Three Year-Old-The Jewel at the Gold Coast on March 14.

Lipp wants her to have one run before the big race and nominated her for a Prelude at Toowoomba on Wednesday.

But he did not accept with the filly who will head to another The Jewel Prelude at Doomben on Saturday.

Lipp said the way the weights had panned out, Gem of Scotland was better suited in the harder race in Brisbane.

The Toowoomba race is a handicap and with Gem of Scotland rated 87.5, she would have carried 62.5kg.

The Doomben race is at set weights with Gem of Scotland to carry 55kg.

She is one of 22 entries taken on Monday including the unbeaten Tony and Maddy Sears-trained Exondabeach.

Gem of Scotland has not raced since winning at Eagle Farm on October 12.

"She had a slight setback at the track and we could have gone on but she is too good a filly to risk so we gave her a good spell," Lipp said.

He will then consider the Sydney autumn and Brisbane winter.

There will also be Preludes for The Jewel at Mackay and Cairns on Saturday.

The winners of the four Preludes will be exempt from the ballot for The Jewel which will have 16 runners.

Under the policy, all content including The Ode was to be read and/or sung in English, except for the New Zealand National Anthem.

The Aboriginal/Maori ceremony immediately after the dawn service was still welcome,.

"While having utmost respect for the traditional owners of land upon which such (commemorative) sites and memorials are located, RSLWA does not view it appropriate that a Welcome to Country is used at sites that were specifically established to pay homage to those who died and who came from a wide range of cultural backgrounds," the policy announced last week said.

Although RSLWA insisted it was trying to be inclusive of all races and cultures, its policy was criticised as being out of step, ignorant and even racist.

The policy has now been withdrawn due to the "level of community reaction".

"RSLWA is concerned that its position on the matter had unfortunately drawn misunderstandings of its intent," state president Peter Aspinall said in a statement on Monday.

"RSLWA values and respects the Australian indigenous community and, in particular, indigenous veterans.

"RSLWA accepts the policy may have been open to misinterpretation. Its advisory policy will be reviewed and relaunched in the near future following further dialogue with interested parties."

The 20-year-old, touted as Australia's long-term Test all-rounder, was unbeaten on 105 at stumps on Monday as the Warriors reached 6-291 after being sent in on a Bellerive Oval green top.

Green, who came to the crease with WA wobbling at 3-43, was assured in defence and picked up his scoring in the third session.

He almost ran himself out in the nervous 90s before bringing up his third ton this season in the shadows of stumps.

He shared a 121-run stand with Josh Philppe, (63), who late in the day became the first scalp of Tigers debutant Nathan Ellis.

"He's definitely got a really good head on him for a 20-year-old guy," Philippe said of Green.

"Especially to lose Shaun (Marsh) and Bangers (Cameron Bancroft) early, some of our really experienced players.

"For him to come out and be the rock of the innings, it was outstanding."

The last-placed Tigers struck three blows in the morning session but toiled after that in the absence of spearhead and Australia A representative Jackson Bird.

Left-arm quick Sam Rainbird (3-50) struck a double blow after half an hour's play, removing out-of-touch former Test opener Bancroft (12) and the experienced Marsh (zero) in his first over.

The dismissal continued a horror Shield summer for Bancroft, who has not made it past 30 this season.

Whiteman, who shared a valuable 91-run partnership with Green, became Jake Doran's maiden first-class victim in the middle session.

Bowling for first time at this level, Doran's medium pace had Whiteman edging to wicketkeeper Tim Paine, who gloved four catches for the day.

All he is concerned about is how they end the season ahead.

Rock bottom for the first half of 2019, Canterbury lost only three of their final 10 games to finish just three points outside of the top eight.

As much as he wants to start fresh, Pay acknowledges building on that momentum and experience will be crucial for success in 2020.

"This year is a different year to last year, so we've got a big season coming up," he told AAP.

"We've got to make sure that we play well enough to put ourselves in the contest every week and keep building respect for ourselves.

"It all starts again and that's our attitude towards the season.

"We've got to start again and make sure that we put performances out there to compete every week."

One of the biggest hurdles is the absence of star half Kieran Foran, who is expected to miss at least the first half of the season due to the shoulder injury he suffered playing for New Zealand.

However, the multi-million dollar star managed just 14 games last year and in his absence a new combination of Jack Cogger and Lachlan Lewis arose.

Cogger will get another chance to step into Foran's shoes this year, while talented youngster Brandon Wakeham, who played three NRL games last year, is nipping at his heels.

"They've both got different strengths but Jack's got a few more games under his belt and a little bit more experience than Brandon," Pay said.

"They both kick well and they're tough defenders, so they've got a fair few similarities about them.

"It's just about combinations and making sure they fit into the team well, and they're both doing that at the moment.

"It's going to be a difficult decision."

Bench forward Chris Smith's season has been ruined by a knee injury suffered in the NRL All Stars game.

Schedule-wise, the Bulldogs have a tough draw midway through the year.

Between round 7 and round 12 they will play in Queensland four times and visit New Zealand once, with a Sydney game at Belmore Oval crammed in the middle.

Pay's plan to combat this is to get the squad used to travelling as much as possible, taking trial games to Papua New Guinea as well as Port Macquarie.

And while these are significant hurdles to overcome, a developing club identity of toughness can help them thrive in difficult conditions.

"We build off the back of what we did last year, we defended really strongly and that's the cornerstone of what we want to keep building," Pay said.

"If we keep defending well it's going to keep us in games for longer, it's been a fairly strong focus for us over the off-season.

"I think we've still got one of the youngest lists in the competition, we're still a young footy team and we're still developing.

"That's our challenge, to make sure that they keep getting better."

CANTERBURY

Finishes over the past three seasons: 2019 - 12th, 2018 - 12th, 2017 - 11th

Coach: Dean Pay

Captain: Josh Jackson

Key gains: Joe Stimson (Storm), Dean Britt (Rabbitohs)

Key losses: Fa'amanu Brown, Danny Fualalo, Michael Lichaa (released)

Best team: 1. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 2. Nick Meaney, 3. Will Hopoate, 4. Reimis Smith, 5. Jayden Okunbor, 6. Kieran Foran, 7. Lachlan Lewis, 8. Aiden Tolman, 9. Jeremy Marshall-King, 10. Dylan Napa, 11. Corey Harawira-Naera, 12. Josh Jackson, 13. Adam Elliott, 14. Sione Katoa, 15. Joe Stimson, 16. Raymond Faitala-Mariner, 17. Renouf To'omaga.

Predicted finish: 13th

* It's when all greenhouse gas emissions are balanced out through methods to remove them from the atmosphere

* This includes carbon storage through forests, farms and underground

* The Paris agreement - a pact to limit global warming to "well below" 2C above pre-industrial levels - calls on nations to achieve net zero emissions in the second half of the century

WHO'S ON BOARD?

* More than 70 countries including the UK and Canada have committed to producing new zero emissions by 2050

* Every Australian state and territory has also committed to the long-term target

WHAT ARE AUSTRALIA'S LEADERS SAYING?

* The Morrison government is committed to the Paris target and keeps its language firmly on net zero by the "second half of the century". It's yet to release a technology-based plan in order to do this

* Federal Labor's target is for net zero by 2050, but the opposition - which could only put the goal in place by winning government at the next election - hasn't explained how it would happen

WHAT IS INDUSTRY DOING?

AGRICULTURE

* National Farmers Federation - sees climate change as an opportunity and a threat. Sector's 2030 Roadmap says it wants to be "trending towards carbon neutrality by 2030". Its 2019 report card gave the sector four out of 10 in progress towards this

* Meat and Livestock Australia - explicit target to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. Currently working on a 2025 strategic plan

BUSINESS

* Business Council of Australia - supports a transition to net-zero emissions by 2050 and says if Australia can meet its emissions reduction targets without carryover credits it should

* Ai Group - no specific target, but advocates for a successful transition to net-zero emissions for industry

RESOURCES

* BHP - aiming for net-zero by 2050, linking management pay to these targets from 2021, developing a medium-term target this year

OTHER SECTORS

* ANU - aiming to be below net-zero emissions well before 2050

* BANKING - two-thirds have a net-zero by 2050 target or are on a pathway to it for internal operations; only a quarter have net-zero target for investment and lending portfolios

* PROPERTY - almost half listed property companies have commitments to reduce emissions in line with Paris, three in 10 have pledged for net-zero by 2050 and another 14 per cent don't have an explicit goal but are on the pathway

* LOCAL GOVERNMENT - of the nation's 57 largest councils (covering more than half the population) nearly three in five have net-zero by 2050 target for operational emissions and almost two in five have net-zero target or aspiration for community emissions.

The probe initiated by the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority is investigating the multi-billion dollar industry's vulnerability to money laundering and organised crime.

Former Supreme Court judge Patricia Bergin has been tasked with reporting on whether Crown and its Barangaroo casino licensee are fit to hold a gaming licence in NSW.

The latest round of hearings kicked off in Sydney with expert witness Paul Bromberg, from consultancy firm Spectrum Gaming Group, who appeared by video-link from Bangkok to advise on junkets for high-rollers.

Mr Bromberg said casinos had left themselves open to alleged money laundering by hosting junkets for mega-rich VIP players, 96 per cent of whom were from mainland China and Hong Kong.

"There's been a huge wave of hot money coming out of China over the past 10 years, leading to a huge increase in the VIP market," he told the inquiry on Monday.

In China's gambling capital Macau, junkets were traditionally run by Triad-backed groups independent of the casinos, which were unaware or "too scared" to stop the gang making backroom deals with players, Mr Bromberg said.

However since China's corruption crackdown in late 2012, high rollers have shifted further abroad, to places where despite tighter regulation they can still access crime-linked credits and funnel them through casinos.

And unlike Macau, "in Australia the casino maintains control over most VIP rooms", Mr Bromberg said.

His appearance follows a report in Nine newspapers on Sunday that a Crown Resorts vice-president authorised a junior casino staff member to transfer $500,000 to Melbourne drug trafficker in January 2017.

Meanwhile, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission is casting its eye over a now halted $1.8 billion deal to sell a 20 per cent stake in the company to Lawrence Ho's Melco International last May.

Mr Ho's father, Stanley Ho, has been allegedly linked to organised crime and is banned from being an associate of Crown's Barangaroo casino - though he has never been convicted and has always rejected such accusations.

Crown Resort board members Michael Johnston and John Alexander, as well as Crown's general counsel and company secretary Mary Manos, and Melco's Geoffrey Davis, will be called before the inquiry.

Major Crown Resort's shareholder James Packer and Lawrence Ho are set to appear at a later date.

Crown shares were 6.55 per cent lower at $10.99 by 1502 AEDT, having slipped to $10.975 in earlier trade.

The shares fell to $10.80 in October 2017, following accusations by Independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie the company had deliberately tampered with poker machines.

The under-performing Kiwi club looked like they had uncovered the key to playing finals football two seasons ago when booking an eighth-placed finish.

But Stephen Kearney's men took worrying steps backwards last year, lacking a cutting edge up front and failing to adapt to the absence of departed playmaker Shaun Johnson as they stumbled home to 13th.

Since then, no club has been quieter in recruitment.

Fringe Penrith hooker Wayde Egan has crossed the Tasman to replace Issac Luke but otherwise Kearney must get more out of the same group of players.

His solution may have been found during their turgid finish to 2019, when a group of senior players sat down with Kearney amid a run of heavy losses to powerhouse opponents.

Kearney took ownership for some of his team's shortcomings, conceding his game plan had been too conservative.

It was agreed the forwards were capable of more creativity and they were given a licence to play more liberally in the last game of the season.

The result was a shock defeat of the grand-final bound Raiders in Canberra, in which the Warriors threw 21 offloads to the home team's six.

"Certainly last year, I feel at times our middle forwards, they took a bit of criticism and part of that was my responsibility," Kearney told AAP.

"The game model didn't really allow them to showcase what I think they're capable of.

"So it was a bit of a collective. I thought it was really important that the players had a say about where we need to improve.

"We've got some guys who have really good skill sets through the middle of the field but we didn't allow them to play their best."

Kearney said there won't be a return to the ultra-flamboyant Warriors ways of yesteryear but he will encourage more risks to be taken.

He particularly wants captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to be a greater threat in the attacking half of the field, where the fullback's line-busting ability could be used to create tries rather than just as a metre-eating weapon from deep.

Kearney will also seek greater resilience from his team, who he felt didn't react well when some officiating decisions went against them, eventually leading to the late-season capitulation.

"I thought we got a couple of calls which didn't do us any favours," he said.

"I just reckon it wore the group down, to be honest, it broke the back of it."

Kearney is expecting another strong season from blockbusting winger Ken Maumalo, while David Fusitu'a will shift to the centres with Patrick Herbert a chance of moving to the wing.

Kearney felt Herbert, five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita and versatile forward Isaiah Papali'i were ready to take their games to another level.

WARRIORS

Finishes over the past three seasons: 2019 - 13th, 2018 - 8th, 2017 - 13th.

Coach: Stephen Kearney.

Captain: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

Key gains: Wayde Egan (Penrith).

Outs: Issac Luke (St George-Illawarra), Blake Ayshford (retired).

Best team: 1. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (capt), 2. Patrick Herbert, 3. David Fusitu'a, 4. Peta Hiku, 5. Ken Maumalo, 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita, 7. Blake Green, 8. Agnatius Paasi, 9. Wayde Egan, 10. Leeson Ah Mau, 11. Adam Blair, 12. Tohu Harris, 13. Lachlan Burr. Interchange: 14. Kodi Nikorima, 15. Leivaha Pulu, 16. Sam Lisone 17. Isaiah Papali'i.

Predicted finish: 16th

The 154kg of ice was uncovered during usual Border Force screenings on a cargo of silver concentrate in January.

Border Force officers further examined the cargo after an x-ray identified anomalies, eventually uncovering 35 packets of methamphetamine.

The 26-year-old was arrested on Saturday night in Melbourne after a brief pursuit by Victoria Police and has been remanded in custody to appear in court on Tuesday.

He is charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, attempted possession of a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug and attempted trafficking of a controlled drug.

The seizure was part of a joint operation by the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, the Australian Border Force and the Australian Crime Intelligence Commission.

The operation also nabbed a 34-year-old Sydney man near Seymour in Victoria's Goulburn Valley on Saturday.

He was charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug and will also appear in court on Tuesday.

It's alleged the Sydney man tried to possess 25kg of the drug.

Both men will appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court.

The former nurse and midwife on Monday pleaded not guilty in the Newcastle District Court to three counts of using poison to endanger the life of her daughter between December 2013 and March 2015.

The 47-year-old denies giving her immune-deficient daughter a large amount of laxative agents in early 2014 and injecting urine into the then-nine-year-old's central venous catheter in March 2015.

The Crown alleges the girl became acutely unwell at Westmead Children's Hospital in Sydney in March 2015, with blood cultures showing a "sudden, unexplained increase" in chemical waste products urea and creatinine.

Seated in the dock on Monday, the mother wept and looked at her husband as the court was shown her voluntary police interview recorded shortly after that incident.

In the interview she describes her daughter's constant hospital admissions between 2007 and 2015.

"She would get better with all the supportive methods and we would go home (and then she'd have) severe diarrhoea with oral medications," the mother told police in March 2015.

"I didn't know what to do other than keep presenting to the hospital."

The mother - who has multiple children - said that apart from one evening she'd rarely been outside her daughter's room during the two-week-long admission that March.

"I just had food brought in and I just stayed with her," she told police.

Crown prosecutor Wayne Creasey SC said police searched the mother's bag and found laxatives, a liquid-filled syringe, five used syringes, two urine sample containers, a stool sample container and other medical equipment.

He alleged tests of the syringes, containers and the girl's blood cultures showed similarities.

"The Crown case is the definitive link in those articles supports the contention that there was a deliberate introduction or administration of these microbes into the (central line)," the prosecutor said.

The mother denied giving her daughter laxatives or injecting urine saying she'd gathered the medical supplies when her child was transferred to Westmead from another hospital.

She told police she "missed being a nurse" and liked "being involved" in her daughter's care, the Crown said.

Paediatric gastroenterologist Scott Nightingale told the court he treated the girl in early 2014 when she was admitted for constant diarrhoea and vomiting.

After a series of tests, he concluded the diarrhoea was "factitious" and likely caused by a secretly administered laxative agent.

"I was quite confident this was what was happening - I couldn't think of an alternative," he told the court.

One test revealed melanosis coli, which is associated with chronic laxative use, while close monitoring during one admission showed the girl increased slightly in weight despite her stool output reaching three litres.

He suggested water had been added to stools, possibly to give the appearance stool output was "much worse than it actually was".

During cross-examination, Dr Nightingale stated he hadn't raised surreptitious laxative use with the accused or reported his suspicions any further than the girl's treating doctors and the hospital's child protection team.

The alleged victim is expected to give evidence later in the trial which continues before Judge Christopher Robison.

Officials on Monday also confirmed two more deaths of virus patients, bringing its death toll to seven.

South Korea's president said Sunday that he was putting his country on its highest alert for infectious diseases, ordering officials to take "unprecedented, powerful" steps to stem the spread of the outbreak.

President Moon Jae-in said his government had increased its anti-virus alert level to "Red," which allows for the temporary closure of schools and reduced operation of public transportation and flights to and from South Korea.

The new school year for kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools in South Korea has been put off by one week until March 9.

Moon said the outbreak "has reached a crucial watershed," and that the next few days will be critical. "We shouldn't be bound by regulations and hesitate to take unprecedented, powerful measures," he said.

The competition leaders finished at 7-294 after winning an important toss and electing to bat on the Bankstown Oval pitch but late new ball wickets kept the visitors in touch.

Hughes put aside a modest BBL campaign to hit a polished ton, his first of the Shield season.

It was a much-needed boost for a side looking to bounce back from their first defeat and missing a host of starting regulars.

Hughes posted his century in the last over before tea only to be dismissed soon after the resumption for 103 in a 191-ball innings.

Gilkes belied his youth to offer more than able support after the Blues slipped to a precarious 3-133.

The 20-year-old looked accomplished in his just fourth first class outing and reached 83 off 132 balls, including three sixes, before he was caught brilliantly at gully by Jake Weatherald.

But his dismissal saw the tide turn as ever-reliable SA seamer Chadd Sayers (3-56) made the most of the new ball with the home side losing 3-21 during the final stages of the day.

Earlier, NSW-born Joe Mennie (4-82) shone for the Redbacks to claim the first four wickets, reaching 250 Shield wickets for SA in the process.

Mennie notably clean bowled Daniel Solway (22) with a superb delivery, before repeating the dose against Jason Sangha (5) minutes later.

Mennie was restored to the side in place of the rested Daniel Worrall despite the paceman's match-winning five-wicket haul last week against Western Australia.

The Blues are without experienced batsman Moises Henriques and Kurtis Patterson who are on Australia A duty, plus a host of internationals on Australia's tour of South Africa.

A week that began with Brooks Koepka saying he thought Reed cheated when he was penalised for swiping sand in the Bahamas ended with Reed delivering clutch moments down the stretch to win the Mexico Championship on Sunday.

Then again, Reed always seems to be at his best when it feels as though the world is against him.

Two shots behind with four holes to play, Reed ran off three straight birdies to overtake a faltering Bryson DeChambeau, closing with a four-under 67 for his second World Golf Championships title.

Reed made it interesting with a wild tee shot into the trees on the last at Chapultepec Golf Club, forcing him to chip back to the fairway. He had to two-putt from 35 feet for the eighth victory of his PGA Tour career.

In a final round in which five players shared the lead - and four were tied heading for the back nine - DeChambeau appeared to seize control with five birdies.

Everyone around him faltered - Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Erik van Rooyen - but Reed played bogey-free until he only needed a bogey to win.

Reed never flinched with all that was happening on and off the course.

He has yet to shake whispers on the tour and heckling from the gallery over the World Challenge in December, when video caught him twice swiping away sand behind his ball in a waste area.

Koepka became the strongest voice during an interview Monday with SiriusXM in the Bay Area while he was previewing his title defence at the PGA Championship in May.

Asked whether he thought Reed was cheating, Koepka replied: "Uh, yeah. I think, yeah, yeah.

"I mean, I don't know what he was doing, building sand castles in the sand. But you know, you know where your club is. I mean, I took three months off and I can promise you I know if I touched sand.

"If you play the game, you understand the rules," he said. "You understand the integrity that goes on. I mean, there's no room for it."

Asked about it Saturday after his round, Reed said: "At the end of the day, you can't listen to what other people are saying. All you can control is what you do."

All he did Sunday was win.

"To come back and win my second World Golf Championship, especially with how I had to finish from basically 15 onwards ... last hole was ugly but it was what I needed just to get the job done," Reed said.

He finished at 18-under 266 and moved to No. 8 in the world.

Cameron Smith was the best-placed Australian with a five-under-par total of 279. His final round 64, the equal best for the day along with Brandt Snedeker, earned him a tie for 22nd.

Genesis Invitational winner Adam Scott was a shot further behind with a final round 70.

But Amayim's revenue for the six months to December 31 was down 7.1 per cent to $244.4 million as average revenue per mobile subscriber declined 15.4 per cent to $22.34.

Amaysim grew its subscriber numbers by 41,000 during the period through organic growth after signing a new wholesale deal with Optus, which provides Amaysim's mobile service.

It added another 41,000 through the $7.8 million acquisition of Jeenee Mobile, for a total of 706,000 recurring subscribers as of December 31.

"Increased investment in mobile marketing initiatives has delivered exceptional subscriber growth during the period," chief executive Peter O'Connell said.

But he said the company was delaying marketing its subscription energy plans until June 2020 until there was "regulatory stability" after some regulatory changes.

"We believe a major shift in Australia's energy market is imminent and with our new subscription energy plans now live in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, we are well placed to take advantage of his structural change," Mr O'Connell said in a statement.

Amaysim says its subscription energy plans work similarly to a mobile plan, with customers paying upfront for electricity plans that give them a set number of kilowatt hours a month.

Mr O'Connell said Amaysim was on track to achieve its guidance of full-year earnings of $33 million to $39 million after making $24 million in earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation in the first half.

Mr O'Connell told analysts on a conference call on Monday he thought the TPG-Vodafone merger that was given Federal Court approval this month after regulators tried to block it was good news for Amaysim.

"Three strong carriers is really good for us because it gives us choices and competition at the carrier level," he said.

Following the success of the Jeenee acquisition, Mr O'Connell said said Amaysim would consider further "bolt-on acquisitions" that would allow it to leverage its operating structure.

At 1517 AEDT, Amaysim shares were down 3.0 per cent to 32.5 cents.

AMAYSIM RETURNS TO PROFITABILITY IN FIRST HALF

* Revenue for the six months to December 31 up 7.0pct to $244.6m compared with the same period in 2018

* A net profit after tax from continuing operations of $3.7 million, compared to a $4.8 million loss a year ago

* No dividend

Flooding along the Maranoa and Balonne Rivers started after the weekend's drenching, with the town of St George expected to be hit by rising waters on Monday evening.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting flood levels on the Balonne River could exceed 10 metres.

Charleville and St George region's are expected to be the most affected areas on Tuesday.

There has already been major flooding around several towns in the state's south west over the weekend.

In the Maranoa region there was major flooding around the towns of Surat and Weribone, however the waters were already receding on Monday morning.

However the waters is not expected to go away quickly, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

"It will take a number of weeks for the waters to recced there completely," forecaster Lauren Pattie said on Monday afternoon.

"There are a number of roads which have been cut in that part of the world, and it will be a little while before they are open again."

* 22 confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Australia: eight in Queensland; four in New South Wales; six in Victoria; three in South Australia; one in WA.

* Of those people, 10 have recovered and the others are in stable conditions.

* Seven cases are passengers who were on the Diamond Princess repatriation flight from Japan. They were in quarantine at the Manigurr-ma Village Howard Springs facility in Darwin when they tested positive to coronavirus. All have returned to their home states for medical treatment.

* The 266 Australian evacuees from Wuhan have all gone home after clearing a 14-day quarantine period.

* There are 78,973 confirmed cases worldwide.

* There have been 2466 deaths worldwide.

* Travel restrictions to Australia have been extended for a further week to February 29.

* Foreign nationals - excluding permanent residents - who have been in mainland China will not be allowed to enter Australia for 14 days from the time they left mainland China.

* Australian citizens and permanent residents will still be able to enter, as will their immediate family members (spouses, legal guardians and dependants only).

* People who have been in contact with someone confirmed to have coronavirus must self-isolate for 14 days from the time they were in contact with that person.

* DFAT's travel advice has been updated for Japan with travellers being told to exercise a high degree of caution in Japan.

* Concerns are also held for the spread in Iran, South Korea and northern Italy.

Sources: WHO; Australian Health Department

Currie came off Yulong June in an incident past the winning post in the final race at The Valley on Friday night, suffering two fractured ribs and a fractured C7 vertebra which needed surgery.

Currie had been scheduled to ride the favourite Hanseatic in Saturday's $1.5 million Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield. The colt finished second to Tagaloa with Tim Clark aboard.

Currie had an operation on Sunday.

"He's come through well," Victorian Jockeys Association chief executive Matthew Hyland told RSN927.

"I had a bit of text messaging with him yesterday afternoon.

"He's had his C6 and C7 fused and had a plate and some screws inserted, so he was recovering. He seems to be in pretty good spirits."

Hyland said normally the recovery period would be a minimum of three months.

"I think it's a minimum of three months but I don't think anyone would be surprised if it's a little longer than that," he said.

"But that's generally the case.

"It has come at a pretty ordinary time for Luke but it could always be a lot worse and just happy that he'll make a full recovery."

The injury would rule Currie out of international assignments for the Tony and Calvin McEvoy stable.

The McEvoys have ambitions to take Hey Doc to Dubai for next month's Al Quoz Sprint and Sunlight to Royal Ascot in June.

Mathew John Thomas is charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving over the incident earlier this month which claimed the lives of Stephen Press, 50, and Naomi Braden, 44.

They died after being hit by a car as they walked alongside a road.

Thomas was granted bail by a magistrate but prosecutors took the case to the Supreme Court on Monday seeking to have the decision overturned.

They argued that the offences were too serious and raised concerns for the safety of the accused and his family should he be returned to the local community.

The court was also told the funerals for Mr Press and Ms Braden were to be held on Tuesday.

Defence counsel Craig Caldicott asked for Thomas' release on home detention to be upheld and Justice Trish Kelly agreed, saying in her opinion the presumption in favour of bail being granted had not been overturned.

However, she ordered that the accused not be released until 9am on Wednesday, to ensure he would not return to the town while the funerals were being held.

Justice Kelly said she could understand the concerns the Crown held for his family.

"But I have great faith in the sense and sensitivity of the Port Augusta community," she said.

The sacrifice China has made, Minister of the Chinese Embassy Wang Xining said, "is for the benefit of the world."

"Wuhan had been locked down overnight. More than 30,000 medical staff have been dispatched to Wuhan and other cities in Hubei province to help their colleagues," Mr Wang told the ABC's Q&A program on Monday night.

"It's unprecedented and challenging in human history. It's an unprecedented campaign organised by the Chinese government, against an epidemic which is a common enemy of mankind."

Rejecting accusations of China's low level of democracy and cover-up of the seriousness of the virus, Mr Wang commended the Australian medical authorities for their success in controlling the spread.

"There are 22 cases confirmed. Ten are already cured. And also we heard good news from Darwin and from Christmas Island for the people who came back from Wuhan," he said.

"And as far as I learned, over 30,000 people, mostly Australian citizens, and PR and their relatives came back to Australia without a sharp rise in the confirmed cases."

Mr Wang waived off Chinese accusations of Australia "overreacting" to the virus outbreak, saying they respected the Australian government's decisions but also claiming more than 100,000 students are waiting to come back to their campus.

He also said the depiction of China by western media always took a piece out of a jigsaw to portray the country as "something very bad", claiming there were "a lot of fake news running around".

Amid further back and forth about China's political system and media control, Mr Wang continued defending the country's efforts to tackle the virus, including "dragging people out" of their homes when they were "not very willing to cooperate".

Hallmark Jewellers released an advertisement for its events, including one at a hotel and pokie venue, where it sought to buy "on the spot" gold jewellery, watches, gold nuggets, gold coins and even gold teeth.

South Australian Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas described the practice as "reprehensible" and "predatory behaviour" seeking to take advantage of those already in a vulnerable situation, which must be outlawed.

But Hallmark director Arthur Perelman has hit back at the claims, saying items are only purchased by cheque and never cash.

"The Labor Party didn't do their homework ... we are a legitimate business," Mr Perelman said.

"We do not loan, we do not lend, we do not pawn, we do not trade, we buy and we do not pay cash."

Hallmark held one event in January at the Village Tavern at suburban Golden Grove, which was investigated by liquor and gambling authorities.

Attorney-General Vickie Chapman said the investigation into the tavern event found it was held in a private room and not near the gaming area.

"The Village Tavern does not appear to be in breach of its obligations under the codes of practice," Ms Chapman said in response to opposition concerns.

The tavern declined to comment.

Mr Perelman was adamant his company had a clean slate and operated under a duty of care to staff and customers by not carrying large amounts of cash into venues.

"We are not guilty of anything. We have been doing this for 30 years and nobody said a word. It's disappointing the Labor Party got it so wrong," he said.

He said his company did not single out poker machine venues and conducted similar events wherever they could find space, including town halls and other community centres.

However, Mr Perelman conceded a line in Hallmark's advertising, which offered "cash for gold jewellery", was misleading.

Hallmark is intending to run similar events this week but details were taken down from its Facebook page following negative comments.

Mr Malinauskas said the opposition had drafted legislation to ban the sale of second-hand goods at licensed gaming venues.

It will introduce the private member's bill, which includes fines of up to $35,000 for venues, to parliament next week.

Worley has also doubled its interim dividend and raised its cost synergy target from the acquisition of Jacob's energy, chemicals and resources division for $US3.2 billion in April 2019.

New chief executive Chris Ashton said the company had been focused on delivering the benefits of the ECR acquisition at a cost of $81 million in the first half.

"We have increased our cost synergy target to $175 million per annum, delivered over 30 months from completion, " he said on Monday as he started in the role following the retirement of Andrew Wood.

Worley's initial estimate was about $130 million to $150 million in cost savings from IT, property and business overheads after the merger.

There will be a one-off cost of about $125 million for delivering the synergy target, plus capital expenditure of $15 million, Worley said on Monday.

There will also be modernisation costs of about $40 million and $35 million capital expenditure associated with that.

Mr Ashton said Worley was seeing more consistent earnings through increased exposure to operational expenditure and the chemical sector against a background of strengthened market conditions.

Revenue has risen 134 per cent to $5.99 billion in the first half after the businesses were merged to employ more than 59,000 people in 51 countries.

The company will pay an unfranked 25 cent dividend, double the distribution at the same time last year.

Worley's shares were up 22.5 cents, or 1.6 per cent, at $14.305 at 1401 AEDT.

Prosecutors are calling for the 42-year-old to be given a life sentence without the prospect of parole, seven years after he fatally stabbed Kylie Blackwood and left Ilona Prohaska for dead.

Given Murdoch pleaded guilty it is an unusual request, Nick Papas QC conceded in a pre-sentence hearing at Victoria's Supreme Court.

But Murdoch has demonstrated a "disturbing pattern of behaviour" in past crimes and has shown no remorse, he told Justice Jane Dixon.

The 2013 attacks on Ms Blackwood and Ms Prohaska occurred while Murdoch was on parole for an earlier attack on a woman in her own home.

That woman was struck over the head and stabbed in the neck, causing life-threatening injuries and brain damage.

"There is a chilling similarity," Mr Papas said.

Murdoch's behaviour following the latest attacks was also "extraordinarily cold", he said.

Leaving Ms Prohaska unconscious and bleeding significantly in May 2013, Murdoch took money from her bank account and went to a meeting with Corrections Victoria.

After killing Ms Blackwood three months later, Murdoch tried three times to use her ATM card and appeared "almost removed from any sense of what had happened".

Ms Blackwood saw her husband and children off to work and school on the morning of August 1, 2013, spoke to a friend on the phone and went shopping.

Disturbances in the house tell a story of a confrontation by Murdoch that led from the study to the sunroom, where Ms Blackwood was repeatedly stabbed in the neck and chest, Mr Papas said.

That day is one Peter Blackwood says he will never forget or forgive.

His wife was a doting mother and a tenacious and spirited woman. "She would have went down fighting," he said.

Her body was discovered by her then-11-year-old twins Mia and Holly, who are haunted by the memories of what they saw that day.

"It's unfair and it's heartbreaking," Mia, now 17, wrote to Victoria's Supreme Court.

"Everywhere I go I feel empty .. after doing something like that, how can you call yourself a human being," Holly added.

Their older brother Chase asked that Justice Dixon "please bring justice to my family".

Ms Prohaska, now 80, watched by video link and told the court she lost the will to live after the attack.

Murdoch had broken into her Endeavour Hills home, knocking the then 73-year-old to the ground and cutting her throat.

He took $70 and a debit card from her, forced her down a flight of stairs and hammered a knife into each side of her neck, causing significant blood loss.

Murdoch's lawyer Jim Shaw agreed a life sentence would not be inappropriate, but said he would argue Murdoch should be given the prospect of parole.

The pre-sentence hearing will continue on March 4.

Tom Latham finished seven not out while Tom Blundell was two as they knocked off the nine runs needed for victory in just 10 balls after the visitors were dismissed for 191 in their second innings.

Trent Boult and Tim Southee had ripped through India's lower middle order and dismissed the visitors about 40 minutes before lunch with a lead of just eight runs after the hosts had scored 348 in their first innings.

India started the day on 4-144, still 39 runs behind and staring at a potential first defeat.

Boult and Southee, however, dismissed both of the last recognised batsmen in Ajinkya Rahane (29) and Hanuma Vihari (15) in the first 20 minutes and then ran through the rest of the line-up with Southee finishing with 5-61.

"It was an outstanding effort over the space of four days," New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said. "We know how strong this Indian team is all round the world.

"The efforts that went into that first innings, to put the ball in the right areas for long periods of time (were crucial), and I think with the bat to get what was a very competitive total on a surface that I thought was a very good one, that offered right throughout the match."

India captain Virat Kohli rued losing the toss.

"Day one it was probably the toss that turned out to be very important," Kohli said.

"But as a batting unit we take a lot of pride in being competitive and we were just not competitive enough."

The Nationals backbencher has introduced a private member's bill to parliament that would split each state into six regions - like mega electorates - with each region voting for two senators.

"This is something that is so important," he told the lower house on Monday.

"We need for our Senate to have a constituency and to have the capacity to represent a geographic area."

Mr Joyce said in most instances, 11 out of 12 senators come from capital cities.

He also pointed out that New York has two senators while Adelaide has 11.

"We need to make sure that as the seats get bigger and bigger and bigger in the House of Representatives in regional areas, that this is offset by the capacity to get more Senate representation."

Under the plan, which was seconded by independent MP Bob Katter, no region could be bigger than 30 per cent of the state's landmass and the capital city would be confined to a single region.

Mr Joyce argues this would also help to improve indigenous representation in parliament.

The backbencher, who recently launched a failed bid to reclaim the Nationals leadership, said the proposal wouldn't warrant a change to the constitution.

It's up to parliament to change how senators are elected, Mr Joyce said.

Constitutional law expert George Williams said this was correct but he wasn't sold on the idea.

"It may be unwise, particularly because of how it will distort the voting power of some people relative to others, but I cannot see it is unconstitutional," he told AAP.

"It is possible for parliament to provide for more than one electorate per state."

Senate president Scott Ryan was quick to shoot down Mr Joyce's idea after he floated it last year.

"The current Senate is actually very reflective of the national vote despite the differences in state populations," he said.

"But this proposal would destroy that."

Siti Kamal saw an opportunity in distraught dad Jay Windross' social media plea for the return of his wife Deanne's phone, filled with pictures of their terminally ill 11-month-old, Amiyah.

As the baby drew her last breaths in April last year, Kamal sent Mr Windross more than 90 messages demanding $1000 in return for the phone.

Despite never having the device, the 24-year-old threatened to sell it or delete the pictures of Amiyah.

Kamal exchanged nearly 160 messages with Mr Windross in 24 hours, including after Amiyah's death from an undiagnosed neurological condition.

County Court of Victoria Judge Elizabeth Gaynor berated Kamal for her "extraordinary cruelty" in the face of "indescribable anguish".

"You've got a couple spending their last days with their dying child," the judge told Kamal during a plea hearing on Monday.

"In a situation of almost indescribable anguish ... I can hardly think of a worse case (of blackmail).

"The extraordinary cruelty that this involved is a concern."

Kamal, aged 24 at the time, has pleaded guilty to blackmail and spent nearly 10 months in pre-sentence detention.

Court documents reveal Mr Windross pleading via WhatsApp for Kamal to return the phone, lost at Chadstone Shopping Centre on April 20.

The Samsung S8 had hundreds of photos of Amiyah on it and was not backed up. It's still missing.

After Amiyah died early on April 24, Mr Windross pleaded with Kamal not to delete the pictures.

"Please don't erase anything. Our baby passed away in our arms early this morning," he said.

"You have our memories of her. Please let us have some rest and then we will organise something. I promise."

It came after Kamal told told him: "please transfer me money I will return u (sic) the phone, or maybe I just sell it".

"You may help me today, god may help you," she also said.

Her barrister Rahmin De Kretser acknowledged Kamal would be handed a jail sentence but asked that be time she had already spent custody.

"I accept that this is a morally indefensible crime," Mr De Kretser said.

He asked Judge Gaynor to take into account Kamal's age, lack of criminal history, early guilty plea and problems with impulsivity.

She does not have a diagnosable disability or personality condition and the judge indicated she was preparing to hand down a longer jail sentence.

"The only conclusion the court is left with is this was a deliberate, albeit impulsive, decision to act in an extraordinarily cruel way," Judge Gaynor said.

"These victims were chosen because of their vulnerability.

"To see an opportunity in the suffering of others is extraordinarily concerning."

Kamal will be sentenced on March 10 and is likely to be deported to Malaysia after her release from jail.

Graham limped from the field late in Saturday's match for the Indigenous side after Maori skipper Adam Blair landed on his ankle in a tackle.

But Cronulla medical staff have determined the club's captain does not require scans and could be available to play Manly at Kogarah on Sunday.

Centre Jesse Ramien will also be free to play provided he takes an early guilty plea for dangerous contact on Kalyn Ponga from the All Stars game.

Ramien, who was dominant with 10 tackle busts at centre for the Indigenous team, copped a grade-one charge for a second-half tackle on Ponga but can take carry-over points.

Meanwhile luckless hooker Cameron King is still awaiting the result of scans on his knee.

The club believe it is an anterior crucial ligament, which would end his season after he was injured in their trial loss to Canterbury.

It would be a cruel blow for the 28-year-old, who has only returned to the NRL in 2020 after going unsigned last year in Australia and playing in the English Super League.

The Sharks are also managing the workload of star fullback Matt Moylan who trained on Monday with the team but has had his workload modified in a bid to manage his troublesome hamstring.

The 28-year-old suffered repeated problems which reduced his 2019 season to 11 games and is no certainty to be fit for their round-one clash with South Sydney on March 14.

Zoustyle missed the Brisbane summer carnival after a disrupted southern states spring when he ran well without winning.

After finishing less than five lengths last in a star-studded Concorde Stakes in Sydney, Zoustyle ran second in the Listed Testa Rossa Stakes at Caulfield before a fourth in the Listed Caulfield Village Stakes at his most recent start on October 16.

Trainer Tony Gollan said Zoustyle had bloomed during his summer spell.

"I will probably trial him at Doomben on Tuesday but failing that he can trial on the Eagle Farm A grass the following week," Gollan said.

"He will really only need the one trial before heading south. I am keen to get him to Sydney early so he can settle in.

"At this stage his first start in Sydney will be in the Group Three Maurice McCarten Stakes at Rosehill on March 14.

"It is an 1100-metre race which usually doesn't attract the really top flight horses. So it gives us a chance to work him through the grades this time."

Zoustyle is entered for the Group One TJ Smith at Randwick on April 4 but will need to be at his best to run.

The gelding has won six of his nine starts and is unbeaten in Brisbane.

Gollan is undecided who will ride Zoustyle in his comeback but indicated it could be a Sydney jockey.

And Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko, teammate Connor McFadyen and Adelaide's Matt Crouch have been offered fines after being cited for weekend incidents.

Match review officer Michael Christian's ruling on Williams' contact on Western Bulldog Ed Richards could set a season-long precedent for high bumps.

Williams was reported on the spot.

Christian graded his contact on the Bulldogs utility as careless with high impact and high contact, resulting in a two-match suspension.

Adelaide midfielder Crouch was charged with rough conduct after a block which stunned Melbourne onballer Clayton Oliver in their Saturday fixture.

Crouch was offered a $3000 fine, reduced to $2000 with an early guilty plea, with Christian ruling it was careless conduct with low impact.

Lions skipper Zorko was fined $4000, reduced to $2500 with an early guilty plea, for misconduct.

Zorko pushed Port Adelaide's Kane Farrell near a boundary line, with Farrell colliding with a trainer on the other side of the boundary.

The incident was a fourth misconduct offence for Zorko, leading to a maximum $4000 fine.

Brisbane's Connor McFadyen was cited for rough conduct against Port's Dan Houston in their Moreton Bay pre-season game.

Christian rated McFayden's contact as careless, low impact and high contact, resulting in a $3000 fine, reduced to $2000 with an early guilty plea.

The state's primary industry has generated $15.2 billion in revenue over the 2018-2019 financial year, up two per cent on the previous year, official figures show

Revenue in wool increased by 19 per cent, horticulture went up by 12 per cent, forestry rose by 11 per cent and wine went up by six per cent, according to the Primary Industries Scorecard on Monday.

The scorecard shows the revenue, sales and exports of SA's key primary industry sectors.

SA Primary Industries minister Tim Whetstone said the growth was a testament to the innovation and skills of SA farmers.

"Our primary industries and agribusiness sector is the biggest contributor to the state's economy," Mr Whetstone said.

"While it's fantastic to see record levels of revenue overall, it's important to acknowledge the many farmers across South Australia who have been doing it tough with drought and natural disasters."

Despite the unfavourable seasonal conditions, the gross value of production increased by 13 per cent to $7.9 billion.

Chief executive Brendon Cook said his company had bounced back from a difficult second and third quarter to deliver revenue growth in line with the out-of-home ad market and had achieved its revised underlying earnings target.

Mr Cook, who last month announced he was leaving the business, confirmed the company had taken an expected hit from advertising softness around the federal election in May as well as general industry decline.

Excluding leasing impacts and factoring in the underlying FY18 result of Adshel before its acquisition, oOh!media's revenue edged 1.0 per cent higher to $649.6 million.

Underlying earnings in the year to December 31 fell 5.0 per cent to $139 million, reflecting a tough media environment but in line with the company's revised outlook.

The company, which also owns online masthead Junkee, had said in January it was on track to meet underlying earnings guidance at the lower end of its $138 million to $143 million range, which had been raised in December.

The firm booked $13.7 million in non-operating items for 2019, most related to the Commute acquisition, as well as a $3.5 million impairment charge against its investment in Junkee on "revised revenue" expectations.

Net profit after tax for the year fell 32 per cent to $27.2 million.

Shares in oOh!media fell 1.71 per cent to $2.88 after 45 minutes of trade on Monday.

The company said it had been buoyed by revenue at Commute rising 5.0 per cent for the year to $234.8 million as the segment's integration continues apace.

The rail assets in particular benefited from the Melbourne-Sydney package offering subsequent to the Metro Trains Melbourne contract win - effective April 2018 - which generated the strong first-half growth.

The company said Commute's revenues declined in the second half but at a slightly lower rate than the broader out-of-home industry.

"Commute is now our largest division by revenue and its strong performance ... demonstrates its significant contribution to enhancing our diversified asset portfolio and supporting our acquisition business case," Mr Cook said.

Retail segment revenue rose 5.0 per cent to $139.1 million. However, road advertising fell 5.0 per cent to $146.6 million during the year thanks to a reduction in spending by the banks and auto industry.

Fly revenue dropped 3.0 per cent to $65.9 million, affected by the reversion of the Sydney Airport Qantas Terminal to the Airport, over which a competitor had the rights effective from July 1 2019, and the soft billboard market.

On a statutory basis, total revenue increased 35 per cent.

Digital revenue as a percentage of the company's total revenue was 61 per cent for the year, compared with 60 per cent in 2018.

Meanwhile, statutory net profit dropped 54 per cent to $13.45 million, from $29.12 million a year ago

The company will maintain a fully franked final dividend of 7.5 cents per share.

Mr Cook, who founded oOh!media 30 years ago, said the search continued for his replacement.

MIXED YEAR FOR OOH!MEDIA

* Pro-forma revenue up 1.0pct to $649.6m

* Pro-forma net profit down 32pct to $27.2m

* Statutory revenue up 35pct to $649.6m

* Statutory profit down 54pct to $13.45m

* Final fully franked dividend 7.5 cents, unchanged.

The Brazil star made a crude and needless two-footed lunge on midfielder Yacine Adli during stoppage time and was shown a second yellow card.

Even though he sent Adli flying, Neymar did not accept the decision and it took strike partner Kylian Mbappe to usher his angry teammate away from the referee and off the field.

Mbappe was locked in animated discussion with two-goal scorer Marquinhos at the final whistle on a night when Edinson Cavani scored a club record-extending 200th goal for PSG.

"It's not a reassuring win. We know we can do much better," Marquinhos said.

"It was an intense week where there were many talking points."

The French champions lead the league by 13 points but have endured a rough week, conceding nine goals in three games and taking heavy criticism for off-field actions too.

PSG lost 2-1 at Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 game on Tuesday and two days later the players were scolded by coach Thomas Tuchel after a video of them dancing and wildly celebrating a players' birthday party circulated on social media.

Yet strangely it was Tuchel who was whistled when PSG and Bordeaux took to the field at Parc des Princes.

Hwang Ui-jo headed in from a corner in the 18th minute to give the visitors the lead before Cavani levelled with a powerful header.

Angel Di Maria's free kick in first-half added time went in off the shoulder of teammate Marquinhos but a minute later, a defensive error from PSG allowed Bordeaux to level going into the break as Pablo Castro profted from a failed clearance by goalkeeper Sergio Rico.

Marquinhos prodded home from a corner as PSG went ahead before Mbappe scored in the 69th to extend the margin.

Midfielder Ruben Pardo struck in the 83rd to give Bordeaux hope but they could not find another equaliser.

Elsewhere, M'Baye Niang scored his second goal of the game near the end to help Rennes beat relegation-threatened Nimes 2-1 and reclaim third place while lowly Saint-Etienne drew 1-1 at home with mid-table Reims.

The 25-year-old was on Monday confirmed as the Demons' vice-captain for 2020 under new skipper Max Gawn, having served as co-captain with Nathan Jones for the previous three years.

Melbourne coach Goodwin said Viney had responded positively to his new role.

"My conversations with him have been really simple; he is all in," Goodwin said.

"He wants this club to be the best club it can be, he wants to support Max in the best way that he can.

"There will be people out there that will say, 'Is he all in?'.

"Well, if you ask that question you don't know Jack Viney.

"He's never been more passionate about this footy club."

Goodwin said Viney and Gawn had been the two clear standouts of a leadership vote by Melbourne players and coaches.

The new captain and his deputy met for breakfast on Monday before the club announced its two-man leadership structure.

Gawn declared the pair were on the same page in terms of where they want to take the club, which this month announced an ambitious strategic plan.

The key target is for the Demons to end 56 years of pain by snaring their first AFL/VFL premiership since 1964.

"It's going to be me and him that are going to keep taking this club forward," Gawn said.

"Obviously we're going to need a lot of help and we're asking the other 43 players to help us, but in my mind nothing changes really.

"Jack continues doing what he's doing and I continue doing what I'm doing."

Gawn's ascension to the captaincy is another significant step in his career.

The 28-year-old has played 120 games for Melbourne and has been named the club's best-and-fairest for the past two seasons, including as joint winner with Clayton Oliver last year.

He was an All-Australian in both of those years, as well as in 2016.

However, it was not always smooth sailing for a self-confessed former "class clown" who in 2018 admitted he used to drink heavily and smoke on the way to training early in his career.

He also had to battle through serious knee injuries before finally cementing himself in the Melbourne line-up in the second half of 2015.

Gawn is now one of the most dominant ruckmen in the competition alongside Collingwood's Brodie Grundy.

An immediate review of how domestic violence is dealt with under the criminal justice system is needed says WLSQ CEO Angela Lynch, who also wants DV offences to be treated as terrorism.

Coercive control becoming a criminal offence and improvements to strangulation, stalking and sexual violence offences are also among the changes needed, she said.

The list of changes has been issued after Hannah Clarke and her three children were murdered by her estranged husband in suburban Brisbane last week.

"If he was under a criminal charge he would have been in remand in prison or identified as a high-risk offender, he would have been monitored by police and have a tracker on," Ms Lynch told AAP.

"A lot of people knew he was dangerous and so it's about how the system responds to that and before a murder happens, to protect women and children.

"We have to start looking at these fellows as domestic terrorists - and he was extremely dangerous - and implement safety mechanisms before it happens, like with terrorism, than waiting for it to happen."

Ms Lynch said prominent domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty has often spoken about domestic violence being treated as domestic terrorism and it's time for governments to take notice.

She said there should be a review of the criminal code and laws should be specifically framed around acts of domestic violence to meet the needs of the victims.

"It needs to be looked at to see if it makes victims safer, and we need to take steps before these tragedies occur based on domestic violence risk assessment," Ms Lynch said.

"There also has to be support for victims as they go through the criminal justice .... and that means a domestic violence worker standing beside them and helping them through it ... they are less likely to withdraw charges if they have support."

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

Lifeline 13 11 14

Sevilla are fourth after surprisingly thrashing Getafe 3-0 away, their first win in six matches across all competitions.

Paco Alcacer fired Villarreal in front at the Wanda Metropolitano with a fine effort from the edge of the area after 16 minutes.

Yellow Submarine goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo made an excellent double save to deny Alvaro Morata and Vitolo as Atletico pushed for an equaliser, which they found through Angel Correa five minutes before the break.

Diego Simeone brought on Joao Felix just before the hour mark, with the club's record signing having missed the last month with an ankle injury.

Jan Oblak made a good save to keep out Gerard Moreno's header, before Koke put Atletico ahead at the other end.

The captain nodded home from Correa's cross on 64 miutes before Felix struck ten minutes later.

"It was very important for us to take the three points at home because we know the results that our rivals had got," Correa said.

"The (Champions League) win over Liverpool gave us a lot of strength and confidence and we have to continue in this line."

Victory took Atletico to 43 points, 12 behind leaders Barcelona and level with Sevilla.

Lucas Ocampos, Fernando and Jules Kounde's goals earned a vital win for Julen Lopetegui's Sevilla, with pressure mounting on the coach in recent weeks because of their shaky form.

The visitors took the lead two minutes before halftime, with Ocampos finishing Sergio Reguilon's low cross from close range.

Fernando doubled the lead in the 67th minute from close range and Kounde netted the third, which Getafe goalkeeper David Soria should have kept out.

Getafe, who had begun the game in third, dropped to fifth on 42 points.

Elsewhere, Rodrigo Ely's stoppage-time goal earned Alaves a 2-1 Basque derby win and consigned Athletic Bilbao to a 10th consecutive league game without a win.

Real Valladolid earned a 2-1 win over bottom side Espanyol while Darwin Machis struck twice for Granada as the Andalusians earned a 3-0 win at Osasuna in a mid-table battle.

The Morrison government is funnelling almost $3 million into a new project to maximise the benefits of manure for agriculture and the environment.

The project uses cutting-edge techniques such as robotics, photographic 3D scanning of nutrients and solid separation technology.

"This project could soon be turning manure into money," Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said on Monday.

Animal health company Scolexia will lead the project designed to increase farm profits with high-tech manure and nitrogen management.

Mr Littleproud said the project could see farmers produce better fertilisers and soil improvers from manure products.

It could also generate power on farmers from biogas, cutting carbon emissions.

"This has big potential and could be applied in many animal farming operations," Mr Littleproud said.

The technology will be trialled on farms across Victoria, SA, WA and Queensland.

City head to the Bernabeu for the first leg of their last-16 tie against Madrid on Wednesday, with the match taking on added emphasis following the two-year ban handed down to the club by UEFA for "serious breaches" of Financial Fair Play regulations.

City are appealing against that ruling but know this could be their last opportunity to win the trophy they most desire under Pep Guardiola, who is adamant he will stay even if the ban is upheld but whose current contract runs until the summer of 2021.

Guardiola has a long history with Real Madrid from his time as both a player and head coach of their great rivals Barcelona, and recognises the difficulty City, who are yet to advance beyond the semi-finals of the Champions League, face against the 13-time European champions.

"I played many times against them as a player and a manager and I always had an incredible admiration for the history of this club," Guardiola said. "I know how difficult it is against the quality of their players.

"I don't know how many finals they have played in or how many times they have lifted (the trophy). For us, maybe Claudio (Bravo, with Barca) has won the Champions League but otherwise we don't have any players who have won this competition.

"But we have the desire to be ourselves. We can win, we can lose but we must try to be ourselves in these 180 minutes we have to face Real Madrid.

"For us there is an excitement. We try to do our best, knowing we play against the king of this competition."

City have faced Madrid four times in Europe since 2012, twice beaten by the odd goal in the Spanish capital while drawing both games in Manchester.

The 19-year-old Sydneysider earned a two-year exemption on the Ladies European Tour when she distanced a field of professionals at Bonville to win by eight shots at 22-under par.

That guarantee of future starts is likely to fast-track a move into the pro ranks before the first round of the NSW Open in Dubbo on Thursday.

"I've got another event this week (NSW Open) that I could play as a pro, so I kind of have to decide in the next 48 hours," Kyriacou told RSN.

"I was kind of hoping to turn pro at the end of this year anyway.

"I'm still weighing up my options but I'm leaning towards that way.

"I think I'm ready.

"I've just won an event so hopefully that gives me great confidence."

Unable to collect the $59,000 prize money on offer at Bonville due to her amateur status, Kyriacou said she doesn't think she'll feel undue pressure of playing for money.

"I do a lot of punting with my friends at my home golf course, and I play good when I play for money, so hopefully that continues in the future," she said.

Kyriacou's father Nick served as her caddie for the Ladies Classic win, and she revealed she imposed strict rules.

"He was good. Sometimes we bicker a bit in practice but that's what happens with everyone," she said.

"He was really good this week.

"I gave him set rules he had to follow or else he would be sacked, 'Don't talk, don't give me advice'.

"He did well, good caddie."

Opposition frontbencher Jenny McAllister is introducing legislation to enhance oversight of the increasingly powerful agencies, as recommended by a coalition government review three years ago.

"Unfortunately, like its approach on so many matters of accountability, the Morrison government has dragged the chain on implementing important recommendations from its own review," she said on Monday.

"Strong and effective oversight mechanisms do not stand in opposition to our national security arrangements - they are best understood as an essential part of them."

Senator McAllister wants parliament's powerful national security committee to work more closely with two federal government watchdogs.

Her bill would also give the committee and watchdogs oversight of the intelligence activities at the Department of Home Affairs.

"Strong and effective oversight measures do not represent a lack of trust in the intelligence community," Senator McAllister said.

"They represent an investment in the trust they need to successfully perform their roles and protect the community within a democracy."

The legislation being introduced on Monday comes as the government investigates ways to give security agencies more powers to disrupt the online activities of Australian paedophiles.

The Morocco winger, who will join the Blues on July 1 for an initial fee of 40 million euros ($A65.6 million) is to remain at Ajax for the remainder of the season.

It was announced earlier this month Chelsea had reached a deal with the Dutch club for Ziyech's signature. He is Frank Lampard's first signing as Blues boss.

"I am delighted and proud to have signed for such a huge club as Chelsea," Ziyech told the club's website.

"I am looking forward to next season and hope we can achieve great things together."

Ziyech has laid on more than 20 goals in each of the last three seasons, and has scored 49 times for the Dutch side.

He is viewed as a replacement for Eden Hazard, who left for Real Madrid last summer.

The government also announced it will introduce a container deposit scheme by 2023, bringing Victoria into line with the rest of Australia.

Premier Daniel Andrews hopes the initiatives will help the state reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by 80 per cent in a decade.

"This is a really big reform but it's one that comes from common sense," he said on Monday at Spotswood, a suburb in the inner-west that already has a four-bin system.

"It will be very warmly welcomed by households right across Victoria who are not happy to see their household waste going into landfill."

Mr Andrews said the addition of a fourth bin for glass will reduce contamination, and improve the quality and reliability for end-users of recycled materials.

The remaining three bins will be used to separate household waste, food and garden organic products, and plastic, metal and paper.

About 40 councils will move to four bins when their recycling contracts end next year, with the remainder to switch by 2025.

The reforms also include the establishment of a new dedicated waste authority to ensure a basic standard of service for Victorians.

Meanwhile, the government has not made any decisions about what form the container deposit scheme will take, what materials will be collected, and how much money people will receive.

"There are lots of different models. For instance, some states have got charity partners who do that for them, other states have got vending machine arrangements," Mr Andrews said.

"We'll try and pick the best elements from all the different schemes and build our own."

Victoria is the last state to adopt a cash-for-bottles program, having previously resisted calls from the public, municipal and industry bodies, the opposition and the Victorian Greens.

Victorian Greens MP Ellen Sandell welcomed the move, noting the party had attempted to introduce a scheme on four separate occasions in the past decade.

"The Greens already have a bill to introduce a 10-cent refund on bottles and cans before parliament right now. There's literally no reason for the government to delay action," she said.

Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien earlier this month announced the coalition was devising its own scheme as part of a policy aimed at eliminating rubbish sent to landfill by 2035.

"Victorians are suffering a waste and recycling crisis under Daniel Andrews, and all he can do is cut and paste my policies," he said.

China's decision to ban imports of 24 types of recyclable materials in 2018 plunged Australia's waste management industry into crisis.

It has been particularly acute in Victoria after the state's largest kerbside recycler went into liquidation last year, forcing several councils to send material to landfill.

The company will maintain its fully franked interim dividend of 10 cents per share even after profit slipped to $57.3 million for the six months to December 31.

Managing director Mark Fitzgibbon said the earnings result was disappointing.

"We didn't expect to be hit so hard this year but we have," he said.

NIB last year underestimated claims to come, and is paying the price.

The result was frustrating when revenue was growing, Mr Fitzgibbon said.

Group revenue was higher by 6.4 per cent to $1.3 billion as members continued using NIB services.

However, an industry-wide increase in claims dragged the overall result down.

Mental health services and prosthetics were big factors.

More than 500 members used the mental health waiver, which allows them to use hospital services and skip the usual two-month wait.

In 12 months, this has cost the insurer $7.1 million.

"We've got to do much better in keeping our members healthy and out of hospital," Mr Fitzgibbon said.

He believed there were many ways to reduce claim costs, with using data science to better educate members on their health and working closely with doctors among the measures.

Mr Fitzgibbon was also frustrated by NIB's higher payments as part of the industry risk equalisation pool in Australia.

The equalisation system transfers funds from insurers with lower-than-average claim costs to those with higher-than-average claim costs.

NIB paid $126.5 million in the first half, 10.3 per cent more than the same period last year.

Mr Fitzgibbon said NIB was being penalised for its success and for attracting younger people who mainly paid the cost.

NIB's grew membership by 1.4 per cent compared with 0.3 per cent for the industry.

That increase comes as Australians increasingly abandon private health insurance.

Only 44.1 per cent of Australians have hospital cover, the lowest level since 2007.

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority executive board member Geoff Summerhayes said earlier this month that smaller insurers were only a few years from being forced to merge or fold due to the downturn.

NIB shares were trading lower by 7.79 per cent at $4.91 at 1521 AEDT.

NIB KEY FIGURES

* Net profit down 23 per cent to $57.3 million

* Revenue up 6.4 per cent to $1.3 billion

* Dividend unchanged at 10 cents per share, fully franked

State and federal MPs are demanding Ms Arndt be stripped of the honour after she made controversial comments about the domestic violence murders of Hannah Clarke and her three children by her husband Rowan Baxter.

Governor-General David Hurley's office has referred their complaints to the Council for the Order of Australia.

Victorian Labor Attorney-General Jill Hennessy and Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson are among those who believe the honour should be revoked.

Ms Arndt drew scrutiny last week after tweeting "Congratulations to the Queensland police for keeping an open mind and awaiting proper evidence, including the possibility that Rowan Baxter might have been 'driven too far'."

Detective inspector Mark Thompson stood aside after also being criticised for saying the day after Wednesday's killing that officers were keeping an open mind as they piece together exactly what happened in the lead-up to the murders.

Det Insp Thompson said there were "probably" people in the community deciding "is this an issue of a woman suffering significant domestic violence and her and her children perishing at the hands of her husband? Or is this an instance of a husband being driven too far by issues that he's suffered by certain circumstances into committing acts of this form."

In a letter to Council for the Order of Australia chairman Shane Stone on Monday, Senator Henderson said Ms Arndt's comments have "brought disrepute on the order".

"These comments which concern a man who doused his wife and children in petrol and burnt them to death are abhorrent," she wrote.

The senator noted she has previously supported Ms Arndt for her "important contribution to the debate on family violence and gender equity".

"I believe that Ms Arndt has so seriously crossed the line in her commentary concerning this horrific act of family violence that it is no longer appropriate that she be awarded this honour," she said.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson described the murders as a '"horrendous act" but said Ms Arndt should keep her award.

"She is clearly stating what she thinks and what a police officer said," she told Nine's Today Show.

Senator Hanson said she hoped an ongoing Senate inquiry into family law would help determine why people like Baxter committed such heinous crimes.

"A lot of people are driven to this, to do these acts, for one reason or another," she said.

"Hopefully the family law inquiry will get to the bottom of it, but don't bastardise all men out there, or women for that matter, because these things happen."

Ms Arndt was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for "significant service to the community as a social commentator, and to gender equity through advocacy for men".

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The airline announced on Monday it would temporarily halt services to the South Korean capital following previously announced capacity reductions across its Asia routes, predominantly related to Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Monday's announcement follows on from Qantas revealing last week it was cutting flights, sending staff off on leave and bringing forward maintenance to cope with the coronavirus outbreak's impact on travel.

Global equities and oil have extended losses as the spread of the virus accelerates outside China, with infections jumping in South Korea, Italy and the Middle East.

Globally, nearly 78,000 people have been infected in 29 countries.

As a result of its mitigation action, Air NZ's total Asia capacity will reduce by 17 per cent for the months of February through June.

Weaker forward bookings for travel on the Tasman and domestic networks have also emerged as a result of the virus, the company told the ASX.

The airline said its revenue outlook for the remainder of the financial year was expected to suffer, with earnings net of significant items to be between $NZ300 million to $NZ350 million, down from the previous $NZ350 million to $NZ450 million guidance.

Air NZ's ASX-listed shares had fallen 5.34 per cent to $2.48 by 1327 AEDT.

"While the situation is uncertain, based on our current assumptions of lower demand as well as the benefit of the announced capacity reductions and lower jet fuel prices, the airline currently expects a net negative impact to earnings in the range of $NZ35 million to $NZ75 million as a result of coronavirus," Air NZ said.

The airline will release its 2020 interim results on Thursday.

Qantas meanwhile expects the outbreak to cut between $100 million to $150 million off its bottom line in the second half.

Sydney Airport chief executive Geoff Culbert also said coronavirus and bushfire 2019 had delivered some of the toughest trading conditions the company had seen since the financial crisis.

Corporate Travel Management said its full-year result will take a hit from coronavirus travel bans, while some retailers are bracing for potential manufacturing delays in China.

The steel maker's shares fell more than 7.0 per cent after it said the rate of recovery for the rest of this half remains unclear at this point.

"As our BlueScope China businesses and their customer-supplier operations gradually return to normal levels during February, it is expected that February and March business performance will be heavily impacted," it said.

"Outside of China, we are aware of some impacts to our supply chains."

BlueScope posted a first-half net profit of $185.8 million, down from $624.3 in the prior first half, because of lower steel prices.

Sales revenue from continuing operations was $5.86 billion down 8.0 per cent on the prior corresponding first half due mostly to lower steel and export coke selling prices, partly offset by weaker exchange rate.

Lower steel prices hit underlying earnings before interest and tax at its North Star, Australian Steel Products and New Zealand and Pacific Steel businesses in the first half.

But underlying earnings were higher in the building products Asia and North America, and Buildings North America businesses.

BlueScope chief executive Mark Vassella said the group's EBIT for the first half was $302.4 million due to the drop in prices the company flagged in August 2019.

"However, with improving conditions at the tail-end of the half, we finished 1H FY2020 slightly stronger than our guidance," Mr Vassella said.

"Underlying demand across our major markets is generally stable. However, the economic impact of COVID-19 has created uncertainty for our Asian businesses and Asian steel spreads in the near term.

"The impact to US Midwest spreads, if any, is unclear. We are aware of some impacts to our supply chains which, to date, have been mitigated; we continue to monitor the situation," he said.

BlueScope forecasts the second half underlying earnings to be similar - about $302.4 million.

The board has approved a six cents per share interim dividend and the extension of the on-market buyback to buy up to $100 million.

The company's shares were down 98 cents, or 7.15 per cent, at $12.73 at 1145 AEDT.

The Category 1 system hit between Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria, and the border after midday on Monday.

The Bureau of Meteorology said it expects Tropical Cyclone Esther will weaken by Monday night, but residents still needed to be cautious.

"People in that region are advised to stay inside until the cyclone has passed," bureau forecaster Lauren Pattie said.

"By this evening we expect her to be below a tropical cyclone."

The weather system is forecast to head west into the Northern Territory, dumping plenty of rain over the next two days.

Gale force winds are affecting areas along the coastline of the Gulf of Carpentaria.

These winds are expected to affect Port McArthur in the Northern Territory to Karumba and Normanton on the Queensland side of the border.

Storm surges are also being warned for these regions.

Tropical Cyclone Esther is also having affects on the east coast of Queensland.

Heavy rainfalls from the from the far north to the state's central coast have been recorded.

Ms Pattie said on Monday that parts of the Mackay region had received 200mm within 24 hours.

Authorities say drug syndicates using the postal system to import meth have been put on notice following their co-ordinated national operation last week.

The operation conducted by the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force and state and territory police forces involved 26 search warrants, 46 deterrence door knocks, the searching or scanning of more than 10,000 mail items and five arrests.

Larger seizures included 4.7 kilograms of meth found during a Victoria search, and a 1kg seizure in the lining of a mail item from Mexico destined for a Sydney address.

AFP detective acting superintendent Robert Jenner said they made more than 100 individual drug seizures through search warrants and the screening of packages.

"This operation gave us a troubling insight into the continuing demand for meth in our community and how criminal networks will go to any length to try and meet that demand," Supt Jenner told reporters in Sydney.

Supt Jenner said they also gathered intelligence that would inform future investigations.

"When you consider some of the postal seizures are as small as .2 of a gram of meth, this is a serious number of importations flooding our borders," he said.

"These seizures were analysed and together with our partners the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, we've built a picture of where these methamphetamine imports were destined."

More than 200 people in Italy have come down with the virus since Friday, latest data showed, the vast majority of them in the wealthy northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto.

Looking to slow the progress of the highly contagious disease, authorities in the worst hit areas have shut schools, universities, museums and cinemas, and banned all public events.

Almost a dozen towns in Lombardy southeast of Italy's financial capital Milan, with a combined population of nearly 50,000 have been placed under effective quarantine, with similar measures in place for a small town in neighbouring Veneto.

Italy has shut down major public events like the Venice Carnival amid the outbreak.

Italy's blue-chip index fell 4 per cent, with shares of businesses most at risk from an expected spending slump such as electronic payments group NEXI down more than 6 per cent.

Shares in Milan-based Banco BPM, Italy's third-largest bank rooted in Lombardy, fell nearly 7 per cent. Analysts have warned that the outbreak could shunt Italy's already fragile economy back into recession.

The worst-hit region Lombardy announced 53 new cases of coronavirus overnight, bringing the total there to 165 in just four days. Some 22 people had the virus in Veneto, while a handful of infections were also recorded in the adjacent regions of Piedmont and Emilia Romagna.

The fourth person to die of the virus came from Lombardy, officials said. He was an 84-year-old man who had been in hospital for treatment for an unrelated illness when he was struck down by the disease.

The three other people who have died of the illness were also elderly and at least two of them had serious underlying health problems.

Chilean Garin prevailed 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 to claim his fourth title victory, second of the month and first at ATP 500 level.

Garin had made the final by defeating Croatian Borna Coric 6-4 7-5 in a rain-delayed semi-final that was completed earlier in the day.

The title victory came on the heels of Garin's three-set win over Diego Schwartzman in the Cordoba Open final on February 9.

Mager was also playing his second match of the day, having outlasted Hungary's Attila Balazs 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 7-6 (7-2).

The Italian had surprised top seed and world No.4 Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

At the Delray Beach Open in Florida, Reilly Opelka worked overtime and won two three-set matches on Sunday, topping Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan in the final.

Fourth-seeded Opelka won the decider 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 to claim his second ATP Tour title.

He went the distance to defeat second-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada in their rain-delayed semi-final before he returned to the court a few hours later to face Nishioka.

The 211cm Opelka served 46 aces on Sunday: 19 against Raonic and 27 against Nishioka.

With the famous St George's Park brass band providing a raucous soundtrack, Warner was left stranded as the Proteas pulled out a superb death bowling performance to snatch a 12-run win and level the three-match series.

The left-hander finished unbeaten on 67, having batted through an innings in which Steve Smith (29) provided the only other notable contribution in a chase of 159.

Last time Australia had played at St George's Park, an already heated Test series went into overdrive when a number of fans - and two Cricket South Africa officials - were photographed wearing Sonny Bill Williams face masks.

The nasty reference to Warner's wife Candice plunged relations between the two countries to new depths.

Warner fittingly looked set to pilot Australia to a fourth straight T20 series victory when he and Mitch Marsh narrowed the equation to 25 off 18 balls.

But Faf du Plessis and David Miller combined for an outrageous relay catch on the boundary to see off Marsh and Warner found himself stranded at the non-striker's end as Matthew Wade and Ashton Agar came and went.

"He's a competitor and I think every game of cricket means something to him," assistant coach Andrew McDonald said.

"He was out there in the contest and he's disappointed as he sits there in the change rooms. He feels like he potentially could have got us over the line, that's the sort of player he is ... he's motivated no matter what the scenario or the opposition is."

The series-decider will be played in Cape Town on Wednesday night (Thursday morning AEDT).

McDonald said captain Aaron Finch and coach Justin Langer would continue to keep their options open in the middle order after Alex Carey's failed promotion to No.4.

"Justin wants the players to be flexible, we're training them to be flexible and most of the time these guys have batted in all different situations and positions in the order," he said.

"We'll be flexible between four, five and six and I don't think that'd be any different in Cape Town depending on the situation."

The four have been transferred to specialist infection centres.

They had been among a group of 30 British nationals and two Irish citizens placed in quarantine in the country's northwest on Saturday.

England's chief medical officer said the virus was passed on in the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which had been held for more than two weeks off the coast of Japan.

"Four further patients in England have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases in the UK to 13," Professor Chris Whitty said on Sunday.

The Department of Health said a "full infectious disease risk assessment" was done before Saturday's repatriation flight and that no one who boarded the plane had displayed any symptoms of the virus.

Any more passengers who test positive will immediately be taken into specialist care, the department said.

It is understood some British nationals who are part of the Diamond Princess crew opted to remain on the ship.

Almost one-fifth of the 3711 passengers originally on board the cruise liner have been infected.

Japan's health ministry announced on Sunday that a Japanese man in his 80s from the cruise who was taken to hospital after testing positive for the virus has died.

England were superb in the first half, leading 17-0 at the break and treating the home fans to glimpses of the attacking verve and aggressive defence that marked their memorable World Cup wins over Australia and New Zealand four months ago.

Ireland looked flat and short of ideas as they barely fired a shot in the first period and, though they did regroup in the second, they were well beaten despite coming into the game on the back of two wins.

"We knew Ireland were on good form and we came out flying, we put an emphasis on that all week. It was great to get out here with the boys," said England flanker and man of the match Courtney Lawes after his team had chalked up a third successive dominant win over the Irish.

After three rounds, both teams are on nine points from two wins and one defeat, with France, who have won their first three games, topping the standings on 13 points. Wales and Scotland are on six with Italy yet to register.

England set the tone from the opening exchanges and barely took their foot off the pedal throughout the first half.

They were on the board after nine minutes when Johnny Sexton failed to deal with the awkward bounce of Ben Youngs's grubber kick, allowing Ford to dive on it.

A similar scenario unfolded for the second try, Jacob Stockdale fatally hesitating over Ford's kick and Daly reaching it just in time to touch down.

England's attack was full of hard, aggressive running and neat, delayed passing that repeatedly punched holes in the Irish defence.

Conversely, when the visitors had the ball the English loose forward trio of Lawes, Tom Curry and Sam Underhill were swarming all over them.

Farrell slotted a penalty to stretch the lead to 17-0 at halftime, and it was no more than England deserved.

Ireland had barely visited the English 22 and the one opportunity they did get was wasted when Sexton screwed an easy penalty wide.

They looked more fired up after the restart and hit back with a Robbie Henshaw try but it didn't last long and even then Sexton was again off beam with the simple conversion.

The Sky Blues were pushed to their limits against Central Coast on Sunday evening in Gosford with players overcoming fatigue, cramping and minimal preparation to eventually nail a 3-0 win.

It was the perfect way to bounce back for Steve Corica's men, who were thumped 4-0 just four days prior by J-League champions Yokohama F Marinos in Japan.

Perth and Melbourne Victory also suffered ACL losses this week, but returned to Australia to each score 1-1 draws in the A-League.

The Glory are second on the ladder after their draw with Brisbane, while Victory remain in ninth spot after an identical outcome on Saturday against Newcastle.

After Sunday's win over the Mariners, Corica said the ACL loss was a wake-up call for his players as they prepared for the derby against Western Sydney.

"(The players were) very disappointed. We went there to win the game. We thought we could win the game there," he said.

"It was a bit of a wake-up call for us, I think."

Still, they managed to extend their lead at the top of the ladder to 13 above the Glory with an incredible 43 competition points.

Western Sydney captain Mitch Duke scored twice as the Wanderers ended a seven-game home drought on Friday night with a 5-2 win over Adelaide.

Irish striker Simon Cox scored his first home goal for the Wanderers who revived their finals hopes and kicked them into seventh place on the ladder.

The Wanderers opened the scoring but soon trailed 2-1.

They scored three goals to lead 4-2 at the end of an extraordinary first half which produced 25 shots - 19 of them from the hosts.

A win could have put Adelaide as high as second at the end of the weekend, but they slipped to fifth behind Perth, Melbourne City and Wellington.

Elsewhere, Western United will end February without scoring a goal with just one win from their past eight games after a 2-0 loss to the Phoenix.

Wellington are equal second on the ladder with the Glory and City with 30 points.

Marking his A-League debut in style, Tilio, 18, was thrown into the contest late in the match at Gosford but it took just over a minute for him to score of Van Der Saag's assist.

Van Der Saag, who has played seven A-League games this season, scored just two minutes later to secure victory.

"You've got to believe in these young boys and give them the opportunity and they're starting to get the opportunity now," coach Steve Corica said after the 3-0 win.

"They are our depth in our squad. They are putting pressure on the older boys in the squad.

"I think to come on and do that in a game where we really needed them to stand up and to be brave and they did. They did a wonderful job."

The ladder-leaders were under pressure from the Mariners but held on to score their sixth straight win with the injection of energy from the young guns.

Both played in Sydney's 4-0 Asian Champions League loss to Yokohama F Marinos in Japan, but Sunday's match in particular was special for Tilios.

"He's been waiting a long time. He's been looking really good at training, really strong," Corica said.

"You can see he got a chance in Yokohama and I saw something I really liked.

"He's got an ability to run with the ball and take pressure off us and in the Youth League he's been banging in goals.

"We needed him to score today and I'm very pleased for him, and Harry as well.

"They work extremely hard, they're getting stronger all the time and their fitness is getting better and you can see that. I'm just happy for them."

The first day of the WikiLeaks founder's extradition hearing in a London court heard a series of revelations by lawyers for the US government and Assange's legal team.

Assange, 48, is facing 17 charges of violating the US Espionage Act and one of conspiring to commit computer intrusion over leaking and publishing thousands of classified US diplomatic and military files in 2010.

Barrister Edward Fitzgerald, for Assange, told the packed court a witness will confirm the US had contemplated more "extreme measures" against the Australian.

"Such as kidnapping or poisoning Julian Assange in the embassy," he said at Woolwich Crown Court, referring to Assange's seven-year asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

James Lewis QC, for the prosecution, said some US informants disappeared after WikiLeaks published their real names.

"The US is aware of sources, whose redacted names and other identifying information was contained in classified documents published by WikiLeaks, who subsequently disappeared, although the US can't prove at this point that their disappearance was the result of being outed by WikiLeaks," Lewis said.

He said Assange was also charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for helping former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, then called Bradley, hack a password hash so he could hide his identity while accessing and downloading classified files.

Lewis said the extradition hearing wasn't a trial and all Judge Vanessa Baraitser had to decide was whether Assange's alleged offences were crimes under UK laws.

"Reporting or journalism is not an excuse for criminal activities or a licence to break ordinary criminal laws," he said.

But Assange's defence argued he was being pursued for "ulterior political motives".

Fitzgerald detailed how the Americans had spied on his meetings with lawyers in the embassy and added charges to their extradition request in order to supersede a Swedish extradition request.

"Again this is not about criminal justice. It is about the manipulation of the system to ensure the US government was able to make an example of Julian Assange," he said.

Fitzgerald also maintained that US congressman Dana Rohrabacher had indeed offered Assange a pardon on orders of President Donald Trump, which both men denied last week.

"President Trump denies everything and we say 'well, he would, wouldn't he'," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald argued if Assange were extradited he would face discrimination because of his foreign nationality, which denied him free speech protections under the US First Amendment.

He warned it would be unjust given his long battle with depression and high risk of suicide.

Assange, who looked relaxed in the dock and wore a grey suit and grey sweater with a white shirt, is unlikely to give evidence, his lawyers said.

But the Australian unexpectedly stood as the judge was about to rise for the lunch break, saying the sound of protesters outside the court was distracting.

"I cannot concentrate and the noise outside is not helpful, even though I appreciate the public support - they must be disgusted with the proceedings," he said.

The charges against Assange carry a total sentence of 175 years imprisonment in the US.

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It took them a full 29 rounds to achieve the same total last season with three wins and four draws.

However small the positive, it's a marked improvement for Alen Stajcic's men who have intensified their competitiveness with four wins from 18 games so far this year.

"Yeah, but we're still on the bottom so it's not good enough," he said after Sunday night's 3-0 loss to Sydney FC in Gosford.

"None of us here are happy with where we're at, with the results and where we're at on the table.

"We just know how much harder we have to work. It's not about being competitive, it's important and we know we're building but at the end of the day we've got to start picking up results as well.

"Performances are good and they lay a good platform but we really need that execution in both parts of the field to ensure we start getting some points."

Stajcic has repeated the reason ad nauseam this year, blaming a lack of polish for not being able to finish off chances.

With eight games remaining, his goal is simple - win.

"At the end of the day you have to score goals and we haven't been clinical enough in the front third and that's quite obvious. The crosses into the box and the shooting hasn't been at the level," he said.

"You've just got to take it one week at a time, that old cliche. You can't look too far ahead. We've got a big game against Western United next week. We'll go home, reflect and start preparing for that straight away."