A 50-YEAR-OLD motorcyclist has life threatening injuries following a collision with a car in Melbourne's north east.
Police believe the motorcycle was struck by a car in Warrandyte South about 11.20am on Saturday morning.
The motorcyclist, who's believed to be from Scoresby, has been taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition.
The 28-year-old driver of the car is assisting police.
IT'S been described as "the scourge of Sydney".
And police officers, doctors and nurses say they've had enough.
As yet another young man fought for his life in hospital after a horrific night of brutality on Sydney streets, front-line workers came out to deplore the escalation in alcohol-fuelled violence.
Standing outside St Vincent's Hospital, where a 23-year-old man remained in a coma with devastating injuries from an attack overnight, public affairs manager David Faktor told reporters: "It's a zoo in there."
"You would be mocking the anguish of any of our front-line nurses or doctors if you were to talk about significant reductions in alcohol-related assaults," he said.
"We're more concerned than we have ever been before."
A total of 213 people were arrested in NSW overnight on the first day of Operation Unite - a two-day police blitz on alcohol misuse, crime, violence and anti-social behaviour in Australia and New Zealand.
The Bondi Beach man, whose head was stomped on in front of dozens of onlookers, was one of many victims.
Another young man had his head stomped on after he was set upon by four people outside a Sydney city nightclub, while a 48-year-old victim was punched in the head from behind at Rozelle.
A young man was punched in the face in Kings Cross in a brazen attack in front of police officers.
One man's ear was almost severed off in a glassing attack at a hotel near Wollongong, while a 25-year-old man was knocked unconscious after falling two storeys from a hotel balcony at Neutral Bay.
Mr Faktor said the common factor was alcohol.
"We have a massive problem on our hands," he said.
"Alcohol is too readily available and we're too lax in terms of our laws in inhibiting that availability."
NSW police Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas said he was extremely concerned that while the numbers of arrests was marginally down from last year's operation, the level of violence had escalated.
"It is of great concern that people simply don't think further than the next five seconds," Mr Kaldas told reporters.
"People still continue to do these things despite the massive publicity that each of these incidents get and despite it being clear that this has a huge impact not only on the offender's family but on the victim's family and society generally."
NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson called on the government to introduce Labor's plan to tackle alcohol-related harm, which includes 1am lockouts in the Sydney CBD and Kings Cross.
Mr Robertson said a similar plan trialled in Newcastle had seen a 26 per cent reduction in alcohol-related attacks.
"Alcohol-fuelled violence is now becoming the scourge of Sydney," Mr Robertson said.
"What we need is a comprehensive, detailed proposal ... that actually confronts and deals with the problem."
Mr Kaldas warned would-be offenders of increased police patrols on Saturday night.
MORE than one in five Dutch people believe that euthanasia should be allowed for elderly people who are "tired of living", new research suggests.
Of 2000 Dutch people polled, 21 per cent said euthanasia should be allowed for people who no longer wish to live - even if they do not have a serious disease.
Dutch euthanasia law allows doctors to assist suicide for patients who are suffering unbearably from a medical condition with no prospect of improvement.
Hundreds of terminally ill Britons have travelled to receive assisted dying in countries where euthanasia is permitted, reports suggest.
There has been much debate in the Netherlands as to whether euthanasia laws should be extended so doctors can help elderly people who are not seriously ill, but who are simply tired of living, to die.
Researchers decided to examine the level of public support for the matter.
While one in five agreed with the prospect, just over half disagreed and a quarter neither agreed nor disagreed.
Those who supported euthanasia for older people tired of living were more likely to be highly educated and non-religious, researchers said.
Publishing their findings in the Journal of Medical Ethics, they wrote: "Although it is lower than the level of support for assistance in dying for patients whose suffering is rooted in a serious medical condition, our finding that a substantial minority of the general public supports physician assistance in dying for older people who are tired of living implies that this topic may need to be taken seriously in the debate about end-of-life decision-making.
A MAN who shot and decapitated his neighbour after an argument about a tree has been sentenced to at least 19 years in jail.
Jonathon Andrew Stenberg, 47, killed Edward "Ned" Kelly, 54, at his Broadwater home on the NSW north coast in June last year.
In sentencing him at the Supreme Court on Friday, Justice Monika Schmidt described Stenberg's actions as "brutal and unnecessary".
She said Stenberg was not remorseful, as he had failed to reveal what he had done with Mr Kelly's head, which had never been found.
"I am not convinced ... the offender has accepted necessary responsibility for his actions, which resulted in the brutal and unprovoked death of Mr Kelly, or that he has taken the step available to him to make reparation for what he has done," she said.
Mr Kelly's headless body was found on his kitchen floor with two blood-stained knives next to his neck.
The court heard the pair had a history of bad blood, dating back to 2008 when Stenberg bought a block of land neighbouring Mr Kelly.
On the morning of Sunday, June 17, 2012, Stenberg was cutting down a tree on his property when a row between the two erupted.
Around 3am the next morning, Stenberg stumbled home from the pub, telling his wife: "I got pissed off and shot our neighbour."
Stenberg fled and was found in July, hiding out in thick scrub just south of Darwin armed with a Glock pistol.
Justice Schmidt said Stenberg, who had served in the military for two years, had been "high-functioning and successful".
While he had a history of anxiety and depression, there was no evidence it was severe or debilitating, she said.
The court heard the global financial crisis had hit Stenberg hard and he was now bankrupt.
She sentenced him to a maximum of 25 years and five months.
His earliest date for release is in June 2031.
Outside court, Mr Kelly's sister, Margaret Simmons, said the murder had hurt the entire family, particularly his girlfriend Barbara Mikkelsen.
"An atomic bomb has been dropped on our lives ... his girlfriend is devastated ... She has nothing now, nothing."
MINING giant Rio Tinto and the NSW government have flatly denied claims they are abusing the planning process to expedite a coal mine expansion approval.
While the NSW Planning and Infrastructure Department conceded it did "expedite" its assessment of Rio Tinto's application to extend a Hunter Valley mine, it said all community rights were retained.
The Lock the Gate Alliance and Bulga Milbrodale Progress Association (BMPA) wrote to Planning Minister Brad Hazzard on Thursday, accusing the state government of colluding with Rio Tinto to bypass due process.
Rio Tinto has applied to extend its Warkworth Mine operation and the planning department has recommended it be approved.
The department says the modification sought would increase the mining footprint by one per cent.
But Lock The Gate Alliance's Steve Phillips questioned the level of scrutiny given to Rio Tinto.
He said it took 21 days from the time the miner submitted its application until the department recommended the approval.
"It is patently impossible that the mining giant gave any consideration to community attitudes or expert advice in that time," he said.
In a statement on Friday, the department said it was acutely aware of the concerns raised about the mine.
"We are also conscious that the mine employs some 1300 people and the constraints on the existing operations put these jobs at risk," the statement read.
The department said in "consideration of the important local factors at play" it decided to expedite the assessment.
"However, all existing legal and community rights have been retained throughout, including the right for the community to have its say," the statement read.
Rio Tinto gained approval from the NSW government for a larger extension of the same mine this year.
But the Land and Environment Court overturned the approval following a challenge from BMPA.
Rio Tinto and the O'Farrell government have launched action in the Court of Appeal to appeal the Land and Environment Court ruling.
Lock the Gate and BPMA argue Rio's most recent application is in the same area the Land and Environment Court ruled mining should not take place.
A Rio Tinto spokesperson said the Warkworth application was for a minor modification that would help protect 1300 jobs for the next two years.
He said, after four years of consultation around the mine, it was "disingenuous" to claim the current application needed to be further delayed.
"Rio Tinto has a dedicated and highly experienced team who worked around the clock to assess and respond appropriately to all objections once the public exhibition period closed," he said in a statement.
"The implications of the minor modification now being sought are extremely well understood, thereby allowing the company to respond to submissions in a timely manner."
Premier Barry O'Farrell told ABC Radio he was confident the planning department operated with openness and transparency.
Rio Tinto's application now rests with the Planning Assessment Commission.
A COUNTRY-WIDE licensing authority for a range of occupations including lawyers and real estate agents has been scrapped.
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has agreed to scrap the National Occupation Licensing Authority which was set up by the former Labor federal government after a 2008 COAG meeting.
Most states decided at a meeting in Canberra on Friday not to proceed with the national scheme, citing the cost and other problems.
"Let's try to bring about the same outcome in a less cumbersome, less time-consuming and ultimately more productive way, and I think that's what we are going to do now," Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.
Mr Abbott said there should be a seamless national economy so people such as lawyers and plumbers could trade in every jurisdiction and not just where they were licensed.
He said mutual recognition could bring that about without the extraordinarily difficult and endless processes national schemes seemed to involve.
States were generally opposed to the scheme because it would mean they would miss out on licence fee revenue.
The authority will cease operations in early 2014.
SYDNEY commuters may have to travel further to reach their bus stops next year and pay more to climb aboard following a raft of transport changes.
The NSW government's 20-year plan to redesign Sydney's bus system aims to streamline more than 600 bus routes.
The plan, Sydney's Bus Future, will introduce a three-tiered network and see more rapid routes, like the existing metrobuses.
The rapid routes will link major centres and create a "turn up and go service" with a bus every 10 minutes on weekdays.
However, routes will see fewer stops and commuters may have to walk further to reach them.
Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian announced the plan on Thursday, along with a public transport fare increase to start on January 5.
Opposition Leader John Robertson slammed the plan, saying it would create longer queues at fewer bus stops.
Customers on "suburban" routes will get a bus at least every 10 minutes in peak times and every 15 minutes during the day on weekdays.
"Local" services will have buses stopping every 400 metres.
The new plan's 13 "rapid" routes will link Sydney's hubs, but will only stop every 800 metres to one kilometre.
The government says the bus route changes will see 1.5 million Sydneysiders living within a 10 minute walk to "turn up and go" services on rapid or suburban routes.
Sydney Business Chamber executive director Patricia Forsythe said the government recognised that increasing buses was the problem, not the solution, for traffic congestion.
"The metro bus routes have been very popular and the development of more rapid services that have reduced stopping patterns, but faster trips, will be very attractive to passengers who travel over longer distances," she said.
The Tourism & Transport Forum supports the plan, but deputy chief executive Trent Zimmerman wants more services to Olympic Park.
"We are disappointed the plan does not include express bus services from Strathfield to cater for a growing workforce and we encourage the government to keep the door open on improving bus links to Olympic Park," he said.
While the government says it will not increase MyZone fares in line with an IPART recommendation, there will be an increase in line with CPI.
The hike will range between a 20 cent increase on single adult tickets up to a $2 increase for MyMulti weekly tickets.
However, Opal fares will remain unchanged.
THE Queensland government will press on with plans to sell off public assets to address the state's "unsustainable levels" of debt.
But the government has ruled out selling off the Queensland Investment Corporation after previously flagging the idea.
Treasurer Tim Nicholls says studies will be carried out on the possible sale of Queensland's energy generators CS Energy and Stanwell.
Studies will also be done on leasing out the ports of Gladstone and Townsville.
Mr Nicholls said the work didn't mean the sales would proceed, and again stressed there'd be no sell-off without an election mandate.
He also hosed down speculation there would be an early election.
"Three years is three years," he told reporters on Thursday.
The studies will examine whether to sell, lease or enter into public and private partnerships.
They'll also look at the timing of any sales, investor appetite, if restructures are required or whether to proceed with trade sales or initial public offerings.
The studies are expected to be completed by February.
A separate study will look at whether to bundle Ergon Energy's retail business with CS Energy or Stanwell and selling it as well.
"It could give them a certain degree of capacity to manage their costs and deliver services," Mr Nicholls said.
"We want to consider whether there is value in Queensland having a third competitor and whether a vertically integrated retailer would add value."
The government will also sound out private sector interest in an equity stake in electricity transmitters and distributors Ergon, Energex and Powerlink, in exchange for undertaking about $10 billion worth of capital investment.
Mr Nicholls says the infrastructure upgrades are necessary, but the state can't afford to plunge further into debt.
State debt sits at about $80 billion - the same as NSW and Victoria combined. Interest payments top $4 billion a year.
"If we incur more debt it imperils our credit rating," Mr Nicholls said.
"We've reached as far as the rubber band can stretch in terms of our borrowing capacity.
"We have lost our economic independence to some degree.
"We must go cap-in-hand to bankers around the world seeking funds if we want to continue to grow."
Mr Nicholls said there could be a deal on the equity stake plan before the next election because the state will retain 100 per cent ownership of ordinary shares in the network businesses and assets.
"Because we are going to maintain control ... we believe we can move straight to that (without a mandate)," he said.
Mr Nicholls said the government had determined that it didn't make any sense to sell the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC).
The QIC manages money on behalf of numerous public and private sector pension funds and owns tolling rights to five Brisbane motorways.
"Retaining the QIC forms part of the government's considered economic planning for Queensland's future, principally because of QIC's position as the premier investment financial service industry player in the state," he said.
"The government is confident of QIC's strong future as industry leaders and that its management will deliver on their growth plans going forward."
A SOFT economy and government revenue decline have cancelled out the benefits from a prospering property market to deliver a big blow to NSW's bottom line.
Despite initial budget forecasts for a $1.89 billion deficit in 2013-14, NSW is now on track to plunge to about a $2.5 billion deficit.
The $656 million downfall will push out NSW's target for a surplus to 2016-17, according to the Half-Yearly Review released on Thursday.
NSW Treasurer Mike Baird said a fall in payroll tax revenue, despite the "shining light" property sector, contributed to the position.
He also attributed a shift in budget accounting and employee and superannuation expenses to the negative revision.
The NSW government is still reaping the rewards of a strengthening property market with stamp duty growth expected to exceed budget forecasts by between three and four per cent.
But the outlook shows it will not be enough to overcome the forecast $166 million decrease in payroll tax revenue for 2013-14.
"Over the budget estimates, yes, stamp duty is up but it is pretty much offset by the payroll," Mr Baird said on Thursday.
"So the payroll weakness has come off (due to) two factors.
"Wages growth is not as strong and a slighter, weaker employment rate ... so that has driven the revenue down in terms of payroll." Property Council of Australia NSW executive director Glenn Byres said the stamp duty results showed the property market was one of the viable areas of the economy.
"Where we need to be cautious is stamp duty is a volatile source of revenue, so the state will need to immune itself against sudden shifts," he told AAP.
Mr Byres said the real challenge was making the property market upturn go past the usual "ebb and flow" cycle of one or two years.
Mr Baird said the budget would be in a worse position if not for the lease and sale of assets such as Port Botany and Kembla.
The asset sales have helped prop up NSW's infrastructure spending.
Mr Baird conceded the state had challenges but said he was not alarmed.
He also did not rule out further revenue raising actions to bring the books back into the black.
Based on figures from a new budget accounting standard that incorporates changes to how superannuation is treated, NSW is forecast to achieve a $320 million surplus by 2016-17.
That is later than the June forecast of a $157m surplus in 2015-16.
The NSW Business Chamber says it's not surprising payroll tax receipts are lower than expected with business confidence in the "doldrums" for two years.
"The NSW Business Chamber has long been a critic of payroll tax as a burden that does not encourage employers to hire new staff and is a perverse incentive to reduce employment during economic downturns," chief executive officer Stephen Cartwright said.
Opposition Leader John Robertson said it took an extraordinary level of incompetence to have tax takes, record dividends and job cuts but not a balanced budget.
"What this shows is this Liberal government with a treasurer in Mike Baird is inept and incapable of delivering a budget that is going to sustain NSW going forward," he said.
A couple and four children missing for three days in the high country of Nevada have been found. Source: AAP
A COUPLE and four young members of their families who had been missing in the frigid mountains of northern Nevada since Sunday have been found, authorities say.
The people were taken to a hospital after they were found in good condition. Sheila Reitz of the Pershing County Sheriff's Office said a member of the public searching on the ground had located the group.
"The mood where I'm at's ecstatic," said Col. Tim Hahn, who commands the Nevada Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, which had six planes searching for the group. "We are thrilled beyond words."
Aircraft and crews on the ground were searching for James Glanton, 34, his girlfriend Christina McIntee, 25, their two children Evan and Chloe Glanton, and Shelby Fitzpatrick and Tate McIntee, a niece and nephew of McIntee's. The children ranged in age from three to 10.
Overnight temperatures in the nearby town of Lovelock dipped to minus 8.9C during the search. Officials said the group had gone to the Seven Troughs area to play in the snow.
Authorities said about 200 people had joined the search roughly 160 kilometres northeast of Reno.
Governor Brian Sandoval tweeted about the discovery.
"Very glad to hear the missing family in Lovelock has been found and they are safe!" he said. "Thank you to all who worked so tirelessly to find them!"
Reitz said a signal from the missing woman's phone initially showed they were in the Seven Troughs area 40 kilometres northwest of Lovelock. After that, the search was expanded to a wider area.
SOME people think 11/12/13 is lucky, some think it'll be an easy wedding date to remember and others just like how it sounds.
For Melbourne couple Ali Norton and Court Ennis, the date was a bit of everything.
The couple is one of 25 tying the knot at the Victorian Marriage Registry on 11/12/13.
The registry is conducting 25 per cent more weddings on Wednesday than it does on a typical Saturday.
Sequential dates are popular for celebrations and many consider them to be lucky.
"We had a five-week window to work with my family being here from Canada ... and 11/12/13 just sounded really nice and easy to remember," Ms Norton said.
Does the couple see their wedding date as a good omen?
"I think it can't hurt," Ms Norton said.
"We won't need luck," added Mr Ennis.
As well as the 25 weddings it's conducting on Wednesday, the registry expects to record an overall spike in marriages when the final numbers come in.
Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages director and registrar Erin Keleher says the registry recorded 478 weddings on the last sequential date, November 11, 2011.
Ms Keleher says the organisation registers an average of between 140 and 180 weddings a day.
"On these dates where it's a common number ... we see a huge spike," she said.
Flights will stay at Avalon airport under a multimillion dollar deal with the Victorian government. Source: AAP
A DEAL to secure the short-term future of Melbourne's second airport will provide a platform to bring further flights, the Victorian government says.
Jetstar will continue its 35 weekly services to Avalon Airport until at least April 2015 under the deal struck between the airline, the Victorian government and airport owner Linfox.
The government reportedly contributed $5.5 million to secure the flights, but Premier Denis Napthine would not confirm the amount on Wednesday.
Dr Napthine said the government worked quickly and decisively to secure the airport's future when it was told by Jetstar it was facing challenges.
He says the deal keeps about 250 people, directly and indirectly involved in Jetstar at Avalon, in a job.
"This decision provides a very real platform for further action between the government, Linfox, Jetstar and potential other service providers to grow services and opportunities at Avalon," he told reporters.
"The Victorian government is absolutely committed to the future of Avalon as a major airport for Victoria.
"We are blessed in Victoria with two 24/7 curfew-free airports.
"Sydney would give their eye teeth to have a second airport."
Dr Napthine said having a second airport was an enormous economic advantage for Victoria.
He said there was a possibility of securing international flights in the future.
The deal comes after concerns were raised last week that Jetstar was considering pulling the pin on Avalon.
At the time an airline spokesman said services to and from the airport had been underperforming and it had been heavily discounting fares to fill seats.
This position was unsustainable, he said.
AN abusive priest set up a cult-like group based on the comic Peanuts and used it to groom convent school girls in Brisbane, an inquiry has heard.
The Brown group was created by Father Francis (Frank) Derriman, who was chaplain of the Sacred Heart Convent at Sandgate in Brisbane in the late 1960s.
Joan Isaacs, now 60, has told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that Derriman used the surname 'Brown' in reference to himself, three other children and herself.
"I believe that this conduct by Fr Derriman is what today would be called grooming," she said.
Ms Issacs, who is a teacher, told how Derriman wrote her letters telling her he was dying from a lung disease and needed her to have sex with him before he died and when she was 16.
"I was terrified of turning 16 to the point of being suicidal," she said.
Once Derriman acted out a fit in front of the Brown group.
"I understand that Frank Derriman is still alive," Ms Isaacs said.
She told how her boyfriend, Ian, whom she later married, told her mother about the abuse and they went to see the parish priest of Zillmere, a Father Doyle.
His response was "How come you are going to Holy Communion through all this".
He also told her "it is time for you to look for someone your own age".
Derriman was transferred to another parish and maintained a relationship with one of his victims, who had his child, she said.
Ms Isaacs told of years of depression and difficulties as a result of the abuse, which were compounded by engaging in the Church's Towards Healing process.
The commission is examining the efficacy of that process.
Ms Issacs said it retraumatised her.
Deeds of release put to her by the church when $30,000 was accepted, tried to silence her from discussing her abuse even with her husband and children and prohibited her from making "disparaging remarks" about the process and the Archdiocese of Brisbane.
Warren Truss (L) has led a condolence motion to mark the passing of Nelson Mandela in parliament. Source: AAP
FEDERAL parliament has paused to mark the passing of Nelson Mandela, with Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss describing him as a freedom fighter and a great man.
Leading a condolence motion in the House of Representatives, Mr Truss rose on Monday to record parliament's "deep regret" for the former South African president's passing.
"Madam speaker, our parliament pauses today to mark the loss of a great man, a freedom fighter who became a national healer, a prisoner who became a president," he said ahead of question time.
"Very few leaders in human history have embodied their cause in the way that Nelson Mandela represented a free and equal South Africa."
Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten left Australia earlier on Monday to attend a memorial service for Mr Mandela in South Africa on Tuesday.
The government is looking for ideas on how to boost the productivity of the agriculture sector. Source: AAP
THE federal government is looking for ideas on how to boost the productivity and competitiveness of Australia's agriculture sector.
Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce on Monday announced the terms of reference for a white paper, and the establishment of a task force to consult with stakeholders.
Mr Joyce said the goal of the paper was to generate jobs, improve farm gate returns, consider food security and increase agriculture's contribution to Australia's wider economic growth.
Australia's natural competitive advantage, and proximity to the fastest growing markets in the world, presented the agriculture sector with a strong future, he said.
"We are in the right place, at the right time, with the right product to sell, especially as Asia moves towards the middle class," he told reporters in Canberra.
An issues paper will be released in the coming weeks, ahead of consultation with industry and community groups.
Mr Joyce said he was hoping for the widest possible participation from peak industry bodies, farming groups and community organisations in this process.
"This gives the Australian people a chance to participate in Australia's agricultural future," he said.
The white paper will also examine whether the national guidelines for drought preparedness are adequate.
Nationals MP Andrew Broad said it was important the policy settings were right to deliver good outcomes for Australia's farming producers and exporters.
A national food plan announced by the former Labor government in May had "some value" and it would be worth keeping some of those ideas in mind, he said.
"I think it would be naive to just completely scrap everything," he told reporters.
JOHN Legend's All of Me has become his first No.1 single in Australia, topping the ARIA chart.
Legend is in the country touring as support act to Alicia Keys, and while the racy video clip featuring his wife, model Chrissy Teigen, must have given the song its initial viewings, the track has sold enough to be certified Gold in Australia after four weeks in the charts.
The Monster for Eminem and Rihanna is back down to No.2 after three weeks at the top, while Magic! climb four places to a new peak of No.3 with Rude.
Spending their eighth week within the Top 10, Pitbull and Ke$ha climb back up to their former high of No.4 for a third non-consecutive week, while Avicii is back down two places to No.5 with Hey Brother, and Guy Sebastian holds at No.6 with Like a Drum.
Katy Perry is down three places to No.7 with Roar, Bastille and Justice Crew hold at No.8 and No.9 respectively, while the new No.1 album holder in the country, Taylor Henderson, is back up a couple of places to No.10 with Borrow My Heart.
Over on the ARIA albums chart, the self-titled debut set for Taylor Henderson is the new No.1 this week.
After a single week at the top, One Direction drop down a place to No.2 with Midnight Memories, while climbing up a place to a new peak of No.3 is Willy Nilly - The 12th Man's Biggest Hits for comedian Billy Birmingham, which pushes Prism for Katy Perry down to No.4.
Human Nature climb a place to a new peak of No.5 with The Christmas Album, while Michael Buble returns to the Top 10 with 2011/2012 No.1 album Christmas, rising five places to No.6 this week, accumulating its 16th week within the Top 10.
The self-titled album for Dami Im drops four places to No.7 and Eminem is down three to No.8 with The Marshall Mathers LP 2.
Robbie Williams drops a couple of places to No.9 with Swings Both Ways and Lorde is down two spots to No.10 with Pure Heroine.
FOREIGN Minister Julie Bishop has visited typhoon-devastated communities in the Philippines, pledging another $10 million to Australia's aid effort.
Ms Bishop on Sunday met the Australian medical team in Tacloban, one of the areas worst hit by Typhoon Haiyan, and Australian Defence Force personnel working in Ormoc and surrounding areas.
She thanked the health, defence, aid, consular and other officials who have responded to the crisis, and the Australian public who had donated more than $13 million to relief and recovery efforts.
The additional $10 million in humanitarian relief brings Australia's total contribution to $40 million.
Almost 15 million people have been affected by Typhoon Haiyan, which caused massive destruction early last month.
Ms Bishop will travel to Manila to meet her Filipino counterpart and other cabinet members, where the Philippines' recovery needs and broader bilateral and regional issues will be discussed.
