Replacement party cancelled at Wet n Wild

A replacement for a cancelled New Year's Eve festival at Sydney's Wet 'n' Wild has been cancelled. Source: AAP

THE recently opened Wet 'n' Wild theme park in Sydney won't be hired out for big events in the near future following the last-minute cancellation of a New Year's Eve music festival.

Thousands of people who bought tickets to ring in the new year at the western Sydney theme park were let down at the last minute when the organisers, One Cube Entertainment, cancelled the event six hours beforehand, citing technical issues.

After announcing the cancellation on Facebook, One Cube Entertainment promised an "even better" festival would take place on Australia Day.

However, Wet 'n' Wild owners, Village Roadshow Theme Parks, on Friday said that event would not go ahead.

Ticket-holders are being refunded, with One Cube Entertainment working with promoters to ensure they are processed as quickly as possible.

Village Roadshow Theme Parks spokesman Darrin Davies said they were extremely disappointed at the cancellation.

He could not comment on media reports One Cube Entertainment was vastly inexperienced for such an event, having been set up four months ago.

"We entered into a commercial agreement with them to hire a venue and that's all it was," Mr Davies told AAP on Friday.

"From our point of view we are not currently entertaining more requests for hiring the venue."

Mr Davies said the decision was not linked directly to the New Year's Eve incident.

"We've had this event cancelled and we're focusing now on what we do best, which is running a theme park," he said.

Annual music festival the Big Day Out takes place in Sydney on Australia Day, which also played a role in the decision not to host the festival, he added.

Mr Davies said while the park had no current booking requests, it would take any on their merits.

About 8700 people bought tickets for the event, described by One Cube Entertainment as a "world first", "new and fresh" way for Sydneysiders to celebrate New Year's Eve.

Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe assured all ticket holders they would receive full refunds.

Mr Davies said Village Roadshow Theme Parks returned the hiring fee to One Cube Entertainment on the grounds that refunds would take place.

The Fair Trading hotline is 1800 213 428.

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NSW nursing home resident found safe

Police are concerned about a 63-year-old man who was last seen at a Sydney aged care home on Sunday. Source: AAP

A 63-YEAR-OLD man who went missing in Sydney's inner west for five days has come home.

Police had appealed for help finding Reginald Bates, last seen leaving an aged care home on Albert Street, Campsie, on Sunday.

But about 8pm (AEDT) on Friday he returned to the nursing home safe and well, police said.

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Briton, New Zealander shot dead in Libya

LIBYAN troops have found the bodies of a British man and a New Zealand woman shot dead southwest of Tripoli, a security source says.

"The bodies of a British man and a New Zealand woman who had been killed by bullets were found on the beach in Mellitah on Thursday afternoon," the source told AFP on Friday.

The bodies had been moved to Tripoli, the source added, without giving any details on the circumstances of the deaths.

"We are aware of the tragic death of a British national in Libya and we stand ready to provide consular assistance," a spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office told AFP on Friday.

New Zealand's foreign ministry said it was aware of the report and was "working with the relevant authorities to confirm this".

It added that "the bodies have not yet been formally identified and the next of kin have not yet been informed".

The Mellitah area houses a major gas complex run by Mellitah Oil and Gas, a joint enterprise of Italy's ENI and Libya's state-owned National Oil Company, which exports natural gas to Italy through the Greenstream pipeline.

Libya has seen growing unrest following the overthrow of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The country is awash in weapons looted from the slain dictator's arsenals, and many former rebel brigades have refused to disarm or join the new security forces.

Last month a young American teacher was gunned down while on his morning jog in the restive eastern city of Benghazi, the cradle of the 2011 revolt which has since seen scores of attacks on security forces and foreign missions.

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Nurses to join medicare protest in Sydney

Nurses and midwives are to join a protest in Sydney against proposed changes to Medicare. Source: AAP

NURSES and midwives are to join a protest in Sydney against proposed changes to Medicare.

Acting General Secretary of the NSW Nurses' and Midwives' Association (NSWNMA), Judith Kiejda, says nurses will turn out in numbers to a rally in defence of Medicare at the Sydney Town Hall at 1pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

A National Commission of Audit in late December received a proposal for a co-payment scheme for GP consultations.

Doctor groups and political parties have criticised such a move, claiming it would destroy Medicare and limit access to GPs for some community groups.

"Wage and salary earners pay the Medicare levy to make that possible - so anyone can get treatment whether they are rich or poor," Ms Kiejda said in a statement.

"Money should never be a barrier to medical care in Australia."

Ms Kiejda likened the move to the Howard government's unpopular Workchoices legislation.

"That cost them the very next election," she said.

"An attack on Medicare, forcing pensioners and everyone else to pay to see a doctor when they have already paid a levy for years, that will have exactly the same result."

Federal Health Minister Peter Dutton said he would not comment on "speculation around what the Commission of Audit may or may not recommend".

"The commission's work is still being compiled and will be provided to the government in 2014," he said in a statement last week.

"The government will be able to consider any recommendations and respond after that time."

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European lending lags

NEW figures show that European banks are lending less to companies - another sign the continent's economic upswing remains less than robust.

The European Central Bank reported on Friday that loans to companies slipped by 3.1 per cent in November from a year earlier.

The drop was sharper than the previous month's 3.0 per cent.

Analysts say banks can be reluctant to lend given uncertain growth prospects that mean increased risk they won't be repaid.

Some companies, meanwhile, may not want to risk borrowing, and others don't need credit because they are sitting on adequate cash reserves - but don't yet see a reason to invest that cash in new production.

The economy of the euro currency union - a bloc that grew from 17 to 18 members in the new year with Latvia's accession - expanded by only 0.1 per cent in the third quarter last year, with unemployment at 12.1 per cent.

Governments' efforts to reduce debt by cutting spending and raising taxes have weighed on growth.

Analyst Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight said the weak figures increased pressure on the ECB to add stimulus to the economy in the coming months.

He said the ECB could offer cheap, long-term loans to banks on the condition the money is used for lending.

Analyst Michael Schubert at Commerzbank said that providing such loans could be complex, noting some ECB officials have expressed concern about interfering in banks' market-based decision-making.

Those considerations "suggest that for now the ECB council will remain in wait-and-see mode", he said in a note to investors.

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New year heats up in parts of Australia

QUEENSLAND is about to swelter through a heatwave, with the mercury tipped to reach close to 50C this week.

But South Australians are already sweating through 2014, with some northern centres posting temperatures in the high 40s.

In the western Queensland town of Birdsville, the mercury could soar as high as 48C on Thursday, while in Brisbane temperatures are predicted to hit a sultry 39C on Saturday.

Temperatures are expected to be five degrees to 10 degrees above the average across the state in the next few days, the Bureau of Meteorology said on Wednesday.

Diamantina Shire Mayor Geoff Morton, who lives in Birdsville, said it would be business as usual in the town despite the forecast 48C heat, 1.5 degrees shy of the 1972 record.

"Once it gets over 45 (degrees) it doesn't matter whether it's 45 or 55, it's still bloody hot," Mr Morton said on Wednesday.

"Everything's hot, everything's hot to touch, the ground is hot ... a few more degrees is not going to make much of a difference."

He said melted tar stuck to the tyres of passing freight trucks and locals would spend the day in air-conditioning or start work early to avoid the midday heat.

"If you walk down the street from 12 o'clock on you won't see anybody. They're hibernating," he said.

"They've got a pretty simple choice. Inside the pub is 23 degrees and outside is 53."

Gordon Banks from the Bureau of Meteorology said a large, dry, hot mass of air stagnating in the nation's interior was the cause.

"We do get these bursts of several days where we're seeing high 30s to low 40s through the (state's) interior," he said.

"But what we're seeing at the moment is that we're having this run of days where we're seeing mid to high 40s through the interior and that certainly is much more unusual."

In Alice Springs the heat is predicted to reach 43C on Thursday.

But the heat is already being felt further south.

In SA on Wednesday, Tarcoola recorded a maximum of 48.2C, with Oodnadatta not far behind on 47.7C, three degrees short of the town's record high of 50.7C in 1960.

The temperature in Oodnadatta had been forecast to go as high as 49C.

Other centres to go above 47C included Roxby Downs and Coober Pedy, with the scorching conditions extending as far south as Port Augusta, which had 46.2C.

The bureau said the hot conditions would continue on Thursday with Moomba and Marree expecting tops of 49C, Oodnadatta 48C, Marla 47C and Leigh Creek 46C.

Conditions were cooler in SA's south as a change moved through, with milder conditions forecast for the next 24 hours.

The bureau said Adelaide's top temperature on Thursday would be 23C with rain likely, while at Stirling, in the Adelaide Hills, a top of 19C was likely.

A slightly cooler change is expected to move through the state from Friday.

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Sydney measles outbreak spreads in NZ

AN outbreak of measles linked to a Sydney hip-hop dance festival has spread from Auckland to the New Zealand cities of Turangi and Taupo, with 10 cases confirmed.

An 18-year-old Auckland woman was the first to have been reported contracting measles while in Sydney early in December, after she took part in the 2013 World Supremacy Battlegrounds hip-hop competition.

New Zealand's Ministry of Health on Wednesday said that on top of the Auckland case, there were nine confirmed cases and one case under investigation around Turangi and Taupo.

Three of the nine Taupo/Turangi confirmed cases had attended the competition, while the remaining six cases were family or known to those who had been at the festival, acting deputy director of public health Harriette Carr said.

People affected are being kept isolated at home.

People from Huntly and Hamilton are known to have attended the festival and public health officials are trying to track them down.

"Measles can be a serious disease and is easily spread to someone who is not immunised, or who has not been exposed to measles previously," Dr Carr said.

The Auckland case was the first case of measles in the area for 18 months.

Auckland medical officer of health Catherine Jackson warns that measles is extremely infectious and can cause serious complications.

"Auckland's last major measles outbreak in 2011 demonstrates how quickly the disease can spread. One infected child resulted in nearly 500 cases and 80 hospital admissions," she said.

She told NZ Newswire the infected 18-year-old had never been immunised so she was susceptible to measles.

"She is being quarantined until she's no longer infectious," Dr Jackson said.

Measles symptoms start with a high fever, which develops about 10 days after exposure. This is followed with one or more of the following: a runny nose, cough, red eyes and small white spots inside the mouth.

A red blotchy rash on the neck and face appears, before spreading to the body.

Anyone with measles symptoms or concerns is asked to phone their GP or Healthline on 0800 611 116.

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Motorcyclist dies in Perth crash

A MOTORCYCLIST has died after being thrown off his bike while riding on a Perth highway.

Police said the 46-year-old man was riding his motorbike south on Tonkin Highway at Ascot when the incident occurred about 11.47am (WST) on Wednesday.

It's thought the man was entering the exit lane to the Great Eastern Highway when his bike clipped a guard rail and he was thrown onto the road.

The man suffered severe head injuries and was taken to Perth Royal Hospital where he died.

Police want to talk to anyone who witnessed the crash.

The man's death takes the WA road toll for the holiday period to five and the national road toll to 23.

The national road toll period runs from midnight December 23, 2013 until midnight January 3, 2014, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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Vic man lost teeth after hit on NYE

A man has lost several teeth after he was punched in the face at a New Year's party in Melbourne. Source: AAP

A MAN has lost several teeth after he was punched in the face at an out-of-control New Year's Eve party in Melbourne.

The 31-year-old Noble Park man was celebrating at Edinburgh Gardens, North Fitzroy, when he tried to break up a fight at 11.30pm (AEDT) on Tuesday.

He fell unconscious to the ground after he was punched.

He was taken to St Vincents Hospital where he will undergo surgery on Thursday for serious facial injuries.

An Ambulance Victoria triage facility had to be set up at Edinburgh Gardens to assist 20 people who required care.

Police say the offender is Caucasian, aged in his early 20s with a thin build and black hair.

He was wearing a white t-shirt and another man was with him at the time of the attack.

That man is described as being Caucasian with an English accent and wearing a green singlet.

Police are appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

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Vic fire crews contain chemical spill

FIREFIGHTERS have worked for more than six hours to contain a chemical spill at a food crate manufacturing site in Melbourne's west.

Firefighters are neutralising a sanitising agent called Oxyzan ZS after it leaked from a container at a factory in Laverton North after 4pm (AEDT).

Melbourne Fire Brigade spokesman Steve Aicher said that roughly 700 litres of the chemical leaked through a pump on the container.

He said firefighters would remove the chemical when it was safe to do so.

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