Constitutional recognition 'big issue'

PROMINENT indigenous rights leader Noel Pearson sees constitutional recognition of indigenous Australians as the looming "big issue" for the nation.

And he is confident Prime Minister Tony Abbott has the conservative confidence to pursue it.

Speaking at the 2013 Gough Whitlam Oration in Sydney, Mr Pearson said there were two problems with the current constitution - non-recognition of indigenous people and racial discrimination.

The Cape York Group chair said while we should do all we can to assist disadvantaged people, it should be done on the basis of individual need, not race.

"A person is not automatically disadvantaged because he or she is indigenous," he said on Wednesday night.

"A person should be rewarded on their merits and assisted on their means.

"Race and indigenousness should be irrelevant to matters of public welfare and government assistance.

"We need to move away from indigenous non-recognition to a recognition."

On making constitutional recognition a reality, Australia needs someone in conservative territory to gain the votes, Mr Pearson said.

"I think (Mr Abbott) can carry the confidence of rural and regional Australia and the old conservative Australia," he told AAP outside the event.

The question would be finding common ground on the constitution wording, he added.

Mr Abbott has flagged a shake up of indigenous affairs and has set up an indigenous advisory council to review relevant spending.

Mr Pearson supported the review, which he expects will find some programs are not serving the people they were meant to help.

"There is a lot of waste and a lot of need that is not being addressed so I see this as an opportunity really," he said.

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Christine Campbell quits Vic parliament

Labor MP Christine Campbell has announced she will quit Victorian parliament at the next election. Source: AAP

LABOR'S member for Pascoe Vale, Christine Campbell has announced she will quit state parliament at the next election.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Ms Campbell announced her retirement after 17 years of service.

"It remains my honour to represent the Pascoe Vale electorate in the Victorian Parliament and I have decided that on 28 November, 2014 I will conclude my time as a member of parliament," Ms Campbell said.

"Until the election, my magnificent electorate officers and I will continue to give the party and electorate our total service."

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Asylum seekers safe in Indonesia

INDONESIAN authorities say a group of about 50 asylum seekers are safe, after being rescued from a boat which had run into trouble in waters south of Java as it made its way to Australia.

An official with Indonesia's national search and rescue agency Basarnas said late on Wednesday evening that all of those who had been aboard the boat, including at least five children, had been brought to shore.

"We're still gathering information about where they are all from, but all are safe," the official said.

There had been earlier reports that at least some of the asylum seekers had entered the water as a rescue operation was mounted off the coast near the district of Bayah.

It's understood the boat issued a distress call at about 11.30am local time (3.30pm AEDT) after having engine and steering problems.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison late on Wednesday confirmed the incident, but added that no Australian authorities were involved in the rescue.

"We understand the incident occurred in close proximity to the Indonesian coast and Indonesian authorities are coordinating a search and rescue response," Mr Morrison said in a statement on Wednesday evening.

"We understand there are reportedly 50 people on board the vessel and reports indicate some people have entered the water and that local fishermen are and have been assisting."

The incident on Wednesday comes less than a week after another asylum-seeker boat was the subject of a search and rescue operation, and later a stand-off between Canberra and Jakarta about where the passengers should be offloaded.

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Abbott praises political foe Rudd

Tony Abbott (pic) is convinced his former political foe Kevin Rudd will continue to serve Australia. Source: AAP

TONY Abbott is convinced that one way or another his former political foe Kevin Rudd will continue to serve Australia.

Mr Rudd stood up at the end of the 44th parliament's first full working day and announced that he was calling it a day as a politician.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott responded by saying it was a significant moment in the life of a parliament for a former prime minister to depart.

Mr Rudd had been one of the big figures in the life of this country for the best part of two decades, Mr Abbott said.

"As a political opponent, but as someone who has known the member for Griffith quite well for a long time, I salute him and I wish him and his family all the best for the future," he said.

"I express my confidence that one way or another he will continue to serve our country and his party."

Mr Abbott said it took an extraordinary person to lead such an extraordinary country.

He said Mr Rudd won an election which pitted him against John Howard, the most successful prime minister of modern Australia.

"It takes extraordinary ability, insight, guts and focus to win such a contest. He didn't just win that contest in 2007, he triumphed," he said.

"We must pay tribute to someone of such stature who was able to vanquish in fair political fight someone of at least equal stature."

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said Mr Rudd was a large presence across the national political stage for some time, and could leave parliament with his head held high.

Mr Shorten attributed Australia's success in winning a seat on the United Nations Security Council largely to Mr Rudd's distinction on the world stage.

He also led Labor during a difficult time, and his return to the prime ministership before the September election had improved the ALP's fortunes.

"This is a tumultuous era in Labor, and with the member for Griffith's resignation tonight, part of it comes to a close," Mr Shorten said.

"I do not believe that we will see his like again in the Australian parliament."

He also said the former prime minister shared a special relationship with the Australian people, and attained a level of "above-politics celebrity".

Mr Shorten thanked Mr Rudd's family, saying they would now get their husband and father back after years of lending him to politics.

Treasurer Joe Hockey shared the limelight on breakfast television with Mr Rudd for many years.

"I have seen the Kevin Rudd that many haven't seen, including sharing semi-nakedness with him in a river in Papua New Guinea," he said.

"I think he is in many ways the luckiest guy in Australia: he married a beautiful woman."

Mr Rudd's second deputy prime minister, Anthony Albanese, lauded his achievements - but noted the former leader wasn't perfect.

"I probably regret the fact that Kevin called me 'Albo' at that first press conference," he said.

"Now everyone calls me Albo; it used to be just my friends."

But he said Mr Rudd's leadership during the difficult time after the leadership change was extraordinary.

Leader of the House Christopher Pyne praised Mr Rudd's passion and intellect, saying he could have chosen any distinguished career but had opted instead for a life of public service.

Mr Pyne thanked Mr Rudd for his friendship, especially while his wife was going through a difficult pregnancy a number of years ago.

"The member for Griffith could not have been more supportive to me as a human being," he said.

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said Mr Rudd had rallied the Labor Party to victory at the 2007 election and defeated John Howard, the most formidable conservative campaigner in Australian history.

Many believed they would not win that election, and it was no accident that they had secured victory, he added.

But he said Mr Rudd's best years were still to come.

"As a relatively young man, (he) has much to contribute to Australia and the world," he said.

"His contribution is still there to be made and for all to see."

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Gay activists seek end to criminality

Activists are using the CHOGM meeting to press for an end to the criminalisation of homosexuality. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA and New Zealand are being urged to use a meeting of Commonwealth leaders to lobby for an end to the criminalisation of homosexuality.

Homosexuality is a crime in 41 out of the 53 Commonwealth nations, including CHOGM host nation Sri Lanka.

Ahead of the opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka on Friday, a new report produced by the Kaleidoscope Trust details human rights abuses against gay and lesbian people.

Former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Sir Shridath Ramphal, writes in the report: "It is a reminder that for most of the countries of the Commonwealth, the desecration of our fellow citizens began in the law.

"As with the abolition of slavery, the decriminalisation of homosexuality in our time must be an act of law."

The report details first-hand examples of attempted murder, beatings and harassment.

"I have lost two teeth, had my family property invaded and car damaged by two masked men," says Caleb Orozco, a gay man from Belize.

The report recommends that all countries which criminalise same-sex activity repeal the laws in line with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

It notes that while Australia had made significant progress in getting rid of gay discrimination from the statute books, there were still some flaws including the differing age of consent, adoption and civil union laws between the states and the gay panic defence in charges of assault and murder.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and NZ leader John Key will attend CHOGM on Friday.

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Labor to target Morrison at Question Time

Labor will pressure Scott Morrison to confirm reports of an asylum seeker vessel reaching Darwin. Source: AAP

THE federal opposition will pressure Immigration Minister Scott Morrison to confirm whether or not an asylum seeker vessel has landed in Darwin undetected.

The government has so far remained tight-lipped on reports a boat carrying Somali refugees reached Australia's northern coastline on Monday.

Opposition immigration spokesman Richard Marles said Mr Morrison should rectify his "arrogant" treatment of the public by addressing the issue during question time in parliament on Wednesday.

"Information should be managed to the Australian people on a public interest basis. A needs-to-know basis for managing information is simply not good enough," he said.

Mr Marles said the public needed to know whether those on board were safe.

"And we need to know what the plans are for those people going forward," he said told reporters in Canberra.

"Today, in our nation's parliament, speaking to our nation, there is the opportunity to minister Morrison to answer questions fully and completely about that incident."

Mr Morrison currently limits his comments on boat arrivals to his Friday weekly briefings with the head of the government's border security operations.

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Sants quits Barclays role

SIR Hector Sants has resigned from his post in charge of compliance at the UK's Barclays Bank after being signed off work with stress and exhaustion.

Barclays said Sir Hector, who was on sick leave until the end of the year, stepped down after deciding he would not be able to return to work in the near term.

His departure comes less than a year after he took on the role of head of compliance, government and regulatory relations at the scandal-hit bank - a post he took on after a gruelling five years at the helm of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the run up to and throughout the financial crisis.

"Although only with us for 10 months, he has made significant progress towards creating a world class compliance function at Barclays and in improving our relationships with regulators and governments," Antony Jenkins, group chief executive at Barclays, said.

"I know my colleagues will join me in expressing our appreciation to Hector, as well as wishing him a speedy recovery."

Sir Hector's health woes come after Lloyds Banking Group chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio also took two months off at the end of 2011 due to sleep deprivation and exhaustion.

Barclays has launched the search for a permanent replacement for Sir Hector, with Allen Meyer, head of compliance, corporate and investment banking taking on the job on an interim basis.

The bank is also looking for a chief operations and technology officer following the resignation of Shaygan Kheradpir to become chief executive of a company based in the United States.

The compliance role left by Sir Hector is seen as a crucial part of the overhaul being led by Mr Jenkins.

His appointment marked the first time the bank brought its compliance operations under the control of one person and followed its STG290 million ($A499.14 million) fine last year for attempting to manipulate the Libor interbank lending rate - a scandal that threw the bank into turmoil and claimed the scalp of its former boss Bob Diamond.

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