Girlfriend's heartfelt tribute to slain baseballer

Danny Ford, Chief of Police in Duncan, Oklahoma, reveals more information on the murder of Australian student, Christopher Lane. Courtesy MMM

THE girlfriend of slain Melbourne baseball star Chris Lane has posted an emotional tribute, describing their time together as "the most amazing years of my life".

Sarah Harper, who was with Lane for four years, added to a raft of tributes for the 23-year-old after he was killed in a random drive-by shooting in Oklahoma.

"The past 4 years have been the most amazing years of my life and that's all because of you babe," she wrote on Facebook today.

"I love you so much babe. From 2009 until forever you will always be mine and in a very special and protected place in my heart."

Ms Harper also posted a photo of a flower memorial erected by locals in the town of Duncan on the corner where he was tragically shot.

It comes after a 16-year-old boy confessed to pulling the trigger and killing Lane, according to police chief Danny Ford.

Chief Ford said the 16-year-old was with two other teens aged 15 and 17 when they killed Lane during a random drive-by shooting in the town of Duncan.

Chris Lane had just left the home of his US girlfriend Sarah Harper when he was shot dead.

He said the three teenagers had no motive other than to make a name for themselves.

All three are facing the charge of first-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of the death penalty.

Chief Ford told 3AW this morning one of the accused has confessed to pulling the trigger, saying he just wanted to kill someone.

"Lately there has been some pretty weak motives, but I don't know that I've had one that they told us they were just going to kill somebody," he said.

He said the three teens were on a "killing spree" after , leaving a chilling message on Facebook.

Peter Lane said his son had left his mark and his death was just so pointless.

Christopher Lane was killed in a drive-by shooting in Oklahoma.

"There's not going to be any good come out of this because it was just so senseless," Mr Lane told reporters in Melbourne this morning.

"There wasn't anything he did or could have done.

"He was an athlete going for a jog, like he would do five or six days a week in terms of his training schedule.

"It's happened. It's wrong and we just try and deal with it the best we can."

Flowers and a baseball were placed on the home plate at Essendon Baseball Club this morning with a message that summed up the senseless shooting. "A wonderful young man taken too soon," it read. "Why?"

As family and friends grappled with the unthinkable tragedy, the 22-year-old's parents paid tribute to their boy at the field where his love for the sport began.

An investigator near the scene that Chris Lane was shot in an affluent neighbourhood of Duncan, Oklahoma. Picture: Supplied

Peter Lane said he could not have been more proud of a remarkable young man.

"He did all the things a kid should have done," Mr Lane said.  "He caused us some grief but he caused us so much joy. He achieved a lot for a 22-year-old.

"He gave up a lot to follow his dream. He gave up 18th birthday parties to be at the Victorian Institute of Sport at 8am the next morning, ready to go.

"He left his mark."

Mr Lane said the family was still trying to process the circumstances of their son's death.

"There is not going to be any good come out of this. It was so senseless. There was nothing he did or could have done.".

Mr Lane said he was still waiting on news from US authorities regarding the repatriation of Chris's body.

Chief Ford said the teens drove to another house to murder a second unrelated victim just hours after shooting Lane in the back and leaving him to die in an upper-class area of Duncan at 2.57pm local time Friday (5.57am Saturday Melbourne time).

"They wanted to be Billy Bob Badasses," Chief Ford said.

"I think they were on a killing spree.

"We would have had more bodies that night if we didn't get them."

On one of the alleged killer's Facebook pages investigators said they found the message: "Bang. Two drops in two hours".

The teens accused of the shooting murder of an Australian baseballer in Oklahoma were on a 'killing spree'.

The accused are in custody in Stephens County Jail, awaiting formal murder charges expected on Monday local time.

Earlier, Chief Ford said one of the teens had been co-operating.

"He said, 'Yeah, we did it but I'm not going to tell you who pulled the trigger'," he said.

One of the alleged murderers was Caucasian, the other two were black, Chief Ford said.

Lane, 22, grew up in Oak Park in Melbourne's north and was in the US on a sports scholarship.

He was jogging through an area of "high dollar homes" after leaving the home of his American girlfriend, Sarah Harper, when he was followed and shot at the intersection of Country Club Rd and Twilight Beach Rd.

Google Streetview shows the location Chris Lane was gunned down a suburban area of Duncan, Oklahoma. Picture: Googlemaps

A memorial of flowers has already been put up.

Lane's murder has shocked the residents of Duncan, a quiet city of 25,000 people in southern Oklahoma, and his teammates at East Central University (ECU), where Lane won a scholarship to be the team's catcher.

The town has had only one other murder the past five years.

Local Bill Renfrow said Duncan locals had erected a flower memorial for lane on the street where he was shot.

"People here have really responded," he said.

"It's sad to us, more than anything. It's shocking. He was a visitor in our country.

Shooting victim Chris Lane had just returned to the US from an eight-week break in Australia with his US girlfriend Sarah Harper. Picture: Supplied

"This is a very quiet neighbourhood, there's never any trouble here."

Chief Ford told the Herald Sun that Lane had jogged past a house where the teenagers were gathered.

The three boys, in a black Ford Focus near the house, randomly spotted Lane.

"They followed him, I can't reason in my mind what their thought process was," he said.

"He went by and they saw him, and one or all three of them agreed that he was their target.

"They came up from behind, shot him in the back with a small-calibre handgun and sped off."

Chris Lane was popular and well-like in the US where he was studying and in his hometown Melbourne. Picture: Supplied

Witnesses saw Lane stumble across the road and then get down on his knees before struggling to a drainage area on the side of the road.

A woman who came from a nearby house tried CPR while another woman who was in a car stopped and called 911.

Despite paramedics and police being at the scene within minutes and transporting Lane to a nearby hospital, he was pronounced dead about an hour later.

Chief Ford said the only information investigators had at the scene was the killers were in a black car that had a white sticker on the front left hand side of the driver's windscreen.

Their big break came about four hours later when a concerned parent called police with the message: "Several juveniles are coming over to kill their son."

Police scrambled to the address and found a black car with a white sticker containing the three teenagers in an adjacent church car park.

Shooting victim Chris Lane had just returned to the US from an eight-week break in Australia with his US girlfriend Sarah Harper. Picture: Supplied

"Luckily we had officers there really quick," Detective John Byers said.

A search of the car found a shotgun, but the handgun was yet to be found, Chief Ford said.

However, ammunition for the handgun was found hidden in a fuse box under the bonnet of the car and Chief Ford said surveillance footage showed, minutes after Lane was shot, the boys hiding a weapon in the air box breather in the car's engine.

In between the shooting of Lane and the boys' arrest one of the boys kept an appointment with juvenile authorities for a previous brush with the law, Chief Ford said.

The boys did not have an apparent link to a gang or drugs, he added.

"I know everybody thinks there has to be a reason, but I've been in this business for 30 years and there doesn't have to be a reason with these kids," Chief Ford said.

Chris Lane as a student at St Bernard's College.

"It is a sad, sad thing what happened with that young man."

Lane had only been back in Duncan for three days when he was killed after an eight-week break in Australia with Ms Harper, whom he had met at college.

Ms Harper, a talented sportswoman, declined an interview request from the Duncan Banner newspaper.

Lane, the youngest of four children, had played for Essendon and Watsonia baseball clubs.

"He was a very talented athlete, he was a very talented junior footballer as well," Mr Lane said.

"He picked baseball because it gave him a chance to go to college."

The former student of St Bernard's College and Oak Park's St Francis de Sales Primary School had been studying business.

Mr Lane said his son had hoped to get into the real estate industry in Australia or the US when he finished his degree.

He had no plans to turn professional, his father said.

"He played for the love of it."

Lane's high school sports teacher remembered him as a happy-go-lucky boy who would give anything a go, from sport to choir and academic challenges.

"He was always a competitor, always willing to give things a go, as you can see by his year book," said St Bernard's director of sport Craig Osborne.

"He was a talented sportsperson, popular with the other kids. Sport was in his personality, it's what he loved to do. He was a natural athlete."

St Bernard's principal Tony Paatsch said 2008 school captain David Ireland had written a moving tribute remembering Lane as "one of the happiest and funniest kids he knew".

"It is a huge shock," Mr Paatsch said.

He said the St Bernard's Old Collegians Association would set up a repatriation fund for Mr Lane's family, with details on the St Bernard's school website later today.

Essendon Baseball Club president Tony Cornish described Lane as a fantastic player and good person.

Mr Cornish said the club was a family: "We love each other. The club will miss him."

The club's match against Melbourne University on Sunday will be turned into tribute to Lane.

The club was also creating new uniforms with Lane's initials and his number, 40, on a logo.

St Bernard's College said a prayer for Lane and his family this morning.

Titled Hold fast to your hope Chris Lane: Class of 2008, the prayer read:

God you gave us reasons to hope - to see beyond the present with faith in your presence that all will be well.

The loss of our friend Chris may rob us of hope, but you promise to be with us in all our difficulties.

"Blessed are you who weep now, for one day you will laugh."

Help us to keep our head facing towards the horizon, even when the tears cloud our vision. Guide us with hope that someday, all will be well.

Give Chris' family hope too, so that one day they will again share the laughter of friendship, galvanised from our heartfelt and unyielding support for them in their time of need.

Plant hope deep in our hearts, deep and firm, and fill us with the knowledge that Your grace is with us always.

We can live fully only if we act according to your light, so shine your light into our darkness and into the life of us all who mourn.

In your light and presence, we can all go forward in hope.

Sustain us that we may live.

- With Aaron Langmaid, Shelley Hadfield and Samantha Landy 

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Hanson winning, you can bet on it

PM Kevin Rudd has defended Labor's latest round of attack adverts and vowed to keep on fighting as the latest opinion polls show the party heading for a heavy defeat at the September 7 election.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott at Brookvale Park this morning. Source: News Limited

THE more we see of Kevin Rudd, the less we like him.

A new Voice of Australia analysis reveals the Prime Minister has been trending down since he wrestled back the ALP leadership in late June.

The Poll Pulse shows Mr Rudd did a get a positive response when he announced his Labor Party reforms in the first week of July.

The latest analysis comes as bookmakers say Pauline Hanson's odds of winning a seat have been crunched, indicating she may have a serious chance.

The news of Ms Hanson's chances come as Tony Abbott has modified his "put the Greens last" order, saying other parties deserve to sit at the bottom of the preference lists as they are "racist".

The Opposition leader clarified his stance on lower house how-to-vote cards, saying that the Greens should be preferenced last of all the significant parties because they are "anti-jobs".

He has also given a glimpse of his confidence that he'll win, by accidentally calling Labor "the former government" - a slip he quickly corrected.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has promised $50 million to set up a national network of stroke care co-ordinators after yet another opinion poll showed the Labor Party falling even further behind the Coalition.

Get the latest updates all day from our teams on the election trail, here in our live blog:

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The unconventional route to getting in shape

WHY AM I HERE WHY AM I HERE WHY AM I HERE. Source: Supplied

You immediately have two questions.

1) Why is the pilates instructor barking instructions in French?

2) Why are you the only man in the room?

You get the feeling this isn't what you signed up for.

When The Girlfriend suggested a new Sunday Pilates class, for free, you thought 'sure, why not?' (You also thought: free.)

Your flexibility is nowhere near where it should be if you're serious about making a run at the finals in indoor soccer AND trying to deadlift a new personal-best of 85kg.

Pilates, you're told, is great for this, and for general strength and tone. You immediately recall Brad Pitt's 24 abs from Fight Club and need no further convincing. Pilates it shall be.

So if I keep doing Pilates, I'll look like this. Right? OK deal. Source: Supplied

You're perplexed, even a little curious, when you see the handrails running along floor-to-ceiling mirrors on either side of the room. But knowing very little about this discipline, you shrug it off.

When you begin pivoting, squatting and "pulsing" to the tune of Flashdance in the warm-up, you're struck with sudden, jolting images from Billy Elliot. That's odd. This is Pilates. Anyway.

Then comes the French. What's with all these words? Then you laugh. And can't stop. This becomes awkward because the instructor has a great view of you from the mirrors. Which are EVERYWHERE.

This isn't Pilates. It's BALL-ATES. Who knew ballet-inspired Pilates was a thing? A lot of people, it turns out. Disciples of something you've come to know as "barre" or "barre extend".

During a quick break in Plié-action, you shoot daggers at The Girlfriend and tell her she's making breakfast and doing the coffee run.

It's not that you have a problem with ballet as a concept or that you think it's not for guys. It's just you thought you were going to Pilates. And instead you're dancing. Which is not for Sunday mornings.

You return, attempting to maintain focus and pay due respect.

Then it happens.

A drop of sweat. Heavy legs. Burning lungs. And suddenly, shockingly, you realise you can't laugh or mock this ball-ates thing. Because it's absolutely, unequivocally, kicking your a***. You're humbled. You try to keep up and barely do. Ball-ates isn't lame at all. It's amazing. I AM WHO I AM.

"Joy of movement increasing. Love of dance impossible to resist. Toes twinkling. Look at me, girls! I'm doing ballet... and I love it!" Source: Supplied

It wasn't just the ball-ates that put a hairpin in the schedule this week. That, plus a 21-day meditation challenge and (on a pitifully cold Thursday night) a game of mixed netball, marked three significant departures from The Routine.

For years you've stuck to the standard Workouts For Blokes: weights, touch football and running. But recently you've wanted to look beyond that. Who wants to do the same old things, over and over again? Monotony is not for winners. Brad Pitt didn't carve that torso on a twice weekly 3km run to the park and back.

It comes as a shock to realise you loved it. All of it. The dancing Pilates. The mind-clearing and soul-cleansing meditation. The run-halt-pass and tactical awareness of nettie.

So. Here it comes. Kudos to ball-ates and kudos to you, Girlfriend. Come to think of it, she also suggested the meditation challenge and organised the netball team. Looks like she'll be getting breakfast and coffee this morning.

Chris is taking a break to recover from pulling off a sick arabesque. He's cooling his heels on Twitter: @christoforpaine.

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Was Princess Di really murdered?

Scotland Yard is assessing  the credibility of new information alleging the SAS was involved in the death of Princess Diana

POLICE are examining new information believed to be alleging Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed were murdered by a former British soldier.

It is understood the allegation was made by the former parents-in-law of a former soldier based on information that the ex-soldier talked about in the past, according to a military source.

It is believed the information was passed to the Metropolitan Police through the Royal Military Police.

HARRY VISITS DIANA'S LANDMINE CHARITY IN ANGOLA

Scotland Yard is now assessing the"relevance and credibility'' of the new information.

The 'People's Princess', her boyfriend Fayed and their driver Henri Paul died after their Mercedes crashed in a Paris tunnel after leaving the Ritz Hotel on August 31, 1997. Diana was 36.

British police say they are assessing new information concerning the 1997 death of Princess Diana in a Paris car accident. Picture: AP

A royal spokeswoman said there will be no comment on the matter from Prince William or Prince Harry, or from Clarence House.

Police have also refused to provide details on the new intelligence, only saying the assessment will be carried out by officers from its specialist crime and operations unit.

"The Metropolitan Police Service is scoping information that has recently been received in relation to the deaths and assessing its relevance and credibility," it said in a statement.

"This is not a re-investigation and does not come under Operation Paget."

Former Met Police Commissioner Lord Stevens' Paget investigation was launched in 2004 at the request of Michael Burgess, the Royal Coroner, who was then overseeing the future Diana inquest.

Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed were killed when their Mercedes Benz crashed at high speed in Paris tunnel.

The former top policeman published his report in December 2006, rejecting the murder claims voiced by some, including Dodi's father Mohamed al Fayed.

In 2008, a British jury ruled that Diana and Fayed were unlawfully killed due to reckless speed and drinking by their driver, and by the reckless pursuit of paparazzi chasing them.

The hearing, which cost $13.7 million, lasted more than 90 days with evidence from around 250 witnesses.

Meanwhile, Sky News Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said the new information also references other areas of Princess Diana's private life.

"The information we're told was passed to Scotland Yard quite recently. It also includes, we understand, references to something known as Diana's diary," he said.

Harrods dedicates one of its windows to Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed, whose father owned the luxury department store.

"These are very early days, the information has just come in, and Scotland Yard is adamant in saying that this is not a reopening of its investigation from 2004 when it spent three years looking into the circumstances of the Princess' death.

"But it is taking the information seriously and it is considering and it is possible that a new investigation may open."

The latest police announcement coincides with the upcoming anniversary of the couple's death - August 31.

With agencies.

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US government admits to 'Area 51'

THE long-fabled facility known as Area 51 has finally been acknowledged by the CIA in newly declassified US government documents.

The recently declassified documents have set Area 51 and UFO buffs abuzz, though there's no mention of UFO crashes, black-eyed extraterrestrials or staged moon landings.

The CIA history released yesterday not only refers to Area 51 by name and describes some of the activities that took place there, but places the Air Force base on a map, along the dry Groom Lake bed in Nevada.

It also describes some cool, top secret spy planes, though none of them are saucer-shaped.

George Washington University's National Security Archive used a public records request to obtain a CIA history of one of Area 51's most secret Cold War projects, the high-flying U-2 spy plane program.

The US government has for the first time admitted that infamous "UFO hotspot" Area 51 does in fact exist. Picture: AP

National Security Archive senior fellow Jeffrey Richelson first reviewed the history in 2002, but all mentions of Area 51 had been redacted. So he requested the history again in 2005, hoping for more information, and sure enough, he received a version a few weeks ago with the mentions of Area 51 restored.

The documents show the US government purchased the site in 1955, to test its top secret spy planes, the BBC reports.

"The U-2 was absolutely top secret," British defence writer Chris Pocock told the BBC. "The had to hide everything about it."

The declassified CIA papers also try to shed light on the rash of reported UFO sightings around the area, saying that the secret spy planes flew at very high altitudes, which caused "a tremendous increase in reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs.)"

It's not the first time the government has acknowledged the super-secretive, 8000-square-mile (13,000 square kilometre) installation. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush acknowledged the "location near Groom Lake" in insisting on continued secrecy, and other government references date to the 1960s.

But those who are convinced "the truth is out there" are taking the document as a sign of loosening secrecy about the government's activities in the Nevada desert.

Barbara Mervine, who describes herself as part of the "UFO community," said the declassification of the documents is "quite important."

The site is known as Area 51 among UFO aficionados because that was the base's designation on old Nevada test site maps.

Beginning with the U-2 in the 1950s, the base has been the testing ground for a host of top-secret aircraft, including the SR-71 Blackbird, F-117A stealth fighter and B-2 stealth bomber. Some believe the base is also a storage site for alien vehicles, evidence from the "Roswell incident" and extraterrestrial corpses.

Even for those who do not believe, the mystery surrounding the site, situated about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, across miles of empty desert speckled with Joshua trees and sagebrush, has been a boon.

One Nevada bicycle event company produces an "X Rides" event that incorporates mountain and road biking near a certain heavily guarded patch of Nevada desert. Las Vegas' minor league baseball team is called "the 51s."

Small-town restaurants along State Route 375, officially designated the Extraterrestrial Highway, sell souvenir T-shirts to tourists making their way to the boundary of Area 51, which consists of a no-trespassing sign, a surveillance camera and an armed guard on a hill.
 

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Rudd drives hard on car rescue deal

Polling shows the Liberal Party ahead of Labor in marginal Sydney seats

A FIRED up Kevin Rudd has told Holden workers and union officials he knows he is in a tough spot but is determined to "fight" his way out of his trailing position in polls to deliver a $2 billion package for the car industry.

He drew on the legacy of predecessor Ben Chifley, who started the car industry in Australia, to pledge to deliver $500 million first and then $300 million a year next decade.

In a slip, he briefly confused Holden with Ford, but quickly corrected himself in a speech to workers and union officials.

Earlier, Holden workers, including technical officer Shawn Matthews whose family would have given around a century's service to the company between them, met Mr Rudd at a union-organised BBQ in Adelaide.

Mr Matthews was called to the front as Mr Rudd spoke of his family and others affected by the uncertainty over the future of the car industry in Australia, which has been hit by the high Australian dollar and other manufacturing costs.

The industry also took a hit from the carbon tax and the government's decision to change FBT on company cars to raise almost $2 billion.

Despite reports of Labor's campaign trailing the Coalition, Mr Rudd said he is determined to win.

"I've been in a few tough spots before and I've managed to fight my way forward," he said.

"I intend to fight my way forward again, part of my motivation is looking in the faces of you as good, honest, ordinary families doing an honest day's work making the cars Australians want to drive."

Mr Matthews said he was delighted Labor had pledged $2 billion in assistance.

Holden is yet to confirm if it will keep manufacturing in Australia, with a decision to come after the election.

"I think it is great news, it will keep us going for the long term," he said.

Mr Rudd earlier challenged Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to outline his policies on the car industry

"The big challenge for Mr Abbott today is very simple. How will his cuts effectively destroy the Australia car making industry," he said in Melbourne this morning.

"You can't dodge this one, Mr Abbott. We need a plain and simple answer. Today."

Speaking at an event in Perth, Mr Abbott dismissed the Prime Minister's pledge for $500 million in extra assistance for the car industry from 2016.

"He sees some bad polls, he knows he's got trouble in his marginal seats so he's charging down the street, waving a blank cheque at the auto industry." he said.

"It's a band-aid on a bullet wound."

MORE: Coalition hires business trio to cost promises

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MORE: Xenophon defends listing Greens last

Mr Abbott said he would sit down with the car industry after the election and work out a package to assist the sector.

"Obviously I want the motor industry to continue in this country, we all want the motor industry to continue in this country," he said.

"But if we want the motor industry to continue its got to be more competitive and it needs to develop an export plan. That's why we'd want to sit down and with Ford and Holden if we win the election on September 7.

Independent South Australian senator Nick Xenophon backed the funding boost.

"It's not in the national interest to lose 16,000 jobs in South Australia," Senator Xenophon told ABC TV this morning.

"This industry is at tipping point. Do we tip it over into future prosperity ... long term jobs growth or do we write-off this industry and say see you later?"

Senator Xenophon reiterated his intention to block the Rudd government changes to fringe benefit tax treatment of car use.

He also flagged blocking the coalition's plan to cut $500 million in car industry assistance.

The government's plan would support car manufacturers and be redefined to provide assistance to automotive research and development and about 150 component manufacturers.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union today welcomed Labor's plan.

"The coalition must abandon its plan to cut $500 million in government co-investment that is putting hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk," AMWU national secretary Paul Bastian said.

But shadow treasurer Joe Hockey said Labor was taking from the car industry in the form of $1.8 billion in taxes, while trying to claim credit for returning $500 million.

"When it comes to Kevin Rudd and money he's reckless ... with money, there's no accountability, there's no costings," Mr

SYDNEY POLL SHOCK

Mr Rudd was pushing the car rescue package after new polls showed Labor trailing the Coalition in three of four hotly contested Sydney seats where Mr Abbott also trumped Mr Rudd as preferred prime minister.

The Reachtel polls, commissioned by Fairfax Media and conducted on August 15, showed that in the seat of McMahon, held by Treasurer Chris Bowen, Labor is behind the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis by 47 to 53 per cent.

But shadow treasurer Joe Hockey has brushed off suggestions that the coalition is now a shoo-in to form government after the September 7 election.

"Can I tell you, I have seen polls go up and down over the last three years," he told reporters this morning.

"We're not going to respond to that sort of public polling."

Nor would he concede the coalition was a favourite.

"It's not a betting race," Mr Hockey said.

The polling showed that in the west Sydney seat of McMahon, held by Treasurer Chris Bowen, Labor is behind the coalition on a two-party preferred basis by 47 to 53 per cent.

In former prime minister John Howard's old seat of Bennelong, taken by Liberal John Alexander in 2010, Labor's recently installed candidate Jason Yat-Sen Li is trailing on 35 per cent to his rival's 65 per cent.

In Kingsford Smith, vacated by Peter Garrett, Labor's Matt Thistlethwaite is lagging his rival by 48 to 52 per cent, the polling shows.

Only Jason Clare's seat of Blaxland holds any good news for Labor, with the Justice and Home Affairs Minister ahead of Liberal Anthony Khouri by 52 to 48 per cent.

Meanwhile, in the Queensland seat of Forde, polling for the Australian Financial Review shows Labor candidate and former premier Peter Beattie markedly trailing the incumbent coalition member Bert van Manen.

-with AAP

Showcasing the best of social media and viral videos during week 2 of the election campaign.

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Severe quake, aftershocks, rock NZ

A strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake has shaken central New Zealand's capital, Wellington.

Students at Victoria University, Wellington, shelter under their desks during the earthquake. Picture: Andrew Burns/Twitter Source: NewsComAu

WORKERS have fled New Zealand's capital, Wellington, after a severe earthquake measuring a magnitude of 6.6 rocked the nation.

New Zealanders huddled under desks as strong tremors struck the country -- as far north as Auckland and as far south as Dunedin -- at around 2:31pm local time.

There were a number of injuries from broken glass but no serious casualties have been reported.

Earthquakes damaged houses and there were reports of a home almost totally collapsing in Marlborough on the South Island.

Many buildings were evacuated and workers told to go home to allow structural assessments to be carried out. Lengthy traffic queues formed outside the city.

Emergency services rescued several people in Wellington trapped in lifts which stopped operating when the quake struck.

A number of aftershocks, measuring up to 5.7 in magnitude, have also been recorded.

Queues of traffic leaving Wellington. Picture: Twitter/newsbellglobal Source: NewsComAu

An evacuated railway station in Wellington. Picture: Twitter/felixmarwick Source: NewsComAu

Cabinet Minister Steven Joyce tweeted: "Lots of aftershocks. Beehive (parliament) wobbling around like a jelly, but all ok''.

There have been reports of power lines down in the Seddon area and police were advising caution on State Highway 1 south of Blenheim after large boulders had come down on the road.

It advised people not to drive unless absolutely necessary and to expect delays.

Wellington Free Ambulance said it had a spike in the number of calls it received but was unable to confirm any injuries.

Telephone networks were congested and Telecom advised people to send text messages rather than call.

Office workers in the city flooded onto the streets in the aftermath and there was broken glass in the central business district. Many buildings were evacuated and workers told to go home.

Wellington City Council advised residents to avoid driving home, as many of the capital's roads are in gridlock and some emergency service vehicles had trouble getting to callouts.

The council has not received any reports of major damage, a spokesman said.

About 2500 customers in the Wellington region lost power after the earthquake, Drew Douglas, a spokesman for Wellington Electricity said.

By 3.30pm 600 customers were without power, in Wrights Hill, Wainuiomata and Makara.

"We had a large number of homes out in Karori but it is back on now," he said.

"The company is working to restore power to the affected areas."

The New Zealand Stock Exchange temporarily ceased trading.

Rail and bus services in the capital were suspended and there were reports of boulders and power lines coming down on major roads.

Wellington Airport's runway was inspected and cleared. Dozens of aftershocks continued to rattle the area with a number magnitude 5 or greater.

The shake comes after a 6.5 quake in the same region on July 21 which caused minor injuries to 25 people and damage to dozens of buildings

The US Geological Survey's map of the affected area. Source: NewsComAu

Reaction from residents on Twitter indicated the quake was larger than the one that rocked the city last month.

"That was a heart beating quake. Lots of people under their desks in the press gallery," NZ TV1 news reporter Jessica Mutch said on Twitter.

More damage at the library in Victoria University, Wellington. Picture: Twitter/Salient Source: NewsComAu

"That was easily the biggest quake i've felt," @mikeforbes tweeted. "VERY shakey. house felt like it was wobbling forever."

A Google map indicating the situation in New Zealand. Picture: Google Source: NewsComAu

"Oh my. That was very strong," Marcus Figueroa tweeted. "My car was wiggling while driving, I thought one of my wheels was coming off! #eqnz"

About 2500 customers in the Wellington region lost power after the earthquake, a spokesman for Wellington Electricity said and 600 were without power at 3.30pm.

The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre issued a statement at 12.42 EST saying there is no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories.

The Centre said an undersea earthquake of magnitude 7.0 occurred at 12:31 PM EST on Friday 16 August 2013 near Cook Strait.

Cook Strait is the body of water separating New Zealand's north and south islands.

The earthquake was 11km deep, according to preliminary data from GeoNet.

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Beattie tweets: 'I am a fighter'

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd continues on his election campaign in Perth visiting the City Link station where he met "Precious" the dog. Pic: Adam Head Source: Supplied

PETER Beattie has declared himself a "fighter" after two devastating opinion polls showing he has put Labor's vote in reverse and is facing a shock annihilation.

The former Queensland premier has secured a two-party preferred vote of only 40 per cent to 60 per cent against the Liberal National Party MP for Forde, Bert Van Manen.

Mr Beattie today took to Twitter, saying: "I am facing the toughest fight of my political life with an AFR poll showing a thrashing in Forde. I am a fighter and will never give up."

The news about Mr Beattie comes as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said he is the underdog in this election campaign - while Opposition Leader Tony Abbott earlier today said the vote could go either way.

Mr Rudd's admission came on a visit to Perth, where he was heckled by a man shouting "you're a f...ing idiot."

Earlier today, Mr Abbott and immigration spokesperson Scott Morrison said that by the 2016 election, levels of boat arrivals would be back down to the last days of the Howard era when there were just three arrivals a year.

Zero boat arrivals would be "the ideal", Mr Abbott said, introducing a touch new policy.

Mr Abbott is still yet to announce full costings for his policies, and is not likely to reveal them until the last week of the election campaign.

See details and stay on top of all the developments with our rolling coverage below.

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Hird 'shattered' by AFL charges

Julian de Stoop rounds up the fall out from the charges handed down to Essendon on Monday night by the AFL.

ESSENDON coach James Hird has declared he will defend himself "vigorously" against the charges laid by the AFL last night.

Speaking outside his Toorak mansion just before 11am, Hird said he was "shattered" to be charged with bringing the game "I love and cherish and respect" into disrepute.

But the Bombers coach expressed relief that his players has not yet received infraction notices for doping.

SCROLL DOWN TO GET LIVE UPDATES ALL DAY AND JOIN THE DEBATE

"It's incredible, actually," he said.

"I think it's great the players have been freed and they've got a great sense of relief over that."

After months of speculation Essendon and four of its top officials including coach James Hird have been charged by the AFL for bringing the game into disrepute.

Hird said he and the other key club figured slapped with AFL charges - club doctor Bruce Reid, assistant coach Mark Thompson and football boss Danny Corcoran - would now look at their options for fighting the charges.

"We're obviously going to defend ourselves vigorously," he said.

CASE NOT CLOSED, SAYS ASADA

"We're gonna contend the charges, we're gonna make sure we're proven not guilty.

"I think that our footy club is a great footy club, as I said. We find it hard to believe we've been charged on the base of an interim report where no infraction notices have been handed down and we'll move on from there."

Essendon players feel vindicated after avoiding drugs charges from the AFL.

The besieged coach said he, Reid, Thompson and Corcoran would support each other through the process.

"The four of us are probably identified as (part of) the blackest day in Australian sport now, so we take that very seriously."

HIRD AND THE GAME TAKE A BEATING

The Bombers face being wiped from the finals after the club was charged by the AFL with bringing the game into disrepute.

Hird was also charged with conduct unbecoming over the club's 2011-12 supplements program.

Collingwood president predicts Essendon won't lose any competition points but says the AFL now has the power to come down hard on the parties charged.

But the four told the Herald Sun they would vigorously fight to clear their names.

As Essendon figures gathered at Hird's Toorak mansion last night, the coach declared: "Our football club is going to fight these charges."

HIRD STANDS GROUND NO MATTER WHAT

Reid added: "I am not going to stand aside and let my reputation of 40 years go down the drain. I will fight."

The AFL Commission will hear the charges on August 26.

Fox Sports looks at the toll the Essendon supplements saga has taken on coach James Hird.

Adrian Anderson told 3AW's Neil Mitchell this morning that the hearing should be open to the public.

"When people can scrutinise things and see them for themselves, they better understand the process," Anderson said. "I think it would help add public understanding if this thing was conducted in open.''

THE SCANDAL SO FAR...

Yesterday evening, AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon announced: "I have reviewed the evidence, carefully considered the matter and have come to the view that the parties have a case to answer.

"They are all charged with conduct that is unbecoming, or likely to prejudice the interests or reputation of the Australian Football League or to bring the game of football into disrepute, contrary to AFL Rule 1.6."

The AFL has formally charged Essendon for bringing the game into disrepute in relation to the club's 2011/12 supplements program.

But Dillon said that on current evidence no players would receive infraction notices for doping.

"Although WADA has declared AOD-9604 a banned substance, on the information currently before the AFL, there's no specific anti-doping regulation violation attributed to any individual player for the use of AOD-9604 or any other prohibited substance."

THE DRUGS AT THE CENTRE OF THE SAGA

The AFL can suspend officials, impose large fines and strip the club of premiership points and draft picks. If Essendon were stripped of points, another team - possibly Carlton, West Coast or even North Melbourne - could sneak into the final eight.

The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority continues to probe the Bombers, and the league said it could not rule out further charges if new information came to hand.

James Hird talks to the media outside his Toorak house this morning. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Essendon chairman Paul Little said the charged club leaders would all continue in their respective roles.

"To do otherwise before these matters are finalised would be to effectively impose a penalty in advance of a fair hearing and represent a denial of natural justice," Little said.

FOOTY'S BIGGEST SCANDALS

"Essendon welcomes the news that no infraction notices have been issued against any of its players and the AFL's statement that, on current evidence, no notices will be issued.

"We have maintained that no player has taken a performance-enhancing substance and that there was no breach of the AFL anti-doping code.

Essendon coach James Hird with assistant Mark Thompson. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

"We stand by this," he said.

"It is also important to be very clear that there is no doubt the club and individuals have made mistakes, and that our governance and people management had significant gaps."

WE FEEL VINDICATED - WATSON

Club captain Jobe Watson, speaking on the players' behalf, said they felt vindicated.

"None of us believed we'd done anything wrong in relation to the 2012 supplements program," Watson said. "The last six months have been an extremely tough time for us and our families and friends.

"And, while we've stayed focused on our footy, the speculation and innuendo has had an impact in some way on all of us," he said.

Watson previously stunned TV viewers by admitting in an interview he took a contentious anti-obesity drug after signing a consent form.

WHY I'M STANDING BY HIRD

Tim Watson last night said he expects the Bombers to "go down swinging'' and take the AFL to court over the charges.

"I think they've been defiant up to this point of time. I think that they are going to go down swinging,'' Watson told Channel 7.

"I don't think that they're going to be complicit in what the AFL may want in all this.

"I think they've gone this far, they'll want to go further

I DON'T WANT THIS ON MY TOMBSTONE

"These fellows may want to challenge the AFL in another forum and that is there prerogative as well, and I can see that playing out.''

Reid left Hird's at 10.40pm and said "it's been a long day".

He did not comment on the charges against him but said he planned to "read some reports" tomorrow as the club plotted their response.

Jon Anderson took your questions on the Essendon scandal this morning. Replay the chat below

On a mobile device? Click here for a better viewing experience

News+ subscribers can get the latest Essendon updates LIVE here on Fox Sports News

GET ALL THE LATEST REACTION AND LIVE UPDATES BELOW

BOMBERS WILL FIGHT CHARGES

WHAT WAS HIRD READING?

POSTER BOY A MAN OF STEEL

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Just another manic sundae

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd continues on the election campaign in Brisbane making a visit to the Ekka where he served strawberry sundaes. Picture: Adam Head Source: News Limited

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd surprised locals in Brisbane by serving up ice-creams at Ekka famous for its strawberry sundaes.

"Are these okay? Do they look reasonable," Mr Rudd said as he emerged with a tray of ice-creams he had freshly made.

Earlier today, Tony Abbott said he is not going to change his views on gay marriage based on "the fashion of the moment", as he travelled through Brisbane on day 10 of the election campaign.

Sarrah le Marquand and Steve Lewis join VOA to discuss Tony Abbott's sex appeal gaffe

The Opposition Leader has faced more questions after an embarrassing blunder yesterday in which he joked about the ''sex appeal'' of Lindsay candidate Fiona Scott.

The PM was in Cairns this morning where he earlier announced a plan to improve forecasting for floods and cyclones.

Keep up to date with all the latest developments with our rolling blog below.

Today on day ten of the campaign Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, his daughter Bridget and Wyatt Roy visited the Caboolture Netball centre. Picture: Gary Ramage

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