Accessory's sentence stands

A MAN who helped a killer hide the body of a murder victim has lost an appeal against the severity of his jail term.

Sean Timothy Hudson, 37, of Ravenswood, was convicted in May of assault and being an accessory after the fact in the murder of 43-year-old father-of-six Scott Rock in Launceston on March 29 last year.

Neville Lindsay Whiting, 32, stomped and jumped on Mr Rock's head and left him to die before dumping his body near a bush track and setting it on fire.

Whiting was sentenced to 20 years' jail.

Hudson punched Mr Rock to the ground. After the fatal attack, Hudson helped load the victim into a car that he later cleaned when the body had been dumped.

Defence lawyer Adrian Hall told the Court of Criminal Appeal in Hobart that Hudson's 7 1/2-year jail sentence was excessive.

He said Hudson's crime was limited and did not aid the killer ultimately to escape detection.

But Justices Alan Blow, David Porter and Helen Wood disagreed, handing down their decision today.

They said Hudson had been imprisoned before and had breached the conditions of suspended sentences and probation, warranting an extended non-parole period.

They said the sentence could not be described as manifestly excessive.

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Trial over teen's road death

A NEW Norfolk man will face trial next year over the road death of a schoolgirl in the Derwent Valley last February.

Bradley John Chaplin, 27, has pleaded not guilty to negligent driving, driving without due care and attention, speeding, and driving with an illegal drug in his system.

The charges were laid after the death of Glenora High School student Ashley Edmonds on February 29.

The 13-year-old was killed when she was hit by a utility after getting off a school bus on Gordon River Rd at Karanja.

The Hobart Magistrates Court today heard the case would take up to five days and involve a number of young witnesses.

Defence lawyer Chris Gunson said he was discussing with the prosecution ways to take evidence from those witnesses without causing additional trauma.

He said he had also sought a reconstruction of the crash from an accident expert and would be calling into question evidence of his client's reading for tetrahydrocannabinol -- the active ingredient in cannabis.

Magistrate Olivia McTaggart said she would conduct a visit to the scene of the crash as requested by the defence before a further mention of the case on February 26.

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Students receive finals marks

MORE than 3000 students have achieved their Tasmanian Certificate of Education this year.

Among them are about 100 students whose mark of 98.45 or more put them in the top 1.5 per cent of their age group in Australia.

They were among 12,605 students given results this week by the Tasmanian Qualifications Authority, which runs exams and assessment for years 11 and 12 and vocational subjects.

The 3085 who achieved a TCE was up from 2715 last year.

"There have also been more Qualifications Certificates issued to Year 12 students, up from 4740 in 2011 to 4973 in 2012," Education Minister Nick McKim said.

And 2290 students received an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) this year, making them eligible to apply for a place at university, up from 2287 last year.

"The positive trend continued with 1676 Year 10 students also receiving a result in one or more TQA accredited courses -- up from 1459 last year.

"I am sure that many students are now relieved and can start making decisions on their future.

"The good results are a testament to their hard work and the dedication of their teachers."

Students receiving an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 98.45 or above:
(in alphabetical order - only students who chose to release their names to the media).

ABETZ, JEREMY, Calvin Christian School
ALLENDER, MIRANDA, St Michael's Collegiate
ANDREWARTHA, KATE, Hobart College
BADCOCK, CHLOE, The Don College
BAKES, EMMA, Leighland Christian School
BARNETT, NINA, Launceston Church Grammar
BASSETT, ALICE, Launceston Church Grammar
BEASLEY, HERMIONE, The Friend's School
BLACKWOOD, ISOBEL, Scotch Oakburn College
BLEATHMAN, FREYA, St Michael's Collegiate
BOHMER, MATTHEW, The Friend's School
BOWEN, SCARLETT, The Friend's School
BROWN, DANIELLE, Elizabeth College
BURGESS, NICOLA, Guilford Young College
BUTLER, PATRICK, The Friend's School
CALLAWAY, LIAM, Rosny College
CHUNG, OLIVIA, The Friend's School
CONNELLEY, NICHOLAS, Launceston Church Grammar
CONNOLLY, GEORGE, Guilford Young College
CREWS, ANNA, Scotch Oakburn College
CROFTS, SAMUEL, Hobart College
DAMBACHER, BROOK, Hobart College
DAVIE, CAITLIN, The Friend's School
DAVIS, KATHERINE, The Friend's School
DAVY, KATELYN, Elizabeth College
DELPORT, DOMINIC, Scotch Oakburn College
DODDS, BENJAMIN, St Brendan Shaw College
DUB, NIKITA, Hobart College
EADIE, LAUREN, Launceston Church Grammar
ETHERINGTON, CHRISTOPHER, Hobart College
FEI, HAOXIANG, Launceston Christian School
FIELD, RAYMOND, Newstead College
FOSTER, ALICE, Rosny College
FOSTER, SAMANTHA, Rosny College
FU, CHAU WA, Rosny College
GRAY, RYAN, Hobart College
GUNN, JAMES, The Friend's School
GUPTA, MEHR, The Friend's School
HAMILTON, SAM, Marist Regional College
HENNESSY, ROBERT, Rosny College
HENRY, CLARE, Elizabeth College
HOLLOWAY, DONALD, The Hutchins School
HUNN, NICHOLAS, The Friend's School
ILLINGWORTH, JOSHUA, St Patricks College
JEANNERET, RUTHIE, St Michael's Collegiate
JOHNSTON, SAMUEL, The Hutchins School
JOHNSTON, THOMAS, The Hutchins School
KEENOO, AKSHAN, Launceston College
KIM, JUE WAN, Newstead College
KUNASEGARAN, KARTIK, Launceston Church Grammar
LADLOW, OLIVER, The Friend's School
LANGE, JACQUELINE, Rosny College
LI, SHARNNA, The Friend's School
LORD, WILLIAM, The Hutchins School
LUCAS, AMY, Calvin Christian School
MACKAY, DUNCAN, The Friend's School
MACKEY, LUCY, The Don College
MAHER, WILLIAM, Elizabeth College
MANSFIELD, GABRIELLE, The Don College
MANTHEY, MICHAEL, Hobart College
MARSHALL, LACHLAN, Elizabeth College
MARSHALL, MADELINE, Marist Regional College
MCCULLOUCH, AISLING, The Don College
MCGUINESS, PETER, Hobart College
MCMENIMAN, JOHN, The Hutchins School
MCNAMARA, THOMAS Launceston Church Grammar
MCPHAIL, TESS, St Marys College
MCVILLY, NICHOLAS, The Hutchins School
MILNER, JAMES, The Friend's School
MOLLROSS, IMOGEN, St Michael's Collegiate
MORRIS-BAGULEY, HARRIET, The Friend's School
MURPHY, ELIZA JO, Elizabeth College
NANKERVIS, BRODIE, Launceston College
NGUYEN, HA, Newstead College
NOLAN, JESSE, The Friend's School
NOTHROP, REBECCA, Launceston College
O'DONOVAN, LIAM, Hobart College
OTLOWSKI, MONICA, St Michael's Collegiate
PALMER, SAMUEL, Guilford Young College
PARROTT, KATHERINE, Hobart College
POLGLASE, LOUISA, St Michael's Collegiate
REMASH, DEVIKA, Elizabeth College
ROBERTS THOMSON, IAIN, Leighland Christian School
ROPER, DARIEL, The Friend's School
RYAN, GEORGIA, Guilford Young College
SCHADE, NICHOLAS, Rosny College
SCOTT, EMILY, St Michael's Collegiate
SMITH, ROBERT, Leighland Christian School
STENNARD, ELSPETH, Guilford Young College
STRINGER, FELICITY, Hobart College
SUDHAKARAN, AISHWARYA, Scotch Oakburn College
SUMMERS, ELEANOR, St Marys College
TENNI, ELLA, Hobart College
THALAIVASAL, PAUL, Rosny College
VAN DONGEN, ALISON, The Friend's School
WAGLAND, ALEXANDER, Hellyer College
WALDHAUSER, GEORGIA, Marist Regional College
WESTBURY, DANIEL, The Hutchins School
WOOD, OLIVER, The Friend's School
YANG, JEREMY, The Hutchins School

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Worker hurt in Bicheno blast

A MAN in his 60s has been badly injured in an industrial accident near Bicheno, Tasmania Police say.

Officers were sent to the scene on the state's East Coast this afternoon after reports of an explosion.

The incident occurred about 2pm in a quarry on a farming property about 5km south of Bicheno, police said in a statement.

The injured worker, who is in a critical condition, has been flown to the Launceston General Hospital by the Westpac Police Rescue helicopter.

No one else was injured in the incident, with police forensics officers and a mines inspector set to examine the scene this afternoon.

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Police suspect parental dispute

Police officers are continuing to search a home at Hamilton after a double murder yesterday. Picture: KIM EISZELE

POLICE believe a 59-year-old man suspected of a double murder at Hamilton was motivated by a dispute over his one-year-old child.

The only suspect in the killing remains in a critical condition in a medically-induced coma after undergoing surgery this morning at the Royal Hobart Hospital.

The two victims -- the 31-year-old mother of his child and her 34-year-old de facto partner -- were allegedly shot dead as they tried to flee when the alleged shooter entered the woman's Hamilton home about 5am yesterday.

The woman's nine-year-old daughter is understood to have witnessed the incident and called police on a mobile phone.

The suspected gunman was found next to his ute at Lachlan, about 40km from the murder scene.

The one-year-old infant was inside the vehicle.

Police today revealed officers had phoned the man, identified as the suspect by the nine-year-old, and were talking to him on his mobile phone moments before he shot himself in the head an hour after the double murder.

The New Norfolk, Ouse, and Hamilton communities were still in shock, locals said today, after learning of the couple's death yesterday via social and mainstream media.

The dead man's family lives in Ouse, while the woman is believed to be from the New Norfolk area.

Police officers remained at the Hamilton house today, searching the property and vehicles parked in the driveway for clues.

They are also trying to piece together the timeline leading up to the suspected shooter's arrival at the isolated homestead.

Anyone with information is urged to contact investigators on 1800 333 000.

zara.dawtrey@news.com.au

Read the full story in tomorrow's Mercury.

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Body found in Howrah dunes

SES volunteers comb the Howrah site where the body of a man was found by a member of the public earlier today. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

THE body of a man believed to be in his 60s has been found in sand dunes at Howrah, on Hobart's Eastern Shore.

Police said the body was found about 10am today in dunes adjacent to Wentworth Park at Salacia Ave.

The man's death is not believed to be suspicious and his identity has not yet been established.

"At this point there is no evidence to lead us to believe there are any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death," Detective Senior Sergeant Cameron Bessell said in a statement.

"Police are inquiring into the circumstances. A thorough examination of the scene, including a line search, is being undertaken.

"Until we can determine the cause of death … we will continue to examine how the body came to be in the location and attempt to establish how the man died."

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Morning of the king tide

LAPPING: The water was high at the boat sheds at Cornelian Bay yesterday. Picture: KIM EISZELE

YESTERDAY'S high tide might have been a king tide but it wasn't a monster one.

The combined gravitational pull of the moon and the sun guaranteed a higher than normal tide, followed by an extra-low tide.

But for a king tide to transform into the highest possible tide, extra forces must come into play.

They include storms that can push the sea harder against a coastline, low atmospheric pressures that add extra upward pull and large waves.

Oceanographer John Hunter said yesterday's king tide stopped about a metre below Sandy Bay's Long Beach sea wall and a one in 100 year monster tide could reach 70cm higher, with waves splashing easily over the wall.

Cars parked near the regatta grounds would have got an expensive wash and areas of Sandy Bay and Battery Point might have resembled Venice.

Dr Hunter was an author of a report, used by the State Govern- ment for its sea level rise planning response, that found as many as 620 homes could be affected by the next monster tide, and as many as 980 houses could be permanently inundated by 2100.

Sea levels had risen by 17cm in the past 100 years and were fore- cast to rise as much as 50cm by the end of the century.

bruce.mounster@news.com.au

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Clean, green the way to Asia

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has urged Tasmania to use its clean, green image to take advantage of the Asian century.

Talking to the Mercury for the last time before the Prime Minister takes a break for Christmas, Ms Gillard urged Tasmania to play to its strengths.

"The things that you prize about yourself are the things that will drive you forward," Ms Gillard said.

"You live in a beautiful place with a fantastic lifestyle, with a real sense of community."

Ms Gillard said Tasmania was in a prime position to take advantage of the Asian century.

"I think Tasmania can be a region of prosperity in the years to come," she said.

"I have laid out, for the nation, our plan for this Asian century of growth and change where we have talked about what this huge middle class the biggest middle class in the world living in Asia will want.

"When you go through the list much of it is what Tasmania produces and has available for sale.

"People in Asia with middle-class income are going to want clean green food, they are going to want great quality wine, they are going to want great tourism experiences not the package holidays but the unique tourism experiences.

"Tasmania is in a position to provide all of those things."

Ms Gillard said Tasmania's island state did create challenges with issues like freight logistics and health care.

"Being an island has come with disadvantages about distances," Ms Gillard said.

"[But] those disadvantages about distances are being closed all the time by the National Broadband Network and new technology. I think Tasmania can look to the power of the National Broadband Network, which is being rolled out in Tasmania first, to connect to the world and customise products.

"Customers can deal with people in real time right around the world.

"There is no reason why people can't be running a small to medium business enterprise in Tasmania and connecting to the world and selling their products and services."

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My year in a tree

TREE-MENDOUS EFFORT: Miranda's mum, Glenys Gibson, visits her daughter, who has spent a year in the tree protesting about logging in the state's high conservation value forests. Picture: Alan Lesheim

WHEN Miranda Gibson started her tree-top protest in Tasmania's Styx Valley she never thought she'd still be there a year later.

But the former teacher says she'd happily do it again and has no idea when she'll come down.

Today marks one year since the start of Ms Gibson's Observer Tree protest, to stop logging in the state's high conservation value forests.

She lives on a small platform 60m up, suspended atop a 400-year-old eucalypt tree.

Her campaign has generated worldwide attention.

She has an online blog, Facebook page and has appeared on national news programs, international current affairs shows and in newspapers around the world.

The Observer Tree has more than 7200 followers on Facebook and thanks to solar-powered technology in the tree, Ms Gibson has been able to broadcast her message into classrooms, boardrooms and loungerooms across the globe.

She's spoken at environmental conferences and with school groups, spreading her message about conservation.

She celebrated her 31st birthday in the tree and has smashed the record for the longest Australian tree-sit, which was previously 212 days.

"To be honest, it was hard to know when I first came up here what was going to happen," Ms Gibson said.

"I don't think I would have expected to be up here for a whole year; I really hoped there would be that protection in place before now.

"But if I had to go back, knowing it was going to be a year, I would definitely do it again."

Ms Gibson said coming to terms with her isolation and solitude have been the biggest challenges, as well as coping with Tasmania's harsh winter weather.

She said one of the hardest things was the uncertainty about how long she would be in the tree.

"But even now [the IGA has been signed] it doesn't provide any certainty of when forest protections will be in place," she said.

"I have to take each day as it comes and try not to think too much about the future because I don't know how long I'll be up here for."

As Ms Gibson prepares to celebrate a second Christmas in the tree, she reflects on missed events and family milestones.

"A friend of mine fell pregnant and has had a baby since I was in the tree and I didn't get to be part of that," she said.

"But I have a lot of support from my friends and family, and the sacrifice is definitely worth it.

"There's a lot of people out there that didn't necessarily know what's going on in Tasmania's forests and didn't necessarily know the forests were still under threat. I get a lot of comments and emails from people thanking me for letting them know what's happening."

Ms Gibson urged the Federal Government to push through World Heritage listing for the Styx Valley, the Florentine and Weld forests.

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No regrets

WITH the Australian Test team training in the background, Ricky Ponting is a familiar figure at Bellerive.

But instead of being dressed in Test attire, Ponting is in the purple and black of the Hobart Hurricanes as international cricket moves on without Australia's all-time leading Test and one-day run-scorer.

Ponting, arguably Tasmania's greatest sportsman, says it was only this backdrop that made him realise his international career was officially over.

But while reality has set in, regrets haven't.

"I actually felt yesterday and today it was the days that hit me the most," says Ponting, 38 next week.

"I'm here training with the Hurricanes and the [Test] boys are out the back in the nets ... you sit back and watch the Australian cricket team train at Bellerive and I'm not a part of it. [But] I'm comfortable with it, the decision was made for all the right reasons."

It is a new era for Australian cricket as the Test team enters the post-Ponting epoch on his home ground at Blundstone Arena.

Labelled the country's best batsman since Don Bradman, the former teenage prodigy from the working-class Launceston suburb of Mowbray was grouped for a generation alongside Indian cricketing deity Sachin Tendulkar, West Indian stylist Brian Lara and South African run-machine Jacques Kallis as the world's best batsman.

While cold hard statistics made them hard to separate, a reflective, relaxed Ponting says the "big four" enjoyed varying personal relationships.

A batting purist, he rates Tendulkar as the best technician, but the flamboyant West Indian as the most destructive and the one more often able to win games off his own blade.

"I've never really got that close to Sachin, that's sort of the subcontinental way," he says.

"They don't really socialise much after games. They are out of the changerooms half an hour after the game is over, which is a bit different to what we do down here, especially if we have a win.

"Lara and I always got on well.

"From the first time I toured there in '95 we struck up a bit of a relationship then, even though I wasn't playing, and that's remained right throughout the years.

"We've always exchanged bats at the end of series with hand-written messages on them.

"I would say out of the three guys, Lara is the one I'm closest to."

ePonting's career is decorated with more jewels than a royal crown - World Cup victories, an Ashes whitewash, Allan Border Medals, most Test wins by a captain, to list a few - but there were also dark days.

He knows three Ashes defeats will forever be linked to his captaincy, particularly the 2005 series when an Australian team containing such greats as himself, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath and Matthew Hayden lost the little urn for the first time since 1989 through a combination of complacency and some misfortune.

"Nothing worked at all. One little mistake generally meant we lost the game even an umpiring decision here or there, if it had gone our way, could have been the difference," Ponting says.

"As a captain, that's as disappointed as I've felt. At the end of the day my record shows I lost three Ashes series as captain, but that is the one I was most disappointed about."

Perhaps the biggest turning point in his career was also its lowest ebb. In 1999, he copped a black eye from a Bourbon and Beefsteak bouncer in Kings Cross - and a harsh lesson that no matter how talented, without dedication and professionalism, nothing was guaranteed.

"I was suspended for three games as a result of that," he says.

"When you have the only thing you've ever wanted to do in your life taken away from you, of course it is a wake-up call.

"Back then I was just doing what everyone expected that you did.

"I certainly wasn't out by myself that night, there were other blokes out with me.

"That's a lesson learnt. You wake up the next day and think 'how did I let that happen and how am I going to make myself better tomorrow?'

"That's a pretty simple thing I've lived my life by since the early days at international level."

He adds with a laugh: "I haven't been back there; I don't think I've ever been in Kings Cross again either, so I've stayed as far away as possible."

Married to Rianna with daughters Emmy (4) and Matisse (1), Ponting says he can now concentrate on being a better husband and father - duties he has struggled with because of the demands of international cricket.

"Knowing I've got such a great life away from cricket made that decision a little bit easier as well."

Another season with the Tigers and the Hurricanes is a possibility, depending on his hunger now the lure of Australian representation has gone, saying he would move home tomorrow from his Sydney base if Rianna would agree.

He will continue to work with his charity, the Ponting Foundation, maybe dabble in the media - "I've already told the boys to look out for that. I think I would enjoy telling people the way I saw the game" - and is awaiting a call from his beloved North Melbourne to talk about a possible board position.

He will endure more than enjoy a lap of honour today. Public adulation is not his cup of tea, but he is keen one last time to thank his local fans who supported him throughout his international career.

"Although I've lived out of the state now for just over 10 years, Tasmania is always my home and I've always said that," Ponting says.

"At the end of the day that's where I learnt the game and I still feel I owe a lot back to the Mowbray Cricket Club and Tasmanian cricket for the opportunities I was given at a young age.

"Do I feel like an ambassador? Yes, I do, and it is important for all people in the spotlight, like I've been, to take on those roles and want to be promoting your state or your club or your junior cricket or whatever in your area. I've always wanted to be a role model for people to look up to in Tasmania."

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