Australian prison tariff at five-year low

AUSTRALIA'S prisoner population is costing the country less now than at any time in the past five years but on a daily basis per inmate, it's still more expensive than a night in a city hotel room.

Data from a new Productivity Commission report into Australia's justice system shows the national average cost in 2012-13 for an inmate was $221.92 a day.

Across states and territories the cost varies, from $188.82 a day in NSW to $321.24 in Tasmania.

The Tasmanian government said of its corrections operations during the period that there was a change of prison director, with the state's inmate population peaking at 507 in the summer of 2012.

The report shows that for the 12-month period there was an average of 30,082 prisoners spread across 113 custodial facilities in Australia, a population increase of about 3 per cent from 2011-12.

Despite the increased population, the national average cost for each prisoner was less about $8 a day.

Online accommodation websites show mid-range capital city hotel rooms available for $200 a night.

On average, there was one prison guard for every 22 offenders. In Queensland there was a guard for every 35 inmates, and in WA one for every 15.

On a policing front the Productivity Commission found the cost of state and territory forces equated to $416 for each Australian resident (22.7 million) during 2012-13.

NSW Police had the greatest overall annual operating cost of more than $3 billion, which provided 17,272 operational officers, or 235 for 100,000 people.

Northern Territory Police cost $276 million for the year, with 1651 operational officers, making it the most costly force per capita at $1166.

The Territory government said that during the reporting period the force took on 184 recruits and added an additional assistant commissioner position along with implementing "numerous operational and corporate initiatives to meet its primary policing objectives".

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Four dead as truck hits Brazil walkway

FOUR people have died after a dump truck smashed into a pedestrian bridge on a busy highway in northern Rio de Janeiro.

The crash on Tuesday caused the walkway to collapse onto three cars and a motorcycle below.

At least four people were killed and another four injured, according to Lamsa, a private company that administers the toll road.

Witnesses said there were only two people on the yellow metal pedestrian bridge when the accident occurred just after 9am local time.

Mayor Eduardo Paes told reporters at the scene that the trailer of the truck was clearly above than the 4.5 metres permitted for use on the highway, known as the Yellow Line road, which cuts through gritty northern and western portions of Rio.

Paes said authorities were trying to confirm if the truck's bed was raised when it hit the walkway.

Regardless, "an infraction was being committed because trucks aren't allowed on the Yellow Line at that time of day", he said.

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Emergency assets bill $1.2b: report

AUSTRALIANS have lost property worth more than $1.2 billion in the latest financial year through emergency events including fire, flood and storms.

A new Productivity Commission report shows that Queensland storms proved the costliest in 2012-13, with related asset loss valued at $971 million.

Storm and fire damage in NSW claimed almost $155 million worth of property while Tasmania's January 2013 bushfires racked up losses of more than $88 million.

The national figure was an increase from 2011-12, when the report showed asset loss was $1.06 billion.

But Queensland's devastating floods stretching from December 2010 into 2011 helped push that period's national losses to more than $4.6 billion.

When it comes to disaster relief, the federal government paid out $171 million in 2012-13 through its scheme of assistance in which affected individuals and communities are entitled to a one-off payment: $1000 for adults and $400 for children.

The payout figure was greater than the $78 million disseminated in 2011-12, but less than $823 million in 2010-11.

Cash payments from Canberra to disaster-struck states and territories amounted to $77.1 million during 2012-13, down from $3 billion in 2011-12, which stemmed largely from Queensland's flood crisis.

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