Bali Nine's Lawrence moves jails

THE Bali Nine's Renae Lawrence has been allowed to transfer from the remote jail she was sent to as punishment for an alleged prison murder plot.

Lawrence was moved from Kerobokan jail to another prison in Bali in October, amid accusations the 36-year-old had conspired with another inmate to murder two female prison guards.

The head of Jembrana prison, Armin, said Lawrence was moved to another prison, Bangli, on Tuesday morning, at her request.

Her family had complained the prison was too far from Bali's centre, Denpasar, when they came to visit.

"While she was in our prison, she was doing well and acting orderly," he said.

Jembrana prison is about 130 kilometres from Bali's centre, Denpasar, while Bangli is only about 60 kilometres.

Lawrence was sent to Jembrana as punishment for the prison plot, and was banned from receiving cuts to her 20-year sentence for at least 12 months.

Another member of the Bali Nine, Scott Rush, also recently transferred jails by request.

Still in Kerobokan are Martin Stephens, Matthew Norman, Si Yi Chen, Tan Duc Than Nguyen and Michael Czugaj, all serving life for the 2005 plot to smuggle more than eight kilograms of heroin from Bali to Australia.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are also in Kerobokan, and have been sentenced to death for their roles.

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Labor gives Abbott no credit for SPC deal

LABOR has accused Prime Minister Tony Abbott of inconsistency in jobs investment, despite the announcement by food processor SPC Ardmona that it has signed a $70 million deal with supermarket giant Woolworths.

SPC announced on Tuesday the massive contract to supply 24,000 extra tonnes of tomatoes, fruit and beans to Woolworths, in a major boost to the company that was recently refused $25 million in federal government assistance.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he always believed SPC Ardmona was a sound business.

But Mr Shorten, who was in Perth to begin campaigning for the West Australian Senate election re-run, said the Abbott government should take no credit for its hardline approach.

"The Victorian government stepped into assist SPC," he said. "I am pleased that there is good news at any point about jobs, but I was appalled the Abbott government had no plan about SPC jobs.

"What makes this position so inconsistent is that a chocolate factory in Hobart (Cadbury) can get Abbott government money but a fruit-processing plant in the Goulburn Valley doesn't.

"There is no consistency."

The Abbott government refused to provide $25 million in support to the Shepparton cannery, saying its parent company, Coca-Cola Amatil, should step in and save the food processor.

In the end, the Victorian government offered the SPC Ardmona $22 million, as part of a $100 million co-investment strategy with the company.

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'Smuggling boss' to fight Aust extradition

AN alleged people smuggling kingpin will fight long and hard against a decision to grant his extradition to Australia, his lawyer says.

Sayed Abbas is accused of being a notorious people smuggler who has eluded Australian justice since 2009.

He is wanted on 27 charges including organising the passage of three boats intercepted en route to Christmas Island between 2009 and 2011.

But he is suspected of leading a syndicate behind many more journeys, including one that sent at least 200 asylum seekers to their deaths, when their boat sank in the Sunda Strait in December 2011.

Abbas denies the charges, claiming he is a victim of mistaken identity.

He has previously argued extradition should be rejected on humanitarian grounds, as he is a refugee, and claims he worked as a paid informant for the Australian Federal Police.

Australia last tried unsuccessfully to extradite him last year, when South Jakarta District Court found Indonesia's 1979 extradition law did not cover the crime of people-smuggling.

But he was re-arrested, the decision was reviewed and this week a panel of judges approved extradition, angering Abbas' lawyer Mohammad Mahdi, who says they will use every avenue of appeal.

"If ... they who didn't have grounds for appealing can do this and win, we'll definitely be using the same (avenues) as they did," he said.

The lawyer says he hasn't yet received the document granting the extradition, after which time he has seven days to launch a Supreme Court appeal.

If no appeal is received, the request can go to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for approval - but Mr Mahdi has flagged he will draw the case out beyond the president's term, which ends later this year.

"Believe me, there's still long time until the (extradition's) execution, even after SBY steps down," he said.

It's believed Abbas, an ethnic Hazara, even managed to stay in business while he was imprisoned in Jakarta, such was his reputation.

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