Emergency crews were working to contain a petrol leak at a refinery in Melbourne's west overnight. Mobil workers were draining the unleaded petrol from a 3.5 million-litre tank at Altona. They said it would take 12 hours to empty. The refinery is surrounded by wetlands. Kororoit Creek, which flows directly into Port Phillip Bay, is on the refinery's southern boundary. Fourteen trucks and more than 70 firefighters are on the scene along with police and Environment Protection Authority officers. Commander of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, Trevor Woodward, says the tank has sprung several leaks and firefighters fear the tank may collapse. "We have several leaks coming from the base of the tank," he said. "It gets worse, because the structural integrity of the tank is now being questioned. "What we are doing is blanketing the surrounding area in foam and setting up several monitors to deliver foam around the tank. "Then we are withdrawing our troops to a safer distance." An alarm at the premises alerted emergency crews to the incident at 11.47pm (AEDT). - ABC/

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was forced to defend his government's record on delivering key election promises during a forum with 200 young people on Monday night. The young Australians packed into the old House of Representatives chamber in Canberra to put Mr Rudd through his paces live on ABC1's Q&A program. Climate change, a Commonwealth takeover of the health system and the economy were hot topics, but the audience were also keen to discuss issues affecting them such as the legal drinking age and racism against international students. One student accused the Prime Minister of breaking a key election pledge to provide each student in years 9 to 12 with a computer. "We've said a computer for every young person at secondary from Year 9 or above by 2013 or thereabouts," Mr Rudd replied. "We're on track to doing that. We have about 260,000 computers out there at schools now. That is a fact." The students were pleased they had an opportunity to pose tough questions to Mr Rudd, but there was some disappointment among the audience. "Kevin was polished. I think he clearly anticipated a lot of the questions that were coming out," 24-year-old Kevin Wishart said after the forum. "He managed to deflect a lot of the issues." Australian National University student Fleur Hawes, 19, agreed. "Partly a bit of political rhetoric again. We've heard it it all before," she said. "But it was nice to see it in person and it was really enjoyable. "I think there should be more youth forums to have youth voices heard in the community. Even if you aren't able to vote, at least have your voice heard." Some participants felt issues such as same-sex marriage, financial support for university students, education and indigenous topics should have been covered. "I think some of them [Mr Rudd] avoided quite cleverly," said 16-year-old Canberra high school student Amanda McDonald. "I think some of the questions were quite carefully selected and there should have been more of a range." During the forum Mr Rudd said he would like to see the legal drinking age lifted to 21 given that alcohol was a major factor in road crashes involving young drivers. "If the evidence is there and it is capable of being proven that it works, then we (will) look at these things and make a decision," he said. "Drinking rates of young teenagers is going through the roof and hugely affecting their ability to manoeuvre a car." Mr Wishart says the forum is an example of Australia's unique democracy at work. "To get an opportunity to talk to your elected official one on one in that sort of town hall situation doesn't really come around in many democracies," he said. "It's a great opportunity and it's good of Kevin to come out and do it. And I think a lot the school children here will probably be a little more informed when they go to the ballot box. " Canberra student Jacob Kairouz, 15, says the show provided a rare opportunity. "I think it's fantastic that we get to have a say and voice our opinions to the Prime Minister," he said.

The Federal Opposition moved to override Queensland's Wild River legislation in parliament overnight. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott introduced a private members bill that he says is an attempt to defend the interests of Aboriginal traditional owners affected by the legislation in Cape York. The Act was introduced by the Queensland Government to prevent rivers on the peninsula from being damaged by farming and tourism. Mr Abbott says the State Government has erred significantly in taking away traditional owners' ability to use their land as they see fit. He told parliament that if Aboriginal people cannot use their own land that it is not really theirs. "We have the power in this parliament to make laws to ensure that the Indigenous people of Cape York are given back their birth right in respect of their land," Mr Abbott said. Mr Abbott last month visited Far North Queensland to tell Indigenous leaders of his views. The Bligh Government, however, labelled Mr Abbott a hypocrite, saying his visit and plans were a political stunt aimed at shoring up support in the next federal election.

Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy says he is yet to decide whether to publicly release a study into the viability of the Government's $43 billion National Broadband Network. Business groups and the Productivity Commission have criticised the Government for committing to the high speed internet project without conducting a cost-benefit analysis. The Government has defended itself by pointing to the fact it had commissioned an implementation policy. Senator Conroy says the document is due at the end of the month. "It may be possible for the report to be released. It may not. But I will be in a better position to answer those sorts of questions when I have read the implementation study which I have not yet received," he said. But the Opposition and the Greens say they are astounded the Government is not guaranteeing it will make the implementation study public. Liberal Senator Ian McDonald says the Government has used the imminent release of the document to dodge hard questions on the broadband network. "Your answer has always been, 'oh it will be in the implementation study'. The implication was that we the taxpayers would be able to have those questions answered when the implementation study is released," he said. Senator Conroy, meanwhile, has admitted that he recommended a senior Labor strategist for a $450,000-a-year government job. Mike Kaiser was recently appointed to a senior post at the Government's National Broadband Network company without the position being advertised. He is a former Queensland Labor MP who had recently worked as Queensland Premier Anna Bligh's chief of staff. The Opposition raised concerns about Mr Kaiser's appointment during a Senate estimates hearing. Under questioning from Liberal Senator Mary Jo Fisher, the chief executive of the NBN company, Mike Quigley, revealed that no other applicants were sought for the job. "So you just kind of went to people, including the Minister, and said got a job going, got anyone you reckon might want it? And being good at it would be a help," " Senator Fisher said.

The director of a new documentary on overfishing says Australia needs to act now to protect its fish stocks or it will suffer dire consequences. Rupert Murray is in Sydney to promote the film The End of The Line, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and opens to Australian audiences in April. The film warns that 70 per cent of global stocks are now in trouble and there could be no seafood by the middle of the century unless practices change. He says the depletion of fish stocks worldwide is a major environmental problem. "The reason why I made the film is I love eating seafood," he said. "I want the oceans to be full of fish and [be] healthy and beautiful. I want there to be a viable fishing industry as well. I want there to be recreational fishing. "But if we continue on the way we're going, all of that is going to end." Murray says Australia must keep watch, with 16 species already overfished. "Overfishing is one of the biggest environmental problems, but it's the one that people know the least about," he said. - Government action - The Federal Government is considering setting up marine sanctuaries along the Australian coast, which Murray says are urgently needed. Only 5 per cent of Australia's coastline is protected and environmental groups want the Federal Government to take note of Murray's message. The seafood industry acknowledges the problem, but warns the documentary focuses on overfishing in Europe, the United States and Asia. It says Australian fisheries are much better run. Audiences can make up their own minds when the film opens in Australia in April.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, accusing him of being untrustworthy, deceptive and "tricky" with voters. Mr Abbott moved a censure motion against Mr Rudd in Parliament today after claiming the Government had broken election promises across the areas of health, industrial relations, superannuation and cost of living pressures. The attack comes after Mr Rudd said on Friday he could not guarantee any workers would be worse off under the Government's industrial relations laws, despite having said the opposite in Parliament in 2008. Mr Abbott also pressed the Government on why it has not moved to take over hospitals after promising to do so by the middle of last year if standards were not lifted. Mr Abbott said Mr Rudd had obscured the truth by hiding behind a "wall of incomprehensible words and an army of spin doctors". "What we have seen today is a Prime Minister who is deceptive, a Prime Minister who is weak and a Prime Minister who above all else is tricky with the Australian public," he said. "The Prime Minister has plainly misled this Parliament by claiming that no-one is going to be worse off under his [industrial relations] scheme when plainly people are very much worse off." Mr Rudd hit back at the attack by accusing the Opposition of attempting to deflect attention away from former Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull's vow to cross the floor and vote for the Government's emissions trading scheme (ETS). "Today is all about one thing - distraction with a capital D," the Prime Minister said. "What we have here Mr Speaker is a simply parliamentary tactic to take the attention away from climate change." Mr Rudd defended the Government's action on health, saying a final plan would be presented to the states "very soon". And he denied he told Parliament no worker would be worse off under current laws, saying his comments applied to "transitional" legislation. "The trickiness suggested by those opposite lies in the Leader of the Opposition conflating that piece of legislation with the Fair Work bill which came in later," he said. While the Opposition pressured the Government over broken promises, the Government again zeroed in on Coalition finance spokesman Barnaby Joyce with Treasurer Wayne Swan describing the Opposition as having as the "least qualified" economic team in 30 years. Earlier, Mr Turnbull described the Coalition's climate change policy as a "recipe for fiscal recklessness on a grand scale" and said it would achieve very little except push up taxes.