The “mastermind” of a people-smuggling boat whose crew were allegedly paid more than $US30,000 in cash by Australian officials to turn back should be jailed for 13 years, Indonesian prosecutors say.

Kugan, also known as Vishvanathan Thineshkumar, is accused of organising the vessel, hiring the captain and crew and assembling the 65 asylum seekers who were bound for New Zealand in May last year.

The boat’s crew claim they were intercepted by the Australian Border Force, who paid them to turn back.

Kugan, a Sri Lankan, is the last of seven men to face sentencing over the case, which is the focus of a Senate inquiry in Canberra.

Describing him as the “mastermind” of the journey, prosecutor Alexander Sele asked Rote Ndao District Court on Thursday to sentence him to 13 years in prison for the offence of people smuggling, which carries a maximum 15-year term.

“During the trial process he (Kugan) always made things difficult. He has not been straightforward in giving answers to the court,” he said.

Five Indonesian fishermen told their trial late last year they were handed $US32,000 in cash by Australian officials to turn the boat back and never repeat the venture.

The captain, Yohanis Humiang, 35, has said he negotiated the payment, which was given as capital to start a new business.

An asylum seeker aboard the vessel, Abdul Malek Molah of Myanmar, also told an Indonesian court he saw the cash being handed over.

The crew were each sentenced to five years in January, while Yohanis was jailed for five years and eight months.

Kugan’s case is set to return to court this month.

The construction industry has begun the year on a weak footing, with activity shrinking again in bad news for the broader economy.

The Performance of Construction Index slumped 0.5 points to 46.3 in January, remaining below the 50-point level separating expansion from contraction.

Ai Group head of public policy Peter Burn said the sector had become increasingly dependent on robust residential construction and, in particular, apartment building in recent months.

But apartment activity dropped dramatically in January, and new orders declined across all four construction sub-sectors, the Australian Industry Group and Housing Industry Association results show.

“(This) suggests that construction may not play the leading role in rebalancing the broader economy that it played in 2015,” Mr Burn said.

Apartment building returned to negative territory after six months of expansion but commercial construction was the weakest sub-sector in the month, contracting at the sharpest rate since July 2013.

Meanwhile, engineering construction also remained subdued while house building recorded a second month of growth.

HIA economist Diwa Hopkins tipped new home construction and apartments, in particular, to pull back from the record levels experienced in 2015.

Ms Hopkins said conditions in commercial and engineering construction look set to remain sluggish in the coming months in an environment of softening residential building activity.

“We need to see evidence of a recovery in non-residential construction but as yet, the Australian PCI suggests that the weakness of 2015 will persist into early 2016.”

The ABC’s Play School can no longer be trusted not to push political agendas with its plans to feature gay dads on the show, the Australian Christian Lobby says.

The group says parents should not be forced into explaining to kids how two men come to have a baby.

“Unsupervised watching of Play School was always considered safe by generations of parents. Now parents can’t be sure if their children are going to be exposed to contested social and political agendas,” ACL managing director Lyle Shelton said in a statement on Friday.

A two-dad family has been cast for the program’s popular Through the Windows segment, which will also include an adopted family, an extended family, a blended family and an indigenous family.

Mr Shelton accused the public broadcaster of imposing “rainbow politics” on toddlers when millions of their parents did not agree with same-sex marriage.

“The ABC should not assume that producing children through harvested eggs and a rented or donated woman’s womb to meet the desires of two men is a public good.”

Mr Shelton called on Communications Minister Mitch Fifield to intervene.

On Thursday Play School executive producer Jan Stradling told Guardian Australia the segment would “reflect current Australian society by showing a range of family structures and backgrounds”.

“The focus of the Through the Windows segments is always on the child and the favourite activities they love to do with their families, the emphasis being on spending time together,” she said.

An ABC spokesman told SBS News the organisation had no further comment to make.

Related reading

The boss of the highly criticised NBN rollout has asked for trust as he vows to have 8 million homes and businesses connected to high speed broadband by 2020.

NBN Co chief executive Bill Morrow said roughly half of the nation’s homes and businesses are now either in the design process, under construction or ready for service.

“This is such a complex undertaking that has never been done before anywhere,” Mr Morrow said.

“We know there are strong opinions about much of the details and we accept this.

“We ask that you trust us, we will be transparent, we will be open, we will make sure that we expose all of the elements to which we didn’t do well, on top of the bragging of the good things that the employees did.”

Around 450,000 homes and businesses were added to the NBN footprint in the six months to December 31, taking the number of premises that can order an NBN service to nearly 1.7 million.

The number of homes and businesses with an NBN service rose to 736,000.

NBN charges telcos including Telstra, Optus and TPG to access its fast broadband network, and they re-sell the service to their customers.

NBN Co’s revenue more than doubled to $164 million in first half of 2015/16, from $65 million a year earlier.

Average revenue per user – a key figure for the telecommunications industry – rose 10 per cent to $43 a month over the six month period from $39 a year earlier.

NBN Co was established by the federal Labor government in 2009 to build and operate a super fast fibre broadband network.

But after a review of NBN’s plans and costs, the Abbott government decided to use a mix of technologies, including Telstra’s existing copper network.

The bulk of the NBN network will still consist of fibre cables, but the final part of the network that connects to homes and office buildings will use Telstra’s existing copper network.

Some industry experts argue the change will slow broadband speeds.

The design of the NBN will be guided by the government’s policy objectives of providing download data rates of at least 25 megabits per second to all premises, and at least 50 Mbps to 90 per cent of fixed line premises.

Initially, the NBN network was forecast to cost $41 billion, but the cost has ballooned to between $46 billion to $56 billion.

The federal government will cap its investment in NBN at $29.5 billion, with the remainder required to complete the network to be funded by borrowing money.

Fear about the mosquito-borne Zika virus has sparked a surge in Brazilians rushing to buy repellant, creating a shortage of some brands on shop shelves.

Following the detection of Zika in April, sales of repellant in Brazil rose by one-third last year, according to consumer research firm Nielsen.

That has doubled revenue for the sector to $US55.7 million ($A77.5 million).

Buying was also spurred by an increase in cases of dengue, another virus spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Sales have risen even more sharply since Brazilian authorities in November flagged a potential link between Zika and suspected cases of microcephaly, a condition marked by abnormally small head size in newborns that can result in developmental problems.

Even at small local pharmacies in Rio, waiting lists for the most sought-after repellant, Exposis, stretch to hundreds of names, with expectant mothers and their families rushing from store to store in search of the product.

Raia Drogasil, Brazil’s largest chain of pharmacies, said repellant sales in December jumped seven-fold from a year earlier.

Brazil’s biggest retailer, the Pao de Acucar Group , said supermarket sales of repellant were up 120 per cent in the first weeks of 2016, compared to the same period a year earlier.

The rise was sharpest in the Northeast region at the centre of the outbreak, where sales rose fourfold, and in the Brazil’s second city of Rio de Janeiro, where they tripled.

In Rio, protection against Zika is a top priority for the city’s 6.5 million inhabitants and hundreds of thousands of tourists as the country’s biggest Carnival celebration kicks off on Friday and the Olympic Games start in August.

Exposis, developed by France’s Osler, has received media attention in Brazil because it is the only brand on the market with the active ingredient Icaridin. Many Brazilians consider it the most effective repellant against the Aedes mosquito, though studies suggest its efficacy is similar to brands using DEET.

Cristiane Padrao, a 36-year-old physical education teacher in her sixth month of pregnancy, said she could not find Exposis anywhere despite scouring the internet and enlisting the help of family in other parts of Brazil.

“I’m on my third tube of it,” she said. “I bought one in Rio. My sister was able to buy one in Belo Horizonte and my mother bought two for me” in Minas Gerais state north of Rio.

James Pattinson is a touch jealous of Australia’s Test squad members playing a Sheffield Shield match in New Zealand.

But Pattinson, who has bowled just 21.3 overs since the SCG Test, is confident he’ll be able to shake off the rust before the trans-Tasman series starts next Friday in Wellington.

Australia will regain the No.1 Test ranking if they defeat NZ 1-0 or 2-0 in Brendon McCullum’s farewell series.

Their preparation for the crunch clashes has been far from ideal – and not just because of the collapse of 5-8 and terrible defeat in the opening ODI in Auckland.

Coach Darren Lehmann has missed the start of the tour because of a blood clot, while there is no tune-up in the whites because of the ongoing three-match ODI series.

NSW and Western Australia are playing a Sheffield Shield match in the NZ town of Lincoln to help Adam Voges, Nathan Lyon and Peter Nevill adjust to local conditions.

Victorians Pattinson and Peter Siddle, Tasmania’s Jackson Bird, Queensland opener Joe Burns and South Australian seamer Chadd Sayers were not afforded the same luxury.

“That would have been nice (to play a Shield game in NZ). They’ve had a great preparation,” Pattinson said on Friday.

“Adam Voges got a hundred so he has seen the conditions.

“You have to be adaptable and everyone should be ready for it.”

Pattinson was sidelined throughout the Big Bash League and recent limited-overs action against India.

“My shins have been pretty sore throughout the whole summer. We’ve played on some pretty hard wickets,” the 25-year-old said.

“It just got a little bit worse than I thought it would, so it was just a bit of a rest (needed).”

The right-armer returned in the Victoria-Tasmania Shield clash at the MCG.

But he was withdrawn after two days of play, with Cricket Australian keen to ensure the potent paceman was cherry ripe for the opening Test at Basin Reserve.

“I haven’t really bowled much over the last three weeks,” Pattinson admitted.

“I was a bit rusty early on (in the Shield game) but then I hit my straps in the second innings.

“I’m feeling really good.

“The selectors and the medical staff are pretty happy with where I’m at.”

Malcolm Turnbull says the states must fund any increase in spending on schools and hospitals and not expect Canberra to be an ATM.

The ultimatum came as the prime minister said his tax plan, which would ensure any change does not result in overall federal taxes rising, could be released before the May budget.

Mr Turnbull is facing a backlash from within the coalition over a possible rise in the rate of the GST from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.

At the same time, Labor and the states have urged the government to boost spending on schools and hospitals.

Mr Turnbull said the states needed to take a careful look at their own taxes, such as stamp duties, and his government would not raise taxes just to spend more.

“They (the states) have got to be prepared … to go to their citizens and say … `we need to raise more money to spend on our schools and our hospitals and we are going to increase this state tax or that state tax’,” he told 5AA radio in Adelaide on Friday.

The federal government would no longer be an ATM for the states.

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill said he would not accept a rise in the GST unless there was a “revenue fix” that covered the $80 billion in health and education cuts.

Mr Weatherill and NSW Premier Mike Baird have proposed the GST rate rise to 15 per cent with households compensated and the net proceeds going towards the fiscal gap in health, estimated to be $35 billion a year by 2030.

“Health funding is now shaping as the key federal election issue,” Mr Weatherill said on Friday.

Mr Turnbull said any change in the tax mix would ensure the less well-off were properly compensated and that it had a productivity benefit.

He was “thrilled” that tax was being debated within the coalition and more broadly.

“When we come to a decision, which we will do shortly … people will be able to say, even if they don’t agree with us, that we thought about these issues carefully,” Mr Turnbull said.

Nationals MP Michelle Landry says small businesses in her seat of Capricornia have contacted her with concerns about a GST rise.

“I’d prefer to see the GST stay as it is and maybe look at some other avenues with the tax reform,” she told ABC radio.

Liberal MP Dan Tehan said keeping the tax system as it was would lead to higher taxes for average income earners and long-term economic decline.

Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen said the Liberal party was “at war with itself” on tax.

The Reserve Bank says it could cut the cash rate further if needed, but that the current setting is right for the time being.

“At the February meeting, the board judged that there were reasonable prospects for continued growth in the economy, with inflation close to target,” the RBA said in its quarterly Statement on Monetary Policy released on Friday.

At that meeting on Tuesday, the RBA kept the cash rate at a record low of two per cent.

The central bank said it had lowered its forecast for the unemployment rate after labour market conditions had improved unexpectedly.

In the previous statement, in November, the RBA forecast the jobless rate would rise above six per cent, and not to fall back below it until 2017.

But the latest report shows the jobless rate, which fell to 5.8 per cent in December, easing to around 5.5 per cent.

This is despite forecasts for economic growth and inflation which were both little changed from the previous report.

“A concentration of economic activity in labour-intensive service sectors, such as household services, may help to explain the strength in employment growth over 2015 despite below-average GDP (gross domestic product) growth,” the RBA said.

The RBA said low interest rate and the lower Australian dollar were supporting the rebalancing of the economy.

“Economic activity has generally strengthened in the non-resource sectors,” the RBA said.

At the same time, inflation is expected to remain subdued.

The RBA identified three factors holding down inflation – lower costs for business inputs like fuel, intense competitive pressures, and weak growth in labour costs thanks to unemployment.

“These factors are not expected to dissipate rapidly over the forecast period,” the RBA said.

The central bank said the outlook for economic growth in Australia’s major trading partners had not changed.

However, the outlook for the Chinese economy amid financial instability was a source of uncertainty for Australia.

“Any sharp slowing in China is likely to have significant implications for economic conditions in the Asian region and for commodity exporters, including Australia.”

The RBA said it will keep its eye on the jobs market as well as the global economy.

“New information should allow the Board to judge whether the recent improvement in labour market conditions is continuing and whether the recent financial market turbulence portends weaker global and local demand,” the RBA said, repeating the message from its statement after Tuesday’s board meeting.

“Continued low inflation may provide scope for easier monetary policy, should that be appropriate to provide support to demand.”

The royal commission into child sexual abuse will rule on Monday whether Australia’s highest-profile Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, will be allowed to give evidence via video link from Rome.

Cardinal Pell’s lawyers on Friday provided the commission with a medical report which warned a flight from Rome to Australia would be “difficult” and could pose a “serious risk” to his health.

Royal commission chairman Peter McClellan, however, questioned whether the two-page cardiologist’s report precludes the 74-year-old from flying.

The commission wants to hear testimony from Cardinal Pell and former Bishop of Ballarat Ronald Mulkearns about decades of abuse at schools run by the Catholic clergy in Melbourne and Ballarat.

Hearings are scheduled in Ballarat this month.

Alan Myers, QC, representing Cardinal Pell, on Friday told the royal commission his client “certainly wants to avoid the appearance that he’s unwilling to give evidence”.

Cardinal Pell, when he was able, was “not unwilling” to return to Australia from Rome where he oversees the Vatican’s finances, Mr Myers said.

But Justice McClellan said the medical opinion did not say Cardinal Pell could not travel to Australia.

“That doesn’t preclude his travel, does it?” Justice McClellan asked.

“The doctor opines that it would be difficult for him to undertake a flight. It doesn’t mean he can’t come.”

Senior counsel assisting the commission, Gail Furness, suggested “there are a number of ways of travelling to Australia which would permit shorter journeys to be made, albeit over a longer period of time”.

Justice McClellan responded: “There are other means of getting in. One can come by ship, I suppose.”

The commission was also told that Cardinal Pell does not want the details of the heart condition he suffers to be made public.

But Paul O’Dwyer, SC, representing one of the survivors of abuse, argued the report should be made public, telling the hearing that Cardinal Pell’s health issues “were very common garden problems for a man of the Cardinal’s age”.

Justice McClellan, who has made it clear it is his preference for Cardinal Pell to appear in person, will announce on Monday whether applications for Cardinal Pell and Bishop Mulkearns to appear via video link will be allowed.

Bishop Mulkearns is in palliative care in Ballarat suffering cancer.

Health authorities still don’t know the cause of a salmonella outbreak linked to pre-packaged lettuce from a Victorian farming company.

But Tripod Farmers has been given the go-ahead by authorities to resume business after a site inspection.

Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services has received reports of 54 cases of the rare salmonella anatum strain and expects that number to grow.

“This is a serious outbreak,” senior medical adviser Finn Romanes told reporters on Friday.

“I do expect … that we’ll probably see more people.”

The outbreak is linked to pre-packed lettuce distributed by Tripod Farmers, but it’s unclear what could have caused it.

“The system has excellent critical control points and a triple-washing process, but at the moment we don’t have any information back yet to identify a specific cause,” Dr Romanes said.

Investigations are under way to determine whether a contaminated water supply, fertiliser or something else at the Bacchus Marsh facility could be to blame.

The Victorian health department was first made aware of people getting sick in late December but noticed a sharp increase on February 2.

The department was then able to link the outbreak to the Bacchus Marsh factory.

Six people in South Australia have also been diagnosed with the same strain of salmonella.

Queensland health authorities believe seven reported cases in the state may be linked to the same pre-packaged lettuce.

The company has recalled 30 retail products sold at supermarkets, as well as wholesale products.

The recalled lettuce mixes with any best-before date up to February 14 should be returned to the store, or thrown out.

The outbreak was first thought to affect only pre-packaged lettuce sold at supermarkets, but diet company Lite n’ Easy are also warning the lettuce recall will affect some lunches in their menu this week.

Sandwiches sold at 7-Eleven outlets have also been recalled.

Mentone Girls Grammar School said souvlaki and burgers sold at its canteen on Thursday used some of the potentially tainted lettuce.

Following a clean-up on Tuesday, the company has reassured the Victorian health body its lettuce products are safe.

“We’ve been reassured by the company that the product is safe, and we don’t have any evidence to suggest it’s not,” Dr Romanes said.

He also defended Victoria’s food safety measures.

“I’m confident that there are really good systems in place to prevent this occurring and to detect issues when they occur,” Dr Romanes said.

But completely ruling out the risk of salmonella when it comes to food is not realistic, he says.

“I think it would be wrong to say there will never ever be another outbreak of salmonella linked to a food in Victoria.

“That’s not a guarantee.”

RECALLED PRODUCTS (Use-by date up to and including 14 February)

* Coles Australian Baby Spinach 60g

* Coles Australian Baby Rocket 60g

* Coles Australian Baby Rocket 120g

* Coles Australian Spinach & Rocket 120g

* Coles Australian Baby Spinach 120g

* Coles Australian 4 Leaf Salad 120g

* Coles Australian 4 Leaf Salad 200g

* Wash N Toss Watercress 100g

* Wash N Toss Sorrel 50g

* Wash N Toss Baby Cos 100g

* Wash N Toss Baby Spinach 100g

* Wash N Toss Salad Mix 100g

* Wash N Toss Wild Rocket 100g

* Wash N Toss Kale 100g

* Woolworths Baby Spinach 100g

* Woolworths Baby Rocket 100g

* Woolworths Gourmet Mix 100g

* Woolworths Fresh Cut Loose Baby Spinach 1kg

* Woolworths Fresh Cut Salad Loose Mesclun 1kg

* Supa Salad Supa salad 180g

* Supa Salad Green Coral 180g

* Supa Salad Supamix 1kg

* Supa Salad Spinach 1kg

* Supa Salad Rocket 1kg

* Supa Salad Baby Cos 1kg

* Supa Salad ALH 1kg

* Supa Salad Spinach 180g

* Clear Film Blend

* Clear Film Spinach

* Clear Film Baby Cos