What you need to do to live to 100

Eat a banana a day, says 112-year-old Salustiano Sanchez-Blazquez, who, according to research by Guinness World Records, is the new world's oldest man. AP Photo/Guiness World Records Source: AP

SO, you want to live to 100? Maybe 110? Or more?

There are some simple rules to follow, if those who have already made it to a century - and beyond - are anything to go by.

As a rough guide, you should:

1. Be born in Japan.

2. All of the above

Read the paper and watch what you eat, said Jiroemon Kimura, seen here celebrating his 116th birthday. AFP

OK, so maybe it's a bit late for most of us to organise that.

But don't fret if you are not Japanese, there are still things you can do to squeeze in more time on Earth.

Eat, drink, sleep and work hard for starters, preferably outdoors and somewhere rural.

It also pays to have a sense of humour, be easygoing, and - good advice this - keep breathing.

Likes her pickled mackerel. Japan's Misao Okawa, was recognised as the world's oldest woman by the Guinness World Record in february this year. AFP

But above all, don't stress.

Salustiano Sanchez Blazquez, who at 112 has been recognised as the world's oldest man , has a simple formula: eat bananas.

Sanchez says a daily banana is his secret to a long life, along with six pain killers.

He succeeded Japan's Jiroemon Kimura, who died in June, age 116, as the world's oldest man.

Smoke 10 cigars a day, and drink martinis. That was Hollywood centurion George Burns's advice. News Limited

Kimura's secret to longevity - apart from waking early, reading the newspaper and watching sumo wrestling and parliamentary debates on television - was his diet: "Not eating much without likes and dislikes," he told The Japan Times in 2009.

The world's oldest woman, Misao Okawa, 115, from Japan, said her secret was "watch out for one's health" and a daily serve of pickled mackerel - a Japanese dish for acquired tastes.

Meanwhile, Pearl Cantrell, who's 105, swears by bacon .

The Texan, who is still going strong, eats the processed meat daily and says it has enabled her to stay fit and healthy long into her old age.

Didn't mind a glass of wine. The Queen Mother, seen here with grandson Prince Charles, lived to 101. Picture: AFP

She says that others should do the same if they want to live to be as old as her.

"I love bacon. I could eat it for every meal - and I do. I want other people to eat bacon and I tell them to."

Actor George Burns, who lived to 100, had simple recipe for a long life. Smoke 10 to 15 cheap cigars a day, drink a couple of martinis a day, keep your sense of humour and never, ever retire.

California man Christian Mortensen, who lived to 115, was also fond of cigars. Danish ones.

She hated the healthy lifestyle but Helen Reichert still lived to 109.

In fact, booze and smokes haven't been an impediment to long life for a lucky few.

The Queen Mother, who lived to 101, was well-known to be fond of a gin, or a glass of wine. One anecdote tells of how the then Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, accidentally grabbed her glass at her 100th birthday function, prompting the royal matriarch to exclaim: "That's mine!".

The residents of Chiangmai, in southern China, where there are more than 200 residents aged over 100 out of a population of 560,000, have sage advice for those seeking to eke out more years.

They claim a healthy reliance on alcohol was vital. Xu Yuhe, whose residency permit lists her as 104, told AFP that she takes daily shots of "Three Coconut Spring'' a local grain spirit.

Drink spirits, says 104-year-old Xu Yuhe, who lives in a town with one of the highest proportions of over-100s in the world. She says takes daily shots of "Three Coconut Spring'' a local grain spirit. AFP / Wang Zhao

"I drink alcohol every evening, just a little bit, it helps you feel warm,'' said Sheng She, an 80-year-old who says she has 31 children and grandchildren.

Helen (Happy) Reichert, a former TV talk show host and doyenne of New York society, who lived until 109, said she hated just about everything to do with a healthy lifestyle, such as salads, vegetables, getting up early.

In one interview, she admitted she adored rare hamburgers, chocolate, cocktails, and night-life in New York.

She also likes to smoke: "I've been smoking for more than 80 years, all day long, every day. That's a whole lot of cigarettes.''

Parsley tea and the Bible were the ingredients to a long life for Miriam Schmierer. Pic: Adam Knott

Reichert's advice would have shocked some of the Australians who have made it past 100.

Queenslander Miriam Schmierer , who lived to 110, told The Courier Mail her secret to a long life was a diet of parsley tea and dedicated reading of The Bible.

NSW centenarian Jane Gray , who celebrated her 111th birthday last November, said her secret was to eat plenty of good food and don't drink booze or smoke.

"Just behave yourself," she said.

Claude Choules, who lioved to 110, said the key to life was to keep breathing. Picture: Marie Nirme

Perth man Claude Choules , who lived to 110, was more phlegmatic.

His daughter told Perh Now in 2010: "People always ask, 'What do you put your long life down to?' and he said, 'I just keep breathing'.''

The woman officially recognised as having lived the longest was Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment. She lived to 122.

Her family put her longevity down to the kilo of chocolate a week she ate. Calment, who died in 1997, also treated her skin with olive oil, rode a bicycle until she was 100, and only quit smoking five years before her death.

Chocolate, cigarettes, bicycle riding and never stressing out all helped Jeanne Calment live to 122, the oldest person ever. File image

Jean-Marie Robine, a public health researcher, put her long life down to a lack of stress.

"I think she was someone who, constitutionally and biologically speaking, was immune to stress,'' he told the New York Times. ''She once said, 'If you can't do anything about it, don't worry about it'.''

Good advice.

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Council merger plan 'dodgy': Labor

Colin Barnett has done a deal with Brendan Grylls to force some city councils to merge.

Leader of the opposition Mark McGowan calls State Government's plan to merge councils 'dodgy'. Picture: Stewart Allen Source: PerthNow

A DEAL to merge metropolitan councils in Perth and leave regional councils untouched has been slammed by the West Australian opposition as "secret'' and "dodgy''.

Before the state election in March, Premier Colin Barnett said there would be no forced council amalgamations, but confirmed in The Sunday Times yesterday that the state's 40 councils would be reduced in number.

Today, WA Nationals leader Brendon Grylls revealed he had agreed to support the mergers, provided regional councils were exempt.

Mr Grylls said the state Liberal and National parties had different positions on the matter, so had agreed to a compromise.

WA Labor leader Mark McGowan said the amalgamation plan was the latest in a string of broken election promises by Mr Barnett.

City of Perth boundaries expand

"The Liberal and National parties promised they would not undertake this action, and if they were going to, they should have sought a mandate from the people of Western Australia prior to the state election,'' Mr McGowan told reporters.

"This is a secret, dodgy, murky deal to put up rates for ratepayers in Perth while Mr Grylls ensures that country ratepayers don't have that imposed on them.''

Mr McGowan said rates went up by 25 per cent when the regional councils of Geraldton and Greenough merged in 2007.

"That is what people in Perth can expect when Mr Barnett has his way,'' he said.

More details of the changes will be revealed on Tuesday.

Alannah MacTiernan questions council merge plan

Federal Labor candidate for the seat of Perth Alannah MacTiernan has questioned the legality of the West Australian government plan to force local councils to merge.

Alannah MacTiernan, a former WA government minister and now Mayor of Vincent, said there was a case for local government reform and for a rationalisation of boundaries.

Profile: Alannah MacTiernan

But the inner-city area, centred on Leederville, had different planning issues to the more suburban City of Stirling, with which it is to be joined.

It was more focused on integrating single-storey buildings with higher-rise development, helping strip shopping survive and creating ``street culture'', Ms MacTiernan said.

She would prefer Vincent to become part of the City of Perth.

"The focus of the City of Stirling is entirely different,'' Ms MacTiernan told Fairfax radio.

"Mr Barnett has lobbed on his new member for Perth an absolute nightmare and I do not see how, legally, how he is actually going to be able to deliver this.

"He doesn't have the legislative power to do this.''

The Town of Victoria Park is also against the plan as it could lose millions of dollars in revenue from James Packer's Crown casino complex, which will become part of the City of Perth.

Mr Barnett's office has suggested further details of the changes, to be revealed on Tuesday, could make up for the loss of revenue for Victoria Park.

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Trial accused claims self-defence

The woman who is accused of deliberately setting Dana Vulin on fire has told a jury she was acting in self defense.

PLEASE USE THIS PIC: Dana Vulin suffered severe burns to her body. Picture: Channel Nine Source: PerthNow

An artist's impression of Natalie Dimitrovska, who is accused of dousing Dana Vulin with methylated spirits and setting her on fire at her Rivervale apartment. Source: PerthNow

THE woman accused of deliberately setting fire to an acquaintance she believed was having an affair with her husband has told a WA court she never intended to hurt her.

Natalie Dimitrovska, 28, is on trial for intentionally causing grievous bodily harm to Dana Vulin, who suffered extensive burns to 60 per cent of her body and will require treatment for the rest of her life.

For the first time since the alleged attack in February last year, Dimitrovska has publicly given her version of the events that led to Ms Vulin becoming what she called a "human fireball''.

Dimitrovska confirmed on the night Ms Vulin was burned in her Rivervale apartment, she had thrown a bottle of methylated spirits at Ms Vulin, who was holding a lit meth burner.

But Dimitrovska said it had been an "instinctive'' reaction to being threatened herself with pepper spray.

"I didn't know what it was when I picked it up. I had no intention to hurt Dana or cause her injuries,'' Dimitrovska said.

"I picked up the first thing that came to hand and threw it at Dana, I thought she was going to spray me. She instantly seemed to light up.''

Explaining why she had run away as Ms Vulin burned in her kitchen, Dimitrovska could only say: "I got scared. I panicked.''

The accused told Western Australia's District Court how she had split up with her husband Edin Handanovic on New Year's Day, but they were attempting a reconciliation.

However, she said she believed that was being hampered by his relationship with Ms Vulin.

Dimitrovska said after her husband got into a fight on January 28, she was visited by members of a bikie gang who threatened her and her young daughter.

She said she feared for her life, was desperate to locate her husband, and believed he was staying with Ms Vulin.

She denied abusing Ms Vulin during a series of phone calls leading up to the day of the alleged attack, saying they had become friendly while smoking methylamphetamine together.

But prosecutor Linda Petrusa questioned why Dimitrovska had used a 1831 prefix to disguise her number to ring Ms Vulin if the phone calls were not abusive, and suggested she had been furious at Ms Vulin's supposed infidelity with her husband.

The court had previously heard Dimitrovska had told Ms Vulin she would "ruin her pretty little face'' prior to the alleged attack, and had stormed into Ms Vulin's apartment demanding to know where her husband was hiding.

The prosecution says Dimitrovska deliberately took the top off the methylated spirits bottle and doused the victim, and then laughed as she ran away.

The court was told she then changed her hair colour and bought a one-way ticket to Macedonia, before being arrested at Perth airport moments before she was due to depart.

"I was scared of the consequences - I freaked out,'' Dimitrovska said.

Cross examination

In cross-examination, Ms Dimitrovska continued to deny making threats to Ms Vulin.

She said she agreed to become friendly with the younger woman because she knew she could "score drugs"
from her.

On February 14, 2012, two days before Ms Vulin was set on fire, Ms Dimitrovska went to the river-front apartment looking for Mr Handanovic.

Ms Dimitrovska said she had been looking for her husband because bikies had come to her doorstep threatening her and her daughter if she did not find Mr Handanovic for them.

"By the time you came to talk to Dana, you believed her to be a liar and husband stealer," prosecutor Linda Petrusa said.

"Yes," Ms Dimitrovska responded. "I broke down in tears when I got there, Miss."

Ms Dimitrovska refuted claims she stormed through Ms Vulin's flat looking for Mr Handanovic saying it was "not something I would do."

"I was heartbroken," she said. "I thought he might be there."

The jury was told since Ms Dimitrovska had separated from her husband, he had bought a mobile phone but did not give her the phone number.

Ms Petrusa said when Ms Dimitrovska got hold of his phone number, she went on to call him 128 times between February 17 and 24, 2012.

"You could get hold of Dana, not Edin and you directed all of your anger and frustration on her," Ms Petrusa said.

The trial continues.

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Oh! What a night - three new TV shows

The X Factor judges for 2013: Ronan Keating, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Dannii Minogue and Redfoo. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

FRANKIE Valli and the Four Seasons' hit December 1963 (Oh! What a night) should be renamed July 29, 2013. Three TV shows relaunched and a pumpkin recipe for the worst cook in the world.

Welcome to HomeTime, our 4pm daily bulletin of what to watch on TV, what to cook and on Fridays the best of the new releases at the movies.

What's hot on TV tonight with TV writer Dianne Butler

The X Factor, Channel 7, 7.30pm 3 stars

The X Factor judges for 2013: Ronan Keating, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Dannii Minogue and Redfoo. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

Don't be alarmed when you don't see Natalie Bassingthwaighte at the first audition. It's probably not because Channel 7 couldn't get her last name right and it's up there on the screen in ENORMOUS LETTERS spelt incorrectly. It'll be fixed up by the time you watch the show tonight. Hopefully. Not that the first audition is the first audition. Who knows what they had to sit through before they got to Jai. Jai's 14, looks about 10, and is like Justin Bieber back when he could urinate in public without anyone caring. Or I assume they sound the same, I don't actually know. But everyone goes mental when he starts singing, even though if I was running X Factor I wouldn't have opened the show with a show stopper. Still. Jai makes Redfoo cry "for real" and he's going through something "right now" in a relationship and he wished he could show his song to her. Is Redfoo talking about his girlfriend Victoria Azarenko the tennis player? Or someone else? The missing judge Natalie BASSINGTHWAIGHTE? Someone he made up while Jai was singing? Jai's also enough to make Ronan Keating stand on top of the desk. One of you keep count how many times this happens in the course of the series will you? It looks like showboating in front of the big new American judge. And how is Redfoo, you'll be wondering. A hundred times better than Mel B. (Who?) And also Ronan Keating, as it happens, who is described by Simon Cowell, in a prerecorded assessment at the start as having a "record industry brain" - completely idiotic - and who later asks a sweet girl from Brisbane who is clearly about to give us a Susan Boyle moment where she's from. She's just told us she's from Brisbane, but Ronan asks her again in the same way Pauline Hanson used to ask people where they were from. It's fairly unattractive. Nobody asks him where he's from. But Ronan's also someone who says 120 per cent.

Who makes Redfoo cry in The X Factor?

Natalie Bassingthwaighte misses X Factor return

Natalie Bassingthwaighte reveals why she was expelled from school - and other regrettable rebellions.

Big Brother, Channel 9, 7pm 3 stars

Entertainment Reporter Charlotte Willis spends 24 hours inside this year's Big Brother house. Courtesy: Southern Star, Big Brother

Sonia Kruger, host of . Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

Nothing much to tell you. I mean, I'd hate to ruin your night. You've seen the ads? Where they're doing the hands like they're in Under the Dome? That's probably where they got the idea for their big twist. Either there or from one of the other Big Brothers around the world. It's not just boring people sitting in a house. Would we have just watched that? Sure. Some of us. Are you going to be more inclined to watch it once you know they're involved in something more….let's say experimental? It's not that different from last year, don't get too worked up. There's always a certain amount of deprivation involved going into the Big Brother house. For them and for us. I don't know if we're really going to be satisfied with this show until someone dies. How far off is that, would you say? A cat died on Bondi Vet on Saturday, close-up shot, 7.30 at night, someone's domestic companion. You join the dots. Nine's running Big Brother wall-to-wall this year, having discovered - the hard way - the formula for a successful show. Of course there is also the view, discovered by married people, that the more time you spend with people the more you grow tired of them, until you'd do anything to not have to see them EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.

Pictures: Sneak peak inside the Big Brother house

Sonya Kruger channels sibling rivalry on Big Brother

Here are some hilarious bloopers from rehearsals from Sonia Kruger and David Campbell's new show called Mornings, which premieres Monday.

Please Marry My Boy , Channel 7, 9pm 2 and a half stars

Doreen Secomb and her son Nathan appear on . Source: Supplied

Nathan models, his mother is saying, so he mixes with people "who are like that.'' Like what Doreen? Up themselves. Doreen is a Christian who has issues with girls who don't dress "respectfully." Marriage is vitally important to her. Which is why she needs to know if Yvette's bosoms, the first girl her son Nathan is hot for, are real. Yvette, however, is also a Christian. Or she is for the purposes of Nathan's mother. Nathan can't believe his luck. A Christian with implants. Tick and tick. Brad is the baby. Or this is how his mother refers to him. Yes, I can't believe he has a problem with girls either. He says he can sell a girl a tent but he can't get her phone number. He works in a camping store. Girls - think back, the last time you bought a tent was…? Margaret, his mother, is lethal. She asks one girl "and have we had many boyfriends before?" in a tone of voice I haven't heard since I watched The Tudors. The third guy is Carlo, who's 41 and dying to have kids. Less interested in the wife bit. If only it was legal to marry your mother, right guys?

Please marry my boy Carlo, says mum Maria

Doreen Secomb uses reality TV to find partner for son

Tell me what you think of tonight's show? dianne.butler@news.com.au

Tonight's quick and easy meal with Jana Frawley, National Food Editor

Step away from the tin opener, because even if you're the worst cook in the world you should be able to make a decent pumpkin soup and never have to resort to the mass-produced stuff again.

All it takes is a little maths (cue the weighing and measuring of ingredients), some chopping (sharp knives are essential all the time but particularly so when cutting pumpkin), and the cooking time (most of which is done while you're off tending to other household activities).

Then comes the great equalisers: the addition of cream (hooray!) and the blending everything together which hides any dodgy inconsistent chopping you've done. Finish with a professional flourish - coriander leaves sprinkled on top at the end - and no one ever need know you can't cook.

Moroccan carrot and coriander soup. Picture: Andrew Young Source: Supplied

Moroccan carrot and pumpkin soup

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Skills: Basic

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large brown onion, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

4 carrots, peeled, coarsely chopped

400g pumpkin, peeled, seeded

1 litre (4 cups) chicken or vegetable stock

1 tablespoon honey

250ml cream

Coriander leaves, to serve

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 5 minute or until onion softens. Add the coriander, cumin, cinnamon and paprika and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic.

Add the carrot, pumpkin and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until carrot is very tender. Remove from heat.

Transfer carrot mixture to the jug of a blender and blend until smooth (alternatively, use a stick blender and blend in the pot). Return to the saucepan and add the honey and two-thirds of the cream. Place over low heat and cook for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Taste and season with salt and pepper and extra honey, if desired.

Ladle among serving bowls. Add remaining cream and top with coriander leaves to serve.

Photography by Andrew Young

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Inside Hawkins' $10 million empire

Jen Hawkins spoke with news.com.au's Melissa Hoyer earlier this year about juggling fame, fortune and family.

YOU know her as the former cheerleader turned Miss Universe turned TV host and face of department store Myer.

But there's more than meets the eye to Jennifer Hawkins.

Inside Jennifer Hawkins Inc

Jennifer Hawkins' eye-popping dress at ASTRA Awards

Pictures: Jennifer Hawkins sizzles

She has played the blushing bride, excitable TV host, expert runway strutter and red carpet glamour puss. Now it's entrepreneur. Employer. Designer. Property investor. Sharemarket trader.

Hawkins' bombshell blue-eyed, blonde-haired good looks disguise a sharp business brain.

In the almost decade since she won the Miss Universe title, Hawkins has leveraged her success to build a more than $10 million business and property empire.

Pictures: Jennifer Hawkins dyes hair pink

Pictures: Jennifer Hawkins' honeymoon in Paris

Jennifer Inc today spans lucrative endorsement deals with some of Australia's biggest companies, including department store Myer, Loveable lingerie, Coca-Cola Amatil's Mount Franklin water and Pharmacare brands Bioglan vitamins and Redwin Skincare.

After wrapping up multi-million dollar TV deals with Seven Network and Nine Network, there's a new contract to host the current season of Australia's Next Top Model.

Jennifer Hawkins arrives at the 11th Annual ASTRA Awards at The Sydney Theatre on July 25, 2013. Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

Then there's the three trademarked brands she now owns in her own right: a swimwear range COZI by Jennifer Hawkins, the shoes JLH by Jennifer Hawkins and now JBronze, a new range of self-tanning products to be launched this week.

Together with builder-slash-model husband, Jake Wall, she has amassed a property portfolio containing six properties worth around $7 million. Before flying to Bali this year for their dream wedding, the couple managed to sneak in another purchase - $1.66 million for a knock down rebuild in their home suburb of North Curl Curl on Sydney's Northern Beaches.

Jake builds the homes and Jen builds the businesses.

"I invest my money. I'm not one to throw it around," she tells me as we meet for a one-on-one interview, away from the cameras around the boardroom table of her management company's offices in Surry Hills, Sydney.

Hawkins attributes her wise early investments in property to the strong work and savings ethic instilled by her parents (she owns three investment properties in her home town of Newcastle). She is also a substantial share investor, taking out about $1 million in shares in the 2009 Myer sharemarket listing.

"Even before Miss Universe, I saved hard for my first car. I worked three jobs to get that."

Immediately after winning the crown, in April 2005, she established her own company, Universal Strategies, of which she remains the sole director and company secretary.

"From the very beginning it has always been about making the best of your opportunities and making a plan for longevity in the industry."

In a celebrity industry with a notoriously short shelf life, Hawkins has played an clever game, leveraging lucrative brand endorsements into joint venture opportunities to promote her growing list of brands.

"From the start, I wanted to build businesses that are relevant to my lifestyle and that I'm really passionate about."

She reveals she turned down her first endorsement offer: half a million dollars to push a weight loss pill. "I just said no way, no way. That's just ridiculous. It's not about the money."

But the offers kept coming and Hawkins has since secured a long list of lucrative endorsements, including Pepsi, skincare brand Lux, Covergirl makeup, a luxury waterfront property development in Hong Kong, Audi and Range Rover cars, Louis Vuitton and Siren shoes.

She is almost apologetic for her success. "You don't want to throw it in people's faces. It's not about look at me and look at my money."

"When those opportunities came up I just grabbed them and I feel very grateful for them, but I also worked hard for them."

Making the leap from supermodel to business woman, as pioneered by the likes of Heidi Klum and Elle Macpherson, will requires a delicate transition from simply promoting other company's products to developing and distributing your own

It is a transition Hawkins is well on her way to making.

Shortly after signing with Myer in 2007, she approached the company with a proposal to design and manufacture her own line of swimwear. A year later, COZI by Jennifer Hawkins swimwear was launched and is about to enter its sixth season.

Jennifer Hawkins tells herself to 'suck it up' as she freezes in a photo shoot. Picture: Jennifer Hawkins/Instagram Source: Supplied

Later, when Mount Franklin approached Hawkins in late 2011 to promote its new "Lightly Sparkling" brand of sparkling mineral water, she cleverly negotiated to launch a limited edition bottle featuring design patterns from her swimwear range.

When it came to her passion for dangerously high heals (why she needs them at 183cm I'm not sure) she jumped at the chance to become the face of Melbourne shoe designer Siren in 2010. Again, she immediately set about designing her own range for Siren, before stepping out in 2010 with her own brand JLH by Jennifer Hawkins - the L stands for Louise.

More recently, in 2012 when she became brand ambassador for Australian health and beauty products company Pharmacare, makers of Bioglan vitamins and Redwin Skin care, she was also in negotiations to have them manufacture her own range of self-tanning products, JBronze, which she is now launching.

"People may think I just popped my name on a little bottle. But I had to go to the factory and work out different scents and get people to trial them and trial them myself. I enjoy that side of things."

For the avoidance of doubt, we discuss - at length - her pricing strategies for her products. She tells me she has twice switched manufacturers for her high heals in search of the best trade off between structural heal integrity and price. Her first season of shoes retailed for around $250 but the new range will be more affordable. "I'm going to lower the cost of production and lower the price point to around $150 to $179.95," she explains before apologising. ''This is probably too boring for your story."

If anyone is under the impression Hawkins is not across the details of her business, rest assured.

Likewise, the new JBronze range is designed to sit in the mid-point, accessible range of $24.99 and up. In just three weeks, Hawkins has already lined up 1000 distribution points including Myer's 80 stores, plus hundreds of pharmacies including Terry White.

It will be her most widely sold product yet and the one about which she says she is most passionate.

A risk? For sure. But a calculated one. Hawkins quotes figures that, in a tough retail environment, sales of self tanning lotions are up 22 per cent a year, tapping into the niche for more health conscious products.

But the burgeoning business woman bristles when I ask how many employees she has. "Oh no, I'm not saying that," she says, again aware of not wanting to be seen to gloat about her empire. But yes, she is an employer. "It's my company, so yes. It's nice to be able to hire people who have experience in certain areas."

So what next? Unsurprisingly Hawkins nominates Heidi Klum, Elle Macpherson and Jennifer Lopez as the businesspeople she most admires. "I'm not putting myself on their level. They're amazing women. It's so great that they can empower women."

According to Tim Harcourt, the Airport Economist and consultant to Austrade who has helped celebrities like Megan Gale, Elle Macpherson and Hugh Jackman market themselves abroad, there is a well worn path abroad if Hawkins chooses to tread it.

She says she has already had offers by foreign online retailers to sell her COZI range, which is available exclusively in Myer stores here, to an international market.

Records with IP Australia show she has established six trademarks, covering products from sunglasses to beach towels to handbags and purses.

The question for Myer chief executive, Bernie Brookes, is whether the blonde bombshell has reached a level of success that means she is no longer seen as an "attainable" image for the typical Myer shopper.

The pair are scheduled to meet in the second week of August to discuss cessation or continuation of her contract.

The outcome will depend on the results of focus group studies into whether Hawkins adds tangible returns to shareholders, or if they'd be better of with someone younger and cheaper.

For her part, Hawkins is keen to extend the relationship. "I would love to. I'm a shareholder so I'm always going to be a part of it."

A contract extension with Myer would crown a whirlwind year for the former Miss Universe in which she has got married, been on honeymoon, purchased a new property, hosted a new show and launched a brand of bronzing products.

Hawkins turns 30 this December and shows no signs of slowing down. "I feel more confident and more like a woman. It's a calmer feeling."

The girl next door is all grown up.

Jennifer Hawkins reveals what underwear she prefers while modelling a dress that drops. File vision, 1 January 2008.

Jennifer Hawkins launches her own self-tanning range Jbronze. Source: Supplied

JEN INC.

COMPANIES

A PRIVATE company called Universal Strategies established in 2005 after the Miss Universe victory of which Hawkins remains the sole director and company secretary.

ANOTHER company called Hawkins (Aust) Pty Ltd, a personal trust which holds some of her property and assets.

BRANDS

SWIMWEAR: A swimwear brand COZI by Jennifer Hawkins launched in 2008 and stocked exclusively through Myer's 80 stores.

SHOES: A shoe brand JLH by Jennifer Hawkins launched in 2010 stocked in Myer, Seduce Clothing, Wanted Shoes, Nina Maya and styletread.com.au

BRONZERS: A self-tanning lotion and bronzer range of products J Bronze, launching soon to be socked in hundreds of pharmacies, including Terry White, and Myer stores.

AND MORE ... Universal Strategies has registered trademarks covering a host of other products including sunglasses, beach clothing, bed linen, handbags and purses.

ENDORSEMENTS

A SIX year contract as face of the Myer brand is set to expire in November having earned her an estimated $5 million.

A CONTRACT with Coca-Cola Amatil's Mount Franklin brand of "Lightly Sparkling" mineral water was also a platform to promote her COZI range of swimwear patterns.

A SEVEN year continuing stint as the face of lingerie brand Lovable, which was bought out in 2011 by the same company that launched Elle Macpherson's lingerie range.

A BRAND ambassadorship with Pharmacare to promote its brands Bioglan vitamins and Redwin skincare. Pharmacare also manufactures her bronzer.

OTHER endorsements have included Audi and Range Rover cars, Covergirl makeup, Luis Vuitton bags, Pepsi, Lux skincare, Marie Claire Asia, Siren shoes and a Hong Kong waterfront property development.

TELEVISION CONTRACTS

CURRENT host of Fox 8's Australia's Next Top Model

FIVE year contract with Seven Network presenting on The Great Outdoors worth a rumoured $700,000 to $1 million a year expired in 2009.

FORMER reporter on Nine Network's Getaway travel show.

PROPERTY

THREE investment properties in her home town of Newcastle purchased between October 2006 and October 2008 for which she paid a combined $1.4 million.

A TWO-bedroom flat in Bondi for which she paid $895,000 in 2007.

A LUXURY architect designed home in the North Curl Curl or which the couple paid $1.375 million for the land and at least another million dollars to build.

PAID $1.66 million in March this year for a knockdown rebuilt in the same suburb with a development application estimating $900,000 in works.

SHARES

Owns shares worth around $1 million thanks to substantial shareholding in Myer after being the face of its sharemarket listing in 2009.

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Musician JJ Cale dies after heart attack

Grammy-winning musician JJ Cale has died of a heart attack at the age of 74. Source: Getty Images

GRAMMY-WINNING musician JJ Cale, whose best known songs became hits for Eric Clapton with After Midnight and Lynyrd Skynyrd with Call Me the Breeze, has died aged 74.

The performer and producer's manager Mike Kappus told The Associated Press that the architect of the Tulsa Sound died on Friday night of a heart attack at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, California.

Born John Weldon Cale in Oklahoma City, he cut a wide path through 1970s rock 'n' roll, influencing some of the most famous musicians at the time with songs that were laid back and mellow, yet imbued with a driving groove.

Neil Young, Mark Knopfler and Bryan Ferry were among his many fans in the music world.

A former member of the Grand Ole Opry touring company, Cale never rose to the level of success of his admirers, but his fingerprints could be heard all over the genre in the 1970s, and his music remains influential.

His album with Eric Clapton The Road to Escondido won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2007.

In 2006, Cale told the AP in an interview "I'd probably be selling shoes today if it wasn't for Eric."

Clapton also recorded Cale's Cocaine, Travelin' Light and I'll Make Love To You Anytime.

Artists including Santana, The Allman Brothers and Johnny Cash have all covered Cale's songs.

Cale was asked on his website if it bothers him that "contemporaries and critics list him amongst legends, and fans might love his songs yet not even know his name?"

"No, it doesn't bother me," he said with a laugh.

"What's really nice is when you get a cheque in the mail."

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Radical reshape: City of Perth just got bigger

EAST: The city boundary changes will include Burswood, as pictured from the top of Central Park today. Picture: Kerris Berrington. Source: PerthNow

THE City of Perth's boundaries will be expanded to include Kings Park, the new Perth Stadium at Burswood, Leederville, the University of WA, Beaufort St and other landmarks under historic local government reforms.

The changes, announced today by Premier Colin Barnett and Local Government Minister Tony Simpson, will swallow up large parts of the City of Vincent and the City of Stirling.

MAP: SEE THE CITY BOUNDARY CHANGES

The City of Perth will expand from 782ha to 1,893ha to also include QEII hospital, the Leederville cafe strip and Beaufort St as far as Walcott St.

The extension of the city's western boundary will take in Kings Park, which is not currently included in a local government area.

The new boundary will also take in UWA, which now falls within three local government areas.

After years of wrangling, the process to reduce WA's 40 local councils will be finalised on Tuesday. The full plans will outline the Government's amalgamation blueprint in a briefing to mayors, shire presidents and CEOs from Perth's 30 local councils.

It is understood South Perth and Victoria Park will merge, and a super council will be formed in some of Australia's most affluent suburbs of Cottesloe, Peppermint Grove, Nedlands, Cambridge, Claremont, Subiaco and Mosman Park.

NORTH: The view towards Beaufort St, Mt Lawley. Source: PerthNow

The City of Vincent and the City of Stirling could also come together, against the wishes of both.

City of Vincent Mayor Alannah MacTiernan told PerthNow she was "totally opposed'' to Vincent being split in two, and supported the entire council being amalgamated into the City of Perth. 

"The City of Vincent was originally part of the City of Perth before the very stupid decision to split us apart.

"And we see this as an opportunity to fix that."

Ms MacTiernan said the City of Perth would be better able to cater for the unique identity of the City of Vincent than the "monolithic suburban council" of Stirling.

She will run a community campaign to oppose the split and support the whole of Vincent becoming part of the City of Perth.

TOTALLY OPPOSED: City of Vincent Mayor Alannah MacTiernan, pictured in Mary St, Highgate, will rally against Vincent being split in two. Source: PerthNow

"We're meeting this afternoon," she said.

"I've already been down to the North Perth coffee strip to speak to some of the business owners, and they're not happy".

And the mayor of the City of Stirling has told the ABC that cultural events such as the Beaufort Street Festival could be at risk under new metropolitan council amalgamation plans.

Mayor David Boothman told the ABC that a number of projects would be revised under that amalgamation.

"All local governments as well were required to sign off on 10-year plans this year which we have just done," he said.

"[We are] committed to about $120 million worth of major projects.

"The delivery of those projects now is going to be compromised."

Mr Boothman says it would be difficult to accommodate both councils' plans and priorities under such a merger.
"There's going to be a significant impact one way or another on rate payers on either side," he said.

"Any major changes can hurt us badly as far as being able to deliver on the commitments we currently have."

Premier Colin Barnett ascended to the 53rd floor of a Perth office block to announce the expansion of the City of Perth authority, and a significant increase in revenue for the council.

CENTRAL PARK: Colin Barnett outlines the boundary plan today. Picture: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

Premier Colin Barnett ascended to the 53rd floor of a Perth office block to announce the expansion of the City of Perth authority, and a significant increase in revenue for the council.

The Premier said the changes, which would take effect from July 2015, signalled a new era for the State's capital and were the first step in the State Government's reforms which aimed to meet the demands of a growing city.

"It is fitting that the reforms begin with the City of Perth. These changes will give it the status it should hold as Australia's west coast capital and an increasingly important city in the Asia region,'' Mr Barnett said.

"What we have is a one in 100 year opportunity to really enhance the city of Perth. You have seen this with projects such as Elizabeth Quay and Perth City Link and these reforms will further improve the city. 

"They bring the iconic features that are Perth's great selling points under one umbrella which makes good sense from a planning and tourism point of view.

"The changes lay the foundations for building a greater capital. A bigger City of Perth will be better equipped to respond to the demands of a growing State - and better represent WA internationally."

The City of Perth would gain about $10m in revenue from the acquisition of the Burswood site - which will include the casino and the new stadium but not the residential area or Belmont racecourse, Mr Simpson said.

He said the Government would work with Victoria Park and South Perth to compensate for losing Crown casino.

Mr Simpson also said the changes would not mean immediate job losses for council staff as all employees have a job guarantee of two years when a new boundary comes into place.

After the two years it would be up to the new councils how much staff they needed, he said.

OUTLINE: The new boundaries take in parts of the Town of Vincent and City of Stirling. Source: PerthNow

 CLOSER LOOK: SEE A MAP OF THE BOUNDARY CHANGES

The City of Perth boundary changes are the first part of State Government's response to the Robson report, which recommended the number of Perth metropolitan councils be reduced.

Mr Simpson will outline the Government's amalgamation blueprint in a briefing to mayors, shire presidents and CEOs from Perth's 30 local councils on Tuesday.

"This will be a critical step in updating local government boundaries for the first time in decades and ensure that we have modern local councils that can meet the challenges facing Perth now and in the future," the Minister said.

"It's essential that local governments merge to create economies of scale to provide quality and affordable services and better facilities for residents now and into the future."

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Cruel lie that tore a family apart

DESPAIR: Selvamalar knows her son is dead, but cannot accept the tragedy. Picture: Rante Ardiles Source: Supplied

MY BEAUTIFUL SON: Baby Darnasen, who drowned on the way to Australia. Source: PerthNow

About 1000 asylum seekers have died trying to get to Australia illegally by boat since the Labor Government was elected. The Sunday Times was on the scene in the immediate aftermath of the latest boat tragedy this week and, in a common but rarely captured story, can tell why one woman took an extraordinary risk to reach her husband in Perth and suffered the most painful loss of all. Special report by Paul Toohey in Java and Ashlee Mullany in Perth.

SHE was sold a cruel lie by the people smugglers. He will never meet his son.

She was told she would travel on a luxury ocean liner from Indonesia to Australia. They showed her photos of the ship that would transport her, her beautiful son and her brother to their new life in Australia. It was a superb vessel, with three storeys of cabins.

"I believed them,'' she said.

He had warned his wife not to do it, to never get on a boat. They would achieve their dream of being together again as a family but not like that. He knew first-hand how dangerous it was, having escaped to Australia four years earlier on a boat to build a new life in Perth for his wife and unborn son, their first child.

He had left Sri Lanka when she was five months pregnant.

His life on hold in a cluttered share-house with three other men in Langford in Perth's south-eastern suburbs, he spent his days working, eating, sleeping and dreaming. He dreamt of them being together, even cutting up photos to make a collage of the three of them in a typically Australian scene. The tragic montage is now the only way they would be together.
 

BROKEN MAN: Balamanokaran Nagaraga at his home in Langford holding a picture of his late son Darmasen. Picture Theo Fakos Source: PerthNow

  
**********

Wind back a few days. We are in the village of Cidaun, on the southern coast of West Java, at one of the closest points between Indonesia and Christmas Island.

Two Sri Lankan women are weeping. One says that her three children and husband are missing, lost at sea after their boat sank. The second woman says her only son is missing. Someone calls her name. She turns, in horror.

She knows that over where the voice came from is the makeshift morgue they have set up at the clinic in the fishing village.

An ambulance has just arrived with another body rescuers have pulled from the water.

The woman runs, then stops, not wanting to go closer, but compelled to do so. She knows without doubt what she'll find. She begins to scream. She rushes and grabs her small son's grey and wet body and clutches him, her overwhelming lament  unbearable to behold.

Local villagers circle her, staring at her pain. And then she and her dead boy are gone.

In Perth, husband Balamanokaran receives a phone call from his wife. His baby boy is dead.

Until now, he had no idea his wife and child had boarded a boat to try to get to Australia.

"It's not the correct way. I never wanted her to go on a boat. I came by boat and I know about the travel,'' he said.

"I told her not to stay in Indonesia, don't waste your life. Go back to Sri Lanka and I'll send you money and she said OK. I didn't know about the boat.''

Balamanokaran planned to bring his family to Australia next year, when he expected to get citizenship in the final year of his five-year visa.

"I wanted a life here with my wife and son,'' he said. ``A good future, good opportunities here.''

Now, all he wants is to hold the son he never knew.

"I want to see my son's face because I've never seen him,'' he said, sobbing quietly in a bedroom in his Langford home.

He is urgently trying to get a passport to go to Jakarta, but says he has been told to wait until next week.

"I'm asking the Australian Government to let me go to Indonesia. Send me to Indonesia,'' he said. ``If I can't do that, please bring my wife and baby here to stay with me for a couple of weeks and then send my wife back to Sri Lanka. I just want two weeks with my wife and child.''

**********

Selvamalar tells her heartbreaking story to Paul Toohey. Picture: Rante Ardiles Source: Supplied

We pick up this extraordinary story on Wednesday at noon. There are so many tales of loss after an asylum boat, believed to be carrying 187 people, most of them Sri Lankans and Iranians, broke down and sank soon after leaving Cidaun for Christmas Island on Tuesday morning.

There are also remarkable stories of survival. Most of the passengers somehow escaped with their lives after the smugglers cruelly overburdened the small wooden cargo vessel in their soulless pursuit of profit.

None of the Sri Lankans seems to know much about the screaming woman. They nicknamed her Radha, and say she, her son and brother travelled with, but were not part of, a bigger group of Tamil asylum-seekers.

By Thursday morning, we have tracked her down on the other side of Java, in Jakarta, at the police hospital. She is with a young couple who have also lost their son, a one-year-old.

The Disaster Victim Identification Unit wants to DNA-match the dead children to their parents.

The woman comes out a doorway in a daze. Her name is Selvamalar. She is 39. Her son's name is Darmithan. He was four.

She speaks passable English. She says the police won't let her see Darmithan. They took him from her when they arrived here in the ambulance, the day before. ``I want my baby, I want to see my baby,'' she cried.

Selvamalar tells how it came to this. Late last year she, her brother Rahulan, 25, and Darmithan left their home in Vavuniya, in Sri Lanka's Northern Province. She said husband Balamanokaran faced serious ethnic and political problems as a Tamil in Sri Lanka.

FAMILY ALBUM: A photograph father Balamanorkaran had stuck together of him with his wife and child. Source: PerthNow

Selvamalar said she'd tried to join her husband through legal means, but was refused a visa. ``I don't know why,'' she said.

In mid-November, feeling she had no alternative, she set off from Galle, in the south of the troubled island nation, with her son, brother and 43 other Australia-bound asylum seekers.

Each paid the equivalent of around $7200 for passage to Indonesia. The engine stopped as they got close to Indonesia in their 2000km journey.

"We were 45 days in the boat,'' Selvamalar said. ``After 25 days, there was no food. Then a ship stopped and give us food. After 36 days, we got more food from a New Orient ship. We just floated. On January 1, we are rescued by a ship and come to Indonesia.''

They were taken to Medan, capital of north Sumatra, and put in an overcrowded migration detention facility with other Sri Lankans and Iranians, Afghans and Burmese.

"On April 4, eight Rohingya (Muslim) persons from Myanmar were murdered by Buddhists in the jail,'' she said.

"I don't know why. They were stabbed. My son saw this. My son is very afraid. We are all very afraid.''

After more than three months, the International Organisation for Migration secured their release into the community. Selvamalar found a smuggler who arranged for their three-day journey by inter-island ferry and bus to Jakarta.

By April 22, the three were in Cisarua, in central West Java, the place where most asylum seekers register with the UNHCR in the hope of gaining legal resettlement in Australia, or to make contact with the smugglers.

She and her brother had no trouble finding the smuggler network. At least 40 brokers operate on behalf of the kingpins in the area, looking for passengers.

The deal was that Selvamalar and her brother would pay $7200 each. Darmithan would travel free.

They were taken from Cisarua to another town on the evening of July 22, where she said a large number of Sri Lankans were gathered. They were driven down to the coast, arriving on Tuesday morning.

``When we saw the boat, very shocked,'' she said. ``But they are saying that this boat will take us to the ship.''

They motored to sea for two hours. Selvamalar began to realise there was no ship. They were put on a boat that quickly began taking water through a hole in the hull. ``We are very afraid,'' she said. ``The boat is in danger.''

The captain responded to passengers' pleas and turned back for Java, limping on half power for three hours until the boat swamped and began to quickly sink. Selvamalar tells of something strange, but something we have heard from others: that a bigger, more- modern boat was just 50m from them as people began to struggle and drown.

"They are watching our boat,'' she said. ``We say, `Please help us'. We remove our life jackets and wave. They don't help our rescue. They are watching, watching. We called out, `Help us, save our life'. They not help.''

She had become split from her brother (who would survive) and was floating, holding Darmithan. Each had a life jacket, but she didn't know how to swim. She didn't want to float further out to sea with her boy.

"A man came and took my son,'' she said. ``A Sri Lankan man. He could swim. I gave him my son to take him to safety, to take to land.'' But Darmithan arrived dead.

What happened? ``I don't know, I don't know,'' she said, bursting into tears again. ``On Wednesday I see my son, dead. Very cute boy, very cute boy.''

She does not know if the man who took her son made it back to shore. She does not know if someone stole her son's life jacket.

When we speak to Selvamalar in the police hospital, she says someone had given her a phone so she could call her husband.

Selvamalar cannot let go. She cannot accept her son is dead.

"My baby was a good dancer, a very good singer,'' Selvamalar said. ``Every day he's saying, `Mama, I want to see my papa. When will I see my papa? When are we going to Papa?'.

Darmasen died on the way to Australia. Source: News Limited

"My baby is always saying to me, `Don't cry Mama, don't cry Mama'. He was very cute, very cute.''

She doesn't know what will happen now. ``I don't want to go to Australia,'' she said. ``My life is my baby. My future is my baby. I want my baby. I want to see my baby.''

Asked what she thinks of the people smugglers, she says: ``They are very cheaters. No life do they understand. Not babies, not pregnant ladies, nothing. They not understand.''
 

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Chinese snap up Perth property

Chinese interest in the Perth property market is booming. Picture: Supplied

CHINESE interest in the Perth property market is rising rapidly with buyers targeting apartments in South Perth, Canning Vale, East Perth and Thornlie.

According to the founders of what claims to be the biggest Asian website for Mandarin speakers buying international property, searches for Perth listings soared by more than 1000 per cent in the first half of this year.

The Shanghai-based directors of Juwai.com, Andrew Taylor and Simon Henry, originally from Queensland, said that 12 months ago Perth didn't rate at all. But since then it had experienced the biggest gains in listing searches in Australia.

Mr Henry said buyers were attracted by Australia's stable government and economy, reputation for a good lifestyle and good education centres.

"And everything just got 20 per cent cheaper with the devaluation of the Australian dollar," he said.

 He predicted mid-range apartments in Perth ($300,000 to $800,000) would be increasingly popular among the growing Chinese upper-middle class buying accommodation for their children.

"Those buyers are putting about 70 per cent of their disposable income into their children's education and sending them to universities overseas," he said. "They're mostly looking to buy, rather than rent."

Australian foreign investment laws prohibit the sale of established homes to overseas investors unless they plan to demolish the home and build new. Off-the-plan apartments and new dwellings may be bought, but foreign applicants must first apply to the Foreign Investment Review Board.

Mr Henry said with that in mind, off-the-plan apartments and new builds were both popular, though established homes for students who would be temporary residents were sometimes bought through a local family.

"They will buy through a family already resident, so the sale might start with an overseas client and the transaction will go through a local Chinese resident," he said.

L.J. Hooker was one of the first WA agencies to advertise with Juwai.com.

Hooker's regional manager, Ken Preston, said education was one of the main reasons Chinese buyers were looking at Perth. The most sought-after areas were close to universities and strong local amenities, he said.

"Murdoch and Nedlands are popular and to a lesser extent Joondalup," he said.

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WA voters kept in dark on light-rail election promise

Voters were not told of a review of the WA Government's light rail plan in the lead up to the state election. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

COLIN Barnett's showpiece light-rail election promise was under review in the lead-up to the March 9 poll - but the concerns of transport officials were kept secret from voters.

A document obtained by The Sunday Times reveals that on February 1 the Department of Transport launched an investigation into whether a cheaper rapid bus service was a better option than light rail between Perth and Mirrabooka.

"It is necessary to consider the option of providing an equivalent public transport service using a Bus Rapid Transit model over the currently proposed 22km light-rail route," the document says. "A BRT option was discounted previously in the early stages of the development of the Public Transport Plan for Perth, however, more investigation is now required to understand if the earlier assessment is correct."

The investigation  with an evaluation phase of four to six weeks  was to determine if the bus system could be built cheaper and faster and still carry the same number of passengers.

The Sunday Times has been told the evaluation is "ongoing".

But well-placed sources claim the bus system could save taxpayers up to $800 million  money that could go towards putting another storey on the new children's hospital.

Opposition Leader Mark McGowan said the Barnett Government lied to voters during the election campaign by not revealing that light rail was still up in the air.

"Why wasn't the public told about these inquiries? Instead, they were told the light rail was a sure thing," he said.

"It was a significant election issue and these reviews are done at public expense (so) I think the public deserved to be told."

Mr McGowan called on the Barnett Government to immediately release the findings of the DOT investigation when it was concluded. The document was obtained by The Sunday Times under a Freedom of Information request. Initially, the application was totally denied, but on appeal the newspaper was granted access to three out of 28 relevant documents.

Transport Minister Troy Buswell said he was aware that the department was putting together a comprehensive business case for the light rail.

But he said the Government was committed to delivering light rail and BRT "is not an option".

"Light rail is more efficient than a bus rapid transport system in areas of congestion and $15.8 million has already been allocated by state and federal governments to the engineering and design studies," he said.

A DOT spokeswoman said the February investigation was commissioned as part of standard business case process.
 
 

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