Climate Commission experts to push on

EXPERTS once at the helm of the now defunct Climate Commission have vowed to continue their work and will launch an independent body after being dumped by the federal government.

The Australian Climate Council will be officially unveiled in Sydney on Tuesday, with the same six specialists volunteering their time to interpret breaking climate science from around the globe.

Professor Will Steffen said one of the first orders of business for the not-for-profit Council will be assessing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) fifth assessment report, due for release on Friday.

"We will do the very best we can to pull out the main points to this report and make it understandable to the Australian public," Prof Steffen told AAP, adding that he and colleagues hoped to produce a summary document within days of the release.

The Climate Commission, set up in 2011 by the former Labor government to increase public awareness of climate change science, was disbanded by the new coalition government on Thursday.

"Since the axe fell I've gotten lots of emails from colleagues and the general public ... people airing their displeasure (at the Commission being scrapped) and we were just really encouraged by the groundswell of support to keep going," Prof Steffen said.

The Australian National University researcher said the Commission had filled "an important niche" as an a-political organisation, keeping Australians informed about "complex climate science".

Former Australian of the Year, Tim Flannery, who headed up the Commission, said it was important the work continued.

"It is crucial for tackling big societal challenges and for democracy that Australians have access to accurate scientific information," Professor Flannery said.

The two men will be joined by colleagues Roger Beale, Gerry Hueston, Professor Lesley Hughes and Professor Veena Sahajwalla.

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Motorists spending thousands each year

AUSTRALIANS are forking out more than $3800 a year to keep their cars on the road.

Fuel is a major expense, but it also costs more than $100 a year to park the car, and almost the same to clean it.

Queenslanders pay the most to keep their wheels on the road, while drivers in NSW are slugged the most at the toll booth.

Vehicle maintenance costs are highest in the Northern Territory, where vast distances separate the major centres.

Nationally, motorists spend an average of $3854 on running costs, before loan repayments and depreciation are taken into account, Commonwealth Bank credit and debit card transaction data shows.

Queenslanders pay on average $254 more than that, due to higher fuel and registration expenses.

Parking is most expensive in Western Australia, where $125 is spent each year, above the national average of $108.

Car washes are priciest in NSW, where the average annual spend totals $112.

Petrol makes up 40 per cent of Australia's annual average car bill, with a total of $7.2 billion being spent at the bowser.

A weakening Australian dollar could push that bill even higher, Commonwealth Bank economist Diana Mousina said.

"Fuel costs will always be a significant expense for car owners so I'd encourage consumers to think about putting more of their weekly budget aside to cover the increasing cost of fuel, especially those in regional Australia," she said.

Insurance costs average $407 each year.

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Biometric trick fools iPhone: German group

A GERMAN hacking group claims it can bypass the fingerprint-based security system used to unlock Apple's new iPhone 5S.

A spokesman for the Chaos Computer Club says the group managed to fool the phone's biometric sensor into accepting a fingerprint created with a household printer and wood glue.

Dirk Engling said on Monday that the exploit has been documented with several videos so independent experts can verify it.

He added that the hardest part had been getting hold of an iPhone 5S, which went on sale in Germany last week.

Apple didn't respond to repeated requests for comment.

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