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The man responsible for community safety and multiculturalism in Scott Morrison's new ministry has pledged to work closely with Islamic, Sudanese and other key communities but is making no apology for leading the charge against "African gangs" in his home city.

Liberal MP Jason Wood, a supporter of Peter Dutton in last year's leadership coup, will now work underneath Mr Dutton in the Home Affairs portfolio as assistant minister for customs, community safety and multicultural affairs.

While Mr Wood was yet to be sworn in and receive his first briefings, he said he intended to focus on nationwide versions of integration and intervention programs that had already succeeded in his own multicultural electorate of La Trobe, in outer-eastern Melbourne.

"When you say 'there's nothing to see, nothing to worry about', you then can't go and get funding for all these programs," Mr Wood told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on Tuesday as he prepared to join Mr Morrison's outer ministry.

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"If you want someone in this role to say, 'everything's fine, everything's dandy' – I'm not the guy for the job."

Amid raised eyebrows within multicultural groups about Mr Wood's appointment, the chair of the South Sudanese Community Association of Victoria, Achol Marial, told The Guardian the MP's rhetoric on African gangs was "quite disturbing".

As recently as last month, Mr Wood used his Facebook page to rail against "African youth gangs" who were "out of control" and demanded the deportation of "foreign-born thugs".

Mr Wood said he had "no regrets" about calling out African gang crime, and claimed many members of the Sudanese and other migrant communities had applauded his efforts and even joined his re-election campaign.

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"They say: you're tough, you call this out," he said. "They look at us [the Liberals] as the ones who can get them jobs. My end goal is to keep the kids in school, keep them active in sport and recreation, and you have to get jobs. English, training and jobs."

Mr Wood said his role was to listen to the concerns of multicultural communities and respond accordingly. But equally, "if fifth-generation Australians have concerns about integration and how it works, that's obviously my concern as well".

He said integration was about more than learning English. "Most migrants when they come here don't know what it means to be Australian. It's more [about] making the effort to get multicultural groups together and mix with the other more traditional, sporting groups.

"If you're here and you're doing your absolute utmost to get involved in the Australian community, it's our job to do everything we can to help you get a job and be part of that."

Mr Wood did not resile from his view – repeatedly expressed on Facebook – that criminal non-citizens should be deported, and doubted whether such "thugs" could be rehabilitated during incarceration.

"You put these guys in jail and they don't come out clean shaven and ready to work, they come out ready to go to the next level in the world of crime," he said.

"If you're on a visa here and you commit a carjacking or home invasion … I don't care where you're from, if that's what you do, you go home."

Mr Wood said he wanted to prioritise early intervention in communities where young people are vulnerable to unemployment, boredom and crime. He also wanted to work with other portfolio ministers on programs to tackle domestic violence and bullying at schools.

Mohammad Al-Khafaji, chief executive of the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia, said he hoped Mr Wood's appointment would see him deepen his connections with a broad range of migrant groups.

"We know that migrants are not over-represented in crime statistics. We also understand that focusing on specific ethnic groups when discussing these issues is counter-productive," he said.

"The best way to combat crime in modern Australia is to address the disadvantage and disenfranchisement that often drives it, regardless of race or religion."

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The Liberal Party is considering new rules to disqualify candidates who disobey instructions and run their own rogue election campaigns, following the "dishonourable" performance of spurned Senator Jim Molan.

Liberal MP and former party president Trent Zimmerman said while Senator Molan's "below-the-line" campaign to be re-elected did not breach any rules, it disrespected the Liberal Party and undermined its coalition agreement with the Nationals.

Senator Molan, whose term expires on June 30, was relegated to an unwinnable fourth position on the Coalition's Senate ticket in NSW at the May 18 election. In response, he mounted his own campaign asking supporters to give him their first preference by voting below the line on their ballot paper rather than following official Liberal how-to-vote cards.

Critics accused him of confusing voters and undermining the Coalition's campaign by recruiting Liberal volunteers to wear “Jim Molan” T-shirts and hand out his how-to-vote cards when they should have been supporting other Liberal candidates.

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Mr Zimmerman, who sat on the party's state executive in NSW for 11 years, including two as president, said new rules were needed to disqualify candidates who engaged in such activity.

"This episode showed a gap in our existing rules and candidate agreements," he said.

"There is a strong case for introducing a requirement that a candidate for an upper house position can only campaign for the position for which they have been pre-selected."

It is understood discussions are already underway at senior levels of the party about introducing such rules.

Mr Zimmerman described Senator Molan's conduct as dishonourable, especially because it undermined the success of the third person on the ticket, the Nationals' Perin Davey.

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"It was dishonourable because it showed no respect for the democratic process that the Liberal Party undertook," he said.

"Secondly, it obviously caused angst for the National Party under the coalition agreement, whose position he was effectively targeting."

While the final results of the Senate ballot are yet to be declared, it is expected Ms Davey will be elected while Senator Molan has been unsuccessful. However, he may be able to re-enter the Senate through the vacancy created by Arthur Sinodinos’ appointment as ambassador to the United States.

Senator Molan was contacted for comment on Tuesday.

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Sydney's controversial lockout laws are set to be wound back, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian ordering a review, saying it was time to "take stock" and rethink the laws.

The move to set up a cross-party committee to examine the laws comes ahead of a push in the NSW upper house from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers and the Greens to scrap the lockout.

Shooters MP Robert Borsak and Greens MP Cate Faehrmann have each tabled motions to get rid of the laws, which apply to clubs and pubs across Sydney's CBD and Kings Cross.

Ms Berejiklian said it was now time to revisit the laws.

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"After five years of operation, it makes sense for us to now take stock and examine whether any further changes should be made," Ms Berejiklian said.

Ms Berejiklian said that since the laws were introduced in 2014, the number of non-domestic violent assaults in Sydney's CBD and Kings Cross had declined.

"We have always sought to strike a balance between limiting alcohol-related violence and maintaining a vibrant night-time economy,” Ms Berejiklian said.

"During this period, we have also worked to relax certain aspects of the laws, such as extending trading hours for bars and clubs for major events, and making it easier for small bars, restaurants and cafes to start up and operate."

The lockout laws were implemented across the CBD by then premier Barry O'Farrell in February 2014 following a public outcry over a spate of violent alcohol-fuelled incidents, including the one-punch deaths of Thomas Kelly and Daniel Christie.

Ms Berejiklian said there had been a number of reviews into Sydney’s night-time economy, including a review of the liquor laws by former High Court judge Ian Callinan, QC.

Following his review, the laws were relaxed by 30 minutes, resulting in 2am lockouts and 3.30am last drinks in venues with live entertainment.

During this year's state election campaign, the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers said repealing the lockout laws was one of the party’s priorities in the first term of the new Parliament.

"We just want to get Sydney going again and revitalise the nightlife," Mr Borsak said on Tuesday.

"If there is a problem with violence and policing, then fix that, but don't make venues close."

One Nation's NSW leader Mark Latham has also said he would support a relaxation of the laws, which he says have gone "way too far".

But former opposition leader Michael Daley said Labor would not relax the laws, although party leadership hopeful Chris Minns has indicated he would support winding them back.

Last last year, a leading alcohol policy group warned that winding back the lockout laws would be "violence over vibrancy".

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The NSW/ACT Alcohol Policy Alliance, made up of 48 groups including frontline emergency services, law enforcement and health experts, said repealing the laws would be a "curse" on Sydney.

The new joint select committee will be made up of five members of the lower house, including three government members and at least one crossbench member, as well as five members of the upper house, including two government members and at least two crossbench members.

It will examine how to "maintain and enhance" community safety and health outcomes as well as ensuring all "existing regulatory arrangements in relation to individuals, businesses
and other stakeholders, including Sydney’s lockout laws, remain appropriately balanced".

It will be chaired by a government member and will report to Parliament by September 30.

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A new coal-fired power station is back on the federal government's agenda in the wake of its election victory, with ministers supporting a major project in Queensland despite calls from environmentalists to accelerate the shift to renewable energy.

Resources Minister Matt Canavan is backing the new power station proposal and pointing to the Coalition's strong vote in his home state of Queensland to warn off critics from southern states who want to halt the project.

Senator Canavan is also heightening pressure on the Victorian and NSW governments to open up more gas fields in order to prevent further increases in energy costs for households and manufacturers.

The message comes as Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese embarks on a "listening tour" of Queensland and prepares to reconsider party policy on climate change.

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The move also sets up a clash with the environmental movement over the Adani coal mine in Queensland and the Narrabri gas field in northern NSW, which Senator Canavan likened to "NSW's Adani" because its approval has taken so long.

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While some Liberals and Nationals avoided calling openly for more coal-fired electricity during the election campaign, Senator Canavan said a pilot scheme to build a new power station would go ahead and could be expanded into a major project within a few years.

"The government will progress investments in coal-fired power," he said.

"That was what we took to the election, it was a key part of our policy package in North Queensland – that we would look at building a coal-fired power station in North Queensland.

"That's been overwhelmingly endorsed by the people of North Queensland."

The Queensland Nationals within the Coalition party room, including Senator Canavan, have been buoyed by their ability to hold seats such as Capricornia and Flynn and are attributing this to their support for coal-fired power and the Adani mine.

Senator Canavan said former Greens leader Bob Brown had helped the Coalition in Queensland by leading a protest movement from the southern states to try to stop the Adani mine, galvanising Queenslanders who did not like the interference.

"Undoubtedly Bob Brown was a net plus for our election," he said, adding that the protesters encouraged an attitude that was ungrateful, ignorant and patronising.

"It's ungrateful because the coal industry delivers billions of dollars in royalties to the state governments and billions of dollars in taxes to the federal government.

"It's ignorant because a lot of people make comments about the coal market and they have no bloody idea about the coal market.

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"And then it's incredibly patronising because these out-of-town people think they have the right to come into someone else's community and tell them they're all evil and wrong and need to the be sacked or re-skilled."

Emboldened by their election victory, government ministers are challenging Labor to rethink its policies on the Adani mine, coal-fired power, a 45 per cent target to reduce emissions and the mechanism to be used to meet that target.

One day after Energy Minister Angus Taylor claimed an election mandate for the government’s 26 per cent target to reduce emissions, Senator Canavan claimed a mandate for coal-fired power.

Queensland Labor Senator Murray Watt backed the continued use of coal in the wake of an admission by likely Labor deputy leader Richard Marles that he had been “tone deaf” to make light of the end of the coal industry.

"I completely reject any suggestion that Labor is a party that is against coal, that wants to see coal close down immediately – that's the position of the extreme Greens and it's not the position of the Labor Party," Senator Watt said.

Mr Albanese made no criticism of the Adani coal mine while visiting the Queensland electorate of Longman on Tuesday, but he disputed whether there was any need for federal support for a coal-fired power station.

"Markets make those decisions, not governments," he said during an interview with 2GB radio host Alan Jones.

"And the truth is that no one that I'm aware of in terms of any investor, in spite of the government's rhetoric over the last two terms, no investor has come forward saying I want to put my money into investing in a coal-fired power station."

But the government has chosen 12 electricity generation projects to support to add capacity to the national grid and one of them is a study into a new coal-fired power station in Collinsville, near Townsville.

Senator Canavan said this had support from industrial customers in Townsville and from potential investors, which meant it was the leading option for greater support if the study proved the need for the project.

"There's a strong case for a new coal-fired power station in North Queensland," Senator Canavan said.

"Any particular investment has to go through a rigorous assessment from all angles.

"There's obviously environmental approvals for it to jump, and in the case where it's seeking a level of government involvement, there's also an economic case that needs to be assessed.

"I don't want to get ahead of myself. Every particular investment will turn on the details of that particular investment, and there's still more work to do on the proposed Collinsville power station.

"But it's been abundantly clear to me for some time that there's a need for investment in baseload power in north Queensland and coal-fired power is a very attractive proposition."

Students face another day of NAPLAN testing after schools suffered more technical glitches during resit exams on Tuesday, including at least one Sydney class that was unable to log on.

About 30,000 students across Australia, including 9700 in NSW, had to resit tests after connectivity and platform issues plagued the first round of testing that began on May 14.

However, some have reported experiencing a range of problems again, including one Sydney principal who said the countdown for some year 5 students' tests started at the point they had left the tests two weeks ago, locking them out in as little as 10 seconds after they began Tuesday's test.

"We then had to get all students to reopen the tests … that whole process took 30 minutes and one class could not be restarted, they're still waiting [to do the test]," the principal wrote in an email to her representative body.

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She reported that her school never received the paper tests that the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) had promised to send as backups, meaning some students will either be unable to do the resit at all or will need to spend another day on NAPLAN, head of the NSW Primary Principals' Association Phil Seymour said.

Mr Seymour said teachers and principals had to contact the parents of each student who experienced glitches during the first round of testing to ask if they wanted to participate in the optional resits.

"That principal feels gutted that she had them go down this path and now the kids are distressed again," he said.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, which is responsible for the tests, acknowledged problems with the timer during the resits and said some students may have had to revert to paper.

"In organising the resits, steps and processes were required to enrol students, including resetting the timer. For some students the timer was not reset appropriately," a statement by ACARA reads.

"Many of these instances were managed in-class using procedures available in the platform. Advice received so far from [local test administration bodies] indicates that the majority of students successfully completed the tests, while others may have reverted to paper."

Jihad Dib, the NSW Opposition's education spokesman, said the online tests were expanded to 50 per cent of all students this year from 15 per cent last year, despite widespread warnings that schools weren't ready.

"Educators, including teachers' and principals' groups, had warned that going online would cause problems and ACARA's resolution was to expand it to 50 per cent," Mr Dib said.

"We need to think about the disruptions this has caused. And there were schools that had booked in excursions or events that couldn't be refunded on Tuesday and couldn't participate in the resits, what about those kids?"

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Mr Dib and the heads of major teachers' and principals' groups are calling for this year's results to be kept off the MySchool website.

"We have schools that did the tests on paper, some did the online adaptive version, some students had problems, some had to resit new tests, there's no way in the world that this year's NAPLAN has data that is valid," he said.

A spokeswoman for NESA said in a statement it “is not aware of any schools, that notified of their intention to re-sit in time, not receiving paper contingency tests. NESA continues to provide follow up support to schools.”

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Head of the NSW Secondary Principals' Council Chris Presland said principals will raise their concerns about NAPLAN online and the publication of this year's results onto the MySchool website at their next meeting with NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell.

"They couldn't possibly push for NAPLAN to go completely online next year after what's occurred," Mr Presland said.

Most of the 9700 students that resat tests in NSW did so online but nationally, only half of the 30,000 students resitting tests did them online, while the remaining 15,000 did the paper versions.

Bitcoin volatility is rearing its ugly head once again, disrupting the relatively calm rally crypto enthusiasts have basked in for the past month.

Average daily up-and-down moves in Bitcoin have gotten more pronounced, mimicking trading volatility last seen at the end of 2018 when crypto prices suffered through an extended downward draft. The daily price change for the month of May averages 4.7 per cent, compared with 3.5 per cent in April and 1.1 per cent in March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The last time prices swung so wildly was in December, when the changes averaged 4.2 per cent.

The largest digital token dropped as much as 2.4 per cent on Tuesday, falling for the first time in four days, as many investors braced themselves for a new potential bout of turbulence. Tuesday's decline follows a jump of as much as 10 per cent when most US trading was curtailed during the Memorial Day holiday.

Although it's not unusual for the price of cryptocurrencies to fluctuate wildly from day to day, investors had gotten used to a relatively tranquil market, with many digital tokens extending multi-month rallies as enthusiasm built. Greater interest from mainstream companies and a wider embrace by some of Wall Street's largest trading firms, for instance, fuelled much of that fervor, bringing Bitcoin within reach of $US9,000, a level last seen a year ago.

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But, as with many things crypto, most investors grasped for solid explanations for what's led the recent rally, with some chalking it up to exogenous circumstances that could ultimately push prices even higher.

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"The recent surges in Bitcoin are mainly based on the supply side," wrote eToro's Mati Greenspan in a note this week.

"There's already a shortage of Bitcoin in the world and with the halving event coming up next May, the countdown to even less supply has already begun," he said, referring to an event that happens every few years when the number of coins awarded to miners is slashed in half.

The increase in volatility can also be seen in the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index, where the spread between upper and lower price range levels, also known as its trading envelope bands, has widened to the largest for the year. The index doesn't have many support levels in place should a significant move lower occur.

In addition, the Crypto Index tested its upper band in Tuesday's trading session and bounced down, potentially indicating that it's seen a top for the foreseeable future. Bitcoin, which makes up 30 per cent of the index, is nearing its upper band but has yet to test it.

For Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mike McGlone, it's meant looking at 30-day volatility levels, which are near the December peak that marked the bear market bottom. The opposite could be happening now, he said.

"When volatility gets high it should be indicative of extremes in price," he said in a phone interview.

"The market is getting a bit stretched here from a trader's standpoint."

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The death of four children and their mother in a horrific crash in regional southern Queensland has left the community "heartbroken" and "speechless".

Hervey Bay mother Charmaine McLeod, 35, and her “joyful and friendly children" died in a head-on smash on the Bunya Highway near Kumbia, 220 kilometres north-west of Brisbane on Monday.

The children – Aaleyn, 6, Matilda, 5, Wyatt, 4, and Zaidok, 2 – have been described by family friend Skye Moore as "bubbly" and "smart" children who were always smiling.

"She [Charmaine] was a quiet person and she was so caring; if anything happened she would be the first person to help," she told Brisbane Times.

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"Charmaine adored her children and I never saw her do anything for herself. She would never wear make-up or get her hair or nails done, she spent everything on her kids and they had so much.

"I will always remember her as a dedicated mother and friend. She was really involved with the school and she went to church every weekend, she was just a really kind person."

A GoFundMe page was set up on Tuesday night and raised more than $5000 in 14 hours.

"With the passing of Charmaine and her babies Aaleyn, Matilda, Wyatt and Zaidok, we are raising funds to cover the cost of the funeral and associated fees," organiser Katie Harris wrote.

"Additional funds will be passed on to Youth in Search, a charity close to Charmaine's heart."

Tributes continued to flow on social media and the fundraising page on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"Absolutely heartbroken to hear that this beautiful family is no longer with us, our street won't be the same without you all, my children will miss playing with these beautiful kiddies and their beautiful Mumma," Jenny Graham posted on the GoFundMe page.

"I'm speechless, have hardly slept, this is so sad, such a beautiful young family. The eldest child, Addy, was in my son's prep class last year. The mum, Charmaine, was the first mum at the school to make me feel comfortable [and] kindly show me the hall. She was such a kind soul, always smiling & chatting at school pickups," Kristie Xandy wrote on Facebook.

"I adored this family. Known them for years, watched the children grow up and worship God! I got the privilege to care for these children and a spiritual daycare mum for these beautiful children. My heart is so so broken," Tori Brooks said on the GoFundMe page.

The single mother was believed to have pulled out to overtake a truck and hit an oncoming truck, causing both vehicles to go "up in flames" upon impact, according to police.

Ms McLeod and three of her children died at the scene.

Paramedics ran through a sea of fire to treat the fourth child in the burning car, but the young girl later died on the flight to hospital.

The truck driver, a 47-year-old man, was released from Kingaroy Hospital on Tuesday. He suffered non-life-threatening injuries including burns to his hands.

There were reports the truck driver helped to free the young girl from the burning station wagon, but emergency services were unable to confirm these.

Kawungan State School principal Mark Jones said the community was deeply shocked and saddened by the deaths of Aaleyn and Matilda, who were students there.

"They were both joyful and friendly children who will be greatly missed by all their friends and teachers," he said in a statement.

"Our thoughts and sincere sympathies go out to the family, caregivers, friends and loved ones during this difficult time.

South Burnett regional councillor Ros Heit said the "very close-knit and loving" Kumbia community was supporting each other and the first responders who attended.

"Everybody is just shocked and horrified, it is a tragic waste of life and so sad. I can’t even begin to understand what this is like for [the victims'] friends and family," she said.

When asked whether she could remember an incident as tragic as Monday night's, Cr Heit said: "Not that I can recall. Every loss of life is tragic, but with young children, it is really terrible.

"The Bunya Highway is the main highway between Dalby and Kingaroy, there are a lot of trucks on it. It is a state-controlled road, but I don’t believe there were any maintenance issues."

Ambulance Service Assistant Commissioner Stephen Zsombok said paramedics faced a daunting scene, with victims trapped inside the burning station wagon and surrounding grass also ablaze.

"These are very seasoned officers and they've explained this as tragic, extremely traumatic with people obviously involved in the car that's caught fire," he said.

"Smoke, fire, our officers have gone through that dangerous scene to get to the child they were able to work on … Unfortunately, that child died."

The Forensic Crash Unit was investigating.

Last week, six lives were lost during 48 hours on Queensland roads.

The state's road toll for the year has climbed to 83 fatalities. Near the end of May during the previous five years, the road toll was: 92 (2018), 86 (2017), 96 (2016), 95 (2015) and 83 (2014).

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Beijing: A witness says Australian navy helicopter pilots were hit by lasers while exercising in the South China Sea, forcing them to land as a precaution.

Scholar Euan Graham, who was on board the Royal Australian Navy flagship HMAS Canberra on a voyage from Vietnam to Singapore, said in an account of the incident that the lasers had been pointed from passing fishing vessels while the Canberra was being trailed by a Chinese warship.

China maintains a robust maritime militia in the South China Sea composed of fishing vessels equipped to carry out missions just short of combat.

China claims the strategic waterway virtually in its entirety and is sensitive to all foreign naval action in the area, especially by the US and allies such as Australia.

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"Was this startled fishermen reacting to the unexpected? Or was it the sort of coordinated harassment more suggestive of China's maritime militia? It's hard to say for sure, but similar incidents have occurred in the western Pacific," Euan Graham wrote on the website The Strategist run by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, an independent, non-partisan think tank based in Canberra.

The account of the incident appeared on Tuesday.

Similar incidents involving lasers and the Chinese military have also been reported as far away as Djibouti, where the US and China have bases. Last year, the US complained to China after lasers were directed at aircraft in the Horn of Africa nation that resulted in minor injuries to two American pilots.

China denied that its forces targeted the US military aircraft.

Graham said that while bridge-to-bridge communications with the Chinese during the voyage were courteous, the Chinese requested the Australian warships notify them in advance of any corrections to their course.

That was something the Australian navy was "not about to concede while exercising its high-seas freedoms," Graham wrote.

He wrote that the constant presence of Chinese vessels shadowing foreign ships appeared to indicate that the Chinese fleet had grown large enough to allow it to have vessels lying in wait for just such orders.

He said their trailing actions also appeared to show that China's over-the-horizon surveillance capability was also maturing, supported by technology based at points such as Fiery Cross Reef in the contested Spratly island group where China has built military installations and an airstrip atop coral reefs.

Five other governments have claims in the South China Sea that overlap with China's, and the US and its allies insist on the right to sail and fly anywhere in the area is permitted under international law, despite China's differing interpretation of such guidelines.

Graham, who is executive director of La Trobe Asia at La Trobe University in Australia, was one of several academics invited to observe Australia's engagement exercise Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019.

AP

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St George Illawarra Dragons player Jack de Belin has been hit with fresh charges over his alleged joint rape of a woman at a Wollongong unit block last December.

De Belin will face Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday on not one but three rape charges after police quietly laid two additional counts of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent against the star forward earlier this month.

Charge sheets reveal the additional charges relate to the same alleged victim. It it understood they relate to individual acts alleged to have been committed by de Belin during the same sexual encounter that gave rise to the original charge.

Each of the three charges includes the description that de Belin was "in the company of another person" while the alleged offence was committed.

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Police will allege the second person involved was Shellharbour Sharks Group 7 player Callan Sinclair.

Sinclair is not facing any additional charges.

Police documents previously tendered in court revealed the two players stand accused of repeatedly raping the woman inside de Belin's cousin's apartment on Gipps Street in the early hours of December 9.

De Belin allegedly began having sex with the woman before inviting Sinclair to participate, saying "come on, have a go", as the woman lay on the bed, crying.

The two men were charged in December and first fronted court in February, when both entered pleas of not guilty.

Wednesday's court appearance is expected to include a brief mention of both cases before a further adjournment of four weeks to ready the matters for committal.

Last month, the Federal Court ruled in favour of the NRL's stance in introducing a no-fault stand-down rule for players facing serious criminal charges.

Illawarra Mercury

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Glenn Maxwell is plotting a game of survival against Afghan superstar Rashid Khan with Australia's most aggressive batsman ready to take it slow against the legspinner.

Saturday's World Cup clash with the South Asian minnows would usually be considered an ideal opening fixture, if not for Australia's struggles against their slow bowlers.

Khan has been one of the biggest names of the Big Bash League, his average of 16.02 the lowest of players who've taken more than 50 wickets.

Fellow Afghan spinners Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have also both averaged under 24 in the domestic competition, giving the Australians a reason to be on guard.

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But on a wicket known to favour spinners in Bristol, it will be Khan who presents the biggest challenge with his wrong'un one of the toughest to pick in world cricket.

"At times I think I can," Maxwell said. "He's very difficult. He is probably one of the more difficult ones I've played against. He and [West Indian Sunil] Narine are probably the two you go through stages where you think you are going to hold them and then they bowl a ball that beats you.

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"And you sit there shaking your head. I think for me I feel like I don't think I'm going to get out to him but I don't feel like I'm going to score much off him. It's about targeting other blokes and making sure I'm putting pressure on him to change his lengths. I felt like I did that against him during the Big Bash at different times."

Maxwell's conservative approach is telling given his ODI strike-rate of 121.95 is the highest of any Australian who has had more than three innings.

But after three warm-up wins since landing in England, the right-hander is well aware of the danger 20-year-old Khan presents.

"I probably try and pick my spinners I go hard against," Maxwell said. "Whether it's history against them or I have confidence against them or that I've got a good game plan against certain players.

"But I think for him because he is such a dangerous player for them – they rely and him and Nabi a lot to stop [runs] and get wickets just after the powerplay. Just putting pressure on them to bring back the medium pace and faster bowlers might be the way we go."

AAP