Pope set to begin Middle East pilgrimage

The Vatican has billed Pope Francis' first visit to the Middle East as a "pilgrimage of prayer". Source: AAP

POPE Francis has headed for Jordan at the start of a Middle East tour aimed at boosting ties with Muslims and Jews as well as easing an age-old rift within Christianity.

The Vatican has billed Francis' first visit to a region roiled by religious and political differences as a "pilgrimage of prayer," saying the Pope will shun bulletproof vehicles in favour of open-top cars despite security concerns.

Israeli authorities have moved to lessen the possibility of trouble by ordering 15 right-wing Jewish activists to stay away from places being visited by the Pope, after a string of hate attacks on Christian sites.

"It will be a purely religious trip," the Pope told pilgrims at his last general audience in St Peter's Square before a three-day visit that takes him to Jordan, the Palestinian territories and Israel.

Francis said the main reasons for the trip were to meet with the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I and "to pray for peace in that land, which has suffered so much".

A joint prayer service with Bartholomew Sunday in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre - venerated as the place of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection - is seen by the Vatican as the highlight of the visit.

The meeting is fitting, given that Francis has made the ideal of unity of the Christian Churches, one of the priorities of his papacy.

The pontiff will also meet Muslim and Jewish leaders in Jerusalem.

Israeli President Shimon Peres, in an interview with French daily Le Figaro, said he attached "great importance" to the Pope's trip, calling Francis "a man of noble humility."

The 77-year-old Argentine Pope has already set the tone for a trip rich in symbolism by inviting two old friends from Buenos Aires to join him, Jewish Rabbi Abraham Skorka and Muslim professor Omar Abboud.

Hours before the Pope's early afternoon arrival in Amman, Christians had piled onto buses from around Jordan to head for the Amman stadium where Francis will celebrate mass.

Francis will meet King Abdullah II before the mass then head to a site on the banks of the River Jordan where many believe Jesus was baptised. There he will hear first hand of the suffering of Syrian refugees, 600,000 of whom are living in Jordan, and offer an opportunity for him to reiterate his calls for an end to the three-year war.

He is also expected to touch on the forced migration of Christians from the Middle East.

Although only 250,000 Jordanians identify themselves as Christian - in a Muslim country of seven million - Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur said the visit would show the kingdom as an oasis of peace in a turbulent region of "blood, wars and repression."

Early Sunday, the Pope will make a short helicopter ride to Bethlehem, the West Bank town where Jesus was born. He will meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas before celebrating mass in Manger Square.

Afterwards he will chat with Palestinian children and lunch with refugee families.

He will then fly to Tel Aviv where he will be greeted by President Peres before heading to Jerusalem.

On Monday, the Pope will visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and meet the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammed Hussein.

He will then visit the Western Wall, a remnant of the retaining wall that supported the second Jewish temple and the holiest site at which Jews are allowed to pray, before going to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.

He is then set to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and celebrate mass in the Cenacle, where Christians believe Jesus held the Last Supper memorialised in the mass.

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Qld Labor downplays by-election chances

LABOR'S candidate for the Brisbane seat vacated by maverick former government MP Chris Davis has vowed to be a thorn in Premier Campbell Newman's side if he's elected.

But maxillofacial surgeon Dr Anthony Lynham is playing down his chances of winning Stafford, an electorate devoid of representation after Dr Davis quit parliament on Friday.

His dramatic departure means the LNP is facing a by-election battle just three months after suffering a 17 per cent swing against it in the Redcliffe poll.

However, Dr Lynham says winning Stafford won't be a cakewalk.

"We are not taking anything for granted, we have to earn it," he told AAP while campaigning on Saturday.

As an anti-violence campaigner, Dr Lynham says he's already taken Mr Newman to task and will up the ante if he enters parliament.

"I have a proven track record of standing up to Newman," he said.

"The people of Stafford need someone desperately to stand up to Newman on health and education.

"I will be a thorn in his side."

Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk has already promised to give Dr Lynham a senior position if he's elected, but she's also downplayed her party's chances of regaining Stafford, which the LNP holds by a 7.1 per cent margin.

Ms Palaszczuk says Dr Davis' resignation was a vote of no confidence in Mr Newman's leadership and has called on the premier to immediately announce a by-election date.

Dr Davis said he was partly demoted because he raised concerns with the premier about looming changes to political donations.

He was sacked as assistant health minister a week earlier after clashing with colleagues over the proposed individual contracts and changes to the state's corruption watchdog.

At the time of his resignation, Dr Davis released polling showing most voters in his Stafford electorate backed him and believed he had been unfairly treated.

Treasurer Tim Nicholls said Dr Davis' exit was disappointing and came after colleagues had urged him to stay with the party and effect change within government.

Mr Nicholls said the government expected a tough fight at the by-election.

"The premier is getting advice about the timing of calling a by-election and I'm sure he'll make an announcement in the near future," he told reporters.

Brisbane Central MP Robert Cavallucci would represent the interests of Stafford in the interim, he said.

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Iran billionaire executed over $2.8b fraud

A BILLIONAIRE businessman at the heart of a $US2.6 billion ($A2.8 billion) state bank scam, the largest fraud case since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, has been executed, state television reports.

Authorities put Mahafarid Amir Khosravi, also known as Amir Mansour Aria, to death at Evin prison, just north of the capital, Tehran, the station reported.

The report said the execution came after Iran's Supreme Court upheld his death sentence.

The fraud involved using forged documents to get credit at one of Iran's top financial institutions, Bank Saderat, to purchase assets including state-owned companies like major steel producer Khuzestan Steel Co.

Khosravi's business empire included more than 35 companies from mineral water production to a football club and meat imports from Brazil.

According to Iranian media reports, the bank fraud began in 2007.

A total of 39 defendants were convicted in the case. Four received death sentences, two got life sentences and the rest received sentences of up to 25 years in prison.

The trials raised questions about corruption at senior levels in Iran's tightly controlled economy during the administration of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mahmoud Reza Khavari, a former head of Bank Melli, another major Iranian bank, escaped to Canada in 2011 after he resigned over the case.

He faces charges over the case in Iran and remains on the Islamic Republic's wanted list.

Khavari previously admitted that his bank partially was involved in the fraud, but has maintained his innocence.

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Gunmen fire inside El Salvador bus, kill 6

Police in El Salvador say gunmen boarded a bus in a town near the capital killing six people. Source: AAP

POLICE in El Salvador say gunmen boarded a bus in a town near the capital and opened fired on passengers, killing six.

National police director Rigoberto Pleites said another five people were wounded during the Friday bus attack in the town of San Luis Talpa near San Salvador.

Pleites said witnesses told police the assailants were gang members dressed in uniforms similar to those issued to road maintenance workers.

He said investigators haven't confirmed they belonged to a gang.

Police Commissioner Mauricio Ramirez said there have been threats of increased violence in the country in the coming days, but he didn't provide any other details.

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Suspected drug ring busted in Canberra

Police have raided 10 north Canberra properties, uncovering what they say is a major drug syndicate. Source: AAP

A MAJOR drug ring has been busted in the national capital, with a Canberra man set to face court charged with trafficking drugs.

ACT Policing raided several north Canberra properties on Friday afternoon where they seized $200,000 worth of illicit drugs, cars and cash.

They found 728 grams of cocaine, a methylamphetamine-suspected substance, tablets suspected to be ecstasy, and steroids.

Police believe the operation cracked a major drug syndicate operating in the capital.

A 28-year-old man will appear in court on Saturday charged with drug trafficking.

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NZ-Thai sentenced for offending monarch

A 65-YEAR-OLD Thai woman, now living in New Zealand, has been given a suspended jail sentence by a Thai Criminal court after being found guilty of breaching Thailand's laws protecting the monarchy.

Thitinant Kaewchantranont, was arrested on July 14, 2012 as she prepared to board a flight to Auckland and charged under Thailand's "lese majeste" laws for damage to an image of the Thai monarch, 86-year-old Bhumipol Adulyadej at a protest outside the constitutional court.

Thitinant is a member of the United Democratic Front Against Dictatorship (UDD) known as the Red Shirts, supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the governing Pheu Thai party.

At the time of the incident the court's judges were ruling on whether the government then led by Thaksin's younger sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, had the right to amend the constitution.

Thailand has in place tough legislation designed to protect the royal family with jail sentences of up to 15 years for defamation or criticism of the family members.

But rights groups have called the laws harsh and pressed for reform.

The Criminal Court was told Thitinant had damaged an image of the king during the protest.

The judges on Wednesday initially handed down a one-year jail term but suspended the sentence for three years after Thitinant confessed and medical evidence indicated she suffered from mental illness.

After her arrest Thitinant had been detained at a psychiatric institute in Bangkok.

Cases of lese majeste have increased sharply in recent years amid Thailand's deep political tensions.

In 2008 Harry Nicolaides, from Melbourne, was charged for an offending passage in a privately published book, that sold fewer than 50 copies, but with the key passage regularly highlighted on the internet.

He was initially sentenced to three years' jail but later granted a royal pardon and released after a month's imprisonment and deported.

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PM Abbott defends daughter scholarship

A scholarship awarded to Frances Abbott was based on merit, says her father Tony Abbott. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has defended his daughter's scholarship from a design college chaired by a Liberal Party donor and friend.

Frances Abbott's scholarship at the Whitehouse Institute of Design has not been declared on her father's pecuniary interest register, even though he has declared other matters relating to his children such as trips, accommodation and tickets to sporting events.

MPs are required to disclose gifts above specified threshold limits, with extra requirements for ministers where a gift is retained.

But there is no rule about scholarships for MPs' children.

The institute is chaired by Les Taylor - a long-time donor to the Liberals - who gave Mr Abbott gifts of clothing in February 2012 and April 2013, which were recorded in his pecuniary interest register.

Frances was awarded a scholarship there in 2011 based on her application and art portfolio.

Mr Abbott told Fairfax radio on Thursday his daughter got it on her academic potential.

"She kept it on her academic merit - she is a distinction student," he said.

The college was so pleased with Frances' performance it offered her a place in their initial Masters course, he said.

Mr Abbott did not believe the matter warranted media interest.

"Family should be left out of this," he said.

A spokeswoman for the prime minister said if Mr Abbott received alternative advice on declaring the scholarship he would "meet the amended requirements".

Frances graduated in December 2013 and is working at Whitehouse in Melbourne as a teacher's aide.

The NSW Electoral Funding Authority register shows Mr Taylor has donated more than $20,000 to the NSW Liberal Party in the past six years.

A spokesman for the institute, Ian Tudor, told AAP that Frances' scholarship was the "chairman's scholarship, which is awarded occasionally".

"Frances was the second recipient," he said.

But he said he understood the selection was done "at arm's length" from the chairman by the managing director of the institute, Leanne Whitehouse.

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Motorbike and truck collide, rider dead

A 45-YEAR-OLD man is dead after his motorbike collided head-on with a truck in Tasmania's north.

Rain was falling when the crash occurred near Sheffield just before 1pm on Thursday.

Police say the motorbike crossed to the wrong side of the road, on a left-hand bend, and into the path of an oncoming truck.

The rider was from Sheffield, as is the 39-year-old truck driver, who was uninjured.

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No refugee ticket to first world: Morrison

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says Cambodia wants refugees from Australia to rebuild the nation. Source: AAP

IMMIGRATION Minister Scott Morrison has signalled that Australia is about to cut a deal with Cambodia to resettle refugees held in Nauru.

His comments come after Nauru and Papua New Guinea determined the refugee status of some asylum seekers sent to them by Australian authorities.

Mr Morrison said the government was making good progress on an agreement with Cambodia, but didn't want to jump the gun.

"We've got a positive response (from Cambodia)," he told Sky News on Thursday.

He is adamant the resettlement of refugees cannot solely belong to a club of first-world economies, like Australia.

Federal Labor is demanding the government release details of its Cambodia plan, including what safeguards are in place to ensure refugees' safety.

The kingdom is one of the poorest nations in the region and is still recovering from civil war.

There are also concerns about internal government corruption, a worry rejected by Mr Morrison.

"If that were true we should immediately cancel the almost $80 million in aid we provide to Cambodia," he said.

Thirteen asylum seekers, assessed as refugees, have been released into the Nauru community.

Seven others had their claims rejected while 21 others are waiting for a decision to be handed down on Thursday.

It's understood the refugees will be resettled temporarily on Nauru with five-year visas.

Refugees will have access to language classes, training, health care, work rights and a living allowance at local standards.

They will get some financial assistance, but will be asked to stand on their own feet after a year.

"Many of those being resettled on Nauru have skills, capability - things that Nauruans would welcome in their community," Mr Morrison said.

In PNG, 11 refugees have received positive decisions, with 15 denied.

PNG MP Ron Knight, who represents Manus Island, said accommodation for the refugees was almost complete at the town of Lorengau, west of the detention centre.

They will temporarily be in prefabricated units with airconditioning, secured behind mesh fences with 24-hour security guards.

The first group is expected to move in within weeks.

Originally, 300 refugees were going to be sent there, but that's been cut down to 75.

Catering and laundry will be done for them and they will be free to walk about the town.

"It's like a three-star hotel," Mr Knight told AAP.

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Thailand's army launches coup

THAILAND'S army chief says the army is taking control of the government to "restore order and push through political reform", Sky News reports.

The head of the Thai Army made the announcement on TV with senior military officers surrounding him, The New York Times reports.

The coup came after the introduction of martial law on Thursday.

more to come ...

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Fatal crash on Vic peninsula

A SECOND man has died after a car smashed into the garage of a house on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.

The car, with three men in it, veered off the road and ploughed into the garage in the beachside suburb of Dromana on Sunday night.

A Somerville man, 31, died at the scene, while the driver, also 31, and another male passenger were critically injured.

The driver, from Sea Lake in the state's northwest, died at The Alfred hospital on Tuesday.

The third man, a 27-year-old local, is now in a stable condition in The Alfred.

No one was in the house at the time.

Victoria's road toll stands at 97, seven more than at the same time last year.

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10-year-olds hurt after minibus rolls

A mini-bus has rolled on its side after colliding with a car in Melbourne, injuring two children. Source: AAP

TWO children have been taken to hospital after a school mini-bus accident in Melbourne.

The mini-bus and a car collided in Northcote on Wednesday morning, an Ambulance Victoria spokesman said.

The mini-bus tipped onto its side and two children, both aged 10, were taken to the Royal Children's Hospital with minor injuries.

The mini-bus, which was on a regular school run to St Paul's College in Kew, was carrying three staff and two students, a statement from the school said.

The school said the children were taken to hospital only as a precaution and were later released.

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Vic paramedics rescue men from burning car

VICTORIAN paramedics have pulled an unconscious man from a burning car and saved the life of his passenger.

When ambulance workers Amanda Stolk and Colin Kicker responded to reports of a car crash in Dandenong on Tuesday night, they found two people inside a car with the back seat on fire and flames shooting from the undercarriage.

As Ms Stolk helped the male passenger out, Mr Kicker saw the unconscious man in the driver's seat.

"The flames were growing in intensity at that point," he said.

He pulled the unconscious man, in his 40s, out of the car by his arms.

"As the flames took hold we dragged him from the car to a safe distance away from the vehicle," Mr Kicker said.

It is not known why the car caught fire.

"It doesn't look like the car was involved in a crash, but the back seat of the car was on fire, and flames were shooting from under the vehicle," Mr Kicker said.

The unconscious man was taken to Dandenong Hospital in a stable condition.

The CFA extinguished the fire but the car was extensively damaged.

Mr Kicker said he was just doing his job.

"I don't see it as a heroic act. My job is to save people's lives if they're in danger and that's what I've done," he said.

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Sydney bus driver demolishes wall

A bus has hit two vehicles and demolished a family's front yard wall in Sydney early on Wednesday. Source: AAP

A BUS has hit two vehicles and demolished a family's front yard wall in Sydney.

Police will question the 74-year-old driver after the Transdev public bus lost control on Rabaul Road at Georges Hall, near Bankstown, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The bus hit a parked tow truck, veered across the road and smashed into a family's front-yard brick wall.

It then hit another parked car and a fence before finally coming to a stop.

The driver was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

No passengers were aboard the bus, which was badly damaged.

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Nauru refugees not told of Cambodia: govt

Labor is gravely concerned about the Abbott government's Cambodian asylum seeker resettlement deal. Source: AAP

THE Abbott government is rejecting claims that asylum seekers in Nauru have been told their future could be in Cambodia.

Australia is on the verge of signing a memorandum of understanding with the Southeast Asian nation, which would allow refugees processed on Nauru to resettle there.

A number of family groups at the Nauru detention centre have reportedly been told they will be sent to Cambodia if they're found to be genuine refugees.

But a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison denied those claims on Wednesday, saying no such message had been given by the Australian government to transferees at Nauru.

"It is likely that transferees may have been made aware of media reporting on these issues," the spokeswoman told AAP.

Refugee groups and the Australian Greens have raised concerns about the resettlement plan, citing Cambodia's human rights record.

Federal Labor is also worried but won't say whether it will seek to block it.

Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek says her party is "gravely" concerned about poverty and security in Cambodia, as it seeks more details on the proposal.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been accused of applying a double standard to the Cambodia deal, given his party's criticism and blocking of the Malaysia people-swap plan when Labor was in power.

A Nauru government spokesman said asylum seekers had been told that if granted refugee status, they would be temporarily resettled on Nauru for up to five years.

After that, they would be settled in a third country.

"No one has been told that they will immediately be sent to a third country," the spokesman told AAP.

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Brisbane's 'blind curfew' condemned

Brisbane has been accused of putting a curfew on the blind by turning off audible traffic signals. Source: AAP

IMAGINE being told you shouldn't go out in the city after 9.30pm.

That's what happened to Australia's disability discrimination commissioner on the weekend, and advocates say it's the reality for blind and vision-impaired people in Brisbane every day.

In Queensland's capital, the beeping sound at pedestrian crossings that signals it's safe to cross is turned off at most intersections - including some in the CBD - between 9.30pm and 6.30am.

Sydney-based Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes, who has impaired vision, was shocked when told during a recent visit to Brisbane he might want to re-think his dinner plans.

"Someone told me in conversation that it's all right to go out to dinner at a certain restaurant but if you're not back by 9.30pm the audible traffic signals will be turned off so it'll be tricky for you to walk back," Mr Innes told AAP.

"I just said, 'You're joking, you're kidding' and they said 'no, no that's what happens in Brisbane'.

"Effectively in the CBD for blind people there's a curfew."

Mr Innes says he's never come across the situation in other capital cities, and residents must know there's an element of noise associated with living in CBDs.

He also noted traffic signals contained sensors that reduced the level of sound at quiet times, such as at night.

However, Brisbane's deputy mayor says there are 19 intersections in Brisbane's CBD that operate either all night or until at least 10.30pm.

Adrian Schrinner said the policy meets the needs of pedestrians and some 10,000 inner-city residents.

"Council needs to find the right balance between the needs of residents trying to sleep and those of late-night or early morning pedestrians," he said in a statement.

It's a policy that's been called discriminatory by Vision Australia's Queensland advocacy adviser Liz Jeffrey.

"This isn't just an inconvenience, this is actually having someone sitting at home who'd like to walk down the road with their cane or their guide dog, get a bottle of milk or go for a drink and they can't," she said.

Vision Australia has been trying to extend audible traffic signals in Brisbane for the past 15 years with no joy.

Ms Jeffrey said it's sometimes easy for able-bodied people to take mobility for granted.

"But for somebody who's blind and has low vision those little bleeping signals are the only way of having safety when crossing roads," she said.

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GP fee 'contradicts' close the gap target

Indigenous groups warn the government that charging people to see doctors will increase inequality. Source: AAP

THE Abbott government's plan to charge sick people to see their doctors will contradict its aim of closing the gap on indigenous health.

That's the view of almost a dozen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health groups that met in Canberra on Tuesday to protest proposed budget cuts.

They've called on the government to quarantine Aboriginal health services from funding cuts and extend their contracts from one year to five.

But they're more concerned over the proposed $7 GP co-payment they fear will hurt the indigenous community especially hard.

The coalition of 10 health groups argue the fee will run contrary to the principles of health equity outlined in the Closing The Gap statement.

"Introducing co-payments will not serve to close the gap in health outcomes; it will only widen the gap between our people and the rest of the community," Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service chief executive Julie Tongs said in a statement.

Ms Tongs said indigenous Australians were already disadvantaged when it came to health, but the money spent on alleviating that was already low compared to the rest of the community.

She welcomed the opportunity for further talks with the government.

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Hawke wants Aust a nuclear one-stop shop

Bob Hawke says Australia should enrich uranium and store nuclear power plant waste. Source: AAP

FORMER prime minister Bob Hawke says Australia should start enriching uranium and disposing of nuclear waste in its most geologically stable state and territory.

The former Labor leader told a Cooperative Research Centres Association conference in Perth on Tuesday that nuclear power was an integral element in tackling climate change, but had been vexed by the issue of safe disposal.

Based on a 25-year-old report made to him by Ralph Slayter - who he appointed Australia's first chief scientist in 1989 - Mr Hawke said the best sites were in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

"It would, of course, be entirely appropriate that before any action is taken along the lines I am suggesting, another expert scientific investigation be undertaken to confirm the accuracy of the information," Mr Hawke said.

"If Australia has - as we do - the safest remote locations for storing the world's nuclear waste, we have a responsibility to make those sites available for this purpose."

Mr Hawke said he had not yet discussed the matter with WA Premier Colin Barnett but believed he would entertain "a constructive consultation on it".

He said he had discussed it with the chief minister of the Northern Territory, Adam Giles, and he was "an ardent supporter".

Mr Hawke said he had spoken with some Aboriginal leaders about it and they saw merit in the proposal as it would bring in massive incomes and advance their communities.

Australia holds about 40 per cent of the world's uranium deposits but only exports yellowcake, so if it enriched the commodity, it could offer "a complete package".

"This is a case where in doing good for the rest of the world, we can, in the process, do enormously well for the Australian economy," Mr Hawke said.

He also criticised the federal government for cutting $80 million from the Cooperative Research Centre program over the forward estimates.

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"Everything is gone": Lin grandfather

Grandfather Yang Fei Lin described the moment he heard about the killing of five family members. Source: AAP

THE morning after five members of his family were murdered, grandfather Yang Fei Li received a call from the alleged killer telling him "something terrible has happened".

He began silently praying for everything to be okay.

It wasn't long until he discovered "everything was gone".

Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Lin told the Supreme Court on Tuesday about the day he learnt his son Min Lin, 45, his wife Lily, 44, her sister Irene, 39, and his grandchildren Henry, 12, and Terry, nine, had been killed in their North Epping home.

He said the night before the discovery on July 18 2009, had been spent like any other Friday family get together at the grandparents' house.

His grandson Henry complained of having broken shoes, and his wife, Feng Qing Zhu had given him $50 for winning a badminton competition.

Mrs Zhu had even tried to get Henry to stay the night but the 12-year-old said he needed to play the sport first thing in the morning.

All in all, it was a harmonious, quiet, normal night, Mr Lin added.

The next morning, everything changed.

He got a call from their son-in-law Lian Bin "Robert" Xie, saying, "something terrible has happened to the Lin family," Mr Lin recounted.

"I asked, 'What happened? He said, 'I can't say it now ... get here by train as soon as possible'."

After Xie agreed to pick him and his wife up, Mr Lin recalled: "I didn't say anything even when I was in his car; I was silently praying that nothing bad had happened to my family."

Xie has been accused of carrying out the five murders with a "hammer-like" weapon. He has pleaded not guilty.

When they arrived at the Lin family home in Sydney's northwest, Mr Lin said he was told Lily, her sister Irene and the two children had died.

At this stage, however, his son Min's death had not been confirmed.

"I was always wondering if my son Min had been abducted," Mr Lin said.

It was only when the family were later taken to hospital to see a social worker that they were told nobody had survived.

"We were really heartbroken. Very sad. Everything is gone," Mr Lin said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Lin told the court that before the "five members of my son's family were murdered we had a normal and good relationship with my daughter (Kathy) and her husband".

However, after the killings he said disputes concerning his son's inheritance and the guardianship of the sole surviving member of the Lin family began.

The trial continues.

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Tough budget necessary: Treasury Sec

Treasury Secretary Martin Parkinson says Australians needs to know the nation faces a challenges. Source: AAP

THE Australian public needs to know that the nation faces a challenge and a tough budget was necessary, Treasury Secretary Martin Parkinson says.

Dr Parkinson said while it was not his role to comment on specific government policies, Australians "deserve" to know there is a challenge ahead.

"It's within my responsibility as Treasury secretary to say to the community we do have to actually take this seriously to start to address the issue," Dr Parkinson told a business lunch in Sydney on Tuesday.

"It is (a challenge) that if we start today to take sensible decisions, particularly those that are essentially structural policy changes that take place over time, we'll be in a much better situation.

"Otherwise we're banking the house on 33 years of uninterrupted economic growth and there's no precedent for that.

"We're banking on another 10 years of fiscal drag and ... that has quite significant regressive impacts."

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Cattle identity Graeme Acton remembered

QUEENSLAND beef baron Graeme Acton's walk, hat and high expectations made him an iconic Australian, the prime minister says.

Tony Abbott and Queensland Premier Campbell Newman were among thousands who turned out to farewell the cattle identity near Rockhampton on Monday.

Mr Acton died on May 9, a week after he was critically injured when he fell from a horse while competing in a campdrafting event in central Queensland.

He was 62.

"To meet Graeme Acton once, just once, was to know him for life," The Morning Bulletin newspaper quoted Mr Abbott as saying.

"The hat, the voice, the face, the walk, marked him out as almost an iconic Australian.

"'I don't have small dreams', he once said."

Mr Acton's son Tom told those who attended the funeral that he'd known from a young age that his dad was someone special.

"Over the last couple of days and weeks, I've had much time to reflect on dad's life and his accomplishments," he said.

"It's been confirmed to me that he was certainly one of a kind."

Tom Acton said his father formed a love of riding horses and working the land when he was just a boy.

Mr Newman has described Mr Acton as an outstanding character who was loved by all.

"A hard-working Queenslander, he devoted his life to the land and growing the cattle industry in this state," he said earlier this month.

Mr Acton's funeral was held at his Paradise Lagoons property near Rockhampton, which is host to an annual campdraft event - a sport Mr Acton loved.

He headed Acton Land and Cattle - one of the country's largest farming operations.

The company owns 180,000 head of cattle on properties spanning about 1.58 million hectares.

Mr Acton is survived by his wife Jennie and their children Tom, Hayley, Victoria and Laura.

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Tributes for father of 3 killed in Fiji

THE driver of a fishing boat that crashed into another vessel, killing an Australian father of three on holiday with his family in Fiji, has been refused bail by a Suva court.

Mark Hardaker, 40, from Toongabbie in Sydney's west, was killed last Thursday when, witnesses say, he was struck in the head by the fishing boat which smashed into his vessel at high speed near Mana Island.

The driver of the other vessel, 33-year-old Jimi Beti, is charged with manslaughter, criminal recklessness and negligence over the death.

He is also accused of operating the boat without a licence.

During a brief court appearance following his arrest by Fijian police on Monday, Beti was refused bail and remanded to appear in Lautoka High Court on June 4.

Witnesses, including Australian Nick McGee who was on the same boat as Mr Hardaker, say the boat which collided with their vessel appeared to be overloaded.

"They were speeding very fast and I asked the driver if he saw us and he said, 'No, there were so many people in my boat I couldn't see out the front'," Mr McGee told NewsCorp Australia.

Mr Hardaker had been in Fiji to celebrate his wife's 40th birthday, and had gone on a fishing trip with a group of other men.

The party were on their way back to the Mana Island Resort, where Mr Hardaker's wife Vanessa and three children were waiting, when the crash occurred.

They have returned to Australia.

Tributes from his family have been posted on social media, with Mr Hardaker's sister-in-law, Alana Rice, describing him as a devoted father.

"My sister was there for her 40th (birthday) celebrations ... and is now flying home alone with 3 children," she posted on Facebook (sic).

"Mark is the most amazing thoughtful selfless person I will ever know in my life."

Mr Hardaker's step-mother Gay Bookallil said the family was "absolutely devastated".

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed the family of a 40-year-old NSW man had received consular assistance.

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Insulation scheme a 'recipe for disaster'

THE Rudd government's decision to include foil products in its home insulation program was "a recipe for disaster" that could have easily been avoided, an inquiry has heard.

Master Electricians chief executive Malcolm Richards says the product should never have been permitted in the scheme given the dangers posed by electrical cables in the roofs of older homes.

Mr Richards has told a royal commission in Brisbane, which wound up on Monday, that allowing foil to be retrofitted was a "recipe for disaster" that Master Electricians would have advised against had it been consulted.

"If it wasn't funded in the first place, we would have eliminated this as a risk issue," he said.

Two of the four young men killed in the program were using foil insulation.

Mr Richards said the government's failure to consult Master Electricians before the program's July 1, 2009 rollout was a "critical oversight" given the inclusion of foil increased the risk of electrocution.

The association only became aware foil was being used in late August 2009, after members received several calls about power tripping out at homes where the product had been installed.

They were "horrified" to discover metal staples used to secure foil sheeting had been driven into electrical cabling, Mr Richards said.

That October, Master Electricians drafted a warning letter highlighting the dangers of foil to then environment minister Peter Garrett.

But it wasn't sent before Matthew Fuller, 25, became the first installer to die when he put a metal staple through electrical cabling while laying foil insulation in Queensland on October 14 2009.

Two days after Mr Fuller's death, Mr Richards sent the letter urging the government to ban foil immediately.

He received a response from Mr Garrett on November 19 2009, a day after 16-year-old Rueben Barnes became the scheme's second fatality.

Marcus Wilson, 19, was killed installing insulation less than a week later, while Mitchell Sweeney, 22, was the last to die under the program on February 4, 2010.

Mr Richards said it was regrettable Masters Electricians didn't raise its concerns about foil sooner, although he doubted whether it would have done any good.

"From the ensuing events, I deem it highly unlikely we would have been heard or listened to until the events got serious," he said.

Foil was banned from the program on February 9, 2010, five days after Mr Sweeney died installing it.

The scheme was ultimately canned less than two weeks later amid allegations of fraud and unsafe work practices.

A royal commission has been investigating what warnings Labor received about the program and whether the men's deaths could have been avoided.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd and then environment minister Peter Garrett have both accepted "ultimate responsibility" for the program, but said public servants failed to pass on serious safety warnings.

But bureaucrats have said horrendous deadlines denied them adequate time to consider safety risks.

Commissioner Ian Hanger, QC, has been granted an extension to consider large volumes of evidence, including 77,000 documents.

Mr Hanger now has until August 31 to produce his report.

He may recall witnesses if he intends to make adverse findings against them.

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Guard distressed after shooting bandit

A SECURITY guard who shot dead an armed bandit outside a Gold Coast tavern appears to have acted instinctively, police say.

Police have interviewed the 47-year-old guard but haven't laid charges against him after the fatal incident on Monday morning.

A 46-year-old Upper Coomera man was shot dead after ambushing the security guard about 7.40am on Monday morning.

The guard was delivering cash to the Highland Park Tavern when he was tackled by a man wearing a motorcycle helmet and carrying a 9mm pistol.

Police say the two men struggled and the security guard fired several shots.

The bandit suffered a number of gunshot wounds and was dead by the time officers arrived just before 8am.

The shooting forced the closure of nearby streets, and sent a child-care centre into lockdown.

The security guard suffered minor facial injuries during the struggle. He was the one who asked a passer-by to call the police.

Regional Crime Co-ordinator Detective Superintendent David Hutchinson said it appeared the licensed security guard had reacted instinctively when he was attacked.

"We all must understand that under that sort of situation he would have been acting instinctively and he may not recall exactly himself how things went down," he told reporters on Monday.

"It's certainly a traumatic situation for anyone and he's traumatised by it."

Police haven't said whether the victim fired any shots.

He is yet to be formally identified but police believe they know who he is.

Officers seized a vehicle found in a nearby street and are examining it.

Police are also appealing to witnesses to the shooting to come forward.

The death is expected to be investigated by Queensland's coroner.

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One dead, two injured in Vic car crash

A PASSENGER was killed and another man is in a life-threatening condition after a speeding car crashed into a Victorian residential garage.

Three men were out getting food when the driver lost control and hit a pole before smashing into the garage of a Dromana home on Sunday night.

Police say the back-seat passenger who was killed, a 28-year-old Somerville man, was not wearing a seatbelt.

The driver, 31 and the other passenger, 27, were airlifted to The Alfred hospital with head injuries. Ambulance Victoria spokesman Paul Bentley said the two men were trapped in the car for about an hour.

There were reports that one of those men had also died, but police said on Monday that he was in a life-threatening condition.

Police were unable to confirm the identity of this man.

Detective Inspector Bernie Rankin said the car was well above the speed limit in the lead up to the accident.

"The driver for some inexplicable reason is exceeding the speed limit and the consequences have been rather dire," Det Insp Rankin said.

"It is a situation that is totally avoidable."

Drugs and alcohol are not thought to have been a factor but have not yet been ruled out.

No one was inside the house at the time of the crash.

In a separate accident, a driver died after a two-car collision at Pimpinio, near Horsham, on Monday afternoon.

A 42-year-old man died at the scene and the other driver, in his late 60s, suffered minor injuries.

Both drivers were the only occupants of their cars.

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WA abuse victims to tell their stories

THE royal commission investigating child sex abuse in institutions will hold private sessions in the Kimberley region of Western Australia on Monday.

Officers from the commission will be in Broome and Kununurra to meet with people interested in sharing their story.

Royal Commission CEO Janette Dines says the visit will provide an important opportunity for people who were sexually abused as children in institutions to disclose their mistreatment.

"We strongly encourage all survivors who wish to share their story in private with a commissioner to make contact with the Royal Commission or a local support service," Ms Dines said.

She said more than 1500 private sessions have been held across Australia to date, including more than 160 in Western Australia.

"We are determined to ensure that regional and Aboriginal communities have a voice in this process, and we are working with local community organisations and support services to encourage survivors of child sexual abuse to tell their story to the Royal Commission."

Commissioners will also revisit the remote Kimberley from June 3 to hold further private sessions with victims.

They will run concurrent with a public hearing in Perth which is examining how a private school handled the case of a teacher who was molesting children for almost a decade.

*If you were sexually abused as a child while in the care of an Australian institution, you can tell your story to the Royal Commission by phoning 1800 099 340 or emailing contact@childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au

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Body cameras to be given to NSW police

Victims could get justice quicker with NSW frontline police being outfitted with body cameras. Source: AAP

VICTIMS of crime are likely to get justice quicker with NSW frontline police being outfitted with body cameras, the Police Association says.

The NSW government announced on Sunday that it will be spending $4 million over two years to roll-out the body worn video (BWV) cameras for frontline police.

The cameras will be attached to the vest of the officers and are expected to be housed inside the radio unit.

Police Association President, Scott Weber, said the cameras will be good for cops and the community.

"Video captures events in a way that can't be represented on paper in the same detail and it has been shown the presence of this type of video can often defuse potentially violent situations without the need for force to be used," he said in a statement.

"It will also show police dealing with difficult and dangerous situations every day and it will also provide clearer evidence when it's been alleged that police got things wrong. That has to be in both our own and the community's interest."

The cameras have already been trialled by the Public Order and Riot Squad, South West Metro Regional Enforcement Squad, Brisbane Water Local Area Command and the Northern Sector of the Police Transport Command.

These showed a reduction in frivolous claims against police and changes in the behaviour of potential offenders because of being recorded.

"The cameras would likely bring swifter justice for victims, especially in domestic abuse cases, as people were more likely to plead guilty when they know the incident has been filmed."

Officers attached to the Public Order and Riot Squad, Police Transport Command and other highly mobile frontline officers will be given priority for the cameras.

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Budget of 'increased taxes' unites Labor

PM Tony Abbott appears to have backed away from his threat to hold a double dissolution election. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIANS are listening to the Abbott government but some may be confused about what they're hearing, the prime minister says.

Admitting his first budget includes "increased taxes" in one interview, Tony Abbott in another pointed to selective listening for confusion about pre-election promises.

"Well, I know that people hear different things," he told ABC's Insiders TV program.

Mr Abbott spent another day on Sunday defending his budget, which includes a Medicare co-payment, pension cuts and a fuel excise rise.

Labor are using the budget as the linchpin for a new united front, with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten telling party members the budget had brought Labor together.

"This terrible budget of the Abbott government, it has defined the Labor party," he told the annual Australian Labor Party conference in Melbourne on Sunday.

"Friends, the Labor party nationally has its voice back."

His comments came just hours before state and territory leaders commenced an emergency meeting in Sydney to discuss an $80 billion hole in state funding, left by last week's budget.

Mr Shorten accused the government of using cuts to state funding for schools and hospitals to sneak in another tax.

"They are actually increasing taxes through the back door," he told party members.

The states will have no choice but to raise GST because they must continue to operate schools and hospitals, he said.

Labor call it blackmailing, a line echoed by the Greens.

Mr Abbott says it's about ending handouts the government can't afford.

"What I've got to do is ensure that at the Commonwealth level, we are not living beyond our means, we're not mortgaging our future and piling up never-ending debt for our children and grandchildren," he told Fairfax radio.

But if a tax conversation was what Mr Abbott was after, the states refused to play along and shot down suggestions GST or income tax hikes were on the agenda at Sunday's meeting.

They instead joined forces to call for an urgent Council of Australian Governments meeting before July 1.

The latest Galaxy poll, published by News Corporation on Sunday, found 75 per cent think they will be worse off as a result of the budget.

Thousands of protesters rallied in capital cities to voice that view.

But Mr Abbott says the budget is in line with what his government promised, including stopping the boats, scrapping the carbon tax, building roads and taking control of the budget.

"I don't want to plead the fine print but I do believe that we have fundamentally kept faith with people," he said.

He said everyone must share the burden caused by Labor "spending like a drunken sailor".

Labor's fury is directed at doctor co-payments, a raised pension age, restrictions on unemployment benefits, cuts to state funding and the fuel excise - measures it will oppose.

Abbott's "juvenile" paid parental scheme is also high on Mr Shorten's hit list, with the Labor leader claiming it will pay millionaires $50,000 of money they don't need.

"See how that goes for pensioners trying to get an extra smear of vegemite on their toast on day 13 of their budget," he said.

The Greens and Palmer United Party also oppose several measures, meaning Mr Abbott has some tough conversations to get the harshest of his budget measures through the Senate.

But the prime minister appears to have backed away from his threat to hold a double dissolution election over the budget, saying the crossbenchers would understand its harsher measures.

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Iran's Zarif says nuclear deal 'possible'

IRANIAN Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday that clinching a final nuclear deal with world powers is still "possible" despite a tough round of talks this week.

"Agreement is possible. But illusions need to go. Opportunity shouldn't be missed again like in 2005," Zarif said on Twitter, referring to Iran's long-stalled dispute with world powers over its disputed nuclear program.

Iran and six world powers ended a fourth round of nuclear talks in Vienna on Friday with "no tangible progress".

Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany - known as the P5+1 group - want Iran to radically scale back its nuclear activities, making any dash for an atomic bomb virtually impossible and easily detectable.

The parties want to clinch a deal by July 20, when a November interim deal expires, under which Iran froze certain activities in return for some relief from crippling Western sanctions.

In return for further concessions, the Islamic republic, which denies seeking an atomic weapon, wants the lifting of all United Nations and Western sanctions, which have caused major damage to its economy.

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Eastern Ukrainians rap Kiev in talks

Lawmakers and officials from eastern Ukraine have criticised the fledging central government. Source: AAP

LAWMAKERS and officials from eastern Ukraine have poured criticism on the fledging central government, accusing it of ignoring legitimate grievances of the regions which have been overrun by pro-Russia militia.

One eastern leader said last weekend's unofficial referendum in favour of independence "expressed the will of the people".

The criticism came in the second round of European-brokered talks intended to resolve the crisis in Ukraine.

The country's caretaker government came to power in February following the ouster of Kremlin-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych after months of protests in Kiev.

Moscow and many in Ukraine's east have accused the new government of intending to trample the rights of eastern Ukraine's Russian-speakers.

On Saturday, politicians from the east implored the government to believe that - apart from the pro-Russia gunmen - a large sector of the population had lost hope in the interim administration in Kiev.

The second round of talks followed hours after sustained gunfire was heard throughout the night near the eastern city of Slovyansk, the stronghold of pro-Russia fighters, after forces loyal to the Kiev government moved in to protect a television tower.

Separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions held hastily arranged referenda last weekend and declared independence following the vote, which went in favour of sovereignty.

The round-table talks in the eastern city of Kharkiv did not feature any of the insurgents, whom Kiev describes as terrorists.

The insurgents say they are willing to discuss only the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops and the recognition of the independence of the regions.

"The referendum doesn't have any legal consequences," said Valery Holenko, chairman of the Luhansk regional government.

"But it has expressed the will of the people, which cannot be discounted. People genuinely went en masse to the referendum. This was a protest vote."

Holenko said the devolution of powers that the government is offering was no longer enough and that as a first step in appeasing eastern Ukrainians the government has to stop its "anti-terrorist operation" in the east.

Acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who was often busy with his iPad while some of the eastern lawmakers were making passionate speeches, called on the eastern leaders to resist the armed men and support the government's efforts to devolve powers to the regions.

"You have got in your home, in Luhansk and Donetsk, armed terrorists who are funded by Russians and those who fled Ukraine and want to seize our land," Yatsenyuk told the gathering.

"We're not going talk to robbers and terrorists. They will not be telling the Ukrainian people how to live in our country."

Yatsenyuk urged the eastern leaders to disarm the insurgents, "regain the power and start a political dialogue".

Reacting to calls to make Russian a second official language, Yatsenyuk said the government will support the equal status of Ukrainian and Russia in Russian-speaking regions but sees no need for other legal protection.

Reacting to the fighting overnight near Slovyansk, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning what it described as a sharp escalation of violence in eastern Ukraine, and accused Kiev of using the talks as cover for military operations against its citizens.

As on Wednesday, Saturday's talks included officials, lawmakers, business people and religious leaders from across the country, but no representatives of the separatists from Donetsk and Luhansk.

Oleksandr Bandurka, a Communist party lawmaker and police general from central Ukraine, said that these negotiations make no sense because "we're not talking to those who oppose us. We cannot ignore them".

Ukraine's first president, Leonid Kravchuk, who is chairing the talks, angrily reacted that "no one in the world talks to killers and terrorists. Putin doesn't talk to terrorists".

Russia has pushed for the federalisation of Ukraine, since that would allow Moscow to retain influence over areas in Ukraine dominated by Russian-speakers.

Many in western Ukraine and in the capital favour closer ties to Europe and fear being pulled back into Moscow's orbit.

Attempting to end the talks on a conciliatory note, Yatsenyuk quoted Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko and told the leaders from eastern Ukraine: "We are ready to embrace you and hope that you are too."

The next round of talks is expected on Wednesday in the central city of Cherkasy.

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