Pair die in fatal Qld car crash

Two people have been killed after their car hit a tree in a Gold Coast suburb. Source: AAP

TWO people have been killed after their car hit a tree in a Gold Coast suburb.

The driver, a 27-year-old Darra man, and a 26-year-old Fortitude Valley woman were travelling along a road in Nerang just before 12.30am when their vehicle collided with a tree.

Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

It is believed an incident involving a 4WD occurred 15km from the crash scene with the driver of a black Subaru Forester breath tested, a police spokeswoman said.

The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating.

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PM pays tribute to beef baron Graeme Acton

Australian beef baron Graeme Acton has died aged 63, after falling from a horse. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has paid tribute to Australian beef baron Graeme Acton, describing him as a great and proud man.

"He was a proud Queenslander and a great Australian," Mr Abbott said in a statement following news of Mr Acton's death on Friday in Brisbane.

"Graeme contributed so much to agriculture in our country, in particular to the cattle industry around Rockhampton where the Actons have been farming for four generations."

Mr Acton, 63, had been on life support in the Royal Brisbane Hospital after falling from a horse on May 2 while competing in a campdrafting event in central Queensland.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said he was shocked and saddened.

"He was an outstanding character who was much loved by all," he said in a statement.

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

Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said Mr Acton was a hero of the cattle industry and a fierce advocate for agriculture.

"We are truly indebted to this great Australian, for the blessing he has been as a father, husband, friend, pioneer and great captain of the agricultural industry in Australia," he said.

Just last week Mr Acton had told Mr Joyce how the government could do things better.

"His words of wisdom were not lost on me," Mr Joyce said.

"Graeme possessed a unique ability to communicate with people irrespective of their background or social standing and united tens of thousands through his love of the art form of campdrafting."

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

The firm owns 180,000 head of cattle on seven Queensland farms which span about 1.58 million hectares of land.

Acton Land and Cattle exports 30,000 beasts to the Middle East and Asia each year.

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

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Easy access to welfare is over: Andrews

Australians who receive the disability support pension will be assessed for the capacity to work. Source: AAP

UP to 20,000 Australians who receive the disability support pension (DSP) will be assessed for the capacity to work, and if deemed able, will be expected to get a job.

In tough talk ahead of the budget, Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews also repeated warnings that the days of young Australians sitting at home on the couch collecting welfare cheques were over.

He said the government believed young people should be either be working or training for work.

"The message out of this is simply this. The days of easy welfare for young people are over. We want a fair system but we don't think it is fair that young people can just sit on the couch at home and pick up a welfare cheque. Those days are over," he told reporters in Melbourne.

Mr Andrews confirmed the budget, to be delivered on Tuesday night, will introduce rules that mean some people collecting the DSP disability support pension will be reviewed for capacity to work.

That will apply to some 10-20,000 people who had gone onto the DSP in the last 5-6 years but not yet assessed under new impairment tables.

"If they are capable of working, whether it is full-time or part-time, then our expectation is that they should be working," he said.

Mr Andrews said measures announced on Tuesday would be just the first instalment of reform.

He said former Mission Australia chief executive Patrick McClure had completed his discussion paper on welfare reforms but would review it in light of budget changes.

The review will be released for public consultation after the budget.

"I will be taking to cabinet further proposals for welfare review. This will go to the structural arrangements," Mr Andrews said.

Mr Andrews said the welfare system now comprised some 50 payments, allowances and supplements assembled ad hoc over the years.

"It is time to have a clear look at making structural change so far as welfare is concerned," he said.

Proposed changes are in line with the report of the National Commission of Audit which said the DSP was costing $15.8 billion a year.

Opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King was critical of the changes to the DSP.

"Why would you be punishing them? Why would you be punishing their income security payments and trying to restrict their access to income support whilst at the same time cutting a whole lot of benefits that support them into work," she told reporters in Melbourne.

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SA man burned as car engulfed in flames

A MAN has been pulled from his burning car on an Adelaide expressway.

Emergency crews pulled the man from his car at Virginia after it caught fire while travelling on the Northern Expressway, SA police say.

He suffered serious burns and was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The car was badly damaged.

Fire cause investigators will examine the car.

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Hate preacher cries over Bosnia killings

Fiery hate preacher Abu Hamza al-Masri has cried on the stand over the killing of Muslims in Bosnia. Source: AAP

BRITISH hate preacher Abu Hamza quietly cried while describing the killing of Muslims in Bosnia in the 1990s during testimony at his terrorism trial.

But he laughed when he told a Manhattan jury he'd heard rumours that hands he lost in an accident with explosives were chopped off as punishment for stealing.

The second day of testimony on Thursday for Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, 56, better known as Abu Hamza al-Masri, was emotional for him as he talked about the killing of Muslims, Osama bin Laden and how he lost one eye and both hands in 1993.

He cried while discussing the 1995 massacre of thousands of Muslim men and boys in Bosnia. He cried again later as he described talking to a woman whose son was killed in Bosnia.

Prosecutors questioned whether world events affecting Muslims in the 1990s belonged in a trial in which Abu Hamza is charged with conspiring to aid terrorists who took 16 hostages in Yemen in 1998 and conspiring to aid al-Qaeda by starting an Oregon training camp two years later.

Describing Abu Hamza as a "political figure," Judge Katherine Forrest said prosecutors must let him describe his opinions about events that arose during the government's three-week presentation of evidence.

"Whether you like his views or don't like his views, they're his views and you've got to let him put them in context," she said. "You made it relevant. Nobody made it relevant but you."

Abu Hamza's lawyer, Joshua Dratel, questioned him about a wide range of subjects, including Osama bin Laden. Mustafa said bin Laden was "a very charismatic man. People love him, including myself."

But he was critical at times of al-Qaeda. He described how in 1987 he met Abdullah Azzam, a spiritual mentor of bin Laden who fought the Soviets in Afghanistan and was killed in a car bombing in 1989.

"He was seeing the bigger picture, certainly bigger than al-Qaeda today," Mustafa said.

He explained the loss of his hands, saying a liquid explosive went off as he was handling it in August 1993 when he worked as a civil engineer during testing being carried out by the Pakistani military in Lahore, where Pakistani security officers lived.

He said he spent a month in a hospital and was unjustly suspected of having ignited the explosive. He lost an eye in the same explosion.

Abu Hamza said the Pakistani Army did not charge him, but warned not to "embarrass us about what happened".

He chuckled as he said he later heard rumours he went to Saudi Arabia, tried to steal something "and they cut off my hands".

Mustafa drew laughs again when he described changing the name on his passport when he travelled to Bosnia in the mid-1990s.

"You pay 25 pounds and say 'I want to be John Travolta', and you are John Travolta," he said.

When the judge asked if went with John Travolta, he answered: "No ma'am," causing more laughs.

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Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Vic

Three people have contracted the potentially deadly legionnaires' disease in Melbourne west. Source: AAP

THREE people have been struck down by an outbreak of potentially deadly legionnaires' disease in Melbourne.

Two men and a woman, aged between 47 and 88, are recovering after hospital treatment.

All live in the Altona North area or spent time there in April and May, Department of Health spokesman Bram Alexander says.

He said the first case came to light in early April and the most recent was confirmed on Friday.

The department has taken samples from air-conditioning cooling towers and has disinfected them as a precaution, but Mr Alexander said the source of the outbreak might not be found.

"We will continue to do the work that we need to do to find the source, but there are occasions where we do not find the source," he told AAP.

Single cases of the illness were not unusual, Mr Alexander said.

Early symptoms are flu-like, and include headache, fever, chills, confusion and muscle aches and pains.

These initial symptoms develop into respiratory problems and pneumonia within three or four days, with the full onset of the disease within 10 days of infection.

People aged over 50, heavy smokers or drinkers, diabetics, people with chronic lung disease and people with immune system deficiencies are at the highest risk.

Fifteen Victorians have contracted the illness this year, which is down from 23 at the same time in 2013.

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Snapchat settles charge it deceived users

US regulators announced a deal with Snapchat to settle a charge that the internet firm misled users Source: AAP

US regulators have announced a deal with Snapchat to settle a charge that the internet firm misled users into believing images sent over the popular phone application disappeared permanently.

Terms of the proposed settlement include Snapchat ramping up privacy and security at its popular self-destructing messaging service and having an independent monitor track its efforts for the next 20 years.

The Southern California-based service gained notoriety for the app that lets people send smartphone photos or video snippets timed to self-destruct 10 seconds or less after being opened.

Snapchat rocketed to popularity after the app was released in September 2011. Its growth initially sparked fears that in a world of selfies, it would provide a false sense of security for teenagers thinking of sexting risque photos.

The US Federal Trade Commission said it had launched an investigation into whether Snapchat was not up front about how much data it collected from users, how well it protected them, and whether disappearing messages could be copied or resurrected.

"If a company markets privacy and security as key selling points in pitching its service to consumers, it is critical that it keep those promises," FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez said.

An FTC complaint charged that Snapchat misled users on several fronts, including how "ephemeral" smartphone pictures or video snippets, referred to as "snaps", actually are.

Snapchat boasted of letting people send images that "disappear forever" seconds after being viewed by recipients, neglecting to inform users there are ways people can save pictures indefinitely, the FTC says.

People who get snaps can use third-party applications to save images, grab screen shots, or even just take another picture using a camera.

Concerns expressed by regulators included the extent to which snaps could be erased after viewing; how well Snapchat lets senders know when messages intended for destruction were saved, and how open it is about information it collects from users.

The FTC complaint contended that Snapchat gathered contact information from address books of people accessing the service form iPhones, iPads, or iPods without telling them.

Regulators blamed Snapchat's failure to effectively secure a Find Friends feature for allowing hackers to breach its database and steal user names and phone numbers of about 4.6 million users.

No fines were announced, but Snapchat could be hit with financial penalties if it doesn't stick with the conditions it agreed to in the settlement, the FTC says.

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Harris known in industry as 'the Octopus'

The assault trial of Rolf Harris has heard details of his alleged crimes against four teenage girls. Source: AAP

ROLF Harris used his fame as a children's entertainer to approach young girls and then abuse them over a number of decades, a London court has been told.

Prosecutor Sasha Wass QC on Friday opened the crown's case against the 84-year-old by telling the jury there was a "pattern" of Harris approaching girls in a friendly fashion but then assaulting them.

Harris is accused of indecently assaulting four girls, one as young as seven or eight, between 1968 and 1986 in the UK. He denies all the charges.

But Ms Wass said the assaults were committed at the height of Harris's celebrity and his fame meant no-one suspected or challenged his behaviour.

The prosecutor acknowledged the Australian was "an immensely talented man" who excelled at music "and above all in children's entertainment".

But this charming and amicable side hid another dark side, the jury of six men and six women was told.

The artist and singer was "a Jekyll and Hyde character", Ms Wass said.

"This hidden side is what this case is about - and it is known only to Harris and those he molested."

No-one screamed or shouted or told an adult at the time.

"Harris was too famous, too powerful, his reputation made him untouchable," Ms Wass told Southwark Crown Court.

Many assaults were "brazen".

The court heard that Harris knew children were in awe of him.

"You will see a pattern during this case of Mr Harris approaching girls in a purely friendly way and then, once he is in close physical contact with them, taking advantage of the situation in order to indecently assault them," Ms Wass said.

Witnesses would tell the court they didn't complain at the time because they thought no-one would believe them.

However, an older TV make-up artist in Australia has said that to those in the know, Harris was referred to as "the octopus" because of his roaming hands.

The court heard one of the four main complainants was a close friend of Harris's daughter, Bindi, who joined the family on an overseas holiday in the late 1970s.

It was in Hawaii that Harris allegedly abused Bindi's friend for the first time after the then 13-year-old had taken a shower at their hotel and was wrapped only in a towel.

"Mr Harris came into (her) bedroom and gave her a hug and then pretended to tickle her," Ms Wass told the court.

"Mr Harris, having made physical contact with (her) on the pretext of a hug and a tickle, then wrapped his hands around her and put his hands inside the towel."

Ms Wass said Harris again indecently touched the 13-year-old - who the family had known for more than a decade - on other occasions in Hawaii and then in Australia.

When the victim returned to London after the holiday she started drinking and within a few years was a full-blown teenage alcoholic.

Ms Wass said the victim was subsequently abused by Harris over the next 15 years.

"Harris groomed her like a pet on that trip", the prosecutor said, adding that by the time Bindi's friend was in her 20s she effectively did whatever the entertainer said.

The complainant herself has said it was like she was his "little toy".

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Vic govt must do more on abuse: victims

The Victorian government will remove time limits that stop some child abuse cases going to court. Source: AAP

VICTORIAN child abuse victims will no longer be constrained by time limits in seeking compensation from the organisations that harboured their abusers, but another hurdle remains.

Premier Denis Napthine says organisations will no longer be able to hide behind the statute of limitations for victims who want to take civil action.

Victims advocacy group Broken Rites said removing time limits was an important step for victims, as it could take 20 or 30 years for some to come to terms with their childhood abuse.

"For victims who are still looking for justice and felt justice was denied that's an important turnaround that they can now bring their claim forward without that time limit that was there previously," spokeswoman Chris MacIsaac said.

But some child sex abuse survivors given a "bubble of hope" by the sweeping reforms from a Victorian parliamentary inquiry now fear it will burst if the government doesn't enact all of the recommendations.

"If these failed to materialise then the bubble would burst and suicides and premature deaths would rise," said the advocacy group, Ballarat and District Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse.

It says removing time limits is a good move, but for it to be effective the government also must enact reforms requiring non-government organisations to be incorporated and insured so they can be sued.

"The Ellis defence can still be used and leaves victims with no other option but to go back to the institution that abused them and beg for help," the group said.

Dr Napthine said the government wanted to protect children and was continuing to examine options for reform.

"We as a government are committed to ensuring organisations cannot hide behind statutory time limits in order to avoid the liability they have for harm they have caused to victims of child abuse," he said on Thursday.

Religious ministers will have to undergo working with children checks, while there will be mandatory reporting to a central body and minimum child safety standards for organisations dealing with children.

The government has already made it a crime to fail to report suspected abuse to police.

Dr Napthine said the government believed it "got the balance right" by making an exemption for anyone in a situation where they fear reporting abuse would put themselves and the child at greater risk.

But the Federation for Community Legal Centres says vulnerable women will still have to go to court to defend themselves.

"It is still an offence, potentially, for a woman in a family violence situation to fail to disclose but then there's a defence they can raise," the centre's senior policy adviser Dr Chris Atmore said.

The Catholic Church backed the government's reforms saying it would help to prevent further abuse while supporting victims.

Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart said the inquiry was an important opportunity for victims to be heard and for the Church to face the truth.

"I believe that this inquiry, and the government's response to it, will assist the healing of those who have been abused and the prevention of abuse in the future," Archbishop Hart said on Thursday.

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Mama panda shows off Canberra babies

Four-month-old twin red pandas are shown off for the first time at the National Zoo in Canberra. Source: AAP

IT'LL be a bittersweet Mother's Day for second-time mum Eilish.

The National Zoo's prized red panda lost one of her cubs the first time around - but now she's getting ready to show off her healthy new twins to Canberrans on Sunday.

Eilish's newborns are a special addition to a species whose numbers are low and declining.

Zookeepers are excited because the twins mark a successful breeding program of the threatened species.

"She had tough times with the first cub, and now for both of them to survive, we're very excited," National Zoo spokeswoman Bec Scott told AAP.

Visitors will be able to name the twins from a list compiled by keepers on the zoo's Facebook page.

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WA debt rises amid infrastructure splurge

THE West Australian government's debt projections show the state sliding deeper into the red as huge spending on infrastructure overshadows revenue raising and cost cutting measures.

The 2014/15 state budget handed down on Thursday shows the goal of restoring WA's AAA credit rating is a long way off, with debt creeping up to $27.5 billion by 2016/17, from $26.9 billion in the mid-year economic review.

A whopping $23.7 billion in planned infrastructure projects over the next four years will maintain the need for increased borrowings, Treasurer Mike Nahan told parliament as he delivered his first budget.

With just $243 million in infrastructure spending pushed back beyond 2017/18, Dr Nahan said the government would "keep a close eye" on debt levels.

Opposition leader Mark McGowan said the Liberal government should not have pushed ahead with all of its big projects.

"I went to the state election suggesting some changes that would have saved money," Mr McGowan told reporters.

"[Premier Colin] Barnett just went to the people and said 'you can have all of the capital works and we won't put up electricity prices'. Clearly, that was untrue."

The Barnett government had promised before last year's state election to keep electricity price rises "at or around inflation", but they will instead increase by 4.5 per cent.

Water bills will also rise, motorists will be slugged with a three per cent hike in vehicle registration fees and there will be a four per cent increase in public transport costs.

Dr Nahan says something has got to give, with the state receiving less GST as its royalties rise on the back of greater export volumes, and with massive infrastructure spending unavoidable as WA's population continues to surge, despite a slowdown in business investment.

But Mr McGowan was unforgiving.

"This is a budget of pain, hardship and dishonesty that will impact every West Australian man, woman and child," he said.

"It's a horror budget on the hip pocket. It's a budget that hurts people who can least afford it.

"They've had seven treasurers in the last five years. This is a government not fit to be in government."

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, which downgraded the state's credit rating from AAA to AA+ in September last year, was also critical.

It said the latest budget had no measures in place to deal with structural problems and left the state vulnerable to "external shocks" such as volatile commodity prices.

Ratings agency Moody's said improved financial performance would rely to a large extent on the state's ability to lower expenditures.

In 2014/15, the state's spending forecast of 2.6 per cent compares to a much higher rate of spending in the current financial year of 9.1 per cent, but this trend largely relies on employee costs rising by only 2.9 per cent.

That won't please public sector unions, which want bigger wage increases.

Despite the mounting debt, the WA government has managed to polish its net operating balance, replacing a $124 million deficit that was flagged for the coming financial year with a $175 million surplus.

But in 2015/16, the surplus is expected to be a measly $5 million.

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Brand wins damages over cheat slur

COMEDIAN Russell Brand has accepted substantial undisclosed libel damages over a newspaper claim that he had cheated on girlfriend Jemima Khan.

Brand was not at London's High Court for the settlement of his action against News Group Newspapers over a November 2013 story in The Sun on Sunday.

His solicitor, John Kelly, told Justice Tugendhat that the allegation that he had deceived the public as well as Khan by falsely proclaiming that he was being faithful to her when in fact he was having sex with model Sophie Coady during a four-month fling was entirely without foundation and "distressing, hurtful and damaging".

NGN had apologised and agreed to pay Brand his legal costs and damages, which he would put towards "what he considers to be diverse, just and decent causes".

Kelly said that Brand had spoken publicly of his love and commitment towards Khan.

After the publication of the front page "exclusive", headed Russell Cheated On His Jemima With Me, he immediately wrote to the newspaper through his solicitors, informing them that the claims were false, should be withdrawn and an apology should be published.

"The claimant's distress was increased as a result of the defendant's initial refusal to remove the article from the newspapers' website, or to withdraw the allegations and publish an apology. After the newspaper refused to apologise Mr Brand issued proceedings for libel.

"The defendant now accepts that these claims are in fact totally untrue and defamatory and that these claims should never have been published."

NGN had apologised to Brand and Khan for the distress and embarrassment caused, said Kelly.

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Tougher laws for strangulation offences

People who attempt to strangle their partners could get a maximum of 10 years in jail in NSW. Source: AAP

PEOPLE who attempt to strangle their partners will get a maximum of 10 years in jail under tough new laws proposed by the NSW government.

Most domestic violence strangulation cases are currently treated as common assault and attract a maximum jail term of two years, NSW Attorney-General Brad Hazzard said.

The new law, introduced to parliament on Wednesday, imposes far tougher sanctions and should make it easier to prosecute domestic violence strangulation cases.

"The new offence of strangulation does away with the need to prove the offender choked the victim while intending to commit another offence, such as sexual assault, murder or robbery. This will make prosecution much easier," Mr Hazzard said.

"The new offence attracts a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and clearly sends the message that this is a very serious offence which deserves significant punishment."

The Director of Public Prosecutions has previously expressed concerns about existing strangulation laws.

An aggravated version of the offence, committed during crimes such as rape of murder, will remain with a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.

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Qld corruption watchdog changes tweaked

THE overhaul of Queensland's corruption watchdog is due to pass its final hurdle after the attorney-general made a number of concessions.

Jarrod Bleijie on Wednesday acknowledged the shake-up had sparked controversy and public debate, but that without it, the "incompetent and unaccountable" Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) would run itself into the ground.

The opposition vehemently argued the laws, due to pass Wednesday night, could open the state to more misconduct and corruption.

Mr Bleijie avoided a government MP crossing the floor by making a number of concessions.

The legislation originally gave the government free rein to choose the CMC's chair, removing the need for bipartisan approval.

But after a public backlash and recommendations from a parliamentary legal affairs committee, Mr Bleijie gave a parliamentary committee the power to veto appointments.

While that committee is dominated by government MPs, the model is similar to the one used by NSW's Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Another amendment clarified that fighting crime shouldn't take priority over corruption investigations.

It was enough to win over Assistant Health Minister Chris Davis, who was considering voting with the opposition.

"I'm willing to give it a go," he told AAP.

"We've showed we've listened, consulted."

"I think we should take the changes on board, but monitor and process and most importantly make sure it aligns with public expectations."

Before debate started, Dr Davis released a poll of his electorate.

The Tuesday night poll, conducted by ReachTEL, showed 64 per cent believed the CMC was effective in its current form.

More than 72 per cent didn't want the ruling party to pick its chair.

And, about 56 per cent didn't support changes to the definition of official misconduct that would reduce the number of investigations by the CMC.

The CMC has been under fire for more than a year, after releasing and shredding thousands of documents from the landmark Fitzgerald inquiry in the late 1980s, including highly confidential criminal files.

Mr Bleijie argued the CMC, which will be rebadged the Crime and Corruption Commission, had warped priorities.

"It oozed incompetence," he said.

"It had lost focus.

"It is the most unaccountable body in Australia, certainly Queensland.

"It's time to end the shenanigans occurring and the maladministration."

Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said Premier Campbell Newman and Mr Bleijie were arrogantly trashing Tony Fitzgerald's legacy.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," she said.

"I'm concerned that ... we may see into the future a culture of misconduct of corruption."

"I don't want Queensland to go back to the dark days of the moonlight state."

The legislation was due to pass parliament on Wednesday night.

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Woman dies in Vic head-on crash

A woman has died and another is critically injured following a head-on collision in Victoria. Source: AAP

A WOMAN is dead and another is fighting for her life following a head-on collision in country Victoria.

The dead woman's car and a four-wheel drive collided at Wattle Bank, near Inverloch, on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

The woman, believed to be in her 60s, died at the scene.

Her passenger was flown to Melbourne's The Alfred hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The other driver was taken by road ambulance to a local hospital with serious injuries.

The death takes Victoria's road toll to 88, one more than for the same time last year.

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I'll try not to mislead parliament: Qld MP

Former Queensland minister Ros Bates says she will try not to mislead parliament again. Source: AAP

FORMER Queensland minister Ros Bates says she will make sure she doesn't unintentionally mislead parliament again.

In October, Ms Bates read a letter to parliament on behalf of her son Ben Gommers, who was defending himself against what he claimed were constant media attacks about his appointment to a plum government job in Queensland's transport department.

A parliamentary ethics committee last month found that Ms Bates had misled parliament when she read on behalf of her son: "At no stage did my mother employ me, nor did she ask anyone to give me a job."

The committee found Ms Bates emailed her son's resume to the department's then director-general Michael Caltabiano, a former state Liberal MP.

While the committee found Ms Bates' statement misleading, they also found she did not know it was misleading, because she didn't make the connection between the expression of her son's opinion and the emails she had sent.

Ms Bates told parliament on Wednesday she will make sure she doesn't mislead Queensland's Legislative Assembly again.

"I acknowledge that it is possible, although rare and unlikely, that a technically correct statement may be misleading," she said.

"I note that as a member of this house I should endeavour at all times to ensure the accuracy of my statements as they may give rise to an unintentional misleading of the house, as was the case with this referral."

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Mixed reaction for big-spending Vic budget

The Victorian government will unveil a string of record surpluses from 2015/16 in its budget. Source: AAP

THE Victorian government will stake its November re-election bid on its record infrastructure splurge but the opposition has accused it of ignoring basic services.

The government has outlaid $27 billion on new infrastructure in the 2014/15 budget and forward estimates period of four years, including $24 billion on transport infrastructure.

In addition to the major infrastructure outlay, the government will go to the November election with a string of hefty back-to-back surpluses.

A $1.3 billion operating surplus is forecast for 2014/15, growing to $3.3 billion by 2017/18.

Victoria is likely to be the only state to forecast back-to-back surpluses over the next four years, Treasurer Michael O'Brien said.

An $11 billion Melbourne rail link to the airport forms part of a big pre-election budget cash splash on major Victorian road and rail projects, which includes $10 billion in state funding to finish the second stage of the East West Link road project.

Mr O'Brien said the Napthine government's tight rein on spending meant that it was the only state government that could talk of a substantial and growing surplus.

"Because of this economic management, we are able to deliver this sort of transformational, job-creating infrastructure projects that Victoria needs," he told reporters.

But Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews says the budget does nothing for ordinary people and does not focus on basic services.

Mr Andrews said there was nothing to fix the crisis in TAFEs, over-crowded emergency departments and the ambulance service.

Mr Andrews says infrastructure projects announced in the budget would take years to come to fruition and it does nothing to improve basic education, health and emergency services.

"This is a panicked budget from a panicked and desperate premier, someone who is petrified that he will lose the election at the end of the year."

State coffers will be bolstered by the privatisation of Victoria's rural finance lender, expected to net the government $400 million, and the sale of a 40-year lease of the Port of Melbourne.

From July 2015, a new levy will also apply to planning permit applications in metropolitan Melbourne for $1 million-plus developments.

There will be a $32 hike in car registrations and a rise in vehicle stamp duty.

In a sweetener for businesses, the payroll tax will be cut to 4.85 per cent from July, saving employers $234 million over four years.

The Melbourne rail link will get under way in mid-2016, creating 3700 jobs at the peak of construction.

The rail route is different to what has previously been proposed as part of the Melbourne Metro Rail project.

Mr O'Brien said the latest route would have greater capacity, its construction would be less disruptive to the CBD and included the airport rail link, offering a 25-minute journey between Melbourne Airport and Southern Cross station.

But Mr Andrews said it fell short of the project ranked by Infrastructure Australia as Victoria's number one transport priority.

The Victorian Council of Social Service says the infrastructure splurge will help turn around the jobless rate in a sluggish economy while the Australian Industry Group said the projects will boost the building industry.

But the Victorian Trades Hall Council attacked the budget for lacking a jobs plan, saying the jobless rate was at its highest level in a decade.

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PM's call puts Aust-Indon ties on track

A group of 20 asylum seekers claim they were turned back to Indonesia by Australian authorities. Source: AAP

INDONESIA'S president has told Prime Minister Tony Abbott he hopes the two countries can heal the rift left by last year's spying scandal by August.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's optimism came even as Australia sent a boatload of asylum seekers back to Indonesian territory with a new tactic that has added to Jakarta's concern over the border protection policy.

Dr Yuhoyono's office says he received a call from Mr Abbott on Tuesday afternoon, in which the prime minister conveyed his regret for having to miss a Bali forum, where the two were set to meet.

"President SBY stated that he could understand the reason for PM Abbott not attending in Bali regarding the discussion of budget in the parliament," the statement read.

The leaders discussed progress in the negotiations for a new code of conduct after revelations in 2013 that Australia had tapped the president's phone, his office says.

"President SBY stated that it is his hope for a code of conduct to have been agreed on at least by August 2014."

According to the statement, the leaders also set tentative dates to meet face-to-face.

Dr Yudhoyono welcomed Mr Abbott's suggestion he visit in June, and the president was invited to view the Indonesia-Australia Centre in Melbourne either during his remaining time in office or after.

Mr Abbott's office confirmed the warm exchange.

"In a very cordial conversation, both leaders agreed on the importance of the bilateral relationship between Australia and Indonesia," a spokesman said.

"They committed to continue the progress that has been made to resolve current issues and to strengthen the relationship further."

When Mr Abbott postponed his Bali trip, it seemed to dash hopes of a breakthrough in the talks with Indonesia, which made the new code a precondition to lifting a temporary ban on people smuggling and other co-operation.

But Dr Yudhoyono, who has always taken pride in close relations with Australia, is likely motivated by his term ending this year.

The government said Mr Abbott was forced to remain in Australia due to the coming budget.

But it was believed the trip was canned because Australia was in the process of turning back asylum seekers.

Indonesian navy officers found a group of 20 stranded on an island on Sunday, and claim they were originally on two separate boats.

One boat carrying 18 asylum seekers - first reported as Indian and Nepalese, but now believed to be Iranian and Nepalese - was met by two Australian vessels near Ashmore Reef on Sunday.

Indonesian officials believe three more people - an Indonesian and two asylum seekers from either Nepal or Albania - were intercepted in a second boat and then added to the first.

"There were two boats," the spokesman for Indonesia's Co-ordinating Ministry for Politics, Law and Security, Agus Barnas, told AAP.

"The bigger one left from Makassar and the smaller one left from Rote Island. The smaller one then caught by Australia, then the boat was burnt."

Then, Mr Barnas said, the larger boat was intercepted and all were sent back in it.

Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Marty Natalegawa, said it was worrying.

"If confirmed, obviously this is a very serious development," he told reporters in Bali on Tuesday.

"As I've said from the very beginning, we are risking a slippery slope."

Further, it showed Operation Sovereign Borders wasn't working.

"The policy of his government to push, unilaterally forcing asylum seekers - which is threatening and violating their human rights - it's not yielding (success) because such efforts are still being conducted," Dr Natalegawa said.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison wouldn't comment on "on-water" matters for "operational security reasons".

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Pistorius introduced Steenkamp as fiancee

A neighbour has testified that Oscar Pistorius was "torn apart" after shooting his girlfriend. Source: AAP

OSCAR Pistorius introduced Reeva Steenkamp as his fiancee just a week before he shot her, a close neighbour of the runner testified in his defence.

Michael Nhlengethwa, who describes himself as Pistorius's "closest neighbour," said the Paralympic gold medallist introduced the 29-year-old model to him shortly before her death early Valentine's Day morning 2013.

Pistorius said "please meet my fiancee, Reeva," Nhlengethwa said.

The athlete nicknamed the "Blade Runner" claims he and his girlfriend of three months were in a loving relationship and that he shot her accidentally after mistaking her for a intruder.

He faces up to 25 years in prison if found guilty of premeditated murder.

On the night of the shooting, Nhlengethwa said he woke up to the sound of a man crying.

"A man was crying very loud," he said, "it was crying when you were in danger, when you need help."

Defence lawyer Barry Roux asked the witness - who was wearing a black suit with a sky blue tie - if the voice was low or high-pitched.

"You said a man's voice, was it a low pitch?" asked Roux. "It was a very high pitch voice," replied Nhlengethwa.

The defence claims that Steenkamp never screamed the night she was shot four times, alleging it was Pistorius screaming "like a woman" under the effect of stress.

The sprinter fired four bullets through a lavatory door, killing Steenkamp who was in the cubicle inside his house in an upmarket housing complex in the capital Pretoria.

Prosecutors have argued that the Valentine's Day shooting came after a row between the couple.

In his cross-examination, state prosecutor Gerrie Nel asked Nhlengethwa if he heard bangs or screaming on the night of the shooting.

"I did not really hear anything in terms of the gunshots or anything like that," the witness replied.

Earlier, in emotional testimony Nhlengethwa described going to Pistorius's house to investigate the crying and saw Steenkamp being taken out of the house on a stretcher.

"At that moment I knew she was no more," said Nhlengethwa.

Pistorius, who has wretched and sobbed in court, kept his head in his hands as he listened to his neighbour's testimony.

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Westfield sweetens local split plans

Westfield Group has altered its planned split of Australian and NZ assets from its global business. Source: AAP

SHOPPING centre giant Westfield Group has sweetened its plan to split its Australian and New Zealand assets from its international operations.

Westfield's Australian and New Zealand assets, which includes 47 shopping centres, are set to merge with Westfield Retail Trust, a joint owner of the Australian shopping centres.

The merged entity will be called Scentre Group, and under new changes to the proposal, Scentre Group will now carry $300 million less in debt than originally planned.

Westfield chairman Frank Lowy said key investors supported the merger, but the new debt arrangements were made to address some concerns raised.

Security holders are due to vote on the split on May 29.

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Forrest hands $12m to uranium explorer

Iron ore magnate Andrew Forrest has injected $12 million into a WA uranium exploration company. Source: AAP

MINING magnate Andrew Forrest has invested $12 million in a prospective West Australian uranium miner aiming to be in production by the end of 2016.

Mr Forrest has paid Energy and Minerals Australia (EMA) $12 million for a 28 per cent stake in the company, which owns land in central Western Australia containing four deposits of uranium.

The company has also reached agreement with its lenders to remove $24.5 million of debt, and it says the two deals will help set it up to get its Mulga Rock project underway.

EMA is run by Julian Tapp, a former executive at Mr Forrest's Fortescue Metals Group, and former BC Iron boss Mike Young.

"My investment is a strong vote of confidence in the executive management team of Mike Young and Julian Tapp with whom I have had a long and successful working relationship," Mr Forrest said.

Mr Forrest, who has a net worth of an estimated $5.7 billion, last week paid $40 million for Harvey Beef, which processes beef for local and overseas markets.

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NSW donation scandal crosses party lines

ICAC's Operation Spicer will call Darren Williams into the witness box after a spectacular week. Source: AAP

FORMER coal mogul Nathan Tinkler made tens of thousands of dollars in secret donations so NSW politicians would "bend to his will", the state's corruption watchdog has heard.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has heard Mr Tinkler's development firm Buildev funnelled $66,000 in donations via his stud farm Patinack and then through EightByFive, a "sham" company set up by ex-Liberal minister Chris Hartcher's former staffer.

The unfolding cash-for-favours scandal has engulfed the NSW Liberal Party and there were claims on Monday that Buildev executive Darren Williams had arranged donations to the NSW Nationals before the 2011 election.

"As discussed we are delighted to accept support for our state election campaign as long as it is not from prohibited donors," then-Nationals NSW director Ben Franklin told Mr Williams in an email.

Mr Williams in turn wrote to Patinack director Troy Palmer: "Mate need $20(k) in here to help these guys, Nats will be running ports. Do you know any one that can help?????"

At the time, Buildev was lobbying for a $1 billion coal loader to be built on the Newcastle foreshore.

Under NSW electoral funding laws Mr Tinkler is barred from making political donations but counsel assisting, Geoffrey Watson SC, said ICAC investigators had uncovered evidence that four of his employees had each made $5000 payments to the National Party.

Days after the coalition swept to power in NSW in 2011, Tinkler Group CFO Troy Palmer passed on a "positive" news article about the lucrative coal loader to his boss - but Mr Tinkler was unimpressed.

The embattled businessman fired off this reply: "this is just to pacify me because I donated to the nats and they are doing f*** all about it. willy (Mr Williams) and govt trying to tell me it is moving forward but i dont see it and the whole thing is being held up in bureaucracy ... we had a bunch of deadbeats before and now we have a bunch of p****s scared to make a decision".

Mr Watson said it showed Mr Tinkler believed he could buy political support.

"That's what was operating down at the old Tinkler Group," Mr Watson put to Mr Palmer.

"Payments made to political parties to get the decision-makers to bend to Nathan Tinkler's will, isn't that right?"

"No, no," Mr Palmer replied.

Although the NSW coalition has featured prominently in ICAC's Operation Spicer, which led to last week's sensational resignation of police minister Mike Gallacher, it is alleged Mr Tinkler was not averse to crossing the floor.

He has been accused of working with former NSW Labor minister Joe Tripodi to depose former Newcastle member Jodi McKay after she refused to accept a bribe.

Mr Watson has indicated that on Wednesday morning he will ask that the inquiry be adjourned to allow further investigations.

The witness list has been shuffled to include Liberal fundraiser Nick Di Girolamo.

He was at the centre of the ICAC's last inquiry, Operation Credo, and his gift of a $3000 bottle of wine led to former NSW premier Barry O'Farrell's demise.

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Katie Price pregnant with fifth child

British model Katie Price is reportedly pregnant with her fifth child. Source: AAP

BRITISH model Katie Price is reportedly pregnant with her fifth child.

Britain's The Sun on Sunday reports Price discovered she is pregnant after falling ill with stomach pains while on holiday in the Caribbean with her third husband Kieran Hayler and her other children.

After visiting doctors when she returned to the UK, Price was reportedly told she had been carrying the child for around six months after getting pregnant late last year.

The news comes just eight months after the model-turned-reality TV star gave birth to her son Jett, who was born in August last year.

A source tells the newspaper, "It's not something they had planned this soon after Jett, but they're still delighted."

The Daily Mail reports Price and Hayler were spotted shopping in Mothercare in Brighton on Wednesday and picked up several items for the impending arrival.

Price is already mum to Junior, eight and six year old Princess Tiaamii from her marriage to Australian pop star Peter Andre. She is also mum to Harvey, 11, from a previous relationship.

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Greece-bound migrant boats sink, two dead

AT least two people drowned and about 30 are missing after two boats crammed with immigrants bound for Greece sank in the eastern Aegean Sea before dawn Monday in the third fatal accident of the sort this year, authorities said.

The vessels with immigrants seeking to enter Greece illegally foundered about 4 miles north of the island of Samos near the Turkish coast, the Greek coast guard said. It said 36 people were rescued from the sea.

According to survivors, up to 65 people were on the two vessels, the coast guard said.

It said the circumstances of the twin sinking were unclear as weather conditions in the area were not severe.

Coast guard vessels, fishing boats and two search and rescue helicopters were combing the area for more survivors. A cruise ship that participated for several hours in the operation was later cleared to continue its journey.

The nationalities of the migrants were unknown.

Greece is a major entry point for people from poor or war-torn parts of Asia and Africa seeking a better life in the European Union. Fatal accidents are frequent as migrants risk the dangerous sea crossing from Turkey.

Another 21 people have drowned in two accidents since the beginning of the year. Over the weekend Greek coastguards rescued about 250 immigrants from the sea.

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Greens say they're the party to fix NSW

The Greens have announced their upper house line-up for the upcoming March 2015 NSW state election. Source: AAP

THERE'S a smell wafting from the Labor and Liberal party rooms in NSW parliament, the Greens say.

Just days after police minister Mike Gallacher stepped aside following claims in front of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) over illegal donations to the Liberal Party, Greens NSW MP John Kaye announced on Sunday his new upper house team for the March 2015 election.

Joining him on the ticket will be existing MP Mehreen Faruqi, as well as coal seam gas campaigner and political advisor Justin Field.

Mr Kaye said the team would be highlighting their credentials as an alternative to the major parties.

"NSW politics has been plunged into crisis, not just by the Labor party but also by the Liberal party's endemic addiction to collecting funds from tainted sources," he told AAP.

"This is the time for reform. This is the election campaign where politics needs to change."

Mr Field, who is third on the ticket, said he will be taking out the message of clean water, energy and politics out into the community.

"A stench of corruption now hangs over NSW parliament, but only the Greens are able to say they can clean up politics."

The announcement comes after the Labor party revealed on Sunday that a "record number" of their party's supporters had voted for former MP Verity Firth to be the next state candidate in the Sydney seat of Balmain.

She narrowly lost the marginal inner-city seat to Greens candidate Jamie Parker at the 2011 election.

Mr Parker said the Greens were confident that there needs to be change.

"It doesn't matter who the candidate is, we have seen before that he structure of Labor means they are silenced ... I stand for a different approach to politics," he told AAP.

He said one of the bills the Greens would be be introducing to parliament in the following months is a push to implement 2010 ICAC recommendations on lobbying in NSW.

This included a recommendation to set up an independent body to oversee the role of lobbyists.

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Vic govt to unveil infrastructure spend

Tuesday's Victorian state budget is expected to contain a number of major infrastructure projects. Source: AAP

MELBOURNE'S East West Link tunnel will get more funding and light will be shed on plans for a Melbourne airport rail link in Tuesday's state budget.

Victoria is expected to remain in the black with the state on track to reach its net surplus target in a budget that will focus on major infrastructure projects six months out from an election.

State funds will flow for the second stage of the $18 billion East West Link road project, including $1.5 billion from the Commonwealth, while details of a plan to link Melbourne's CBD by rail to the Tullamarine airport will be unveiled for the first time.

Treasurer Michael O'Brien says that in contrast to the federal budget, which is expected to include significant spending cuts and possible tax increases to cut the deficit, Victorians can expect strong surpluses over the next few years.

Net debt will also fall over the forward estimates and there will be a focus on major infrastructure projects which create jobs, he says.

"The Victorian budget is in a very different position to the federal budget," Mr O'Brien told reporters on Friday.

"We're in surplus here in Victoria and we're going to have strong surpluses across the forward estimates."

Mr O'Brien says the government will be delivering the major infrastructure projects Victorians want to see to improve their quality of life, thanks to good economic management.

"We're funding major job creating infrastructure through strong surpluses, through good economic management and through asset recycling," he said.

The budget is expected to contain more money to progress the Melbourne Metro Rail project, a $10 billion underground cross-city tunnel designed take on thousands of extra passengers and connect the Dandenong and Sunshine rail corridors.

A swag of pre-budget announcements have been made, so far including: more than $1 billion to remove eight level crossings across Melbourne; $190 million to cut elective surgery waiting lists; a $220 million project to upgrade country rail and build a standardised rail link between Mildura and Geelong.

Mr O'Brien says the public service is safe from further cuts this budget, but it is yet to be seen what further pain may be in store for Victorians.

The government has already blamed a cut in the state's GST revenue from 90 cents in the dollar to 88 cents in 2014-15 for a $32 hike in car registrations and an increase in vehicle stamp duty.

The government says the extra charges would fund major transport infrastructure in the budget.

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Man dead after NSW highway smash

A man has been hit and killed by a bus that veered onto a footpath in Sydney, police say. Source: AAP

A PASSENGER has been killed after the vehicle he was in veered onto the wrong side of the road on the NSW south coast.

Police have been told the Honda was headed south on the Princes Highway, north of Gerringong, when it crossed to the other side, crashing into a Porsche four wheel drive.

The passenger in the Honda, a man in his 50's died at the scene.

The driver and the man behind the wheel of the Porsche were taken to hospital.

The death follows that of a man hit by a bus which witnesses say mounted a footpath in Sydney's Haymarket.

Emergency services were called to Hay Street in the inner city about noon following reports of a pedestrian struck by a coach.

Witnesses have told police the bus was travelling west when it veered to the opposite side of the road, mounted the footpath and hit the awning of a restaurant on the corner of Hay Street and Dixon Street.

They say the man was hit by and pinned underneath the bus.

He also died at the scene.

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Firefighter bravery recognised

NSW firefighters have been awarded for their actions at a major fuel spill that threatened Sydney. Source: AAP

FIREFIGHTERS who attended a fuel spill with the potential to ignite and threaten a Sydney peninsula faced a choice.

Leave the two million litre tank to leak, evacuate the peninsula around Banksmeadow on Botany Bay and wait for a catastrophic explosion.

Or volunteer to wade through the fuel pool and repair the leaking valve.

NSW Fire and Rescue (NSWFR) station officer Ron Morasso looked at his colleagues and made his choice.

"I said to him, 'what was going through your mind'?" NSWFR commissioner Greg Mullins told AAP after presenting Mr Morasso with the fire service's highest bravery award.

"[Mr Morasso] said to me, 'I looked at my crew and thought - he has two young kids, his wife is pregnant, he is only young...it's got to be me'."

Mr Mullins said even a spark from a car passing the Caltex fuel terminal would have risked an explosion with enough ferocity to close Sydney airport and any subsequent fire might have taken days to extinguish.

Mr Morasso, who has since retired, was presented with the NSWFR medal for conspicuous bravery on Saturday.

Other crew members who responded to the spill in July 2013 also received commendations.

Meanwhile, two firefighters who rushed to the aid of a man on fire after a petrol tanker crash on Sydney's northern beaches were also recognised.

Mosman crew members Lloyd Mulder and George Cheeke stayed with the man, who crawled from his car after it burst into flames, until he died at the roadside last October.

Witnesses Andrew Cochran and Maria Tosone also received commendations for trying to pull the man and another person from the car on Mona Vale Road.

And 12 firefighters who responded to a fire at a unit complex in Bankstown in the city's west, where two women attempted to escape by jumping from a fifth floor window, were also among commendation recipients.

Mr Mullins said the blaze was so intense that firefighters' uniforms caught fire and helmets melted.

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