Budget attacks Queensland, says govt

Queensland's premier says he'll attack the federal budget if it's a raw deal for his state. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND will benefit from billions of dollars worth of infrastructure funding in the federal budget, but the state government says changes to health and education are an attack on the state's finances.

More than $9 billion will be spent on projects including the Bruce Highway, the Melbourne to Brisbane inland railway, venues for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018 and the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing.

"These projects are essential projects for Queensland and will help us to grow our four pillar economy," said Treasurer Tim Nicholls.

Mr Nicholls said the $7 GP co-payment and reducing funding to the Better Schools Plan were deeply disappointing changes.

"The revisions are nothing more than an unjustified attack on the state's delivery of health and education services," he said.

"We will use the time between now and the implementation of these measures to take the fight to Canberra.

"These changes will significantly increase the pressure on the state's budget, as we believe the shifting of expenditure to the state's budget is unsustainable.

"Of particular concern is the freezing of indexation payments to local governments. The state is not in a position to assist, given our own budget repair task, so this reduction in funding is going to increase the strain on local governments."

Shadow treasurer Curtis Pitt says the budget shows Prime Minister Tony Abbott is like Queensland Premier Campbell Newman when it comes to telling the truth and keeping promises.

"Tony Abbott and Campbell Newman are two peas in a pod. They say anything to get elected, and then they break promise after promise to the people who put their trust in them," Mr Pitt said in a statement.

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Car industry cuts face Senate block

THE Abbott government's cuts to car industry assistance could be blocked in the Senate.

Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane announced on Tuesday the shutdown of a number of automotive sector programs, with funding redirected to new innovation and training plans.

Unions estimated the cuts to the auto industry totalled $838 million.

Under the government's new schemes, $480 million will be spent on an entrepreneurs' infrastructure program bringing research and business together to develop and commercialise home-grown ideas.

There is also a $476 million industry skills fund and $50 million for a manufacturing transition grants program.

A $155 million growth fund will help industry transition from car manufacturing to new products.

"Our new industry approach builds on our strengths by improving productivity, rewarding entrepreneurship and giving companies the structural support to back themselves," Mr Macfarlane said.

But independent senator Nick Xenophon said the budget tossed a "wrecking ball" through the automotive sector.

"The federal government is destroying any chance of new jobs and new industries and new markets being found," he said, adding he would oppose the bill when it came to parliament.

Democratic Labor Party senator John Madigan said the budget had pulled the rug from under many automotive businesses and threatened 33,000 jobs.

Labor spokesman Senator Kim Carr declined to comment, but has previously expressed concern about industry assistance cuts.

The budget cut $215 million that was to go to Holden to make its next-generation vehicles.

A company spokesman said Holden won't need the money as it will stop making cars in Australia in 2017.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union said the government had failed auto workers in Victoria and South Australia.

"Tony Abbott's 'liberated' automotive workers won't be feeling very bright after today's budget," AMWU president Andrew Dettmer said.

He said the budget's total funding cut for the car industry came in at $838 million and car makers were now likely to close their factories earlier than expected.

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Shocking day for NT: Opposition

IT has been a shocking day for Territorians hit with a one-two punch of the Northern Territory and federal budgets, the Labor opposition says.

NT Treasurer Dave Tollner will comment on the national figures on Wednesday, his spokesman said, but others have been quick to respond.

"Territorians will be disproportionately affected twice a year by the fuel excise increase, with motorists already paying too much for fuel, about $2 a litre in regional areas and $1.72 in Darwin," Opposition Leader Delia Lawrie said.

Seniors have had benefits cut from both budgets. A mean test has been put in place to access NT benefits, and the eligibility age for the Commonwealth age pension will be increased to 70 by 2035.

The age pension's means test thresholds will be frozen for three years, and there will be a tougher income test for self-funded retirees to receive the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.

Ms Lawrie said there was more cause for concern.

"Extremely concerning is the $500 million cut to indigenous services and the $80 billion axe taken to schools and hospitals across the nation," Ms Lawrie said.

The federal government says $593.7 million will be invested in NT roads.

Projects include more funding for NT roads, with the strengthening and widening of road pavements, flood immunity improvements and fatigue management measures, which will have a federal contribution of $77 million.

There are also upgrades to six regional roads, which will improve flood immunity, safety and reliability for communities at a federal cost of $90 million, although the opposition says this is merely a repackaging of a deal fully costed and funded by the former Labor NT and federal governments.

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Man stabbed by teen at NSW house party

A teenager has been charged after a man was stabbed at a central west NSW house party overnight. Source: AAP

A YOUNG man has been stabbed in the back, chest and stomach at a central west NSW house party.

The man was arguing with the teen at the party in Orange on Saturday night when the 17-year-old allegedly ran inside and armed himself with a knife.

"He then approached the 23-year-old man he was arguing with and allegedly stabbed him in the stomach, chest and back," police said.

"A number of people intervened and the injured man was placed into a car."

Police at a nearby address where then asked for help and they rendered first-aid to the man.

Paramedics were called and he was taken to Orange Health Service where he was treated for "not serious" stab wounds.

The 17-year-old was arrested at the party, charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

He's been denied bail and is due before Orange Children's Court on Monday.

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Militants kidnap, kill 20 Iraqi soldiers

A series of bombings in Iraq has killed 19 people, authorities say. Source: AAP

MILITANTS who attacked a military base in north Iraq kidnapping 20 soldiers later shot them dead.

The soldiers were abducted by a large group of militants in several vehicles from a small base in the Ain al-Jahash south of Mosul, and their bodies were found in the area on Saturday night, sources said.

But accounts of when the attack took place varied, with a police major and morgue employee putting it on Saturday night, while an army major general said it had taken place earlier in the week.

The police major said the soldiers had been shot in various parts of their bodies and that their hands had not been bound.

The attack comes after militants killed 12 soldiers and wounded 15 in an April 17 assault on a military base west of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province.

The province is one of the most consistently violent areas in Iraq.

Militants opposed to the Iraqi government frequently target members of the security forces, but it is rare for such a large number of soldiers to be kidnapped at once, especially from a military position.

The killings come as Iraq suffers a protracted surge in bloodshed, the worst to hit the country since the brutal sectarian fighting that peaked in 2006-2007 and killed tens of thousands of people.

The government has repeatedly blamed the unrest on external factors such as the civil war in neighbouring Syria.

But analysts and diplomats say widespread anger in the minority Sunni Arab community over alleged mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led authorities has also played a major role in the violence.

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Dozens hurt in China protest

At least 29 police have been injured in China during a protest over a proposed waste incinerator. Source: AAP

A PROTEST in eastern China over a plan to build a waste incinerator has turned violent with state media reporting at least 10 demonstrators and 29 police injured in clashes.

State-run Xinhua News Agency says 30 vehicles were overturned as protesters on Saturday set two police cars on fire and blocked a highway linking Hanzhou with another city.

One protester and a policeman have been reported seriously injured.

An official in the city's Yuhan district government confirmed the incident on Sunday but would not offer details.

An online statement posted by the district government says construction on the incinerator would not begin until the project had won public support.

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Missing Queensland girl found safe

Police say 3 men and a woman who abducted Queensland toddler Bella Goulding are known to her family. Source: AAP

A TWO-YEAR-OLD girl abducted from her father's southeast Queensland home has been found safe and well in a Brisbane suburb.

Bella Rose Goulding was located at Archerfield, in the city's south, on Sunday night and police say they're questioning a man and a woman.

"Investigations are continuing," the Queensland police service said in a statement.

"A man and a woman are currently assisting police with inquiries."

Bella was taken from a house at Willowbank, near Ipswich, on Saturday night and police say her abductors are known to the family.

On Sunday evening, police released the names and images of Lisa Maree Carroll, 21, and Michael Kenneth Winning, 42, saying they say may be able to assist their investigation but refusing to disclose details of their relationship to Bella.

The 8pm abduction occurred on Sancroft Street, which is near a park and the Cunningham Highway.

The girl's father Steven declined to speak publicly on Sunday.

Witnesses saw the abductors in a white Holden Commodore and a silver Mitsubishi sedan.

Further information is being sought from Queensland police.

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Flat open for Aust shares on budget eve

The Australian share market is tipped for a flat start ahead of Tuesday's federal budget. Source: AAP

THE Australian share market is tipped for a flat start ahead of Tuesday's federal budget.

CommSec chief economist Craig James says the futures market is pointing to no change at all at the local open.

"I suppose when you weigh up all the factors, it tends to make sense," he told AAP.

"The US share markets were higher but European markets were lower and we have had declines in the oil price, gold price and the iron ore price as well as quite a number of the base metal prices."

The Abbott government will deliver its first budget on Tuesday, ending the intense speculation around spending cuts and a debt levy.

Mr James said investors would be watching closely in case the government took significant dollars out of the economy and prompted the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut interest rates.

"I suppose the good news is once the budget is out of the road, all the speculation will stop and we can focus on the measures and how they are going to affect the economy," he said.

Mr James said investors could be encouraged by the continuing rise in US share markets but the volatile situation in Ukraine was still on the radar.

Back home, the National Australia Bank's monthly business survey for April will be released on Monday followed by Australian Bureau of Statistics housing finance data on Tuesday.

As for the Australian dollar, which was trading at 93.56 US cents on Friday, Mr James tipped little change.

Late on Thursday night, the Australian dollar peaked at 93.96 US cents, the highest since early November, helped by strong local jobs figures and Chinese trade data.

At the close on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 17.7 points, or 0.32 per cent, lower at 5,459.1 and the broader All Ordinaries index was down 16.1 points, or 0.30 per cent, at 5,439.8.

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SA man burned as car engulfed in flames

A man has suffered serious burns when his car caught fire on Adelaide's Northern Expressway. Source: AAP

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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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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