Lib pair making mischief in the Senate

Senator Cory Bernardi has refused to vote with the government in protest against the deficit levy. Source: AAP

REBEL Liberals Ian Macdonald and Cory Bernardi are unbending in their plans to frustrate some of their government's key budget measures.

SENATOR Macdonald has signalled he will side with the Greens when the upper house votes on a temporary tax levy the government wants to impose on high-income earners from July.

Senator Bernardi doesn't plan to go that far, preferring to abstain from the vote because the measure will pass the Senate with Labor's support.But neither senator was prepared to back a move by the Greens on Monday to make permanent the measure that increases for three years the top tax rate from 45 per cent to 47 per cent for income earned over $180,000.Senator Macdonald, who has threatened to cross the floor of parliament, argues the levy should apply to corporations as well as individuals."I don't think it goes far enough," he told parliament.Senator Bernardi's opposition to the levy comes from his belief that Australians are paying too much income tax now.Both senators are also likely to oppose the government's paid parental leave scheme, a move that threatens not only to embarrass its prime backer Prime Minister Tony Abbott but scuttle the scheme as well."My crossing the floor might be relevant on some occasion over the next year or so," Senator Macdonald warned.Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was keen to play up the pair's stance as a sign of disarray within government ranks.But he also took a pot-shot at the Liberal senators over their decision to stand up for the top one per cent of income earners."I just wish they would stand up for low-paid people with the same vigour," he said.Australian Greens leader Christine Milne isn't impressed with Labor's decision to support the levy."If ever there was a con job on the Australian people this is it," she said, adding her party couldn't support a temporary levy while the budget made an ideological attack on the welfare system.The government for its part is trying to play down any signs of an internal revolt, saying the burden of repairing the budget would have fallen on those receiving welfare payments if it hadn't imposed a levy on the rich."Of course that is not what we think would be right," Finance Minister Mathias Cormann told parliament.

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Indian students charged over PM in mag

Nine students in India are facing charges after allegedly defaming Indian PM Narendra Modi. Source: AAP

NINE students at a southern Indian college have been arrested for using "objectionable and unsavoury language" about Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a crossword puzzle in their college magazine, according to news reports.

THE nine students from Sree Krishna College in Kerala's Guruvayur town were charged with various offences, including defamation, the NDTV news channel reported, citing local police.

They were arrested and released on bail, police said.The students included the editor, subeditors and members of the editorial advisory committee of the magazine, which is an annual publication.The Guruvayur Sree Krishna temple-managing committee, which runs the college, asked its principal for an explanation, NDTV reported.This is the second such case reported from Kerala.The principal and some students of a state-run polytechnic college in Thrissur town were arrested and released on bail last week after the college magazine featured Modi in a list of "negative faces" along with Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, George W Bush and Indian sandalwood smuggler Veerappan.Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party were voted into power in recent elections in India. He took office May 26.Modi, who campaigned on reviving the economy and bringing development, has been criticised in the past for failing to control some of India's worst Hindu-Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002 while he was chief minister.More than 1000 people died in the month-long riots, most of them Muslims.

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NSW budget to return to surplus sooner

The Baird government is set to deliver a budget surplus one year earlier than previously predicted. Source: AAP

JUST two months into the job, Treasurer Andrew Constance is set to announce NSW's finances are heading toward surplus earlier than previously expected.

IT is understood Tuesday's budget, which is the last to be delivered by the Baird government before next year's March election, will predict a surplus by 2015/16.

That's one year earlier than forecast by former treasurer and now premier Mike Baird six months ago.Mr Constance is expected to deliver the good news in his first budget on Tuesday, which will mark the start of the Baird government's pitch to voters before next year's March election."We have a state economy that is going gangbusters, driven by our focus on housing and jobs," he told reporters in Sydney on Monday.Borrowing a phrase synonymous with US politics, Mr Constance said his "Super Tuesday" budget would focus on infrastructure, with more than $60 billion going toward roads, rail and hospitals over four years.But Opposition Leader John Robertson dismissed the announcement, saying NSW governments had always spent about $60 billion on infrastructure each budget.Meanwhile, the treasurer acknowledged the state's finances had been affected by cuts in federal funding and said there would be "challenges" in health beyond the forward estimates.It is understood an Abbott government decision to deliver a $703 million payment for the Pacific Highway upgrade this financial year is set to affect the 2014/15 bottom line, leaving it further in deficit.Mr Robertson expects the budget to be "built on cuts", despite "record revenue" from stamp duty and speed cameras."Mike Baird as treasurer has shown that when it comes to cutting, he can cut with the best of them with the deep cuts that we've seen for the last three years," Mr Robertson said.The treasurer is expected to spruik the government's plan to raise $20 billion from the sale of NSW's electricity assets in his budget speech.

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More care for lost phone than lost super

A survey has found Australians care more about a lost phone than tracking their missing super. Source: AAP

LOST superannuation? Whatever.

A Westpac survey shows 48 per cent of working-age Australians would do "everything they could" to find their lost mobile phone but just a third would be as vigilant about tracking down $2,500 of their missing super.Westpac retail banking general manager Gai McGrath said the figures reveal widespread apathy about superannuation."For someone in their twenties, $2,500 in super today could amount to more than $22,000 by the time they retire," she said."When you put it in these terms, you start to realise how much of an impact this money can have on your financial future."Ms McGrath said superannuation funds are usually lost as a result of moving to a different fund when a person changes jobs.The report showed more evidence of super apathy with 31 per cent of people saying they would prefer to find $200 in cash than $2,000 in lost superannuation.Nine out of 10 of those surveyed do not know whether they have any superannuation.Tracking down lost super is as easy as going to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) superseeker website and entering your name and tax file number."With $18.2 billion in six million lost and ATO-held super accounts across the country, we have heard amazing stories of people finding tens of thousands of dollars," Ms McGrath said."If the average mobile phone costs around $600 and the average lost super account is more than $2,000, you can see that it makes sense to put as much effort into finding your lost super as you would a lost phone."

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Anger in UK over Blair comments on Iraq

FORMER prime minister Tony Blair has faced derision across the British political spectrum after he said the 2003 invasion of Iraq was not linked to the current unrest in the country.

BLAIR, now a Middle East peace envoy, had "finally gone mad," Boris Johnson, the Conservative mayor of London, wrote in his regular Daily Telegraph column.

An essay on the Iraq crisis published at the weekend by Blair was "unhinged in its refusal to face facts" and made up of a "chain of bonkers assertions," Johnson said on Monday.Blair, a Labour politician, led Britain into the Iraq war alongside former US president George W Bush, justifying it with the mistaken assertion that the late dictator Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction."The Iraq war was a tragic mistake, and by refusing to accept this, Blair is now undermining the very cause he advocates - the possibility of serious and effective intervention," Johnson wrote.Lord Prescott, who was Blair's deputy prime minister, also attacked his former boss, telling Sky News that intervention in Iraq took the West "back to the Crusades" of the medieval period."I don't agree with Tony as I didn't then," he said, adding that Blair's essay confirmed that the 2003 invasion had always been about "regime change".Christopher Meyer, Britain's ambassador to Washington from 1997 to 2003, also criticised Blair, writing in the Mail on Sunday that the decision to invade Iraq was "perhaps the most significant" cause of the current violence.In an essay published on his website Saturday, Blair argued that Britain was not responsible for the current unrest in Iraq: "We have to liberate ourselves from the notion that 'we' have caused this. We haven't." It was "bizarre" to argue that "but for the removal of Saddam, we would not have a crisis," he said."The fundamental cause of the crisis lies within the region not outside it," he wrote."The problems of the Middle East are the product of bad systems of politics mixed with a bad abuse of religion going back over a long time."Blair also repeated his arguments during television interviews and urged the West to intervene, saying that otherwise, it faced future terrorist attacks from extremist Muslim groups."Every time we put off action, the action we will be forced to take will ultimately be greater," he wrote.

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Firies cancer law not ruled out: Vic govt

Volunteer firefighters rally in Melbourne for access to compensation for cancer contracted at work. Source: AAP

THE Victorian government says it hasn't ruled out changing the way firefighters access cancer compensation as hundreds rallied in Melbourne to try to break down barriers to claims.

THE government says it simplified cancer claims for firefighters and encouraged both career and volunteer firefighters to lodge a claim if they believe they had contracted cancer as a result of their duties.

"The Victorian government is not ruling out presumptive legislation and will continue to consider new medical and scientific evidence as it becomes available," a government spokesperson said.Volunteer Fire Brigades president Bill Watson said firefighters wanted a law that lists the 12 typical "firefighter" cancers and presumes them to be work-related, providing the firefighter has enough years of service behind him or her and relevant risk exposure.Mr Watson said there is plenty of evidence firefighters are more likely to suffer certain cancers, but it can be difficult to prove which fire or chemical incident caused their illness."It's not like a broken bone where you know exactly when and where it happened," Mr Watson said."The burning car or house fire you attended today may cause a cancer that doesn't show up for decades, which makes it nearly impossible to prove it was work related."The federal government introduced presumptive legislation in 2011.Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia also have laws that recognise the link between firefighting and cancer.Mr Watson said any legislation would have to include eligibility guidelines."We're not after a free ride," he said."We just want to make sure they're looked after if they get sick."The Victorian government has been under pressure to make changes to the way compensation is accessed after a 2012 report found firefighters who trained at the CFA Fiskville site had been exposed to dangerous chemicals going as far back as the 1970s.Last year they introduced a review panel to assist both volunteer and career firefighters seeking compensation for cancer caused by their work.Opposition leader Daniel Andrews said Labor would introduce the legislation if elected in November."I have committed to the introduction of presumptive rights," Mr Andrews said.

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Get out of Iraq now, warns Bishop

Australia ready to help with humanitarian crisis in Iraq, but no troops envisaged says Julie Bishop. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIANS have been told to leave Iraq immediately by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who has described the escalating crisis as deeply disturbing.

INSURGENTS from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have taken a swathe of mostly Sunni Arab territory in northern Iraq in an offensive that has brought fighting to within 80km of Baghdad.

The worsening crisis prompted Ms Bishop to urge Australians to leave "immediately".

"The airport in Baghdad is still open. Commercial flights are still operating out of Baghdad," she told the Ten Network. 

"But if Australians must stay in Iraq, they must ensure that their personal circumstances and their security is absolutely safe." 

The Australian embassy in Baghdad would be "very constrained" in the support it could provide, she said. 

On Saturday US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered an aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf as President Barack Obama considers possible military options, after he ruled out sending troops into Iraq. 

Speaking to reporters in Houston, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he would wait to see how the US responds to the situation before developing an Australian response. 

Ms Bishop said the US would take the lead when it came to any military action. 

"I didn't envisage a circumstance where we would be sending in troops," she said. 

"But we certainly stand ready to support the humanitarian crisis should a request be made." 

She defended the 2003 military intervention in the country, which she supported as a member of the Howard Government. 

"I thought Saddam Hussein was one of the worst dictators on the planet at that time. His removal was a good thing," she said. 

Greens leader Christine Milne said following the US into Iraq was not going to "fix" the violence in the country. 

"We do not want to follow the United States blindly as John Howard did (in 2003)," Senator Milne told ABC Television. 

"Clearly it didn't work last time in Iraq and it won't work this time." 

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Afghan bomb kills 11 amid vote fraud claim

Afghans have braved threats of violence and searing heat to vote in the presidential elections. Source: AAP

A ROADSIDE bomb killed 11 people including five election workers in northern Afghanistan, officials said Sunday, as a prolonged vote count began after the presidential run-off election.

ELECTION officials were sifting through fraud complaints from both candidates, and analysts said the lengthy count could be the trickiest phase in the country's first democratic transfer of power.

More than 50 people were killed on polling day Saturday by militant attacks, including the 11 whose bus was hit by a roadside bomb in Samangan province and five members of one family who died when a Taliban rocket hit a house near a polling station.Eleven voters in the western province of Herat had their fingers - which were dipped in ink to register their ballot - cut off by insurgents, Deputy Interior Minister Ayoub Salangi said.But despite the Taliban attacks, Saturday's election drew a high turnout of about seven million voters in a contest between former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani.The White House praised voters' courage and called the elections "a significant step forward on Afghanistan's democratic path".The US, along with the UN, also urged the two candidates not to trade unproven fraud allegations, but both Abdullah and Ghani raised the issue immediately after polls closed."It is win or lose now," said Kate Clark, director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network."The voting is only one phase of the election, and there is still a lot that could change. Being a good loser doesn't gain you much here."If it is close and fraud looks to have been a lot, and either candidate wants to really make a fuss, then we could be in for months of wrangling."The 2009 election, when outgoing President Hamid Karzai retained power, was marred by massive fraud that shook the US-led international effort to develop Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.A credible election and smooth handover of power would be a major achievement for Afghanistan's backers after 13 years of hugely costly military and civilian assistance.All foreign combat troops are due to withdraw by the end of this year."Allegations of fraud need to be addressed," US ambassador James Cunningham said after polls closed on Saturday."But the candidates and their supporters should refrain from premature judgments and from criticism that is not supported with clear evidence."The preliminary result is due on July 2, before the complaints period begins, and the final result is scheduled for July 22."We have urged the candidates to act as statesmen, future presidents, rather than people simply in a competition with each other," said Nicholas Haysom, the deputy chief of the UN mission.Reflecting international fears of a contested result, he said candidates must "exercise patience" as the count got underway.The Electoral Complaints Commission said it had registered about 275 complaints by Sunday morning."There were violation cases where the supporters of the presidential candidates forced voters to vote for a certain candidate," said spokesman Mohammad Nader Mohsini."Supporters were also offering money for voters to vote for a certain candidate."He said allegations had also been raised of interference by election officials and the security forces.

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Nicole Kidman for top Shanghai honour

Nicole Kidman is to be honoured at the Shanghai International Film Festival in China. Source: AAP

NICOLE Kidman is to be honoured with an outstanding contribution award at the Shanghai International Film Festival in China.

HUGH Grant and John Woo will present the Australian actress with her latest accolade at the opening ceremony on Saturday, while artist Qin Yi will honour actor and director Jiang Wen with the Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Film Award.

Kidman will be hoping the festival will be a better experience than her visit to Cannes last month, when her new film Grace of Monaco was savaged by critics.Kirsten Dunst, John Cusack, Hayden Christensen, Jackie Chan, Tony Leung, Li Bingbing and Korean superstar Rain are expected to attend the opening gala, according to The Hollywood Reporter.The film festival will open with a restored version of 1964 movie Two Stage Sisters and close with Transformers: Age of Extinction.A jury led by actress Gong Li will decide the winner of the Golden Goblet from the 15 films in competition.

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Kiska inaugurated as Slovakia president

POLITICAL newcomer Andrej Kiska has been inaugurated as Slovakia's new president.

THE successful 51-year-old businessman-turned-philanthropist was elected to the largely ceremonial post in March, handing an embarrassing defeat to major rival, leftist Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Taking the presidential oath on Sunday at an extraordinary session of parliament, Kiska became Slovakia's fourth president since the country gained independence after the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993.He succeeds Ivan Gasparovic, the only president since independence to win two five-year terms.Kiska was until recently a relative unknown in Slovakia and attracted voters fed up with corruption and politics-as-usual to beat Fico.As prime minister, Fico remains Slovakia's most powerful politician but will have to deal with a president who is more critical than Gasparovic was.

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