Indigenous war veterans honoured in Vic

Indigenous war veterans have been honoured at a ceremony at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance. Source: AAP

INDIGENOUS war veterans have been honoured at a ceremony at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance.

The ninth annual Victorian Indigenous Remembrance Service was held as part of National Reconciliation Week.

Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tim Bull was among dignitaries who laid a wreath for the service in honour of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander veterans who have served Australia in conflict going back as far as the Boer War, which ended in 1902.

"It is fitting that the Indigenous Remembrance Service is held during National Reconciliation Week because by acknowledging the contribution of Aboriginal people we build a stronger community by breaking down stereotypes and discrimination," Mr Bull said.

"Aboriginal men and women proudly served this country long before they were fully recognised as citizens after the 1967 referendum.

"As a community it is important to recognise those who were lost to war and give thanks for their selfless service in defence of the freedom we enjoy today. The sacrifice made by their family and friends whose lives were diminished by their loss is also remembered."

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SA teen charged over stabbings, assault

A teenager stabbed two men and struck a third in the head in an altercation in Adelaide, police say. Source: AAP

A TEENAGER stabbed two men and struck a third in the head in an altercation in Adelaide, police say.

A large disturbance broke out in Daw Park on Friday night in which three men were assaulted, police say.

Two men were stabbed, suffering minor lacerations, and were taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

A third man suffered a blow to the head but needed no medical treatment.

A 17-year-old youth was arrested soon after.

He was charged with aggravated assault causing harm, affray and resisting police.

Police allege the parties were known to each other.

The youth was refused bail and will appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday.

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Finance head David Tune retires

Party drug smuggler faces life in jail

A UK man faces life in prison after being caught at Sydney Airport attempting to smuggle over 2kg of ecstasy in five tins of bath salts off a flight from Abu Dhabi.

Tooth decay costs taxpayers $2.7m

NSW taxpayers could be up for $2.7 million to help fund four north coast fluoride dosing plants in the state's worst tooth decay region as a result of the Byron Shire Council banning the dental booster from its water supply.

Diplomas or a debt trap?

COMPETITION to sign up students to expensive tertiary diploma courses is spiralling out of control, with offers of lavish inducements including free iPads, laptops and $1000 shopping vouchers.

SBS joins in over Budget complaints

A DAY after the ABC's threat to slaughter Peppa Pig, multicultural ­broadcaster SBS yesterday joined the bandwagon as well.

Mum arrested in $2m 'romance scam'

THIS is the moment detectives arrested a mother of four, 39, who has been claiming benefits while allegedly targeting men in their 60s and 70s using this picture, above left. She is said to have spent the money on plastic surgery, holidays and sports cars, which were taken from the scene.

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Vic Liberal MP may vote to sink Geoff Shaw

Labor are collecting votes to find Victorian Independent MP Geoff Shaw in contempt of parliament. Source: AAP

VICTORIAN Liberal MP Ken Smith says he may vote with Labor to find balance-of-power Geoff Shaw in contempt of parliament for misusing a taxpayer-funded car.

The parliamentary privileges committee on Thursday found Mr Shaw breached the MP code of conduct in his use of the vehicle and recommended he repay more than $6800.

But a minority report from the Labor members of the committee went further and recommended the independent MP be found in contempt of parliament.

Mr Smith, a former speaker who has publicly clashed with Mr Shaw, said he would consider backing the minority report.

"It wouldn't be crossing against the government if I voted the committee's report down and voted for the minority report," he told Fairfax Radio on Friday.

"He would then be found in contempt of parliament."

Mr Smith said if he did vote with Labor it would be up to parliament to decide if Mr Shaw should be fined, suspended or expelled from parliament.

The privileges committee investigated Mr Shaw after the ombudsman found in 2012 the Frankston MP used his parliamentary car for his own hardware business.

It found Mr Shaw let the car be used for commercial purposes and his parliamentary fuel card be used for his private vehicle.

The committee recommended parliament order Mr Shaw repay a further $6838.44 for the breach.

He has already paid back $1250.

Premier Denis Napthine urged Mr Shaw to repay the money and move on.

"If I was in Geoff Shaw's shoes, I would write out a cheque today." he told reporters.

Deputy Opposition Leader James Merlino called on other coalition MPs to back the report.

"We encourage Liberal and National MPs ashamed of Geoff Shaw, ashamed of his grubby deal with Denis Napthine, to vote with Labor on the floor of parliament," he said.

"Make no mistake - Geoff Shaw is in contempt of parliament."

Dishonesty charges against Mr Shaw were dropped in December and Mr Shaw said the matter was now over.

"There's nothing to answer for criminally, there's nothing to answer for, for contempt of parliament," he said on Thursday.

"That's the end of the matter."

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Egypt's Sisi wins overwhelming majority

Ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is set for an overwhelming victory in Egypt's presidential poll. Source: AAP

FORMER army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is assured of an overwhelming victory in Egypt's presidential election, securing 96.2 per cent of the vote with most of the ballots counted.

At least 21 million voters, or 96.2 per cent, chose the retired field marshal, who deposed the elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

The ballots have been counted from 312 of 352 counting stations, state television reported.

His victory had never been in doubt with the main Islamist opposition crushed since Morsi's ouster.

Sisi's only electoral rival, leftist Hamdeen Sabbahi, received 3.8 per cent of the votes counted.

Sisi rode on a wave of support for a potential strongman who can restore stability after several years of tumult.

Hundreds of his supporters took to the streets waving Egyptian flags, setting off fireworks and honking their car horns.

"It's a victory for stability," said Tahra Khaled, who joined the crowd celebrating in the iconic Tahrir Square, the nerve centre of mass protests that toppled strongman Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

The army-installed government and Sisi were eyeing a large turnout as an endorsement of the overthrow of Islamist president in 2013, and the subsequent crackdown on his supporters.

Voting had been scheduled to end on Tuesday, but was extended for an extra day in a last-minute decision that sparked protests from Sabbahi, a leftist politician who came in third in the 2012 election Morsi won.

The move to extend polling for a day fuelled criticism of an election already marred by a deadly crackdown on Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement.

An electoral official had said after Tuesday's voting, when the election had originally been scheduled to end, turnout was around 37 per cent, well below the 52 per cent of voters who cast their ballots in the 2012 election which Morsi won.

Sisi had appealed for a large turnout, seeking vindication for his overthrow of Morsi, Egypt's only freely elected president, after a single turbulent year in power.

After reports of meagre numbers at polling stations on the first day of voting on Monday, Sisi's backers in the state-run media appealed to people to get out and vote.

The extension of polling cast doubt on the vote's credibility, experts said.

It "raises more questions about the independence of the electoral commission, the impartiality of the government, and the integrity of Egypt's electoral process," said Democracy International, a US-based observer mission.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which had championed a boycott of the election, hailed the lower turnout.

"The great Egyptian people have given a new slap to the military coup's road map and ... written the death certificate of the military coup," said its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party.

The Brotherhood has been subjected to a massive crackdown that has killed hundreds of its supporters and seen it designated a terrorist organisation.

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Mother, 6 kids die in Philippine tent fire

A fire has killed a woman and her six children in a tent refuge for Typhoon Haiyan survivors. Source: AAP

A WOMAN and her six children who were in a shelter for survivors of Typhoon Haiyan have all died after a fire swept through their tent.

The tragedy highlights the slow progress in the resettlement of tens of thousands of survivors of Haiyan, which struck more than six months ago.

The fire was caused by a kerosene lamp and quickly consumed the canvas tent on Tuesday, Tacloban city disaster management officer Derrick Anido said.

The shelter was one of 40 in a "tent city" in San Jose district, which was wiped out by tsunami-like storm surges and fierce winds from Typhoon Haiyan in November.

The children - who died from burns and suffocation - ranged in age from four months to 12 years old, Anido said.

The woman and her seven-year-old son survived the fire initially but both died later in hospital.

"It happened around 12:20am ... but it was so fast that by 12:30 it was over," Anido said, adding that everyone was sleeping when the fire broke out.

Anido, quoting investigators, said the family apparently had trouble opening the tent's zipper door.

Tacloban is still trying to recover from the devastation wrought by the typhoon, which barrelled through the central Philippines, killing at least 6,300 people and displacing more than four million.

"The problem is that so many people are still living in tents and we have been saying all along that these tents are fire hazards," Anido said. "And we have been requesting (the national government) to relocate them to safer shelters."

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Govt seeks advice on sacking SES boss

NSW Premier Mike Baird will consider sacking SES commissioner Murray Kear (C) after ICAC's findings. Source: AAP

THE NSW government is taking legal advice about sacking State Emergency Service (SES) boss Murray Kear.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) delivered a finding on Wednesday that the SES commissioner acted corruptly by sacking deputy commissioner Tara McCarthy.

It also found Mr Kear failed to investigate serious allegations that she raised about another SES deputy commissioner with whom he was friends.

Emergency Services Minister Stuart Ayres is seeking advice from the crown solicitor and his own department about sacking Mr Kear, which the ICAC recommended in its findings.

"When I'm in receipt of that advice, I'll be making decisions about the future position of the commissioner," Mr Ayres told reporters in Sydney.

Mr Ayres is also seeking advice about the possible reinstatement of Ms McCarthy.

She was sacked after she raised concerns that Mr Pearce engaged in a number of dubious contracts.

ICAC ruled that Mr Kear did not investigate the allegations against deputy commissioner Steve Pearce because he was a mate.

ICAC's report on Wednesday suggested Ms McCarthy was sacked as a reprisal for raising the allegations against Mr Pearce.

NSW Premier Mike Baird, who has staked his premiership on ridding the state of corruption, said he will consider the report.

"It's clear in light of the report today there needs to be cultural changes (within the SES)," he told reporters in Sydney.

"There needs to be changes and we'll be responding shortly."

Mr Kear has been on leave since the ICAC inquiry began.

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Work-for-the-dole scheme returns

Young people in areas of high unemployment will have to work 15 hours a week to get the dole. Source: AAP

FROM July, unemployed young people in 18 areas will have to work 15 hours a week to get the dole.

But welfare groups say restarting work for the dole will be less effective than wage subsidies.

Job seekers aged 18 to 30 who live in selected areas and who have been receiving Youth Allowance or Newstart for 12 months or more will be required to undergo about 15 hours a week of compulsory work for the dole for six months.

The areas targeted in the first phase have high unemployment.

The government will not need to change legislation to restart the program initiated under the Howard government.

The National Welfare Rights Network said work for the dole had proven ineffective in the past as a way of getting people into long-term jobs.

It has called for changes including a greater focus on new skills, providing work activities that offer a better chance of getting into long-term jobs and increasing and indexing payments for participants.

Network spokesman Gerard Thomas said previous studies of work for the dole found that while some people benefited, many found themselves with less time to look for work.

He said wage subsidy programs had a better success rate.

A government study showed 47 per cent of extremely disadvantaged job seekers in wage subsidy programs were still in work after six months - more than double that under the previous work for the dole program.

The Abbott government is also restarting the Wage Connect scheme from July 1.

Australian Council of Social Service chief Cassandra Goldie said the focus should be on opening up job opportunities for young people through joint ventures with business leaders, investors, communities and social services.

"A first step would be to increase the availability of places in cost-effective wage subsidy programs, mentoring, career counselling and vocational programs," she said.

Ms Goldie said the government had accepted the value of work subsidies in announcing in the budget a $10,000 payment to employers who hired workers over the age of 50.

"With the rate of unemployment among 15 to 24-year-olds more than double the overall rate (12.5 per cent), this initiative should be extended to young people."

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Consumer spending to get weaker

TIGHTER family finances and falling consumer confidence are likely put the brakes on spending in the coming months.

A Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) survey showed that financial stress increased again in April and is set to worsen in the coming months.

News of spending cuts and increased taxes from the May 13 federal budget and moderate wages growth in the first three months of the year likely hurt consumer confidence, the survey's report said.

The D&B Consumer Financial Stress Index rose 13.8 points in April to 18.7 points, and by July the index is forecast to rise to 24.8 points, the second highest level in the survey's four year history.

Dun and Bradstreet economic adviser Stephen Koukoulas said the figures matches other data showing a fall in consumer confidence.

"It is looming as a genuine threat to the recent strength in spending if consumers respond to financial difficulty by paring back expenditure," he said.

"Causes of the rise in consumer financial stress are hard to pinpoint, but appear linked to the still weak growth in household incomes, accelerating credit growth and a still fragile jobs market."

Another survey released on Tuesday showed shoppers' moods continue to turn sour as a result of the federal budget.

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell a further 1.1 per cent in the week ending May 25.

Confidence is now down 15 per cent from five weeks ago when news about various budget policies began to be leaked.

ANZ head of Australian economics Justin Fabo said the survey shows that spending could soften in the coming months.

"While the policies from the budget are likely to be a modest drag on consumer spending over the next few years, the hit to confidence, if sustained, could prove to be more important," he said.

"At this stage, ANZ's bottom line for the household consumption outlook remains that consumer spending will improve this year, although the confidence impacts from the budget may weigh on the speed of that recovery."

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Qld could use public funds to sell budget

The Queensland treasurer hasn't ruled out a taxpayer-funded ad campaign to sell the state budget. Source: AAP

THE Queensland treasurer says he's open to spending even more taxpayer dollars on advertising, this time to sell his budget.

Tim Nicholls hasn't ruled out a publicly funded advertising blitz to sell next week's budget, the last before the next state election.

The June 3 budget is expected to detail the government's decision on whether public assets should be sold or leased.

The government has spent $6 million of taxpayers' money on its Strong Choices campaign, which asked Queenslanders if they'd prefer higher taxes, reduced services or asset sales to help pay down $80 billion in debt.

Mr Nicholls said people had appreciated being informed about the state's debt problem, and would also appreciate understanding the solution.

"I'm open to using all means available to ensure people do understand what the budget means for them," Mr Nicholls told reporters on Tuesday.

The government's code of conduct bans advertising in the six months before a scheduled election unless it's aimed at an urgent emerging issue.

But up until that six-month period kicks in, the government would be at liberty to use taxpayers money for an ad campaign.

"We will comply with the rules that have been put in place, unlike our predecessors who continued advertising right up to the election."

Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer said any taxpayer-funded sell job would be nothing short of robbery, designed to get the LNP re-elected in Queensland.

"That would be a disgrace and a waste of taxpayers' money," the federal MP told AAP on Tuesday.

"Queenslanders will backlash over this agenda-driven act."

The Labor Opposition said the LNP was rich enough to promote itself.

"The LNP should spend some of its $30 million donation war chest on their political advertising, not taxpayer funds," shadow Treasurer Curtis Pitt told AAP.

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Youth learn train safety tips from amputee

JONATHAN Beninca was 19 years old when he was struck by a train and lost his right leg and arm.

"I missed the train home and was messing around on the tracks, throwing rocks at stationary trains," Mr Beninca said.

"The next thing I remember is waking up in hospital missing my right leg, right arm and a few fingers off my left hand."

Mr Beninca, now 34, is an ambassador for the West Australian Public Transport Authority's (PTA) Right Track program, which aims to educate students about the importance of rail safety.

The double amputee, who has travelled to Perth from Sydney for the program, said he always told the students that railway lines were not to be messed with.

"When the students are faced with the harsh reality of what life is like without an arm and a leg, they sit up and take notice," he said.

"I encourage them to make their own positive choices and to understand that injuries like mine impact your life every day - socially, financially, physically and emotionally."

Mr Beninca also talks to students about the effect that injuries and deaths have on train drivers and staff involved in the aftermath of an accident.

PTA spokesman David Hynes said last year the Right Track program, which also aimed to improve the relationship between transit officers and young people, reached more than 7000 students.

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Ability to taste fat linked to weight gain

PEOPLE who are insensitive to the taste of fat are at increased risk of overeating and gaining weight, Australian researchers say.

This is because they feel less full than fat-sensitive people and so are likely to eat bigger meals, the Deakin University researchers say.

They monitored how much people ate at a lunch buffet after eating a high-fat breakfast.

The study, published in the journal Appetite, follows a previous Deakin study that shows fat is part of the tongue's taste range, along with sweet, salty, sour and other attributes.

"These results suggest the ability to taste fat is linked with the fullness experienced from fat," said Deakin Professor Russell Keast.

Fatty food was associated with people being overweight or obese, and it was becoming clear that the ability to taste fat was a factor, he said.

"Some people have a high sensitivity to the taste of fat and are likely to eat less fatty foods," he said.

"Others are less sensitive and cannot taste fat, and are more likely to overeat fatty foods."

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Six Aussies arrested over illegal gambling

Six Australians have reportedly been arrested in Thailand over an illegal gambling operation. Source: AAP

SIX Australians and a New Zealander have reportedly been arrested in Thailand over an illegal gambling operation.

Police used an undercover informant to place bets at the Ned Kelly Bar at Valentine's Guest House in Pattaya on May 10, the Pattaya Mail reported.

The bets were made on Australian horse races broadcast over the internet onto large-screen televisions.

Police raided the bar this month and arrested New Zealander Philip Smith, 59, who is allegedly the operator, and six Australians.

Smith told police he had been accepting bets and paying according to the website rate, while receiving a commission, for a long time.

The bar's Thai owner escaped.

The majority of gambling is illegal in Thailand.

The arrests come eight months after police and officials arrested 12 Australians and four Britons on charges of betting on Australian horse races.

The Thai military took control of the government in a coup on Thursday following the imposition of martial law across the country earlier in the week.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said there had been no requests for consular assistance following the latest reported arrests.

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Australian snorkeller dies off Fiji resort

A 36-year-old Australian man has died while snorkelling off Fiji's coral coast. Source: AAP

A 36-YEAR-OLD Australian man has died while snorkelling off Fiji's coral coast.

The man was staying with a friend at a five-star resort on the west coast of the main island Viti Levu when he went snorkelling alone on Saturday.

He was reported missing by the resort, Outrigger on the Lagoon Fiji, about 7.45pm when he hadn't returned his snorkelling equipment and his belongings were found on the beach.

"The person in question was snorkelling late in the evening and did not return to his accommodation," general manager Peter Hopgood said.

Resort staff and local fishermen searched until after midnight and were back out again at first light on Sunday.

The man's body was found by locals from a neighbouring village at 9.50am on Sunday, washed onto the coral reef.

His body was taken to a morgue at nearby Sigatoka.

The resort said it was working closely with local authorities while the Australian High Commission was in the process of communicating with the dead man's family.

It extended "heartfelt condolences" to the man's family and friends.

In a letter to guests, it asked them to "refrain from entering the ocean after dark".

Australian authorities had little to add.

"The department is aware of the death of a 36-year-old Australian man in Fiji," said a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra.

It's the second death of an Australian in Fiji this month.

Ten days ago, Sydney father-of-three Mark Hardaker, 40, was killed in a collision between two boats while holidaying with his family.

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