Teen batts victim's boss faces Qld court

THE employer of a teenager who died under the Rudd government's home insulation scheme has appeared in a Queensland court charged with perjury.

CHRISTOPHER Jackson, 51, is accused of lying to a coronial inquest that investigated the deaths of three insulation installers under the botched federal scheme.

The youngest victim was Rueben Barnes, 16, who was electrocuted while laying batts in the roof of a house at Stanwell, in central Queensland, on November 18, 2009.Jackson, his employer, is accused of falsely telling the Queensland inquest in March last year that he inspected Mr Barnes' work site on the morning of his death.Jackson appeared briefly in the Rockhampton Magistrates Court on Friday charged with giving false evidence.His case was adjourned until July 23.Fellow Queenslanders Matthew Fuller and Mitchell Sweeney, and Marcus Wilson from NSW, also lost their lives working under the Labor government's $2.8 billion stimulus program.A royal commission into the scheme is due to deliver its report by August 31.

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NSW funding back for city homeless, women

HOMELESS services in Sydney have been thrown a multimillion-dollar lifeline as the NSW government presses ahead with reforms to halt the "inner-city drift".

THE government had foreshadowed cuts to inner-city areas through its Going Home, Staying Home reforms, which aim to nip homelessness in the bud through a focus on early intervention in suburban, regional and rural areas.

The proposals prompted fears that specialist services, including refuges for women escaping domestic violence, would lose out.Community Services Minister Gabrielle Upton now agrees the cuts were too much, too fast.She has restored the $8.6 million in annual funding that was on the chopping block, including $2 million a year for inner-city women's services."I was concerned that the original proposal ran the risk of delivering too much change, too quickly," Ms Upton said on Friday."Let me be clear: the government was never planning to do away with women's specialist services, nor were there plans to have men and women sharing crisis accommodation."However, I have listened to the legitimate concerns of many inner-city providers and the right decision was to restore funding."She said next week's budget would include a record $148 million for NGOs delivering specialist homelessness, up from $135 million this year.It's the first tranche of a $515 million package that will be delivered over three years and will include $70 million in complementary programs.Communities in the Hunter-New England district, the mid-north coast, the Illawarra and Sydney's northern beaches will receive some of the biggest boosts."These reforms are about providing early-intervention services so that there won't be the crisis that we currently have, represented by people coming to the city in search of a safe and secure home," Ms Upton said.A new Service Support Fund will be set up so NGOs that missed out can apply for 18 months of extra assistance."This fund is all about ensuring that these very important reforms do not inadvertently create pockets of need for services previously met," Ms Upton said.The government would stand by the $515 million figure even if the federal government backed away from its National Partnership funding commitments in the next three years, Ms Upton said.The NSW opposition says the funding reprieve is a thin lifeline that comes too late for some organisations."These 60 services that have been told that they will be closing their doors are already doing so," deputy Labor leader Linda Burney told reporters."Many of them have already lost their buildings, lost their computers and lost their infrastructure."They cannot go through another tender process to prove that they're worthwhile ... The actions of Gabrielle Upton and the Baird government have caused this situation where homeless services in NSW are hanging on a thread."She said the changes created more instability for organisations catering to domestic violence victims at a time when demand was rising.

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Protecting reef should be priority: poll

A poll shows Australians want those in power to make protecting the Great Barrier Reef a priority. Source: AAP

MOST Australians want those in power to make protecting the Great Barrier Reef a priority, a new poll carried out on behalf of green groups shows.

Almost two thirds of the 1500 people polled nationally also said the reef had lost out to industrial development over the past few decades.

Two thirds of respondents also said the reef's World Heritage status made it more important to protect ecosystems, while a quarter said it made no difference.

But 15 per cent said Queensland's coal industry was vital to boosting the state's economy, even if it was at the expense of the reef's health.

The poll was conducted in April and May on behalf of WWF and the Australian Marine Conservation Society.

It comes less than a week before the World Heritage Committee discusses the reef's status as part of its annual meeting, which will be held in Qatar from June 15-25.

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Green groups facing off against Rinehart

Green groups are challenging Gina Rinehart in a Queensland court in a bid to stop a mega coal mine. Source: AAP

GREEN groups are challenging billionaire Gina Rinehart in Queensland's highest court in a bid to stop a mega coal mine.

Ms Rinehart's Hancock Coal and Indian mining giant GVK was given conditional approval in April to develop the multi-billion dollar Alpha coal mine in the Galilee Basin.

The Land Court recommended the state government either refuse the project or allow it to proceed with strict groundwater conditions.

But green group Coast and Country Association of Queensland has taken the matter to the Supreme Court.

The Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) of Queensland, which is handling the case, is seeking a judicial review of that Land Court decision, arguing the proposal should be rejected outright on climate change and groundwater grounds.

"It affects how all these future mines should be assessed in relation to the climate change impacts," EDO senior solicitor Sean Ryan told AAP.

The EDO is facing off against the GVK-Hancock consortium at a directions hearing in Brisbane on Wednesday.

The Alpha project, 360km south-west of Mackay in central Queensland, is 79 per cent owned by GVK and 21 per cent owned by Ms Rinehart's Hancock Coal.

Justice Philip McMurdo adjourned the case until October 13 for a trial.

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Muir struggles during rare interview

LESS than a month before he becomes one of the most powerful players in Australian politics, senator-elect Ricky Muir has admitted in to easily getting flustered when talking about an issue that should be close to his heart.

The Motoring Enthusiasts Party senator, who will be part of a balance-of-power bloc along with the Palmer United Party (PUP) when he begins his six-year term from July, fumbled his way through a rare media interview on Sunday evening.

Asked to explain what he meant by the "after-market" automobile industry the South Australian stumbled with his answer and before taking a break.

"There's the after-market industry which can be supported ... people that are losing their jobs ... sorry ... can we start that question again?" he says to the Seven Network's Mike Willesee.

"There's the after-market industry ... which ... um ... sorry, can we go to another question? I've got myself into a fluster."

"The after-market industry is the industry that is ... can I go out for a minute?"

After a short break, Mr Muir returns, and Willesee advises him to answer questions as if he's talking to someone at a pub.

Mr Muir, who has maintained his job at a timber mill ahead of the move to Canberra, also struggles to explain what it means to hold the balance of power in the Senate.

"Yes, it's the potential if, aah, say in this case Labor and the Greens, umm, it's the power to vote down legislation in the right circumstances," he said.

PUP leader and businessman Clive Palmer on Monday attacked the Sunday Night program's story as "biased and churlish".

"Mike Willesee recorded about an hour of a really serious interview with me about political things and other things but he didn't show any of that," he told ABC radio.

"He doesn't show you all of the footage. Just selective pieces."

Mr Palmer described Mr Muir as an "ordinary" Australian.

"He's there because people think he's more in contact with the real world," the Queensland lower house MP said.

The interview with Mr Muir was part of a broader story on the PUP with which Mr Muir, a father-of-five from the Gippsland town of Heyfield, will join forces from next month when the Senate changes over.

Jacqui Lambie, a former soldier and the PUP's Tasmanian senator-elect, doesn't hesitate when asked about her favourite weapon.

"Definitely M60 (submachine gun). Its massive firepower. Yeah, when you've got it in your hands," she said.

WA senator-elect Dio Wang said he would vote with his heart even if that means crossing Mr Palmer.

Asked if he had stood up to Mr Palmer in the past, Mr Wang replied: "Not yet, because he has been always right so far."

"He is already a great leader."

Come July 1, there will be three PUP senators, including Glenn 'The Brick with Eyes' Lazarus.

Mr Muir was elected after securing 0.01 per cent of the primary vote.

Mr Palmer is threatening to use his Senate team to block some of the federal coalition government's budget measures.

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Aust shares expected to open higher

THE Australian share market is expected to open in positive territory on Tuesday in the absence of any significant data in the US.

AMP Capital Investments chief economist Shane Oliver said strength on US markets on Friday would most likely provide a lead for local shares despite signs of continued weakness in China.

"The best guess is we'll probably see the market up as it catches up to the gains on Wall Street on Friday but against a long weekend there's more uncertainty than normal," Mr Oliver said.

Australian markets are shut for Queen's birthday on Monday.

Local futures are up 18 points after the Dow and the S&P 500 again powered to record highs on Friday.

It followed the release of a US Labor Department employment report showing solid jobs growth for May.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 88.17 points (0.52 per cent) to 16,924.28 on Friday, notching its second record high in a row.

The S&P 500 gained 8.98 (0.46 per cent) at 1,949.44, its third straight record close.

Still, Mr Oliver predicts the local market will continue to be affected by uncertainty in China.

"That's acting as a bit of a counter weight," he said.

Mr Oliver said the copper price had fallen on Friday night amid worries about financing in some ports in China.

Meanwhile, Europe's main stock markets advanced on Friday, as traders welcomed data that showed the US economy has recovered to a pre-crisis jobs level.

But data released over the weekend showed China's trade surplus surged in May as exports rose and imports showed a surprise fall.

Exports increased seven per cent to $US195.47 billion ($A211.49 billion) year-on-year, the General Administration of Customs announced on Sunday, while imports declined 1.6 per cent to $US159.55 billion, resulting in a surplus of $US35.92 billion - a 74.9 per cent jump from the year before.

On Friday the Australian share market closed 0.5 per cent higher in the wake of the European Central Bank's economic stimulus measures.

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Plibersek says PM embarrassing

Labor slams Prime Minister Abbott as embarrassing for cancelling meetings with finance officials. Source: AAP

LABOR'S slammed Prime Minister Tony Abbott as embarrassing but his office has denied he's cancelled meetings with the world's top finance officials during his visit to the United States.

A spokeswoman says Mr Abbott's scheduled to meet US treasury secretary Jack Lew and Janet Yellen, chair of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve.

It follows a report from political columnist Laurie Oakes yesterday that Mr Abbott had cancelled long-planned meetings with Mr Lew, International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde and World Bank president Jim Yong Kim.

Deputy opposition leader Tanya Plibersek has labelled Mr Abbott an embarrassment, and has questioned how he could be cancelling meetings with top economic officials just a few months before Australia hosts world leaders for the November G20 summit.

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Budget could still get through: Govt

Mathias Cormann warns against about assumptions which government budget measures will be blocked. Source: AAP

THE government is still confident it can get its toughest budget measures through the upper house, despite rumblings they'll be blocked.

A $7 GP co-payment, changes to the dole and a raised pension age have proved difficult to sell, and Labor, the Australian Greens and the Palmer United Party have vowed to oppose the measures.

But Finance Minister Mathias Cormann warned against making assumptions about blocks to budget measures, saying his experience in the Senate had shown him not to take any initial opposition as gospel.

Labor had opposed the tax on higher income earners, or deficit levy, but had since decided to support it, he said.

"Immediately in the days and weeks following the budget, all sorts of people say all sorts of things," he told Sky News on Sunday.

"And then on reflection ... people progressively change their mind."

Senator Cormann said the government would not consider watering down measures before presenting them to the parliament.

The main hurdle for the government will be Clive Palmer, whose party will be key to getting the budget through the Senate after July.

Senator Cormann said he would be happy to sit down and have a meal with Mr Palmer in the "appropriate circumstances".

"Clearly we will engage with him in the battle of ideas," he said.

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull caused controversy in recent weeks for having a "social" dinner with Mr Palmer.

Senator-elect David Leyonhjelm doubts Palmer United Party members will vote together in the long term.

The three incoming PUP senators, plus Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party member Ricky Muir, don't have a "common ideology" or "anything that binds them together", Mr Leyonhjelm told Channel Ten.

"On that basis, there's no strong reason, other than a fear of outsiders I suppose, for them to work together," he said.

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