Plane catches fire at Perth Airport

A PLANE has made an emergency landing at Perth Airport after a suspected engine fire erupted shortly after take-off.

The Cobham Aviation flight landed safely after the mid-air incident on Tuesday, a Perth Airport spokeswoman confirmed.

Witnesses have reported seeing the flames coming from the right engine.

The Perth Airport website shows that a Cobham Aviation flight was scheduled to depart at 10.45am for Barrow Island.

Pictures have emerged on social media of a plane with an engine appearing to be on fire, but it has not been confirmed as the plane involved in the emergency.

The aircraft is currently being assessed at the airport.

Cobham operates aircraft on behalf of Qantas regional subsidiary QantasLink.

A spokesman for the regional carrier said a statement would be issued later on Tuesday.

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Donor was told 'no one will know': ICAC

THE NSW builder whose $5000 payment to an alleged Liberal Party front company sparked a sensational inquiry says a fundraiser for NSW MP Chris Hartcher urged him not to declare the donation.

Matthew Lusted told the corruption watchdog he decided to stand for Liberal preselection in the federal seat of Dobell after a chance meeting with then Opposition Leader Tony Abbott at a steakhouse on the eve of Australia Day, 2011.

"He encouraged me to consider it," Mr Lusted told the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Tuesday.

"And eventually I did."

Mr Lusted was ultimately beaten to the Dobell preselection by Karen McNamara, who he claims "gloated" that as campaign manager for Darren Webber's 2011 state parliament tilt at the seat of Wyong, she raised $200,000, though she declared less than $100,000.

Days earlier, Mr Lusted says, he had met with Hartcher associate Ray Carter, who asked him to "contribute for the boys who are standing on the coast".

The "boys" were Mr Hartcher and NSW Central Coast MPs Chris Spence and Mr Webber, all of whom have been banished to the crossbench over the controversial donations.

It is alleged that Mr Carter arranged for the money to be paid not to the Liberal Party but to "sham" company EightByFive.

Documents show Hartcher staffer and EightByFive founder Tim Koelma billed Mr Lusted's company for $4545.46 plus GST for "Products and services as agreed".

Mr Lusted said he did not realise the money had been funnelled in this way until he attempted to declare the $5000 donation to the Electoral Funding Authority and one of his staff was unable to find a record of it.

"I had a gut feeling something was not right," Mr Lusted told the ICAC in a statement.

But he says Mr Carter reassured him that the apparent discrepancy would go away, telling him: "No one's going to find out about anything. You've got nothing to worry about."

"I wonder if he thinks that now," Mr Lusted mused.

Counsel for Mr Koelma has suggested Mr Lusted is lying to the ICAC "as a form of retribution for having not been preselected" in Dobell.

The inquiry into political donations continues.

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MH370 search being scaled back: PM Abbott

A report into the flight MH370 disaster is understood to recommend real-time tracking of aircraft. Source: AAP

THE search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane MH370 is being scaled back, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced.

He says 52 days after the plane disappeared with 239 people on board, the search is now entering a "new phase" focused on searching the ocean floor.

It is now "highly unlikely" that any aircraft debris will be found on the ocean's surface, he says.

"By this stage, 52 days into the search, most material would have become waterlogged and sunk," he told reporters.

He acknowledged the "tremendous work" of air crews from eight nations who have contributed to the air search.

The Bluefin-21 will continue to be used in the operation, Mr Abbott said.

However, an intensified search will involve different technology.

"In particular, using specialised sidescan sonar equipment towed behind ships to scan the seabed for evidence of aircraft wreckage," the prime minister said.

The Australian government, in consultation with the Malaysian government, would be willing to engage one or more commercial companies to undertake the work, he said.

He said that would cost an estimated $60 million and Australia would seek contributions from other nations.

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US storm system kills five

Officials say a tornado has killed at least two people and destroyed buildings in Oklahoma. Source: AAP

A TORNADO system that ripped through the central and southern United States has left at least five people dead, officials say.

Four people were killed as the storm ripped through suburbs of Little Rock, Arkansas, Matt DeCample, a spokesman for Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said on Sunday night.

The large tornado stayed on the ground as it moved northeastward for at least 48km, with television footage showing badly damaged buildings and vehicles.

A separate tornado from the same storm system moving through the central and southern US killed one person in the small Oklahoma town of Quapaw.

Authorities earlier had said two were killed in Quapaw. Sheriff's dispatcher Kelli Soechs declined to explain the discrepancy.

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Palmer won't back lifting pension age

The Palmer United Party will not support any pension age increase, says leader Clive Palmer. Source: AAP

CLIVE Palmer says his party won't support a rise in the pension age, which has been a major focus of pre-budget speculation.

Treasurer Joe Hockey last week described any increase in the pension age as an "inevitability", but stopped short of confirming his first budget will lift it to 70.

Mr Palmer, whose Palmer United Party will soon hold the balance of power in the Senate with other crossbenchers, said he would not back a rise in pension age.

"I just couldn't employ Joe Hockey or Tony Abbott at 69, no matter how competent they are," Mr Palmer told ABC Television on Sunday.

"They wouldn't have a good future and I wouldn't invest the time in training them because they would be retiring the next year."

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Abbott won't rule debt levy in or out

PM Tony Abbott has refused to comment on reports his government may soon introduce a debt levy. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has refused to comment on reports his government may soon introduce a debt levy to tackle the budget deficit.

Based on the Queensland flood levy, News Corporation says a "one off" tax will be introduced in Treasurer Joe Hockey's May budget.

The levy would be targeted at high income earners, with the tax thresholds yet to be decided by the government.

The government's commission of audit has also recommended scrapping Family Tax Benefit B payments aimed at single income families, News Corporation said.

Mr Abbott said he was not going to get into the business of ruling things in and ruling things out of the May 13 budget, but the coalition had committed to fixing the "fiscal disaster" left by the Labor government.

Australia had debt and deficits "stretching out as far as the eye can see", he told reporters in Brisbane.

"It's important that the mess be tackled," the prime minister said on Sunday.

"Now we are going to do it in ways which are faithful to the commitments that we made to the Australian people.

"We will do it in ways which are fair, which are equitable, and which I believe will be seen to be fair by the Australian people."

Labor says the levy would breach Mr Abbott's pre-election commitment not to impose new taxes.

"Make no mistake, this will be the biggest broken promise of all," shadow treasurer Chris Bowen told reporters in Sydney.

"Tony Abbott told the Australian people he would cut taxes and he specifically said he would introduce no new taxes."

Mr Bowen accused Mr Hockey of creating a "conflated budget emergency".

"But that doesn't justify a tax on Australian families who would pay the cost for this breach of promise from Tony Abbott," he said.

But Mr Abbott said the government would keep its election commitments.

"A very important commitment was to get the budget back on track to a sustainable surplus, but we will do that in ways which keep faith with our commitments to the Australian people in the election campaign," he said.

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US village honours Aust army captain

A New York village has honoured Australian soldier Captain Paul McKay, who died on a mountain. Source: AAP

THE small upstate New York village of Saranac Lake has honoured Australian soldier Captain Paul McKay, who died in sub-zero conditions on a mountain in January.

A group of eight, including Saranac Lake Mayor Clyde Rabideau and the Australian Army's Major Cameron Satrapa, scaled Scarface Mountain on Friday morning to the site where Capt McKay's body was found.

They gathered some rocks together to create a cairn memorial and placed a blue ribbon and a poppy on it.

"We said some prayers and toasted Capt McKay with some Australian beer," Mr Rabideau told AAP.

"It was a nice, simple, solemn service."

An Anzac Day service, attended by 150 people, was then held at Saranac Lake's World War I memorial where the Australian anthem was sung and the Ode of Remembrance read.

The residents of Saranac Lake, located near the Canadian border, were heartbroken when Capt McKay's body was found on the mountain after an intense two-week search.

Capt McKay, 31, from Adelaide, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress after a tour of Afghanistan and from a hotel room in the area emailed his father in Australia to say he was leaving all of his possessions to him.

Capt McKay, without the appropriate gear, then scaled Scarface Mountain in minus 28C and blizzard conditions.

Essex County Coroner Francis Whitelaw ruled the death a suicide.

An autopsy found he died from arrhythmia due to hypothermia.

Capt McKay's parents, John and Angela, plan to visit the village in June and will dedicate a bench at the base of the mountain to their son.

Saranac Lake declared Friday Anzac Day for PTS Awareness.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467

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