Police quiz women over acid attack on girl

A SYDNEY childcare worker assisted a hysterical mother and her little girl who was "reeking of bleach" after a bottle of toilet cleaner was thrown at them from a car.

Police are questioning two women over a spate of incidents including the "callous" attack on the four-year-old girl in Kellyville Ridge on Wednesday.

The girl was walking with her mother and baby sister, who was being pushed in a pram, when someone hurled a bottle at them from a car on Conrad Road.

Guita Badaoui, who operates Play 'n' Learn Long Daycare, said the mother had just left the centre with girls when the incident occurred.

Moments later, she was back.

"She was beside herself ... she had come running in quite hysterical, she had come to the kitchen not knowing where else to go," Ms Badaoui told Macquarie radio.

"She advised that someone had thrown bleach on her (daughter's) face ... as soon as you walked in and you could smell the bleach that was reeking from this poor child."

The bottle contained toilet cleaner, Ms Badaoui said.

A 20-year-old woman from Glenmore Park and a 22-year-old woman from Ingleburn turned themselves in at Quakers Hill Police Station on Thursday shortly before 1pm (AEST).

Detective Superintendent Gary Mereweather said help from the community prompted the women to come forward.

"The information that we received from community members and people passing through led us onto identifying who owned the vehicle and where it came from and that led to these young girls coming to the police station," he said.

The car was undergoing forensic examination.

The women are also being questioned over other incidents that occurred in the area around the same time.

These include a bottle of energy drink being thrown at a woman walking along Conrad Road and a roll of garbage bags being thrown at a woman on a bicycle.

Ms Badaoui said the girl was at home with her mother and both were doing well.

"It's shocking it has really rocked this community," she said.

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Pakistani prisoner attacked in India jail

The death of a Pakistani prisoner in an Indian jail could fuel tensions between India and Pakistan. Source: AAP

A PAKISTANI prisoner who was attacked in an Indian jail has died, hospital officials say, after suffering injuries in an apparent tit-for-tat assault last week.

"His condition was extremely critical. He died early morning," a senior doctor at a government hospital in Chandigarh told AFP on Thursday, on condition of anonymity.

Sanaullah Ranjay suffered massive head injuries in a prison in the northern city of Jammu, in an attack shortly after the death of an Indian prisoner, Sarabjit Singh, who was assaulted in a Pakistan jail.

Ranjay, who was admitted to the Chandigarh hospital in a serious condition, had suffered renal failure late on Wednesday, the doctor said.

The hospital would hand over the body to two of his relatives who had arrived in India on Tuesday "as per the instructions of the government", the doctor added.

Ranjay, a convicted murderer from the Pakistani city of Sialkot, was attacked by a prisoner identified as a former Indian army soldier just 24 hours after Singh's death in a Lahore jail.

Last weekend demonstrators took to the streets in Pakistan-administered Kashmir to protest against the attack on Ranjay.

The prison violence could fuel tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, whose relations were hit by a border flare-up earlier this year.

The neighbours have fought two of their three wars over the disputed region of Kashmir, which they each control in part but claim in full.

New Delhi says 535 Indian prisoners, including 483 fishermen, are in Pakistani jails, while 272 Pakistani prisoners are behind bars in India.

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East West Link is a con: Vic opposition

The Victorian treasurer says the government won't fund the entire cost of the East West Link road. Source: AAP

VICTORIANS won't be able to use the East West Link tunnel to drive to work for decades, the opposition says.

The state government has pledged almost $300 million for the $6-8 billion East West Link and says the federal government could jeopardise the project if it refuses to contribute $1.5 billion to the toll road.

In his budget reply speech, shadow treasurer Tim Pallas said the government's 2013/14 budget was based on funding of less than four per cent for a toll road.

"Let me tell you something: you don't drive to work on a procurement plan," Mr Pallas told parliament on Thursday.

"And that's all this is - that's the big con in this heartless budget."

Mr Pallas ridiculed the government's plan for the road saying at this rate Victorians won't be able to use the link until 2067.

"That's five years after the Jetsons perfected flying cars," he said.

Mr Pallas said Labor believed in a reliable health system and a strong education system.

Treasurer Michael O'Brien continued to spruik the budget on Thursday, saying the state won't fund the entire cost of the road link because it cannot afford to lose its AAA credit rating.

He said if the state lost its AAA rating, it would increase the cost of borrowing money for other projects and would mean less money is available for yearly spending.

"If it's the old argument of, you've got AAA rating so why don't you borrow your head off, well the fact is if you borrow your head off you won't keep your AAA rating," he told ABC radio.

"And we need to keep that AAA rating because otherwise the interest costs we will be paying on our borrowings will be much higher."

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Vic MPs eyeing a big pay rise

VICTORIAN politicians are planning to award themselves pay rises of up to 15 per cent with no public consultation, in stark contrast to the long and bitter pay fights waged by the state's teachers, nurses and police.

On top of the pay and superannuation windfall, departing MPs who have served multiple terms will receive a golden handshake worth at least $70,000.

Those who have served one term will be gifted at least $35,000.

Politicians elected after 2004 will enjoy superannuation of 15 per cent, which is a lot more than most workers' nine per cent entitlement.

Politicians elected before 2004 will remain on the generous "defined benefits" scheme.

Taxpayers won't know how much the politicians' pay decision will cost because Assistant Treasurer Gordon Rich-Phillips refused to reveal the figure.

The changes mean a Victorian backbenchers' salary package will exceed $150,000.

Deputy Liberal leader Louise Asher told parliament the legislation was necessary to prevent Victorian MPs receiving annual pay rises of close to $50,000, in line with rises for federal politicians.

"The government regarded this prospect as totally untenable," she said.

Ms Asher described expense allowances - ranging from eight per cent for a backbencher and up to 15 per cent for a shadow minister - as small.

There will be no oversight of how politicians spend their allowances apart from Australian Taxation Office rules.

Mr Rich-Phillips repeatedly refused to answer questions from journalists about how much the changes will cost.

"The reality is any change to members of parliament remuneration, salaries, is never going to be well received in the community," he said.

Both government and opposition MPs were consulted about the legislation.

An opposition spokesman released a statement saying Labor would consider the legislation and take the matter to shadow cabinet.

MPs will give up some existing entitlements, such as free parking at Melbourne Airport and free entry to Melbourne Zoo, the Melbourne Cricket Ground and other Crown land.

Ambulance Employees Association state secretary Steve McGhie said it was disappointing there was one standard for politicians and another for public sector workers.

"It's almost a slap in the face for my members," he said.

"We're right in the middle of bargaining and we've been negotiating for eight months and we haven't seen any greater offers than 2.5 per cent."

Community and Public Sector Union spokesman Robert Laird said the government had been extremely tough on wage negotiations with public sector workers but was now giving itself an inflated pay rise.

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ICAC questions union boss's mine 'passion'

Former union boss John Maitland has once again been accused of being untruthful to the ICAC inquiry. Source: AAP

FORMER mining union boss John Maitland was motivated by money rather than a "passion" to create a centre of excellence when he sought a mining licence in the NSW Hunter region, a corruption inquiry has been told.

The granting of the coal exploration licence at Doyles Creek in the Hunter Valley is being investigated by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

The licence, given by then mining minister Ian Macdonald to Mr Maitland and a group of entrepreneurs, was approved in 2008 without a competitive tender.

Mr Maitland's $165,000 investment turned into about $15 million when the licence was sold, the ICAC has been told, in a deal described as a financial disaster for the people of NSW.

Mr Maitland told ICAC lawyer Peter Braham, SC, he had "a passion" to develop the mine.

"My passion was to get this mine up and I believed it could become a centre of excellence and something that could be a massive benefit to the state," Mr Maitland said.

"You had a passion for the idea of a training mine because it might help you get a commercial mine," Mr Braham said.

"No," Mr Maitland said.

"You've made a large amount of money from out of the commercial aspect of this enterprise, haven't you?" Mr Braham said.

"Many million of dollars, haven't you?"

"I've been fortunate," Mr Maitland replied.

"Fifteen million dollars, is that a fair assessment of what you've made?" Mr Braham said.

"No," Mr Maitland said.

"That's really the source of your passion, isn't it - the money?" Mr Braham said.

"If you had any passion whatsoever for a training mine or any training facility at all, then your fingerprints would be all over the proposal that was developed to build the training facility."

Mr Maitland said he was concerned about a shortage of mining skills and wanted young miners to train at the facility.

The former head of the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) was accused of lying to the inquiry for a second consecutive day after he repeatedly dodged questions about a document in which he said the Doyles Creek site had a resource of 91 million tonnes of coal.

In reality, the mine had an estimated 308 million tonnes of coal.

Mr Maitland said the 91-million-tonne figure was how much his group had intended to mine and not how much coal the mine contained.

"You're making it up," Mr Braham said.

"Not at all," Mr Maitland said.

The hearing continues.

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US, S Korea vow no concessions to North

The leaders of the United States (R) and South Korea (L) have vowed no concessions to North Korea. Source: AAP

THE leaders of the United States and South Korea have vowed no concessions to North Korea after months of high tension, saying the burden is on the communist state to end the crisis.

In a choreographed show of unity, US President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye have pledged to bolster defence cooperation and demanded that North Korea change course on its nuclear program before any new talks.

"The days when North Korea could create a crisis and elicit concessions - those days are over," Obama told a White House media conference with Park, who took office in February as northeast Asia's first woman leader.

Obama said that he and Park agreed in talks that "we are not going to reward provocative behaviour" but kept the door open to eventual talks if North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-un decides to embrace "a peaceful path."

"If Pyongyang thought its recent threats would drive a wedge between South Korea and the United States or somehow garner the North international respect, today is further evidence that North Korea has failed again," Obama said.

Tensions have appeared to subside since earlier this year when North Korea carried out its third atomic test and vowed to prepare for nuclear war against the United States, in remarks shrill even by Pyongyang's standards.

A US defence official said that North Korea has shifted two medium-range Musudan missiles away from a launch site, signalling that - at least for the time being - the regime has no imminent plans to test-fire them.

China, the primary supporter of North Korea, took one of its most concrete measures to date with the state-owned Bank of China closing the account of a North Korean bank accused by Washington of supporting the nuclear program.

Park, while not commenting directly on the bank action, credited China and Russia with enforcing sanctions on North Korea imposed by the UN security council.

"Such constructive efforts on the part of China and Russia are vital to sending a unified message to North Korea that their nuclear weapons will not stand," she said.

Park insisted that North Korea would feel consequences for a showdown that suspended work at Kaesong - a joint industrial park once an emblem of inter-Korean cooperation - and repeated her warning that the military would swiftly respond to any North Korean attack.

If North Korea harms citizens of the South, "we will make them pay," she said. "If North Korea engages in provocation, I will fully trust the judgment of our military."

While North Korea dominated the summit, South Korea has avidly sought a bigger global role both in politics and culture - as witnessed by the phenomenal success of superstar Psy.

Obama made a ready reference to Psy, joking that his daughters had taught him the now world-famous "Gangnam Style" moves.

Park on Wednesday will address a joint meeting of US Congress.

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NSW lawyers warn of crash victim welfare

DRIVERS will end up paying more for their greenslips and car accident victims will be forced onto welfare under the NSW government's overhaul of the system, critics say.

Laws to make the Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance scheme "fairer and more affordable" will be introduced to parliament this week.

Finance Minister Greg Pearce says a 'no fault' scheme will give accident victims faster access to benefits, while motorists will pay up to 15 per cent less for their greenslips.

But Opposition Leader John Robertson says motorists in NSW are still going to pay some of the highest premiums in the country.

He's also warned of further hikes, with no-fault schemes in other states having resulted in major deficits.

"I am very worried we are going to see massive blow-outs in premium costs," Mr Robertson said, adding the government couldn't force private insurers to reduce their prices.

He's also concerned that NSW is the only place in the world to implement a no fault scheme privately underwritten by the insurance companies.

Only last year, he said Mr Pearce had increased greenslip premiums by 15 per cent.

"Now he comes out and says we're reducing premiums by 15 per cent ... and bringing them back to where they should have been in the first place.

President of the Law Society of NSW, John Dobson, says the no-fault system is a gimmick and a "front" for cutting off benefits.

"(It) will generate more claims, cost more to administer and pay out less to injured motorists," he said.

Mr Dobson warned injured motorists could be relying on welfare after a few years, with the vast majority of accident victims getting reduced benefits - "drip-fed by insurance companies with no access to significant lump sum payments".

"These benefits will be cut off after a few years, regardless of whether the person is able to return to work.

"If the government wants to deliver political sugar to marginal seats in the form of lower green slip prices, it should not be innocent victims of motor accidents who pay the price."

Greens NSW MP David Shoebridge says the changes sounded appealing but contained some nasty surprises.

"What this means in practice is no consideration of how the injury impacts on your life, drastically reduced benefits for many of the people injured on our roads and no help from your lawyer when negotiating against a well-heeled insurance company," he said.

Under the new scheme only a fraction of those injured on the roads will be fully compensated for their loss, he added.

"Everyone else who falls below the threshold of greater than 10 per cent whole person impairment will get greatly reduced statutory benefits."

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Disabled dying in care: NSW Ombudsman

PEOPLE with disabilities are unnecessarily dying in state funded accommodation services or licensed boarding houses, a report has found.

The NSW Ombudsman says 220 disabled people died while in care in 2010 and 2011.

Some of them were preventable even though the risks "could reasonably have been foreseen", the report by NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour tabled in parliament on Wednesday found.

Those risks included choking, traffic awareness, smoking and obesity, Mr Barbour said.

"Health and disability services do not always recognise the serious health and safety risks faced by people with disabilities in care," he said in a statement.

Other risks included staff not recognising when people had become critically ill and required urgent medical assistance.

Mr Barbour urged carers to address lifestyle-related health risks such as obesity and poor diet and help minimise resistance to health procedures and medical treatment.

"Our reviews point to the need for a strong, continuing commitment to improve the health outcomes of people with disabilities in care, and to reduce preventable deaths," Mr Barbour said.

Out of the 220 people who died, 97 lived in accommodation operated by Ageing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC) while 98 lived in non-government accommodation funded by ADHC.

Twenty-five of them lived in licensed boarding houses.

The average age at death of the people in state funded disability accommodation services was 30 years younger than the general population, Mr Barbour said.

In licensed boarding houses it was 16 years younger than the general population.

Disability Minister Andrew Constance said any preventable death was a tragedy.

He said ADHC had made significant progress since 2011 but conceded work still needed to be done to ensure that vulnerable people lead long and healthy lives.

"I take this report very seriously, and I have asked ADHC to respond to the recommendations in the report within the timeframes recommended by the ombudsman.

"The report reminds us there will always be more to do in ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of people with disability in care," he added.

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Cheap beef on table at Qld cattle talks

SELLING cheap Queensland beef in supermarkets could be the key to getting the cattle industry back on its feet, graziers say.

The idea was raised by graziers with federal and state agriculture ministers at crisis talks in Queensland's northwest on Tuesday.

The industry is suffering due to a state-wide drought and plummeting cattle prices caused largely by a reduction in live cattle exports to Indonesia.

Federal independent MP Bob Katter says one of the ideas put forward at the meeting was to sell Queensland beef in supermarkets at just 10 per cent above cost price.

"Even if we can't sell cattle they still eat grass and there's no grass [due to a state-wide drought]," he told AAP.

"This idea would take a couple of hundred thousand cattle off the market over the next two years."

Mr Katter says an overwhelming number of graziers who attended Tuesday's crisis meeting called for the federal government to reduce interest rates, which he says are crippling farmers.

Even Tuesday's interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank which brought rates down to an all time low, would not be enough help, he said.

"Even after today our interest rates are 10 times higher than our competitors."

Other ideas put forward were for a rates relief package to be implemented and for more meatworks to be built.

Graziers also want the federal government to buy 100,000 cattle - at a cost of about $150 million - and gift them to Indonesia.

Mr Katter says this would repair the relationship between the two countries.

In 2011 the government temporarily banned live exports to Indonesia following claims of animal cruelty.

The number of cattle being exported to Indonesia, which was then Australia's biggest market, significantly dropped after this. The market has never recovered.

"It sounds like a lot of money but if the Indonesian market reopens they'll get that money back in taxation in two or three years," he said.

Live cattle exports were back in the spotlight this week after new footage emerged showing Australian cattle being abused in Egypt.

Australia's livestock industry has voluntarily suspended cattle exports to the country.

Mr Katter says half a million cattle ready for export could die from starvation as graziers can't afford to feed them, while a million kangaroos which would be shot for their meat would also perish.

"There is no supplementary market for them and all the meatworks are full," he said.

"So instead of having some cattle suffer, all of these cattle and kangaroos are going to suffer terribly."

He also says Egyptians will "build up a huge fund of hatred" toward Australians, which will damage the relationship between the two countries and hurt the cattle industry.

Federal Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig says the government is providing funds to farmers to alleviate the stress of unmanageable debt.

"For Queensland, we're providing additional rural financial counsellors, including a dedicated officer for graziers in the gulf," he said.

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NSW govt, oppn clash over party donations

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell says he will ask for an investigation into claims a Liberal MP received $7000 from a property developer.

Labor frontbencher Walt Secord said electoral records show Liberal Tim Owen, the MP for Newcastle, received the amount from Ruth Dossor in November 2010.

Ms Dossor is a director of the residential property developer Evergreen Living Pty Ltd and is described in publicity material as a property developer, Mr Secord said in a statement.

Property developers and directors of tobacco, gambling and alcohol companies are currently banned from making political donations, although a government-dominated committee is reportedly considering recommending that the ban be rescinded.

"Serious questions need to be answered," Mr Secord said.

"Under NSW law, it is illegal to accept donations from property developers."

Earlier in question time. Labor backbencher Sonia Hornery asked Premier Barry O'Farrell what action he would take against Mr Owen for accepting the donation.

Mr O'Farrell said he would ask the electoral commissioner to investigate the alleged irregularity.

However, he called into question large donations from overseas that he said had been received by the ALP.

The NSW Labor Party received $600,000 from non-citizens in just eight weeks, Mr O'Farrell told question time.

"If you can't vote in NSW, why would an overseas individual want to donate to a political party?" he said.

"Why would, in a period of just eight weeks, $600,000 have come from non-Australians to the Labor Party?

A spokesman for opposition leader John Robertson said he was unaware of the donation.

Comment was being sought from the NSW ALP.

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Qld deal moves full NDIS step closer

QUEENSLAND is ready to sign up to federal Labor's national disability care scheme, leaving Western Australia the only state not yet on board.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Queensland Liberal National Premier Campbell Newman will announce details of the long-term funding deal in Brisbane on Wednesday.

But sources have told AAP the state won't follow its peers in having a launch site.

The deal will put pressure on WA to sign up to a funding agreement this year and give Ms Gillard more political ammunition when parliament returns next week to sort out legislation to raise the Medicare universal health levy to pay for the scheme.

Mr Newman says changes made to DisabilityCare Australia, as the former NDIS scheme will be known, mean he can sign up to it.

"Queensland is primed and ready for full rollout of the NDIS," he told the Queensland Media Club on Tuesday.

"It is in itself a pragmatic revolution that services are delivered to people who need them the most."

Ms Gillard's spokesman told AAP the prime minister "looks forward to finalising a historic agreement to deliver better disability services for Queensland".

Queensland has committed $860 million to the scheme over the four years between 2014/15 and 2018/19 and would receive another $200 million from a hike in the Medicare levy to two per cent, from 1.5 per cent.

The latest Newspoll showed 78 per cent voter support for DisabilityCare but there was no boost for the federal government, which trails the coalition 44-56 on two-party terms.

Ms Gillard's standing as preferred prime minister received a small lift, up two points to 37 per cent, but Opposition Leader Tony Abbott maintains a five-point lead.

Treasurer Wayne Swan, who's putting the final touches on next Tuesday's budget, confirmed the government faced a $17 billion shortfall in revenues since the 2012 budget.

He also axed plans to increase the rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A by as much as $300 a year for families with one child and $600 for those with two or more children.

Mr Swan described the decision as "difficult, but responsible".

The increase was meant to be covered by mining tax revenue, which is now estimated at just $800 million in the current year instead of a forecast $2 billion.

The treasurer applauded the Reserve Bank's decision to cut the cash rate to 2.75 per cent, their lowest level on record.

He reassured voters that the cut did not mean the economy was on the wane.

"We have solid growth, we have low unemployment, we have a strong investment pipeline, we have strong public finances, we have contained inflation, and we have low interest rates," he said.

Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey said rates had been cut because the Reserve Bank felt the economy was being mismanaged.

He told a business forum in Sydney the "cupboard is bare" and there would be no room for big spending promises during the election campaign.

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NSW sex assault teacher charged again

A FORMER teacher jailed over his part in a sexual assault scandal dating back 50 years at two private boarding schools for boys in central western NSW has been charged with more offences.

Detectives arrested the 51-year-old at his Dubbo home on Monday and charged him with four offences relating to the sexual assault of children.

He was granted conditional bail to appear at Bathurst Local Court on June 17.

Strike Force Belle continues to investigate a series of alleged sexual assaults at St Stanislaus' College and All Saints College, both in Bathurst, between 1960 and 1993.

At least 10 men have been charged since 2008.

The man arrested on Monday was sentenced in 2011 to a minimum of 12 months after a jury found him guilty of six child sex offences.

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Five women die in limousine fire in US

A LIMOUSINE taking nine women to a night on the town to celebrate a newlywed bride erupted in flames, killing five of the passengers who were trapped inside. Relatives said the bride was among the dead.

The other four escaped with burn and smoke inhalation injuries, authorities said on Sunday.

The driver - 46-year-old Orville Brown - was the only person to escape unhurt.

Brown told investigators he was driving the women on the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge on Saturday night when one of them complained of smoke inside the passenger compartment, San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault said.

Brown said he pulled over, got out, and saw the back of the 1999 Lincoln Town Car fully engulfed in flames, Foucrault said.

By the time firefighters rushed to the scene and put out the fire, authorities found five badly burned bodies huddled near the partition that separates the driver from the passengers.

"My guess would be they were trying to get away from the fire and use that window opening as an escape route," Foucrault said.

He said other motorists helped three women get out of the rear right door, and a fourth woman managed to squeeze through the partition.

The San Mateo Fire Department was investigating the cause of the fire, while the coroner's office was working with the California Highway Patrol to determine whether a crime occurred.

Relatives told the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury News that one of the dead was Neriza Fojas, 31, a registered nurse from Fresno who recently wed and was planning to repeat her marriage vows in the Philippines next month.

Brown's brother told the Chronicle the flames spread before he could help the women escape.

"He tried to get everybody out," Lewis Brown Jr said. "He told me, 'Man, it was so fast.' He said, 'I've never seen anything like it in my life'."

Autopsies of the five women were being conducted, and medical examiners will try to identify them by using dental records, Foucrault said.

The four other women who escaped the fire, Mary G. Guardiano, 42, Jasmine Desguia, 34, Nelia Arrellano, 36, and Amalia Loyola, 48, were being treated at nearby hospitals, the highway patrol said.

Desguia and Loyola were listed in critical condition, said Joy Alexiou, a spokeswoman for Valley Medical Center. The condition of Arrellano, who was taken to another hospital, was not known.

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Coalition to targets union in crackdown

A COALITION government would reinstate the building commission, set up a new body to deal with union corruption and extend individual work agreements, but leave unfair dismissal laws relatively unchanged.

Opposition workplace spokesman Eric Abetz outlined the themes of the opposition's soon-to-be-released industrial relations policy during in a 30-minute address to business executives in Canberra on Monday.

Ahead of an official announcement, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has been careful to distance himself from the controversial Howard-era Work Choices policy.

He flagged instead "careful, cautious, responsible changes" to the Fair Work Act and appeared to rule out tinkering with unfair dismissal laws because business weren't agitating for an overhaul, although the issue remained under review.

Senator Abetz told the Australian Industry Group forum a reinstated Australian Building and Construction Commission would stamp out union thuggery, while a new Registered Organisations Commission would prosecute corrupt union officials.

"When trade union bosses can rip off their members to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars and the maximum penalty is a $10,000 fine, whereas a company director can go to jail for five years and face a fine of $220,000, you know something is seriously out of balance," he said.

But he said employers needed to stand up to union officials seeking money for "slush funds", often sold as safety initiatives or drug and alcohol rehabilitation schemes, and stop offering higher wages to buy industrial peace.

"I always find it interesting when employers knock on my door to complain of the industrial tactics of a trade union, to find that the same employer has made very generous donations to union slush funds," he said.

Senator Abetz said coalition policy would also improve flexibility, while the current "one-size fits all" approach stifled innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.

He said Labor's individual flexibility agreements (IFAs), which have a 28-day termination date, needed to be extended to at least 90 days and made more accessible, particularly for parents seeking to balance work and family.

Senator Abetz also signalled a change to unions workplace access, saying while Labor had promised not to change right of entry provisions, it had actually "dramatically expanded" them.

The Liberal frontbencher cited the case of the Australian Workers Union making more than 330 site visits to BHP's Worsley aluminium site in 2011 and 2012.

"The vast majority of these visits are either a blatant membership fishing expedition or designed to intimidate," he said.

Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten seized on Mr Abbott's comments about unfair dismissal laws, saying the coalition's industrial policy "remains in witness protection".

"Mr Abbott has revealed that whatever business asks for, they shall receive under a Liberal government," he said.

ACTU President Ged Kearney accused Senator Abetz of an "ideological attack" on unions and workers rights.

"When Mr Abetz talks vaguely about improving 'flexibility', he needs to spell out exactly what this means," Ms Kearney said in a statement.

"Australian workers were burned once at the 2004 election when the coalition did not mention Work Choices."

Australian Greens workplace spokesman Adam Bandt said his party would use its numbers to try and stop a reinstated ABCC.

"We are yet to see the coalition's full policy, but Eric Abetz has given us a taste and it doesn't taste good," Mr Bandt said in a statement.

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Man dies in Gold Coast factory

A MAN has collapsed and died after running into a Gold Coast factory covered in blood.

The man ran into a cement factory on Hinde Street, Ashmore, about 3.40pm (AEST) on Monday.

Police and an ambulance were called but the Queensland Ambulance Service says the man was dead by the time paramedics arrived.

Police say they can't release any information yet about the nature of the man's injuries or how they may have been caused.

CIB detectives are at the factory.

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Syrian rebels used sarin gas: UN

SYRIAN rebels have made use of the deadly nerve agent sarin in their war-torn country's conflict, UN human rights investigator Carla del Ponte says.

"According to the testimonies we have gathered, the rebels have used chemical weapons, making use of sarin gas," del Ponte, a former war crimes prosecutor, said in an interview with Swiss radio late on Sunday.

"We still have to deepen our investigation, verify and confirm (the findings) through new witness testimony, but according to what we have established so far, it is at the moment opponents of the regime who are using sarin gas," she added.

She stressed that the UN commission of inquiry on Syria, which she is a part of, had far from finished its investigation.

The commission, which is set to present its latest findings to the UN Human Rights Council during its next session in June, might still find proof that the Syrian regime was also using this type of chemical weapons, del Ponte said.

Sarin is a powerful neurotoxin developed by Nazi scientists in the 1930s.

Originally developed as a pesticide, sarin was used to deadly effect in the 1988 raid on the Kurdish village of Halabja in northern Iraq. A Japanese cult also used sarin in two attacks in the 1990s.

The gas works by being inhaled or absorbed through the skin and kills by crippling the nervous system.

Symptoms include nausea and violent headaches, blurred or tunnel vision, drooling, muscular convulsions, respiratory arrest, loss of consciousness and then death, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

In high doses, sarin paralyses the muscles around the lungs and prevents chemicals from "switching off" the body's secretions, so victims suffocate or drown as their lungs fill with mucus and saliva.

Even a tiny dose of sarin - which, like other nerve gases such as soman, tabun and VX, is odourless, colourless and tasteless - can be deadly if it enters the respiratory system, or if a drop comes into contact with the skin.

The Turkish authorities meanwhile are carrying out blood tests on Syrians who have fled the fighting at home to determine if they have been victims of chemical weapons, a medical source said Monday.

"Samples have been taken from people wounded in Syria who have been transported to Turkey," the source said, adding that the results were not yet known.

Western nations have raised concerns about the use of chemical weapons in the escalating conflict between the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and rebels fighting to oust him.

US President Barack Obama has refused to rule out any options, but has said he did not foresee deploying US troops if Assad's regime is proved to have used chemical weapons.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a one-time Syria ally, on Sunday branded Assad a "butcher" and a "murderer" who would pay a heavy price for the killings in Syria.

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Man charged after Melbourne drug bust

A MAN has been charged and another two have been arrested after drug-making equipment was found in a house in Melbourne's northwest.

Scott Hamilton, 41, of Hillside, was arrested at the home on Saturday morning following a raid by police.

He has been charged with several drug-related offences including possessing equipment for the manufacture of drugs.

He is also charged with possessing pre-cursor chemicals for drug manufacturing.

A 34-year-old Sunshine man and a 37-year-old Hillside woman were arrested later on Saturday at a business in Sunshine North, which has also been searched.

They have been released pending a summons application over drug-related offences.

Hamilton will appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday.

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US soccer referee punched by player dies

AN amateur league soccer referee who was in a coma after being punched by a teenage player during a game in the US has died.

Ricardo Portillo, 46, died in hospital following the assault during a soccer game in the US state of Utah last weekend, police spokesman Justin Hoyal said.

Police have accused a 17-year-old player of punching Portillo after the referee called a foul on him and issued him a yellow card.

"The suspect was close to Portillo and punched him once in the face as a result of the call," Hoyal said in a press release.

The teen has been booked into juvenile detention on suspicion of aggravated assault.

Hoyal said authorities will consider additional charges since Portillo has died.

The victim's family, who spoke publicly of Portillo's plight last week, has asked for privacy as they deal with his loss, Hoyal said.

Last week, Johana Portillo, 26, spoke about her father's condition. She said she wasn't at the April 27 game, but said she's been told by witnesses and detectives the player hit her father in the side of the head after he issued the yellow card.

"When he was writing down his notes, he just came out of nowhere and punched him," she said.

His friends who were there told Johana her father seemed fine at first, but then asked to be held because he felt dizzy.

They sat him down and he started vomiting blood, prompting his friend to call an ambulance.

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Sydney's first NBN connection drops out

Broadband minister Stephen Conroy will flick the switch to connect Blacktown in Sydney to the NBN. Source: AAP

THE first day the national broadband network was turned on in Sydney, the connection dropped out.

At Blacktown's Max Webber Library on Sunday, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy turned the NBN on for Sydney's first 1,300 premises in the area.

But while Melbourne-based children's author Andy Griffiths was reading from one of his books via videolink, the connection failed.

"There was obviously a technical glitch there," Senator Conroy said.

"Technical glitches happen. You'll have to ask Optus, but they were able to restore it."

An NBN Co spokesman said the fault was due to a glitch in the audio-visual software rather than the NBN itself, and the connection was restored in seconds.

Optus, which provides the library's internet, said the loss of connection was not an Optus issue.

Despite the inauspicious start, Senator Conroy said the government's NBN was superior to the coalition's proposal.

"Tony Abbott wants to take Labor's NBN and turn it into the equivalent of building the Sydney Harbour Bridge with just one lane," he said.

Though he admitted rollout targets had been missed, he said construction would begin or be completed for 1.3 million additional premises by June 2016, taking the total to 4.8 million across the country.

But opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull said the NBN would be lucky to meet 15 per cent of its June 30 target.

"It's proceeding at a snail's pace," he told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.

"So far this year it's been passing 5,000 premises a month. On that basis it would take centuries to complete the job."

If elected, the coalition says it would offer all households and businesses minimum download speeds of 25 megabits a second (Mbps) by the end of its first term in 2016.

But Labor's current NBN offers download speeds of up to 100 Mbps and aims to give Australians access to speeds of up to one gigabit per second.

Mr Turnbull said speed wasn't the point.

"(25Mbps) is a quarter of the top speed the government is offering but ... it's not the actual speed that matters, it's what you can do with it," he said.

"The government is fixated on very high speeds, but they can't deliver."

NBN Co forecast that high-speed fibre-optic cable would pass 341,000 premises by June 30, but in March it downgraded that figure to between 190,000 and 220,000.

Mr Turnbull said it was critical to get all Australians' connectivity speeds up to a high level to enable them to do everything they wanted online today, and then upgrade the network over time according to demand.

The coalition's NBN plan is projected to cost $29.5 billion and be completed by 2019, while Labor's plan is expected to cost $44.1 billion and be finished two years later.

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Cancer drug review 'won't affect patients'

Minister Tanya Plibersek will announce a review into chemotherapy pricing and funding for drugs. Source: AAP

CANCER patients will be unaffected by pricing changes to chemotherapy drugs, federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek says.

The government has announced a review of the way chemotherapy medications are funded and a $30 million one-off boost for cancer drugs in the May budget.

The review follows discussions with the Pharmacy Guild of Australia about appropriate subsidies for dispensing chemotherapy, after the key drug Docetaxel came off patent last year, allowing generic substitutes to enter the market.

Some chemotherapy providers had been using the inflated price the government had been paying, to cover the cost of delivering the treatment to patients.

But after a government decision to drop the price late last year, some providers said they wouldn't be able to afford to keep treating cancer patients without additional funding.

Ms Plibersek told reporters on Sunday at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney the cost to patients would remain unchanged.

She said concession patients would only ever pay $5.60 for a dose of chemotherapy medication, while general patients would continue to pay $36.10.

"The cost to patients has never varied and won't vary. This is about how much the government pays pharmacies for the medications they're delivering," she said.

Kathy Smith, of patient advocacy group Cancer Voices, said the previous pricing system was opaque and confusing.

"Consumers didn't know what was being paid, didn't know where the funding was going to come from for new medications, and at times didn't understand why these new medications couldn't be subsidised to help them when they had cancer and knew the drugs were available," she said.

"Hopefully at the end of this we'll have a publicly transparent and accountable system that can reassure cancer consumers that everything that can be done is being done."

into correct pricing is underway, the government has committed to an interim measure from July to December to increase the amount paid to pharmacists from $76.37 to just over $136 to prepare chemotherapy medications.

Some treatments might run to the tens of thousands of dollars, Ms Plibersek said.

"When you're subsidising new medications to that extent, it's important that we pay the right amount for old generic medications."

But opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton said the December end date for the funding boost left patients in limbo.

"Vulnerable patients requiring these services do not need the stress of being caught in the middle of a stoush over funding that continues to drag on," he said in a statement.

CanSpeak chair Ian Roos welcomed the review and praised those pharmacists who protected patients from having their treatment disrupted by absorbing the funding shortfall of up to $1 million a week.

The Cancer Council's CEO Ian Olver said rural chemotherapy providers had been concerned they would have to close if government subsidies for the drugs continued to drop.

"We've got to make sure no patient is disadvantaged. This extra $60 will actually solve that problem while a proper pricing review is carried out," he said.

"It will be business as usual for cancer patients and we think that's a fantastic outcome."

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