Attempted assault in inner Melbourne

A man has tried to sexually assault a woman in the inner Melbourne suburb of Brunswick. Source: AAP

A SEX offender has tried to assault a woman in inner Melbourne, the third such attack in the same suburb in a week.

In the latest incident, a woman was grabbed from behind by an unknown man who tried to sexually assault her in Hope Street, Brunswick, about 8pm Friday (AEST), police say.

A passer-by disturbed the offender and he ran away.

The attack comes after two similar attacks that occurred minutes apart last weekend in Brunswick, the same suburb where Jill Meagher was snatched from the street, and later murdered, in 2012.

But police say it is too early to link the latest attack to the other two, in which a man grabbed each woman from behind and dragged them down side streets.

Police said one woman, 22, had left a hotel and was walking along Sydney Road about 2.20am Saturday when the man grabbed her and dragged her to a side street.

She managed to break free and flagged down a friend who was driving past in a taxi.

The same man then tackled another 22-year-old woman from behind and wrestled her to the ground on nearby Charles Street. She was also able to break free and run away.

The offender told one of the women he was homeless and it was the first time he'd done anything like it, police say.

Both the women fought back when they were attacked.

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Afghan women need Aust help: inquiry

AUSTRALIA has been urged to keep supporting Afghan women's rights so that gains the international community has helped fight for won't be lost.

Despite some minor human rights achievements over the years, Afghan women still face alarming rates of physical, sexual and psychological abuse, a public hearing in Canberra was told on Tuesday.

The backing of the international community has enabled Afghan women to play a more visible role in public life and make education and health gains.

But there was more work to be done, women's rights campaigner Zulaika Rafiq told the hearing.

"If the international community turns its backs on us now, we will be in a precarious situation," she said.

"We could see an erosion of the rights governments like Australia have helped us to fight for."

Ms Rafiq said Australian voices needed to be loud to keep pressure on its incoming new government.

In particular, she was concerned Afghanistan could approve draft laws that activists say will severely limit justice for victims of domestic abuse.

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Qld trio held in jail over extortion ring

THREE men allegedly involved in a bikie drug and extortion racket will remain behind bars for now.

The trio was arrested in dawn raids on the Gold Coast on Monday.

Alleged Hells Angels members Christopher Bloomfield, 23, and Rhys Tracey Mirkin, 30, were remanded in custody at the Southport Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Suspected gang associate Brady Van Rooigen, 25, was also remanded in custody.

Police say they were involved in supplying the drug ice and threatening others with violence to recover debts.

One victim was bashed and others were forced to hand over their cars, according to detectives.

The trio is facing extortion, drugs and association charges while Bloomfield and Van Rooigen are also charged with assault.

Bloomfield was once a promising rugby league player who was included in the Gold Coast Titans' junior squad.

None of the men applied for bail and their cases were adjourned until July 4.

In an unrelated case a 35-year-old suspected bikie associate was extradited to Brisbane from Adelaide on Tuesday.

Police allege the Lone Wolves associate fled the Gold Coast last year after helping hold a 24-year-old man to ransom.

The victim's mother allegedly had to give the gang $1000 to free her son, who had ran up a large drug debt.

The extradited man is due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

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Roads package a sham, says Labor

Labor says the government's road funding package in the Federal Budget is a sham. Source: AAP

LABOR says the government's road funding package is a sham.

Treasurer Joe Hockey's first budget on Tuesday is expected to outline how $42 billion will be spent on roads to create thousands of jobs.

It is a central plank of the Abbott government's bid to stimulate the economy as mining investment eases and reach its one million jobs target.

Labor transport spokesman Anthony Albanese says the new spend by the government is unlikely to come to more than $2 billion.

Mr Albanese says the previous government began work on $35 billion in infrastructure projects across all states and territories.

Among the most expensive were the Pacific Highway upgrades ($7.9 billion), Bruce Highway upgrades ($5.7 billion), Hunter Expressway ($1.5 billion) and Westconnex ($1.8 billion).

Labor had also set aside $4.2 billion for rail projects and studies in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart, which are all expected to face the axe on Tuesday.

And a Labor government tax-loss incentive for infrastructure projects of around $5 billion was expected to leverage $25 billion in new private sector spending.

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Henry Lin spoke online before death: court

A court has heard how the case against accused murderer "Robert" Xie has been driven by a criminal. Source: AAP

IN the hours before schoolboy Henry Lin was brutally murdered in his Sydney home, he was chatting online to a friend about badminton, a court has heard.

The 12-year-old - along with nine-year-old brother Terry, parents Min Lin, 45 and Lily, 44, and aunt Irene, 39 - were killed in their Epping home in Sydney's northwest in July 2009.

The crown says Henry's uncle Lian Bin "Robert" Xie carried out the killings in the early hours of July 18, 2009.

The family's time of death, however, remains in dispute.

On Tuesday, Xie's trial heard from a former schoolgirl who regularly chatted with Henry online about his obsession with badminton and his dreams to one day represent Australia in the sport.

She said that on July 17, just before 6pm, Henry told her he was going to his grandparents' home for the regular family Friday night dinner.

By 6.03pm, his online status noted he was "away".

Then at 10.23pm, the girl said she again chatted with Henry, this time about a badminton game on YouTube before telling him she was going to bed about 11.26pm.

"You said, 'Good night', and he said, 'Bye ... good night'?" crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC asked.

"Yes," the girl replied.

The crown has previously told the court Henry and his brother Terry put up a "furious" struggle when they were beaten with a "hammer-like object" and asphyxiated in the bedroom they shared.

Henry is thought to have survived for up to 30 minutes after the attack, while Terry lived for up to two hours.

While the crown says Xie was "motivated by bitterness" to carry out the killings, the defence say he is innocent and more than one person committed the murders.

Xie's barrister, Graham Turnbull SC, on Tuesday finished his opening address to the Supreme Court jury, in which he attacked the credibility of a key aspect of the crown case - the evidence of prison informer "Witness A".

The crown says that after Xie was charged with the murders in 2010 and taken to Long Bay prison, he befriended the inmate and made a number of "concessions", including that he bought a hammer from a two-dollar store.

Mr Turnbull said Witness A was a practised informer and ruthless criminal who saw Xie as an opportunity to reduce his own jail time.

None of the conversations regarding buying a hammer, the sedation of his wife or his alleged motivation, was recorded.

"At the end of the day, the police case, it will be submitted ... was being run by Witness A. He fills in the gaps."

The trial continues.

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Shorten open to talks on MP standards

OPPOSITION Leader Bill Shorten is willing to talk to the Abbott government about ways to prevent corruption.

Mr Shorten was asked during Monday's federal Labor caucus meeting in Canberra whether he supported a national version of NSW's Independent Commission Against Corruption.

The Labor leader told colleagues he was willing to talk to the government about reforms to improve the performance and standards of MPs.

But he did not elaborate on what form of new checks he supported.

The Australian Greens on Thursday will push for a vote on a bill to put in place a national anti-corruption body.

The National Integrity Commission would have three officers: a national integrity commissioner, a law enforcement integrity commissioner and an independent parliamentary advisor.

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Explosives company chooses US over Aust

EXPLOSIVES and fertiliser maker Incitec Pivot is building its new chemical plant in the US rather than Australia because of stunning cost differences.

The $US850 million ($A919.66 million) ammonia plant in New Orleans would cost closer to $A1.4 billion to build in Australia, chief executive James Fazzino said.

Australia had a great opportunity to become the food bowl for Asia - but it must get its productivity and costs under control, he said.

"The difference is in the US the project has about 35 per cent of the cost being labour, it Australia it would be more like 60 per cent," Mr Fazzino told reporters as the company released half year financial results.

"It is stunning to compare the efficiency and skills you get on site in the US with what you get in Australia."

Another factor in America's appeal for the company is that country's shale gas revolution, which has led to cheap energy and a rebirth of the chemical manufacturing industry - which include many of Incitec Pivot's customers.

"The fact you have got a very supportive environment in terms of gas, it is obviously the place at the moment for us to invest," Mr Fazzino said.

The company's key customers are in mining and agriculture.

Incitec Pivot increased half year net profit by seven per cent to a better than expected $115.7 million, driven by a 10 per cent jump in explosives earnings.

That was achieved on the back of better cashflow at its new $1 billion Moranbah ammonium nitrate plant in central Queensland - supplying the coal industry - along with cost cuts.

Fertiliser earnings edged two per cent higher, due to weaker prices and drought in northern Australia.

Mr Fazzino gave a negative assessment of the current state of the mining industry in Australia.

However he was optimistic about the company's strategy of being leveraged to the urbanisation of China and Asia, plus chemical manufacturing in the US.

"In terms of agriculture there are more mouths being fed every day in Asia in particular," Mr Fazzino said.

"Those mouths want to eat higher protein meat and beef rather than grains and that is a positive thematic for fertilisers and agriculture as it takes around three times more intensity to supply protein."

The company's Moranbah plant would ramp up to a full production in 2015, more than doubling earnings and cash in the Asia Pacific explosives business, he said.

Incitec Pivot shares gained three cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $2.85.

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NZ shares rise on economic momentum

NEW Zealand shares have edged ahead on expectations forecasts in Thursday's budget will add to confidence about the pace of economic growth.

The NZX 50 Index rose 9.754 points, or about 0.2 per cent, to 5162.423 on Monday.

Within the index, 19 stocks rose, 17 fell and 14 were unchanged. Turnover was $125 million.

Air New Zealand led the market higher, gaining 3.3 per cent to a six-and-a-half-year high of $2.20.

Last November the government sold down 20 per cent, reducing its stake in the national carrier to about 54 per cent and boosting liquidity in the stock. Since then the shares have climbed about 40 per cent, buoyed by strong earnings and its dominance in the domestic market.

"Since the government sold down some time ago the share price has continued to rise to levels not seen for a very long time," said Grant Williamson, director at Hamilton Hindin Greene.

"It's quite a good story for investors, and given most airlines around the world are underperforming I think it's a fair credit to Air New Zealand and does indicate the almost-monopoly they do have in the New Zealand domestic market."

Telecom rose 0.6 per cent to $2.64 and was the most-traded stock, with 12.8 million shares changing hands.

New Zealand's largest telecommunications provider is favoured by investors looking for exposure to New Zealand and for its 6.3 per cent dividend yield, Mr Williamson said.

"What has created buying in our market for quite some time now is our economic outlook," said Mr Williamson, who expected Thursday's budget to confirm further growth in the economy.

Infratil advanced 1.1 per cent to $2.29 ahead of reporting its earnings on Tuesday.

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NZ dollar gains against euro

THE New Zealand dollar has gained against the euro after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi signalled more monetary easing in the euro region.

The New Zealand dollar traded at 62.66 euro cents at 5pm in Wellington, little changed from the morning and up from 62.40 cents on Friday.

The kiwi was at 86.24 US cents from 86.16 cents at 8am in Wellington and from 86.10 cents at the New York close on Friday.

Dr Draghi said last week that Europe's recovery is "at a slow pace and it still remains fairly modest" after keeping the ECB's benchmark interest rate at a record low of 0.25 per cent.

Figures on Thursday are expected to show the euro area economy grew 0.4 per cent in the first quarter, picking up pace from a 0.2 per cent rate three months earlier.

"The euro is clearly in focus after the ECB head warned that growth is a concern," said Alex Hill, head of dealing at HiFX.

Traders will be watching New Zealand first-quarter retail sales, scheduled for Wednesday and expected to show growth slowed to 0.5 per cent from 1.2 per cent, while US retail sales probably slowed to 0.4 per cent in April from 1.1 per cent in the previous month.

Also on Wednesday, Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler is scheduled to speak after the release of the latest financial stability report and later to parliament's finance committee and traders will be listening for any insight into the pace of interest rate increases, Mr Hill said.

The New Zealand dollar traded at 92.07 Australian cents from 91.96 Australian cents at the start of the day and from 92.25 cents on Friday.

The kiwi dollar rose to 87.95 yen from 87.77 yen at the start of the day and from 87.82 yen on Friday.

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Qld police name pair in abduction case

POLICE have publicly named two people they want to question in relation to the abduction of a two-year-old girl from her father's house southwest of Brisbane.

Bella Rose Goulding was taken from a house at Willowbank, near Ipswich, on Saturday night and police say her abductors are known to the family.

Queensland police believe Lisa Maree Carroll, 21, and Michael Kenneth Winning, 42, may be able to assist their investigation but have not said how they are related to Bella.

Acting Inspector Alison Jewell said three men and a woman abducted the toddler from the home, where she was temporarily staying.

"We believe that Bella is in the company of people who are known to the family," Inspector Jewell told reporters outside Yamanto police station.

"However, we still hold concerns for her safety."

The 8pm abduction occurred on Sancroft Street, which is near a park and the Cunningham Highway.

The girl's father Steven declined to speak publicly on Sunday.

Witnesses saw the abductors in a white Holden Commodore and a silver Mitsubishi sedan.

Bella is described as Caucasian with blue eyes and blonde, curly hair. She was last seen wearing a Dora The Explorer t-shirt and grey leggings.

Insp Jewell said there weren't any specific child safety issues but declined to say if her mother was among the people who abducted the girl or with whom she lived permanently.

"We are consistently getting information from the public and we're following all those leads," she said.

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Pollie pay freeze a stunt: seniors

A pay freeze for federal politicians is a stunt say seniors, who face increased healthcare costs. Source: AAP

A PAY freeze for federal politicians is a stunt say seniors, who face increased healthcare costs and pension changes in the federal budget.

Treasurer Joe Hockey on Sunday confirmed the government would seek to freeze the salaries of federal politicians and senior public servants for a year in the budget.

The measure could cost the prime minister, who earns an annual salary of $500,000, an estimated $10,000, while the average backbencher would miss out on an estimated $3900.

"We've got to send a very clear message to the electorate that whatever we are asking the electorate to contribute to the budget repair task, we are going to contribute ourselves as well," Mr Hockey told the Nine Network on Sunday.

But the measure was rejected as a stunt by National Seniors Australia, who said it showed politicians were increasingly out of touch with those struggling on a fixed income.

Seniors are facing the introduction of a GP co-payment and higher costs for subsidised medicines in the budget, as well as possible changes to the indexation of pensions.

"They'll (seniors) be quite cynical about it - I think they can see through stunts of this kind," National Seniors chief Michael O'Neill told AAP.

"I don't think this measure will increase in any way politicians awareness of the struggles that people face."

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said he was "up for a politicians pay freeze".

But shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said the move wouldn't appease voter anger over what is shaping as a tough budget.

"If he thinks that freezing his salary is going to make Australians feel better about pension cuts, tax rises and other changes, I think he's kidding himself," he told ABC TV.

Liberal frontbencher Scott Morrison said the move would have the support of Mr Abbott's coalition colleagues.

The prime minister has written to the Independent Remuneration Tribunal seeking the pay freeze.

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Hospitals to suffer under GP co-payment

HOSPITAL emergency wards would be inundated with extra patients under a GP co-payment system being considered by the Abbott government.

A survey, conducted just days ahead of the Tuesday's budget, has found that most Australians oppose paying any co-payment to visit a GP.

The survey of 1000 people, commissioned by the Consumers Health Forum, found 72 per cent thought a $6 co-payment would send more people to hospital emergency wards.

Sixty-nine per cent said a $6 co-payment would also discourage people from visiting their GP.

Consumers Health Forum chief executive Adam Stankevicius said another survey of almost 600 consumers found co-payments would hit the chronically ill and those on low incomes the hardest.

"If people have to pay to see a doctor, a lot of things are going to change," he said in a statement.

"If they are paying $6, then many people who are used to seeing a GP at no cost are going to put off a visit. Any introduction of a co-payment will be a clear barrier to primary health care."

There has been speculation ahead of the budget that the coalition government will introduce a co-payment for GP visits of $7.50.

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