Syria's Assad must go, Kerry insists

US Secretary of State John Kerry insists Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will have to step down as part of any political solution in Syria, as he held a third day of talks on the bloody conflict.

Speaking as he met Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Kerry said all sides were working to "effect a transition government by mutual consent of both sides, which clearly means that in our judgment President Assad will not be a component of that transitional government".

Kerry also officially unveiled $US100 million ($A99.10 million) in additional US humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees, almost half of which will go to help Jordan struggling to cope with a tide of people fleeing the 26-month war.

Some 2,000 people are flooding across the border into Jordan every day, and the country now hosts some 525,000 refugees, Judeh said at the start of the talks in Rome.

"We have 10 per cent of our population today, in the form of Syrian refugees. It is expected to rise to about 20 to 25 per cent given the current rates by the end of this year, and possibly to about 40 per cent by the middle of 2014," he said.

"No country can cope with the numbers as huge as the numbers I've just described," he warned, adding Jordan was very grateful for the help of the international community.

Plans for an international conference to try to find a solution to the crisis were also continuing, Kerry said, after he agreed in talks in Moscow that he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would work in tandem on the issue.

He had spoken with most of the foreign ministers from the countries involved and there is a "very positive response and a very strong desire to move to this conference and to try to find, at least exhaust the possibilities of finding, a political way forward".

UN chief Ban Ki-moon had also been in touch, so "we are going to forge ahead very, very directly to work with all of the parties to bring that conference together", Kerry added.

It's hoped the conference, aimed at finding a path towards a transitional government in Syria, could be held by the end of May, possibly in Geneva.

US ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, has meanwhile also met with the Syrian opposition in Istanbul on Wednesday to discuss the way forward, Kerry said.

Since the war erupted to oust Assad, more than 1.5 million Syrians have fled the country into neighbouring nations, including Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, vastly straining their resources.

Up to four million more could be displaced within the country as they seek to flee the fierce fighting, which has already claimed some 70,000 lives.

Meanwhile, Syria will "give Hezbollah everything" in recognition of its support and will follow the militant group's model of "resistance" against Israel, a Lebanese newspaper on Thursday quoted President Bashar al-Assad as saying.

His comments, published by Al-Akhbar, reportedly came during meetings with Lebanese visitors in Damascus and appeared intended to refute any suggestion that Israeli raids on Syrian targets would halt assistance to the Shi'ite group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The newspaper said visitors quoted Assad as expressing "confidence, satisfaction and great gratitude towards Hezbollah".

The organisation is a long-time ally of the Syrian regime and has sent fighters to battle alongside Assad's troops, particularly in the Qusayr district of the central province of Homs.

Also on Thursday, anti-regime activists say Syrian warplanes are pounding rebel positions in two northern provinces.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the air force is targeting opposition forces in the battle for the Mannagh air base outside of northern city of Aleppo.

Rebels stormed the base near the border with Turkey on Sunday. They captured parts of it but could not hold on, because of the regime's superior air power.

In neighbouring Idlib province, there are heavy clashes outside several army bases near the government-controlled provincial capital.

Government troops and fighter planes are hitting the rebels, the Observatory said.

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Alleged US kidnapper to appear in court

Two of the three Ohio kidnapping victims have been reunited with their families. Source: AAP

THE former US school bus driver charged with holding three young women in captivity and raping them in a decade-long horror is due to appear in an Ohio court on Thursday, three days after their dramatic rescue.

One of the captives gave birth to a daughter during the years they spent confined in the modest home of Ariel Castro, 52.

They were unable to escape until Monday, when Amanda Berry - the mother of the six-year-old girl - managed to scream for help from a neighbour and kicked through front door screen, then used a neighbour's phone to call emergency services.

Berry, 27, and 23-year-old Gina DeJesus were joyously reunited with their families on Wednesday, while Michelle Knight, 32 continues to receive medical treatment.

Police interrogated their alleged captor and searched another house on the same Cleveland street.

Castro is accused of raping all three, city prosecutor Victor Perez said.

He also faces four counts of kidnapping, related to the three women and Berry's daughter Jocelyn, who was born in captivity.

Castro is due in court Thursday for arraignment.

His two brothers are also scheduled to make a court appearance, but on misdemeanour charges unrelated to the kidnappings and rapes, authorities said.

The women are believed to have only been allowed to leave the home briefly on two occasions, both times to go into the house's garage "in disguise", Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba told reporters.

"They don't believe they've been outside of the home for the last 10 years," he said.

"They were not in one room, but they did know each other and they did know each other was there."

He confirmed that FBI investigators in protective suits had searched another house on the same street, without providing further details.

Tomba said that a paternity test on Ariel Castro was being done to establish who fathered Berry's child.

The police chief refused to comment on reports that Castro had impregnated Knight at least five times and would punch her in the stomach until she miscarried.

Police Chief Michael McGrath earlier told NBC he was "absolutely" sure police did everything they could to find the women over the years.

He disputed claims by neighbours that officers had been called to the house before for suspicious circumstances.

Castro, a former school bus driver whose family hails from Puerto Rico, has been described as a friendly neighbour who raised few suspicions but who also kept to himself, rarely if ever allowing anyone inside his home.

"Ariel kept everybody at a distance," Tomba said. "He ran the show."

Castro was accused in a 2005 family court filing of beating his ex-wife Grimilda Figueroa, who passed away last year, and of "frequently" abducting their two daughters, but he was never charged.

Castro's two brothers - Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50 - were also detained on Monday because they were with Ariel when he was arrested, but will not be charged in connection with the kidnapping.

Tomba refused to discuss specifics of the evidence discovered in the home, but earlier, city police chief Michael McGrath had said the women were "bound and there were chains and ropes in the hall".

Berry arrived on Wednesday at her sister's home in an SUV escorted by police motorcycles and FBI agents.

The porch was bedecked with balloons and messages of support. Well-wishers - and a media scrum - were waiting.

The crowd broke into applause when her sister Beth Serrano came out and made a brief statement thanking residents and asking for privacy.

Later, DeJesus was escorted into her family home by relatives, sheltering under a yellow hooded top but managing to give a weak wave to supporters, who were chanting "Gina, Gina, Gina."

"She's ecstatic to be home, she's happy. Her face, her smile, the hugging says it all," her mother Nancy Ruiz told reporters.

"It's like a dream," Ruiz added. "My first reaction as I saw my daughter, the only thing I did was grab her and hug her. I didn't want to let go."

In newly-released police audio tapes, an emergency dispatcher notifies officers on Monday that she's just spoken to a woman who "says her name is Amanda Berry and that she had been kidnapped 10 years ago".

An officer on the recorded call says, "This might be for real."

After police arrive at the house, women can be heard crying in the background. Then an officer tells the dispatcher: "We found 'em. We found 'em."

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Rio shareholders want bigger dividend

Rio Tinto has copped a serve from its shareholders for what they see as miserly dividend payout. Source: AAP

RIO Tinto has copped a serve from its shareholders for what they see as miserly dividend payouts from the mining giant.

Richard Giles from the Australian Shareholders Association told Rio Tinto's annual general meeting in Sydney that his members thought the miner should be paying much higher dividends.

"We believe that you should be moving to a more traditional dividend policy whereby you pay out 60, 70 or 80 per cent of the profits you earn every year as opposed to your so-called progressive policy which over the last five years had paid out only 20 per cent of profits as dividends," he said.

"I think it's pretty clear from the media that this is what shareholders want."

But chairman Jan Du Plessis said the company had recently reassessed its dividend policy and decided to stay with the one it had had for a number of years.

"We believe that's right and its also the policy of all the major mining companies," he said.

Mr Giles also said Rio Tinto had built up billions in franking credits and could use them to pay its Australian shareholders.

"Because your Australian operations are so successful relative to the rest of the world, there's a huge built-up surplus of franking credits," he said.

"And I believe that a higher dividend policy would contain that but in addition given the size of the surplus I think the company has an obligation to do something about it for Australian shareholders."

But Mr Du Plessis said if the company used its franking credits to pay shareholders, it would not have enough money to reinvest in the company.

He also said the payout would have to be to all shareholders.

"I guess if we sold all our assets and gave it to shareholders we could do that," he said.

"Shareholders need to understood that it is what it is. It doesn't belong to shareholders."

Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh said the company was continuing to work on divesting non-core assets as it strives to save $US5 billion ($A4.94 billion) over the next two years.

He said they were currently reviewing a number of non core assets, in addition to those already targeted for divestment such as Pacific Aluminium and Diamonds.

However, he was quick to point out that the main parts of the business would not be touched.

"It is not a fire sale," he said.

Mr Walsh also said that state and federal governments needed to ensure they had business-friendly policies to maintain Australia's competitive position.

He said the recent decision of the NSW Land and Environmental Court to overturn the approval of its Mount Thorley Warkworth Mine extension was an example of where an Australian business had potentially been compromised.

At 1425 Rio Tinto shares were down 64 cents, or 1.09 per cent, to $58.26.

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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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Stolen Generation art returns to Perth

Artwork by members of the Stolen Generation will be returned to a WA university from New York. Source: AAP

ABORIGINAL artworks created by members of the Stolen Generation are returning home from a New York university which has possessed the historic Australian art for almost 50 years.

Colgate University will transfer to Western Australia's Curtin University 119 indigenous artworks, including drawings and paintings created by Noongar children between 1945 and 1951 at the Carrolup Native School and Settlement in the state's Great Southern region.

The artwork attracted international news coverage in 2005 when it was exhibited in Colgate's Picker Art Gallery.

A painting by Reynold Hart called Hunting was presented to Curtin at a ceremony in Perth on Wednesday to symbolise the future transfer of the full collection.

The art pieces were given to Colgate in 1966 by alumnus Herbert Mayer, a famous New York collector.

He purchased the works from Florence Rutter, a major benefactor to the Carrolup School.

The artwork features native landscape, bush scenes, animals, hunting and traditional Noongar cultural activities.

The collection has been, and will remain, part of a joint study between Curtin and Colgate.

Over the past eight years, many Colgate students have travelled to WA to visit the Mungart Boodja Art Centre and the John Curtin Gallery to learn about Noongar art and culture.

Colgate professor Ellen Percy Kraly initiated the artwork transfer more than a year ago and said the relocation of the art would allow its conservation and exhibition for future generations of Noongar people.

"The work has so much meaning in country that it deserves to be within the hearts, souls, and eyes of the people," she said.

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Gillard defends lost tax cuts

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has scored a victory in bringing Queensland into Labor's scheme to care for the disabled, but copped a new attack over scrapped tax cuts.

Ms Gillard and Liberal National Premier Campbell Newman signed a $4.2 billion deal to deliver the DisabilityCare Australia scheme to almost 100,000 Queenslanders, leaving Western Australia and the Northern Territory the only jurisdictions outside the system.

Mr Newman was effusive in his praise for Ms Gillard, who will next week introduce laws in parliament to raise the Medicare levy to help pay for the scheme.

"I want to thank the prime minister for making the decision on the levy," Mr Newman told reporters in Brisbane on Wednesday, adding it had been a "big decision".

Ms Gillard said there was now "momentum" for WA and the NT to sign up to the scheme, although WA indicated it wouldn't discuss an agreement until after the federal election, which Labor could lose.

However, the Queensland deal was overshadowed after Labor confirmed it planned to "defer" $1.4 billion in tax cuts due in 2015 in next week's budget.

The tax break was part of the household compensation package to offset price increases flowing from Labor's carbon pricing regime.

But after the recent slump in the international carbon price, the government says the impact on hip pockets two years from now will be much less than expected.

"Because it's less, there is no need for that new stream of assistance," Ms Gillard said.

However, if the carbon price rose, the government could revisit the tax cuts.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said Labor couldn't be trusted after it confirmed earlier this week it would dump a $1.8 billion promise to increase a family tax benefit, which was also announced in last year's budget.

"The essential point that the Australian people are coming to understand is this - if you couldn't trust last year's budget, why should you trust this year's budget?" he told reporters in Sydney.

Mr Abbott also said the plan to link Australia's carbon price to the European market-based emissions trading scheme in 2015 made domestic economic policy hostage to Europe.

But Ms Gillard said families had already benefited significantly from Labor policies.

"We are very mindful that for many Australian families it isn't easy to make ends meet," she added.

Labor has delivered $2500 in assistance and tax cuts to families earning $130,000 a year, and recent drops in interest rates meant a saving of $5500 a year on the average mortgage.

Economist Saul Eslake said the decision to dump the 2015 tax cuts made sense, because government revenues would be lower than expected and the money would not be available to pay for the cuts.

"Although it's unpleasant, I think that's the right, proper thing to do," he told ABC Radio.

Mr Abbott defended his plans after the Parliamentary Budget Office estimated his paid parental leave scheme could cost $2 billion a year more than the $3.3 billion expected.

"We'll have much more to say between now and polling day," he said of the scheme's cost.

Mr Abbott proposes to tax big companies 1.5 per cent to pay for the plan.

Shadow assistant treasurer Mathias Cormann told ABC television the company levy would be offset "in part" by a modest company tax cut.

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Bangladesh building death toll passes 750

The death toll from the collapsed Bangladesh factory has passed 750 after more bodies were found. Source: AAP

THE death toll from the collapse of a garment factory complex in Bangladesh has passed 750 after a dozen more bodies were found in the rubble, a fortnight after the disaster.

Army spokesman Lieutenant Mir Rabbi on Wednesday told AFP the "toll now stands at 752" but a general overseeing the operation warned it was likely to rise further.

More than 3000 garment workers were on shift at the Rana Plaza complex at the time of the collapse on the morning of April 24, making clothing for Western retailers such as Britain's Primark and the Spanish label Mango.

Officials overseeing the disaster operation have said a total of 2437 people have been rescued from the ruins of the building which housed a total of five garment factories in the town of Savar, a suburb of the capital Dhaka.

Brigadier General Siddiqul Alam Sikder told AFP the cranes and bulldozers were clearing debris on the third floor and the stench of bodies trapped in the lower floors and under the beams suggest the toll would rise.

"We're expecting to find some bodies because we still haven't reached the bottom. We've finished around 70 per cent of the job," he said.

Fearful that Western brands may turn their backs on Bangladesh, the government has announced a high-level panel to inspect thousands of garment factories for building flaws.

The April 24 collapse was the latest in a string of deadly accidents, including a factory fire last November that killed 111 garment workers.

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Gillard to visit PNG

Julia Gillard will meet with her PNG counterpart Peter O'Neill (L) during her visit to Port Moresby. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard is expected to touch down in Papua New Guinea on Thursday afternoon, marking her first official trip to the Pacific Island nation.

In a visit lasting just under 48 hours, Ms Gillard is expected to meet with her PNG counterpart Peter O'Neill, his cabinet, and the opposition leader Belden Namah.

Ms Gillard and Mr O'Neill are expected to canvass a raft of issues during the visit.

Trade and enhanced defence cooperation will be the topics for the meetings, with PNG expected to raise concerns about visa processing for Papua New Guineans travelling to Australia.

PNG is also expected to seek Australia's help in boosting relations with Asia, as well as seeking Australia's help to host APEC in 2018.

"We are requesting (Australia) to assist us in using their experience when they hosted the meeting in Sydney, Mr O'Neill recently told Radio Australia.

"They would see what sort of issues they had to deal with when they hosted the event, so yes we are communicating with the Australian prime minister on that."

There is about $7 billion in annual trade between the two nations, while Australia also spends roughly $500 million a year in official aid to PNG.

The controversial Australian-run asylum seeker detention centre on Manus Island may also be discussed, with its legality currently before PNG's courts.

Ms Gillard is among a number of recent high-profile international visitors to PNG, which this time last year was crawling out of a political crisis sparked by the surprise elevation of Mr O'Neill to the prime ministership in mid-2011.

The mid-2012 election put the lid on the political turmoil and gave Mr O'Neill a massive parliamentary majority.

Since the polls, PNG has played host to Prince Charles, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Fijian dictator Frank Bainimarama, as well as a raft of Australian ministerial visits.

On Friday, Ms Gillard is expected to tour a Port Moresby market and a local primary school, and visit part of the $19 billion Exxon Mobil-led Liquefied Natural Gas project.

She will meet with business leaders while in Port Moresby, and attend a state dinner in the nation's parliament.

On Saturday she will visit Bomana War Cemetery before departing for Australia.

The last serving Australian prime minister to visit PNG was Kevin Rudd, who included Australia's closest neighbour amongst his first overseas trips after being elected in 2007.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman is expected to visit Port Moresby next week.

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Mirren horrified after outburst filmed

HELEN Mirren feels mortified for losing her temper at a group of street performers in London after realising onlookers were filming her outburst on their camera phones.

The actress stormed out of the Gielgud Theatre during the interval of The Audience on Saturday to berate a group of 25 drummers for playing outside the venue and interrupting her play, in which she plays Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

But the 67-year-old star told British newspaper The Sun she got so carried away with her furious rant, she hadn't noticed she was being filmed.

"I walked off stage in full costume and make-up, straight out the stage door and just said, 'You're f***ing up our performance. Please stop, please stop.'

"I've never done anything like that before but I'd do it every night if there were people drumming outside the theatre," she told the paper.

"I went and did my number, and then I looked around and all these people were recording it on their phones. I thought, 'Oh my God, what have I done?'"

Dame Helen has since made amends with organisers of the group, who were promoting the As One In The Park gay pride festival, by wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the organisation's name.

"I'd love them to see the play and understand why I was so upset," she says.

"I felt terrible - they are fellow performers."

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Australia among best places to be a mum

AUSTRALIA is the tenth best country in the world to be a mother, according to a new global survey by Save the Children.

Ahead of Mother's Day on Sunday, the charity listed the best and worst places to be a mother on the planet, based on an assessment of well-being using indicators including maternal health, under-five-years mortality, levels of women's education, income, and political status.

Nordic nations sweep the top spots while countries in sub-Saharan Africa take up each of the bottom ten places in the annual index.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the world's toughest place to be a mother - and Finland the best.

Australia ranks tenth, New Zealand 17th - down from fourth last year - the UK 23rd and the United States 30th, behind the likes of Belarus and Israel.

Justin Forsyth, chief executive of Save the Children, said two major global challenges faced mothers - newborn health and malnutrition.

"We can end child and maternal mortality in our generation by using tried and tested interventions to stop mothers and babies being lost from what should be simple preventable causes," Mr Forsyth said.

According to the statistics, women in the UK are at a higher risk of dying during pregnancy or childbirth than women in Slovakia, Montenegro and Lithuania.

And a newborn in Somalia, the most risky country to be born, is 40 times more likely to die on its first day than a child born in Luxembourg, the safest place to come into the world.

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Vic govt to rein in spending for surpluses

Victoria is expecting a budget surplus of $224.5m in 2013/14, growing to about $2.55bn in 2016/17. Source: AAP

VICTORIA'S forecast of growing budget surpluses over the next four financial years will be based upon a tight rein on spending.

The Napthine government says the budget surpluses will enable it to fund major infrastructure projects such as the East West road link in Melbourne without blowing out the state's debt.

The Napthine government expects a budget surplus of $224.5 million in 2013/14, growing to about $2.55 billion in 2016/17.

In its budget papers released on Tuesday, the government said expenditure growth over the next four financial years would average 2.7 per cent each year compared to forecast revenue growth averaging 4.1 per cent each year.

The government expects to keep growth in employee expenses, which will account for 41 per cent of annual government expenses in 2013/14, at 2.4 per cent in 2013/14 and at an average of 3.0 per cent over the following three years.

Among the initiatives to save money, the state government will redirect the first home owner grant to new homes only and cap gas and electricity concessions.

The government will spend $6.1 billion on infrastructure in 2013/14 and average $4.7 billion on infrastructure spending over the next three years.

Infrastructure investment is expected to be fully funded from the surpluses by 2015/16.

Delivering his first budget, Victorian Treasurer Michael O'Brien says the budget is building for growth amid difficult economic conditions around the nation.

He says state governments and the federal government are bleeding red ink, piling up massive deficits and letting spending get out of control.

"That is not the story of the Victorian budget," Mr O'Brien said.

"4.1 per cent average revenue growth, 2.7 per cent average expenditure growth - that's how you manage your budget."

Mr O'Brien said the budget was based upon a growing economy, falling unemployment, growing surpluses and major new infrastructure for Victoria.

Growth in state revenues was not expected to return to levels seen before the global financial crisis, so growth estimates over the next four years were conservative.

State taxation revenue was expected to grow by 5.3 per cent in 2013/14, driven by growth in payroll tax generated by higher employment, and more land transfer duty generated by an improvement in the Victorian property market.

Mr O'Brien said state revenues had been affected by lower GST (goods and services tax) from the federal government, and GST revenue was projected to grow by 2.5 per cent in 2013/14.

But it was projected to increase by an average of 6.5 per cent per year over the following three years.

Victoria's net debt is forecast to be at 6.4 per cent of gross state product in 2013/14, falling to 5.4 per cent by 2016/17.

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Lies and phone tapes at the ICAC

Former union boss John Maitland had a bad start to his day before the ICAC after being caught lying. Source: AAP

FORMER union boss John Maitland had a shaky first day at a NSW corruption inquiry being grilled about his allegedly close ties with a former mining minister and being caught lying about what he'd told another associate.

The former head of the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) admitted he'd been caught out when a secret phone recording was played at Tuesday's hearing of the Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry (ICAC).

In it, he is heard talking to his friend Archibald Tudehope about a private examination by ICAC.

Before the tape was played, the one-time mining union heavyweight was asked repeatedly whether he had ever lied to the inquiry and if he understood he must not discuss private evidence with others.

He said each time he had always been truthful.

"You were telling him in some detail what had been raised with you by me in that examination," ICAC lawyer Peter Braham said.

"It certainly appears so," Mr Maitland said.

"And you've lied about that fact this morning, haven't you?" Mr Braham asked.

Mr Maitland replied: "It appears so."

ICAC is probing a coal exploration licence at Doyles Creek in the Hunter Valley granted by then NSW mining minister Ian Macdonald to Mr Maitland and his associates in December 2008 without a competitive tender.

That licence allegedly turned Mr Maitland's $165,000 investment into about $15 million when it was sold.

Mr Maitland's rough start in the witness box came after he'd spent more than an hour denying that he had been close friends with the disgraced minister.

He said Labor MPs Luke Foley, Doug Cameron and former NSW Premier Nathan Rees were all wrong to suggest to the inquiry he and Mr Macdonald had shared a close friendship since the 1990s.

"We had a good working relationship," Mr Maitland said.

But when the subject of his retirement dinner, which Mr Macdonald was supposed to host, was raised at the hearing, Mr Maitland said the then minister never showed up.

"If he was me mate, he would have showed up," he said.

In the last few minutes of the day's hearing, Mr Maitland admitted Mr Macdonald had supported his idea of a training mine before any details of the proposal was provided.

"His support was of the idea," he said.

The proposed training mine was used for commercial proposes and made the investors millions.

The hearing also heard about a meal the pair had at Sydney's high-end Prime restaurant in which Mr Maitland admitted lobbying the minister for the licence but once again denied using his friendship with the minister.

The hearing, before Commissioner David Ipp, continues.

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MRRT should be scrapped: coalition

New calculations on the mining tax say it will raise $5 billion less than the government predicted. Source: AAP

A COALITION-LED parliamentary committee recommends the mining tax be scrapped and blames Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan for the poor design of the impost.

But a dissenting report from Labor senators says the inquiry into the first six months' operation of the minerals resource rent tax (MRRT) was done in haste and the final report read like a submission from the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA).

The Senate Economics References Committee released on Monday its report on the development and operation of the MRRT, with four coalition members out of nine slamming the government for the tax.

"The overwhelming evidence received by this inquiry confirms that the prime minister and the treasurer have only got themselves to blame for the mining tax fiasco in general and the massive budget black hole from the MRRT in particular," committee chair and Liberal senator David Bushby said.

Senator Bushby said the committee's considered view was Labor knew it had overestimated revenue from the tax and underestimated the impact of concessions during negotiations with big miners BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata in 2010.

The design of the MRRT was mainly to blame for the huge revenue shortfall against the estimates of Treasury, he added.

The Parliamentary Budget Office on Monday projected the MRRT would raise $800 million in 2012/13 - less than half the $2 billion forecast by Treasury and after the impost produced just $126 million in its first six months.

"The committee remains strongly of the view that the MRRT is beyond repair and should be scrapped," Senator Bushby said.

Deputy chair Mark Bishop said the majority report was an intensely political document and it did not reflect the facts presented to the committee.

"The majority report was designed in haste, drafted in isolation, inconsistent with the evidence, flawed in approach and unhelpful to any serious players in the mining industry," the West Australian Liberal senator said.

NSW Labor senator Doug Cameron said the coalition senators had accepted with little scrutiny the submissions of the Minerals Council and mining companies.

The Australian Greens in their dissenting report called for the government to raise the tax rate to 40 per cent, from 30 per cent, plug loopholes and expand it to all minerals, rather than just iron ore and coal.

If that was done, the PBO estimates the tax would raise $26.2 billion between 2013/14 and 2016/17.

The softer forecast puts another dent in Mr Swan's revenues, which are already under pressure from the high Australian dollar and lower company tax takings, ahead of the May 14 budget.

"The treasurer will update all forecasts on budget night in the usual way," Mr Swan's spokeswoman told AAP.

Minerals Council of Australia chief Mitch Hooke wasn't surprised by the PBO estimates because of the impact of the high dollar and lower commodity prices.

"As for the Greens' position, well I'm getting a bit jack of this," he told ABC radio.

"You can't get tax out of profits if the profits aren't there."

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Labor support below 30%: poll

LABOR support has slumped to under 30 per cent with the coalition holding an election-wining lead, a new poll says.

The Seven News/ReachTEL poll of 2,856 voters on May 3 found Labor primary support at 29.3 per cent, down two per cent from the most recent ReachTEL poll on April 12.

Coalition support was 45.2 per cent, down almost one per cent.

Nationals support was also down slightly to 3.3 per cent while Greens support was steady at 10.2 per cent. The Katter Australian Party attracted 3.2 per cent, up 0.4 per cent.

On a two-part preferred basis, the coalition remains in an election winning 58-42 lead.

The poll shows dwindling support for Julia Gillard as preferred PM - 40.6 per cent, down from 43.5 per cent - and improving support for Tony Abbott - 59.4 per cent, up from 56.5 per cent.

The results are broadly in line with the most recent Newspoll which places Labor primary support at 32 per cent and the coalition 46 per cent.

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Tabcorp, Tatts say pokies levy too much

Tatts Group says the Victorian government is charging them on poker machines they no longer operate. Source: AAP

GAMBLING firms Tatts Group and Tabcorp say the Victorian government is charging them an exorbitant levy on poker machines that they no longer operate.

Tatts said on Monday that it had received a letter from the Victorian Treasurer advising it that it must pay a health benefit levy of $42.6 million in respect of gaming operations conducted by Tatts in Victoria over the 2012/13 financial year.

Tabcorp has received a letter asking for $42.0 million. However, the racing industry will be charged 25 per cent of that because Tabcorp operated its gaming machines as a joint venture with the racing industry.

The health benefit levy was introduced by the Victorian government in July 2000 and applied to poker machines operated in Victoria, to help fund hospitals and charities.

But both Tatts and Tabcorp lost their duopoly to operate poker machines operated outside of Melbourne's Crown casino, on August 15, 2012.

Tatts and Tabcorp said that as a result of the expiry of their Victorian gaming operator's licence on August 15, their gaming operations in Victoria were limited to 46 days.

During this period, Tatts' gaming operations under the licence generated earnings before interest, tax and depreciation of about $29 million - much less than the amount of the levy sought by the Victorian government.

"Tatts strongly disputes the reasonableness of the determination made by the Treasurer and its legal sustainability," Tatts said in a statement on Monday.

The company said it would also rely on an indemnity granted by Victoria in 2009 in consideration of Tatts consenting to an extension of its licence (from April 14, 2012 to August 15, 2012).

"Tatts would like to think that a dialogue with the Victorian government will result in a common sense outcome in relation to this matter, however in the absence of this will take all steps necessary to protect its legal position," Tatts said.

Tabcorp said on Monday the amount that it had ben asked for was contrary to its expectations.

The company said the Victorian government's 2012/13 budget papers had included an amount in line with a pro rata calculation referable to 46 days of poker machine operations.

"The levy has not been applied pro rata and it does not reflect that Tabcorp ceased to operate gaming machines on August 15, 2012 when its gaming licence expired," Tabcorp said.

"Tabcorp is considering whether to commence legal proceedings to ensure the levy is applied on a pro rata basis."

A spokesperson for Victorian Treasurer Michael O'Brien was not immediately available for comment.

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Challenge to Aust plain package tobacco

CUBA has become the latest country to launch a legal attack on Australia's landmark plain packaging rules for tobacco at the World Trade Organisation, the global body says.

The WTO said that Cuba had requested consultations with Australia on law requiring tobacco products to be sold in identical, olive-brown boxes bearing the same typeface and health warnings with graphic images of diseased smokers.

Under the 159-nation WTO's rules, requesting consultations is the first step in an often complex trade dispute settlement process which can last for several years.

Given that the legislation covers all tobacco products, not just cigarettes, it has already been challenged at the WTO by Cuba's fellow cigar-producing nations Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

In addition, Ukraine has filed a suit at the Geneva-based body, which oversees its member nations' respect for the rules of global commerce.

All the plaintiff countries maintain that Australia's packaging law breaches international trade rules and intellectual property rights.

In the event that the WTO's disputes settlement body finds in their favour, it would have the power to authorise retaliatory trade measures against Australia if the country failed to fall into line.

The dispute with Australia marks the first-ever challenge by Cuba against a fellow member since it joined the global body in April 1995, four months after the WTO was founded in its current form.

Australia's pioneering legislation - passed in 2011 and brought into force last December - has won wide praise from health organisations which are trying to curb smoking.

The Australian government has faced a string of court challenges from tobacco firms.

Besides trade and intellectual property concerns, tobacco companies say there is no proof that plain packaging reduces smoking and have warned that the law sets a precedent that could spread to products such as alcohol.

New Zealand has announced plans to bring in its own plain packaging law this year, making it only the second country in the world to do so.

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N Korea holds firm on jailed American

North Korea says jailed American Kenneth Bae won't be used as a 'bargaining chip'. Source: AAP

NORTH Korea said it won't invite any leading US figure to seek the release of a jailed American and he would not become a "bargaining chip" in any political negotiations.

"Some media of the US said that the DPRK (North Korea) tried to use Pae's case as a political bargaining chip. This is a ridiculous and wrong guess," a foreign ministry spokesman told the official KCNA news agency.

"The DPRK has no plan to invite anyone of the US as regards Pae's issue."

The North said it had sentenced Pae, known in the US as Kenneth Bae, to 15 years' hard labour for "hostile acts" aimed at toppling the communist regime at a trial on April 30.

The Korean-American tour operator was arrested in November as he entered the northeastern port city of Rason.

Several Americans have been held in the North in recent years, and been freed after visits by high-profile Americans such as former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.

In 2010 Carter negotiated the release of US citizen Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who was sentenced to eight years' hard labour for illegally entering the country.

In 2009 Clinton managed to free US television journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, also jailed for an illegal border crossing.

The ministry spokesman said Pyongyang had showed "generosity... from the humanitarian point of view" in the past, but the latest case proved that such generosity will "be in no use in ending Americans' illegal acts".

"As long as the US hostile policy goes on, American's illegal acts should be countered with strict legal sanctions. This is a conclusion drawn by the DPRK."

The latest development comes amid high military tension on the peninsula.

Pyongyang, angered by new UN sanctions for its third nuclear test in February and by US-South Korean joint military drills, has issued blistering threats of missile and nuclear attacks targeting the South and the United States.

The United States has called for the immediate release of Bae, whose alleged offence is unclear.

Seoul-based activist Do Hee-Yoon has told AFP he suspected Bae was arrested because he had taken photographs of emaciated children in North Korea as part of efforts to appeal for more outside aid.

The North's spokesman said Sunday that Bae's belongings confirmed the crime for which he was convicted but did not elaborate.

"He entered the DPRK with a disguised identity in an intentional way under the back-stage manipulation of the forces hostile toward the DPRK," the spokesman said, adding he had made a confession.

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Israeli warplanes strike Syria

Israel has launched air strikes in Syria at a shipment of Iranian-made guided missiles. Source: AAP

ISRAELI warplanes have struck areas in and around the Syrian capital, setting off a series of explosions as they targeted a shipment of highly accurate, Iranian-made guided missiles believed to be on their way to Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, officials and activists say.

The attack, the second in three days, signalled a sharp escalation of Israel's involvement in Syria's bloody civil war. Syria's state media reported that Israeli missiles struck a military and scientific research centre near the Syrian capital and caused casualties.

An intelligence official in the Middle East, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Israel launched an airstrike in Damascus early on Sunday but did not give more precise details about the location.

The target was Fateh-110 missiles, which have very precise guidance systems with better aim than anything Hezbollah has in its arsenal, the official told The Associated Press.

The airstrikes came as Washington considers how to respond to indications that the Syrian regime may have used chemical weapons in its civil war.

President Barack Obama has described the use of such weapons as a "red line", and the administration is weighing its options - including possible military action.

Israel has said it wants to stay out of the brutal Syrian war, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated he would be prepared to take military action to prevent sophisticated weapons flowing from Syria to Hezbollah or other extremist groups.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in mid-2006 that ended in a stalemate.

Syria's state news agency SANA reported that explosions went off at the Jamraya military and scientific research centre near Damascus and said "initial reports point to these explosions being a result of Israeli missiles".

SANA said there were casualties but did not give a number.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group, reported large explosions in the area of Jamraya, a military and scientific research facility northwest of Damascus, about 15km from the Lebanese border.

Hezbollah's al-Manar TV said the research centre in Jamraya was not hit. It added that an army supply centre was the target of the strike.

Al-Manar quoted unnamed Syrian security officials as saying that three sites, including military barracks, arms depots and an air defence centre had been targeted by the strike.

Uzi Rubin, a missile expert and former defence ministry official, told the AP that if the target were Fateh-110 missiles as reported, then it was a game changer as they put almost all Israel in range and could accurately hit targets.

Rubin emphasised that he was speaking as a rocket expert and had no details on reported strikes.

He said the rockets were much five times more accurate than the Scud missiles that Hezbollah has fired in the past.

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Majority back disability levy - and Abbott

A new poll shows a majority are happy to pay a levy for the disability insurance scheme. Source: AAP

MORE than 50 per cent of Australians support increasing the Medicare levy to pay for the government's disability care reforms.

But in a blow to Prime Minister Julia Gillard, a Seven News/ReachTEL poll has found about 41 per cent are less likely to vote Labor because of the announcement.

A day after Victoria became the fourth state to sign up to the scheme, Ms Gillard said her government would "keep working hard" to make DisabilityCare Australia truly national.

"I think the momentum is with us now to get this as the national scheme and I'll keep talking to the premiers of Queensland and Western Australia, and of course the chief minister in the Northern Territory ... to try and get agreement around the nation," Ms Gillard told ABC television.

The Seven News poll released on Sunday night revealed 52.5 per cent backed increasing the levy by half a percentage point, with 33.5 per cent opposed and 14 per cent undecided.

Of the 2856 people polled, 26.4 said the announcement made them more likely to vote Labor, while 41.2 said it would make them less likely to back the government.

And despite her key role in pushing through the reforms, only 42.7 per cent said they trusted Ms Gillard to best deliver the disability scheme.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott had the trust of 57.3 per cent.

Ms Gillard last week announced an increase in the Medicare levy to two per cent, to raise $3.2 billion of the $8 billion needed each year for the reforms.

On Sunday she said the levy increase should be permanent, and not scrapped when the budget returned to surplus.

"I think this needs to be there as a funding source for all of time," she told ABC television.

"I think it is fair to say to Australians that you will be asked for a little bit more in order to fund something that we all benefit from."

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Vic budget boost for Frankston train line

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine will announce a cash injection for the Frankston train line. Source: AAP

THE Victorian government has announced a $100 million boost to Melbourne's busiest rail services while warning the upcoming state budget will be a tough one.

Premier Denis Napthine announced the cash injection for the southeastern Frankston line, which carries about 60,000 people every weekday, as part of Tuesday's 2013-14 state budget.

He said the government was building for growth despite falling GST revenues from the federal government.

"We are managing the budget in difficult, challenging times, in times where we have a reduction in GST revenues," he told reporters.

"But at the same time doing it in a responsible, economic manner and that's what you'll see in the budget on Tuesday."

The extra money announced on Sunday would pay for track, signalling and power upgrades and allow the line to accommodate the newer X'Trapolis trains, Dr Napthine said.

He brushed off suggestions the boost was aimed at politically important seats on the line.

"Investing $100 million in the Frankston line will certainly show we care about people along the Frankston line," he said.

"Everybody who uses the metro rail system is important to us as a government."

Poor service on the Frankston line was a key issue in the 2010 election, with a swathe of seats along the line, including Bentleigh, Mordialloc and Carrum, switching from Labor to the coalition.

Dr Napthine also announced a funding injection of $224 million for disability support in the budget, which will take annual disability funding to $1.6 billion.

The funding provides $107 million for 720 new Individual Support Packages for people with high support needs, which will be partly funded by increased lodging fees for government-run disability accommodation.

The announcement comes after Victoria became the fourth state to sign up to the national disability care scheme on Saturday, agreeing to a statewide disability care program by the end of the decade.

The state government also announced budget funding on Sunday to buy land for a new primary school in Melbourne's south.

Education Minister Martin Dixon said the Ferrars Street school in South Melbourne would cater to the area's fast-growing population.

A spokesman for Mr Dixon said the government had not released the funding amount as negotiations were continuing over the sale.

The money comes on top of $11.5 million announced on Saturday for the first stage of a high school in Melbourne's outer north.

Last week the government announced three new schools would be built in growth areas in the city's west.

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