Man charged with stealing diggers' flowers

A WESTERN Sydney man is behind bars, accused of trying to steal Anzac Day flowers and wreaths from a war memorial.

Police allege the man was spotted at Railway Parade in Riverstone on Saturday morning bundling the tributes into a trolley.

Officers arrested a 25-year-old Cranebrook man at the scene.

NSW Returned and Services League president Don Rowe said the alleged attempt at theft beggared belief.

"I find it absolutely amazing that yesterday we as a nation paused to pay our respects, and now some person has decided he wants to help himself to the flowers," he told AAP.

The Cranebrook man was charged with stealing and failing to pay for a taxi fare, and will remain in custody before appearing at Parramatta Local Court on Sunday.

The wreaths and flowers have been returned to the war memorial.

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Billion dollar Japanese investment in NZ

ONE of the largest single Japanese investments in the New Zealand economy is occurring with the sale of Carter Holt Harvey's pulp, paper and packaging businesses for $NZ1.037 billion ($A971.88 million).

Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed packaging giant Oji Holdings Corp will take a 60 per cent share of CHH's PPP assets, comprising some of New Zealand's largest industrial energy and forest products users, the Tasman and Kinleith pulp and paper mills, and a large Australasian packaging enterprise.

Oji already owns the Pan Pac pulp and paper mill, near Napier.

Innovation Network Corp of Japan, a government-backed innovation agency that attracts private sector investment to "promote innovation and enhance the value of businesses in Japan", makes up the remaining 40 per cent joint venture vehicle that will make the investment.

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be complete in the second half of this year.

CHH is 100 per cent-owned by New Zealand's only billionaire, Graeme Hart, owner of the world's largest packaging business, US-based Reynolds Group, which is under pressure to reduce its outstanding $US18 billion issuings of junk-rated corporate bonds.

Mr Hart had previously tried to sell the CHH PPP businesses in 2012 and was forced to refinance $1.45b in debt when no buyer emerged at the time.

CHH's building supplies business remains for sale after taking combined charges in 2011 and 2012 of $NZ393.8m in impairments on its underperforming timber and plywood businesses and falling into negative equity.

In a joint statement, Oji and local PPP chief executive Jon Ryder talked up the prospects for driving greater value from the former CHH portfolio and Oji's understanding of New Zealand conditions through investment here since 1971.

Oji spent $180m in recent forest land purchases and upgrade investments for the Pan Pac mill, which were completed in 2012.

With annual turnover of $US13 billion, Oji operates globally and has interests in Canada, China, Germany and Brazil, among others.

INCJ's investment mandate gives it a total investment capacity across a range of opportunities of approximately $US20 billion.

The Oji/INCJ purchase will concentrate ownership in the sector because of Oji's interest in Pan Pac.

The only major players left in the sector will be the Scandinavian companies Norske Skog, which makes pulp and paper on the Kawerau site where CHH's Tasman kraft pulp and paper mill also operates, and SCA, which makes tissue papers, also on the Tasman site.

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Vic govt flags road, transport funds boost

THERE will be more money for Victorian roads and public transport in the upcoming state budget, the government says.

Treasurer Michael O'Brien said the government will spend an additional $130 million in road works of four years, with $80m to go on resealing and maintenance and $50m for capital restoration.

He also flagged spending increases for public transport, but would not go into detail.

"There will be significant boost to public transport as well in the budget but we'll leave those for another day," Mr O'Brien told reporters on Saturday.

"There'll be further announcements about road work down the track."

He said the additional funding, announced in one of Melbourne's growth areas in the city's north, meant scheduled maintenance projects would be able to be brought forward.

"(This is )terrific news for people in Melbourne's growing areas such as here in Mernda where we're seeing massive population growth and we need to see roads upgraded," Mr O'Brien said.

The government says the announcement brings its road management budget to more than half a billion dollars for 2014-15.

Opposition leader Daniel Andrews said under the Coalition government, road funding had been up one year and down the next.

"The government's simply putting back a portion of the money they've cut away from important road resurfacing," Mr Andrews said.

"Inconsistent road funding and savage cutbacks seen particularly in road resurfacing makes roads less safe."

He said Labor had proposed an annual allocation of $125m additional funding for the regions and metropolitan Melbourne over eight years.

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Man charged over Qld Anzac knife incident

A MAN has been charged with brandishing a knife at police as more than 15,000 people nearby watched Brisbane's Anzac Day march.

Police responded to a disturbance about half an hour after war veterans began marching down Adelaide Street on Friday morning.

As 15,000 to 20,000 people lined city streets, the 46-year-old man allegedly created a disturbance near the marshalling area of the march.

"He was near the crowd when he was created the disturbance," a Queensland police spokesman told AAP.

The man is alleged to have produced a knife when officers approached him but he dropped the weapon when ordered to do so, police said.

He was charged with one count each of seriously assaulting police, going armed to cause fear, carrying a knife in a public place, possessing a dangerous drug and public nuisance.

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

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Thousands honour veterans in Sydney

IRAQ veteran Benjamin Lesley Gillman knows he was following big footsteps when he marched alongside Sydney's diggers on Anzac Day.

"What I just did then is one of the best things I've ever done in my life," the 29-year-old told AAP.

"I had a sense of honour."

The Cronulla local served in Iraq in 2007, in a unit that concentrated on rebuilding the war-torn country.

Now he's home and marching as one of the young veterans sustaining the Anzac legacy.

But as he strode along Sydney's Hyde Park, his thoughts were with the 40 fallen Australian soldiers who made "the ultimate sacrifice" in Afghanistan.

The RSL allowed young vets from recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions to take the prime position in the Sydney march behind the NSW Governor-General Marie Bashir and the RSL executive.

Thousands lined the streets in the Sydney city centre to pay respects to the veterans, young and old.

Among them were Rex Bayley and his wife, Fay, who took an early train from Gymea Bay so they could reserve their favourite vantage point along George Street.

Watching on as more than 15,000 NSW RSL serving and former defence force members paraded past, 75-year-old Rex said he wasn't deterred by the soggy Sydney weather.

A little further down the street, Dellane and Rodrick Stewart seized the opportunity to teach their nine-year-old grandson Mackenzie some family, as well as national, history.

Mr Stewart, 78, followed his own father into the armed services, with stints in Borneo, Malaysia, New Guinea and Vietnam during a 19-year career.

With his great-grandfather's medals pinned to his chest, young Mackenzie is just starting to grasp what that means.

It's a feeling Gwenda Ick, 62, knows well.

Her father served in New Guinea in World War II, and while she was born after he came home, his trauma meant as a young girl she felt her dad was "always sick".

"He used to get angry quite a lot," she said.

But kept dry in the Legacy Widows stalls and wrapped up in a plastic poncho, her mother, Patricia Smith, said despite the horrors war had wrought on so many families, the Anzac Day march was still a special occasion.

"My husband passed away, but we still like to come in and watch," she said.

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Smaller crowd falls silent at Gallipoli

A SMALLER-THAN-EXPECTED crowd at Gallipoli for the Anzac Day dawn service has been reminded that reverential silence on the often eerily quiet Turkish peninsula is a tribute to the diggers who died in 1915.

Just 4400 mostly Australian and New Zealand pilgrims turned out this year ahead of the 2015 centenary commemorations which will see 10,500 people crammed on to North Beach.

Veterans' Affairs Minister Michael Ronaldson on Friday said the soldiers who landed at Anzac Cove 99 years ago were, by their own admission, ordinary men.

"They did not seek glory, nor did they want their actions to be glorified - for it was they who quickly came to know the true horror of war," the minister said as the sun rose over the Gallipoli cliffs.

"That these ordinary men, however, did extraordinary things is beyond doubt."

Senator Ronaldson said the Anzacs left a vanquished fighting force but "were victorious in helping forge the identity of our two new nations".

"As the dawn of this new day breaks over the peninsula our tribute to the spirit of Anzac is a reverential silence," he said.

Some 8700 Australians died during the eight-month campaign alongside 2700 New Zealanders.

It's estimated up to 87,000 Turks lost their lives.

The modern Turkish nation, too, was built partly on the back of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's success as a commander at Gallipoli. He went on to become the republic's first president in 1923.

Young Australian Erinn Cooper camped out overnight to attend the dawn service.

The 22-year-old comes from a military family - her father did tours of duty in East Timor and Iraq while her grandfather fought in World War II.

Ms Cooper, from the Gold Coast, told AAP she was representing them both at Gallipoli.

"It's really mind-blowing to be here," she said.

"Anzac Day is our biggest day of the year. It's a really big thing in our family."

Ms Cooper considered applying for the centenary in 2015 but decided the ballot was too risky.

"Coming this year was something we could actually make happen."

Organisers saw this year's service as a dress rehearsal for 2015.

But while the crowd will be much bigger next year, it will also be more manageable.

Authorities know exactly who's coming because the event is ticketed.

Further, the pilgrims will be older on average because 1600 passes were set aside for direct descendants and veterans.

In 2015, only 25 per cent of visitors will be under 35, whereas usually 60 per cent are in that age group.

Australian authorities think it's likely Prince Charles will attend the centenary service in Gallipoli although his spokeswoman has told AAP it is "too early to say".

Prince William this week revealed he was looking forward to "taking part in next year's Gallipoli centenary" along with wife Kate and brother Prince Harry.

That led to speculation they'd be at North Beach but a palace spokesman has clarified they could attend any number of Anzac ceremonies anywhere in the world.

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NSW govt to prolong Bulli rapist's parole

IT has been more than two years since notorious "Bulli rapist" Terry John Williamson was released from prison.

But with his parole set to finish next month, authorities say they want him to remain under supervision.

As a young man, Williamson terrorised the community of Bulli, on the NSW south coast, for 10 months in 1989 and 1990.

Using a police radio scanner to avoid detection, the now 44-year-old sexually assaulted 11 people, including a five-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy.

Williamson was released on parole in 2012 after serving 22 years of a 24-year sentence.

While on parole he has had to comply with 42 conditions, including taking anti-libido medication, staying away from his victims and the Illawarra region and undergoing electronic monitoring.

His parole period is due to end next month, making him a free man.

But on Thursday, the NSW Attorney-General's department made a Supreme Court application for an extended supervision order.

Barrister for the State of NSW, David Kell said that Williamson's parole program was designed to prevent him from re-offending.

"If they were removed, it would - on the evidence - rapidly affect his compliance," he told the court.

Justice Richard Button said he would wait for a psychiatrist's report on Williamson before deciding whether to extend supervision.

"The defendant was convicted of a large number of extremely serious crimes that the (sentencing) judge described as 'horrendous'," Justice Button said.

He said it was in the community's interest that a decision be made on the state's application before the 44-year-old's parole expires on May 15.

The issue of consent and whether authorities can force Williamson to continue taking anti-libido medication are expected to be discussed at a later hearing.

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Ruralco to return to the black

AGRIBUSINESS Ruralco Holdings expects to post a half year net profit of between $4.5 and $5 billion, up from a $500,000 loss a year ago.

The operator of more than 40 specialist businesses expects underlying earnings in the six months to the end of March to be up by between 25 and 35 per cent, while underlying profit is expected to rise by up to 55 per cent.

The company will release its results for the half year to March 31 on May 20.

Managing director John Maher attributed the return to profit to the company's efforts to diversify its operations.

"Whereas the start-up costs of our new live export business have been greater than expected, most other activities have performed well in the half year," he said.

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No review of Michael Jackson doctor's case

THE California Supreme Court has refused to review the involuntary manslaughter conviction of Michael Jackson's doctor, rejecting his lawyer's petition without comment.

The decision by the state's highest court on Wednesday was the latest stop on Dr Conrad Murray's legal odyssey. A state appeals court upheld his conviction earlier this year and then refused to reconsider its decision.

Lawyer Valerie Wass said Murray will take his fight to federal court. "We're greatly disappointed, but we intend to pursue this in federal court," Wass said.

She said she telephoned Murray with the news and, "He said, 'The fight is not over.' "

Authorities said Murray gave Jackson a lethal dose of the anaesthetic propofol in 2009 while the singer prepared for a series of comeback concerts.

Murray was convicted in 2011 and served two years in jail. He was released in October because of a change in California law requiring nonviolent offenders to serve their sentences in county jails and as a result of credits for good behaviour.

The six-week trial focused on Murray's care of Jackson, including nightly doses of propofol to help the entertainer sleep.

The earlier appellate court decision said, "The evidence demonstrated that Mr Jackson was a vulnerable victim and that (Murray) was in a position of trust, and that (Murray) violated the trust relationship by breaching standards of professional conduct in numerous respects."

Since his release, Murray has been travelling and spending time with family, "trying to get his life back together", Wass said.

The federal appeal she plans to file will focus on media coverage of the trial and exposure of the unsequestered jury to the internet, Wass said. Murray has maintained throughout his appeals that the jury should have been sequestered because of the flood of publicity surrounding the case.

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Vic Anzac services focus on younger vets

MARK Jennings is one of the faces of the modern Anzac Day.

The 43-year-old colonel's 23-year military record includes postings to Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010 and stints as a peacekeeper in Rwanda, East Timor and the Solomon Islands.

In Afghanistan in 2010, he commanded more than 700 6RAR infantry troops. His battalion suffered 40 casualties, including six deaths. One of his soldiers, Corporal Daniel Keighran, was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Colonel Jennings will speak about his experiences to the 70,000 people expected at the dawn Anzac Day service at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance.

He said he did not grow up in a military family but his grandfather and great-grandfather served in World War II and World War I, while many of his father's friends went to Vietnam.

As a boy, he tried to understand their perspectives on Anzac Day but his view has now been shaped by his own experience.

"Anzac Day is not just about the sacrifices of the men and women that came before us," he said.

"It's now also about things that I have lived, soldiers that have been lost, friends that have been lost. It's very personal to me."

He welcomed the recognition of younger veterans.

"It's not so much the passing of a torch to us but a generational change that is happening," he said.

"There is growing interest in Anzac heritage and people have been taught about it, particularly since 1999. Australia has been involved in overseas conflict almost continuously since East Timor."

Shrine of Remembrance chief executive Denis Baguley said spectator screens will be set up for the first time to cater for the bumper crowd.

"Next year will focus on the 100th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli but this year, with the cessation of hostilities in Afghanistan, is the perfect opportunity to focus on the role of veterans from those recent conflicts," he said.

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Elderly man found in rugged Vic bushland

AN elderly dementia sufferer found safe and well after two days lost in mountain country near Melbourne tried to hide from police who spotted him from a helicopter.

The 76-year-old man had wandered from a family chestnut grove at Kinglake on Monday and spent two nights in the open in cold, wet conditions.

Sergeant Simon Brand of the Victoria Police search and rescue squad said the man was found 2.5km from the farm late on Wednesday morning.

"When he was spotted he was startled and he actually tried to evade us. He hid under a tree fern," Sgt Brand told AAP.

"The police air wing was following a creek line from the direction of the property.

"He had taken off his beanie and it was only that they saw the white part of his bald head that they spotted him.

"We got a bit lucky."

The crew in the helicopter guided search and rescue police to the man.

He was safe and well but was taken to hospital for observation.

"He was in pretty good condition apart from a sore knee and the cold," Sgt Brand said.

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Benign inflation good news for borrowers

Annual inflation is expected to have risen above the RBA's two to three per cent target range. Source: AAP

LOWER than expected inflation will allow the Reserve Bank of Australia to keep the cash rate at a record low 2.5 per cent.

The consumer price index rose 0.6 per cent in the March quarter, for an annual rate of 2.9 per cent.

Economists had expected a rise of 0.8 per cent for the quarter and 3.2 per cent for the year.

The lower than expected figures, which followed surprisingly high inflation in the December quarter, would allow the RBA to keep the cash rate low, ANZ chief economist Ivan Colhoun said.

He said rates would only move up gradually through 2015.

"This will allow the RBA board to continue this very accommodative setting of monetary policy that it currently has for some time further," Mr Colhoun said.

"It's consistent with the economy recovering slowly but not dramatically at this point in time."

Underlying inflation, which excludes volatile price movements, was 0.55 per cent in the March quarter for an annual growth rate of 2.65 per cent.

The RBA has a target range for annual inflation of two to three per cent.

The figures showed inflation was well and truly in check, said CommSec economist Savanth Sebastian.

"At present inflation is not a threat to the economy, meaning that the Reserve Bank can comfortably keep interest rates at exceptionally low levels over the near term," he said.

"However, as the Reserve Bank has highlighted in recent commentary, the medium term outlook for inflation has certainly shifted higher and this is one likely reason that policymakers are no longer talking down the Aussie dollar and seem more comfortable with the Aussie holding between 90 and 95 US cents."

The inflation data caused the Australian dollar to fall on Tuesday, from 93.75 US cents just prior to the release of the numbers, to 92.82 US cents at 1600 AEST.

CommSec expects a rate hike in the December quarter, Mr Sebastian said.

St George chief economist Besa Deda said tobacco, health and education were mostly responsible for pushing prices higher in the March quarter.

The rises were tempered by falls in prices for furniture, travel and accommodation and car maintenance and repair, she said.

The data allowed the RBA to maintain its neutral bias but a rate hike later this year was possible, Ms Deda said.

"With inflation in the upper band of the RBA's target band for the second consecutive quarter, the door remains open for a rate hike late this year," she said.

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Royal Adelaide stopover a short one

IT may be the briefest of stops, but there's no denying the deeper connection the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have to Elizabeth in Adelaide's north.

The royal couple will visit the area on Wednesday, the working-class suburb which is very much part of Adelaide's urban sprawl.

But that wasn't the case more than 50 years ago when Prince William's grandmother visited the town that was named in her honour.

It was February 21, 1963 when Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were greeted by a hot summer's day and thousands of people gathered on Windsor Green.

There were speeches by local officials and the Queen graciously responded that she had taken a keen interest in the development of the town that had been named after her.

Then premier Sir Tom Playford had decided on the name and it was inaugurated in November, 1955, just two years after Elizabeth's coronation.

But the concept of Elizabeth, where many of South Australia's English migrants were settled, was actually proposed more than five years earlier, in 1950.

About 3000 acres of open farmland were purchased by the South Australian Housing Trust with the idea of building moderately-priced public housing.

Sir Tom also wanted to attract industry to the area, a policy that proved successful with a large manufacturing sector, including car maker Holden, providing employment opportunities for thousands of workers in the years ahead.

Half a century on and Holden has announced plans to close and much of the area's manufacturing companies are also struggling.

Unemployment is high, especially youth unemployment, and that's why the royal visit is seen as a much needed boost.

Prince William and Kate will spend only about two hours in Elizabeth but all of that time will involve engaging with the area's young people.

The first stop will be at a community music program which offers youths the chance to make and listen to music and engage with the wider music industry.

That will be followed by a demonstration at an adjacent skateboard park before the royals wind up their Adelaide stopover with a civic reception where they will mingle with a group of invited guests, all aged under 30.

Ahead of the reception William and Kate are also expected to stop and talk with members of the public lucky enough to get front row positions along a barricaded roadway.

Early estimates suggest a crowd of about 50,000 will line the streets next to the reception as well as the roads to and from the nearby Edinburgh air force base, where the royals arrive and depart.

Similar size crowds gathered half a century ago for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

So while the town has grown and changed, not always for the better, it seems the popularity of the royal family remains as strong as ever.

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Flies, heat welcome royals to Uluru

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will receive a series dot paintings when they visit Uluru. Source: AAP

IT'S been the warmest welcome so far for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Prince William and Kate touched down in Yulara in central Australia at 1pm local time and walked off the plane into 31C degree heat and bright sunshine.

They were dressed for the occasion, with Kate in a mauve, cap-sleeved Roksanda Ilincic dress and William similarly desert-ready, in cream pants, brown suede loafers and a casual khaki shirt. Neither, however, was wearing a hat to protect against the harsh sun.

They were greeted by the Administrator of the Northern Territory, Sally Thomas, her husband Duncan McNeill, NT Chief Minister Adam Giles and his wife Tamara, and traditional owners Daisy Walkabout and Vincent Nipper. And flies.

William lingered as he spoke to Ms Walkabout, who greeted his parents Prince Charles and Diana on their trip to Uluru in 1983.

Later on Tuesday, they'll experience one of the highlights of their tour Down Under: a visit to Uluru.

"They've travelled a lot and now they will come to see this country, and it will be good to know they have seen Uluru, which is so hugely significant not just for a small group of people but a whole range of people that are related and connected to this place," Ms Walkabout said.

But first, the royal tourists presented certificates to tourism and hospitality graduates from the National Indigenous Training Academy at Yulara, and met some of the excited locals.

After receiving her certificate from Catherine, Jasmine Jingles, 19, of Mornington Island, Queensland, said she was thrilled.

"It's amazing, deadly as," she enthused.

Following the certificate ceremony, the royal couple were presented with hand-made gifts of jewellery and carvings as well as a barbed mulga wood spear bound in traditional fashion with kangaroo tendons.

The prince seemed impressed with his gift, asking about its construction.

Kate said she was thrilled to receive a hand-painted bracelet made of seed, which she immediately donned.

The couple spent nearly 15 minutes talking to 150 onlookers and graduates.

Emma Haskins, 39, from Alice Springs, was thrilled to meet Kate after planning her trip for months and making the five-hour drive from Alice on Monday.

"It's been planned since March - as soon as we found out she was coming we did it," she said.

The Cambridges will next visit the Cultural Centre in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park for a traditional welcome to country and meeting with Aboriginal artists and an afternoon tea.

Then they'll have a close encounter with the iconic rock.

The visit has generated huge interest among the local Anangu people, the traditional owners of the rock, evoking memories of the sentimental journey made there by William's parents, Charles and Diana, in 1983 on their first trip to Australia.

Then a baby, William accompanied them on the tour - but not to Uluru - and some of the traditional owners hope that one day his son, George, will become the next king-in-waiting to see the rock.

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Kiwi edges up ahead of rate review

THE New Zealand dollar has edged up as local trading resumed after the Easter holiday, with investors eyeing Thursday's monetary policy review when interest rates are expected to be hiked for a second time in as many months.

The kiwi increased to 85.79 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 85.59 cents at 8am and 85.65 cents in Asian trading on Monday.

The trade-weighted index was little changed at 79.76 from 79.85 on Monday.

Traders have priced in a 97 per cent chance for a rate hike by Reserve Bank on Thursday, according to the overnight index swap curve, as governor Graeme Wheeler looks to head off the threat of future inflation.

Slower than expected inflation in the first quarter and falling dairy prices has prompted some investors to question whether Mr Wheeler will hike as aggressively as previously signalled, and will be monitoring Thursday's review for any insight into the central bank's thinking.

"I expect them to continue on the track for the time being" until the central bank sees more weakness in future inflation figures, said Stuart Ive, senior client adviser at OMF in Wellington.

"The kiwi came off on Monday a little bit and has come under pressure after the CPI (consumers price index) figures came in below expectations."

The kiwi slipped to 91.71 Australian cents at 5pm in Wellington from 91.83 cents on Monday, and increased to 88.03 yen from 87.85 yen and to 62.17 euro cents from 61.98 cents yesterday.

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Labor warns pensioners to feel budget pain

An asset test that allows older Aussies to collect a part-pension is likely to be spared the axe. Source: AAP

LABOR is confident the Abbott government is gearing up for its first broken election promise, and is fanning speculation that pensioners could lose out in the May budget.

With the budget only three weeks away, the government is fending off claims that it's considering hiking the retirement age to 70, and could be tightening the rules around disability support payments.

The government insists it will maintain a genuine safety net for those who need it and says it isn't planning on walking away from its election commitments.

But the opposition is zeroing in on Prime Minister Tony Abbott's pre-election pledge that no changes to pensions would be made under his government.

"That is a whale of a promise that Tony Abbott is about to break," federal opposition leader Bill Shorten told reporters in Melbourne on Monday.

"If the Abbott government wants to make other changes (to pensions), he should have that conversation with the Australian people and put it to an election to be decided."

Mr Abbott has reportedly ruled out tinkering with the asset test for wealthier Australians on a part-pension, because any change could amount to a broken promise.

But shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh said the prime minister had been unwilling to revisit his broader pledge to leave pensions untouched because the budget was proving hard to balance.

"In manufacturing the budget crisis, they've now put themselves in a position where they're really going to struggle to meet their election promises," he told Sky News on Monday.

The government won't confirm the rumours about the retirement age, and has only stated it would rather see younger Australians in work earning an income than receiving disability support.

Parliamentary secretary to the Treasurer Steve Ciobo said repairing the budget would be tough, but they wouldn't walk away from their election promises like their predecessors.

"We will honour our election commitments," he told Sky News on Monday.

Labor is also ramping up its attack on the prime minister's paid parental leave scheme, calling the $5.5 billion an "unnecessary extravagance" and evidence of the government's "twisted priorities".

"This is a government that are looking to make cuts to areas that affect the most vulnerable in our community, whilst they look after the most wealthy," Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese told reporters in Perth on Monday.

The government has rejected criticisms of the scheme as scaremongering and class politics.

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Dad left girl in burning car: WA police

A THREE-YEAR-OLD girl has been injured after being left in a burning car allegedly stolen by her father.

Police rescued the girl from the flames after the vehicle crashed into a barrier on the Great Eastern Highway in Perth's outer northeast suburbs on Sunday night.

The driver had run away leaving the girl in the burning car, police said.

He was found nearby in Midvale and was taken to Swan Districts Hospital for treatment to injuries received in the crash.

The girl is in Princess Margaret Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Police were first called to a home in the northern suburb of Ellenbrook just after 10pm on Sunday to deal with a domestic disturbance.

They learned that a 25-year-old man had left in an allegedly stolen vehicle with his daughter.

Officers found the car an hour later, but the driver failed to stop and police decided not to pursue because the child was in the car.

Instead, police monitored the vehicle which is believed to have hit another car before being found smashed into a concrete barrier.

The man allegedly failed a breath test at the hospital and was taken to Midland Police Station where he was charged with being armed in a way that may cause fear, aggravated assault occasioning bodily harm and criminal damage.

He was also charged with a number of driving offences, including stealing a motor vehicle and dangerous driving occasioning bodily harm.

He will appear in the Perth Magistrates Court later on Monday.

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Ninth deep sea search for MH370

AS the ninth underwater search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370 begins, authorities have yet to find any signs of the wreckage, prompting further speculation that the search may be altered later this week.

The autonomous underwater vehicle, Bluefin-21, has so far searched about two-thirds of the focused underwater search area - a 10km radius around the second towed pinger locator detection from April 8 - with no significant results.

Up to 10 military aircraft and 11 ships are assisting in Monday's search, covering about 49,491 square kilometres, about 1741 kilometres northwest of Perth.

But weather conditions are deteriorating, particularly in the north of the search area as Tropical Cyclone Jack tracks south, and widespread showers are developing with isolated thunderstorms.

Australian ambassador to the US Kim Beazley said private contractors and more underwater search vehicles could soon be used in the search.

The idea was previously flagged by Prime Minister Tony Abbott that if the plane was not found in the Indian Ocean by mid-week, searchers would stop and reconsider tactics.

The air search might be adjusted, Mr Beazley told CNN's Sunday morning political program, State of the Union with Candy Crowley.

But, when you say you are going to reconsider all things, obviously that is one of the things you're going to consider.

You may well also consider bringing in other underwater search equipment.

All of these sorts of things will be on the table if nothing is found in the next few days.

The Boeing 777 vanished en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on March 8 with 239 people on board.

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Aussie double at top of ARIA charts

Singer/songwriter Chet Faker has claimed the No.1 album this week with his debut Built on Glass. Source: AAP

SINGER/SONGWRITER Chet Faker and Brisbane band Sheppard have made it a rare Australian double at the top of the ARIA albums and singles charts this week.

Faker's Built on Glass debuted as the No.1 album and is one of five Aussie artists occupying the top six positions.

Sheppard's hit Geronimo retains its hold as the nation's top single ahead of another local act Sia with Chandelier.

Built on Glass is Faker's first album and it ends INXS' seven-week run with their compilation The Very Best falling to No.2.

The Frozen soundtrack is at No.3 for a fourth straight week while Aussie music legend Russell Morris scores his first ever Top 10 album with his blues-infused Van Diemen's Land at No.4.

Last year's The Voice winner Harrison Craig debuts at No.5 with his second album L.O.V.E. while another local Dan Sultan slips two places to No.6 with Blackbird.

Also down two places are Pharrell Williams' G I R L and Katy Perry's Prism to No.7 and No.8 respectively. The final local act within the top 10 is John Butler Trio at No.9 with Flesh & Blood which rises a place thanks to their current national tour. Swedish supergroup ABBA is up three places to a new peak of No.10 with their collection ABBA Gold & More (Anniversary Edition).

The top 10 singles chart also features plenty of Australia apart from Sheppard and Sia. Peking Duk's High is at No.4, Jessica Mauboy's Never Be The Same is at No.6 (up 11 places) and Sydney band 5 Seconds of Summer's She Looks So Perfect slips two places to No.9.

The remainder of the top 10 sees Pharrell's Happy fall from last week's No.2 to No.3, Calvin Harris' Summer rises two places to No.4 and Clean Bandit and Jess Glynne's Rather Be is tumbles four places to No.7.

The week's new entries are Zendaya's Replay at No.8 and DVBBS featuring Borgeous & Tinie Tempah with Tsunami (Jump) at No.10.

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NSW premier flags hospital privatisation

New NSW Premier Mike Baird has flagged he'll be looking to privatise the state's public hospitals. Source: AAP

NEW South Wales' new premier has flagged he will be looking to privatise the state's public hospitals as a way to "transform and improve health care".

Only days after taking the state's top job, Premier Mike Baird highlighted the role that the private sector already has in running NSW hospitals.

"These (services) extend anywhere from cleaning, to the public-private partnership to design, build, operate and maintain the new Northern Beaches Hospital," he said in a statement to AAP.

"My government will continue to look for ways to transform and improve health care."

The "key thing", he said, was that whatever the model the government pursued, public patients would be cared for as they are currently.

All they would notice was "enhanced services and facilities", he said.

But Opposition leader John Robertson said NSW families would lose out.

"Our hospitals are here to service the people of NSW, they are not here to be run as businesses," he told reporters.

Mr Robertson accused the new premier of being "out of touch", saying he was a "former merchant banker who lives on the northern beaches of Sydney".

"He just doesn't get what it is like to be a family that is struggling to make ends meet."

He said Mr Baird's "mode of operation" was to privatise the state's assets, including electricity poles and wires.

The Health Services Union (NSW) secretary Gerard Hayes said its members would campaign against the privatisation of hospitals.

"The private sector does not take this work on out of the goodness of its heart. It does so to make a dollar."

To turn a profit, he said they would either slash jobs and wages or offer inferior services.

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New intensive care beds for Vic babies

SICK babies will have more intensive care beds in Melbourne, the state government has promised.

Five new neonatal intensive care unit cots will be funded in the May 6 state budget, taking the state's capacity to 100 baby beds.

Health Minister David Davis said $4 million of capital funding would get the cots ready, with a further $5.6 million a year set aside to staff them.

"As well as newborns, this specialist equipment supports babies after surgery, infants requiring long-term ventilation and those suffering from seasonal illnesses such as bronchitis," Mr Davis told reporters on Sunday.

He said the beds were most often used for babies who were born early and had complications from birth.

Mr Davis said Victoria handled the most difficult cases from Tasmania, South Australia and southern New South Wales.

"We do carry a larger-than-our-share load, but we do that willingly," he said.

"We have very capable hospitals."

The new cots will be installed at the Royal Children's Hospital, Monash Medical Centre, the Royal Women's Hospital and Mercy Hospital for Women.

Mr Davis said they would be rolled out once negotiations with Victoria's health services were complete.

Opposition health spokesman Gavin Jennings said the government was playing catch up because it failed to keep up with demand for intensive care treatment for babies.

"We've had situations where our babies have had to be sent interstate because we haven't had enough intensive care beds," he told reporters.

"The last time that that was measured, it was running at about one baby a month being transferred out of Victoria to receive intensive care. Clearly that is not good enough."

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