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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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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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 mistakenly 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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Two more arrests in NSW hog-tie murder

TWO more people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a man who was found half-naked and hog-tied at a Newcastle park.

The arrests have come days after police nabbed one of the state's most wanted alleged murderers, Anthony Richard Dent, 53, in relation to the case.

Police had been looking for Dent since finding the body of 52-year-old Anthony Thomas O'Grady at a cricket oval at Wickham, Newcastle, in late March.

Dent was put on the state's most wanted list a week after the death and a warrant for his arrest was issued.

On Monday, police caught Dent in a Cessnock street and charged him with murder.

Police on Wednesday arrested a 49-year-old man after seizing bank cards and a mobile phone during a property search.

He's been charged with concealing a serious indictable offence, granted conditional bail and will appear in court on May 12.

Earlier on Thursday, police arrested and charged an 18-year-old man in Newcastle and charged him with murder, aggravated robbery and stealing a motor vehicle.

The teen, who was 17 at the time of the alleged offence, had his bail refused and is due to appear at a children's court on Thursday.

Mr O'Grady was sharing a house with serial pest Peter Hore, but police said there was no suggestion Mr Hore had any involvement in Mr O'Grady's death.

Mr Hore recently made headlines when he stormed a hearing at the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption, and was also arrested by police on his way to Sydney where he was allegedly planning to disrupt the royal visit at the Opera House.

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Car rego hike in Victorian budget

VICTORIAN car registration and stamp duty will be increased to pay for new infrastructure spending in the upcoming state budget.

The budget measures will raise $136.8 million in 2014/15.

Treasurer Michael O'Brien said the money would be used to help fund road and transport projects.

"The $25 fee increase for motor vehicle registration amounts to less than 50 cents a week," he told reporters on Thursday.

Mr O'Brien said the $25 hike in car registration comes on top of the annual CPI-based increase.

This will raise the average registration fee by $32 in 2014/15.

"We appreciate that any increase in car rego is not likely to be welcomed, but we do note that we will be delivering major transport infrastructure in this budget that will be of direct benefit to Victorians," Mr O'Brien said.

Stamp duty on a new $20,000 car will rise from $600 to $640 and from $400 to $420 on a used $10,000 vehicle from July 1.

"In the scheme of things these are relatively modest changes, but it is important that we make sure that this budget is economically responsible and that we can properly fund the new infrastructure that we will be announcing in the budget," Mr O'Brien said.

The registration fee for a light vehicle will be $270 in 2014/15.

The stamp duty increase will raise $37.5 million in 2014/15, while the light vehicle registration fee increase will raise $99.3 million.

Mr O'Brien said Victoria's share of GST revenue was to blame for the registration and stamp duty increases.

Victoria's GST share is down from 90 cents in the dollar to 88 cents, creating a $286 million shortfall, he said.

The additional charges would fund major transport infrastructure projects to be announced in the May 6 budget, and support opportunities for workers in Victoria's ailing car industry, he said.

The registration fee for a light vehicle will be $270 in 2014/15.

The stamp duty increase will raise $37.5 million in 2014/15, while the light vehicle registration fee increase will raise $99.3 million.

Mr O'Brien said Victoria's share of GST revenue was to blame for the registration and stamp duty increases.

Victoria's GST share is down from 90 cents in the dollar to 88 cents, creating a $286 million shortfall, he said.

The additional charges would fund major transport infrastructure projects to be announced in the May 6 budget, and support opportunities for workers in Victoria's ailing car industry, he said.

Mr O'Brien demanded a fairer share of GST revenue for Victoria and called on the federal government to support the state with additional infrastructure grants.

He said while Victoria now gets an 88-cents-in-the-dollar share, South Australia receives $1.28.

"We need some assistance from the commonwealth government to do that," he said.

"One way that Victoria can do that is to get a fairer share of GST, but another way is with direct support from the commonwealth, through grants to Victoria, to help us get on and build this infrastructure more quickly."

Mr O'Brien said he is in talks with the federal government for new grants.

Victorians who can least afford it will be hurt by the registration fee increases, Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said.

But Mr Andrews said Victorians would be forced to pay more for declining roads.

"This slug to motor rego will hurt ordinary hard-working Victorians the most," he said.

Mr Andrews said he feared the extra charges would help to fund the controversial East West Link project.

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Sherpas consider Everest boycott

An appeal has been launched to help the families of sherpas killed in an avalanche on Mt Everest. Source: AAP

SHERPA guides on Mount Everest are considering a boycott after the deadliest avalanche in the mountain's history, a move that could seriously disrupt the rest of the climbing season, a mountaineering official says.

Several Sherpas already have quit while others are still deciding whether to boycott following Friday's avalanche, said Ang Tshering of the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

The disaster killed at least 13 Sherpas when a block of ice tore loose from the mountain and triggered an avalanche that ripped through teams of guides hauling gear. Three other Sherpas remain missing and are presumed dead.

Funerals were planned for later on Monday.

All of the victims were from Nepal's ethnic Sherpa community, which relies heavily on the country's alpine trekking and climbing industry, with many making a living as climbing guides and others catering to foreign visitors by providing restaurants, equipment or transportation.

In the wake of the avalanche, the Sherpas have expressed anger that there has not been a bigger response from Nepal's government, which profits from the permit fees charged to the climbing expeditions.

Tshering said there were about 400 foreign climbers from 39 expedition teams on the mountain and equal number of Sherpas guides, along with many more support staff such as cooks, cleaners and porters in the base camp.

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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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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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