Budget will pass eventually: PM

Tony Abbott says he won't compromise on his budget as pressure mounts from all sides. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott says he won't surrender his budget in the face of pressure to compromise over its most unpopular measures.

Mr Abbott is confident the coalition's first budget will pass the Senate because the alternative would be a double dissolution election.

Senior government ministers have signalled compromising on key budget reforms such as higher education interest rates and the GP co-payment, amidst a fierce public backlash and a hostile Senate.

Continuing the budget sell on Saturday, Mr Abbott said his team "absolutely" understood the "iron necessity" of sticking with difficult and unpopular budget measures.

"We are not going to surrender our budget commitments," Mr Abbott told reporters in Adelaide.

But negotiations were inevitable.

"You have got to negotiate your legislation through the parliament," he said.

Mr Abbott was confident that the government would get the budget through the Senate in the end, because the alternative would be a double dissolution election.

"Because let's face it, there have been many governments over many years that have had to negotiate budgets through the Senate.

"The only time that wasn't successfully done ... that was a different bill in 1975."

Last week, Mr Abbott appeared to back away from a threat to hold a double dissolution election after earlier signalling incoming Senate cross-benchers would be unlikely to keep their seats if there was a new election.

Labor, the Greens and Palmer United Party have vowed to block changes such as the Medicare co-payment and pension cuts.

Education Minister Christopher Pyne, who has faced a slew of student protests this week over university deregulation measures, has signalled compromising on some reforms.

He said it was in recognition the government did not have a majority in the upper house.

"We will of course seek to consult and negotiate with the minor parties and the crossbenches to ensure these important reforms are delivered," Mr Pyne said in a statement to AAP.

The industry is also being consulted to "refine the details" of the changes, with two higher education stakeholder working groups providing feedback.

Opposition finance spokesman Tony Burke said the government's willingness to compromise showed it was in disarray and its budget unravelling.

If any measures change in the parliamentary process, Labor will apply the same "tests" to vote them down in the way it's opposing changes affecting pensioners, university students, Medicare, and fuel and cost-of-living prices.

"If they want to keep changing the budget because they're in disarray and chaos, we will keep applying the same principles," Mr Burke told reporters in Sydney.

Meanwhile, the Australian Medical Association is set to hold urgent talks with Health Minister Peter Dutton to seek a compromise on all medical co-payments flagged in the budget.

A vote was passed at the group's national conference on Saturday to push to have the payment targeted at higher-income earners.

The group is concerned co-payments will hit vulnerable groups hard and add pressure on hospitals.

"The health minister has made it clear he wants to engage with the profession about the future of the health system," president Steve Hambleton said in a statement.

"The AMA is well-positioned to help the government design a fairer and more equitable model."

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Qld Labor downplays by-election chances

LABOR'S candidate for the Brisbane seat vacated by maverick former government MP Chris Davis has vowed to be a thorn in Premier Campbell Newman's side if he's elected.

But maxillofacial surgeon Dr Anthony Lynham is playing down his chances of winning Stafford, an electorate devoid of representation after Dr Davis quit parliament on Friday.

His dramatic departure means the LNP is facing a by-election battle just three months after suffering a 17 per cent swing against it in the Redcliffe poll.

However, Dr Lynham says winning Stafford won't be a cakewalk.

"We are not taking anything for granted, we have to earn it," he told AAP while campaigning on Saturday.

As an anti-violence campaigner, Dr Lynham says he's already taken Mr Newman to task and will up the ante if he enters parliament.

"I have a proven track record of standing up to Newman," he said.

"The people of Stafford need someone desperately to stand up to Newman on health and education.

"I will be a thorn in his side."

Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk has already promised to give Dr Lynham a senior position if he's elected, but she's also downplayed her party's chances of regaining Stafford, which the LNP holds by a 7.1 per cent margin.

Ms Palaszczuk says Dr Davis' resignation was a vote of no confidence in Mr Newman's leadership and has called on the premier to immediately announce a by-election date.

Dr Davis said he was partly demoted because he raised concerns with the premier about looming changes to political donations.

He was sacked as assistant health minister a week earlier after clashing with colleagues over the proposed individual contracts and changes to the state's corruption watchdog.

At the time of his resignation, Dr Davis released polling showing most voters in his Stafford electorate backed him and believed he had been unfairly treated.

Treasurer Tim Nicholls said Dr Davis' exit was disappointing and came after colleagues had urged him to stay with the party and effect change within government.

Mr Nicholls said the government expected a tough fight at the by-election.

"The premier is getting advice about the timing of calling a by-election and I'm sure he'll make an announcement in the near future," he told reporters.

Brisbane Central MP Robert Cavallucci would represent the interests of Stafford in the interim, he said.

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OJ files appeal over Las Vegas robbery

OJ Simpson's lawyers have filed an appeal for a new trial in his 2007 Las Vegas armed robbery case. Source: AAP

OJ Simpson's lawyers have filed a super sized appeal, asking the Nevada Supreme Court for a new trial in his 2007 Las Vegas armed robbery case.

Simpson lawyers met a midnight Wednesday deadline to submit an appeal, claiming Simpson's 2008 trial in Las Vegas was tainted by his football fame and his notoriety following his 1995 acquittal in Los Angeles in the deaths of his ex-wife and her friend.

But the document is some 43 per cent longer than the court agreed to accept.

That means the court has to decide whether to accept it before it's made public.

The appeal stems from arguments rejected last year by Clark County District Court Judge Linda Marie Bell that Simpson's trial lawyer botched Simpson's trial and first appeal to the state high court.

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Qld government MP quits parliament

MAVERICK Queensland government MP Chris Davis has resigned from parliament, saying recent laws go against his and his electorate's values.

The rogue MP was dumped as assistant health minister last week for breaching cabinet solidarity when he spoke out against changes to the state's corruption watchdog and doctor contracts.

At the time, Dr Davis said he had stood on some powerful toes and was demoted partly because he raised concerns with Premier Campbell Newman about looming changes to political donations.

His dissatisfaction came to a head on Thursday night, when he told parliament he couldn't support his government's policy to remove caps on political donations and raise disclosure thresholds.

He left the chamber before the laws were put to a vote.

While he says his sacking was a catalyst to his immediate departure, the accumulation of controversial legislation had weighed heavily on his conscience.

"The passage of recent government legislation affecting critical aspects of our democracy goes contrary to my value system and that of the majority of my electorate," he said on a statement on his website.

"I would never have stood for parliament on such a platform, nor do I believe I would have been elected."

A by-election will be held in the north Brisbane seat.

It's the second for the Newman government after disgraced MP Scott Driscoll quit after being found guilty of contempt for dodgy business dealings.

A ReachTel poll commissioned by Dr Davis, released on Friday, shows he had the support of his electorate on controversial legislation.

Of the 687 residents polled on Wednesday night, 60 per cent didn't support removing donation limits to political parties.

On the Crime and Misconduct Commission changes, 47 per cent opposed the laws, 15 per cent supported them, 25 per cent didn't know and 13 per cent were undecided.

The majority of the electorate (61 per cent) didn't think Dr Davis should have been stood down as Assistant Health Minister and 48 per cent had a favourable opinion of him as their local member, while 28 per cent were neutral.

That compares to just 23 per cent who had a favourable opinion of the premier, and 16 per cent who had a neutral opinion.

If Dr Davis ran as an independent, 49 per cent would be more likely to support him.

Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said Dr Davis' resignation was a vote of no confidence in Premier Campbell Newman's leadership.

"The member for Stafford has dramatically resigned after a turbulent week in parliament," she told reporters.

"We need to restore honesty and integrity back into Queensland."

But the Labor leader downplayed her party's chances of regaining Stafford, which the Liberal National Party holds by a 7.1 per cent margin.

"We're going to fight very hard. It will be a tough battle but I sense a deep sea of unrest."

There is no time limit on when a by-election must be called.

Governor Penelope Wensley would have the responsibility of calling a by-election rather than Speaker Fiona Simpson because Dr Davis quit after a parliamentary sitting.

Premier Campbell Newman said he was disappointed about the resignation of Dr Davis, who didn't give a courtesy call.

He said while he supported MPs who quit for health and family reasons, he believed Dr Davis had a responsibility to serve a full term.

The premier dismissed Dr Davis' poll that showed the government was out of touch with the electorate, saying the wording of some of the questions was misleading.

He said he would have liked Dr Davis to stay on and had offered to brief him on electoral reforms.

Dr Davis didn't take him up the offer.

"We have no problem with members speaking out on occasions when they are passionate about things," Mr Newman said.

"The LNP is a team that permits people to cross the floor and he could have done that last night."

Mr Newman has two candidates in mind to run in Stafford, but said it would ultimately be up to the party.

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Caltex cleared to buy more petrol stations

Caltex Australia will sell four petrol stations to win approval for its takeover of another company. Source: AAP

CALTEX Australia will sell four petrol stations to win approval for its $95 million takeover of petrol retailer and distributor Scott's Group.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) had raised concerns the takeover would allow Caltex to control petrol retail in Mount Gambier in South Australia and Nhill in Victoria.

Caltex has agreed to sell three service stations in Mt Gambier and one in Nhill in order to win the ACCC's approval for its takeover of Scott's Group's fuel operations, which includes 28 service stations and 18 fuel depots.

The ACCC said Caltex would remain exposed to other competitors in other regions where it was buying new service stations.

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Attack in northern Nigeria leaves 30 dead

At least 30 people have been killed by militants in a village in northern Nigeria. Source: AAP

AT least 30 people have been killed by militants in a village in northern Nigeria, shortly after twin blasts killed 118 people in the central town of Jos.

Gunmen attacked the village of Shawa in the Damboa local government area of Borno State in the early hours of Wednesday, according to local newspaper Leadership.

Houses as well as stores of maize and millet were burned down, according to witnesses.

The assailants chanted "Allahu akbar," Arabic for "God is great," Shawa resident Musa Yakubu told the newspaper.

On Tuesday, at least 118 people were killed in a twin bombing at a crowded market in the Plateau State capital Jos in central Nigeria.

At least 10 people were killed on Sunday when a car bomb was set off in the northern Nigerian city of Kano.

The African Union said it was planning to send a team of intelligence officers from member nations to Nigeria to help fight Boko Haram. The group would set up an operation centre in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, to exchange information with the Nigerian government.

AU intelligence chiefs also called for a regional task force to hunt down Boko Haram in West and Central Africa.

In New York, Nigeria's mission to the United Nations confirmed to DPA on Wednesday that it had requested the UN Security Council to put Boko Haram on its Al-Qaeda Sanctions List.

If the request is granted, the group would face assets freezes, travel bans and arms embargo, from Thursday.

Meanwhile, the search for more than 200 school girls abducted on April 14 by Boko Haram continues.

France and five African nations on Saturday "declared war" on Boko Haram during an anti-terrorism summit in Paris. The sect, which has killed thousands of people in the last several years, was declared a menace to West and Central Africa.

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Palmer United Party a cult: Barnaby Joyce

Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce (pic) has branded Clive Palmer's political party a cult. Source: AAP

FEDERAL frontbencher Barnaby Joyce has branded Clive Palmer's political party a cult.

The Palmer United Party will wield considerable cross-bench clout when the Senate changes in July, and its votes will be critical to the government to pass controversial elements of the budget.

Mr Joyce has warned Mr Palmer that with great power comes great responsibility.

He's hoping Mr Palmer does not turn Australia upside down.

"I've always been concerned about parties that are named after people - Palmer United Party, Katter Australia Party, Pauline Hanson, whatever, One Nation Party," he told reporters in Brisbane.

"They're not so much philosophies, they're cults."

Mr Palmer laughed off the suggestion, saying he never wanted the party to be named after him in the first place.

He said it had initially been named as the United Australia Party, but the name was too similar to a party that had already been registered - the Uniting Australia Party.

"The brand went out as Palmer United and has stayed there ever since," he told a Queensland Media Club lunch in Brisbane on Monday.

"At some stage the party will go back to its original name, I believe."

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Budget reaction could delay rate rises

THE budget is likely to affect the RBA's thinking on interest rates.

That's not all there is to it, of course.

When the RBA next moves interest rates, very likely upward, one question will dominate the decision: what level of interest rates will be needed to prevent an upsurge in inflation from being a realistic threat.

That in turn will hinge on the strength of the economy.

A strong economy generates more employment, more wages growth, more pressure on prices, than a weak one.

So the weaker the economy, the less need to restrain it using higher interest rates.

Futures market pricing shows an expectation that the cash rate will stay at its over-50-year low of 2.5 per cent until well into 2015, with a rise to only 2.75 per cent priced in for the end of the year.

In other words, the economy is not expected to pick up enough pace to strain its productive capacity - including its capacity to supply additional workers as the economy growth.

That's not an environment calling for restraint from higher interest rates.

But that could change.

A lower exchange rate, an unexpectedly slow wind-down of the mining investment boom or surprisingly strong pickup in housing construction or business investment in the rest of the economy could all bring a rate hike, and then some more, closer.

But the budget itself is likely to push it further out.

That's even though, in terms of total dollars and cents, the direction of the budget will be trivial over the coming year or so.

Policy decisions since the mid-year review of the budget in December improved the budget bottom line by just under $2 billion in the coming financial year, $6 billion in 2015/16 and just over $10 billion in 2016/17.

That sounds like an awful lot of money, but it works out to only 0.06 per cent of gross domestic product in 2014/15, rising to 0.5 per cent in 2016/17.

But the composition of the change probably works against growth in the coming year or so.

The mining tax, for example, was to be paid by mostly foreign-owned mining firms, and its intended abolition will probably make no difference to what they spend in Australia.

Abolishing the carbon tax and associated measures to promote renewable energy will reduce spending, by slowing the inevitable transition away from older, carbon-burning technologies.

On the other hand, tax and welfare measures cutting the spending power of lower-income households will reduce spending, probably dollar for dollar.

Perhaps more importantly, it looks as though the budget has had a significant negative impact on consumer confidence.

The Westpac/Melbourne Institute consumer confidence index on Wednesday will most likely confirm that.

If a big step down in confidence is confirmed, both the economy's recovery to "trend" growth and the return of interest rates to more normal levels will be pushed back further.

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Budget gives Labor its voice: Shorten

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says the federal government's "terrible" budget has united his party. Source: AAP

THE Abbott government's budget has given Labor back its voice.

That's Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's message to party members.

"This terrible budget of the Abbott government, it has defined the Labor Party," he told the Victorian ALP state conference in Melbourne on Sunday.

"Friends, the Labor party nationally has its voice back."

Mr Shorten used the speech to continue his attack on the coalition government's first budget, warning Labor will stand up for those losing out.

His fury is directed at doctor co-payments, a raised pension age, restrictions on unemployment benefits, cuts to state funding and the fuel excise.

Mr Abbott's "juvenile" paid parental scheme is also high on Mr Shorten's hit list, with the Labor leader claiming it will give millionaires $50,000 they don't need.

"See how that goes for pensioners trying to get an extra smear of Vegemite on their toast on day 13 of their budget," he said.

Mr Shorten reiterated Labor's fierce opposition to the $7 co-payment to visit a GP on Sunday and told the conference not even a cure for cancer would justify breaking Medicare.

Revenue raised from the co-payment will be fed into a medical research fund.

"But how dare you say that a cure to cancer is dependent upon wrecking Medicare," he said.

"You don't heal the sick by taxing them."

State and territory leaders held an emergency meeting in Sydney on Sunday to discuss an $80 billion hole in state budgets left by last week's budget.

Mr Shorten accused the government of using cuts to state funding for schools and hospitals to sneak in another tax.

"They are actually increasing taxes through the back door," he told party members.

The states will have no choice but to raise GST because they must continue to operate schools and hospitals, he said.

Labor call it blackmailing, a line reiterated by the Greens.

"Even a crocodile wouldn't swallow what Tony Abbott's dishing up at the moment," Mr Shorten said.

While Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen says Labor will engage in debate about the GST, he won't commit to supporting it.

The Greens have ruled it out completely.

Treasurer Joe Hockey said the government would honour its pledge not to change the GST in this term of government.

However, the measure would be considered by a planned review of the taxation system.

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Harry pays Cassino troops tribute

Prince Harry is paying tribute to Allied soldiers who died in the Battle for Mount Cassino. Source: AAP

PRINCE Harry is marking the sacrifices of Allied soldiers who fought in one of the Second World War's most infamous conflicts - the Battle for Mount Cassino.

Harry will pay tribute on Sunday (local time) to New Zealand, British and Polish troops who died trying to drive Nazi forces from Italy.

The Battle of Monte Cassino was one of the most important campaigns of the Second World War, in which Allied forces launched four battles in 1944 to remove Nazi forces from a strategically important rocky outcrop, home to the 1400 year-old Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino.

Heavily defended, it was an obstacle to the Allies' progress to Rome as they fought their way north through the country.

The fighting force consisted of many nations from Americans and British, to Indians, Poles, Canadians, and French from North Africa, Indians, Gurkhas and New Zealanders but all had to contend with icy mountain terrain and bombardment from Nazi forces.

Progress was slow and the conflict claimed many lives becoming the bloodiest battle in Europe with an estimated 250,000 men killed or wounded.

Controversially the monastery was heavily bombed and destroyed in a bid to make a breakthrough but the move failed and the holy site was later rebuilt.

Harry will attend a Polish commemoration ceremony in Cassino and lay a wreath on behalf of the Queen and later will be a guest at a similar ceremony honouring New Zealanders who died trying to fulfil the military objective at Cassino.

Thirty eight New Zealand veterans have travelled to Italy for commemorations of the battle.

The Prince will also have a chance to visit the monastery and take in the dramatic views of the surrounding hills.

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