Ford CEO's pay up 11% to $US23.2 million

FORD chief executive Alan Mulally's compensation rose 11 per cent to $US23.2 million ($A25.12 million) in 2013, as the company reported record profits in North America and Asia.

Mulally earned $US2 million in salary, the same as 2012.

But he earned more in bonuses, at $US5.9 million, and in stock and option awards, which totalled $US14.6 million.

The company's board noted that Mulally helped keep the company's European restructuring on track.

It said Ford exceeded internal profit and cashflow targets, and noted that the Michigan-based company doubled its dividend in 2013. But the board said Ford missed internal targets for market share increases and quality improvement.

Ford earned a record pre-tax profit of $US8.8 billion in North America and a record profit of $415 million in Asia last year.

Ford saw strong demand worldwide for small SUVs such as the Escape, EcoSport and Kuga last year. In the US, sales of the F-Series pick-up truck jumped 18 per cent as the economy continued to improve.

Mulally's compensation included $232,153 for personal use of private planes.

Mulally, 68, announced in January that he would stay at Ford at least through the end of this year, putting to rest rumours that he might leave to become chief executive of Microsoft.

Mulally has made $197.65 million since joining Ford in 2006, according to the AP's calculations. He led a major restructuring at the automaker, cutting costs by closing factories and globalising its product offerings worldwide. Ford has earned $42.4 billion since returning to profitability in 2009.

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PM celebrating an ALP win on boats: Marles

THE coalition government shouldn't be chalking up 100 days without a single boatload of asylum seekers reaching Australian shores as a victory, Labor says.

"This is not a footy match", opposition immigration spokesman Richard Marles told reporters in Melbourne on Saturday.

"This is not about scoreboards and banners and slogan."

And anyway, it was Labor's tactics that resulted in the win, he said.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced on Saturday that "the way is closed" for people smugglers hoping to reach Australia.

But he stopped short of declaring it mission accomplished, with the end of the monsoon season looming.

"The monsoon is coming to an end and traditionally people smuggling operations have picked up at the end of the monsoon," he told reporters in Sydney.

"It's too early to declare the job has been done but nevertheless we can safely say that the way is closed."

He said that during the same period under the former Labor government there were 66 boat arrivals.

Mr Marles said saving lives at seas was "unequivocally good".

But it was too early to proclaim victory.

"It's fine for the prime minister and (Immigration Minister Scott Morrison) to stand in front of big banners on this issue, but ... the critical piece of policy which changed the game here was the arrangement which Labor put in place," Mr Marles said.

The most important step Australia had taken in reducing the loss of life at sea was the regional resettlement arrangement with Papua New Guinea that Labor put in place last year, he said.

Ninety per cent of the flow of boats had stopped before the election occurred, Mr Marles said.

If the coalition had supported Labor's proposed Malaysia arrangement in 2011, the 100-day milestone would have been reached years earlier, he added.

While it might be too early for "chest-beating", Labor would support any scheme that was saving lives at sea, Mr Marles said.

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Employers, unions argue over wage increase

EMPLOYERS are willing to put $10 extra a week into the pockets of low-income earners, far short of the $27 a week unions say is needed.

Industry groups argue small businesses could close if wages rise too much, but unions say low-paid workers are consumers who would stimulate the economy.

The ACTU says the gap between rich and poor has widened over the past 10 years, as wages failed to keep pace with the cost of living.

But Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said increasing the minimum wage too much would hurt 500,000 part-time workers who wanted more hours.

"Too big an increase in Australian minimum wages would also further damage Australian competitiveness," Mr Willox said.

"Our minimum wage levels are already amongst the highest in the OECD."

ACTU secretary David Oliver said profits were up, productivity was up, but workers' share of the pie was getting smaller.

He predicted Australia would have a US-style working poor within 20 years if the minimum wage wasn't increased steadily.

Last year, a push by unions for the minimum wage to be increased by $30 a week was met with a request by employers for the pay rise to be limited to $5.80 a week.

The minimum wage went up $15.80 to $622.20 a week in 2013.

Mr Oliver said that 20 years ago the minimum wage was 60 per cent of average full-time wages, but had fallen to 43 per cent.

Submissions from employers and unions were lodged with the Fair Work Commission on Friday, with a decision expected in June.

The commission's decision will apply to Australian award wages from July 1.

Employment Minister Eric Abetz said it was up to the Fair Work Commission to determine wages and the government would be making its own submission to the review later on Friday.

It was appropriate the FWC found out the details of that before it was publicly announced, he told reporters in Canberra.

Senator Abetz said the government was concerned about easing the burden on low income earners but that would largely come from scrapping the carbon tax.

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Search for MH370 takes dramatic shift

The search for a missing Malaysia Airlines flight has resumed with weather conditions improving. Source: AAP

THE focus of the hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has completely shifted to a new northern zone in the Indian Ocean.

New radar data analysis has prompted authorities to shift the search 1100 kilometres to the northeast, following updated advice from the international investigation team in Malaysia.

The focus zone is now about 319,000 square km and some 1850km west of Perth.

Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) emergency response manager John Young said on Friday all planes and ships had been moved to the new zone, which was "now our best place to go".

"We have moved on from (previous) search areas," Mr Young told a press briefing in Canberra.

"The search we've had to date is what we had at the time. New information will emerge.

"I don't count the original work a waste of time."

He said the search area had been "refined and moved on" from earlier work.

"It's not a new theory."

But the search area could change again, Air Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Martin Dolan said.

Mr Young stressed that he would not use the term "debris field" in relation to the satellite objects previously identified, which "may or may not be objects".

Because the new search zone is closer to Perth, where planes are being flown from, spotters have longer time on the scene than before, he said.

Up until now, they only had one to two hours before having to return to RAAF air base Pearce.

"We're now doing much better than that," Mr Young said.

Weather conditions in the new search area will also be more favourable, he said.

The new area is shallower, with water depths ranging from 2000 to 4000 metres.

But there was still a long way to go yet in the massive search area, Mr Young said.

The search area is almost as large as Malaysia itself, which has a land mass of 328,000 square km.

The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) patrol ship, Haixun 01, is already in the search area.

The Australian Navy's HMAS Success is expected to arrive in the search area late on Saturday night.

A US-towed pinger locator and Bluefin-21 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle have arrived in Perth to assist with location and recovery of the black box.

Malaysia Airlines group chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the Australian government had given immense support to the national carrier, from co-ordinating the search to offering an exemption of the visa application process for families of passengers and crew on board MH370.

"Malaysia Airlines will be making arrangements to take family members to Perth, should physical wreckage be found," he said.

"We are extremely grateful for such support.

"Whilst we understand that there will inevitably be speculation during this period, we do ask people to bear in mind the effect this has on the families of all those on board.

"Their anguish and distress increases with each passing day, with each fresh rumour, and with each false or misleading report."

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Pell worried by US abuse payouts

Cardinal George Pell has given evidence at the royal commission into child sexual abuse in Sydney. Source: AAP

CARDINAL George Pell was worried by sexual abuse case payouts that had bankrupted some US churches and wanted to prevent similar payouts in Australia, an inquiry has heard.

Dr Pell, the former archbishop of Sydney, told the royal commission into child sexual abuse that he had been concerned by verdicts in US courts where large payouts to victims had bankrupted some dioceses.

He denied, however, that he wanted sexual abuse victims to go through the Catholic church's internal system, Towards Healing, rather than the courts, so that the church could control the size of payouts.

Under questioning from Commission chair Justice Peter McClellan, Dr Pell agreed that, since his time as archbishop of Melbourne, he had been concerned about the US payouts to victims.

He did not want a similar situation in Australia because "Australia is not America" where there are "an enormous number of lawyers".

But Dr Pell also did not want the church to be treated differently to any other Australian institution in answering claims of sexual abuse.

"I did not want that to happen just to us," he said.

The commission was shown a 2007 letter to the archdiocese from its lawyers that described a court ruling that the church's trustees could not be sued as a significant and favourable outcome.

The lawyers said the court's ruling "places a significant number of obstacles" that would have to be overcome by claimants pursuing abuse cases through the courts rather than through Towards Healing.

Earlier, Dr Pell said he instructed lawyers to vigorously defend the case against abuse victim John Ellis to make other potential complainants reconsider going to court.

Counsel assisting the commission, Gail Furness SC, asked Dr Pell if he had wanted to make plaintiffs "think twice" about suing the church.

Dr Pell said he wanted them to "think clearly".

"They should consider the advantages in not going to litigation," he said.

He admitted the church didn't deal fairly with Mr Ellis "from a Christian point of view", but in a legal sense it did nothing improper.

Dr Pell said he was consoled by a legal ruling protecting the church's property trustees from being sued.

The commission has heard the archdiocese of Sydney has property and cash worth $1.2 billion.

Mr Ellis sued the church over the abuse he suffered at the hands of a priest between the ages of 13 to 17 in the 1970s, but lost the case in 2007 when a court ruled the trustees weren't liable.

Lawyers disputed in court that the abuse had occurred, cross-examining Mr Ellis over a number of days, despite the church having previously accepted that it had happened.

Dr Pell said he regretted the action.

"I regret that. I was told that it was a legally proper tactic," he said.

The church subsequently pursued Mr Ellis for $550,000 in costs, despite a psychiatrist assessing Mr Ellis as being in a fragile mental state.

The inquiry continues.

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Christian bikies back Qld court challenge

QUEENSLAND'S anti-bikie laws go against the Bible and Christian beliefs about justice, the Brotherhood Christian Motorcycle Club says.

Queensland's outlaw motorcycle gangs have found an unlikely ally in the Brotherhood, which will help bankroll their High Court challenge against the laws.

"We'd hope to raise at least $2000, maybe more," spokesman Greg Pendlebury told AAP on Wednesday.

The club has written to the Queensland parliament asking for the laws to be repealed.

It's also contacting churches, asking them to compare the laws with the Bible's teachings and consider contributing funds.

The club has spoken out against anti-association laws in NSW and other states in the past, but considers the Queensland laws to be the most menacing.

The laws go against Christian principles by changing the nature of crime from "what you do" to "who you talk to", the club says.

Other criticisms include that the laws remove the intent of the justice system to correct behaviour, and the prospect of innocent people being punished because of their associations.

"Punishing the innocent is contrary to the Bible's mandate for government," Mr Pendlebury said.

"The new laws mean that an activity as innocent as a family picnic may be an offence."

Fourteen of the state's bikie gangs, which were declared illegal organisations in October, as well as recreational riders, launched the High Court challenge last week.

They'll argue that more than a dozen sections of the new laws are unconstitutional.

The reforms were introduced after a violent brawl at a Gold Coast restaurant in September 2013, which involved dozens of bikies wearing club colours.

The legislation imposes mandatory jail terms of between 15 and 25 years for anyone found guilty of gang-related crimes, with the punishment to be imposed on top of the usual sentence.

And it is illegal for three or more gang members to knowingly meet in public.

Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie said the laws are firm but fair.

"Everyone has the right to fund a legal challenge but that money could go towards helping victims of crime, disadvantaged Queenslanders and not organised criminal gangs," Mr Bleijie told AAP.

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Qlders may never see asset sale studies

QUEENSLANDERS may never see scoping studies into the sale of public assets, the state treasurer says.

Tim Nicholls says the government has already received some of the studies, but warns they are very complex documents that contain a substantial amount of confidential information.

"We'll consider those scoping studies, they could have confidential information that would lead them to not being able to be released, particularly if the government tried to get the maximum value for things that it does own," he told reporters in Townsville.

The treasurer wouldn't commit to showing Queenslanders the documents.

"What we'll be bringing to Queenslanders is the information that is necessary in order to be able to make a decision around which way to go," Mr Nicholls said.

"I've never said those scoping studies will be released. I've always said we will conduct those scoping studies, they will be considered by government, they will contain confidential information."

The previous Labor government also refused to release scoping studies when it undertook unpopular asset sales in 2009-10.

Mr Nicholls says Queenslanders have three choices to increase revenue: increased taxes and charges, reduced services or the sale of assets.

The government has always said it won't proceed with any sales without an election mandate.

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World Vision to employ married gays

WORLD Vision, the international Christian-based aid organisation, has made a surprise announcement on one of the most divisive social issues of the day, saying it will employ Christians in the US who are in legal same-sex marriages.

Calling gay marriage one of the stormiest issues that has divided denominations, congregations and families, the humanitarian group's President Richard Stearns said leaders wanted to prevent it from "tearing World Vision apart and potentially crippling our ability to accomplish our vital kingdom mission of loving and serving the poorest of the poor in the name of Christ".

The company said its employee-conduct policy had been updated to reflect the change, which came more than a year after a majority of Washingtonians voted to legalise same-sex marriages, now legal in 17 states and the District of Columbia.

The decision, first announced on the website Christianity Today, followed years of prayer and discussion by the board, Mr Stearns said in letter to employees, and added that it in no way suggests an endorsement of same-sex marriage.

World Vision continues to affirm "traditional" marriage as a God-ordained institution, Mr Stearns wrote, but added that leaders also recognised that many of the 50-plus denominations his employees were part of had sanctioned same-sex marriage in recent years.

He said he was not bowing to outside lobbying or any concerns about government funding, but on this divisive issue was choosing to defer to "the authority of local churches" that had been struggling with the matter for some time.

"I want to reassure you that we are not sliding down some slippery slope of compromise, nor are we diminishing the authority of Scripture in our work," Mr Stearns wrote.

With more than $US1 billion ($A1.10 billion) in revenue, World Vision is the largest global Christian relief organisation, with more than 40,000 employees in 100 countries, including about 1,200 in the US.

More than 15 per cent of its employees worldwide were not Christian, though all its US employees were, and were required upon employment to sign a statement of faith affirming that they believed in the deity of Jesus Christ and the Trinity.

Stearns said the organisation would continue to require all employees sign the statement and would continue to expect them to observe abstinence before marriage and fidelity within marriage.

The announcement comes as gay-rights advocates across the country continue to gain substantial ground on same-sex marriage and as religious organisations struggle with how to reconcile the apparent conflict with their teachings.

Fourteen federal courts have struck down anti-gay-marriage laws since the US Supreme Court last year ruled that federal agencies could deny benefits to people in same-sex unions.

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Aust youth unemployment is rising

TURNED away by business after business across Melbourne, Chris Saunders is one of the growing number of young Australians who can't find work.

Parts of Australia have experienced youth unemployment rises of up to 88 per cent in two years, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data analysed by the Brotherhood of St Laurence.

In the northern Queensland city of Cairns, one in five adolescent job-seekers can't find employment.

Communities in west and northwest Tasmania and outback Northern Territory are also experiencing similar figures.

For 24-year-old job-seeker Saunders, the hardest part isn't putting in the effort, it's getting a foot in the door.

"I've handed out dozens of resumes but it's usually the same response: 'sorry, we're not hiring'," Mr Saunders told AAP.

Youth unemployment is projected to affect nearly half of all young Australians in Cairns by 2016, the Brotherhood of St Laurence said.

One in three young job-seekers in outback Western Australia and Northern Territory will also be out of work, it said.

Brotherhood of St Laurence executive director Tony Nicholson said the data proves youth unemployment is not only at crisis point, but is continuing to grow at an alarming rate.

"Australia is facing a generational crisis," Mr Nicholson said on Monday.

"For young people caught up in this jobless spiral, this can be a road to long-term poverty and reliance on welfare."

The Brotherhood called on the federal government to implement a plan to aid the transition of young Australians from school to the workplace.

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Labor says it has a mandate in SA

RETURNED South Australian Labor Premier Jay Weatherill has rejected suggestions his government is "illegitimate".

Mr Weatherill will lead Labor into a fourth consecutive term after independent MP Geoff Brock agreed to support the party to form a minority administration.

That provided Labor the 24 votes it needs in the state's House of Assembly after the March 15 election delivered a hung parliament.

The premier said Labor had a mandate to govern because it won more seats than the Liberal opposition.

"We've formed a majority of seats on the floor of the House of Assembly which is the way governments are made and unmade," he told ABC radio on Monday.

"We've secured more seats than the Liberal Party, which is the contest."

However, both state Opposition Leader Steven Marshall and federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne have questioned the legitimacy of Labor continuing in office after the Liberals clearly won the popular vote.

Mr Pyne said the result showed that the state's electorate boundaries were drafted in such a way that Labor could win with just 47 per cent of the two-party vote.

"That needs to be closely looked at," he said.

"Jay Weatherill's government is an illegitimate government."

Mr Marshall said he was disappointed at Mr Brock's decision which he believed was not in the best interests of South Australia.

He said the decision might bring short-term stability but would end up delivering long-term disaster for the state.

"I think this is a death wish for South Australia," he said.

But Mr Brock reaffirmed that he made his decision to prevent South Australia returning to the polls or operating with a caretaker government for the next few months until it was clear who fellow independent Bob Such would support.

Dr Such is in hospital ahead of surgery this week and is expected to be away from parliament for at least the next two months.

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NSW urged to get flu-ready

PREGNANT women and the elderly are being urged to prepare for winter and get a flu shot following an "unusually high" level of influenza in NSW this summer.

The Director of Health Protection NSW, Dr Jeremy McAnulty, said the northern hemisphere had experienced widespread influenza over the past months, with influenza A(H1N1) pandemic strain, A(H3N2) and influenza B circulating to different extents in different countries.

An unusually high level of influenza had also been seen in NSW over summer, he said.

He and other health professionals are now urging people, especially the elderly and pregnant women, to prepare for winter.

"The Australian flu vaccine has been updated to more closely match the influenza strains likely to circulate in NSW this year.

"So get a shot in preparation for this season," Dr McAnulty said on Sunday.

He said the seasonal flu shot continues to be the best defence for pregnant women and has the added advantage of protecting babies during their first six months when they are too young to have the vaccine.

NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner said the government's Be Winter Wise campaign, launched on Sunday, was focusing on pregnant women, the elderly and people with chronic medical conditions.

"Although we are still experiencing warm weather, people should not be complacent when it comes to the dangers of the flu," she said in a statement.

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One-punch killers to face life in Qld

One-punch killers will face life imprisonment under proposed changes to Queensland laws. Source: AAP

ONE-PUNCH killers would face life imprisonment under proposed changes to Queensland laws.

The Newman government's draft plan to tackle alcohol-related and drug-related violence, released on Sunday, would create an offence - unlawful striking causing death - to deal with one-punch killers.

If convicted, defendants would be required to serve at least 80 per cent of their life sentence behind bars before being eligible for parole.

"We have all seen the devastating and often tragic effects of coward punches not just in our state but across the nation," Premier Campbell Newman said in a statement.

"The Queensland government is determined to counter this dangerous trend and make Queensland the safest place in Australia for people to go out and enjoy themselves."

Under the plan, the maximum penalty for aggravated serious assaults on ambulance officers would rise from seven to 14 years' imprisonment.

Drunkenness would no longer be a viable excuse to mitigate an offender's sentence and courts would have the power to ban people from licensed premises for life.

ID would be installed in all licensed venues trading after midnight to keep out problem patrons and banned people.

The government would also set up 15 "safe night precincts" across the state where there would be late-night lockouts and more police on the beat.

Police would be given the power to detain people for their own safety if they were unduly intoxicated and at risk of serious harm, or behaving in a potentially violent or antisocial manner.

The government would also introduce a compulsory drinking awareness plan for all students between years 7-12 as part of the school curriculum.

The public has been asked to comment on the draft policy before April 21.

The opposition called on the Newman government to introduce a blanket 1am lockout across the state.

"If you don't tackle trading hours you don't tackle alcohol-fuelled violence. It's that simple," Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said in a statement.

"Unfortunately we have a premier too scared to act and showing no leadership."

Opposition police spokesman Bill Byrne questioned whether the government had failed to introduce a lockout because it was beholden to vested interests.

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