US village honours Aust army captain

A New York village has honoured Australian soldier Captain Paul McKay, who died on a mountain. Source: AAP

THE small upstate New York village of Saranac Lake has honoured Australian soldier Captain Paul McKay, who died in sub-zero conditions on a mountain in January.

A group of eight, including Saranac Lake Mayor Clyde Rabideau and the Australian Army's Major Cameron Satrapa, scaled Scarface Mountain on Friday morning to the site where Capt McKay's body was found.

They gathered some rocks together to create a cairn memorial and placed a blue ribbon and a poppy on it.

"We said some prayers and toasted Capt McKay with some Australian beer," Mr Rabideau told AAP.

"It was a nice, simple, solemn service."

An Anzac Day service, attended by 150 people, was then held at Saranac Lake's World War I memorial where the Australian anthem was sung and the Ode of Remembrance read.

The residents of Saranac Lake, located near the Canadian border, were heartbroken when Capt McKay's body was found on the mountain after an intense two-week search.

Capt McKay, 31, from Adelaide, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress after a tour of Afghanistan and from a hotel room in the area emailed his father in Australia to say he was leaving all of his possessions to him.

Capt McKay, without the appropriate gear, then scaled Scarface Mountain in minus 28C and blizzard conditions.

Essex County Coroner Francis Whitelaw ruled the death a suicide.

An autopsy found he died from arrhythmia due to hypothermia.

Capt McKay's parents, John and Angela, plan to visit the village in June and will dedicate a bench at the base of the mountain to their son.

Saranac Lake declared Friday Anzac Day for PTS Awareness.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467

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NSW man accused of stabbing murder

A 20-year-old man has been stabbed to death in the NSW Hunter region, police say. Source: AAP

A MAN is facing a murder charge after a 20-year-old was fatally stabbed in the NSW Hunter region.

The alleged victim succumbed to his injuries shortly after arriving at Cessnock District Hospital on Friday night.

Police say they broke up a brawl in the hospital car park, where they found another 20-year-old man suffering a minor stab wound to the arm.

A third man, also 20, was arrested in Cessnock and questioned overnight, and has now been charged with murder.

The accused man was refused bail during an appearance before Maitland Local Court on Saturday and is due to reappear before Cessnock Local Court on Wednesday.

He has also been charged with carrying a cutting weapon and reckless wounding.

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WWII veterans diminished but not forgotten

AS the years pass their numbers are dwindling rapidly, but the nation's surviving World War II veterans have much to offer and Australians have been urged to seek them out and thank them.

Now in their 80s and 90s, a small number still managed to attend the annual Anzac Day dawn service in Adelaide and also take part in the traditional march through the centre of the city.

One of them who served in Europe, Bill Atkins, said Anzac Day was a time to think of his two sons, who had served in the navy and who also marched on Friday, and to remember his father who had been wounded at the battle of the Somme in France during World War I.

Holding back tears, he said some memories still hit hard.

"Especially when I hear The Ode and the Last Post," he said.

"I think of some of the blokes I went to school with who didn't come home. But that's life isn't it."

Another returned serviceman Bill Schmitt, 96, who served in the Middle East and also spent more than three years as a prisoner of war, said Australians had a shared responsibility to preserve, maintain and protect the nation's peace and freedom.

"Those of us who were fortunate to survive long years in captivity remember with respect and love the great comrades we left behind in burial grounds throughout the Pacific and Japan," Mr Schmitt told the 10,000 who attended Adelaide's dawn service.

"Young men and women whose lives were so needlessly taken in circumstances never before experienced and never again, we trust, to be repeated."

Returned and Service League spokesman Bill Denny said World War II veterans like Mr Schmitt had much to teach younger Australians.

"They are among us still although their numbers are rapidly dwindling," he said.

"While we still have them in our midst, and before the focus shifts to the issues of history, I ask you to seek out and thank the World War II veterans in your local community."

Mr Denny also called on Australians not to allow the "romance" of war to overshadow its brutal reality, particularly in next year's WWI centenary commemorations.

"During this period we must be very careful not to allow the oft implied romance of war to overshadow the brutal reality, pain and loss that war delivers on the soldiers who serve and those that are left behind," he said.

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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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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.

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Aust internet speeds up as ranking drops

AUSTRALIA'S internet is speeding up - but not as fast as it is elsewhere, a report says.

Average Australian connection speeds increased by 27 per cent in 2013 to reach 5.8 megabits per second (Mbps) in the December quarter, according to Akamai Technologies' latest State of the Internet report.

But the country dropped three places in global speed rankings to 44th, beaten by regional neighbours Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan.

New Zealand placed 45th with average speeds of 5.3 Mbps, while South Korean maintained its No. 1 ranking with average speeds of 21.9 Mbps.

Australia ranked 32nd in average peak connection speeds at 35.2 Mbps - an increase of 26 per cent on 2012. Hong Kong ranked first with an average of 68 Mbps.

The proportion of Australian users with "high broadband" connectivity doubled in 2013, reaching 9.7 per cent.

Recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show more and more people are opting for plans offering theoretical maximum speeds of at least 24 Mbps.

The number of Australian signing on to such plans increased 27 per cent in 2013 to pass two million.

However, actual speeds are generally far slower, being affected by various factors such as modem quality and the distance of a user from the nearest internet exchange.

Broadband sped up impressively across the board in the Asia Pacific region, the Akamai report showed, while the global average connection speed grew 5.5 per cent to reach 3.8 Mbps.

There are eight megabits in megabyte, meaning a 24 Mbps connection would download about 180 megabytes of data per minute.

China remained the biggest source of computer attacks, the report showed, generating 43 per cent of all attack traffic.

The report draws on data compiled by Akamai's "Intelligent Platform", which handles up to 30 per cent of the world's internet traffic via more than 100,000 servers.

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Pain for households as gas prices soar

NSW households face more utility bill pain, with gas prices set to rocket 17.6 per cent from July 1, adding up to $224 a year to an average bill.

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) revealed the draft proposals on Wednesday, with Australia's growing export market and the carbon tax copping the blame.

The rise means an average household will have to stump up an extra $150 to $224 for their annual gas bills from July 1, depending on the supplier.

Gas prices in NSW have already increased by about 40 per cent in real terms between 2006 and 2014, piling enormous pressure on some households.

Electricity prices have increased by more than 80 per cent over the same period.

The latest gas price rises, which are subject to public consultation before being rubber-stamped in June, apply to households on regulated tariffs (about 25 per cent of the state).

However, those on unregulated tariffs also face significant price hikes, driven by rising wholesale costs.

Small businesses also face significantly increased gas bills.

IPART said wholesale gas costs were mostly to blame, fuelled by Australia's growing gas export industry and the carbon tax.

A growing number of gas export facilities, mostly located on the eastern seaboard, means Australian-based gas producers are increasingly able to sell liquid natural gas overseas, mostly to Asia, at a higher price.

IPART suggested domestic gas prices will essentially merge with the higher international prices over time, as export facilities continue to grow.

The 2014-15 gas price rises have been calculated with a carbon tax component.

But the 2015-16 prices have not and IPART said if the carbon tax was not repealed, prices could rise again.

The federal government has introduced legislation to dump the carbon tax but it faces a tough task getting it through the Senate.

NSW Energy Minister Anthony Roberts used the price rises to urge Labor and the Greens to support the carbon tax repeal bill.

Premier Mike Baird said he would raise the issue at next week's Council of Australian Government meeting.

NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson said the state government should push for a reservation policy for domestic gas use, instead of blaming the hike on the carbon tax.

"We're seeing massive increases in gas because suddenly the eastern seaboard is exposed to the global market," he said.

"That's pushing prices up."

Reservation policies were used in other countries to protect families from price shocks, Mr Robertson said.

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Harradine farewelled in Tasmania

Family friends and political colleagues have farewelled former Tasmanian senator Brian Harradine. Source: AAP

FAMILY friends and former political colleagues have farewelled Australia's longest serving independent senator, Brian Harradine, at a state funeral in Hobart.

Hundreds of mourners have packed St Mary's Cathedral to hear the Tasmanian described as a "just man" unsullied by politics.

Archbishop Julian Porteous said Mr Harradine's 30-year political contribution had been motivated by his Catholic faith.

The mourners include former prime minister John Howard, Federal Minister Eric Abetz representing the government and Tasmania's Premier Will Hodgman.

Mr Harradine had requested no eulogy but, writing in the official program, his son Bede described him as "fearless, determined, formidable".

The man who became known as the "Father of the Senate" died on April 14 aged 79 after a series of strokes.

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Starfish killer injection saving reef

IT'S a killer jab that's injecting new life into the Great Barrier Reef.

With just a single injection, the crown of thorns starfish - one of the biggest threats to the world icon - dies from an allergic reaction in as little as 24 hours.

The new culling method has destroyed 250,000 of the coral-eating starfish in 21 months, a four-fold increase.

Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt and Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch revealed the success of the control measure, developed by James Cook University, in Cairns on Tuesday.

Mr Entsch says divers in the north Queensland city had been able to cull more than 1000 crown of thorns starfish on a 40-minute dive.

"This includes 27,000 in just eight days at Arlington reef and 9000 at Batt reef, as well as 14,000 at Spitfire reef near Cooktown," Mr Entsch said.

Mr Hunt said the killer injection, and funding for a second control vessel, had greatly boosted the fight against the coral destroying starfish.

He said pollution and run-off entering the reef had led to an explosion in numbers of the pest, causing considerable damage to the reef.

"In recent decades crown of thorns starfish have been responsible for 42 per cent of coral loss on the Great Barrier Reef," he said.

Researchers say a crown of thorns starfish outbreak can destroy 40 to 90 per cent of the corals on a reef, with the pest causing more damage to the icon than bleaching in the past 50 years.

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Easter road toll down by almost half

TWELVE people were killed on Australia's roads over the Easter break, 10 fewer than last year.

Final figures show five people died in Western Australia, three in Queensland and two in NSW in crashes, from Thursday to Monday.

Tasmania and Victoria each had one death.

South Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory were fatality free.

The figures were collated by the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency.

The Easter road toll figures are for the period 0001 April 17 to 2359 April 21.

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16-year-old survives stowaway flight drama

THE FBI says a 16-year-old boy stowed away in the wheel well of a flight from California to Hawaii, surviving the trip halfway across the Pacific Ocean unharmed despite frigid temperatures at 38,000 feet and a lack of oxygen.

FBI spokesman Tom Simon in Honolulu told The Associated Press on Sunday night that the boy was questioned by the FBI after being discovered on the tarmac at the Maui airport with no identification.

Simon says security footage from the San Jose airport verified that the boy hopped a fence to get to Hawaiian Airlines Flight 45 on Sunday morning. Simon says the child had run away from his family.

Simon says the boy will not be charged and was referred to child protective services.

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Central Australia readies for the royals

ABOUT 300 people live in the remote Aboriginal community of Mutitjulu, the closest to Uluru, and visitors need a permit to enter the community.

But on Tuesday, a number of Mutitjulu's residents will be firmly in the global spotlight as they meet two of Australia's biggest guests to date: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

"They're a long way removed from the royals... these people live and breathe their culture every day," said Terry Brown, deputy principal of Mutitjulu's Nyangatjatjara College.

It is an honour that the royal couple is travelling to such a remote part of Australia, she said.

"Your celebrity people stick to the east coast, so it's nice they're coming and they've made an effort to meet some of the locals, and the locals do appreciate that."

Since Prince Charles and Princess Diana brought a baby William to visit Uluru in 1983, there have only been two other royal visits: by Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia in 2005, and by Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Crown Princess Maxima of the Netherlands in 2006.

William and Kate will present graduation certificates to students of the National Indigenous Training Academy before being welcomed to country at the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre.

They will also do a base walk around Uluru, and hopefully will be able to experience the silence of the desert, said Karena Noble, spokeswoman for Voyages Indigenous Tourism.

"People often comment after a visit to Uluru that it's the spiritual nature of the destination that touches them," she said.

"The Australian desert has got a special aura and presence all of its own."

The royal couple would have benefited from a visit to an indigenous community, said Harry Wilson, of the Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation.

"That would have been a good thing, if they could see the other side of community life and see how people live these days," he said.

"Should have opened their eyes up, I reckon."

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Bring faith to 'ends of the earth': Pope

Pope Francis has baptised 10 people at an Easter Vigil in St Peter's Basilica. Source: AAP

POPE Francis has baptised 10 people and urged them to bring their faith "to the ends of the earth" as he presided over an Easter Vigil in St Peter's Basilica.

The vigil is among the Vatican's most solemn services.

The Pope entered the darkened basilica with a lone candle, which he then shared with others to slowly illuminate the church.

The symbolic service commemorates the darkness of the faithful over the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday and their joy and light at his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

The Pope urged the priests, bishops, cardinals and ordinary Catholics gathered for the late night service to remember when they first found their faith.

"Do I remember it? Have I forgotten it? Look for it. You'll find it. The Lord is waiting."

Trying to remember isn't an act of nostalgia but rather a way to bring the "fire" of faith "to all people, to the very ends of the earth", he said.

After his homily, The Pope proceeded to baptise each of the 10, starting with Italian brothers Giorgio and Jacopo Capezzuoli, aged 8 and 10.

"Do you want to be baptised?" he asked each one as he smiled.

He asked the same of the adult converts, who hailed from Vietnam, Belarus, Senegal, Lebanon, Italy and France.

It was the second late night for the Pope after the long Good Friday Way of the Cross procession at Rome's Colosseum.

The Pope, 77, will get a few hours of rest before celebrating Easter Sunday Mass in the flower-strewn St Peter's Square.

He then has a week to prepare for the other major celebration of this year's Easter season: the April 27 canonisations of Pope John XXIII and John Paul II.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend.

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Qld woman dead from suspected stab wounds

Police are investigating the suspicious stabbing death of a woman in far north Queensland. Source: AAP

POLICE are investigating the suspected stabbing death of a woman in far north Queensland.

The 27-year-old was found by officers who were called to a home at Woree in Cairns just before 4am on Sunday.

A 32-year-old man is assisting police with their inquiries.

Police say the pair knew each other.

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