MPs slam Rinehart's views on entitlement

AS she predicted, Gina Rinehart's criticism of Australia's "entitlement" mentality has drawn return fire, with left wing MPs inviting her to leave the country, and leave the nation's battlers alone.

Ms Rinehart, who's worth almost $20 billion, took aim at welfare recipients and the political left for spending the "bottomless pit" of revenue created by mining.

The mining tycoon predicted "forests and splinters" of articles from "people boiling with rage that I dare challenge their bottomless pit and belief money doesn't have to be earned before it is spent mentality".

And she was right.

Former Labor leader Mark Latham accused Ms Rinehart of double standards.

"She wants to be a bigger welfare recipient herself," Mr Latham told the Seven Network.

"She's against social welfare but she's very much in favour of business welfare for herself.

"I think that's an appalling double standard. There is no bottomless pit of money and that should apply to Gina as much as the people she's bagging today."

WA Labor MP Alannah MacTiernan said Ms Rinehart "just doesn't get what has made Australia such a safe place for her to make her billions".

"Enterprise and achievement is built on education, inspiration and opportunity, not by bringing in truckloads of overseas workers so that Ms Rinehart can live in even greater grandiosity and have even bigger pearls, if that is at all possible," Ms MacTiernan said.

And Greens Deputy Leader Adam Bandt said Ms Rinehart was "a threat to Australian egalitarianism".

"Gina Rinehart is full of suggestions about how to balance the budget, but none of them involve her paying a fairer share of tax and all of them involve getting the rest of us to pay more," Mr Bandt said.

"If Gina Rinehart thinks Australians are paid too much and have health care that's too good, she's welcome to leave."

Writing in a resources magazine, the billionaire espoused her admiration of former British PM Margaret Thatcher, while saying Australia was "living beyond our means".

"Australians have to work hard or actually harder and smarter to create the revenue to be able to pay that bill ... something has to give - we can't do it all," Ms Rinehart said.

In her column titled 'The Age of Entitlement - has Consequences', Ms Rinehart urged action from politicians, saying "now is the time to change some thinking and urge leadership".

"The left don't want to address the issue. Instead they get hysterical and personal about who speaks out," she wrote.

Rinehart this week tumbled 10 places on the latest Forbes Magazine global rich list, despite getting richer in the past year.

She was easily Australia's richest person on the list, ahead of 208th-ranked James Packer with $US6.5 billion.

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Cyclone expected to lash Qld's north coast

A CYCLONE is expected to lash the north Queensland coast this weekend, with destructive winds and possibly flash flooding, forecasters say.

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Falconio murderer withdraws appeal

LAWYERS for Bradley John Murdoch, convicted of murdering British backpacker Peter Falconio, have withdrawn an appeal against his conviction.

Murdoch is serving a life sentence with a 28-year non-parole period, but wanted his conviction quashed and a retrial ordered due to what his lawyers called "a miscarriage of justice".

He launched a leave to appeal in December, but a notice to withdraw was lodged at the Northern Territory Court of Criminal Appeal on Friday.

He was convicted in 2005 over the 2001 murder of Mr Falconio, whose body has never been found.

Murdoch believed a News Corp interview with prosecutor Rex Wild QC showed that the prosecution felt Joanne Lees, Mr Falconio's girlfriend and the key witness in the case, was so unlikable that she might have endangered their case, and so groomed her "secretly, deliberately and improperly" to improve her behaviour in order to obtain a conviction from the jury.

Mr Wild said he was happy to hear the appeal had been withdrawn.

"Relieved isn't the word for that; I'm pleased," he told AAP.

All decisions on submitting and withdrawing appeals had come from Murdoch himself, a spokesman for his lawyers said.

He denied that Murdoch had withdrawn his appeal due to having a weak case.

"Not at all," the spokesman said.

"It's certainly not over yet. There's more to come."

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Regional NT roads to get overdue repairs

SIX NT regional roads will receive upgrades worth more than $100 million in an initiative claimed by both Labor and the Coalition.

In August 2012 the then-Labor federal and NT governments announced a commitment of $106 million to repair the roads, which is finally being implemented with design work to begin this month.

The Roper and Buntine highways, and the Port Keats, Arnhem Link, Central Arnhem and Santa Teresa roads will all receive upgrades.

Chief Minister Adam Giles on Wednesday denied the announcement was a rehash of the previous government's funding deal cut 18 months ago.

"It's a totally new deal, I never even heard about their deal," he told AAP.

"We've been begging to get this work done; we wanted to do it last year (but) ... we've been waiting for the money to be approved."

The funding allocations and the roads identified are the same, and the planned works are very similar between the two plans, such as upgrading the gravel on the Arnhem Link Road, construction of a bridge over Rocky Bottom Creek on the Central Arnhem Road, and flood immunity improvement on Port Keats Road.

Mr Giles said the funding ratio between the federal and NT governments was the same because it was calculated by a set model.

As for the similarity in upgrade plans, "well, they're probably the roads that need it the most," he said.

"What is old is certainly new again as far as the shallow thinkers of the Abbott and Giles governments are concerned," said Federal Member for Lingiari Warren Snowdon.

Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said improving roads servicing regional and remote communities will boost local economies, bring social benefits, and link remote indigenous communities to regional centres.

These roads are critical to maintaining continued export growth from the resource and primary industries of the NT, he said.

The repairs "underpin a whole plethora of other activity aimed at addressing disadvantage across the Aboriginal community" said Joe Morrison, CEO of the Northern Land Council.

"It is unacceptable that large communities such as Wadeye, of over 2500 people, are cut off for lengthy periods of time each year - this funding will be vital in addressing this belated infrastructure requirement," he said.

"Roads are extremely important to Aboriginal people for service delivery and access, as well as a fundamental tool for economic development."

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Man dies after falling on NSW train tracks

A MAN has been killed by a train after slipping into a gap between the carriage and platform in Sydney.

Police say the man was trying to board a train at Dulwich Hill station about 4.20pm on Wednesday when he fell onto the tracks.

When the train pulled away, he became trapped beneath the carriage.

He died at the scene.

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Vic pair charged over fake notes

TWO men intercepted in a stolen car in southwestern Victoria have been found with counterfeit notes and printing equipment, police allege.

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Yarra recognised with gallantry citation

AN old wrong has been righted with a Unit Citation for Gallantry awarded to the crew of HMAS Yarra for brave actions during the dark days of World War II.

Just 13 of 151 sailors survived Yarra's sinking when she took on a superior Japanese fleet to try to protect a fleeing convoy of merchant ships.

None now remain alive so Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Ray Griggs accepted the medal on their behalf from Governor-General Quentin Bryce in Melbourne.

That follows an inquiry into whether retrospective Victoria Cross medals could be awarded to 13 former servicemen, including Yarra's captain Lieutenant Commander Robert Rankin and crewman Leading Seaman Ronald Taylor, both killed in her final action.

Although no VCs were awarded, the inquiry found the outstanding performance of Yarra's crew should have been recognised for two actions.

As Japanese aircraft attacked Singapore on February 5, 1942, Yarra, then commanded by Wilfred Harrington, went alongside the burning troop transport Empress of Asia, rescuing more than 1800 soldiers.

Then on March 4, Yarra was escorting a convoy of merchant ships to Australia when three Japanese heavy cruisers and two destroyers approached.

Cmdr Rankin ordered the convoy to scatter while the sloop held off the Japanese warships. The Yarra was struck repeatedly by enemy shells but the 151-strong crew fought on.

Vice Admiral Griggs said those on Yarra faced almost certain death without wavering, serving Australia with extraordinary gallantry, skill and conspicuous devotion to duty.

"They did so as one company, even to death. In doing so, they set an enduring example to which all members of the Royal Australian Navy can aspire," he said in a statement.

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Dad drink drives three times in one day

Police have charged a NSW father who was caught driving drunk three times in 24 hours. Source: AAP

A NSW father on his p-plates who allegedly drove drunk to a police station to collect his daughter after she was caught boozed up behind the wheel has been nabbed for drink driving twice more in 24 hours.

After his 19-year-old daughter blew 0.016 at Toronto police station on Friday night, the man arrived to collect her only to be breath tested himself.

He was found to have a blood alcohol reading of 0.192.

The 37-year-old was charged and his provisional licence was suspended.

About 13 hours later, at Saturday lunchtime, the man was stopped at a random breath test.

He was taken back to Toronto police station and blew 0.190.

Police charged the man with another high-range drink driving offence.

But about 10 hours later, he was caught for the third time after losing control of his car and driving down the wrong side of the road.

This time he was caught with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.159.

He was given his third high-range drink driving charge.

The man is due before Toronto Local Court in March.

Pedestrian Council of Australia president Harold Scruby says repeat high range drink-driving offenders should have their vehicles confiscated, as is the case in places including New Zealand.

"If you run amok with a gun or a knife, they'll confiscate the weapon and they'll lock you up. If you run amok with Australia's most dangerous weapon, the motor vehicle, it's almost an Order of Australia these days," he told AAP.

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Premier wants minister to stay on

Victorian Liberal frontbencher Mary Wooldridge lost a preselection battle for the safe seat of Kew. Source: AAP

PREMIER Denis Napthine wants Victorian government minister Mary Wooldridge to continue her career in state parliament after she lost a preselection battle for the safe seat of Kew.

In an embarrassing blow to the government, the community services minister lost a Liberal preselection contest for Kew on Sunday to former local mayor Tim Smith.

Premier Denis Napthine had strongly backed Ms Wooldridge, saying she would win preselection after her seat of Doncaster was abolished in an electoral redistribution.

Ms Wooldridge said she will now contemplate her future.

"Obviously I'm disappointed but it's an important part of a democracy of our party," she told reporters.

She says she will discuss her future with her husband and colleagues.

Mr Smith, seen as a rising star in the party, said he was humbled to be chosen by about 300 mainly rank and file Liberal members, but would not take questions.

"Extraordinary day, for which I'm truly humbled by the honour the Liberal party in Kew has bestowed on me," he told reporters.

Dr Napthine said he had no regret in strongly supporting Ms Wooldridge's preselection.

"She was a great candidate and I thought she would win," he said.

The premier said Ms Wooldridge was an outstanding contributor who will remain in his cabinet prior to November's election.

He wanted to ensure the government does all it can so Ms Wooldridge can continue on his team.

"I'll be encouraging Mary Wooldridge to continue her state parliamentary career," he said.

Dr Napthine congratulated Mr Smith and said his team would support him.

"Tim Smith is a young man with a great track record and certainly has a great future," he said.

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