QLD crash victim would fly to relax

TRIBUTES are flowing for a Queensland plane crash victim who would spend his weekends in the skies to relax.

John Stortelder, 58, was on a regular Sunday morning flight when his light plane came down and burst into flames in the Lockyer Valley in southeast Queensland on Sunday morning.

The fatal crash occurred about 7.20am (AEST) at Gatton, west of Ipswich.

Firefighters say the aircraft slammed into a transport depot on Princes Road and bounced over a fence before coming to rest on an embankment.

The crash occurred in the same area as the local airpark, where Mr Stortelder spent a lot of time, friends say.

Members of tight-knit flying community in Gatton have remembered Mr Stortelder as a reserved, quiet man who loved to fly.

"He was a lovely guy," friend Martin Hone said.

"Its just such a shame and has really affected everyone out here."

Mr Hone, who had known Mr Stortelder for six years, was also flying when the father-of-two crashed.

"He did have a lot of flying time," he said.

"He had been flying for a few years but took it very seriously and flew regularly.

"On weekends he would come out to the airpark to fly his planes and that was his relaxation."

Lockyer Valley mayor Steve Jones said the tragedy would impact many at the Gatton airpark.

"It will be upsetting for the people that live there because the site is right beside the airpark."

Alec Williams knew the pilot and says he was a "good fella" who spent a lot of time at the Gatton airpark.

He told ABC radio the pilot spent weekends at the airpark and was "well respected around the place".

"He was a good fella who lived his own life."

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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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Fed govt boosts pension payment

THE federal government has announced a boost to pension payments to help 3.6 million pensioners keep pace with rising living costs.

The increase to pension payments will come into effect on March 20 and is aimed at helping pensioners keep up with rises in cost of living expenses, the federal government says.

Federal Minister for Social Services Kevin Andrews said the payment rise had been driven by the consumer price index increase of 1.9 per cent for the first six months to December 2013.

"The coalition government is pleased to deliver increases to those on the Age Pension, Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment and veterans' income support," Mr Andrews said on Sunday.

He signalled another increase would occur in September to reflect growth in the CPI or the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index, whichever is higher.

Single age pensioners would receive an increase of $15.70 a fortnight, while age pensioner couples would receive an extra $23.80 a fortnight.

"This means total pension payments for people on the maximum rate will be $842.80 a fortnight for singles, and $1,270.60 a fortnight for couples," Mr Andrews said.

One million allowance recipients would also benefit from a boost to income support payments such as Newstart and Parenting Payment as of March 20.

The announcement comes as the government is considering combining disability payments and payments to the unemployed into a single welfare payment, News Corp Australia reported on Sunday.

Mr Andrews told reporters in Melbourne the government needed to tackle welfare reform because the budget was in a dire position.

The federal opposition believes any move to combine the dole and disability pensions into a universal payment is just putting the boot into disabled people.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten accused the government of persecuting people with disabilities and seeking to slash their incomes.

"They seem to believe that everyone on the disability pension is rorting the system," he told reporters in Hobart.

"That isn't true."

The head of the government's welfare review, Patrick McClure, recommended to the Howard government in 2000 that it create a single, unified payment for all welfare recipients with top up amounts based on further need.

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Refugee activists march in Sydney

REFUGEE activists have clashed with police in a peak-hour march through inner Sydney.

Riot police were called in as hundreds rallied along George Street on Friday evening chanting "Free, free the refugees".

At times the throngs spilled onto city roads, disrupting traffic and prompting physical confrontations with police.

The demonstration comes after the death of 23-year-old Reza Berati during violent clashes at Australia's Manus Island immigration detention centre.

Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul told the rally the Iranian's death would not be forgotten.

"They want to push it aside," he said. "They want it to be covered up in the lies and the cover-ups which are now under way on Manus Island.

"We are not going to allow that to happen."

The protesters have called for the Papua New Guinea facility to be shut down and Immigration Minister Scott Morrison to step down.

"Scott Morrison, blood on your hands," they cried as the march approached the Immigration Department's Sydney headquarters.

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LNP members push for more wild river cuts

LIBERAL National Party members want more wild river protections to be wound back.

Office holders will vote on whether to forward the policy to the LNP government, along with 27 other proposals, at the party's state council meeting in Toowoomba this weekend.

The resolution calls for wild river declarations of the Gregory and Staaten catchments, in the gulf, be rescinded.

Plans are already underway to revoke six other declarations across northern and western Queensland, with new protections to be offered under regional plans.

Other resolutions include increasing sentences by up to 100 per cent where alcohol and drugs were a contributing factor to the crime.

The Queensland Core Skills test should be aborted from 2014, and soon-to-be mothers should receive more support via social media and phone calls to decrease anxiety and depression.

There are a number of recommendations to reduce the cost of living, which was one of the LNP's election pledges.

Land rental on leasehold land should be frozen while a review to overhaul the system is undertaken, and solar feed in tariffs for any new customers should be immediately removed.

The existing solar feed in tariff scheme alone is now forecast to cost on average each customer, in 2015/16, around $276 per year.

Premier Campbell Newman and LNP president Bruce McIver will speak at the event on Saturday, and Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss will address the crowd on Sunday.

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China busts major baby trafficking ring

CHINESE police have rescued 382 abducted babies and arrested 1094 suspects in a national operation that busted four major internet-based baby trafficking rings, the Public Security Ministry says.

The operation came after police in Beijing and the eastern province of Jiangsu last year found four websites selling babies under the cover of adoption, the ministry said, adding that internet technologies have assisted baby traffickers by providing more secretive covers for their businesses.

Child abduction is a major problem in China despite punishments as harsh as the death sentence for traffickers, and national-level busts of trafficking rings have been frequent in recent years.

Strict laws that limit many families to one child, a traditional preference for boys, poverty and illicit profits drive a thriving market in babies and children.

To address the problem, China is considering tougher penalties for parents who sell their children, as well as for the buyers.

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Motorists suffer 'accident anxiety'

MOST motorists are suffering from "accident anxiety", and drivers aged 35-44 are the most worried, according to a survey.

As many as 79 per cent of those taking to the road are anxious about driving, the poll by Allianz Insurance found.

This concern is so great that 17 per cent of drivers have decided not to make a particular journey due to their worries.

Based on responses from 1000 people who drive regularly, the survey showed 83 per cent of drivers aged 35-44 get anxious on the road.

Overall, the biggest worry to drivers is tailgating, followed by road rage and uninsured drivers.

Of those who have accidents, 81 per cent said it was not their fault with 22 per cent saying they felt more worried, more stressed and less confident after a collision, with women being notably more worried than men after a crash.

Yet just seven per cent reckoned more driver training would be the answer.

Allianz Insurance chief executive Jon Dye said: "It's worrying to see that so many motorists feel they will have an accident, and yet so few feel more driver training would help. Drivers can only drive at their best if they feel calm and alert and not unduly worried about what other motorists are getting up to.

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Gordon Ramsay hit with bizarre lawsuit

GORDON Ramsay has been hit with an odd lawsuit from a man who claims he can't taste food after cutting his tongue at the celebrity chef's New York City restaurant.

German chef Markus Barthel visited the Brit's eatery at The London hotel last March, but claims he got much more than he bargained for when his meal arrived.

In the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Barthel alleges he ate a hard piece of plastic or ceramic that was hidden in his hamburger, and was left with "serious, severe and permanent injuries in his mouth, including... deep cuts in his tongue".

The documents also state that Barthel had to undergo surgery in order to repair the damage, but is "unable to perform the duties of a chef any longer."

His lawyer, Florian Bruno, told the New York Daily News that his client was unable to work for several weeks because of the incident.

"A chef needs his tongue like a pianist needs his fingers. They have to taste everything and he says there continues to be a loss of taste in his tongue," Bruno explained.

"The doctor said tongues are difficult to heal because people have to eat and they keep reinjuring themselves."

Barthel is seeking unspecified damages and compensation.

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Anti-violence laws in force at weekend

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has lashed out at lawyers opposing new laws against alcohol violence. Source: AAP

ANTI-VIOLENCE campaigners have welcomed new laws to combat street violence but believe responsibility also lies with the judiciary and the rest of the country.

Mandatory minimum sentences for fatal alcohol and drug-fuelled assaults and earlier lockouts will be in place this weekend after NSW parliament passed anti-violence legislation on Thursday night.

Party-goers will be locked out of clubs from 1.30am in the Sydney city-centre entertainment precinct, including Kings Cross, and last drinks will be at 3am.

Steroid possession and supply will also attract a maximum jail term of 25 years, up from two years, while those convicted of fatal one-punch assaults while intoxicated or on steroids will be subject to the minimum eight-year mandatory jail term.

People will be considered intoxicated if their blood-alcohol concentration is above 0.15 per cent or they have taken illegal drugs.

Robert McEwen, whose son Michael was in a coma after being punched in Bondi in December, said he was concerned with mandatory sentences.

He gave the example in which a drunk person who throws a fatal punch would be jailed for eight years while a sober person, such as a gang member, who deliberately assaults someone who dies would not be exposed to the same mandatory sentence.

"People are upset about the light sentences that these people have received," he told AAP after the legislation was passed on Thursday.

"I think the judiciary has the scope to impose tougher sentences."

Enough is Enough campaigner Ken Marslew said NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell had shown real leadership.

"It's taken such a lot of work by such a lot of people," he told AAP.

However, Mr Marslew said the violence problems went far beyond Sydney's boundaries.

"This problem is all over the state from Wagga Wagga to Tweed Heads," he said.

He called on the federal government to establish a national model.

The reforms also remove voluntary intoxication as a mitigating factor for judges and magistrates considering penalties for drunk assaults.

A defence for people with a "significant cognitive impairment at the time of the offence" has been established and juveniles are exempt from most of the new measures.

NSW Police will also have new powers to conduct alcohol and drug testing on alcohol or drug-related assault suspects.

"The consequences couldn't be clearer for any thug heading out this weekend," Mr O'Farrell said.

"If you are intoxicated with drugs or alcohol and fatally assault someone, you will now be captured by a new mandatory minimum sentence of eight years' jail, with a maximum sentence of 25 years."

The Australian Hotels Association says some of the measures will unfairly harm businesses for which violence is not a problem.

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