Greens warn of Abbott's absolute power

THEY seem resigned to a coalition victory but the Australian Greens are promising they can still stop Tony Abbott from wielding absolute power over Australia's parliament.

The Greens want to "Abbott-proof" the Senate to prevent the coalition from ramming through bills without a fight.

The minor party launched a national advertising campaign on Saturday, warning that a vote for the Greens in the Senate is all that stands between the opposition leader and absolute power.

"With absolute power, who knows what he would do to people, workplaces and the environment?" Greens leader Christine Milne says in the campaign ad.

"There wouldn't be anyone to stand up for what matters."

There's no love lost between the Greens and the coalition.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has ordered the Liberal Party nationwide to preference the "economic fringe dwellers" as close to last as possible in all lower house seats this election.

He's also ruled out forming minority government with the alternative party.

Senator Milne said her party's new ad blitz didn't equate to negative politics but was simply a measure to "stop the excesses of an Abbott government".

"It is the ultimate in positive campaigning for Australia," Senator Milne told reporters on Saturday.

"The Greens in the balance of power will not allow Mr Abbott's hidden agenda for huge budget cuts to proceed."

She said a new opinion poll showed the majority of Australians didn't want one political party in control of both houses of parliament.

A vote for the Greens in the upper house would buffer the political intentions of not just the coalition but the "cruel and miserly" policies of Labor as well, she added.

The Greens also launched their workplace relations policy and national anti-poverty strategy on Saturday.

The party's only lower house MP Adam Bandt said the workplace policy would, among other measures, establish a $120 million fund to reduce job insecurity in the higher education system.

Meanwhile Greens senator Rachel Siewert said their poverty strategy would tackle housing affordability, education access, employment opportunities and inadequate welfare.

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Mates' NSW camping trip ends in stabbing

A TEENAGER has been stabbed at an Orange campsite.

Police say a group of men were on overnight camping trip at Long Point Reserve when an altercation occurred on Friday evening.

The 19-year-old was stabbed to his abdomen and back and had to undergo surgery.

His injuries have been described as non-life-threatening.

Police from Canobolas Local Area Command attended the campsite but the alleged offender had fled.

A crime scene has been established and investigators have seized the vehicle that drove the man to hospital.

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Abbott, Rudd battle over Syria response

TONY Abbott has accused Kevin Rudd of exaggerating Australia's role in the Syrian crisis, but the Labor leader has hit back at his opponent's lack of foreign policy experience.

Government officials operating in caretaker mode during the election campaign have been briefing both Mr Rudd and Mr Abbott on the crisis and possible responses from Australia and its allies.

In the latest twist, the British parliament voted down a bid by Prime Minister David Cameron to launch a "strong humanitarian response" to the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.

Mr Abbott and Mr Rudd have endorsed intelligence reports that the Syrian regime is behind the attacks, but differ on Australia's role.

The opposition leader said Australia should wait until an investigation by United Nations weapons inspectors is completed before taking any further steps.

"It is the general disposition of the Australian government ... to support our friends and allies wherever we can," he said.

"But we should be very reluctant to get too involved ... in civil war."

Mr Abbott said any speculation Australia, which will chair the UN Security Council from this weekend, would be a key player was "to rather exaggerate our own importance".

"This is a time for cool heads," he said.

"It is not a time for Australia to exaggerate its own role in what is a very difficult situation."

Mr Rudd, a former diplomat and foreign minister, said Mr Abbott would inherit the presidency of the UNSC if he won the election on September 7.

"This is the number one legal entity in the world on matters of global security," Mr Rudd said.

"You can't wish it away because it is not Tony Abbott's preferred field of operations - it is part of your responsibilities as prime minister of the country.

"I don't believe he is comfortable handling them, I don't believe he is experienced in handling them."

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Killer's father accused of gun offences

THE father of a mentally-ill man who killed three neighbours in a shooting spree unlawfully failed to keep the keys to his gun safe away from his son, police have alleged.

But Guiseppe Corbo's lawyer said his client complied with firearms laws by keeping his guns in a locked safe and his ammunition in a separate locked safe.

"Keys are not mentioned in the legislation," the lawyer, Gilbert Aitkin, told Adelaide magistrates court on Friday.

Corbo, 71, has pleaded not guilty to three firearms offences including failing to keep a firearm secured.

He is the father of Donato Corbo who shot dead three members of a family in Hectorville in Adelaide in April 2011.

He also wounded two other people, including a police officer investigating the incident, but was found to be not guilty of all charges by reason of mental incompetence.

Prosecutor Andrew Nicholls said police were not saying the gun safe was not locked or that the ammunition case was not locked.

Rather, the prosecution alleged the keys were in a place known by the son and therefore his father did not "do enough" to secure the items.

"The keys were in a place where (the son) knew where they were and he was able to access there, the rest is history."

Mr Aitkin said the shootings were committed by a mentally-ill person who did not know the difference between right and wrong.

But police were "intent on this case running to trial" claiming that the son's actions "somehow sheets home" to his client, who had complied with firearms legislation.

He noted another magistrate had thrown out manslaughter charges against his client, a charge based virtually on the same facts as the present charges.

The trial is continuing.

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Guard of honour for murder victim Lane

Hundreds of mourners have crowded into a Melbourne church for the funeral of baseballer Chris Lane. Source: AAP

MURDER victim Chris Lane's father says his son's death is senseless but his words about letting things go are helping.

The Melbourne baseballer has been given a final farewell with a guard of honour by his former baseball mates after his funeral on Wednesday.

Dozens of Essendon Baseball Club members in dark suits lined the road outside an Essendon church, applauding as a hearse carrying Mr Lane's coffin made its way to a private burial service.

Peter Lane told the service a young person's death is always tragic, but the way his son died so senselessly made it much harder to comprehend.

But he said a lesson he had learnt from his son about letting things go was helping him get through this sad time.

"What has happened to Chris is just not fair, but hanging onto it just won't help," Mr Lane said.

Mr Lane said his son had shown maturity beyond his years, was devoted to his family and when he saw opportunity "he took it with both hands and he ran with it".

Chris Lane had grown from a boy into a man, he said, and was planning a future with his girlfriend.

His aspirations on the sporting field had also moved to other areas of his life.

"I'm very proud of how you've turned out, you know you'll always be with us," Mr Lane said.

Hundreds of mourners packed St Therese's Church in Melbourne's north for the 22-year-old baseball player's funeral.

A big photo of Chris Lane smiling stood in front of his brown and gold coffin, which was adorned with a large bouquet of white flowers.

"A picture's worth a thousand words," Father Joe Giacobbe told the mass.

"It's a terrific photo."

Father Giacobbe said he had never seen the church so full.

"I've been a priest for 40 years and I don't think I've seen this church as full as it is today," he said.

Father Giacobbe invited Mr Lane's loved ones, including his mother Donna Lane and girlfriend Sarah Harper, to place significant objects around his coffin, including his baptismal shawl, primary and secondary school tops and an Australian-themed top.

Floral tributes also lined the church steps.

Mr Lane, from Melbourne's Oak Park, was jogging alone in Duncan, Oklahoma, when he was shot in the back in a random attack on August 16.

He was attending a college in Oklahoma where he had a baseball scholarship when he was killed.

The funeral will be followed by a private burial.

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Fire breaks out on NSW Central Coast

A LARGE fire has broken out near homes on the NSW Central Coast.

Firefighters were called to the five-hectare blaze, near Birdie Beach Drive at Lake Munmorah, around 1pm (AEST) on Wednesday.

NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman Ben Shephard said some nearby homes on Elizabeth Bay Drive had been put on heightened alert, but nobody has been evacuated.

"We are confident the homes won't be impacted," Mr Shephard told AAP.

Fire crews are working on containing the blaze, which is currently moving north, in a large cleared area behind the houses.

The cause is not known.

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Gillard to miss ALP campaign launch

Former PM Julia Gillard has declined an invitation to attend Labor's election campaign launch. Source: AAP

A FAMILIAR Labor face will be missing from the ALP's campaign launch after former prime minister Julia Gillard indicated she won't be attending.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Ms Gillard had made plain her position.

"It's entirely appropriate that she make her own call on it," he told ABC television on Sunday.

"I respect her decision entirely."

Mr Rudd reflected on his own decision to attend the Labor election campaign launch in 2010 despite being deposed by Ms Gillard.

"The difference is in 2010 I was of course recontesting (the election)," he said.

Ms Gillard has been absent from Labor's election campaign in 2013.

Mr Rudd said he "honoured" Ms Gillard's record and would not engage in character assassination of her.

Asked if he was thankful Gillard supporters had not sabotaged his campaign in the same way his backers had in 2010, Mr Rudd said: "I'm not going to go into internal debates within the Labor Party."

He distanced himself from comments he made on Friday referring to the fact that Ms Gillard had been on track to lead Labor to a catastrophic defeat.

"I said that bluntly at the time (of the leadership spill)," he said.

The prime minister said Australia was a better place as a result of "the extraordinary work which Julia has done", citing her education reforms and the introduction of the disability insurance scheme."

Comment about Ms Gillard's attendance has been sought from ALP campaign headquarters.

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Loans to boost apprenticeship rates: TAFE

A COALITION plan to give young apprentices $20,000 interest free loans is a "novel" way to boost training numbers and address cost-of-living issues for students, educators say.

Mr Abbott announced the apprentice loans at the coalition campaign launch in Brisbane, saying they would encourage young Australians to start, stay in and finish a trade.

The $85 million four-year pledge would provide trade apprentices with the payments, which like the university FEE-HELP scheme, would be paid back after they complete their training.

The loans were "a hand-up, not a handout" that will help meet the country's skills needs for the next 40 years, Mr Abbott said.

Peak body TAFE Directors Australia said only half of apprenticeships were completed, with lack of disposable income cited as a major disincentive.

"One of the largest issues in exit interviews given has been that disposable income has been really tight," chief executive Martin Riordan told AAP on Sunday.

"We have a critical issue in terms of apprenticeship numbers and if the economy were to have some sort of recovery the first thing we will have is a skills shortage."

The $20,000 loans will be split into four tranches, with $8000 offered in the first year, $6000 in the second, and $4000 and $2000 in the third and fourth.

Apprentices who complete their training would be given a 20 per cent discount on the loans.

"This will be available to the 60,000 mostly young Australians who next year will start learning the trade skills that are in short supply - the electrical, plumbing, carpentry, cooking, welding and mechanical apprenticeships," Mr Abbott said.

"Choosing a trade, no less than going to university, is a good way to make something of your life."

Labor and the Greens criticised the plan, saying the coalition should be pledging more money for the TAFE system.

Labor accused Mr Abbott of harbouring plans to cut $1.1 billion from Trade Training Centres, and said the Rudd government was already providing assistance through programs such as the $5500 Tools for your Trade payment.

Australian Greens leader Christine Milne accused the coalition of pushing costs onto students in a bid to privatise vocational education.

"Opposition Leader Tony Abbott should increase TAFE funding as it is not much use having tools if there are no quality training courses available," Senator Milne said.

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