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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Thousands honour veterans in Sydney

IRAQ veteran Benjamin Lesley Gillman knows he was following big footsteps when he marched alongside Sydney's diggers on Anzac Day.

"What I just did then is one of the best things I've ever done in my life," the 29-year-old told AAP.

"I had a sense of honour."

The Cronulla local served in Iraq in 2007, in a unit that concentrated on rebuilding the war-torn country.

Now he's home and marching as one of the young veterans sustaining the Anzac legacy.

But as he strode along Sydney's Hyde Park, his thoughts were with the 40 fallen Australian soldiers who made "the ultimate sacrifice" in Afghanistan.

The RSL allowed young vets from recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions to take the prime position in the Sydney march behind the NSW Governor-General Marie Bashir and the RSL executive.

Thousands lined the streets in the Sydney city centre to pay respects to the veterans, young and old.

Among them were Rex Bayley and his wife, Fay, who took an early train from Gymea Bay so they could reserve their favourite vantage point along George Street.

Watching on as more than 15,000 NSW RSL serving and former defence force members paraded past, 75-year-old Rex said he wasn't deterred by the soggy Sydney weather.

A little further down the street, Dellane and Rodrick Stewart seized the opportunity to teach their nine-year-old grandson Mackenzie some family, as well as national, history.

Mr Stewart, 78, followed his own father into the armed services, with stints in Borneo, Malaysia, New Guinea and Vietnam during a 19-year career.

With his great-grandfather's medals pinned to his chest, young Mackenzie is just starting to grasp what that means.

It's a feeling Gwenda Ick, 62, knows well.

Her father served in New Guinea in World War II, and while she was born after he came home, his trauma meant as a young girl she felt her dad was "always sick".

"He used to get angry quite a lot," she said.

But kept dry in the Legacy Widows stalls and wrapped up in a plastic poncho, her mother, Patricia Smith, said despite the horrors war had wrought on so many families, the Anzac Day march was still a special occasion.

"My husband passed away, but we still like to come in and watch," she said.

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Smaller crowd falls silent at Gallipoli

A SMALLER-THAN-EXPECTED crowd at Gallipoli for the Anzac Day dawn service has been reminded that reverential silence on the often eerily quiet Turkish peninsula is a tribute to the diggers who died in 1915.

Just 4400 mostly Australian and New Zealand pilgrims turned out this year ahead of the 2015 centenary commemorations which will see 10,500 people crammed on to North Beach.

Veterans' Affairs Minister Michael Ronaldson on Friday said the soldiers who landed at Anzac Cove 99 years ago were, by their own admission, ordinary men.

"They did not seek glory, nor did they want their actions to be glorified - for it was they who quickly came to know the true horror of war," the minister said as the sun rose over the Gallipoli cliffs.

"That these ordinary men, however, did extraordinary things is beyond doubt."

Senator Ronaldson said the Anzacs left a vanquished fighting force but "were victorious in helping forge the identity of our two new nations".

"As the dawn of this new day breaks over the peninsula our tribute to the spirit of Anzac is a reverential silence," he said.

Some 8700 Australians died during the eight-month campaign alongside 2700 New Zealanders.

It's estimated up to 87,000 Turks lost their lives.

The modern Turkish nation, too, was built partly on the back of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's success as a commander at Gallipoli. He went on to become the republic's first president in 1923.

Young Australian Erinn Cooper camped out overnight to attend the dawn service.

The 22-year-old comes from a military family - her father did tours of duty in East Timor and Iraq while her grandfather fought in World War II.

Ms Cooper, from the Gold Coast, told AAP she was representing them both at Gallipoli.

"It's really mind-blowing to be here," she said.

"Anzac Day is our biggest day of the year. It's a really big thing in our family."

Ms Cooper considered applying for the centenary in 2015 but decided the ballot was too risky.

"Coming this year was something we could actually make happen."

Organisers saw this year's service as a dress rehearsal for 2015.

But while the crowd will be much bigger next year, it will also be more manageable.

Authorities know exactly who's coming because the event is ticketed.

Further, the pilgrims will be older on average because 1600 passes were set aside for direct descendants and veterans.

In 2015, only 25 per cent of visitors will be under 35, whereas usually 60 per cent are in that age group.

Australian authorities think it's likely Prince Charles will attend the centenary service in Gallipoli although his spokeswoman has told AAP it is "too early to say".

Prince William this week revealed he was looking forward to "taking part in next year's Gallipoli centenary" along with wife Kate and brother Prince Harry.

That led to speculation they'd be at North Beach but a palace spokesman has clarified they could attend any number of Anzac ceremonies anywhere in the world.

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Tas government scraps free-range egg plan

A CRACKDOWN on free-range eggs has left producers scrambling to supply Tasmanian government departments.

The new Liberal state government has scrapped a rule that schools, hospitals and other agencies use only non-caged eggs.

New treasurer Peter Gutwein has slammed the requirement, describing it as "ridiculous" and an example of "red and green tape".

It was to be introduced this year by the previous Labor-Green government before it lost the March state election.

Egg producers are describing it as a victory for common sense.

"That plan would have handed the Tasmanian egg market over to interstate suppliers because they could still have imported caged eggs here," Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association boss Jan Davis said in a statement.

The RSPCA has criticised the move as a backward step for animal welfare.

"We actually have the ability here in Tasmania, being an island, to make some real differences," Tasmanian manager Peter West told the ABC.

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NSW man gets 7yrs for Russian roulette

A SYDNEY man who held a gun to his de facto wife's head and then subjected her to a "terrifying" game of Russian roulette has been sentenced to at least four and a half years jail.

George Batista, 47, grabbed a revolver after having a fight with his then de facto wife Jenny Nangle in the early hours of December 29, 2010 at their western Sydney home.

He loaded it with a single bullet and spun the chamber.

Pointing it at Ms Nangle's head, Batista pulled the trigger.

When the revolver didn't go off, he doubled the chances of death by adding a second bullet, before spinning the chamber again and pointing it at her forehead.

After it didn't go off again, he pointed it at her chest before pulling the trigger once more.

Ms Nangle then managed to climb under the garage door, run inside their Greystanes home and call police.

In sentencing Batista on Friday, Acting Judge Geoff Graham said it was difficult to imagine the terror the ordeal must have evoked in Ms Nangle.

Even though the pair had been drinking throughout the previous day, he said this did little to blunt the impact Ms Nangle felt.

Reading from a victim impact statement tendered to court, Judge Graham said Ms Nangle felt "embarrassed and ashamed".

Ms Nangle, who now suffers from "chronic" post-traumatic stress disorder, has nightmares and flashbacks, and describes being unable to form relationships or trust people.

The court heard that shortly before December 2010, Ms Nangle had said she wanted a separation from Batista, with whom she had been for eight years.

She said the ordeal of December 29, followed a relationship marred by emotional abuse.

While Judge Graham said he could not make this finding, he said the fact that Batista threatened her in her own home was an aggravating factor.

"She was in a particularly vulnerable situation," he said.

"The offender was armed and prepared to use it in a kind of form of Russian roulette and to escalate the danger of that by the insertion of a second bullet."

Batista was also sentenced for a number of other offences, including threatening someone with a replica pistol and taking part in the supply of drugs.

He was sentenced him to a maximum of seven years.

Taking into consideration time already served, his earliest date of release is June next year.

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Business confidence on the improve

IMPROVEMENT in the local and global economy and a stable interest rate outlook appear to be fuelling a turnaround in business confidence.

The Commonwealth Bank's head of local business banking Adam Bennett says a survey of small to medium sized enterprises, and the bank's experience with clients, show that businesses are more confident than they were six months ago.

"These findings indicate SMEs are optimistic the Australian economy will continue to gather momentum, with almost 90 per cent of businesses expecting conditions to either improve or remain steady over the next six months," Mr Bennett said.

"Generally, sentiment is improving, what we've heard from our clients that up until quite recently most businesses were seeing downside risk."

The figures echo recent business surveys by National Australia Bank, which also show a marked improvement.

NAB's business confidence index hit a two-and-a-half year high in the final months of 2013, and remains near that level in early 2014.

Improved confidence is spreading to more sectors of the economy, not just mining and resources, which has enjoyed an investment boom over the past could of years, NAB chief economist Alan Oster said.

"Confidence has been generally trending higher across the board and is still positive for most industries," he said.

"Mining is still the only sector to have a negative confidence index."

Business and consumer confidence fell when the global financial crisis hit, and stayed low as recession in the US and a series of financial crises in Europe weighed on Australian minds.

Mr Bennett said business confidence was important as it drives decision making and capital spending.

"One of the results of the lack of business confidence over recent years is a real reticence to invest in new capital, new equipment and new locations to drive growth," he said.

"Business owners and operators do read the press and they do take a lot of notice of the indicators of the economy.

"I think they find it hard to assimilate all of that, there are a lot of conflicting messages."

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Sherpas leave Everest, firms cancel climbs

SHERPA guides are leaving Mount Everest's base camp as part of a walkout following the mountain's deadliest disaster, as some expedition companies announced that they were cancelling their climbs this season.

American climber Ed Marzec said he saw several Sherpas leaving the base camp on Wednesday and many others packing up their tents. Some were loading their equipment on to a helicopter that had landed at the camp.

"There are a lot of Sherpas leaving this morning, and in the next two days there will be a huge number that will follow," Marzec, 67, from San Diego, said by phone from the base camp. He said he had already decided to abandon his climb.

Tusli Gurung, a guide who was at the base camp on Wednesday, estimated that nearly half the Sherpas had already left.

The walkout is certain to disrupt a climbing season that is already marked by grief following Friday's disaster. Sherpa guides were hauling climbing gear between camps when a chunk of ice tore loose and triggered an avalanche. Thirteen bodies were recovered and three Sherpas still missing are presumed dead.

"It is just impossible for many of us to continue climbing while there are three of our friends buried in the snow," said Dorje Sherpa, an experienced Everest guide from the tiny Himalayan community that has become famous for its high-altitude skills and endurance.

"I can't imagine stepping over them," he said of the three Sherpa guides who remain buried in ice and snow.

Seattle-based Alpine Ascents International announced it was calling off its expedition. "We have all agreed the best thing is to not continue this season's climb, so that all can mourn the loss of family, friends and comrades in this unprecedented tragedy," the company said on its website.

New Zealand-based Adventure Consultants also said it was cancelling its expedition this season.

Marzec said some smaller companies were hoping to go ahead with their climbs.

Nepal's government appeared to agree on Tuesday to some of the Sherpas' demands in the threatened walkout, such as setting up a relief fund for Sherpas who are killed or injured in climbing accidents, but the funding falls far short of the Sherpas' demands.

After the avalanche, the government quickly said it would pay the families of each Sherpa who died 40,000 rupees, or about $A444. The Sherpas said they deserved far more - including more insurance money, more financial aid for the victims' families and new regulations that would ensure climbers' rights.

On Tuesday, the government's offer was modified to include a relief fund to help Sherpas injured in mountaineering accidents and the families of those killed, and to pay for rescue during accidents on the mountain. The government said it would stock the fund annually with 5 per cent of its earnings from Everest climbing fees - well below the 30 per cent the Sherpas are demanding. Nepal earns about $US3.5 million ($A3.75 million) annually in Everest climbing fees.

The insurance payout for those killed on the mountain will also be doubled to $US15,620 (2 million rupees), the Ministry of Tourism said - far short of the Sherpas' demand for $US20,800.

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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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Joe Bullock set for Senate term: Albo

SENIOR Labor figure Anthony Albanese doesn't think controversial West Australian senator-elect Joe Bullock should quit, despite a union turning against him.

Mr Albanese had opposed Mr Bullock's automatic endorsement by the national executive.

But on Monday he said he did not think Mr Bullock should stand down, despite admitting his controversies had affected the result of the re-run WA senate election.

In the lead-up to the election, Mr Bullock apologised for comments he made about his running mate Louise Pratt's sexuality and for describing her as a poster child for gay marriage.

He also caused a stir when he labelled some colleagues mad and when it was revealed he had a conviction for assault in 1996.

It would be silly for anyone to argue that the controversy did not have an impact on Labor's result on the polling day, Mr Albanese told reporters in Perth.

But he said he expected Mr Bullock would now serve his term.

He said the result showed there were lessons to be learned about Labor's pre-selection processes, adding he supported members having more power to directly determine who ran as candidates, which would improve election prospects.

"If you increase the empowerment of the Labor party membership I think you will get greater membership, greater campaigning capacity and a real sense of ownership over who runs under the Labor banner," he said.

Mr Albanese will meet with Ms Pratt for a sundowner function on Sunday evening.

She recently conceded defeat in the election and unleashed a scathing attack on Mr Bullock, who she described as homophobic, but denied it was a case of sour grapes.

United Voice, which originally supported Mr Bullock's nomination, also withdrew its support for him and called for his resignation.

Ms Pratt's defeat delivers a third seat to the Liberals, with the remaining two seats likely to go to Greens Senator Scott Ludlam and Palmer United Party's Zhenya Dio Wang.

The final vote count will not be know until after Anzac Day.

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Come clean on water scandal, PM: Shorten

Labor's Bill Shorten has called on the PM to reveal what he knew about the Australian Water scandal. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott must say what he knew about the Australian Water scandal that sunk Barry O'Farrell, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says.

In his first public appearance since the death of his mother, Mr Shorten told reporters Australians needed to know their prime minister had no links to the scandal.

Evidence given by Barry O'Farrell about a $3000 bottle of wine from Australian Water Holding's Nick Di Girolamo led to his resignation as NSW premier last week.

Mr O'Farrell had told NSW's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) under oath that he had not received the vintage bottle of Grange Hermitage.

Mr O'Farrell's handwritten note of thanks to Mr Di Girolamo for the wine - a gift marking his 2011 election win - was presented to the ICAC.

Mr Shorten said "shocking revelations" at the corruption watchdog needed to be cleared up.

"We see a toxic political culture and it is important that our prime minister spells out what he knew and when he knew of these matters so that he can clear the air," Mr Shorten told reporters on Monday.

"We have asked the prime minister what did he know and when did he know about matters to do with Australian Water Holdings."

Coalition Senator Eric Abetz said in March Mr Abbott had not met with Mr Di Girolamo.

The prime minister's office has since clarified that to say the pair may have been at the same community and fundraising events, but had not had an official meeting.

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Coalition will keep safety net: Andrews

SOCIAL Services Minister Kevin Andrews has hosed down speculation that all disability pensioners could be examined by independent doctors to see if they are still eligible for welfare.

But he's reiterated the federal government's desire to see more people working instead of receiving support payments, saying individuals would be happier and contributing more if they earned incomes.

The government is undertaking a review of Australia's welfare system, including the $15 billion per year disability support pension (DSP), warning the costs are unsustainable and risk further blow out.

But speculation that disability pensioners could be re-examined by the Department of Human Services under proposed changes in the review has sparked outcry and warnings of dire budget cuts ahead.

Mr Andrews on Sunday sought to assure those on the pension that the government believed in a "genuine safety net", and said it would be a waste of time to retest everybody receiving the support payments.

"We're not aimed at the great bulk of people on the DSP," he told reporters in Melbourne.

Instead, the government wanted to explore ways to keep young people or new disability pensioners off welfare and in work, even part time.

Mr Andrews said people under 35 or those about to apply for the DSP would benefit more from a job.

"If they're in work they're likely to be earning more, they're likely to be happier, they're likely to contribute more to their own families, and therefore to better society," he said.

More than 800,000 Australians are currently receiving the pension, with another 1000 qualifying for the payment every week, and the government warns the costs could blow out to $18 billion in just years.

Labor accused the government of having no plan for getting people back into work, just an agenda of making savings ahead of the May budget.

The Australian Greens said the government was trying to sneak through a "disability crackdown" while the public's attention was elsewhere over the Easter break.

People with Disability Australia president Craig Wallace was also critical of the timing, saying there had been no consultation with the sector about this proposal.

"I suspect that it's far from a happy Easter for many people with disabilities and their families who are now worried about whether they will continue to receive income following the budget, he told reporters in Canberra on Sunday.

Mr Andrews said an interim report from the review, headed by former Mission Australia CEO Patrick McClure, should be released for public discussion within about two weeks.

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George visits zoo for first Oz engagement

PRINCE George has joined his parents for a family day at the zoo, marking the nine-month-old's first public engagement of royal family's Australian visit.

George has been filmed being strapped into the car with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge before leaving Admiralty House for the short drive to Taronga Zoo.

During their visit, they'll visit the bilby enclosure - named after Prince George as part of Australia's gift following his birth on July 22 last year.

After the opening - where George will also meet a bilby named George - he'll return to Admiralty House.

Prince William and Kate will take in more sights of the zoo which also has breathtaking views of Sydney Harbour.

The Cambridge family arrived at the zoo - which is at capacity - at 2.25pm.

Kate carried George - dressed in dark blue shorts, a striped lighter blue shirt, dark blue socks and shoes - as they entered the zoo.

He looked inquisitive, and was chuckling and looking at the cameras.

Kate had changed out her dove-grey Alexander McQueen outfit she wore to church, into a cream broderie anglaise dress by a designer who did not want to be named.

The dress had a fitted bodice and flared out to the knee.

William was also dressed casually in a dark blue checked shirt and chinos.

The have now gone into the enclosure to meet the bilby George, who until earlier on Sunday had been named Boy.

This is Prince George's second official function.

During the New Zealand leg of the trip, he "hosted" a play group event with other babies his age at Government House.

After George leaves, the duke and duchess will feed tree kangaroos, walk past giraffes, enjoy a bird show, and take in the rhino conservation display.

Tracee Harley, 42, and her eight-year-old daughter Charlotte were excited to catch a glimpse of the royal family.

"I'm coming to see baby George and the bilbies - that's what we're here for," Ms Harley told AAP earlier on Sunday.

"I'm really excited. Actually Kate's gorgeous, we can't wait to get a glimpse.

"With baby George it's a new generation of royals, so it's really exciting."

Charlotte Harley was wearing a rainbow wrist band she planned to give Kate.

"I'm really excited to see the baby bilby and George, and I want to know what Kate wears," she said.

After initial confusion between both Prince George and bilby George, the pair warmed up - especially when Prince William enticed the bilby over with some food.

Kate held George close to the glass fence dividing the pair, and he started to show a keen interest in the endangered marsupial.

He then helped his parents unveil a plaque, renaming the enclosure the Prince George Bilby Exhibit.

But despite being royal, he proved himself to be a normal baby - eagerly grabbing the stuffed bilby present before throwing it on the ground - and sticking a card straight in his mouth.

After the formalities, George left for Admiralty House.

The duke and duchess continued the visit to the zoo.

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