Greens retain seat of Melbourne

AUSTRALIAN Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt has retained the lower house seat of Melbourne.

Mr Bandt claimed victory minutes after Labor's candidate Cath Bowtell conceded defeat.

"It looks like we have won the seat of Melbourne," Mr Bandt told the Ten Network.

Mr Bandt had earlier predicted the result would go down to a handful of votes but he leads the two-party preferred count 55.4 per cent to 44.6, with about half the primary vote counted.

He credited a strong people power campaign for giving him a second term in parliament and the Greens retaining their only lower house seat.

"This is a win for people power but more than that this is a win for refugees.

"This is a vote that says we are sick of the race to the bottom. Politics and elections should be about the best in us not pandering to the worst in us."

He said the clear message from the result was that elections should not be about who can beat up on refugees the most.

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Swan says he'll be returned in Lilley

FORMER treasurer Wayne Swan says he'll keep his seat, but has refused to say who should lead the Labor party in opposition.

Mr Swan says Labor's policies saved Labor from further losses, particularly in Queensland.

When asked about the Labor leadership going forward, he said he wasn't about to talk about internal matters when that's what had cost the party so dearly at this election.

"We've been punished for those divisions," he told the Seven Network.

He said Labor must conduct a mature election post-mortem.

"In this election campaign and in the last few years there has been too much concentration on divisions and not enough on the policy way forward," he said.

Mr Swan wouldn't be drawn on whether the party was right to dispose of Julia Gillard.

"I'm not going to get involved in that sort of debate. We've had too much of that over the last three years and we have to move on.

"We've got to be mature in our analysis of what went right and what went wrong."

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Beattie won't give up on Forde

Labor's Peter Beattie says he has no regrets about returning to politics despite a looming defeat. Source: AAP

FORMER Queensland premier Peter Beattie says he's still in with a chance in the seat of Forde.

Mr Beattie seemed to have given up early in the count, but says things have narrowed and the result in the seat south of Brisbane won't be known on Saturday night.

Mr Beattie was parachuted into the seat in a bid to wrest it from Liberal National Party incumbent Bert van Manen, who holds it with a 1.6 per cent margin.

With 43.7 per cent of the votes counted, Mr van Manen was leading Mr Beattie 53.3 per cent to 46.6 per cent, after preferences.

Mr Beattie says the result will come down to 8500 pre-polls.

"Only when we know the pre-poll results will we know whether we'll win or not," he told reporters.

"I'm disappointed Palmer has given his preferences to the Liberals. Had they not, I would have won.

"The odds are against us, but who knows? Whether we win or lose the Labor party has held its head up high in Forde."

Earlier in the day, a confident Mr van Manen told reporters Labor attacks on his business career would make a win on Saturday even more joyful.

"Considering some of the things they've done in the last few days, it'll be very sweet, put it that way," he said.

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Abbott to govern with 30-seat majority

THE federal Liberal-National coalition is likely to govern with a majority of at least 30 seats after a swing of just over three per cent against Labor.

The ALP has become the first two-term federal government to be thrown out of office since Gough Whitlam's regime in 1975.

Tony Abbott's coalition is on track to pick up 90 seats, with Labor holding 57, in the 150-seat parliament, but it won't have a majority in the Senate.

By 9.30pm (AEST), the coalition was ahead in 8 seats and Labor was ahead in 54, with 10 not yet determined.

The other MPs will be Australian Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt, independent Bob Katter who will hold his north Queensland seat of Kennedy, and Andrew Wilkie who's been returned in his Tasmania seat of Denison.

Labor's worst result was in Tasmania, where it suffered a 10 per cent swing and will hold only one of its four seats.

Concerted campaigning in western Sydney appears to have paid off for Labor, with the NSW statewide swing against it down to three per cent.

Despite concerns about a voter backlash in Mr Rudd's home state of Queensland, six Labor seats were likely holds and two were in doubt.

A swing of almost five per cent in Victoria reversed all the gains made in the 2010 election.

In Western Australia and South Australia, Labor suffered a swing of just over five per cent.

One of the biggest surprises of election night was the Palmer United Party.

It picked up 5.7 per cent of the primary vote nationally and appeared on track to put former rugby league star Glenn Lazarus into the Senate for Queensland.

Of the 40 Senate spots up for grabs, the coalition was on track to win 20, with Labor holding 14 and six going to crossbenchers.

Former treasurer Chris Bowen, who held his western Sydney seat of McMahon, said there were still "strong building blocks" in place for Labor to fight back.

"Compared to what we may have faced six or 12 months ago, it's a result which I think will stand us in good stead for the next three years," Mr Bowen said.

Mr Bowen declined to say whether he would run for the Labor leadership.

Liberal Joe Hockey, who will replace Mr Bowen as treasurer, said it had been the worst result for Labor since 1910.

"Our duty to the nation is to be a formidable government led by a formidable prime minister," Mr Hockey said.

"We will deliver a strong economy, and we will get rid of the carbon tax, the mining tax, we will stop the boats."

Labor frontbencher Tony Burke said bringing Mr Rudd back as prime minister and dumping Julia Gillard in June clearly had improved the party's vote, but the infighting had been fatal.

"My view on all of this is the instability that we've seen - and all of us including me have been part of it - must end," Mr Burke said.

He called on Labor to defend its legacy.

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Morcombe accused's trial set for February

The trial of the man accused of murdering schoolboy Daniel Morcombe will begin next February. Source: AAP

THE trial of the man accused of murdering Queensland schoolboy Daniel Morcombe will begin next February.

Lawyers for Brett Peter Cowan, 43, appeared in court in Brisbane on Thursday where Supreme Court Justice Roslyn Atkinson confirmed his trial will begin on February 10.

The trial is expected to take six weeks.

Potential jurors could be questioned in an attempt to eliminate any who may be prejudiced by pre-trial publicity.

The strategy was used during jury selection in the trial of former Bundaberg surgeon Jayant Patel.

Justice Atkinson told Cowan's defence barrister Angus Edwards she'd like him to consider doing the same, to which he replied he was considering it.

Mr Edwards sought an extension of time to prepare documents ahead of a pre-trial hearing set to begin on November 6.

Eighteen witnesses had been expected to appear during the week-long hearing, but Mr Edwards said the number of witnesses had since been cut by about a half.

The barrister said he intended to submit evidence of pre-trial publicity to the court in relation to an application to have the trial stopped.

He said if that application was not granted it was unlikely the defence would make another.

Justice Atkinson requested arrangements be made during next year's trial for a room in the building to be made available to Daniel Morcombe's family.

The trial should also be streamed into a separate court for members of the public to allow access, she said.

Daniel was 13 when he went missing while waiting for a bus on the Sunshine Coast in December 2003.

Cowan was committed in February to stand trial for his abduction and murder.

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Hawke sings praises of Medicare

Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke says the availability of healthcare under Medicare was under threat. Source: AAP

FORMER prime minister Bob Hawke has struck a chord with his supporters with an unexpected solo performance celebrating the 30th birthday of Medicare.

Mr Hawke broke into a stirring rendition of the union song Solidarity Forever at an event in Melbourne to mark 30 years since his Labor government established the universal healthcare system.

Speaking at the event, Mr Hawke said the availability of healthcare under Medicare was under threat.

"You can never have a decent equitable society if you don't have a health system that is universally available and an education system which is universally available," Mr Hawke said.

"Every Australian is entitled to be in a situation where the prospect of illness or hospitalisation does not result in a potential financial catastrophe."

Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said the future of Medicare Locals was in doubt if the coalition was elected on Saturday.

"It's federal Labor that will always strive to protect and strengthen a health care system where your Medicare card is more important than your credit card," Ms Plibersek said.

"We cannot hand over our precious health system to a Liberal party that refuses to say what they will do with what we have built."

Mr Hawke then dug into a giant cake in the shape of a Medicare card with his name on it.

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Fiat confirms investment in flagship Turin

Fiat is to produce Maserati SUVs from next year under investment plans for its key Mirafiori plant. Source: AAP

ITALIAN carmaker Fiat, which controls Chrysler, will go ahead with investments in its flagship Mirafiori plant in Turin, where it will produce Maserati SUVs.

Fiat confirmed the decision Wednesday, after signing a contract with unions and a day after it cast doubt on future investments because of a constitutional court ruling that essentially forced it to include a maverick union that had refused to approve flexible work rules.

UILM regional union leader Maurizio Peverati said the investment sum and plans will be discussed in coming days.

Mirafiori's 5,400 workers have been mostly on layoff schemes for the last two years. The investment will convert the plant to build a Maserati SUV and another model to be announced. Production of the Maserati is to begin next year for release in 2015.

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Versace Macau hotel will fit local culture

Italian fashion house Versace says its Macau hotel will be tweaked to appeal to Chinese culture. Source: AAP

ITALIAN fashion house Versace and Macau casino company SJM say the Versace-themed hotel they're planning for the Asian gambling city will be tweaked to appeal to the local Chinese market and open in 2017

Versace chief executive Gian Giacomo Ferraris said on Thursday that the five-star Palazzo Versace hotel would retain the company's "neoclassical style". But he added, "Clearly there'll be some finetuning with the local culture."

He declined to give more details, saying designer Donatella Versace would be responsible for the design

Versace and SJM Holdings signed a deal last month to build the hotel at SJM's Cotai resort in Macau. The city is a semiautonomous Chinese region that's the world's most lucrative gambling market.

SJM officials said the hotel would open in 2017 and is expected to cost about $HK2.5 billion ($A353.24 million).

The project gives Versace a new way to raise its profile with mainland Chinese, who account for two-thirds of Macau's visitors. It also gives SJM a big-name brand to help keep up with rivals who have a head start on expanding.

Macau raked in $US38 billion ($A41.69 billion) in gambling revenue last year, about six times the amount on the Las Vegas Strip.

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Australia has warmest year on record: BoM

The Bureau of Meteorology announced Australians have experienced the hottest 12 months on record. Source: AAP

IF you have been climbing under the doona this winter only to experience the hot sweats, you're probably not alone.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) announced on Tuesday that Australians have experienced the hottest 12-months on record, with a host of historical highs toppled.

The average temperature was 22.9C from September 2012 to August this year - 1.11C above the 1961-1990 average.

And it hasn't just been in the red centre either.

The uncharacteristic warmth has been felt across the entire continent with no regions registering below-average temperatures.

January 7 has now taken top position as the hottest summer day on record.

The month of January 2013 has been set down in the history books as a particularly sweaty one.

Those on land haven't been the only ones experiencing the sizzling trend.

"The warmth has extended to the oceans around Australia with widespread record warmth," the BoM said in a statement.

So put those doonas and coats away, as the warmth is set to continue throughout spring.

"The bureau's seasonal outlook for spring indicates both maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be above average over much of Australia," the statement said.

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The Boss eyes more Aussie dates

Bruce Springsteen is likely to add more dates to his Australian tour this summer. Source: AAP

BRUCE Springsteen fans who missed out on tickets to The Boss's summer shows have been told to sit tight and wait as more shows may be announced.

Tickets for Springsteen's shows have been snapped up, with concerts in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, the Hunter Valley and Auckland sold out within minutes.

Now The Frontier Touring Company - which is staging the concerts - says it is in discussions about adding additional shows, telling fans to be patient and wait for an announcement.

"The demand for additional shows is absolutely massive and we're currently in talks with management to determine where it is possible for additional shows to be added in the run," the chairman of Frontier Touring, Michael Gudinski said.

While all signs point toward The Boss adding more shows to his tour Down Under, where exactly the extra gigs will be is a mystery.

"I'm confident that a lot of the markets will secure another show, although at this point I'm unable to confirm if all markets will. There are numerous logistics and availabilities that need to be factored in, but we hope to have this all finalised very soon," Gudinski said.

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Greens stand by Senate stonewall

AUSTRALIAN Greens leader Christine Milne admits Senate seats for her party are on a "knife's edge" as she scrambles to sure up numbers against a coalition government.

Senator Milne says her upper house colleagues intend to stand against Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's plan to scrap the carbon tax, should he become prime minister after Saturday's election.

"It's absolutely important that we take strong action on climate change ... I will not support an Abbott government trying to repeal (the carbon tax)," she told ABC TV on Tuesday.

But the Greens face an uphill battle to maintain their nine Senate positions further into the next term.

Preferences are boosting the chances of minor players, while the major parties may also be in line to collect additional tickets.

"It's certainly going to be knife's edge in South Australia and Western Australia in terms of the Senate," she said of the Greens chances.

Mr Abbott has reiterated that he sees the election as a referendum on Labor's carbon pricing regime and that he would expect the parliament to respect the coalition's mandate to repeal the tax.

He said the coalition would turn to "constitutional options" if necessary to push through legislation, indicating he could move to a double dissolution election to overcome opposition.

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Renault wants to eliminate COO position

FRENCH carmaker Renault is proposing a reorganisation of its management structure to eliminate the position of chief operating officer after the person who held the post suddenly stepped down.

In a statement on Tuesday, Renault said it would instead add two new posts: chief competitive officer, who would be in charge of the product range, and chief performance officer, who would focus on market share and profitability. Employee representatives will review the plan next week.

Last week, Carlos Tavares left his post as COO, but Renault said he was still with the company, though it didn't say in what capacity.

Renault is struggling amid years of falling demand in the European market. To cope, it has negotiated with unions to make contracts more flexible and has focused on sales outside Europe.

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Syrian war between unsavoury sides: Abbott

Kevin Rudd says Tony Abbott's "baddies versus baddies" comment raises questions about his judgement. Source: AAP

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott says Syria's civil war involves "two pretty much equally unsavoury sides" and Australia should be cautious of making a bad situation worse.

Mr Abbott says elements of the Syrian rebel forces are "highly influenced by al-Qaeda" but the Bashar al-Assad regime's use of chemical weapons against its own people is an "unspeakable abomination".

"That's why I say frankly it's a civil war between two pretty much equally unsavoury sides," he told ABC Television's 730 on Monday.

"We've got to be very careful dealing in a powder keg like the Middle East that we don't take action, well-intentioned action, which could end up making a bad situation worse."

Mr Abbott said it was unlikely Australia would be called on to provide military advice or technology to the Syrian rebel forces because Australia doesn't have the capacity needed for the type of intervention the United States is considering.

Earlier on Monday Mr Abbott came under fire from Labor for his weekend description of the Syrian conflict as "baddies versus baddies".

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters in Gladstone on Monday the situation involving the Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons against civilians was not a trivial matter.

"Mr Abbott ... trivialises what is a major foreign policy, international relations and national security question," he said.

"The last time I used the term 'goodies and baddies' was when I was playing cowboys and indians in the backyard.

"I think I stopped doing that about the age of 10."

Mr Abbott said British Prime Minister David Cameron and former US president Bill Clinton had used similar language on Syria.

He said using occasional colloquialisms was appropriate in explaining complex situations to the public.

Mr Abbott also said it was unlikely Australia would take in Syrian asylum seekers.

He said people fleeing the conflict could go to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey or Iraq first.

"Almost certainly if people were fleeing the Syrian conflict, they would not be coming to Australia as a country of first asylum," Mr Abbott said.

"Any person fleeing Syria landing up in Australia would be in much the same position as the Hazaras and others who are coming by boat."

The coalition policy is that asylum seekers arriving by boat will be processed offshore.

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Man 'deliberately hit' by car in NSW

A FATHER has suffered head injuries after being hit by a car on the NSW Central Coast in what police say was a deliberate attack.

The 37-year-old was walking with his wife, two children and family dog in Woy Woy on Monday afternoon when he exchanged words with a driver of a passing hatchback.

The driver then allegedly turned around, deliberately drove into him and drove away, police said.

The father was treated for head injuries before being taken to Gosford Hospital.

Police are now looking for a silver Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback which is likely to have a damaged bonnet and windscreen.

Investigators have been told there were up to three people in the hatchback and that it may have been displaying a P-plate.

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Germany tries man, 92, for Nazi war crimes

GERMANY has put a 92-year-old former member of the Nazi Waffen SS on trial on charges that he executed a Dutch resistance fighter in 1944.

Dutch-born Siert Bruins, who is now German, volunteered for the SS after the Nazis conquered The Netherlands in 1941. Bruins served as a member of the Sicherheitspolizei, or Security Police, in a unit looking for resistance fighters and Jews.

No pleas are made in the German legal system and Bruins made no statement on Monday about the accusations against him. His lawyer said Bruins would answer questions during the trial but not about the charges.

"Our tactic will definitely be to keep silent with regard to the charges," lawyer Klaus-Peter Kniffka said earlier.

Despite his advanced age, Bruins was found medically fit to stand trial, though Kniffka said the stress of the proceedings against him has weakened him.

Bruins, who already served time in prison in the 1980s for his role in the slaying of two Dutch Jews, is accused of killing resistance fighter Aldert Klaas Dijkema in September 1944 in the town of Appingedam, near the German border in the northern Netherlands.

If convicted, he faces a possible life sentence.

Dijkema, whose sister has joined the trial as a co-plaintiff, which is allowed under German law, was apprehended by the Nazis on September 9, 1944, on suspicion he was involved in the Dutch resistance.

According to prosecutors, Bruins and alleged accomplice August Neuhaeuser, who has since died, drove Dijkema a short time later to an isolated industrial area where they stopped and told him to "go take a leak."

As he walked away from the car, they fired at least four shots into him, including into the back of his head, killing him instantly, according to the indictment.

Bruins and Neuhaeuser reported that Dijkema was shot while trying to escape.

Because of Bruins' age, daily trial sessions are limited to three hours.

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Coronation Street actor denies sex charges

BRITISH television actor Michael Le Vell has appeared in court accused of raping a young girl.

The actor stood in the dock at Manchester Crown Court on Monday as the charges were read out to him before the start of his trial.

Le Vell, 48, who plays car mechanic Kevin Webster in Coronation Street, is facing 12 charges in all - five counts of rape, three of indecent assault, two counts of sexual activity with a child and two of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

A slightly different indictment, or list of charges, had been drawn up after a previous hearing, when Le Vell pleaded not guilty to 19 charges.

Before the trial began the new indictment had to be put to Le Vell.

The actor, who is charged under his real name of Michael Turner, was asked to stand in the dock. He shook his head and repeated "not guilty" in a strong voice twelve times to each charge.

The charges span a period of nine years.

The first count alleges touching and digital penetration. Le Vell is also accused of making the child touch him indecently and of raping her.

There are further charges of digital penetration and sexual touching and further counts of vaginal and oral rape.

Le Vell's arrival at court was met by a large group of photographers, TV crews and reporters. Inside there were more than 20 reporters crammed into the press benches in court Three.

The actor, who was with his legal team and a minder, said "Good morning" to the media as he arrived at court.

Le Vell is one of British TV's most famous faces after playing Kevin Webster for the past 30 years.

ITV has said he will not be appearing in any further episodes of the soap pending the outcome of legal proceedings.

His trial before Judge Michael Henshell is scheduled to last around two weeks.

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Abbott view on Syria 'sophisticated': Pyne

Tony Abbott has backed US military strikes against Syria but says they must be carefully targeted. Source: AAP

THE coalition has defended its leader Tony Abbott's baddies versus baddies description of the Syrian crisis as a sophisticated analysis.

The opposition leader has backed any US military action against Syria but says it has to be carefully targeted and proportionate so it doesn't make a bad situation worse.

A political solution to avoid the need for military action would be terrific but wasn't likely, Mr Abbott said.

He called the Syrian regime's use of poison gas against its own people an utter abomination.

"That said, any punitive strike has got to be targeted, it's got to be proportionate and it's got to be carefully considered to try to ensure that as far as is humanly possible we aren't making a bad situation worse," he told ABC television on Sunday.

Mr Abbott said the Syrian conflict was a civil war between two pretty unsavoury sides.

"It's not goodies versus baddies, it's baddies versus baddies and that's why it's very important that we don't make a very difficult situation worse," he said.

Labor seized on this phrasing as a reason why Mr Abbott is not fit to represent Australia in any international forum and should not be voted in as prime minister in the election on Saturday.

Labor campaign spokeswoman Penny Wong said Mr Abbott sounded like he was talking about a game of cops and robbers when discussing foreign policy.

"When asked about the difficult situation in Syria and what his view about this was, his view on foreign policy appears to be not always goodies versus baddies but it can be baddies versus baddies," she told Sky News.

But coalition campaign spokesman Christopher Pyne defended his leader's comments about the situation in Syria as an "extremely sophisticated" analysis as neither side was covered in glory.

"In the Syrian civil war, both sides are very unattractive ... it's actually more sophisticated to recognise that, than to try and pretend as Penny Wong does that there's somehow cowboys and indians and one side is good and one side is bad."

"In the Syrian conflict it's important to understand that both sides are deeply unpleasant and that trying to choose a side is a very foolish thing to do," Mr Pyne told reporters in Adelaide.

In the US, President Barack Obama will ask Congress to authorise military action against Syria, raising the possibility of immediate strikes on President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Mr Abbott said all Australian governments instinctively wanted to support our closest ally, the US, and also to uphold universal human decencies.

Just three nations possess the ability to take military action against Syria. These are the US, Britain which has ruled itself out and France, which has very limited capacity, he said.

President Obama has said the UN Security Council is completely paralysed.

Mr Abbott said that was a difficulty between the US, Britain and France on one side and Russia and China on the other.

"Where the security council is for whatever reason ineffective, there is precedent for right-thinking powers to take action and that was in the former Yugoslavia when Britain, the US and other countries took action in Kosovo," he said.

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Bomb kills 8 Afghan mining firm workers

A PROVINCIAL governor says a vehicle carrying employees of a private mining company has struck a roadside bomb in northern Afghanistan, killing eight.

Parwan province leader Abdul Basir Salangi says five people also were wounded on Saturday in Bagram district.

He said all of the victims were either labourers or security guards of the company working in a chromite mine.

No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, but, in confirming the incident on Sunday, Salangi blamed the Taliban.

The Taliban have previously targeted people working for mines as well as other development and infrastructure projects in Afghanistan.

The militants have recently escalated their activities in the country as US-led foreign troops have begun drawing down their presence.

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Abbott coming round election mountain

Tony Abbott says if the coalition wins the election, he will conscious of his responsibilities. Source: AAP

TONY Abbott was upstaged on Sunday. But it wasn't Kevin Rudd stealing the limelight.

Nine-year-old Ben Betteridge captured the travelling media's attention during a stop at Bear Cottage in Manly, proudly showing off his drawing of the opposition leader and frontbenchers Joe Hockey, Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop.

Ben declared Mr Abbott his favourite Liberal leader and confidently predicted a coalition win next Saturday.

He had even rewritten an old children's favourite for the occasion.

"Tony Abbott will be coming round the mountain when he comes," he belted out for the cameras.

A second verse had the health conscious Mr Abbott eating "chips and ice cream when he comes".

"I like Tony so much," the boy said, when questioned by reporters.

Then the excited realisation: "I'll be on the news".

There to announce $2 million in funding for Bear Cottage if elected, Mr Abbott was clearly taken with Ben, whose older brother Tom is being cared for by the children's hospice.

"You gave the best political speech of the day, I heard," the opposition leader said, relegating Kevin Rudd's campaign launch to second place at best in the process.

"I am so impressed that a youngster is so knowledgeable about the leading figures of the federal coalition."

"Is there anything you'd like to say?," he asked Ben, who has autism.

"Joe Hockey is the shadow treasurer and I think he should give Tony Abbott a wonderful clap for making him welcome him to Bear Cottage," came the reply.

Cue the trademark Abbott laugh.

The opposition leader was emotional when announcing funding for Bear Cottage, flanked by wife Margie and daughters Frances and Bridget.

"I think that as a father myself it's nice to be able to do something like this on Father's Day," he told the onlooking parents, at one point on the verge of tears.

Father's Day presented Mr Abbott with a rare moment of downtime in the hectic election campaign, with the eldest of his three daughters, Louise, flying home after a long stint overseas.

He headed back to Sydney's north shore for a quiet Father's Day dinner.

Taking the night off just a week from election day says a lot about how well the Abbott campaign is travelling.

Any doubters should just speak to Ben.

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Attempted murder in Brisbane carjacking

A man has been accused of trying to kill another man during a botched car robbery in South Brisbane. Source: AAP

A MAN has been accused of trying to kill another man during a botched car robbery in South Brisbane.

A 44-year-old man was standing next to his parked vehicle in an underground car when he was grabbed from behind and threatened with a knife about 6pm (AEST) Saturday, police say.

The man demanded he hand over the key, before they started struggling.

The 44-year-old was wounded in his neck and torso and taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

A 26-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder, attempted robbery, depravation of liberty, and is due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday.

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