Economy needs more diversity: Rudd

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says the economy must broaden and not have all its eggs in one basket. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd believes he has put together a strong economics team to tackle the threats of the global economy, particularly the end of the resources boom.

Mr Rudd's new ministry confirms Chris Bowen as treasurer, as well as his expanded portfolio of financial services and superannuation and retains Senator Penny Wong as finance minister.

"We must continue to diversify our economy, not to have all our eggs in one basket," Mr Rudd told reporters in Newcastle where he announced the ministry on Monday.

The government would do whatever it can to boost manufacturing, services and agribusinesses to generate new jobs rather than simply relying on just one - mining, he said.

However, business is unhappy with a swathe of new outgoings and regulations to mark the start of a new financial year, including a 2.6 per cent increase in the minimum wage and the rise from nine per cent to 9.25 per cent in the compulsory superannuation guarantee.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimates small businesses face a collective $2 billion increase to their payrolls.

"While government politicians have spent months arguing about leadership, an unprecedented wave of anti-business decisions have been made," the chamber's chief executive Peter Anderson said in a statement.

Yasser El-Ansary from the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia urged Mr Bowen in his expanded portfolio to continue with the government's super and financial services reform agenda to provide the public with confidence in the sector.

Meanwhile, Moody's Investors Service gave the government a timely slap on the back, affirming the nation's triple-A rating based on its very high economic resiliency, very high government financial strength and very low susceptibility to event risk.

Mr Bowen said that was testament to the strength of the Australian economy and the government's fiscal management.

"Australian economy remains the standout performer of the developed world, with solid growth, low unemployment, contained inflation and strong public finances," he said in a statement.

However, the government is unlikely to gain a further boost from another reduction in the cash rate when the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) holds its month board meeting on Tuesday.

Economists believe the recent steep drop in the Australian dollar provides the central bank scope to wait until at least quarterly official inflation figures are released later this month.

"While financial markets are volatile, and domestic politics takes centre stage, we believe it is prudent for the board to remain on the sidelines for now," TD Securities head of Asia-Pacific research Annette Beacher said in a note to clients.

The TD Securities-Melbourne Institute monthly gauge of inflation shows price pressures remain well within the RBA's two to three target band.

Inflation in June was unchanged from the previous month, to be 2.4 per cent higher over the year.

Other data also showed an improvement in manufacturing in June, supported by low interest rates and a drop in the exchange rate.

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Husic becomes first Muslim frontbencher

Labor MP Ed Husic (L) has become the first Muslim sworn into a federal government frontbench. Source: AAP

AMONG the oaths, photographs and backslapping at Labor's latest ministerial swearing-in ceremony, a cultural milestone was passed for Australia's parliament.

Ed Husic, named parliament secretary to the prime minister and for broadband on Monday, became the first Muslim sworn into a federal government frontbench.

A key supporter of Kevin Rudd, Mr Husic was elevated to the senior role at the expense of Andrew Leigh, who lost the role in the ministry reshuffle.

The milestone was acknowledged by Governor-General Quentin Bryce as she swore in Mr Husic and 24 of his Labor colleagues at a ceremony in Canberra.

"This is a wonderful day for multiculturalism, and everything it stands for in our country," Ms Bryce told Mr Husic, to roars of "Hear Hear!" from his Labor colleagues.

"I wish you all the best as you serve our country as parliamentary secretary."

Mr Husic became the first Muslim elected to federal parliament when he won the western Sydney seat of Chifley in 2010.

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O'Farrell accused of misleading NSW nurses

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has been accused of misleading nurses over an ongoing wages dispute. Source: AAP

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has been accused of misleading the state's nurses by covering up the government's true position on an ongoing wages dispute.

The NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) says Mr O'Farrell sent a letter to its members on June 19 stating that discussions had "begun" over a new award.

The letter was in response to calls for safer nurse-to-patient ratios and for a new award wage.

However, NSWNMA general secretary Brett Holmes says the letter was sent almost three weeks after the O'Farrell government made a court application on May 30 to secure a new award that does not include nursing hours system improvements.

Mr O'Farrell's letter also failed to mention plans to reduce already-capped annual pay rises by 0.25 per cent to absorb increases in compulsory superannuation, he said.

Mr Holmes told AAP on Monday that Mr O'Farrell needs to "correct the misleading information he provided" to nurses and midwives.

He has written to Mr O'Farrell accusing the government of trying to create an impression that it is considering the members' claims.

"The inaccurate correspondence...amounts to a campaign to conceal the Government's true position," Mr Holmes wrote.

The letter also urges Mr O'Farrell to "reach an Award agreement which guarantees adequate nurses and midwives to provide safe patient care in all NSW public hospitals".

Some NSW nurses and midwives have worn red garments to work on Monday in protest against what they say is the government's failure to accept the NSWNMA's claims.

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Cameron inks $1bn deal in Kazakhstan

BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron signed a strategic cooperation agreement as well as $US1.0 billion ($A1.10 billion) in deals with Kazakhstan on Monday during his first visit to the energy-rich ex-Soviet state.

Cameron and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev also unveiled an oil and gas processing plant on the shores of the Caspian Sea which is intended to provide a new reliable source of energy for European countries.

The British PM played up the importance of Kazakhstan to regional security as he wound down a swing through the region that included visits to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"Kazakhstan is on the rise ... a country that wants to play a bigger role in the region and in the world. Not just an emerging market, but an emerging power," Cameron said on Monday.

He also noted that the Kazakh government had recently ratified an air route agreement that offered Britain "a new northern route to bring our kit home from Afghanistan."

Cameron added that the two countries "have opened a new chapter in our relationship" by signing a strategic partnership agreement that underscored the importance of their growing ties.

Plans to construct a European- and US-backed natural gas pipeline called Nabucco have already fallen through and Western powers are now seeking to hammer out a new strategy to establish closer contacts with nations such as Kazakhstan.

Officials said the deals besides energy also covered infrastructure projects as well as those in the IT field.

"Our country is interested in having close relations with Britain," Nazarbayev said at a joint press appearance with Cameron.

"I am confident that the documents that we have prepared, as well as our negotiations, will give a new impulse to economic and political cooperation between our countries."

Kazakhstan is seen as one of the more neutral Central Asian countries that enjoys equally good relations with Russia and China as well as the West -- despite periodic criticism by Washington and Brussels of its human rights record.

Nazarbayev has also hired former British prime minister Tony Blair as the nation's image consultant who has been tasked with improving Kazakhstan's attraction to investors.

The British PM and Nazarbayev jointly unveiled the Bolashak on-shore oil and gas processing facility that operates with involvement from the Anglo-Dutch giant.

The plant is stationed on the Kashagan oil and gas field -- one of the largest deposits found in Central Asia.

It is due to process 450,000 barrels of oil and 8.8 million cubic metres of gas daily by the time it becomes fully operational.

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Pakistan backing Afghan peace efforts

British Prime Minister David Cameron has arrived in Pakistan for talks on the Afghan peace process. Source: AAP

PAKISTAN has assured visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron that it will promote efforts to reach a peace deal in neighbouring Afghanistan before NATO's planned withdrawal.

Cameron is the first foreign government leader to visit Islamabad since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took office in June after winning landmark elections in May.

Relations between Kabul and Islamabad are traditionally mired in distrust. The apparent headway made at a summit hosted by Cameron in February has since unravelled in a series of public rows.

Cameron flew to Pakistan from Afghanistan, where he joined an international push to revive peace efforts that recently collapsed in ignominy after the Taliban opened an office in the Qatari capital Doha.

"We hope that the UK will continue these efforts to seek sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan," Sharif told reporters after Sunday's talks with Cameron.

He supported Afghan President Hamid Karzai's position that any peace process should be "Afghan-owned and Afghan-led".

"I have assured Prime Minister Cameron of our firm resolve to promote the shared objective of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan, to which the three million Afghan refugees currently living in Pakistan can return with honour and dignity," said Sharif.

Cameron welcomed Sharif's remarks about the "vital importance of the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan".

"I profoundly believe that a stable, prosperous, peaceful, democratic Afghanistan is in Pakistan's interest, just as a strong, stable, peaceful, prosperous, democratic Afghanistan is in Pakistan's interest, and I know that you and President Karzai will work together towards those ends," Cameron said.

The search for a peace deal is an urgent priority as 100,000 US-led NATO combat troops prepare to withdraw next year and Afghan forces take on the fight against insurgents that has lasted more than a decade.

The Taliban office in Qatar that opened on June 18 was meant to foster talks but instead enraged Karzai, who saw it as being styled as an embassy for a government-in-exile.

He broke off bilateral security talks with the Americans and threatened to boycott any peace process altogether.

On Saturday however, Karzai told Cameron that a subsequent Taliban attack on the presidential palace "will not deter us from seeking peace".

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EU alarmed over alleged US bugging

A top EU official says ties with the US could suffer over a report that America bugged EU offices. Source: AAP

A "SHOCKED" European Union is angrily awaiting explanations from Washington following allegations of US spying on EU offices, which could have a "severe impact" on relations.

Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, said in a statement: "I am deeply worried and shocked about the allegations of US authorities spying on EU offices", both in Brussels and the United States.

"If the allegations prove to be true, it would be an extremely serious matter which will have a severe impact on EU-US relations."

Schulz demanded full and speedy clarification from the US authorities.

The German weekly Der Spiegel on Sunday published a report it claimed was based on confidential documents, some of which it had been able to consult via the fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden.

One document, dated September 2010 and classed as "strictly confidential", describes how the NSA kept tabs on the European Union's diplomatic mission in Washington, Der Spiegel said.

Microphones were installed in the building and the computer network infiltrated, giving the agency access to emails and internal documents.

The EU delegation at the United Nations was subject to similar surveillance, the newspaper said: the leaked documents referred to the Europeans as "targets".

The spying also extended to the 27-member bloc's Brussels headquarters.

Der Spiegel referred to an incident "more than five years ago" when EU security experts discovered telephone and online bugging devices at the Justus Lipsius building.

In 2003, the EU announced it had found phone taps in the building targeting the offices of several countries, including Britain, France and Germany. It was not immediately clear if Der Spiegel was referring to this case.

US spying was "out of control", said Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn.

"The US would do better to monitor its intelligence services instead of its allies," he added.

Even before the latest allegations, the EU's Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding wrote to US attorney general Eric Holder earlier this month calling for answers about its internet spy program.

"Fundamentally, this is a question of trust," Reding said in a June 14 speech. "Trust of citizens towards their governments and to the governments of partner nations."

The top-secret PRISM program collects and analyses information from internet and phone users around the world, with access to data from Google, Yahoo! and other internet firms.

US officials say the information gathered is vital in the fight against global terrorism.

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Crowds gather for anti-Morsi rallies

Egypt is bracing for mass protests as President Mohamed Morsi's opponents determine to oust him. Source: AAP

EGYPT is bracing for mass rallies with President Mohamed Morsi's opponents determined to oust him and his Islamist supporters vowing to defend his legitimacy, stoking fears of a violent first anniversary of his taking office.

Thousands of jubilant protesters gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square ahead of Sunday's scheduled marches, waving Egyptian flags as patriotic songs boomed from speakers.

"The people want the ouster of the regime," the protesters chanted, the signature slogan of the 2011 revolt that ousted Hosni Mubarak and brought Morsi to power.

Some protesters held up red cards, others wore black headbands with 'Leave, Morsi!' written on them.

"This is the second revolution and Tahrir is the symbol of the revolution," said carpenter Ibrahim Hammouda, who travelled from the northern city of Damietta to join the protest.

Marchers were scheduled to set off at 5pm local time (0200 AEDT Monday) for the Ittihadiya presidential palace, close to a neighbourhood where thousands of Morsi supporters vowed to pursue a counter-demonstration in defence of the president.

Anti-Morsi demonstrations were also expected in provincial cities.

Police and troops have deployed to protect key buildings around the country, security officials said. The health ministry said hospitals have been placed on high alert.

A senior security official said the Suez Canal, the vital waterway that connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, has been placed under "maximum security."

The streets of Cairo were unusually quiet for the first day of the working week in Egypt, with banks and most offices closed.

The grassroots movement Tamarod - Arabic for rebellion - is behind a campaign that claims to have collected millions of signatures to a petition demanding Morsi's resignation and new elections.

The week leading up to the showdown has already seen eight people killed, including an American, and scores more injured as protesters from both sides took to the streets.

Morsi, previously a senior Muslim Brotherhood leader, is Egypt's first freely elected president, catapulted to power by the 2011 uprising that ended three decades of authoritarian rule by Mubarak.

His opponents accuse him of betraying the revolution by concentrating power in Islamist hands and of sending the economy into free fall.

But his supporters say that many of the challenges he faces he inherited from a corrupt regime, and that he should be allowed to serve out his term which ends in 2016.

Any attempt to remove him from office, they say, is a coup against democracy.

Leading opposition figure, Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, urged the president "to listen to the people" and step aside.

The fervent displays of emotion from both camps highlight the deep divisions in the Arab world's most populous country.

The army, which led a tumultuous transition after the revolt that ousted Mubarak, has warned it will intervene if there is major unrest.

Since taking office, Morsi has battled with the judiciary, the media and the police. The economy has taken a tumble, investment has dried up, inflation soared and the vital tourism industry has been battered.

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Facebook cuts ads from controversial pages

Facebook is pulling ads from pages that contain violence or sexual content. Source: AAP

FACEBOOK is pulling ads from pages that contain violence or sexual content.

The social network says that on Monday it will expand its definition of pages and groups that are too controversial to carry advertisements.

Facebook has sought to strike a balance between giving its 1.1 billion monthly users the freedom to post what they want and providing advertisers with space to sell their products.

In May, Facebook Inc lost more than a dozen advertisers, at least temporarily, after the activist group Women, Action and the Media urged an advertising boycott to protest hate speech on the Facebook site.

The controversial content included grisly photos and mottos that encouraged rape, abuse and other violence against women.

The company said then that it would review its guidelines.

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Man with axe robs Tas supermarket

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Last Updated: June 29, 2013

A MAN armed with an axe has robbed a supermarket north of Hobart, fleeing with cash.

The man entered Charlie's Supermarket in Barossa Road, Glenorchy about 7.45pm (AEST). He escaped on foot with an undisclosed sum of money.

No one was injured.

Libs fire up at US-style launch

Matt Johnston, Samantha Maiden TONY Abbott and former prime minister John Howard have launched a blistering attack on Kevin Rudd at a US-style rally in Melbourne.

Staff forced to spend wages on brands' clothes

EXCLUSIVE: Australian retailers are breaking the law by making their employees pay for the brand clothing and jewellery they are required to wear at work.

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Rowhani envisages Iran detente with world

IRAN'S president-elect Hassan Rowhani has vowed to implement a policy of "constructive interaction" with world powers to build trust and diffuse tensions.

"Moderation in foreign policy means neither surrender nor confrontation but constructive and efficacious interaction with the world," Rowhani said in his first live televised remarks since his election on June 14.

"In moderation, a balance must be achieved between realism and idealism," he said.

Iran is at odds with world powers over its controversial nuclear activities and its support for the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Rowhani, who won almost 51 per cent of votes in the election to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, did not mention either issue directly but said he would move to build trust and ease tensions after taking office on August 3.

Under Rowhani's administration, "interaction and dialogue will be based on reciprocity, respect and mutual interest, and seeking mutual detente," he said.

Rowhani said, without elaborating, that he would fight for "all of Iran's rights and the nation's demands".

Iran insists its nuclear activities are aimed at civilian applications, under which it has the right to enrich uranium, whose highly enriched form can be used as the fissile core of an atomic bomb.

The US and Israel suspect that the drive hides military objectives.

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