Few small firms happy with Gillard govt

NEW federal Small Business Minister Gary Gray has his work cut out in this election year, with a new survey showing just 14 per cent of small firms are satisfied with the support they get from the federal government.

Business software provider MYOB's 2013 business monitor found that this level of satisfaction was down from 17 per cent as of July 2012.

The survey was conducted before last week's leadership showdown that resulted in one minister being sacked and several others resigning, including former small business minister Chris Bowen - the fifth minister to hold the portfolio in 15 months.

Mr Gray was appointed as small business minister on Monday, and was also given the portfolio of resources and energy.

MYOB chief executive Tim Reed said the result of the survey of 1005 small and medium-sized business operators was "pretty appalling".

"I can only see that last week would have driven this (result) lower," Mr Reed told AAP.

"What we saw last week was a government that wasn't in control."

However, Mr Reed said despite this outcome, the government had had some good polices for small business, but hadn't been able to communicate them.

He pointed to the instant asset write-off, the increasing of the tax-free threshold, and loss carry-back scheme as great policies for small business that had failed to instil confidence.

"Small business owners look to the federal government to create a sound basis on which they can then build their business," Mr Reed said.

"They feel the government has failed on that."

However, the survey found a greater proportion (25 per cent) of businesses saw an improvement in the economy within the next 12 months compared to eight months ago (19 per cent).

A recent strengthening in consumer confidence is reflected in 72 per cent of businesses expecting to see increased or stable revenue in the next year, whereas only 58 per cent reported that actually happening in the year just past.

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Most small firms want carbon tax scrapped

ALMOST two thirds of small businesses want the carbon tax scrapped, putting it second in their top 10 wish list ahead of the May budget, a survey says.

Topping the list in business software provider MYOB's 2013 business monitor was the perennial want of a significantly simplified Business Activity Statement (BAS) process for the GST.

MYOB chief executive Tim Reed said pricing carbon had been an incredibly poorly sold policy to business, but he was surprised so many firms wanted to get rid of it.

"It would be actually more work to small business if it was abolished than if it was maintained," Mr Reed told AAP.

He said rolling back the tax changes linked to the carbon tax, such as the tax-free threshold returning to $6000 from $18,000, would mean businesses having to collect tax from part-time workers that they don't collect now.

Small business is already buried in paperwork that results from the GST, partly due to the complexity caused by exclusions from the tax, such as fresh food, education and health.

"Getting rid of the exclusions, while politically unpopular, would make it a much easier system for business owners to administer," Mr Reed said.

Business owners also have to code every transaction they conduct for audit purposes, and Mr Reed said more than two-thirds got it wrong.

But the data is only used by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as part of a database to investigate past macro-economic trends.

"It is a massive onerous burden on business owners. Any government could get rid of that without needing to legislate," Mr Reed said.

He said business had noted the ATO had become tougher in the past 12 months, having been "quite light" in allowing firms to schedule payments, in response to the hit from the global financial crisis.

Waving penalty charges on late tax payments for start-up businesses in their first two years of operation would cost the government little, but it would show it understood the challenges facing a new business, Mr Reed said

"It would be one of those points of symbolism that small business owners could think at least 'somebody understands who we are.'"

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US stocks rise on Cyprus deal

US stocks have opened higher after a last-minute deal to resolve the Cyprus banking crisis bolstered markets in Europe and Asia.

Five minutes into trade on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 15.37 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 14,527.40.

The broad-based S&P 500 increased 3.81 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 1,560.70.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 7.66 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 3,252.66.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare described the market reaction as "somewhat subdued", perhaps in anticipation of political or social opposition that could surface in response to the Cyprus agreement.

"Then again, markets didn't necessarily overreact on the downside when the Cyprus situation presented itself last week," O'Hare said.

Markets were also fixating on an emerging bidding war over computer manufacturer Dell.

The company's founder and chief executive, Michael Dell, proposed taking the company private in a $US24.4 billion ($A23.5 billion) deal. But two other proposals surfaced over the weekend, one from long-time Wall Street activist Carl Icahn, and another from the private equity firm Blackstone Group.

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Syria rebel commander loses leg in blast

RIAD al-Asaad, commander of the rebel Free Syrian Army, has been wounded in a blast that hit his car in eastern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog says.

A government official in Ankara confirmed Asaad had been hurt, saying he had lost a leg in the attack but that he was in "good condition" after being rushed across the Syrian border into Turkey for treatment.

"An explosive device exploded last night near the car carrying Free Syrian Army commander Riad Asaad, who was conducting a tour of the town of Mayadeen in Deir Ezzor province," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Abdel Rahman said Asaad had been wounded in the leg, and a relative of the commander told AFP that he had been transferred to Turkey for treatment after the blast.

A Turkish foreign ministry official confirmed Asaad was taken to Turkey on Monday morning via the Akcakale border crossing and was being treated at a hospital in Sanliurfa province near the border.

"He lost one leg but in general his condition is good," the official told AFP.

Asaad was one of the first officers to defect from the Syrian state military to the rebel forces, joining their ranks in 2011, not long after the uprising began.

He served as commander of the rebel forces but has seen his official role diminished by the creation of a rebel military command headed by Brigadier General Salim Idriss.

Asaad has remained a prominent figure though, regularly appearing with rebel fighters on the ground.

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Selfless, brave Australians honoured

SURROUNDED by rising floodwaters, the mother of six-month-old Grace had two choices - risk death or hand her child to a stranger to be winched up to a helicopter.

That stranger was Queensland fireman Brad Hindmarsh.

"I called the mother aside and I explained to her that I'm going to have to ask you to let go of your baby," he told AAP.

"I told her that this is the only way I'm going to be able get you and your baby out.

"I said, 'You need to trust me.'"

For his act of courage, Mr Hindmarsh is one of 70 people and 15 groups chosen to receive an Australian Bravery Award on Monday.

On the morning of January 11, 2011, Mr Hindmarsh joined a crew on board a Black Hawk chopper to search flood-devastated Grantham, west of Brisbane, during one of the worst disasters to hit the state.

He was exhausted after spending the night fighting torrents and wading through mud, helping dozens of people from their inundated homes.

As the helicopter flew across the mass of water that covered the landscape, the crew spotted a man waving desperately from his back porch.

Despite having no training, Mr Hindmarsh volunteered to be lowered from the helicopter as it hovered above the man's home.

Inside he found a family of five - six-month-old Grace, her parents and her maternal grandparents.

They were scared and up to their knees in water.

Mr Hindmarsh gave each of the adults a life jacket in case he wasn't able to save them in time.

He then made an improvised harness for Grace using tape and attached it to himself.

"The last thing I wanted to happen was to lose the baby in an attempt to rescue her," the father of two said.

"Then I said to the mother, 'Okay, you need to let go now.'

"The look in her eyes as she looked into my eyes was 'you look after my baby'."

Mr Hindmarsh delivered Grace, screaming but unhurt, to the helicopter, before being lowered four more times to save the rest of her family.

"The look in her mother's eyes [when she was reunited with Grace] was heartwarming," he said.

"I love my job, but that told me why I was put here."

"I don't think I'm anything special, every firefighter has done exactly what I've done and they risk their lives every day."

Mr Hindmarsh says he has drawn on the experience to give him a boost when faced with devastating situations in his job.

Governor-General Quentin Bryce says recipients of the Australian Bravery Decorations demonstrated the most noble human trait - to put another life ahead of their own.

She says many of the awards went to those who demonstrated courage and determination during the Queensland floods in December 2010 and 2011.

"The strength of human nature shone through the chaos and tragedy," she told AAP.

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Shark attack hero wins bravery award

That was the only thought Trevor Ronald Burns had when he saw a woman being attacked by a Great White Shark.

He never expected to be awarded for his bravery.

The Brisbane man was holidaying in Perth with his family in October 2010 when they took part in a dolphin encounter at Rockingham with about 40 other people.

Many had gone back to the boat, but about 12 people remained in the water with a guide, looking for a baby dolphin that kept ducking around with its mother.

"They were obviously aware of the shark, and we weren't," he told AAP.

Mr Burns said when the guide was attacked by the 3.5m shark, it took a "double bite" at her legs.

He thought it was a dolphin when it brushed past his hand, until he saw the blood in the water.

"I just thought, 'Get it off her,' because she was only about a metre away from me," he said.

Mr Burns grabbed the shark's tail but it thrashed around before finally releasing its grip and swimming away.

Other tourists swam back to the boat when the alarm went off, but Mr Burns dived back into the water to find the injured woman.

"I couldn't see anything, but I knew there was no way she was coming back without help," he said.

The woman survived the attack but suffered significant leg injuries which required more than 200 stitches and several operations.

Mr Burns was also hurt, before he entered the water, slipping on the boat and injuring his ribs.

The pain was quickly forgotten as the drama unfolded.

"Adrenaline is a great pain relief," he quipped, although he felt the pain for weeks later.

Mr Burns will receive the Star of Courage as part of the 38th annual Australian Bravery Awards and said he was "really proud" to accept it.

"This really got to me," he said.

"To be recognised in this way is special."

Mr Burns remains in contact with the attack victim.

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ADF should plan for climate change: report

EDS: Not for use before 0001 AEDT Monday, March 25

CANBERRA, March 25 AAP - The Australian Defence Force needs to plan now to deal with the impacts of climate change on security in the region, a report from a think-tank says.

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute released a paper, Heavy Weather: Climate and the Australia Defence Force (ADF) on Monday, in which it recommended that the ADF should work with the department of the prime minister and the department of climate change and energy efficiency to establish a working group on climate change security.

The group should include aid agency AusAID, the defence science and technology organisation, the bureau of meteorology and the CSIRO, the report said.

Also, defence should appoint a climate-change adviser to the the ADF chief, whose role would be to plan how to manage the effects of climate change on operations and infrastructure.

"As the world becomes more networked, the impacts of climate change in one country or region will affect the prosperity and security of others around the world," the report said.

It pointed out that regional defence forces would have more opportunities to unite in dealing with climate change.

The report also recommended that Australia should become more linked in the Multinational Planning Augmentation Team operated by US Pacific Command (PACOM), which plans for natural disasters and humanitarian risks across the Asia-Pacific program.

The ADF's role in regional humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions was likely to increase, the report said.

Neither the ADF nor the department had shown much interest around climate change, by contrast with the UK's ministry of defence, which had developed a climate-change strategy.

The UK military had also appointed a star-ranked climate change and energy security envoy, while the United States navy had initiated a similar position.

The report said an increased focus on climate change in the military wasn't about a 'green' view of the world.

"It's about the ADF being well placed to deal with the potential disruptive forces of climate change."

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Storms black out 50,000 Qld properties

A SERIES of severe storms, accompanied by 90km/h winds and lightning strikes, have swept through southeast Queensland, cutting off power to thousands of homes and businesses.

The State Emergency Service responded to up to 100 calls for help, mostly for damaged and leaking roofs and fallen trees as some streets were turned into rivers.

By 10pm (AEST) on Sunday, Energex crews had restored power to 15,000 homes and businesses across the region but there were still 43,000 homes without power including 6500 in the Brisbane City Council, 2000 in Ipswich and 25,500 in Logan.

Energex said all its available field staff are working and will continue until electricity is restored to all customers.

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Lebanese president accepts PM resignation

Lebanon Prime Minister Najib Mikati says the government has resigned. Source: AAP

LEBANESE President Michel Suleiman has formally accepted the resignation of the prime minister, who stepped down blaming government infighting during a time of rising sectarian tensions.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati submitted his written resignation to the president after announcing he was stepping down the day before, taking the country by surprise.

Suleiman asked that his government assume a caretaking role while a new government is being formed.

Mikati's unexpected resignation throws the country into uncertainty at a critical time and threatens to leave a void in the state's highest ranks amid sporadic violence inflamed by the conflict in neighbouring Syria.

It opens the way for what is expected to be prolonged political jockeying as parliamentary blocs try to build a majority coalition to choose a new prime minister.

"I hope that this resignation will provide an opening in the existing deadlock and pave the way for a (political) solution," he said, following his meeting with Suleiman on Saturday.

Mikati has been prime minister since June 2011, heading a government dominated by the Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah and its allies.

Their main rivals are a coalition headed by former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, son of Rafik Hariri, who was also prime minister and was killed in a truck bombing in 2005.

A Harvard-educated billionaire, Mikati was chosen to lead the government after Hezbollah forced the collapse of Lebanon's previous government over fears a UN-backed tribunal investigating the killing of the elder Hariri would indict Hezbollah members.

Mikati stepped down on Friday to protest the parliament's inability to agree on a law to govern elections set for later this year, as well as the refusal by Hezbollah and its allies in the cabinet to extend the tenure of the country's police chief, Major General Ashraf Rifi, who at 58 is about to hit the mandatory retirement age for his rank.

Rifi, like Mikati, is a Sunni Muslim who is considered a foe by Hezbollah.

In his speech on Friday, Mikati said that if Rifi is not allowed to stay on, his departure would send the police department into "a vacuum".

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Pope tells Benedict 'we're brothers'

POPE Francis has travelled to Castel Gandolfo to have lunch with his predecessor Benedict XVI in a historic melding of the papacies that has never before confronted the Catholic Church.

The Vatican said the two popes embraced on the helipad.

In the chapel where they prayed together, Benedict offered Francis the traditional kneeler used by the pope.

Francis refused to take it alone, saying "We're brothers," and the two prayed together on the same one.

Outside the villa, the main piazza of Castel Gandolfo was packed on Saturday with well-wishers hoping to catch a glimpse of history - two popes breaking bread together and presumably discussing the future of the Catholic Church.

They chanted "Francesco! Francesco!".

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said he understands Benedict offered his pledge of obedience to the new pope, while Francis thanked Benedict for his ministry.

He said they both wore white, though Benedict was in a simple cassock without the traditional sash and cape worn by Francis.

Benedict has been living at the papal summer villa since he resigned on February 28, the first pope to step down in 600 years.

He has said he plans to live out his final years in prayer and remain "hidden from the world".

Benedict's dramatic departure that day - flying by helicopter from the helipad in the Vatican gardens with his weeping secretary by his side and circling St Peter's Square in a final goodbye - is one of the most evocative images of this remarkable papal transition.

The Vatican is downplaying the luncheon in keeping with Benedict's desire to remain in private and not interfere with his successor's papacy.

There was to be no live coverage of the private meeting by Vatican television, only a few still photos from the official Vatican photographer and perhaps a video released after the fact.

The Vatican said Benedict was at the helipad in the villa gardens to welcome Francis, and that the two were meeting in Benedict's library and having lunch together.

Francis will then return to his makeshift home at the Vatican hotel at an unspecified time later in the day.

The Vatican spokesman promised a general comment about the meeting, but no detailed statement.

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