A high-level police research paper says use of the term “bias” has become a “scapegoat for not addressing racism directly”. Police today released the paper along with several other documents, outlining work done over the past year…

A surge in gas prices is the result of a "perfect storm" of factors, according to new Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

Wholesale gas prices have spiked in the past week, with fears the electricity network on the east coast would not have enough supply to keep homes and businesses powered.

And the jump will likely be reflected in the next electricity bills sent out to Australians.

READ MORE: No quick fix to energy crisis as icy weather sweeps south-east

So what's the reason for the jump in gas prices?

Global factors

The biggest factor behind the surge in gas prices is the war in Ukraine.

The single biggest gas exporter in the world is Russia, which has been hit with massive sanctions.

Unwilling to buy from Russia, many countries are looking elsewhere, and paying more for it.

Inflation and supply chain bottlenecks are also contributing to the high global prices.

The cold snap

After a mild autumn, winter has arrived with a vengeance across Australia.

And as a consequence, Australians are using a lot more electricity.

This is coming from heaters, electric blankets and especially air conditioners.

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And on colder mornings, people are more likely to spend a little longer in a nice hot shower.

More electricity demand means more gas needs to be burned in power plants.

The coal shortage

The gas shortage is made worse by a shortage in coal.

Coal prices have spiked in recent months, thanks to the war in Ukraine.

And outdated coal-fired power stations have been struggling to maintain a steady output of electricity.

And the largest coal plant in the country, Eraring in the NSW Hunter Valley, has had difficulty sourcing enough coal to burn.

When the coal plants go down, gas plants make up much of the shortfall, meaning more gas is burned.

Exports

Australia extracts enough of its own natural gas to supply its own needs very easily.

But being part of a global market, much of Australia's gas is exported.

Gas supply can be ensured if the government invokes the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism.

But Energy Minister Chris Bowen has rejected the suggestion the mechanism would be an immediate solution to the country's gas shortage.

"It cannot come into force until 1 January next year, even if it was pulled today," he said.

"It is not a short-term answer."

What will this mean for power prices?

The gas shortage should mean power prices will go up, but not by as much as it could, Bowen has said.

"Thankfully, around 80 per cent of gas contracts are done over the longer term," he said.

"It is not yet, in that regard, impacting on retail prices.

"It could be a lot worse."

He warned it would not get better straight away.

"More renewables puts downward pressure on energy prices," he said.

"The Matt Canavans of this world are out there saying this is somehow renewables' fault.

"This is coal-fired power outages."

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Ski resorts in Australia's alpine regions are kicking off the winter season early after a polar front brought heavy snow and icy temperatures to the country's south-east.

It's been a lean couple years for the ski business, with COVID-19 restrictions, lockdowns and travel bans seeing tourism essentially dry up for successive winters.

So it's understandable that a number of the biggest names in the industry have decided to jump the gun and push the opening date forward by a week to this Saturday.

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Traditionally it's the Queen's Birthday long weekend – this year from June 11-13 – that marks the opening of the ski season.

If you're hankering for a snow fix, here's what you need to know about who's opening when.

June 4

A number of resorts in NSW and Victoria are kick-starting things early, with slopes open from this Saturday.

In NSW, Perisher will be "pulling the trigger" for an early start.

The decision was prompted by a 30cm snowfall on May 31, with more forecast.

READ MORE: Warning states' gas supplies could be cut

In Victoria, Mt Hotham, Falls Creek and Mt Buller will all be joining the early fun as well.

"The snow gods have heard us and blessed the resort with an average of 37cm of snow in the past 48 hours," a Falls Creek media spokesperson said yesterday.

June 11

If you can't get away on short notice, there are plenty of resorts still sticking – so far – to the traditional opening date.

This close to June 4, it's unlikely to change.

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The other major NSW destinations, Thredbo and Charlotte Pass, will mark the Queen's Birthday season opening.

In Victoria, the same can be said for Mt Baw Baw and Dinner Plain.

All resorts have issued guidelines about what to bring and how to prepare, so make sure to check out your preferred destination to ensure you're equipped for a snow trip.

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When Victorian nurse Jillian Edelsten signed on the dotted line to buy her first property two years ago she was ecstatic.

Photos show the 45-year-old grinning and holding a bottle of champagne on the block of land where her townhouse was to be built in a residential estate in the regional town of Huntly, northern Bendigo.

The last thing Edelsten expected was to be living with her parents two years later.

The townhouse was due to be finished last May, but the lot is still sitting empty. 

READ MORE: Housing shockwaves predicted as rate hikes hit developers

Edelsten is one of 20 aspiring homeowners who bought a $270,000 house-and-land package in the Provenance Estate and say their dreams have now been shattered.

After a year of delays, the construction firm the landowners signed a contract with to build their homes – Vita Building Group – has pulled out of the project.

It's an increasingly common occurrence happening across the country as the construction industry faces a crisis fuelled by surging costs for raw materials, worker shortages, supply chain delays and looming interest rate rises.

Construction giants like Probuild and Condev are two of the largest firms to fold so far, while Privium Group, Dyldam Developments, Hotondo Homes franchise Tasmanian Constructions, ABD Group, BA Murphy, Pindan and Inside Out Construction have all gone bust in recent months.

In a legal letter, developer Huntly Property Holdings proposed three options to Edelsten and the other landowners going forward.

The landowners could sell their plots – either back to Huntly or on the open market. 

The third option was to proceed with a new builder, but with the increased cost of materials, the cheapest amount quoted would add an extra $120,000 to the price of each townhouse, the letter stated.

'I'll be renting forever'

Edelsten said she had just scraped together enough money to buy the house-and-land package as it was, so there was little to no chance her bank would agree to increase her loan by $120,000.

"It's crazy, it's just absolutely insane," she said.

"Are we just supposed to pull $120,000 out of thin air?"

The extra $120,000 represented a 70 per cent increase on the original price of the townhouse quoted by Vita Building Group, which seemed "excessive" even considering the hike in material costs, Edelsten said.

Having moved from Melbourne to Bendigo during the pandemic 18 months ago, Edelsten said she jumped at the chance to finally own her own place when the $25,000 Federal HomeBuilder grant was announced.

That grant, combined with the $20,000 First Home Owner grant for new homes in regional Victoria, was a huge incentive, she said.   

"As a 45-year-old single person, finally getting my first home was awesome because most of my other friends have done that already. It's been a bit harder for me," she said.

Edelsten said she and the other landowners were yet to hear from Vita Building Group directly, and had been left devastated after receiving the letter from Huntly last week.

"All my dreams of owning my first home have gone down the drain," she said. 

"I don't even know if I can afford to buy a house now. I feel like I think I'll be renting forever."

READ MORE: What Aussie house prices will do under the new government

9news.com.au has contacted Vita Building Group for comment but has not yet received a response.

A public notice from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) showed an application had been lodged by a creditor in October last year to wind-up the company.

However, the Bendigo Advertiser reports the application was dismissed in January this year. 

ASIC records show Vita Building Group is still a registered company.

In a statement issued through its lawyers, Huntly said: "Our client and our office have (on an urgent basis) been endeavouring to seek further updates from Vita and its solicitor, and have also been requesting that Vita directly provide clarity to lot owners in respect of the refund of deposits and timing for such payments, as well as clarifying Vita's intentions in respect of any lots where construction has actually commenced.

"It is our client's intention to continue to assist and work with lot owners to achieve the best possible outcome given the circumstances."

'I don't think it's going to happen for me'

Like Edelsten, aged care worker and single mum Nicole Doggett also bought a house-and-land package in the estate.

After renting in Bendigo for eight years, Doggett took the plunge to buy her own property after accessing $20,000 of her superannuation during the pandemic.

READ MORE: What's to blame for Australia's natural gas shortage?

"The rent I have been paying just keeps on rising so I thought it would be cheaper in the long run to buy this townhouse," she said.

Now, Doggett said she is stuck paying her rent, as well as land rates and the interest-only mortgage payments for her land.

"It's just exhausting, I'm devastated to be honest," she said.

Expecting to move into her new home in May last year, Doggett said she had sold all the large pieces of furniture that wouldn't fit into her new place and was now living in a half-empty house.

"I feel like my dream has just been shattered," she said. 

"I was going to be starting a new chapter in my life and this was going to be something that I had worked for and was mine."

"I don't think it's going to happen for me anymore because I can't afford to go with another builder."

Contact reporter Emily McPherson at em********@******om.au

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A man searching a Florida lake for Frisbees may have died as a result of a possible alligator attack, according to a news release from Largo Police Department.

The victim, who authorities have identified as 47-year-old Sean McGuinness, was discovered along the shoreline of Taylor Lake in Largo, Florida, by a bystander walking their dog early Tuesday morning, officials said.

Largo is located just outside of Tampa, Florida.

READ MORE: Warning states' gas supplies could be cut

Investigators believe the victim was looking for Frisbees sometime during the night when an alligator attacked him.

"While the medical examiner will determine the exact cause of death, it was apparent that McGuinness suffered injuries related to alligators in the lake," the release stated.

According to management at Taylor Park, McGuinness was known to frequent the park and enter the lake with disregard to the posted 'No Swimming' signs, authorities said.

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A witness told detectives that McGuinness was known to sell discs back to people within the park, and McGuinness was found within a few feet of a disc in the water.

Two alligators were captured on Tuesday night, however, necropsies revealed no evidence of their involvement with the deceased, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesperson Forest Rothchild said in a statement on Wednesday.

Officials will continue to monitor for additional alligators in the area, the release stated.