Retired police officer Ken Grant has been found guilty of hitting and killing a man when he got behind the wheel after seven drinks.

The father of the former police minister Troy Grant was at a Christmas party in Maitland, the NSW Hunter Valley region, in 2019 and had been planning to stay the night at the venue.

Instead, after three schooners and four glasses of wine he jumped behind the wheel and ran down scientist Tony Greenfield as he left the same function with his wife.

Guests had described Grant as "hammered" and "incoherent" before he left.

Police were unaware of the hit-run but gave chase after noticing a swerving Mazda with two blown tyres.

After being pulled over he returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.194 – nearly four times the legal limit.

Grant told the officer "my son was the police minister".

Troy Grant told the trial his father had a history of sleep walking and his heath had been on the decline.

The once highly respected police inspector is now a convicted criminal after a judge found his abhorrent driving could only be explained by alcohol.

He faces up to a decade behind bars when he is sentenced in the new year.

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of 31-year-old Queensland woman, Rene Latimore.

Ms Latimore had been reported missing from her home in West Mackay, August 18, and found dead 11 days later in Koumala.

READ MORE: Torrential rain to get worse across multiple states

Her body was found at a rural property during search operations eleven days later.

Forensic examinations confirmed the woman was Ms Latimore.

During months of investigation, police appealed to the public for information regarding Ms Latimore's disappearance.

The teenager has been charged with one count of murder and remains in police custody.

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A man has died in central Queensland today, with his ute found submerged in floodwaters.

The ute and the man inside was located in a creek off the Gregory Highway in Hibernia, west of Rockhampton in central Queensland.

A member of the public found the man in his ute around 7am this morning, and immediately called police.

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A police spokesperson said the man was the only one in the vehicle and he was located dead at the scene.

They confirmed police and emergency services were in the process of retrieving the vehicle, but that wet weather was impacting the retrieval process.

"Recovery of the vehicle may take some time due to the location and current weather conditions," police said in a statement.

READ MORE: Torrential rain to get worse across multiple states

https://twitter.com/BOM_Qld/status/1464013365496406021

Flood warnings had been issued in the region overnight, with more warnings of severe storms and flash flooding in parts of Queensland and NSW down the east coast.

Residents in affected areas have been reminded by authorities to not drive through floodwaters.

Police said it was unclear how the ute ended up in the water, with investigations continuing to determine how the man died.

They added it was unclear whether the man and ute had crashed prior to being swept into the floods.

The forensic crash unit will investigate the incident further. Any witnesses who saw a white Toyota Landcruiser ute travelling along the Gregory Highway overnight have been urged to come forward.

The man is yet to be formally identified.

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Voluntary assisted dying laws have passed the lower house in the New South Wales Parliament.

The vote passed 52 to 32.

It will now move to the upper house, the final hurdle before the bill becomes law.

The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill was put forward by independent member Alex Greenwich, who tweeted soon after the vote passed.

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https://twitter.com/AlexGreenwich/status/1464055847198228483

In order to be eligible, a person must be 18 or older, have the mental capacity to make the decision to end their life and be terminally ill with death expected within six months or 12 months for neurological conditions.

The bill was opposed by Premier Dominic Perrottet, who cited his grandmother's painful death in his decision.

Voluntary assisted dying has been legalised in every state by NSW in the past few years.