Two people have died in crashes today – including a person who was in a truck which collided with a train just outside Marton.Emergency services were alerted to the incident on Saunders Rd off State Highway 1 just after 3.30pm….

Charges filed by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over a Labour Party donation reveal an alleged illusion was created to conceal the amount and identity of the true donor, while providing them with “freedom from any public scrutiny”.Documents…

Qantas has blamed a faulty sensor as the cause of a "priority landing" at Brisbane Airport this morning, following an initial report of a landing gear malfunction.

The Dash 8 aircraft, designated QF2420, was carrying 64 passengers from Newcastle before crew requested an expedited landing just before 9.30am.

Qantas confirmed the landing occurred following a "potential issue with the landing gear", which was later determined to be caused by a malfunctioning sensor light.

READ MORE: Vaccinated Aussies may be allowed to travel overseas, PM reiterates

"Our Newcastle to Brisbane flight conducted a priority landing on Thursday morning after receiving an indication light in the cockpit about a potential issue with the landing gear," a Qantas spokesperson told 9News.

"Our engineers have found that the indication light was caused by a faulty sensor, the landing gear itself was functioning normally during the flight.

"The pilots followed standard procedures and required checklists for this type of event."

Video from onboard the aircraft has shown the moment of the landing, with flight attendants being heard yelling "brace" and "stay down".

Once landed, the aircraft's pilot told passengers to "remain seated and follow your crew members' instructions".

The passengers departed the aircraft on the runway and were escorted to the domestic terminal on buses.

"It was all good, we're all here and the captain [did] a good job," passenger Craig Warden said.

There have been no reports of injuries from the landing.

"Although we were reasonably certain that the landing gear was down and locked, we could do that visually and in other ways, the procedure to be followed has to be followed and that's exactly what we did," Qantas group executive John Gissing said.

Six people have been arrested and $2m worth of assets have been seized after a police operation against organised crime in Hawke’s Bay.The National Organised Crime Group and Eastern District Police executed multiple search warrants…

Access to the top of Te Mata Peak has been temporarily closed after one person died in a crash off the summit overnight on Wednesday.Emergency services were alerted to a single-vehicle crash about 10pm on Wednesday.A police spokesperson…

Campaigners trying to help tens of thousands of Australians stranded overseas want more to be done to get them home, saying the millions promised in the Federal Budget for repatriation flights isn't enough.

A total of $180m has been earmarked for special government-facilitated flights to help the 34,500 people who have told the government they want to get back.

Travellers usually have to pay for their ticket plus $3000 quarantine.

The SMH reports the budget money will help fund 100 flights for some 17,000 Aussies – about half the number currently registered – to get home from around the world.

It will occur over the next year.

READ MORE: Budget winners and losers

Campaigners say 60 flights would be needed to get people back from India alone, where there are 9500 stranded.

Then they all need to go into quarantine.

Howard Springs in Darwin, where most repatriation flights go, is to be expanded from 800 people to 2000.

READ MORE: Vaccinated Aussies may be allowed to travel overseas, says PM

But it still wouldn't be enough to handle the numbers.

Joh Gwynn, who helps run Facebook group Australians Stuck around the World, said the plan is a far cry from what is needed.

"It's good that there's something allocated. However, it just doesn't seem to be anything near enough," she told 9News.com.au.

READ MORE: 'My son doesn't even know me: Despair of Aussies stuck in India

"This plan indicates that we're still going to have stranded Aussies in 12 months time. I don't know how that's acceptable.

"I was calculating, 150 passengers a flight, just for India we would need more than 60 flights."

Ms Gywnn believes, despite Scott Morrison last week announcing the resumption of repatriation flights from India, only one has been confirmed so far.

This is based on the confirmations from the 11,500 members of her Facebook group who have been offered or are waiting for $1500 tickets from the government.

The repatriation flight plan comes amid the continuation of the commercial flight caps, which allow just a few thousand people into Australia each week, making seats hard to get and expensive.

Some nations, such as India, have never resumed direct flights to Australia since the pandemic began.

But travel can be possible via another country, once the travel ban lifts.

All those passengers go into hotel quarantine in capital cities, with the government so far ruling out building more Howard Springs-type facilities.

It has also been indicated international borders are likely to be closed until at least the middle of next year.

Dutch Australian man Pieter Den Heten spent about six months trying to get home from Europe last year, and now helps run campaign group, Stranded Aussies Action Network.

He accused the government of having "no plan", and wants to know just how the new flights will be allocated.

The 900 people classed as 'vulnerable' in India are going to be the first to be offered flights home from there, the government has indicated.

READ MORE: Qantas delays international flights by two months

https://twitter.com/strandedaussies/status/1391967054547226627?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Mr Den Heten said some form of monitored home quarantine is needed – as well as a ramping up of the vaccination rollout.

The number of Australians who have told DFAT they want to come back has fluctuated since last year.

Because while there is a travel ban, people can leave with permission, including for compassionate reasons (such as if a family member is sick overseas or if they want to leave for more than three months).

While Aussies still overseas have been accused of not coming home when they were told to, for many it was impossible due to lockdowns, cancelled flights, the expense, and the fact that they couldn't just suddenly leave their lives overseas.

Last March, the government also told people living overseas to stay put if they were safe and could support themselves.

READ MORE: 'There's no end goal': Expats' heartbreak over COVID-19 border closures

READ MORE: Aussie teacher torn between leaving father in India and returning home

9News.com.au has asked DFAT for more details about the flights, including how they will be allocated.

"Since the start of the pandemic, the Government has helped over 45,400 Australians return on over 500 flights, including over 18,600 people on 126-government facilitated flights, and provided emergency assistance to the most vulnerable Australians overseas," DFAT said in a statement.

"The government has committed $176.3m to continue facilitated flights for Australians and extending assistance to those most in need.

"It will also enable a more responsive, effective and modern consular service to those most in need."

READ MORE: Sydney man in India desperate to get home to pregnant wife

Contact journalist Sarah Swain: Ss****@******om.au

Australia's top doctor has floated the idea of "mix-and-matching" different types of vaccines.

Secretary of the Department of Health Brendan Murphy said there was "no good scientific reason" to not get two different vaccine shots.

"We think there is no reason why you can't mix and match vaccines," he said.

LIVE UPDATES: Virus cases rocket in Australia's backyard

"The trial data is not out yet.

"There are some trials being done in the UK, looking at AstraZeneca first dose and Pfizer or Moderna second dose."

It comes as the Australian government announced it had secured 25 million doses of the Moderna vaccine.

Ten million of those shots will be delivered this year.

The biotechnology company said it was already in discussions with Australia about potential local manufacturing of the vaccine.

While not approved yet in Australia, it has generally been listed for use in adults of all ages in countries that have rolled it out.

"We appreciate the partnership and support from the government of Australia with this first supply agreement for doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and our variant booster candidates," Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna, said.

"As we seek to protect people around the world with our COVID-19 vaccine and potentially our variant booster candidates, we look forward to continuing discussions with Australia about establishing potential local manufacturing opportunities."

The Moderna vaccine uses the same mRNA technology as Pfizer and has performed similarly in drug trials to date.

READ MORE: Plan to welcome students back to Australia 'underway'

The vaccine has been shown to be 94.1 per cent effective in preventing coronavirus infection.

About a million people receive the Moderna vaccine every day in the United States.

READ MORE: Victoria records no new local cases of COVID-19

NSW could welcome back international students in an Olympic village-style quarantine format using purpose-built housing. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison told 2GB's Ben Fordham the Federal Government was working with states and the university sector on the proposal, which would be paid for by universities.

He said they have been working on pilot schemes of a similar nature in SA and the NT, with a few hundred students allowed to fly in.

LIVE UPDATES: Virus cases rise in Pacific

In 2019, international students were worth over $40 billion, with the figure down by $9 billion during the pandemic, according to the ABS.

While overseas students already here can continue to study, no new ones have been allowed back in, with some students abroad when the borders closed also barred from returning.

"We are still a long way from landing this, I stress at this point," Mr Morrison said. 

"It's something that we're encouraging of. It's got to be done safely.

"We have to do it in a way that doesn't risk the success we've had." 

https://omny.fm/shows/ben-fordham-full-show/prime-minister-to-work-with-nsw-to-bring-back-inte/embed

Mr Morrison said the nation wouldn't "necessarily" allow students back before Aussies are allowed to go overseas.

He said earlier indications to allow vaccinated Aussies to travel were still being worked on, with indications in 2021 Federal budget papers the international borders will remain closed until at least mid-2022.

He refused to be drawn on any date.

"I've been seeking to get support where Australians who are vaccinated would be able to travel overseas and return in some kind of modified quarantine arrangement," he said.

"But that also has to be done safely.

READ MORE: Victoria records no new local cases of COVID-19 amid fears hundreds of footy fans may have been exposed

"Borders is just not a binary option of open one day, shut the next.

"There are various grades of that and that's what the budget assumes.

"But they need to be practical, they need to be safe, they need to ensure that we don't put at risk the great gains that have been made."

Homes were flooded, cars were crushed and thousands of homes left without power – now, Queenslanders are cleaning up.

The intense weather system over the state's south-east saw a millimetre of rain dumped almost every minute in parts.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Greg Leach said the worst of the storm hit between 5pm and 6pm and resulted over 180 emergency callouts.

READ MORE: Kmart ceiling collapses as hail belts south-east Queensland

One car was crushed by a falling powerline brought down by the storm at Nambour.

Luckily, the family opted to stay inside, where they were safe from downed wires until they could be rescued. They sustained no injuries.

"Our crews responded to power lines down, leaking roofs and trees down – so a busy night for our crews," Commissioner Leach said.

Commissioner Leach said around 50 calls came from the Brisbane area, which saw severe conditions.

"The storms moved through relatively quickly. But it was quite severe, strong winds and lots of rainfall at the time and it happened just as people were trying to leave work and head for home," he said.

Homes throughout the suburbs dealt with sudden flooding that swept away gardens and ruined stored gear – including one man's "brand new drum kit".

At the height of the storm, 11,000 homes were without power, as lightning strikes repeatedly battered Brisbane.

Weatherzone meteorologists said an estimated 71,000 lightning strikes hit within a 150 kilometre radius of Brisbane's CBD between 4 and 8pm and around 5400 of those were "cloud to ground" strikes.

Brisbane is set for sunny days the rest of the week, with temperatures reaching a top of 25C tomorrow before cooling down a little through the weekend.

The forecast is similar for the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast – no doubt a welcome respite.

Parts of the Sunshine Coast saw two centimetres of hail fall and the Scenic Rim, Lockyer Valley and Darling Downs saw close to 70 millimetres of rain fall in the space of an hour.

READ MORE: Boy fatally struck by lightning on UK soccer field

Much of Australia's south coast will also stay wet from today through to Sunday with showers along Victoria's south, Adelaide, Hobart and southern parts of Western Australia.

Perth, Carnarvon and Darwin should remain clear with tops in the early 30s.