Police said further information would be released when they’re in a position to do so.

A Melbourne man has described the terrifying moment he was slashed with a machete and hit with homophobic slurs while on a walk with his partner.

Frank Bonnici was on a stroll over the Darebin Creek footbridge in Preston with partner Mykey O'Halloran on Saturday night when four young people approached them and started to yell slurs.

"The kept yelling homophobic stuff to us, so then I yelled back 'Yeah we're gay, what are you going to do about it? What's it to you'," Bonnici said.

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One of the offenders swung at the 47-year-old with a machete, whole another took his phone.

The yoga teacher and support worker was rushed to the Austin Hospital where he had plastic surgery on the laceration to his arm.

"He could've just sliced my chest, sliced my head and I would be dead on the ground," Bonnici said. 

"Now I have to give up all my work and I'm losing so much income.

"I'm trying to buy a studio to set myself up and we're trying to buy a house as well."

Despite preparing to undertake six weeks of rehab, Bonnici's surgeon is unsure he'll ever regain full use of his arm.

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"My life is completely f—-d now. And they get to get away with it with a minimal sentence if they get caught because they're not 18 years old," Bonnici said.

O'Halloran said he doesn't feel safe returning to the area. 

"My gut just dropped… It is unimaginable what happened," he said.

"It's trauma that I've experienced before, homophobia, but never to this level like with this sort of physical violence."

All four young people ran away with the man's mobile phone.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 33 000.

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“Whatever the victim had done …(there) was utterly no justification for your behaviour.”

Perth grandmother Donna Nelson has been found guilty of drug smuggling in Japan.

The 58-year-old from Perth has today been sentenced to six years in prison after she was caught smuggling two kilograms of methamphetamine hidden inside a suitcase in 2022.

Nelson has always maintained her innocence, saying she was the victim of an online romance scam.

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She said she received the suitcase from an acquaintance of a man she met on social media in 2020, and brought it from Laos to Tokyo as instructed.

She was supposed to meet the man in Japan but he never showed up, according to prosecutors.

She was arrested at the airport and charged with violating Japan's stimulants control and customs laws.

Since her arrest, the Indigenous community leader and former WA Greens candidate has been in custody for nearly two years.

David Stewart, 54, says he was left feeling embarrassed and suffering in pain.

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Speaking exclusively with 9News, Woolworths chief executive Amanda Bardwell has conceded she doesn't know when supermarket shelves will be restocked, as industrial action continues to impact stock across Victoria, NSW and the ACT.

Union members have picketed for nearly two weeks at four Woolworths distribution centres to demand better pay and conditions.

The action has cost the supermarket giant $50 million in lost sales and left some store shelves bare in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

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Victoria is set to be hardest hit by shortages, as strike action at the state's biggest distribution centre reaches its 15th day.

Bardwell said the company had seen "a very challenging year", while sitting down with 9News Finance Editor Chris Kohler today.

"We're deeply sorry for our customers who, rightly, are very frustrated right now," she said.

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Staff part of the United Workers Union (UWU) are asking for a pay rise above inflation, seeking an immediate 25 per cent increase and a further 30 per cent over the next two years.

They are also asking for safer work practices.

Today, Bardwell doubled down against the union's demands, saying Woolworths wasn't budging.

"We have a really good offer on the table for our team right now," Bardwell said.

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"We pay 40 per cent above award rate and we're offering above CPI… These are very good offers for our team and we're hopeful that the union will accept those offers."

Woolies has applied to the Fair Work Commission to force the United Workers Union to allow safe passage of non-union members and vehicles into distribution centres.

The matter will be heard on Friday at 9am.

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Police investigating after shop attendant struck by an offender during the raid.

Once fully opened emits a powerful stench like rotting flesh.