TAIC probes Air NZ flight NZ240’s mayday; witnesses urged to report unusual events.

The parent company of 200 pubs and bars which axed Australia Day celebrations next year has apologised for causing "concern and confusion".

Australian Venue Co issued a statement on Instagram after news it would cancel celebrations on January 26 because the day causes "sadness" and "hurt" for patrons and staff.

The company said it was sorry for the reaction to its comments and said its venues would continue taking bookings for Australia Day.

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"We can see that our comments on the weekend have caused both concern and confusion. We sincerely regret that – our purpose is to reinforce community in our venues, not divide it," the statement reads.

"It is not for us to tell anyone whether or how to celebrate Australia Day. We acknowledge that and we apologise for our comments. It certainly wasn't our intention to offend anyone."

Australian Venue Co said it acknowledges the "different views" of its customers and employees.

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"Whether you choose to celebrate Australia Day or not, everyone is welcome in our pubs, always," the statement continued.

"We have been, and are always, open over Australia Day and we continue to book events for patrons."

The hospitality giant caused controversy after announcing it would not be marking the national day at its venues.

The impact of the ban would be especially felt in Queensland where the company owns about 90 venues, including the Wickham Hotel, Regatta Hotel and The Boundary Hotel in Brisbane.

It also has many popular drinking holes in Sydney, such as Untied, Cargo Bar, and Bungalow8.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DDD9LAhTjJo/

In Melbourne, regulars at the Esplanade Hotel and The Duke of Wellington, owned by Australian Venue Co, may have to look elsewhere if they want to enjoy celebrations.

Adelaide pubs impacted include The Unley Hotel, The Colonist and The Naracoorte Hotel.

"Australia Day is a day that causes sadness for some members of our community, so we have decided not to specifically celebrate a day that causes hurt for some of our patrons and our team," said an Australia Venues Co spokesperson.

The company is just the latest major business to sever ties with Australia Day.

At the start of this year, Woolworths and Aldi decided not to stock Australia Day merchandise in its stores ahead of the January 26 public holiday. 

In the wake of the decision, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton suggested shoppers should "boycott Woolworths" over the move.

Multiple local councils have also dropped Australia Day events as attitudes shift on holding commemorations on January 26.

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Dashcam video has captured the moment a group of people escaped injury when an out-of-control car crashed on a busy Melbourne freeway over the weekend.

Heidi Brown thought she was dead when the vehicle smashed into her car and another parked on the side of the Western Freeway about 1pm on Saturday.

She pulled over just minutes before after her car aquaplaned over a puddle in the wet conditions.

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A man driving on the busy freeway stopped when he saw Brown pulled over in the heavy rain.

He jumped out of the car, while his partner remained in the passenger seat.

The vision shows Brown speaking with the man when the out-of-control car smashes the two vehicles.

"I literally thought I was dead. I hit the ground and I was lying on the asphalt and I couldn't believe my eyes," Brown told 9News.

"It was the most horrific noise. It was quite shocking. It was like a freight train coming."

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There were no serious injuries reported, though Brown suffered a knee injury. 

"I didn't feel anything and I went into auto mode checking people were okay," she said.

"It was something out of a movie."

The booze cruise descended into anarchy on Saturday as fights broke out on board.

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Baggage handlers and ground crews working on Qantas services have overwhelmingly voted to strike in a move that could disrupt Australians' holiday travel plans.

About 1000 Dnata workers across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia today voted 98 per cent in favour of protected industrial action.

They also overwhelmingly rejected Dnata's offer of improved rostering, job security and pay for a second time.

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Dnata is one of the companies Qantas outsourced ground handling operations to after the illegal sacking of about 1700 workers during the pandemic. 

"As a result, wages for workers getting Qantas planes off the ground have been slashed and suppressed," the Transport Workers Union (TWU) said in a statement.

Workers are demanding more hours, fairer rosters and better jobs to rebuild jobs in aviation, which the union claimed has become "low-paid and insecure". 

A date for industrial action has not been set but the union is meeting with Dnata soon.

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If talks fail, the union warned there may be disruptions over the busy Christmas period. 

"Dnata ground workers are, like many in aviation, struggling to stay in this industry under the current pay rates and conditions," TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said.

"Dnata must come back to the table with a fair offer so that low-paid workers and travellers avoid unnecessary disruption over the busy Christmas period.

"Ground handling is a highly-skilled job, but thousands of experienced workers have been forced out of the industry by Qantas' illegal outsourcing, and those who are left are under-staffed, with low wages and insecure jobs.

"We're going to continue seeing a revolving door in aviation and falling standards for passengers until this industry is rebalanced."

9news.com.au has contacted Qantas and Dnata for comment.

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A man charged with more than 50 drug and gun offences following an international manhunt has been labelled a "key organised crime figure" by police.

Police say the man spent three weeks in limbo at an airport in Manila, Philippines before being forcibly deported back to Australia and arrested.

NSW Police Raptor Squad's Detective Inspector Matthew Smith said it had been a "long journey" of evading capture for the alleged crime boss.

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"He was confined to a chair, he was guarded by two staff by the bureau of immigration, the only way he was able to leave that chair was to book a flight to Australia and return home," Smith said.

"He was provided the opportunity to leave himself, that obviously did not happen.

"It was very evident he was trying to avoid coming back to Australia and facing the serious drug and firearm charges that are held against him."

The international manhunt to track the alleged offender down spanned four countries and several years, starting in October 2022.

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NSW Police established a strike force to look into alleged cocaine supply in Sydney, which has seen three men have been previously charged and remain before the courts.

In January last year, NSW Police asked Australian Federal Police to help track down a 32-year-old man in Bangkok, Thailand, alleging he was there on a falsely obtained passport.

The man was arrested on November 8 last year and jailed for almost 11 months in Thailand on immigration offences.

In October this year, he received a royal pardon and deported from Thailand on a Brisbane-bound flight.

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While in transit in Manila, in the Philippines, the man allegedly attempted to book a flight to Istanbul in Turkey, via Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

The AFP alerted its officers in Manila, Abu Dhabi, and Ankara in Turkey, who warned local authorities about the man's impending arrival.

The man was denied entry into Istanbul and redirected to Abu Dhabi, where he landed on Thursday, November 7.

Police allege he tried to book and board a flight to Lebanon, but was instead returned to Manila.

When he landed back in the Philippines on November 8, the man allegedly bought a ticket to Taiwan, but was refused entry onto the plane.

Instead of returning to Australia, the man opted to stay in the transit area of Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, police claim

He remained there for three weeks.

"By the time he got back into the country, he succumbed to the fact he was going to face court in NSW for the offences," Smith said.

However, he was officially denied entry to the Philippines on November 11, and was finally flown to Australia.

He was arrested by police at Melbourne Airport.

NSW Raptor Squad officers took custody of the man in Melbourne and took him to Albury, where he was charged with 55 drug and gun offences relating to the seizure of guns and ammunition during a search warrant in Kensington, Sydney, in December 2022.

He appeared in court in Sydney yesterday, where he was formally refused bail.

He will next appear in court tomorrow.

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The revelation came amid a scrappy start to Parliament’s second scrutiny week.

The young musician had been living in the United Kingdom for over a year.

Nicola Willis says the findings may face ‘public challenge’.