A $1 million reward has been announced for information to help solve the 1980 murder of a woman in her Melbourne bookstore.

Maria James was killed on High Street, Thornbury, on Tuesday, June 17, 1980.

She lived with her two sons at the property where she was killed, which also functioned as a second hand bookstore.

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On the morning of her murder, she was seen by a number of witnesses in and around the property.

At about 11.55am, she called her ex-husband John and left a message asking him to call her back.

She did not say why she wished to speak with him, but she did say somebody was in the shop.

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A short time later, John returned her call. Maria asked him to "hold on" and was overheard speaking with somebody else.

Although John couldn't clearly hear the conversation, it was apparent something was wrong, and when Maria didn't return the call, he left work and went to check on her.

He arrived at the bookshop shortly after midday to find the front and back doors locked, but with the "open" sign still on display.

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He forced his way inside and found Maria dead in her bedroom with a large number of stab wounds.

She had sustained significant injuries to her head and face, and her hands had been bound.

Soon after finding Maria's body, John realised the front door of the shop was now unlocked – suggesting somebody may have been inside when he arrived.

Two separate eye witnesses described a man running away from the crime scene soon after Maria's body WAS found.

This man has never been identified and police continue to appeal for information in relation to the man, and are again releasing images in the hope someone can provide information about his identity.

The case has been to inquest twice, in 1982 and 2021, and on both occasions returned an open finding.

Victoria Police today announced a $1 million reward for information in relation to the person or people responsible for Maria's death in the hope it will provide new leads and result in the offender being held to account.

A reward of $50,000 was previously offered in 1980.

"While it has been more than four decades since Maria was murdered, detectives have not given up hope that this case can be solved," Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said.

"If you have information then we want to hear from you, no matter how insignificant or irrelevant you think it is.

"After 44 years, Maria's sons deserve answers and police remain as committed as ever to being able to give those to them."

The million-dollar reward will be paid at the discretion of the Chief Commissioner of Police, for information leading to the apprehension and subsequent conviction of the person or persons responsible for the death of Maria James.

The Director of Public Prosecutions will consider, according to established guidelines, the granting of indemnification from prosecution to any person who provides information as to the identity of the principal offender or offenders in this matter.

Investigators are hopeful this new reward will encourage someone to come forward with information and despite the passage of time, believe there are still people out there who can help solve this.

Police urge anyone with information about Maria's death to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online.

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A major Perth building company is under fire from hundreds of customers in what the state opposition claims is an "unfolding disaster".

The Western Australian government today vowed to meet with Nicheliving to demand answers for customers who say they have been locked into seemingly never-ending builds.

"I'm financially ruined because of this," customer Kathy Ellis said.

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"So I'm living the happy life in a camper trailer with two teenagers. It's no heating, no air conditioning."

"They promise you so much but give you nothing in return," another customer, Adam Mostert, said.

Some disgruntled customers of the state's biggest medium-sized property developer wanted to confront Nicheliving managing director Ronnie Michel-Elhaj today.

Tracey Bishop said she had been "hoping to be able to speak to Ronnie and find out what the hell is going on".

"We need something done. We can't do it any longer," she said.

9News Perth attempted to speak to Michel-Elhaj but was escorted off the premises.

The company said it was committed to delivering all of the builds and called on the state government to do more.

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Opposition Leader Shane Love said it was "an unfolding disaster" that demanded urgent action.

"This is a dire situation for people who are caught in a stalemate," Love said.

"This isn't one or two people, this is hundreds of people."

Ellis said she wrote to Commerce Minister Sue Ellery "pleading for help" in November.

"She wrote back to me and told me to call Lifelong if I need help," Ellis said.

The government responded immediately today after the opposition raised issues in parliament.

Ellery said she would meet with Nicheliving next week, promising to get answers from the company over the delays.

Premier Roger Cook said "Nicheliving is a big builder and they need to do the right thing by their customers".

Nicheliving said it had not received any government-backed builder support and called for more to be done to assist established builders in what they describe as challenging economic times.

Jurors will only need to decide whether former airline pilot Greg Lynn is guilty of murder, after the judge told them that Lynn could not be found guilty of an alternate manslaughter charge.

The 57-year-old is nearing the end of a five-week murder trial, with Supreme Court Justice Michael Croucher summing up the charges to 14 jurors this morning.

He has pleaded not guilty to two charges of murder, over the deaths of Russell Hill and Carol Clay in Victoria's alpine region more than four years ago.

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Lynn told the jury the two deaths were accidental, but admitted destroying evidence including burning the bodies and the crime scene.

When the jury was chosen, it was told it had three options to consider when deciding a verdict: murder, manslaughter or finding Lynn innocent.

However, the jury was told prosecution and defence have since decided manslaughter should be taken off the table.

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"Manslaughter will no longer be available to you as the alternate charge in this trial, both sides agree," Justice Croucher told the jury today.

"In the circumstances of this case, if you are not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of murder, you would also not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of manslaughter.

"In those circumstances, an alternative verdict of manslaughter would be wrong.

"You must put manslaughter out of your mind, the only charges available to you are murder."

He told jurors they must be judges of the facts and put any feelings of sympathy towards Hill and Clay's families out of their minds in considering their decision.

"You must act like judges," Justice Croucher said.

"You must not let your passions or feelings or moral judgments get in the way."

After the judge has summarised the charge, the jury will be sent away to deliberate on its verdict.

The Reserve Bank has been presented with something of a conundrum after Australia's unemployment rate fell slightly last month, down 0.1 per cent after the economy added almost 40,000 new jobs.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics put the jobless rate for May at 4 per cent, down from April's measure of 4.1 per cent.

"With employment rising by around 40,000 people and the number of unemployed falling by 9000 people, the unemployment rate fell to 4.0 per cent," ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said.

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"In April we saw more unemployed people than usual waiting to start work. Some of the fall in unemployment and rise in employment in May reflects these people starting or returning to their jobs.

The drop to 4 per cent was largely in line with market expectations, and is unlikely to have any significant impact on interest rate forecasts.

"The labour market is presenting a conundrum to the Reserve Bank of Australia, as while unemployment is rising, the labour market is still very tight by historical standards," CreditorWatch chief economist Anneke Thompson said.

"Still, pressure on wage increases appears to have waned, especially after that Fair Work Commission's Minimum Wage Review, which at 3.75 per cent is below the current rate of inflation and broadly welcomed by economists concerned about wage rises and their impact on inflation.

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"However, a continuing healthy labour market, as well as upcoming tax cuts, will make the RBA very cautious about cutting the cash rate too soon.

"It is likely that the RBA will wait until the full impacts of tax cuts flow through to retail trade, labour force and savings data, which won't happen until late 2024 and into early 2025."

Jarvis said the jobs market remains tight, with far more people in work than before the pandemic.

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"While the total number of unemployed people fell by 9000 in May, this followed a 33,000 increase in April. Unemployment was around 24,000 people more than in March, an average increase of around 12,000 people each month," Jarvis said.

"There are now almost 600,000 unemployed people, however, that is still nearly 110,000 fewer people than in March 2020, just before the pandemic…

"The employment-to-population ratio and participation rate both continue to be much higher than their pre-pandemic levels.

"Together with elevated levels of job vacancies, this suggests the labour market remains relatively tight, though less than in late 2022 and early 2023."

Chris Dawson will remain behind bars as a convicted wife-killer after a failed appeal.

A panel of judges in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed Dawson's appeal against his murder conviction today.

Dawson's lawyers had argued the guilty verdict against him was unreasonable.

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Barrister Belinda Rigg SC told the appeal court in May there was not enough evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt he murdered his wife Lynette Dawson in 1982.

But the state's highest court upheld Dawson's convictions, granting him leave but then dismissing his appeal.

The ex-teacher and former rugby league player was convicted in August 2022 of murdering his wife Lynette Dawson so he could pursue a relationship with a teenage girl, who was one of his students.

He has also been convicted of a historical charge of carnal knowledge as a teacher of a girl over 10 and under 17.

Dawson swore repeatedly when a judge delivered that guilty verdict in June 2023, which he also plans to appeal.

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It added another year to the period before which Dawson will be eligible for parole.

His first possible release date will be in August 2041, when he will be 93.

Dawson's full 24-year sentence for murdering his wife expires in 2046.

Her body has never been found and laws preventing parole in those circumstances mean the 75-year-old will likely spend the remainder of his life in prison.

Both guilty verdicts came after judge-alone trials as Dawson's crimes attracted significant publicity before he was charged.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

A copper theft surge has prompted a major response from authorities across Queensland as criminals cause millions of dollars in damage.

Energy Queensland has changed tactics to help curb the situation due to the significant impact on the network.

"We've had instances where the copper thieves have taken up to 1000 metres of cable in one night," Energex area manager Chris Graham told 9News Queensland.

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Copper crime on Queensland's electricity network has tripled since 2020, with almost 400 incidents last year alone. 

New housing estates, sporting clubs and businesses have been targeted, with reports that thieves are posing as tradies to avoid detection.

Culprits have been selling the cable to scrap metal dealers, who melt and re-shape it, which is then largely used in electronics.

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"People are stealing copper dressed in high visibility and driving commercial utes," Daniel Cunningham from Queensland Police said.

"I would encourage anyone if they do see anything to report it."

However, now that repair bills have mounted to more than $4.5 million a year, crews have replaced copper with aluminium at many of its sites. 

"There's no scrap value for the copper thieves in this cable, so there's no point in them trying to steal this cable," Graham said.

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‘I love and miss you so much my boy.’

Police allege the cans link the defendant to a clan lab in the lower Kaimai Ranges.

“He’s getting the blame for everything now.”

The National Anti-Corruption Commission's (NACC) decision to not investigate any of the six public officials referred to it by the robodebt royal commission is itself going to be the subject of an inquiry after a deluge of public complaints.

NACC Inspector Gail Furness has received nearly 900 complaints about last week's decision, which was criticised by many victims of the illegal debt recovery scheme.

Furness said she would probe the decision and make her findings available to the public, although didn't indicate how long that would take.

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"Many of those complaints allege corrupt conduct or maladministration by the NACC in making that decision," she said in a statement this afternoon.

"I also note that there has also been much public commentary. Accordingly, I have decided to inquire into that decision.

"I anticipate that I will make my findings public, in due course."

The NACC said last week that it would not conduct corruption investigations into any of the six people who were referred to it by the royal commission.

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That was not a vindication of any of those public officials' conduct – instead, the anti-corruption body said they had already been fully investigated by the royal commission and that any fresh probe was unlikely to uncover fresh evidence against them.

It also noted five of the six officials had been referred to the Australian Public Service Commission, which, unlike the NACC, can impose sanctions on officials it investigates.

However, robodebt victims and other members of the public were left unhappy with the decision.

"The decision by the NACC to not investigate these issues further will also be deeply disappointing to people whose lives were torn apart by robodebt," the Australian Council of Social Services said in a statement last week.

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"While no compensation has been provided to victims of the illegal and harmful scheme, no one responsible for its design, implementation and continuation has been publicly held accountable in a meaningful way.

"The lack of justice is the key issue that so many need resolved."

The identities of the six officials were included in a sealed chapter of the robodebt royal commission's final report and have never been made public.

Robodebt raised $1.73 billion in unlawful debts against more than 400,000 people during its four-and-a-half years of operation, and the royal commission found it had led to three suicides, and likely many more.

"The commission is confident that these were not the only tragedies of the kind," Commissioner Catherine Holmes wrote.

"Services Australia could not provide figures for the numbers of people who committed suicide as a result of the scheme."

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