An urgent investigation has been launched after three Sydney council staffers, who all work in the same office, were diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

Jenny Havilah works on the sixth floor of a Liverpool City Council office on Moore Street in Liverpool and has recently been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, as have two of her coworkers.

A fourth coworker currently overseas has also begun experiencing thyroid issues.

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The circumstances prompted an urgent investigation by the council to determine whether the diagnoses are part of a cancer cluster or if they are just extraordinary coincidences.

Havilah told 9News from a bed in St George Hospital she was worried about her coworkers.

"I had my thyroid and some lymph nodes removed and I'll get the results in a week or so," Havilah said.

"I'm worried about my colleagues not just on the sixth floor but that worked anywhere in that building."

Liverpool Council has made the sixth floor of the building a no-go zone as it investigates.

In an audio clip obtained by 9News, the council's acting CEO Jason Breton can be heard informing staff of the situation and said all three women were in different stages of illness but were "well and working".

"Yes, we'll get some media about this – we'll deal with that, we have a bit of a strategy for that," Breton can be heard saying in the recording.

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Havilah says she is "far from well and working".

United Services Union representative Daniel Papps said the workers' wellbeing should be at the forefront of the council's mind.

"People's lives are at risk and we should always keep them at the forefront of the response," he said.

The council refused an interview with 9News, but issued a statement saying they "have been informed it is unlikely there is a causal connection between our workplace and the cancer diagnosis".

A collective cause for the cancer diagnoses has not yet been found.

South Australians doing it tough will receive a $244 payment to help make ends meet.

Premier Peter Malinauskas and Treasurer Stephen Mullighan put cost of living relief at the heart of their state budget handed down today.

"Lower incomes, people on fixed incomes like pensioners, people with families, with children in the public education system, that's where our effort is oriented," Malinauskas said. 

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Under the budget, about 210,000 people on the cost of living concession will receive a $244 once-off payment in the coming weeks.

Renters and self-funded retirees will also see their concession double, to $256.

"Perhaps give those people some confidence that they can afford to heat their homes as we get into winter," Mullighan said about the relief.

Parents and guardians will be eligible for two $100 sport vouchers per child and see $200 in savings on material and services charges at government schools.

These measures come on top of cost of living relief delivered under the federal budget, which saw every taxpayer receive a cut and every household get $300 off their energy bill.

"Our job as a state government is to compliment what they are doing, getting to people in our community who need it most," Mullighan said.

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A record $2.5 billion was allocated to the health sector while $692 million was poured into training workers to meet future workplace challenges.

The budget also included $5 million to address domestic and family violence and $8.3 million to support tourism.

Under the new budget, the state debt is set to soar to $44 billion by 2027. 

A man has died in hospital days after a car crashed into two cyclists in Sydney's Northern Beaches.

The crash happened at Forest Way in Belrose about 6.10am on Tuesday.

The two cyclists, 47-year-old Nick Sky and 56-year-old Michael Collings, were taken to hospital with serious to critical injuries.

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Police today said Sky had died while Collings remains in hospital.

The 24-year-old man allegedly behind the wheel of the car escaped from the crash uninjured and was taken to hospital for mandatory testing.

He was then taken to Manly Police Station, where he was charged with negligent driving (occasions grievous bodily harm) and cause bodily harm by misconduct in charge of motor vehicle.

He was granted conditional bail and will appear at Manly Local Court on July 24. 

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

A P-plater allegedly caught speeding in NSW has come up with an unusual excuse for driving at 156km/h.

Highway patrol officers spotted a 2007 Honda Civic speeding in a 100km/h zone on the Kidman Way, outside of Goolgowi, on Saturday morning.

After the 36-year-old driver was pulled over, he explained to the officers he was running late to a vet appointment for his cat.

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"While his feline friend might have nine lives, you only get one," NSW Traffic and Highway Patrol Command said in a Facebook post.

"Purr-haps leave earlier next time and let's not use our roads to act out the Fast and Furr-ious.

"Do your Civic duty and just purr along at the speed limit."

He was issued with an infringement notice for exceeding the P2 speed limit by 45km/h.

His licence was suspended on the spot for six months.

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Australians took out $5.4 billion in loans to buy their first home last month despite persistently high interest rates.

Lending to first-home buyers and all other property investors increased by 30.7 per cent in the past year, with 50,188 buyers in the market in April, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

At least $29.35 billion worth of loans were taken out in April alone, a 4.8 per cent increase from March.

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The size of home loans also rose, with investors taking out 5.6 per cent more than in the previous month, 36.1 per cent higher than a year ago.

The value of first-home buyer loans rose 3.4 per cent in April, about 18.6 per cent higher than last year.

The rises in the number and value of loans over the last year came even though interest rates are higher than what they were 12 months ago.

The cash rate was at 3.6 per cent in April 2023, three-quarters of a per cent lower than the current level of 4.35 per cent.

Canstar finance expert Steve Mickebecker said data was a sign of the market's resilience in the face of relentless interest rate increases.

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"The recovery of home prices has bolstered lending," he said.

"But even excluding the impact of higher prices, the market is showing its strength, with the number of new loans in April up 11,775 or 31 per cent from a year earlier, shrugging off the impact of a further 0.75 per cent cash rate increase in the same period."

Mickebecker said the market "has found a floor" after the initial cash rate hike shock led to a 25 per cent drop in lending last April.

"Increased interest rates have put a whole group of borrowers under extreme pressure, especially those who borrowed in the couple of years preceding cash rate increases, and that pain continues," he said.

"But new borrowers are putting it behind them."

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A man has been charged after police allegedly found drugs, a clandestine laboratory and stolen property estimated to be worth $1 million at an address in South Australia.

Police said an investigation led officers to the yard in Burton, north of Adelaide, at about 10.30am yesterday.

Detectives found allegedly stolen vehicles, earthmoving equipment, horse buggies and about 20 shipping containers.

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Numerous trucks, industrial trailers, bobcats, four-wheel-drives and forklifts were also found among the haul.

Police said it is estimated that it will take several days to go through the property, match it to theft reports and return items.

"The volume is significant, we're talking 20 shipping containers containing various items," Chief Inspector Andrew McCracken said.

"Some of the forklifts and other things (are) valued in excess of $200,000, bobcats $160,000, (a) LandCruiser $200,000, so it mounts up very quickly.

"We are currently doing a search in groups methodically to thoroughly investigate and try and locate owners of property."

A South Australian grape grower claims they have been sabotaged after a vital drain on their vineyard was stuffed with dirt and cement.

Police are investigating the incident that occurred at a property on Malpas Road in Willunga, which is believed to be an act of vandalism.

The McLaren Vale wine region vineyard has been passed down through three generations but its future is now in danger.

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The damaged infrastructure supplied water to 80 hectares of land and filtered through the underground drain system from Wirra Creek to the property's dam.

The family is working to repair the pipe but if they can't it will cost more than $100,000 to replace.

"If we don't have water to irrigate our vines then it's just about finished and we're at wits' end unfortunately," grape grower Izak Bruschi said.

"In our mind, it's probably green activists and we've seen a rise of these sorts of people invading farms and causing malicious damage."

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Bruschi said if it was an activist behind the vandalism, they were misinformed as their drainage system was designed to benefit the surrounding ecosystem.

The wine industry has been facing tough battles with COVID-19 and the China trade ban, which was worth $1.2 billion to the industry.

Bruschi said it was causing a rollercoaster of emotions for the family.

"It would be quite devastating to say goodbye," he said.

Police are urging anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area on Sunday or Monday to contact them.

Nando's has been fined $160,000 for an alleged rat infestation after dead rodents and droppings were found scattered throughout a restaurant in southern Perth.

The city's health inspectors allegedly discovered ten food safety violations at the Willetton location, including the owners' failure to eliminate the rats and protect the food from any contamination.

Rats and droppings were even allegedly found at food preparation stations and storage areas.

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City of Canning Mayor Patrick Hall said the alleged infestation was a "very serious public health risk" and the Nando's was ordered to shut down until the matter was resolved.

He added the case was so serious, the city referred it to court.

"The business responded by closing, rectifying the cleanliness, maintenance, rodent infestation and related food safety matters and then subsequently reopened," he said.

"The seriousness of the food safety risks were such that legal action was warranted and in the public interest."

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Health inspectors re-examined the Nando's prior to it reopening and deemed it safe. 

Nando's has been contacted for comment. 

Queensland has joined the push for a Disneyland theme park in Australia, days after a Victorian MP made his case for a new location in Melbourne.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said his city is a "proven performer" and has "proven its case" as a destination for amusement parks for the last 30 years.

"If I were to look at the reputation and historic records of theme parks, we had Dream World, Movie World, Sea World and other entertainment," Tate told Nine radio station 4BC.

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Tate said the Gold Coast has invested in the entertainment industry, with plans for more sound studios in the suburb of Yatala.

"Hollywood knows that we're moving ahead in the entertainment industry," the mayor said.

"It's not a far stretch to go 'we would like to invite Disneyland here'."

Tate said he intended to write to Disney to make his case for the Gold Coast and would personally give the decision-makers a tour of the city.

"Mate, I'll take them up in the helicopter and show them the areas I have in mind," he said.

"We have the infrastructure to do it and the population of everyone visiting the Gold Coast in Australia.

"It wouldn't be much to explain that Disneyland is right here on the Gold Coast."

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https://omny.fm/shows/4bc-drive/disneyland-could-be-coming-to-queensland/embed?style=Cover

Victorian MP David Limbrick has pitched a plan for a Disneyland in Melbourne's south-east.

Limbrick has suggested the theme park could be built in the Melbourne suburbs of Dandenong, Cranbourne or Frankston.

"What I requested the government to do, is to set up a meeting with Disney and tell them that Melbourne is open for business and that we'd like them to invest," Limbrick said.

There are currently six Disneyland locations in California, Florida, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai.

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How women went from wearing a full-length dress at their first Olympic Games to the aerodynamic uniform we see today.