Just minutes from Janni Linahan's home lies a bustling array of amenities, including a McDonald's, Coles, and 7-Eleven convenience store.

Surrounded by new developments and located just 50km south-east of Melbourne's CBD, the semi-rural suburb of Devon Meadows is well and truly growing.

However, due to its size and population, residents are not eligible for large parcel delivery, forcing many to endure a 40-minute drive through traffic to reach their nearest Australia Post pick-up point.

READ MORE: Stranded Australians remain in limbo as flights depart New Caledonia

The Cranbourne Parcel Collection Centre is the closest pick-up location for residents living in Devon Meadows, which is out of the way for many.

"We have lived here about 14 years now, and we've never had parcel delivery here. It's just a pain," Linahan told 9news.com.au.

"You have to go out of your way.

"If there's no traffic and you get a good run on the lights, you're probably looking about 15 to 20 minutes.

"But if there's school traffic and you're driving in peak hour, it's taken me up to 40 minutes before, that's one-way.

"If I want something quickly and I know I'm going to be at work all day and (won't) get to the pickup point, then I have to start thinking, where am I buying things from."

READ MORE: British grandfather bound for Australia dies, dozens injured as Singapore Airlines flight hits severe turbulence

Frustrated residents have had enough, with more than a hundred people signing an online petition calling for Australia Post to make changes to its delivery service.

"As residents of Devon Meadows, we are regularly affected by the inconvenience and financial burden caused by Australia Post's refusal to deliver parcels directly to our area," the petition said.

"We pay for postage, yet we are forced to drive out of our way to collect our parcels, which incurs additional costs and time.

"This situation is not only unfair but also unsustainable for many local residents.

"Devon Meadows is a community that deserves the same postal services as other areas.

"The lack of direct parcel delivery impacts our daily lives and adds unnecessary stress."

READ MORE: Driver escapes serious injury after Ferrari crash in Melbourne

Devon Meadows has a population of 1551 residents, according to the 2021 census.

The suburb is surrounded by Botanic Ridge with 6739 residents and Cranbourne South with 17,400 residents.

9news.com.au understands Australia Post is unable to deliver to the suburb due to its population and the size of its properties, as many have long driveways.

An Australia Post spokesperson said the service was yet to receive the formal petition. 

"Australia Post currently delivers letters and small parcels to households in Devon Meadows, with customers able to pick up larger parcels from our parcel collection centre at Cranbourne."

"As with all smaller townships, we carefully monitor deliveries at Devon Meadows and will expand our services if customer demand increases."

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Despite this, Linahan believes the community needs the vital service.

"It's quite busy with new estates up and coming (where) there used to be fields. There are thousands of houses there," she said. 

"There's a McDonald's that's 24/7 and is always busy.

"There are about seven different new child childcare centres in the area, it's a really hugely growing area. It's much bigger than it has ever been." 

A driver has escaped serious injury following a crash involving a luxury Ferrari in Melbourne yesterday.

Paramedics were called to Batman Avenue between Olympic Boulevard and Flinders Street about 2.40pm following reports of a collision.

The driver did not suffer serious or significant injury despite the luxury car being extensively damaged.

READ MORE: British grandfather bound for Australia dies, dozens injured as Singapore Airlines flight hits severe turbulence

Photos from the scene showed the car seemingly wrecked beyond repair, with the front end crumpled.

Wreckage from the crash can be seen metres from the car near a tree.

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Australia's alpine ski resorts have turned to snowmaking ahead of the season opening during the upcoming King's Birthday long weekend.

The ski season officially kicks off on Saturday, June 8, this year.

But so far, there have only been light snowfalls that have largely melted, with no big snow events currently forecast in the near future, Weatherzone reported.

READ MORE: Mercy flights bring dozens home from 'pretty hectic' New Caledonia

And so the major ski resorts are making their own snow to ensure there's enough to lay down for the season.

"Snowmaking began on the weekend at several resorts and has continued into the working week in the cold dry, air in the wake of the cold front," Weatherzone said.

"Up to this Tuesday, May 21, Perisher Valley has had seven straight subzero nights, including a chilly minimum of –7.3 (degrees) on Tuesday morning."

READ MORE: Passenger dies as Singapore Airline flight hits severe turbulence

Snowmaking combines chilled water and compressed air before blasting it into the atmosphere.

"The higher the humidity, the colder it must be to turn this mix into snow crystals, so clear nights with low humidity are ideal," Weatherzone said.

Weatherzone reported that the lack of snow so far was caused by the blocking high-pressure systems that have brought so much rain to the east coast recently.

They also block snow-bearing cold fronts moving up from the south.

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Dozens of Australians have touched down in Brisbane on evacuation flights from New Caledonia organised after rioting engulfed the French territory.

Six people have died in the rioting that began last week, while the country's international airport was also shut down.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong yesterday announced the government had received the go-ahead for two repatriation flights, both of which landed later in the day.

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She said 108 Australians and other tourists were on the flights when they landed in Brisbane.

But it wasn't known when the roughly 200 Australians still on the ground and wanting to leave would be able to come home.

Richard Fitzpatrick and his family, who must still fly north to Cairns, cut their month-long trip short by a week.

"We got locked down for a couple of weeks, but yeah, we were fortunate that we were safe and sound," he told 9News.

Holidaymaker Brett Verwey said he and his family were relieved to be back in Australia ahead of a flight back to Melbourne on Wednesday.

"We were going to go to Vanuatu, and that was cancelled and we ended up choosing here, which was probably a bad decision," he said.

Wong said the government would keep working with partners on more flights, which would prioritise passengers based on need.

She said French authorities advised they would be conducting flights starting tomorrow and the Department of Foreign Affairs remained in contact with registered Australians in New Caledonia.

It was not only Australians on the mercy flight. Canadian Oliver Lee is now on his first visit Down Under after conversations with the Australian and Canadian consulates in Noumea.

He said it was a mad scramble to make the plane after getting a call just half an hour before it was due to take off.

Lee said he was travelling around Asia and decided to visit a friend in New Caledonia before heading on to what would have been New Zealand and then Australia.

"The first few nights were pretty hectic there," he said, explaining that he'd been more secluded and safe in the tourist area.

"You could see from the hotel, like some of the smoke there from the fires ongoing. 

"I was talking to my friend, and I think I was a lot more worried for him and his safety, because I know, like, he was going out on patrols every night, which I was just like, 'That's insane'."

Wong urged Australians still wanting to leave the Pacific territory to register online at DFAT's crisis portal.

About 300 had registered as of Monday.

"We've received clearance for two Australian government assisted-departure flights today for Australian and other tourists to depart New Caledonia," she said earlier yesterday.

"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is contacting registered Australians. Passengers are being prioritised based on need.

"We continue to work on further flights."

https://twitter.com/SenatorWong/status/1792713702933967082

The rioting broke out last week in response to reforms passed in Paris that allow recent arrivals to the French overseas territory to vote in local provincial elections – a move some local leaders fear will weaken the say of the indigenous Kanak people.

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The indigenous population accounts for around 40 per cent of New Caledonia's 270,000 total inhabitants, and many have called for independence from France.

Three referendums on the topic have been held since 2018, with the pro-independence vote falling short on each occasion – although it boycotted the most recent poll in 2021.

A state of emergency in response to the unrest was declared on Wednesday, and France sent an extra 1000 security reinforcements to the territory to quell the violence.

While the worst of the rioting appears to be over, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal yesterday said "we are still a way off a return to normal".

A passenger is dead and more than two dozen are injured after a flight from the United Kingdom to Singapore was hit by "severe turbulence".

Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 took off from London Heathrow last night, but was diverted to Bangkok where it landed this afternoon, local time.

Authorities said the 73-year-old British man may have suffered a heart attack, though that has not been confirmed. His name was not immediately released.

READ MORE: Citizen's arrest after woman allegedly stabbed by stranger in Melbourne

There were 211 passengers and 18 crew on board as the plane dropped 6000 feet in a few minutes before being diverted to Bangkok, where emergency crews rushed to help injured passengers amid stormy weather.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Singapore Airlines said that as of four hours after the emergency landing "18 individuals have been hospitalised" and "another 12 are being treated in hospitals".

"The remaining passengers and crew are being examined and given treatment, where necessary," at the airport, it said.

The airline offered its "deepest condolences" to the British man's family and said its priority was to help all passenger and crew.

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One passenger told BBC Radio 5 Live the plane "suddenly dropped" and objects were thrown around.

"I was covered in coffee," Londoner Andrew Davies said.

"During the few seconds of the plane dropping there was an awful screaming and what sounded like a thud."

He said one woman near him was "screaming in agony" and had a "gash on her head".

Tracking data captured by FlightRadar24 and analysed by The Associated Press showed the Singapore Airlines flight cruising at an altitude of 37,000 feet.

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Airports of Thailand group said the lightly injured and non-injured passengers are being assisted at a specially assigned location inside the terminal at the Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Just after 8am London time (5pm AEST), the Boeing 777 suddenly and sharply pitched down to 31,000 feet over the span of three minutes, the data shows.

The aircraft stayed at 31,000 feet for just under 10 minutes before rapidly descending and landing in Bangkok in just under half an hour.

The descent happened as the flight was over the Andaman Sea approaching Myanmar.

Photos of the aftermath show oxygen masks had been deployed.

Parts of the plane's ceiling also appear to have fallen.

Food trays and coffee pots are shown strewn on the galley floor.

The plane landed at 3.45pm (6.45pm AEST).

Emergency crews from Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital, about 20 kilometres away from Suvarnabhumi Airport, were on site to transfer injured passengers off the runway for treatment.

Videos posted on the LINE messaging platform by Suvarnabhumi Airport showed a line of ambulances streaming to the scene.

Singapore's Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat said he was "deeply saddened to learn about the incident," in a statement posted to his social media.

"Ministry of Transport, Singapore, Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Changi Airport officials as well as SIA [Singapore Airlines] staff are providing support to the affected passengers and their families," he said.

Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam issued a statement on his social media accounts, expressing "condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased."

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A man charged with murder in Brisbane was released from immigration detention in April after the Australian Appeals Tribunal (AAT) decided he was "now a low risk of reoffending".

Emmanuel Saki, 29, faced Richlands Magistrates Court last week charged with the May 12 murder of 22-year-old Bosco Minyurano.

It is alleged Saki stabbed Minyurano, an acquaintance, at Acacia Ridge about 12.10am on Sunday.

9News can confirm Saki was released from immigration detention after AAT Deputy President Stephen Boyle overturned a 2019 decision to strip the Sudanese-born man of his humanitarian visa on character grounds.

He had been detained at Yongah Hill Detention Centre until his release in early April.

Born in Khartoum in December 1994, Saki was 11 when he was resettled in Australia along with his father and siblings from Egypt in October 2006 after being granted Global Special Humanitarian visas.

But Saki's visa was cancelled in October 2019 due to his failing the character test.

According to the AAT, he was in breach of the character test, "by reason of having a 'substantial criminal record' because he had been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 12 months or more".

The AAT heard that Saki had a long history of offending dating back to 2011, in NSW, the ACT and Queensland.

He was first jailed in July 2017 on two counts of reckless threats to kill, sentenced by the ACT Magistrates Court to eight months jail for each count.

He was jailed again for another two months in September 2018 for assault.

And in December 2018 he was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for choking a person unconscious, assault occasionally actual bodily harm and assault.

In deciding to overturn the decision to revoke Saki's humanitarian visa, Deputy President Boyle said he assessed Saki's risk of reoffending as low.

Boyle said he had weighed up Saki's links to Australia with the likely consequence of his forced return to South Sudan.

"In particular I find that the considerations of the strength, nature and duration of the Applicant's ties to Australia, the best interests of minor children, the legal consequences of the decision and the impediments to the Applicant establishing and maintaining basic living standards if he were to be returned to South Sudan, outweigh those considerations weighing against the revocation of the cancellation of the visa," Boyle said.

"In making that comparison, I am influenced by my assessment that, while some of the Applicant's offences have been serious, he is now a low risk of reoffending.

"Accordingly, I find that there is another reason why the original decision should be revoked and that the discretion to revoke the cancellation of the Applicant's visa should be exercised."

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Andrew Giles declined to comment.

"The matter is before the court. We cannot comment on individual cases," the spokesman said.

Saki remains remanded in custody. His next appearance is in the Richlands Magistrates Court on August 19.

A Melbourne grandmother has launched legal action against Yarra Trams after she was injured while onboard a tram in 2021.

Marina Kirby was on the 109 tram when the driver allegedly hit the brakes while travelling on a straight section.

Kirby said she was thrown from her seat and suffered six broken ribs, a broken finger, a shattered kneecap and torn meniscus, and a twisted ankle in the accident.

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"There's no reason to stop like that, absolutely nothing," Kirby told 9News.

Since the accident, the 70-year-old has suffered debilitating pain. 

Her left leg has swollen to more than twice the size of her left.

"There's constant bleeding," Kirby said.

READ MORE: Citizen's arrest after woman allegedly stabbed by stranger in Melbourne

Her daughter Rachael Kirby said her mother's quality of life had become significantly worse than it was before the accident.

Left with ongoing serious medical issues, the grandmother-of-four is now taking legal action against YarraTrams.

"I didn't want to retire – I was forced into retirement," she said.

Tamara Wright from the legal firm Shine Layers is now representing Kirby in her action against Tarra Trams.

"She was travelling on a section of the tram track that was light rail, which means it was unlikely that there were vehicles or pedestrians in the way," Wright said. 

Marina claimed the driver did not bother to help when she was lying on the ground. 

She was allegedly told to get off the tram so it wouldn't be late.

"I should have been taken straight to the hospital," Kirby said.

Kirby also wants Yarra Trams to invest in driver compassion training, to ensure her alleged treatment is not repeated.

A man "lost control" before fatally stabbing rapper Mak Muon, having had a gun held to his head and two Gucci bags, an iPhone, cash and cash stolen from his home, a jury has heard.

Muon had broken into a western Sydney granny flat just hours before his body was found near an Emu Plains reserve about 8am on September 24, 2020.

The 22-year-old and his two associates were armed with a handgun and knives when they entered the property, seeking the resident's cash and motorbikes.

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The armed resident then pursued the rapper with the aid of three friends and was later charged with murdering Muon.

The three co-accused joined him in the NSW Supreme Court today, where they stood before Justice Dina Yehiya, each denying charges over Muon's death.

Although the resident did not deny stabbing the rapper, causing his death, he pleaded not guilty to murder and pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Barrister Tony Evers told the jury his client had not intended to kill anyone but acted in the heat of his emotions.

He was armed with a knife when he confronted the man because he was in front of people who had attacked him "just hours before", Evers said.

"He simply lost control of his emotions (when he saw Muon), given what had happened to him," he told the jury.

Muon was joined by two other men when he had held the man at gunpoint in his home, yelling at him to give them cash.

Muon had pointed the gun not only towards the resident, Evers said, but also at his mother who had "bravely" confronted the men as they walked her son out of the granny flat.

The man's girlfriend, woken up by a loud bang, was held down on a bed by one of Muon's armed associates in a bid to retrieve her phone after she'd called for help.

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She later could identify the bang had been the security door of the granny flat falling to the ground.

Other residents in the main house on the property came outside after a phone call from the girlfriend warning of intruders.

The woman held back tears as she recounted seeing Muon hold a gun to her partner's head.

"I was whispering, I was scared," she told the jury.

"I said 'you need to come down – someone's breaking in''."

Moments after Muon and his partners fled the home, the resident had called three friends to assist in retrieving the stolen bags, iPhone and cash, the court heard.

The girlfriend then tracked her stolen phone through a locator app on her partner's phone, allowing the man and his helpers to track Muon.

A crown prosecutor said the four accused were armed with a screwdriver and knives.

The four men had caught Muon after an associate crashed their car into a creek and they ran in opposite directions.

Muon was stabbed in the chest with a knife, the blade remaining in his chest as the handle fell off.

One of his associates went back to the car, finding Muon's body on the ground nearby before calling emergency services.

The trial continues.

New internal documents have revealed how patients could be left in hospital corridors to combat ramping in Queensland.

9News has seen new leaked emails, sent to staff at Bundaberg Hospital's emergency department, about a potential plan to deal with ramping and bed block.

It included putting inpatients in "designated corridor locations".

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If that happens, the email said: "Patients need to be placed on trolleys rather than ward beds to allow passage of other movement through the corridor."

The email added that "placing patients out of reach of call bells, in-wall oxygen, in-wall suction and reinforces the need for an allocated nurse to the overflow patients".

Queensland Health said the plan was not official policy and had not been implemented.

When asked about the emails, Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said treating patients in corridors was absolutely not ideal.

"We want people to be treated in emergency spaces. Of course we do. That's why we have a thousand more beds coming on line," she said at a press conference today.

The new information comes a day after 9News revealed paramedics had been concerned about their patient, who was ramped about two hours at Gold Coast University Hospital last Tuesday.

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The 78-year-old man was suffering from a severe diabetic complication while ramped before he died of a heart attack.

The emails indicated paramedics had escalated their concern about his worsening condition on multiple occasions to staff at the hospital.

In one email, Queensland Ambulance medical director Dr Stephen Rashford told other health bosses that the man "should never have remained ramped".

A senior doctor at the hospital claimed the man was ramped for about an hour, rather than two.

"Ideally, we would want to offload that patient into a bed as soon as he arrived. We were unable to do that due to the circumstances available," Dr David Green said today.

Russell Hill's wife believed Carol Clay was her husband's cousin for years before it was revealed the pair were having an affair, a jury has been told.

Mr Hill, 74, and Clay, 73, were camping together in Victoria's Wonnangatta Valley when they disappeared in March 2020.

Greg Lynn, who was a Jetstar captain at the time, is accused of killing the couple and dumping their remains in bushland.

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He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and is on trial at the Supreme Court in Melbourne.

Mr Hill's wife Robyn appeared as a witness today, where she told the jury she first met Clay about 50 years ago.

Mr Hill told her Clay was his first cousin, she said.

The Hills went on trips with the Clays and Mrs Hill said she noticed her husband and Clay going on walks together, which she thought was "strange", she said.

In the early 2000s, a neighbour confronted Mr Hill about the affair and gave him an ultimatum.

Mrs Hill said her husband admitted his relationship with Clay, but said it was over and he wouldn't see her again.

She believed her husband was travelling alone to the Wonnangatta Valley, in March 2020, and helped him pack items including antidepressants and cans of bourbon, the jury was told.

After not hearing him on his usual radio broadcast for three days, Mrs Hill became worried and contacted police.

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She said Mr Hill had loved the valley and seemed happy to be going camping.

The 74-year-old was fit and healthy, although he was starting to "walk and think slow".

"I just thought he was getting old," Mrs Hill told the jury.

Her daughter Deborah also gave evidence today, about a time Mr Hill used a shotgun for duck hunting in the mid-1980s.

But she never saw him use a firearm again as he believed they were unsafe to have around, she said.

It's alleged Mr Hill and Mrs Clay died on March 20 after an argument between Lynn and Mr Hill at Bucks Camp.

Mr Hill had threatened to send his drone footage of Lynn deer hunting near the camp to police, defence barrister Dermot Dann KC said.

He claimed a scuffle broke out after Mr Hill took a gun from Lynn's vehicle and Mrs Clay was accidentally shot by Mr Hill.

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The barrister said Mr Hill came at Lynn with a knife and was accidentally stabbed in the chest as Lynn defended himself.

Lynn then burned Clay and Mr Hill's campsite, put their bodies in his trailer and dumped them on the remote Union Spur Track, near Dargo.

Footage and photos shown to the jury today showed a burned campsite and a number of items, including the victims' wallets, a high frequency radio and a mobile phone, inside Hill's Landcruiser.

Earlier today, the jury was reduced from 15 to 14 people after a juror was discharged because of illness.

Justice Michael Croucher said it was better to continue on rather than wait and see if her health improved later in the week.

The trial continues.