Residents living on Sydney's Northern Beaches have criticised a large grey electric car charger that sits in the middle of a busy shopping strip.

The charger, located on the side of Bungan Street in Mona Vale, is a "massive eyesore" according to local resident Cameron.

He told 2GB breakfast radio host Ben Fordham the placement was bizarre.

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https://omny.fm/shows/ben-fordham-full-show/massive-eyesore-locals-angry-about-giant-ev-charge/embed

"I thought it was a toilet block, this giant grey box is in the middle of Mona Vale," he said.

"It's a bizarre thing, it's been there for 12 months and I have never seen a car being charged there."

The charger can be found out the front of Leisures Shoe Boutique, which is leading to a loss of customers, according to employee Caroline.

"People drive past and they can't see us," she said.

"We just see a grey screen, it's not good for people walking past, it's not a good thing on that main street.

"We aren't the only ones, next door is also affected."

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The charger was converted for electric vehicle charging back in 2021, as part of a JOLT and Ausgrid initiative supported by the Northern Beaches Council.

"Unlike other charging networks that create new infrastructure, on some occasions, we're able to work with electricity providers to modernise existing substation kiosks that can't be removed," a JOLT spokesperson said.

"In regards to this Mona Vale charging location, a large kiosk of the same size has been in that location for 29 years and we have added our charging shell over the top to provide EV owners with free charging."

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Northern Beaches Council Mayor Sue Heins said the council would continue to support the Ausgrid and JOLT initiatives.

"(Council) is charging ahead with electric vehicle uptake and our community is seeking more infrastructure to charge their vehicles," she said in a statement.

"There are now more than 20 EV charging locations across the Northern Beaches with many more in the pipeline, making it one of the fastest growing areas for EV uptake.

"JOLT has informed us that their charging stations on the Northern Beaches have become some of the most utilised chargers in Australia."

NZ’s largest agricultural and pastoral show celebrates its 160th anniversary this week.

Recordings of police radio capture the unfolding moments of the officers’ response.

A woman killed 31 years ago in Belgium has been identified after a family member recognised details of her distinctive flower tattoo.

Interpol said the cold case was known as "the woman with the flower tattoo" because of the artwork on her left arm.

The case dated back to June 3, 1992, when a woman's body was found against a grate in the Groot Schijn River in the Deurne district of Antwerp.

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She was finally identified as Rita Roberts, a 31-year-old British woman, following a joint appeal for help in more than 20 cold cases by Interpol and police in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

A family member in the UK recognised details of her tattoo — a black flower with green leaves — on the news and contacted police.

The appeal for information in May covered 22 cases across the three countries.

Most of them involved women who were killed.

Roberts had moved to Antwerp from Cardiff in Wales.

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She last had contact with relatives with a postcard she sent in May 1992.

Her family said that although the news was difficult to process, they were grateful to know what happened to her.

"This cross-border collaboration has given a missing girl back her identity, and enabled the family to know she is at rest," the family said in a statement.

Today, the FBI announced a new addition to its 10 Most Wanted list, naming Haitian gang leader Vitel'Homme Innocent, for the kidnapping and slaying of American missionaries in that country.

A terrifying armed robbery, in which a driver was cut by a machete after a stranger climbed into his car, on a Melbourne street was captured on CCTV.

Police have released the footage as they search for men behind the incident.

Investigators have been told a car was pulled over to the side of Somerville Road at Yarraville to speak to a pedestrian at about 2.40am on July 11.

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It is believed two unknown then men approached the driver inside the car while they were parked, before allegedly threatening him with a machete.

Investigators have been told the unknown pair allegedly made demands for drugs, cash and air pods.

Police were told the driver had his hand cut with the machete during the confrontation.

Officers believe the car owner then drove off, while one of the offenders hung on to the window.

After a short while, the driver stopped the car along Geelong Road and ran to safety.

Police said the alleged offender took off with cash and a pair of air pods.

Qantas will face sentencing in a criminal court after a judge found the airline breached workplace health and safety law in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

SafeWork NSW brought the rare prosecution after Qantas Ground Services (QGS) stood down a trained health and safety representative hours after he gave a direction to others to cease work.

The February 2020 direction related to the cleaning and servicing of planes arriving from China and came the day after the federal government closed its borders to direct flights from that country.

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Qantas later outlined several reasons in a letter as to why it suspended Theo Seremetidis from his job, but NSW District Court Judge David Russell said that was an unsuccessful attempt to find additional reasons to back up its conduct.

"I have found that the reason for QGS engaging in discriminatory conduct towards Mr Seremetidis was because he exercised a power or performed a function as a health and safety representative," he said in his judgment on Thursday.

The court dismissed other charges alleging the letter to Seremetidis constituted a threat and that his position was illegally altered.

The Transport Workers Union said it was a major victory for the worker.

"It holds great significance for all health and safety representatives, highlighting the crucial role they play in ensuring safe workplaces," it said.

"The WHS Act has done its job."

Both Safework NSW and Qantas can appeal the court's decision.

"Qantas acknowledges the findings of the NSW District Court, which upheld one of three charges brought by SafeWork NSW, and will review the judgment before commenting on it further," the airline said in a statement.

"We recognise that the initial stages of the pandemic caused a lot of uncertainty for our people, customers and the business more broadly.

"Our medical and safety teams worked tirelessly to provide daily updates to employees and to put effective controls and procedures in place to help protect our people and customers."

A council parking inspector in Melbourne has sparked disbelief after handing out fines while appearing to break their own rules – but his actions are perfectly legal.

A photo shows the Boroondara City Council ranger's car parked in a loading zone on a Friday evening in June.

But in fact the council has confirmed officers can park their work vehicle in loading zones to perform their duties.

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Resident Rui Zhou said he himself had been recently fined $185 by the same council for stopping briefly in a loading zone while dropping his two children off at school.

"It was in the morning just before 9am so we were in a hurry – I didn't get out of the car and only stopped for about five seconds," Zhou said.

Zhou said he immediately thought back to his own fine when he saw the council car parked in the loading zone, just streets away from where he was fined.

However, the council has defended the move, saying it is perfectly legal.

"Authorised council officers are allowed to park a council vehicle in a loading zone to perform their duties, including parking enforcement," the council's urban living director, Scott Walker, told 9news.com.au in a statement.

"The officer parked this vehicle on a Friday night while undertaking their enforcement duties in a busy location where many parking spaces (outside of loading zones) are for community use."

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Under Victoria's road safety rules, police, emergency and enforcement vehicles are exempt from parking regulations in "reasonable" circumstances and providing the driver takes due care.

However, Zhou said the situation did not seem reasonable.

"I can understand if it's a police car or ambulance, that's absolutely understandable," Zhou said.

But this was not an emergency, Zhou said.

Zhou said he had twice tried to challenge his own fine, appealing first to council and then by taking it to court.

The Melbourne resident said he did not know he wasn't able to stop briefly in a loading zone at the time of his offence, but accepted he had broken the road rules.

However, he hoped a judge would show some leniency and reduce his fine.

But when his case was heard at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court last month, the judge ruled the fine should stand.

Adding a sting in the tail, Zhou was hit with a $90 fee for challenging the fine in court, taking the total amount he needed to pay to $275.

Millions of Australians are turning to supermarket reward points to unlock cheaper groceries in response to the cost-of-living crunch.

New research by Finder revealed 83 per cent of people are in a supermarket rewards program, with 58 per cent using their points to directly save on their grocery bills.

About 13 per cent use their points on airline savings, while six per cent don't touch their rewards at all.

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Finder personal finance expert Amy Bradney-George said consumers could save about $10 on groceries every few months through a rewards program.

"Keep an eye out for exclusive promotions run by the loyalty programs too – you can earn tens of thousands of extra points that way," she said.

"But it's important to remember that Aldi and some other supermarkets can offer an affordable alternative without a rewards program, and choosing low prices might end up being cheaper overall."

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) hit borrowers with another interest rate rise earlier this month, lifting the nation's cash rate target by 25 basis points.

The central bank chose to lift the cash rate to 4.35 per cent in a bid to tackle enduringly persistent levels of inflation.

For the average Australian borrower with a $500,000 mortgage, the rise means many will be forking out an additional $76 per month, and an extra $1210 since rates began rising in May 2022.

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"Mortgage interest charges rose 9.3 per cent following a 9.8 per cent rise in the June 2023 quarter," ABS head of prices statistics Michelle Marquardt said.

"While the Reserve Bank of Australia has not increased the cash rate since July 2023, previous interest rate increases and the rollover of some expired fixed-rate to higher-rate variable mortgages resulted in another strong rise this quarter."

The average Aussie household is spending $187 per week on groceries in November, according to data from Finder's Consumer Sentiment Tracker.

"Shopping for groceries is demanding a growing chunk of the weekly budget so consumers may as well enjoy some perks or extra savings," Bradney-George said.

"As the price of food and household goods continues to spike, shoppers are being much more intentional with looking for ways to keep their grocery bills down."

It has been almost two years since Tom Phillips and his children disappeared.