Police are appealing for information following the theft of a rare Ford Mustang valued at about $400,000 from south-east Melbourne earlier this month.

The 2021 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR, registration 900KR, is the only one of its kind in Australia.

It was stolen on Wednesday, October 11, in what police described as a "brazen" theft.

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CCTV images from 3.45pm on that day showed two men can be seen loitering out the front of Mustang Motorsport, a car specialist on Hayward Road in Ferntree Gully.

The duo briefly leaves the area before one of the men, wearing a blue jumper, black trackpants, black baseball cap and sunglasses, walks through the gate, enters the Ford Mustang and drives off.

Vehicles were being moved in and out of the showroom at the time, and the key was accessible.

The Mustang is then captured on CCTV heading north towards Burwood Highway.

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Just prior to the theft, the two men stopped at a fast-food premises on Burwood Highway, where one of the men reached behind the counter and took a drink without paying.

Detective Senior Constable Michael Gatt today appealed for public help to retrieve the car.

"This was an utterly brazen theft of someone's prized possession and done in broad daylight," he said.

"This is someone with a great love of vehicles who has worked hard to build this car and has had it taken away from him.

"It's an incredibly rare car, and it is very distinctive – we would encourage anyone who has seen it, or who recognises the two men in the CCTV to come forward and contact police."

The Mustang is charcoal in colour, with a distinctive blue stripe over the driver and passenger side doors and bearing the words GT 500KR. It also has a rear spoiler.

The vehicle is a rare Shelby GT 500KR edition and has a Cobra badge on the front grill.

There is also a KR badge on the rear panel.

The owner of the Mustang, 60-year-old former racer Craig Dean, said he was disappointed.

"It's pretty devastating really that someone could come in and take your possession," he said.

"We all live in hope, so I've just been hoping that it gets found."

A Mustang Motorsport sticker is visible on the top of the front windscreen.

Police are asking people to keep a lookout for the distinctive vehicle and expect it may have travelled anywhere across Melbourne, or potentially interstate.

Anyone with information on the two men in the CCTV or who has seen the vehicle is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a report online.

A Queensland woman accused of being the architect of a murder plan that involved a man being fed into a woodchipper has been found guilty.

Sharon Graham, 63, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Bruce James Saunders at a property near Gympie on November 12, 2017.

She was accused of asking her then-partner Greg Roser and Peter Koenig to kill Bruce Saunders, 53, for insurance money.

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Saunders was hit on the head with an iron bar and his body fed into an industrial woodchipper to make it look like an accident, Brisbane Supreme Court was told.

He died while the three men cleared vegetation on a friend's rural property in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

Saunders and Graham had been in an "on and off" relationship.

Koenig told the jury that he saw Roser hit Saunders multiple times on the head with the iron bar before helping carry the lifeless body to the woodchipper.

Koenig said he placed Saunders on the chipper tray and used a stick to push the body in.

The next day Graham discussed Saunders' will over coffee before sleeping in his bed with another man, the court heard.

Graham is set to be sentenced after the jury reached a guilty verdict on Friday afternoon.

Discussions are ramping up over a potential blanket ban on the use of all engineered stone, over its links to the deadly lung disease silicosis.

Federal, state and territory workplace ministers met today to review a report from SafeWork Australia, which has recommended banning the product, irrespective of crystalline silica content.

Silicosis is a lung disease caused by breathing in small particles of silica dust.

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Inhaling the dust causes inflammation which over time, leads to scarring of the lung tissue, which causes stiffening of the lungs making it difficult to breathe.

"Engineered stone is physically and chemically different to natural stone," the report notes.

"The high levels of respirable crystalline silica (RCS) generated by working with engineered stone, as well as the differing properties of this RCS, are likely to contribute to more rapid and severe disease.

"There is no toxicological evidence of a 'safe' threshold of crystalline silica content in engineered stone, or that other chemicals found in engineered stone do not pose a health risk to workers."

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Stone worker of 17 years Russell Vine said a total ban is the only way forward.

"If we don't do something now then there's going to be a lot more workers diagnosed with this disease and the suffering will go on," Vine told 9News.

"We just need to stop it now and move forward.

"It's time to call a ban on it, I think there's no other way."

Another meeting is expected before the end of the year to decide on a ban.

Enquiries into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing.

CCTV footage has emerged of Paul Thijssen in the hours after he is suspected to have murdered co-worker Lilie James at a Sydney CBD school.

The security footage shows Thijssen, 24, arriving at Diamond Bay Reserve in the eastern suburb of Vaucluse at 8.47pm on Wednesday, an hour after James is believed to have been killed.

Over the next hour, he's seen walking down a path, before dumping the alleged murder weapon – a hammer – in a bin before driving off.

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The video shows Thijssen sitting around the corner for the following two hours, before calling triple zero at around midnight to tell police about James' body at St Andrew's Cathedral School.

Operators traced the call, but when officers arrived at the scene, Thijssen was gone.

Police had wanted to speak to him about James' suspected murder, but earlier today, during their search for him, they found a body – believed to be Thijssen's – at the base of a cliff in Vaucluse.

They had been scouring the area after finding what they called "property" linked to James' death.

This morning a group of tradesmen working nearby alerted police to the body, located on the rocks beneath Diamond Bay Reserve at Vaucluse.

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Police began an operation to retrieve the body at 7.40am at the reserve and retrieved the body at about 12.15pm today.

The rescue and bomb disposal unit, marine unit and Westpac Rescue helicopter all assisted in the operation.

"The man has not been formally identified," NSW Police said in a statement.

It's understood the location of the body, coupled with the wet and windy weather in the area, caused complications.

James was found dead in the toilet section of the St Andrews Cathedral School gym area after a call to police prompted a welfare check.

Police said she had suffered serious head injuries in an "apparent" homicide.

9News understands she was attacked with a hammer.

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Early on Thursday morning, police found materials they believe were linked to the murder in Diamond Bay Reserve.

Police began searching the reserve and the waters off South Head.

Based on a phone call to police, the reserve was also thought to be Thijssen's last known location.

Thijssen, a former student of the school, had been working there as a sports assistant, while James was the school's water polo coach.

9News understands James and Thijssen had been dating for a few weeks before she called the relationship off.

Police said there was no official history of domestic violence between the pair.

Crisis support is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14.

There's a spectacular speckled cloud pattern over the Tasman Sea this Friday, and it holds plenty of good news for those hoping for clear weekend weather on Australia's east coast.

See how the cloud over the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand looks a little like fish scales – as captured by the BoM's Himawari-8 weather satellite almost 36 kilometres above the Earth?

As Weatherzone explains, the speckled pattern occurs when very cold air moves over a relatively warm area of ocean.

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The temperature contrast between the cool air and warmer water causes a large number of individual cumulus clouds to develop over a broad area, punctuated by patches of clear sky in between.

The mix of moisture-laden cumulus clouds and clear sky generates the speckled pattern.

Interestingly, the classic four-seasons-in-a-day weather variability for which Melbourne is famous inevitably occurs when there's a speckled cloud mass overhead.

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Rapid weather changes are less common in Sydney, where the weather is generally relentlessly rainy or sunny for days on end, and speckled air masses are less common.

But Sydney has felt quite Melbourne-like this week with its on-and-off showers, as the Tasman Sea speckled air mass pushes frequent showers onto the NSW coast, as you can see in the Weatherzone loop above.

The good news for Australians on the east coast is that the speckled cloud mass in the Tasman Sea should become New Zealand's problem this weekend, with a clearing pattern on the east coast and all eight Australian capital cities likely to see fine or mostly fine weather.

Queensland residents are on edge as challenging conditions test firefighters battling some of the more than 60 fires currently burning across the state.

This afternoon fire authorities issued evacuation orders for residents in Shellytop Road at Durong, Moonie near Dalby, Tara and parts of Wieambilla.

Meanwhile, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) has warned residents in eight communities to prepare to leave including those in parts of Durong, Carnarvon Gorge, Buckland, Rewan, Kogan, parts of Wieambilla, Breakaway at Mount Isa and Lowmead near Miriam Vale.

As the situation is constantly changing, stay up to date with warnings and alerts at the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services website.

"With the extreme fire dangers that we've had today, particularly across the western parts of the state, that's put pressure on a number of the containment lines," Queensland Rural Fire Service Acting Assistant Commissioner Peter Hollier said.

Gusty wind conditions have made conditions difficult for firefighters tackling a blaze in Tara, while crews will work into the night to establish containment lines on the Moonie fire.

There are several fires burning in the Mount Isa area, with a blaze to the north and another to the north-west causing particular concern for fire crews preparing to work well into the night.

The Carnarvon Gorge fire in the south of the state is a large fire, particularly to the northern end of the blaze, with wind conditions putting pressure on crews.

Firefighters have held the containment lines of the Halliford fire near Dalby but crews will continue to work to make sure it is controlled.

There have also been new outbreaks at Midge Point near Prosperpine and Lowmead near Miriam Vale this afternoon.

Conditions are easing in the south-east of the state with spasmodic rain and firefighters are taking the opportunity to get these blazes under control.

It comes after 32 homes and 17 sheds and other buildings were destroyed after fires at Tara in recent days.

The blaze covers an area of 20,000 hectares.

As the situation continues, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) has extended a local fire ban for south-western region residents until midnight tonight.

The initial fire ban was imposed on Tuesday for residents in the Toowoomba, Southern Downs, Western Downs, Goondiwindi, Maranoa and Balonne Local Government Areas.

"Current fire conditions are perfect for bushfires to ignite and spread quickly," a QFES spokesperson said.

"Under a local fire ban all open fires are prohibited and all Permits to Light Fire which have been issued in the designated areas have been suspended for the duration of the ban.

"Power tools may be used during a local fire ban however QFES encourages people to use these with extreme care and ensure adequate equipment is available to extinguish any fire which may start.

"This may include having a person available to watch out for any ignitions that occur."

An elderly man accused of murdering a Perth mother more than 37 years ago has faced court.

Sharon Fulton, 39, was last seen alive on March 18, 1986 waiting for a train and has not made contact with family or friends.

The 77-year-old man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was charged with the mother of four's wilful murder on that date.

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He briefly appeared in Perth Magistrates Court via video link on Friday.

There was no application for bail and the matter was adjourned.

He is scheduled to reappear in Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on November 22.

West Australian police offered a $1 million reward in May for information leading to a conviction in the case.

Fourteen beaches are still unsafe to swim at according to Swimsafe.

A man who spent 12 years behind bars for a murder he was not present for has been released from a Northern Territory prison.

Indigenous man Zak Grieve was handed a life sentence in 2013 for the murder of Ray Niceforo, with a non-parole period of 20 years.

Grieve applied for a mercy plea in 2018 and his sentence was subsequently cut by eight years.

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Bronwyn Buttery and her son Christopher Malyschko were also charged in relation to the murder of Niceforo.

Buttery was in a relationship with Niceforo, who the judge found was a "very frightening individual" who had physically abused her.

Buttery paid for the murder, was found guilty of manslaughter, and was given an eight-year jail term with a minimum of four years, while Malyschko was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 18 years.

Malyschko and Darren Halfpenny – who earlier pleaded guilty – attacked Niceforo in his flat where Malyschko bludgeoned him to death with a spanner while Halfpenny held him in a headlock.

The judge found Grieve had decided to pull out of the murder plans at the last minute but did not actively try to prevent the death and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

"I take no pleasure in this outcome," Justice Dean Mildren said in 2013 of the harsher sentence meted out to Grieve, who was not present during the murder.

"It is the fault of mandatory minimum sentencing provisions which inevitably bring about injustice."

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Grieve was 19 when he was charged and his story made international headlines, culminating in a documentary series and several books.

His release on Friday has sparked renewed calls for a review of the NT's mandatory sentencing laws.

Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said the government is not planning on changing the laws.

"It's not a loophole, it's the law as it stands in the Northern Territory," Fyles told reporters today.

"There are some crimes where the community expectation is that there is a minimum mandatory period of incarceration, and I don't have intentions of changing that."

Grieve's mother, Glenice Grieve, wrote to the NT Law Reform Commission in 2020 pleading for her son's release.

"Everyone can see mandatory sentencing is wrong," she said.

"Mandatory sentencing means so many people with my skin colour are in prison.

"His life sentence was a big blow to all of us, such a huge punch, that I don't think we ever recovered."