The tiny house-related scam that aims to take $10k from Waikato residents.

The man wants his daughter to be aware of her identity and proud of her heritage.

The meth had a street value of $670,000.

A Melbourne boss is trying to avoid conviction after he slapped a young apprentice while the man was strung upside down from a crane at a workplace Christmas party.

Steven Yousif, 29, repeatedly hit Ilyas Elkharraz's bare chest at the December 2020 event in one incident of bullying at Melbourne Glass Solutions.

Elkharraz lodged a complaint with WorkSafe, telling investigators he was also verbally abused and threatened by Yousif between April 2019 and May 2021.

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The carpentry apprentice said he felt anxiety, stress, depression and suicidal thoughts as a result of the bullying.

WorkSafe investigators first attended the Tullamarine work site in April last year where Yousif handed over requested documents.

The company director declined an invitation to be interviewed.

Another apprentice carpenter also came forward, claiming Yousif threatened to terminate his employment and stopped him attending TAFE classes between March and October 2019.

Yousif on Monday pleaded guilty in Melbourne Magistrates Court to failing to provide and maintain for his employees a working environment that was safe and without risk to health.

His lawyer Joseph D'Abaco said his client had been a young and inexperienced boss at the time of the offending.

"He was driven to make Melbourne Glass a successful operation – he pushed himself and others to the limit," he told the court.

"He now realises his conduct was wrong and has no place in the modern workplace."

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Yousif was embarrassed with how he acted and he apologised unreservedly to the two men for the pain and distress he caused them, D'Abaco said.

He urged Magistrate Andrew Sim to hand down a sentence without conviction otherwise Yousif's second business Jaden Commercial Windows would suffer financially.

Melbourne Glass Solutions is no longer operating as a company.

Jaden would miss out on tenders if a conviction was listed against Yousif and his employees would be collateral damage through no fault of their own, D'Abaco said.

But the magistrate noted Yousif would have to declare the offending in any tender applications, regardless of whether a conviction was listed.

Prosecutor Tristan Joseph said it was appropriate for a conviction to be handed down.

He said although Yousif was only charged because he was the sole director of the company, the offending was more serious because he carried out the bullying.

But D'Abaco said the magistrate should not see it as an aggravating feature.

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Sim adjourned his sentence to next month so he could take time to consider the penalty and whether or not a conviction should be recorded.

The maximum sentence available is a fine of $80,595.

The federal government is weighing up whether to introduce new laws after 80 asylum seekers were released from immigration detention into the community following a High Court ruling last week.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus confirmed this afternoon that special visa conditions have been placed on the 80 people, who were being held in indefinite detention due to failed character tests or national security risks.

"I can assure the Australian community that the first priority of the government is to keep our community safe," Dreyfus said.

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"There will be appropriate visa conditions and the commonwealth government will be working with state and territory criminal justice agencies, who, of course, are primarily responsible for each of the people concerned.

"All of these people have already had interactions with the state and territory criminal justice agencies in question."

He said the government was "of course" considering whether to introduce new laws in response to the High Court ruling, although did not specify whether that would be to re-detain the 80 released asylum seekers, or to more broadly legislate indefinite detention.

The court ruled the indefinite detention of a stateless Rohingya man who had served time for child sex offences was unlawful, saying it was unconstitutional to detain someone with no prospect of being removed from Australia.

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The decision overturned a near-20-year precedent that allowed Australia to lock up asylum seekers who had failed character assessments but could not be deported.

In its submissions to the court, the Commonwealth said more than 300 other detainees could be impacted by the decision.

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles confirmed the 80 people had been released "almost instantly" and said the government would need to wait for the High Court's reasons to be published before it introduced any new legislation.

"We continue to consider all measures that may be available to lengthen our protection of the community," he said during question time.

"We are yet to have the reasons for the court's decision.

"We have been approaching this issue in anticipation of the decision because we regard community safety seriously."

A man has been charged after a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted outside her home in Broome, WA last night.

Police allege the woman was grabbed and sexually assaulted after she walked outside her home about 10.30pm, having seen a light being shone through her window.

Following an extensive police search of the area, a 25-year-old man was arrested by Broome detectives on Piggott Way just after 11pm.

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The Halls Creek man has been charged with sexual penetration without consent, along with four other offences relating to separate incidents on the same night.

He is due to appear in Broome Magistrates Court today.

Australians are set to spend more on Christmas presents this year despite high inflation, interest rate hikes and cost of living pressures on households.

The Christmas Retail Trends Report, conducted by Monash Business School's Australian Consumer and Retail Studies, found shoppers intend to spend 16 per cent more on clothing, footwear and accessories, compared to last year.

Spending on electronics is also expected to increase by 40 per cent, while purchases on household goods are set to jump by 16 per cent.

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The survey, of 1014 shoppers across Australia, found budgets compared to last year had increased with respondents indicating they planned to spend about $427 on immediate family, $246 for extended family, $149 for friends and $266 on themselves.

Lead researcher, Dr Eloise Zoppos, said increased spending could be attributed to inflation and supply chain price rises following the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We've consistently found over the past few years since COVID, that people have told us they're spending more and more each Christmas on gifts," Zoppos said.

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"One reason could be that restrictions have eased and people are having larger gatherings, and seeing more family and more friends at Christmas.

"Of course, the other side to that is there has been inflation across some categories so spend could also be attributed to a perceived increase in the cost of certain categories.

"So our results are likely a mix of people seeing more people, and spending more money on gifts for family and friends, and also some inflation element where people are perceiving the cost of products are more than they have been previously."

Consumer behaviour expert from Deakin University, Paul Harrison, said he was not surprised by the figures despite the cost of living impact on households.

"People like to observe rituals and people are very kind of driven by expectations and the rituals that come with these sort of events," he said.

"It's a way of escape as well, it's a way of treating yourself and being kind and good to the people you care about."

Harrison said the data was consistent with holiday season consumer spending seen during recessions, as these traditions "are critical and important to that social nature and what it means to be a human being".

He said it was important to consider it was difficult to resist spending money at Christmas, as people become swept up "in this ritual buying frenzy".

"Australia is very kind of driven by Christmas as a material, consumption, moment," he said.

"I think to resist that urge, even during a cost of living crisis, means that you are pushing back against all the expectations of everybody around you.

"So it actually becomes easier to consume and buy things at Christmas time, than it is to resist."

He said another reason shoppers were likely to spend more at Christmas was due to poor planning, as well as being surrounded with constant reminders to spend.

"When we don't plan, we're more susceptible at that time because there's more of an expectation to buy, marketers are very good at twisting and nudging us towards those kinds of elements," he said.

"There's a theory in psychology called ego depletion, which means that when we're overwhelmed with these types of things, we don't tend to think rationally. And to save money is a rational activity."

However, retail expert Gary Mortimer said some categories of the report appear "overly optimistic" in their projections.

"Ultimately nobody is going to cancel Christmas, but it'll certainly be more subdued and consumers will be more frugal in their approaches," he said.

"Generally what tends to take place is discretionary categories tend to struggle when times get tough and families tend to turn to the necessities, so things like food retailing, they're more concerned about putting food on the table than they are buying new shoes or a t-shirt. 

"I think while retailers would certainly welcome an increase in sales this Christmas, I don't think objectively that number is going to be realised in those areas based on the data."

Turns out swimming cassowaries can be added to the list of things to beware of in Queensland, home of giant crocs, the dreaded irukandji jellyfish and killer snakes.

The cassowary might be Australia's heaviest bird, and some claim the world's most dangerous, but "astonishing" footage showed it is a remarkably proficient swimmer.

Campers were confused and delighted by the bird as it paddled out of a light shore break and onto the beach off Bingil Bay Campground in Queensland, 100km south of Cairns.

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In the footage, taken from a distance, it's difficult to make out what is moving through the water, with the bird's periscope-shaped neck and head looking similar to a dorsal fin.

But as it nears shore, the distinctive hornlike helmet on its head, called a casque, becomes clear and a cassowary steps out of the water and shakes its feathers off.

"We're not sure how long this animal was in the water or why it went for a swim but the footage is astonishing," Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service officer Stephen Clough said.

"Cassowaries can swim and will take to the water to cross from one side of a river to the other, or if they feel threatened by domestic dogs or another cassowary through a territorial dispute," he said.

On October 31, campground host Nikita McDowell was alerted to the swimming cassowary by a guest, who told her it was about 200 metres offshore.

"I ran down and waited for the cassowary to emerge from the ocean, and it must've been exhausted as it stood in the shade beneath a tree with its legs shaking for about half an hour," McDowell said.

"Perhaps it entered the ocean around South Mission Beach and was caught by the current or in a rip and swept around to Bingil Bay."

She called Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and they told her to monitor the bird, but that it would likely move on when it was ready.

"I went to make a coffee and when I returned, it was gone," McDowell said.

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Cassowaries are unpredictable and can inflict serious injuries to people and pets by kicking with their large, clawed feet.

"The inner or second of the three toes is fitted with a long, straight, murderous nail which can sever an arm or eviscerate an abdomen with ease," ornithologist Ernest Thomas Gilliard wrote in 1956.

Officials estimate there are only 4000 cassowaries in Queensland.

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"They face numerous threats to their survival including habitat loss, vehicle strikes and domestic dog attacks," Clough said.

Feeding cassowaries causes them to frequent residential areas, where they are more prone to being hit by vehicles or dog attacks.

"It is often said that 'a fed bird is a dead bird,'" Clough said.

"This rare sighting and lucky escape by the cassowary is a reminder that we all need to do what we can to protect and conserve the species."

What to do if you come across a cassowary

• Never approach cassowaries.
• Never approach chicks; male cassowaries will defend them.
• Never feed cassowaries; it is illegal and dangerous.
• Never stop your vehicle to look at southern cassowaries on the road.
• Always keep your dog away from cassowaries.

The mystery of why a body of water in Queensland turned a vivid shade of pink has been solved.

Parts of Boondall Wetlands at Nudgee Beach in Brisbane had transformed into a completely different colour.

The hue emulated famous pink lakes with high salt levels that have become popular tourist attractions interstate.

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But locals were stumped at what was going on.

However, scientists have solved the mystery of why the water transformed colour – and it's the first time they've seen the phenomenon in the area.

The "rare" discovery wasn't what they expected, with the dry winter partly to blame.

The Water Ecology unit at the Department of Environment and Science (DES) said a microbe was responsible for the pink colouration – and it has not been observed by scientists before in southeast Queensland.

Principal Scientist Dr Glenn McGregor analysed water samples last month to try and figure out what was going on.

"Based on the colour of the water, we originally thought it might be a bacterium that sometimes washes up in mangroves and can cause similar pinkish accumulations," Dr McGregor said.

"We analysed four samples which confirmed it wasn't the microbe we thought it was, and we needed to do genetic sequencing to find the pink bloom culprit.

"The genetic sequencing was completed by Dr Chris Rinke at the University of Queensland.

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"The sequencing results have shown the microbe belongs to the genus Rhodovulum, and this is the first time this bacterium has been observed by DES in south-east Queensland."

Rhodovulum is associated with pink coastal waters and sulphide-rich environments such as blooming seawater pools and mudflats, Dr McGregor said.

"These bacteria utilize sulphide as an electron donor for growth which helps them survive in these in sulphide-rich environments," he said.

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"Due to the lack of winter rain, the Boondall Wetlands became saline, which created the perfect environment for Rhodovulum microbes that require hyper-saline conditions.

"As the Rhodovulum microbes reproduce and the populations booms, they turn the water pink because of their colouration.

"The beautiful pink blooms at the Boondall Wetlands is rare, but there are plenty of coastal locations across Australia with pink water when conditions are right."

Some of the most famous pink lakes in Australia include Lake Hillier in WA and Lake Bumbunga in South Australia.

As King Charles III turns 75, Australia Post is commemorating the new head of the Commonwealth with three special edition stamps.

Two of the stamps will mark the king's birthday on November 14, while a third will highlight his coronation.

One stamp features a young Charles in a black-and-white portrait during a journey to Sydney in 1966.

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A second, from 2018, shows the king seated at his desk, while the third pictures him in his crown.

It's the first time Charles III has appeared on an Australia Post stamp since his coronation.

"The collection encapsulates the essence of King Charles III's legacy, embodying his continued commitment to tradition and progress," Australia Post said in a media release.

The King Charles III stamp collection is on sale now at participating post offices, via mail order on 1800 331 794 and online while stocks last.