The days of bill shock when travelling are long behind us, replaced by daily charges and international roaming "top ups" meaning we can stay in touch from almost anywhere in the world.

Today however, that concept takes a step even further, with Vodafone announcing in-flight roaming on a select set of international airlines.

Designed to work in tune with the company's $5-a-day roaming in a large number of countries around the world, in-flight roaming allows you to turn your phone off airplane mode when you reach cruising altitude.

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Soon after, your phone will connect to a network within the plane, allowing you to send messages, use your mobile data and even make or take calls.

"We have customers joining Vodafone every day who are sick of the great roaming rip off. Whether you're in another country or on your way there, Vodafone is working hard to help you stay connected and save money," Vodafone group executive Kieren Cooney said.

"For a flat fee of only $5 per day, customers can use their device to stay in touch with loved ones, share their travel selfies, and even get some work done, all while cruising above the clouds.

"Best of all, customers won't have to worry about any hidden costs or bill shock when they arrive home."

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The in-flight roaming feature will work on participating airlines including Emirates, Etihad, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa, Malaysian and Singapore Airlines.

For travellers looking to be online while they fly, the options currently require you to use in-flight wifi, which can be expensive and have limitations.

Vodafone says the use of data on board a plane will "deliver download and upload speeds similar to 3G", more than enough to check your emails, browse the web and even social media.

The $5 charge applies to a 24-hour period, so even if you are flying for half the day, then on the ground in a country with Vodafone's roaming for the other half of the day, you'll only pay the $5 for that given day.

Use of in-flight roaming is optional, you can also simply have your phone off or in airplane mode to avoid the charge and not use any of the connected services.

Many consumers do not realise they may be paying for electricity they're not even using as a result of something known as "phantom power".

Phantom power is when common household appliances drain energy while they're plugged in, even when not being actively used.

According to new calculations by Canstar Blue across homes in south-east Queensland, it could be adding approximately $123 to power bills every year.

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"If something's got a flashing light, it's showing you the time or runs by remote control, it's definitely using standby power," Christine Seib of Canstar Blue told 9News.

Smart TV's carry the highest phantom load, costing an extra 37 cents an hour, or $32.80 a year.

Gaming consoles also drain electricity when not in use, approximates $24.60 over a year.

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Washing machines and microwaves use the same amount, which is an estimated 12 cents per hour when not in use.

An air conditioner costs nearly $5.50 a year in standby power mode and a computer monitor adds about three cents per hour, or $2.73 per year.

"Wifi modems are a surprisingly high standby power user [because] it's switched on all the time and active," Seib said.

Switching appliances off at the wall is obviously the best way to ensure your bill isn't inflated by phantom load but this of course isn't always practical.

You could also try using a smart power board, which can detect when to cut an appliance's electricity feed.

Alternatively, you can adjust the settings on some appliances to minimise standby activity.

Party’s police spokesperson says ban for gang facial tattoos is on the cards.

It's looking increasingly likely that luckless punters won't be the only Australians copping a nasty hit to their hip pocket on Melbourne Cup day.

Higher-than-expected inflation data for the September quarter released today has market analysts predicting the Reserve Bank will hike interest rates when they next meet on November 7, just half an hour before the race that stops the nation.

The figures today came less than 24 hours after governor Michele Bullock warned the central bank "will not hesitate to raise the cash rate" for a 13th time if CPI doesn't come back to its 2-3 per cent target band quickly enough.

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Given the quarterly rise of 1.2 per cent was higher than market forecasts, that seems to be exactly what is happening – and there was even more concerning reading in the ABS's inflation data.

"The bigger upside surprise today was in the core readings of inflation – mainly the 'trimmed mean' which is the RBA's preferred measure," AMP deputy chief economist Diana Mousina said.

"[It] was up by 1.2 per cent over the quarter (above consensus estimates of 1 per cent and our own forecast of 1.2 per cent) which took annual growth to 5.2 per cent and was up from a 1 per cent rise last quarter.

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"Annual growth in trimmed mean inflation slowed to 5.2 per cent from 5.9 per cent last quarter and is lower than the peak of 6.8 per cent in December last year.

"However, this is quite a miss from the RBA's forecasts of 4.8 per cent annual growth and we think will concern the central bank because it could indicate that inflation is proving too 'sticky'."

She says the data will force Bullock and her board to hike rates by a quarter of a percent.

"We think today's inflation figures will cause some concern for the central bank and is likely to push the RBA over the line to hike the cash rate by another 0.25 per cent," Mousina said.

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Bank of Queensland (BOQ) chief economist Peter Munckton agrees.

"Another rate hike is imminent, particularly given that Australia's cash rate is about one percentage point below that of peer countries," he said.

"To me, this makes a move at the November board meeting look likely."

However, while AMP, BOQ and other market analysts are predicting a hike, Mousina cautioned the Reserve Bank against moving in November.

"We think that RBA needs to allow more time for the full lags of monetary policy to work through the economy and risks a significant slowing in economic growth in 2024 if it continues to raise interest rates," she said.

The day after the attack, Ardern’s office confirmed they had received the email.

Statues of colonial figures in Sydney's CBD will be reviewed by council after calls from Indigenous leaders to acknowledge their damaging past.

The City of Sydney will review 25 statues to "reassess the one-dimensional accounts of past events" and may add alternate plaques and signage to the figures.

A plaque of former Governor Lachlan Macquarie in Hyde Park described him as a "perfect gentleman".

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Indigenous leaders say the plaque is misleading. 

"It doesn't talk about that he actually told the soldiers and others to actually, you know, kill Aboriginal people," City of Sydney Councillor and Wiradjuri woman Yvonne Weldon told 9News.

"These people actually did create great harm to the First Nations across this country so their representation needs to be with an honesty." 

Historians and First Nations people say the statues provide a "lopsided" account of Australia's past. 

"To fully understand that history then we need to hear their (Indigenous) voice in these monuments," University of Sydney Historian James Findlay said.

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Proposed changes will be made in consultation with Sydney's Aboriginal and Public Art Advisory panels.

Weldon told 9News that the next step forward should be erecting statues of significant Indigenous leaders throughout Sydney. 

The brother of two children who were killed in a horror shed fire in Corio near Geelong has also died in hospital.

Four-year-old Isaac suffered extensive burns after heroically shielding his siblings, three-year-old Saige and 18-month-old Ashlynn, when fire erupted on the family property on Sunday.

The only surviving child, six-year-old Mavis, remains in a critical condition at the Royal Children's Hospital.

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The children's father Kane McGregor told media yesterday that his family had experienced the worst two days of their lives.

He described Isaac as one of the "strongest children (he) has known".

"Isaac had two huddled under him so they didn't burn," he said.

"He stayed there until he died himself, (paramedics) revived him and flew him to (hospital)."

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Issac had suffered burns to 82 per cent of his body.

Their mother Jasmine Beck also received burns to her hands after dragging her children out of the blaze.

It's understood all four children were inside the shed playing together when a couch caught alight.

Police are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire, with McGregor saying a "clicky lighter" could be to blame.

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One of three men jailed for torturing and murdering two Queensland drug dealers whose bodies were found in a toolbox has appealed his convictions claiming the jury relied on inadmissible evidence.

Tuhirangi-Thomas Tahiata, then 28, was found guilty by a Brisbane Supreme Court jury in February 2020 of the murder of Cory Breton, 28, and Iuliana Triscaru, 31, and sentenced to life in prison.

Breton and Triscaru's bodies were found submerged in a lagoon south of Brisbane in February 2016.

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Justice Peter Davis at the time described the killings as horrendous and said Tahiata played no role in beating and restraining the pair but he knew he was "driving them to their deaths".

The Brisbane Court of Appeal on Wednesday heard submissions on whether Tahiata's convictions should be overturned.

Tahiata's barrister April Freeman said there had been a error of law during the trial because the jury were told Tahiata had confessed to police while their interview video camera was switched off.

A police officer testified to the jury that Tahiata said: "I did it. I killed them. I murdered both of them."

The specific words Tahiata used during the confession were later ruled inadmissible as they were not an acceptable record under legislation governing Queensland Police conduct.

Freeman said the quote from Tahiata was presented to jury members as a "pivotal moment" in the trial.

"It affected the jury when looking at (Tahiata's) other police interviews and deciding which version is true," Freeman said.

The crown prosecutor said the inadmissible evidence was not material to the outcome of the trial and the error had not affected the jury.

"There was no complaint about it by (Tahiata's defence) counsel at trial … it's a matter for the jury which version of events they accepted," the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor said there was other evidence that led to Tahiata's conviction including him saying "I committed murder, I'll face up to that" in a recorded interview with police.

Chief Justice Helen Bowskill, Justice Peter Flanagan and Acting Justice Michael Buss reserved their decision on the appeal.

Emergency services including a helicopter responded to the scene.