Tag Archives: oceania

P-plater caught allegedly drink driving twice in two hours

A P-plater has been caught allegedly drink driving twice in 12 hours northwest of Melbourne.

The 29-year-old's red Mazda was first pulled over when he was allegedly caught speeding on the Western Freeway in Myrniong on Thursday about 6pm.

"After a positive roadside reading, he was taken to a police station and returned an evidentiary breath test of 0.133," Victoria Police said in a statement.

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Western Freeway in Myrniong

"The man's license was immediately suspended, and he was issued with infringement notices for drink driving, exceeding the speed limit by 20km/h and failing to display p-plates."

Police were called back to the Western Highway 12 hours later, this time at Warrenheip, in relation to a suspected drink driver who had crashed into a pole.

"The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, the same 29-year-old Epping man from the previous incident, was assessed at the scene and taken back to a police station where he returned an evidentiary breath test 0.134," Victoria Police said.

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"Police discovered his infringement notices and paperwork regarding his licence suspension inside the crashed vehicle."

He was charged with exceeding the prescribed concentration of alcohol and driving whilst suspended.

The man has been bailed and is due to face Ballarat Magistrates Court in November

"Whilst this incident is an isolated incident it does highlight the fact that some people still aren't getting the message or are so self-absorbed, they don't care about other road users," Ballarat police senior sergeant Paul Maslunka said.

"Realistically we deal with less than one per cent of road users doing the wrong thing throughout the year but it's that group that are consistently involved in causing road trauma.

"I'd like to acknowledge the other 99% out there who are doing the right thing and encourage everyone to do their part to keep the roads safe this long weekend."



When clocks change for daylight saving

Daylight saving is set to kick in on Monday next weekend for most parts of Australia, while some states will also mark a long weekend.

Clocks will jump forward by an hour in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT and South Australia on October 1.

The change means longer, lighter days as summer draws nearer, and potentially a few days of confusion if you forget to change the clock on your microwave in time.

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Sunrise at Cape Byron Lighthouse. Booking.com has today released its latest search data trends for winter 2023*, revealing Sydney as the top destination this winter, up two places from last year, taking over from Melbourne.

When is daylight saving?

Clocks will jump forward by an hour on Sunday, October 1 in states and territories which follow daylight savings, meaning they will technically lose an hour that day.

Are we gaining or losing an hour?

States and territories which follow daylight saving will lose an hour on Sunday, October 1.

But that hour will be regained when clocks go back an hour on April 7, 2024, as daylight saving comes to an end.

Do we put the clocks forward or backwards?

In October, the clock goes forward in states which follow daylight saving.

It might mean an hour less sleep that Sunday morning, but it does mean the evenings will become longer and lighter as the summer comes on.

Most clocks linked to technology, such as phones, computers and TVs, will automatically jump from 2am to 3am on October 1.

Analogue clocks, watches, car radio displays, and microwave and oven clocks will most likely need to be adjusted manually.

READ MORE: Psychologist calls for complete end to daylight saving

People watch the sunrise at Mackenzie's Point, Bondi.

When does daylight saving end?

Daylight saving will last until Sunday, April 7, 2024, when the clocks will go back one hour.

Once daylight saving ends, all the eastern states will be aligned in time again, with the only time difference due to east-west longitude.

Which states and territories are affected by daylight saving?

New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and Norfolk Island observe daylight saving.

Queensland, the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Christmas Island or the Cocos (Keeling) Islands don't follow daylight saving, so their time does not change throughout the year.

What will the time difference be between states and territories?

From October until April, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania will all be in the same Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) zone.

Queensland will stay on Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) and will be one hour earlier than the eastern daylight saving states.

South Australia will follow Australian Central Daylight Time (ACDT) and will be half an hour behind the eastern daylight saving states.

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The Northern Territory will stay on Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) and will be an hour and a half behind eastern daylight saving states.

Western Australia will stay on Australian Western Standard Time (AWST) and will be three hours behind eastern daylight saving states.

Does Queensland use daylight saving?

No, but the prospect of daylight saving has been the subject of lively debate in the Sunshine State for decades.

Every year as October rolls around, most Brisbane and Gold Coast residents lament being left out.

But Queensland is huge, and as is the case with many things, the south-east corner has a different opinion to the rest of the state.

The state's sweltering north and west are not yearning for more hours in the afternoon sun – quite the opposite.

Queensland last trialled daylight saving from 1989 to 1992.

After the trial, Queenslanders were asked to vote in a referendum with the question: "Are you in favour of daylight saving?"

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A 54.5 per cent "no" vote was returned.

Unsurprisingly, the "no" vote was strongest in the north and west while the south-east returned a strong "yes" vote.

Is the US ending daylight saving?

Earlier this year, bills were introduced in the US Congress which proposed an end to daylight saving time – by making it permanent.

Since then, there has been no significant action on either proposal to make daylight saving time effective year-round.

As it stands, daylight saving time in the US will end on November 5, 2023.

Which country started daylight saving time?

Daylight saving was first adopted in 1908 in Thunder Bay, Canada, as a way to make better use of daylight.

Germany then started starting changing clocks to conserve daylight and reduce the use of fuel in 1916 during World War I.

There has been debate in Queensland about introducing the measures, which happen in 70 countries worldwide, but it is currently excluded.

The states and territories getting a public holiday in October

The October long weekend is a welcome public holiday for many people around Australia – but not everyone gets to enjoy it.

While some states and territories have Labour Day off in the coming weeks, others have a different public holiday, and a couple miss out on a day off altogether.

Here's who gets a public holiday in October, and which states and territories don't.

READ MORE: When clocks change for daylight saving

People enjoy the sunshine on the Labour Day long weekend public holiday at Bronte Beach, Sydney, Monday October 3, 2022.

Will I get a public holiday in October?

If you live in New South Wales, Queensland, the ACT or South Australia, you get to enjoy a public holiday today: Monday, October 2.

NSW, the ACT and SA all mark Labour Day today, while Queenslanders have the day off for the King's Birthday.

If you live in any other part of Australia – Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory – you're out of luck, as there's no October public holiday in your state or territory.

However, some jurisdictions do have public holidays around the same time.

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Fans line up at the MCC members entrance before the 2022 AFL Grand Final match between the Geelong Cats and the Sydney Swans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 24, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

While Victoria doesn't have a public holiday in October, it still has a long weekend on the first weekend of the month, thanks to the AFL grand final day public holiday on Friday, September 29.

It also has Melbourne Cup Day as a public holiday on the first Tuesday of November.

Western Australia is the other state with a public holiday in late September.

It celebrates the King's Birthday on Monday, September 25 – although some regional areas hold the public holiday on a different date.

Tasmania misses out on public holidays in September and October, but parts of the state enjoy a day off for Recreation Day on November 6.

Northern Territory residents have the shortest straw here – there's no public holiday in the NT from now until Christmas Eve.

Couple given parking fine for overstaying by 12 minutes as mum gave birth

A Sydney couple who received a parking ticket while in labour were initially told they needed to pay their fine by Revenue NSW.

Greg Mullins received a $120 parking fine for overstaying his time by 12 minutes while his partner Carly Earl was in the delivery room giving birth to their new baby girl Hazel.

"If I wasn't still technically in labour, I may have just given birth (at the time of receiving the fine)," Carly told 9News.

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A Sydney couple who received a parking ticket while in labour were told they needed to pay their fine by RevenueNSW. Greg Earl

"There were a few moments that were a bit scary, her heart rate dropped, there are certain elements of the labour that are unpredictable."

With Hazel home safe and sound, the surprise ticket arrived in the mail a few weeks later.

"We just figured it was laughable, we thought there was absolutely no way that a contested fine around someone going through labour was ever going to be rejected," Carly said.

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A Sydney couple who received a parking ticket while in labour were told they needed to pay their fine by RevenueNSW.A Sydney couple who received a parking ticket while in labour were told they needed to pay their fine by RevenueNSW. Carly Earl

But Revenue NSW did initially reject the application for the fine to be waived.

"We acknowledge your comments that your wife had been in labour and you had been unable to leave to pay for additional parking, however we are unable to cancel the fine," Revenue NSW told the Marrickville couple in a letter.

Carly said there was "no person on the face of the planet" who could go and move their car in that situation.

Revenue NSW has since tried to call Greg and Carly, leaving an apology on their voicemail.

It has now revoked the fine after 9News brought this story to their attention.

Woolies, ANZ customers left scrambling after simultaneous software outages

A major IT issue has left ANZ customers unable to access their accounts, just hours after another outage left some Woolworths stores unable to process eftpos transactions.

Woolworths shops in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT were forced to accept cash only this morning after eftpos systems were affected.

Stores in Sydney's south and west, as well as Woolworths in Mawson in the ACT, Pakenham in Melbourne, and Stafford in Brisbane all experienced an IT issue that interfered with the eftpos system. 

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Between 10 and 20 stores were affected by the outage. 

"We'd like to thank customers for their patience with an IT outage affecting eftpos in a small number of stores," a spokesperson for the supermarket told 9news.com.au.

"Stores remained open with cash still being able to be used.

"The cause has been identified and eftpos is being restored.

"Again we thank everyone for bearing with us this morning."

Stores resorted to handwritten signs explaining the situation.

"We temporarily have no eftpos due to no internet," one sign read.

"Cash only, sorry for the inconvenience."

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Just hours later, ANZ bank experienced a software issue that impacted thousands of customers.

The issue affected the ANZ banking app, internet banking, credit and debit card transactions, ATMs, contact centres and branch services.

More than 7000 customers reported issues using the ANZ website and app, according to outage tracking website Down Detector.

"ANZ experienced a software issue which impacted a number of our core systems from 1.37pm AEST today," the bank confirmed in a statement to 9News.

"By 5pm AEST, most systems were back online, including Contact Centres, Internet Banking, ATMs and the ANZ app.

"However we are still experiencing some instability across our Visa Credit Card transaction services.

"We recommend customers use debit card or cash wherever accepted while our teams are continuing to work to resolve.

"We apologise for any disruption or inconvenience caused to our customers.

Man accused of attacking Perth MP's sister with axe faces court

A man accused of attacking an MP's sister at a medical centre has faced a Perth court.

Doctor Anna Chaney, who is the sister of Member for Curtin Kate Chaney, was allegedly attacked by Christopher Bernard Healey at View Street Medical in North Perth just before 9am yesterday.

It's alleged members of the public had to intervene to stop the attack.

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The man accused of an axe attack on North Perth doctor Anna Chaney has appeared in court.

Chaney was assisted by patients and staff inside the clinic before being transported to Royal Perth Hospital with serious injuries.

Healey didn't apply for bail and is back in court at the end of October.

Chaney is now in a stable condition.

Sydney gay hate killer from the 1980s a 'soulless monster'

A gay-hate killer described as a "soulless monster" has shown no remorse for the death of Raymond Keam, more than three decades after the crime.

Stanley Bruce Early, 77, was convicted of murder by a jury in June for the fatal Sydney bashing of the 43-year-old married man, who he perceived to be gay.

The attack happened at Randwick's Alison Park on a night in 1987.

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Raymond Keam was fatally bashed in 1987 in a Sydney park known as a "gay beat".

On Friday, a person – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – had a statement read in court, accusing Early of only feeling sorry for himself and failing to acknowledge his actions.

"Early is a troubled person who not only murdered (Keam) and got away with it for many years but he also destroyed the lives of many other gay men for no reason," Early's NSW Supreme Court sentence hearing was told.

"The soulless monster that murdered him was still out there living his life while (Keam) was buried in the ground.

"Because of you and your desire to 'clean up' Alison Park, you stripped the world of a loving father, partner, friend and mentor."

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The person hoped Early would live the rest of his life "miserable and broken" in a jail cell thinking about what he had done.

"Will you feel remorse one day? I don't know and to be honest, I don't care anymore," their statement said.

"I choose not to forgive you but to forget you and never think of you again as it's what you deserve."

During the hearing, Justice Dina Yehia indicated she would find that Early attacked Keam due to a hatred or prejudice against homosexuals and this was an aggravating factor in her sentencing.

Public defender Troy Anderson SC said Early targeted his intended victim through a desire to inflict grievous bodily harm but did not intend to kill.

He said it was unclear whether Early himself or others in his criminal group delivered the fatal blow.

Evidence during the trial showed Early was the ringleader of a gang who beat up men they perceived to be homosexual at Alison Park, which was known as a gay beat.

"It seems that the modus operandi of this gang was to obviously assault their victims but this is an instance where it went beyond what normally occurred," Anderson said on Friday.

Yehia heard that Early had no criminal history after 1991 and that he would be sentenced based on jail terms handed down at the time of the hate crime.

"The sentences that were imposed for murder in the late '80s and early '90s were lower than the sentencing practices currently," she said.

The 77-year-old is housed in Long Bay Prison and had been admitted to the psychiatric ward for three to four months while there, the court was told.

Anderson said his client recognised that he was likely to die in jail due to his age.

Early had been diagnosed with depression and was the victim of sexual assault himself earlier in life, his barrister said.

"He's a person who's had some difficulty with his family over the years and seems to have lived a fairly isolated and sad life."

Crown prosecutor Ken McKay SC rejected defence submissions that Early would have good prospects of rehabilitation, saying the court should be "guarded" about this.

Yehia will hand down her sentence on October 20.

Mark Zuckerberg's vision for future revealed in Metaverse interview

The man who created Facebook as a way to share text updates with friends has taken part in a demonstration of the technology being developed by parent company Meta which could change the way people communicate remotely in the future.

‌While today we have video calls, the immersive future of the Metaverse has until now been the home of cartoon versions of ourselves, making a virtual meeting or catch-up with family as much of a fun thing than anything even close to realistic.

‌Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sat down for an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman which has been published as a video showing the real situation (two men sitting in conference rooms, probably in different cities in the US), a computer model of each of them and a photorealistic avatar which they each are seeing while wearing the Meta Quest Pro headset.

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‌Zuckerberg told Fridman that through tests of these remote interactions, Meta "got some feedback that people have a hard time with the fact that the avatars are so expressive and don't feel as realistic in that environment. So I think something like this could make a very big difference for those remote meetings."

‌The "this" he refers to is the process and situation Fridman and Zuckerberg were experiencing.

‌To make this happen, both men had to undergo detailed computer scanning at a facility in Pittsburgh.

Data from that is then used by the Meta Quest headsets, along with sensors and cameras inside and outside the headset to take what you are expressing with your mouth, eyes and eyebrows and represent it to the person or people at the other end of the Metaverse or conference call experience as a photorealistic version of you.

‌Within the podcast, Fridman was able to publish very clear side-by-side representations of Zuckerberg and himself wearing the headset, the compute model of them, and the photorealistic version being seen by the other person.

‌It is quite possibly the most advanced demonstration of the future of remote connection and the Metaverse.

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‌Following some big announcements from Meta yesterday around Artificial Intelligence and new smart glasses and mixed reality headsets, this demonstration sets Meta up as a genuine leader in Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR).

They are regarded as critical areas, with tech giant Apple setting up to enter the space early next year with their Vision Pro headset.

‌The future, according to Zuckerberg, could see us doing this all ourselves using the technology we hold in our hands.

"The goal, and we have a project that's working on this already, is just to do a very quick scan with your cell phone where you just take your phone, kind of wave it in front of your face for a couple of minutes, say a few sentences, make a bunch of expressions, but overall, have the whole process just be two to three minutes and then produce something that's of the quality of what we have right now."

Police officer shot at in Melbourne's south-east

Police are hunting for a gunman after an officer was shot at in Victoria.

A senior constable's police car was rammed by another vehicle on Springvale Road in Wheelers Hill, south-east of Melbourne, before a single shot was fired in his direction at 3.50am.

The gunman fled the scene and the officer was not injured.

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Detectives used metal detectors to comb through the scene in an attempt to find the bullet, hoping it would lead them to the offender.

"Obviously, that's a horrific attack on law enforcement," Commissioner Shane Patton said

"It's just a blatant disregard for the law and to think they can do that and if they think they're getting away with it, they're kidding themselves."

Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.