An independent panel says reform is essential.

The Race Relations Commissioner’s intended resignation was earlier thrown into doubt.

Red-light cameras are also expected to significantly help ease traffic congestion.

Footage of what appears to be a white whale swimming of the coast of Queensland could be famous white humpback Migaloo whale experts say – or it could be another rare white whale.

The whale was heading north when it was spotted from the air near the Whitsundays.

The short video was sent to the White Whale Research Centre, which compiles data on Migaloo.

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Expert Vanessa Pirotta from the Marine Predator Research Group at Macquarie University, said while it the footage "promising" she's uncertain if it is Migaloo.

"It does not provide us with the amount of information we would require to identify Migaloo," Pirotta, told 9News.com.au.

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"It does show what appears to be a white whale swimming, which is positive.

"It could be him or possibly another white-ish whale as part of this east Australian humpback whale population.

"There was another white whale sighting a few days before but we were unable to confirm this through the images provided. White humpback whales are not common."

https://twitter.com/VanessaPirotta/status/1670598340571193345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Confirmed sightings of Migaloo haven't been made since 2020 leading to experts to fearing he had died.

However a whale carcass that washed up on a beach last year was confirmed not to be Migaloo.

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Migaloo travels from the NSW South coast as far north as Port Douglas in Queensland.

Like all migrating humpbacks, he usually swims north past Cape Byron between mid June and early July reaching Cairns and Port Douglas between mid July and mid August.

He makes the return journey passing Byron Bay in late September and Sydney from late September to early October.

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He is identified by scarring on his back and tail.

Last year it was speculated another white whale could be Migaloo's offspring.

Migaloo is believed to have been born in 1986.

He's suspected to be an albino whale, but as scientists don't know for sure he's currently defined as a hyper-pigmented humpback.

READ MORE: What we know about the missing OceanGate sub

There are up to 17,000 humpbacks on Australia's east coast, experts think.

There are special regulations to protect Migaloo.

Boats including jet skis are not allowed to get closer than 500m rather than the usual 100m, 300m if there is a calf, and planes can't fly lower than 2000ft near him.

Delfina Guiwan's heart was pounding as she snuck back to her village, now abandoned and eerily quiet, in the fertile foothills of gently erupting Mayon volcano in the northeastern Philippines.

When patrolling police spotted her, they warned that the village is off-limits because of the danger of a violent eruption at any time. Guiwan, 47, said she knew the risks but begged to stay a few minutes more to get her daughter's school uniform from their shack and feed her pigs.

"I'm scared. We saw lava flowing down one night and a boulder rolled down, sounding like thunder," Guiwan told The Associated Press. "I'm praying this eruption won't get worse because our livelihood is here and it's difficult to stay in the evacuation camp with few toilets for so many, and the heat. Children are getting sick there."

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Her village, Calbayog, lies in Mayon's northeastern foothills and is well within the 6-kilometer radius from the volcano's crater that officials have long designated a permanent danger zone, demarcated by concrete warning signs. Entry is prohibited, but thousands of poor villagers have flouted the restrictions and made it their home for generations. Lucrative businesses such as sand and gravel quarrying and sightseeing tours have also thrived openly despite the ban and the mountain's frequent eruptions — now 53 times on record since 1616.

The 2462-metre volcano is one of the Philippines' top tourism draws because of its near-perfect cone shape. But it's also the most active of the country's 24 volcanoes and could erupt violently at any time.

That includes pyroclastic flows, which are superheated gas and volcanic debris that suddenly race down slopes at great speed and incinerate everything in their path. Another threat is lahar, a muddy stream of water, volcanic ash and rocks that can move as fast as cars and engulf areas up to several kilometres (miles) away.

A terrifying symbol of Mayon's deadly fury is the belfry of a 16th-century Franciscan stone church which protrudes from the ground. It's all that's left of a baroque church that was buried by lahar along with the town of Cagsawa in an 1814 eruption which killed about 1,200 people, including many who sought refuge in the church, about 13 kilometres from the volcano.

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The thousands of villagers who live within Mayon's danger zone reflect the plight of many impoverished Filipinos who are forced to live in dangerous places across the archipelago — near active volcanoes like Mayon, on landslide-prone mountainsides, along vulnerable coastlines, atop earthquake fault lines, and in low-lying villages often engulfed by flash floods, said Richard Gordon, the longtime chairman of the Philippine Red Cross and a former senator.

Each year, about 20 typhoons and storms lash the Philippines, which also lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of fault lines along the Pacific Ocean basin often hit by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

"It's really a problem of poverty," Gordon said, adding that the government should prepare a comprehensive plan to provide poor villagers with safe housing and sustainable livelihoods that would finally allow them to abandon high-risk settlements.

"They go there because they have no choice," Gordon said in a telephone interview.

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Most residents were evacuated from Guiwan's village, Calbayog, last week when Mayon started to gently expel lava after days of unrest. Only the chirps of birds and crickets, the crowing of roosters and rustling of coconut trees in the cool breeze could be heard in the village, about 4 to 5 kilometres from the volcano.

AP journalists were allowed by police to briefly join a house-to-house patrol of a Calbayog neighbourhood and saw a few defiant residents still in their houses. One villager insisted to police that he had to remain because the 40 roosters he had bred for cockfights might be stolen if he left. Dance music or radio news broadcasts could be heard at two houses, and at least three others had laundry hanging on clotheslines in the sun.

At Mi-isi, another village well inside the permanent danger zone in Mayon's southeastern foothills, longtime resident Miniong Asilo laughed off warnings from authorities and volcano scientists.

"I'm not scared, but outsiders will probably have a heart attack if they live here," the 54-year-old father of nine said, adding that he has lost count of the times he has witnessed Mayon's fury.

Asilo and his family have survived for decades off the proceeds from his vegetable farm, piggery, coconut grove and on-and-off work as caretaker of a nearby gravel and sand quarry.

"I was born here. I have not seen the fire and lava reach this village," Asilo said.

As he spoke, Mayon rumbled faintly and lava flowed from its swollen crater a kilometre (more than half a mile) down a gulley near the village, in what scientists have described as a "very gentle" eruption so far.

But the government isn't taking any chances.

Since the volcano began expelling lava a week ago, soldiers, police and local officials have moved more than 20,000 villagers from the danger zone in forced evacuations to 28 temporary shelters, mostly schools, according to the government's disaster-response agency.

With most classrooms now crammed with impoverished evacuees and their belongings, teachers have been forced to hold classes in school corridors, in chapels and under trees, Albay provincial education official Alvin Cruz said.

The crisis is an additional challenge for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took office in June last year and inherited an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic, which deepened poverty, unemployment, hunger and the country's debt. He flew to Albay on Wednesday to hand out food packs and reassure the evacuees of government help, but warned that Mayon's gentle eruption may drag on for months, keeping them away from their homes.

The number of displaced villagers could more than double if Mayon's eruption turns violent and life-threatening, which government volcanologists say is still possible within days or weeks. That could prompt an expansion of the danger zone and the forced evacuation of many more residents.

Thousands of villagers have been given homes away from Mayon in the past, but many returned to its fertile slopes because of inadequate livelihood options in government-established relocation sites, said Eddie Nunez, a resident of Bonga village, about 8 kilometres from Mayon's crater.

Nunez, 59, lost an uncle and cousin when they were hit by volcanic ash, steam and boulders in a sudden 1993 explosion while farming on Mayon's lower slopes. Dozens of other farmers were also killed, he said.

The lack of jobs and opportunities elsewhere forces people to continue risking their lives farming vegetables and scrounging for other sources of income at the foot of the volcano, Nunez said, comparing the choice to Russian roulette.

"You either get lucky or you get hit," he said.

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McDonald's is looking into the behaviour of its employees after they were allegedly assaulted by a customer, which resulted in a food fight at a Sydney CBD store.

Video of the incident, which has circulated widely on social media, shows a worker throwing a drink at an agitated customer who retaliates by throwing food back at the workers in Wynyard at 1am on Thursday.

NSW Police said they were called to the McDonald's after reports of a "malicious damage incident".

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"Officers attached to Sydney City Police Area Command were told an employee of the restaurant, a 23-year-old man, had been assaulted," NSW Police said in a statement.

Police arrested a 17-year-old and 15-year-old on George Street a short time later.

"Both teenagers were taken to Day Street Police Station where they were dealt with (under) the Young Offenders Act," police said.

McDonald's Australia said the health and safety of its people and customers was its top priority.

"What is not shown in the video is the customer earlier entering the restaurant and going behind the counter to disrupt the kitchen and threaten crew," McDonald's Australia said in a statement.

"The behaviour of our employees in this video is not in accordance with our policies and we are looking into this with the restaurant.

"Anti-social behaviour is not tolerated in our restaurants and we expect our people to be treated with respect at all times.

"We will always do our best for our customers, but we won't accept abuse, intimidation, threats or violence towards our employees."

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A Pentecostal church founder felt guilty about massaging a teenager at his home, which he later realised was inappropriate, but denies the indecent assault a court has found him guilty of.

Inspire Church founder John McMartin, 68, was convicted of indecent assault in March over an incident at his southwestern Sydney home involving a then-19-year-old woman in January 2013.

He was sentenced to community service on an intensive corrections order.

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Inspire was a "tactile" church, McMartin's barrister Philip Strickland SC told the NSW District Court on Tuesday, appealing the conviction.

"Hugs and kisses were common and people didn't feel uncomfortable," he said.

Too much emphasis was placed on McMartin's demeanour when he appeared in court and the magistrate made findings based on it that were irrational or denied him procedural fairness, Strickland said.

The magistrate also overlooked McMartin's consistent denial of having squeezed the woman's breast or rubbed his hand on her genitals while massaging her.

He was unsurprised she later made a complaint, acknowledging the massage was inappropriate and had made him feel guilty, Strickland said.

However, the magistrate rejected his evidence, finding McMartin sought to minimise his conduct while giving evidence, which Strickland said was an "entirely inappropriate" finding.

"He doesn't minimise his conduct, he admits it," Strickland said.

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It was inappropriate for McMartin to massage a teenage woman alone at his home, and he later acknowledged that, while continuing to deny the offending conduct.

"The denial by (McMartin) is not implausible and no objective factors contradict it.

"Of course the complainant contradicts it, but no objective features do," Strickland said.

Prosecution lawyer Louise Thompson said McMartin's evidence was at odds with itself.

He gave evidence he wanted to be physically close to the complainant and took advantage of the opportunity for the massage, which he would not have given in the workplace or in front of his wife, in the context of the young woman being alone in his house while he was intoxicated.

"And he's saying there's nothing sexual about it," Thompson said.

McMartin was also not an impressive witness, "simply guessing" some of his answers and arguing with prosecutors, supporting the magistrate's finding his evidence was "underwhelming," she said.

"They're factors that, to me, jumped off the page," Thompson said.

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It was only a peripheral issue that McMartin had been argumentative at times with prosecution lawyers and talked over his own counsel, Strickland said.

"Does that justify a finding that he's not to be believed on the central issue?" Strickland said.

He also questioned the veracity of multiple statements the woman had made describing the assault.

Contemporaneous handwritten notes contained more detail than later sworn statements to police, and Strickland suggested family members "played a material role" in preparing some statements.

Thompson said the woman had accepted the inconsistencies in her past statements, given over several years, and explained she had tried to repress details on the indecent assault during that time.

Judge Andrew Scotting is expected to deliver a judgment on McMartin's appeal on Friday.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

It might seem like everyone you know right now is galivanting around Europe, sipping on Aperol Spritz' while devouring delectable pastries. According to one study though, Europe isn't the only place Aussies are keen on travelling to this year.

A former chief executive of a peak industry body is back in court for allegedly breaching a restraining order against a reality TV star, just days after being cleared of stalking her.

Benjamin Reeves has pleaded not guilty to knowingly breaching an apprehended violence order taken out against him by Simone Holtznagel, 29, at Sydney's Circular Quay on Wednesday evening.

His lawyer Osman Samin told AAP the 59-year-old had been among tens of thousands of visitors taking in Vivid festivities when the alleged interaction with Holtznagel occurred.

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Reeves was on his way to catch a ferry to his home at McMahons Point when he was observed by the former Playboy model, Samin said on Tuesday.

Holtznagel rose to fame on season seven of Australia's Next Top Model.

She has also modelled for Bras N Things and Guess, and has appeared on a number of reality TV programs including SAS Australia and I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!

Her credibility was called into question by a NSW Local Court judge on Thursday as he threw out the AVO and stalking charges she brought against Reeves.

The judge noting that CCTV footage played in court contradicted the claims the former chief executive of the Australian Association of Graduate Employers chief executive had stalked Holtznagel in a Bondi pub, holding eye contact with her for 40 seconds and popping up behind her within centimetres of her face.

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"What one sees is totally different to what was asserted," Magistrate Glenn Bartley said.

"The complainant as a source is demonstrably unreliable."

The judge found the prosecution had no real prospects of success and should not have gone ahead.

He ordered the prosecutor to pay Reeves $36,000 in legal costs.

In a stunning turn of events, Reeves was arrested shortly after court, even though the AVO was no longer in place.

No new orders have been taken out against him.

"The chronology in this matter is incredible," Samin told AAP.

"Last Thursday, Reeves walked out of the Downing Centre Local Court a vindicated man.

READ MORE: CCTV released in bid to find Sydney student's shooter

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"With respect, it is astonishing that he is being prosecuted again."

Reeves is suing the Daily Mail for defamation over an article he claims falsely reported he was guilty of stalking Holtznagel and a separate, unnamed woman, leading to him losing his job as CEO of the AAGE.

The article was shared around the 375 members of the AAGE, which included large corporations and state and federal governments, preventing him from finding a job at these entities, he said in a statement of claim filed with the Federal Court.

He is seeking aggravated damages from Daily Mail Australia, any financial losses caused by his termination as chief executive, and his legal costs.

Reeves failed in suing NSW Police for malicious prosecution and unlawful arrest over a separate stalking charge, which was also thrown out, but successfully argued he was falsely imprisoned as his detention was unreasonably protracted.

He remains on bail until his next court appearance on August 8.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) was in two minds over whether to raise interest rates this month, with minutes from the board's June meeting revealing the bank considered the arguments for and against a hike were "finely balanced".

The board weighed up two options in the meeting: leaving rates on hold or pushing them up by 25 basis points to 4.1 per cent.

They ended up opting for the latter, concluding there was a higher risk of inflation rising than was the case in May.

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"Members recognised the strength of both sets of arguments, concluding that the arguments were finely balanced," the RBA minutes read.

"They judged, though, that the case to raise the cash rate at this meeting was the stronger one.

"The board affirmed that its priority is to return inflation to target within a reasonable timeframe.

"The recent data suggested that inflation risks had shifted somewhat to the upside.

"Given this shift and the already drawn-out return of inflation to target, the board judged that a further increase in interest rates was warranted.

"This increase would provide greater confidence that inflation would return to target over the period ahead."

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The bank pointed the finger – at least in part – at large corporations which are using inflation as an excuse to further increase their prices.

"Some firms were indexing their prices, either implicitly or directly, to past inflation," the bank said.

"These developments created an increased risk that high inflation would be persistent, which would make it more difficult to keep the economy on the narrow path."

Despite settling on the rise, a case was made for pausing rates to avoid throttling the economy more than intended, acknowledging the bleak conditions many households find themselves in at the moment.

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"The case for holding the cash rate unchanged … rested on the slowing in the economy and the possibility that the significant increases in interest rates to date would lead to the economy slowing more sharply than expected," the minutes state.

"Members noted that consumption growth was already quite weak, especially in per capita terms.

"Real disposable incomes were falling, especially for home loan borrowers, and many renters were experiencing difficult financial conditions."

The reasoning for the increase suggests the bank will consider a rates pause in June, however, it is clear the board members will prioritise getting inflation to 2-3 per cent above all else.

"Members acknowledged the considerable uncertainty regarding the outlook for household spending and the financial stresses facing some households," it said.

"Given this, they agreed to continue to monitor trends in household spending closely and consider the implications for the inflation outlook, as well as developments in the global economy and the domestic labour market.

"Members reaffirmed their determination to return inflation to target and their willingness to do what is necessary to achieve that."

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