An investigation is underway after a police car was rammed and shots were fired in Melbourne's south-east this morning.

Police officers came across a white van driving in a carpark at the intersection of Heatherton Road and James Street in Dandenong North at around 7.20am today.

The van rammed the unmarked police car twice before an officer got out of the car and fired two shots at the van as it drove away on Heatherton Road.

READ MORE: Revealed: How much power bills will be increasing by in your state

It is unknown if the shots hit the van.

Police are investigating the incident with oversight by the Professional Standards Command.

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‘I just hope the police are able to find some answers now for the family.’

A man found guilty of raping a sleeping woman has had his sentence reduced by one year.

Electricity prices in Australia are now among the highest in the world, with our bills eclipsing averages in the US and still showing no signs of slowing.

With some of nation's biggest suppliers – AGL, Origin and Energy Australia – confirming expected increases from July 1, customers can expect a costly winter.

For customers in New South Wales, AGL said households on variable rates can expect increases starting at 29.7 per cent ($540 per year).

READ MORE: Hundreds of thousands to be hit by big electricity bill increase

In Victoria, households can expect rises of 25.5 per cent ($341 per year), in Queensland prices will be hiked by 26.4 per cent ($447), while in South Australia, rates will rise by 29.8 per cent ($565).

For those with Origin, the provider announced increases of 21 per cent in NSW and Queensland, 24 per cent in South Australia and 25 per cent in Victoria.

Energy Australia said NSW customers can expect a 20.5 per cent increase – equating to around $338 per year.

An increase of 23.6 per cent is expected in Victoria (about $324 per year), in South Australia, residents will see a 23.2 per cent increase ($453), and in Queensland hikes of roughly 20.3 per cent are forecast ($363).

'Renewables are key' 

While the price jump spells bad news for the average household, Labor Party president and former treasurer Wayne Swan said there is some hope on the horizon for cash-strapped Aussies.

"Renewable energy is the key, it's far cheaper than traditional fossil fuels," Swan said on Today.

"If the Coalition had left in place the carbon price we put in place in 2013, power prices in this country would be much cheaper.

"We don't have enough renewables in the system."

Swan said another driving factor in the soaring prices is our energy infrastructure - "the poles and wires" – being one of the largest in the world, meaning "we're dependent upon high-cost fossil fuels" spread out over "a huge distribution system."

"When the world events occur, that we have experienced, that pushes prices up," he said.

"That really hits consumers.

"Just goes to show we've got to get on with getting those renewables in place and you can't do it overnight."

READ MORE: Electricity prices set to soar by 20 per cent in some states

'Not a decision taken lightly' 

"We understand that higher energy prices will put pressure on households and businesses amidst the broader cost of living pressures Australians are facing at the moment," an AGL spokesperson told 9news.com.au.

"Our decision to increase prices for our market contract customers is based on a detailed consideration of a range of factors including wholesale prices, network charges, retail operating costs, customer affordability and the value we offer to our customers."

Jon Briskin, head of retail at Origin, told 9news.com.au that "increasing prices is never a decision we take lightly".

"Especially at a time many people are struggling with higher cost of living," he said.

"We are protecting existing customers in our Power On hardship program by shielding them from these price changes so that they won't be impacted.

"We'll spend up to $45 million over the next 12 months to provide support to customers in hardship, which is in addition to the $30m in payment support we have provided over the past year."

Some 600,000 Aussies affected 

Last month, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) confirmed electricity prices will increase between 20 and 25 per cent from July 1 for about 600,000 customers.

The AER's decision will particularly impact customers in NSW, south-east Queensland and South Australia who are on the default market offer (DMO) over the coming financial year.

AER chair Clare Savage said the regulator had to balance the cost-of-living pressures customers faced with the need for retailers to recover reasonable costs.

"We know households and small businesses continue to face cost-of-living pressures on many fronts, and that's why it's important the DMO provides a safety net for those who might not have shopped around for a better power deal," Savage said.

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Worldwide temperatures briefly exceeded a key warming threshold earlier this month, a hint of heat and its harms to come, scientists worry.

The mercury has since dipped again, but experts say the short surge marked a new global heat record for June and indicates more extremes ahead as the planet enters an El Niño phase that could last years.

Researchers at the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service said Thursday that the start of June saw global surface air temperatures rise 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels for the first time. That is the threshold governments said they would try to stay within at a 2015 summit in Paris.

READ MORE: Sailor's startling encounter as orcas ram boat

"Just because we've temporarily gone over 1.5 degrees doesn't mean we've breached the Paris Agreement limit," cautioned Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus program.

For that to happen the globe needs to exceed that threshold for a much longer time period, such as a couple of decades instead of a couple of weeks.

Still, the 11 days spent at the 1.5-degree threshold shows how important it is for scientists to keep a close watch on the planet's health, not least because previous spikes above 1.5 have all happened during winter or spring in the northern hemisphere, she said.

"It's really critical to monitor the situation, to understand what implications this has for the summer to come."

READ MORE: Dutton says another allegation raised against Senator David Van

"As a climate scientist I feel like I am watching a global train wreck in slow motion. It's quite frustrating," the University of Victoria's Andrew Weaver, who wasn't part of the measurements, said.

That's because a three-year La Niña phase — which tends to dampen the effects of global warming — has given way to the opposite, an El Niño period, which could add another half-degree or more to average temperatures.

"The expectation is that 2024 will be even warmer than 2023 as this El Niño continues to develop," Burgess said.

"We know as well the warmer the global climate is, the more likely we are to have extreme events and the more severe those extreme events may be.

"So there's a direct correlation between the degree of global warming and the frequency and intensity of extreme events."

READ MORE: Man killed in ute crash during Sydney police chase

Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research said the Copernicus data "are a reminder of how close we are to the 1.5-degree global warming limit, beyond which there are major risks for humanity in terms of climate instability and ecosystem system losses."

Rob Jackson, a Stanford University climate scientist who like Rahmstorf wasn't involved in collecting the Copernicus data, said its significance is still unclear.

"But sometime in the next few years we will shatter global temperature records," he said.

"It's the coming El Niño, yes. But it isn't just El Niño. We've loaded the climate system.

"No one should be surprised when we set extended global records. 1.5 degrees is coming fast; it may already be here."

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Opposition leader Peter Dutton has called on Senator David Van to resign from parliament after expelling him from the Liberal party rooms due to accusations from Senator Lidia Thorpe and former Liberal Senator Amanda Stoker.

Dutton did not identify the third accuser or go into detail about the extra allegation on Today, but said the information had come to him before he made the decision to expel Van from the Liberal party room.

Van has denied all the allegations and denied any wrongdoing.

READ MORE: Police raid depots of bus company linked to Hunter Valley crash

"I raised another allegation with Senator Van but I'm not going to comment in relation to those matters otherwise," he said.

"I made a decision yesterday based on all of the information that was available to me."

He said he did not regret his decision, but confirmed that Van had denied wrongdoing.

Later, on 2GB, Dutton told host Ray Hadley the third accusation was "of a similar nature" to the inappropriate touching alleged by Stoker.

He said he believed Van should step down from parliament.

"I think it's in everyone's best interests that he resign from the parliament and I hope he's able to do that sooner rather than later and seek the help that he needs," he said.

He said Van's status as a member of the Liberal Party would remain a matter for the party, but confirmed he had spoken to Victorian colleagues about the issue.

Van issued a statement this morning.

"I am utterly shattered by the events of the past days and stunned that my good reputation can be so wantonly savaged without due process or accountability," he said.

"I will fully cooperate with whatever process Mr Dutton proposes to determine these matters as quickly and fairly as possible.

"While I understand the public interest is high, I will not be making any more public statements on the allegations until a proper examination of these claims is concluded."

Stoker yesterday accused David Van of inappropriately touching her at a social function in 2020.

Stoker, a former assistant minister for women who is no longer in parliament, released a statement tonight, hours after Van was removed from the Liberal party room

Stoker said Van had apologised for his actions. Late on Thursday, Van said he had "no recollection" of the initial incident.

READ MORE: Van says decision to remove him from Liberal party room isn't fair

"In November 2020, Senator Van inappropriately touched me at an informal social gathering in a parliamentary office," Stoker said.

"He did so by squeezing my bottom twice. By its nature and by its repetition, it was not accidental.

"That action was not appropriate. It was unprofessional and uninvited.

"I raised the matter with Senator Van at a meeting the following day. I described the action, told him it was unacceptable, and that it was not to be repeated. He apologised and said he would never do it again.

"I accepted his apology and his undertaking. Contemporaneous notes of the meeting were taken and it never happened again."

Van said last night that he had responded to Stoker's complaint at the time with a "very friendly" chat.

"I can confirm I had a very friendly and open discussion with my colleague some years ago about this and made it clear that I had no recollection of any such event, and can confirm it is not something I would ever do," he told The Sydney Morning Herald.

Stoker's accusation comes a day after independent Senator Lidia Thorpe accused Van of sexual assault and harassment under parliamentary privilege.

Thorpe withdrew those comments to stay in line with parliamentary standing orders before today telling the Senate she had been "followed, aggressively propositioned and inappropriately touched" in parliament.

READ MORE: Thorpe tells Senate she was 'inappropriately touched' in parliament

She also told the Senate a man – who she did not identify – had cornered her in a parliamentary stairwell.

9news.com.au does not suggest she was talking about Van.

Van vehemently denied Thorpe's claims, describing them as "outrageous" and "false".

The senator was removed from the Liberal party room this afternoon by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who said he had been notified of allegations other than Thorpe's overnight and today.

Stoker said that, while she would have preferred for her alleged incident to have remained private, she felt compelled to come forward following Thorpe's allegations.

"I believe all women should be free from unwanted advances and confident to speak up immediately and be respected for doing so," Stoker said.

"I promptly advised a senior female colleague about the incident, and of the action I had taken. I did so to ensure that if there were any other incidents of which I was not aware, or any future reports, they could be dealt with appropriately.

READ MORE: Lidia Thorpe makes – then withdraws – claim against senator

"Obviously, this was not a good experience. I took it very seriously but did not want his misbehaviour to define me or any other woman. I simply wanted to ensure his behaviour was never repeated.

"So I used the internal process for his behaviour to be addressed, whilst asking for it to be kept confidential. I would have preferred that the matter be resolved privately and finally – as I thought it was.

"However, following Senator Thorpe's allegations, it is now clear that is no longer tenable.

"I do not know of any other similar events or reports."

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A Friday afternoon beer seems so synonymous with Australian culture it's almost built into our lifestyle.

Some found themselves chasing an ice-cold beverage on a summer's day after being cooped up during the pandemic, while others said they created unhealthy drinking habits, which drained their finances and impacted their overall happiness.

Almost half of Aussie men are considering drastically reducing their intake or cutting their alcohol consumption altogether, according to a new study, and Sydney man Nick is one of them.

"I think I just got into some really bad habits during COVID," the 35-year-old told 9news.com.au.

READ MORE: Aussies set for $12 schooners as beer tax to jump

"You know, drinking every day, fairly heavily.

"A couple of years later, I've now got a two-year-old and I've just realised that I need to change my habits, because otherwise I'd be drinking at dangerous levels."

According to the survey, the most common reason for men cutting back was to improve their overall wellbeing (39 per cent), followed by fitness (32 per cent).

As the nation continues to grapple with the devastating cost of living crisis, and with the price of beer again increasing this year, men also cited saving as another reason they'd consider reducing their intake (32 per cent).

Nick said that prior to the lifestyle change – which he made about two months ago – he was drinking seven days per week.

Now, the public sector worker only dabbles on weekends.

"It's been amazing," he said.

"It's been pretty impressive, the quality of sleep, having the energy for a two-year-old.

"Getting up at five or six in the morning, you know, being hungover – even if you've only had three or four wines – you really notice that now.

"I'm a better father now, way more present."

READ MORE: Push to diagnose common cancer in men sooner

Over 30 per cent of respondents included in the survey – conducted by nutrition and fitness app MyFitnessPal - admitted they'd consider cutting back on alcohol in an attempt to save money, something Nick said he's experienced.

"Yeah, I definitely have noticed (the savings)," he said.

Though, the new dad joked, having a toddler has now seen some of those funds allocated elsewhere.

"My mental health has definitely improved as well, and that's largely down to the extra sleep," he said.

'Mate, honestly, it's affected everything': Health boon for blokes

Nick's story is one many around the country share, and he is just one of a number of Aussie men who said reducing their alcohol consumption has dramatically improved their day-to-day life.

Alastair Whiteley, 54, who owns and cofounded the nation's first alcohol-free distillery, Seadrift, has all but cut the drink completely from his life.

READ MORE: Beer withdrawn from festival after backlash over name

Whitley, who runs the northern Sydney venue alongside wife Carolyn, said he's lost over 25 kilograms since axing alcohol three years ago.

"I'd been carrying that weight around for years," Whiteley told 9news.com.au.

"Mate, honestly, it's affected everything.

"My skin improved, my eyes got whiter…it's really weird noticing the difference."

Whiteley said that guests who drink at Seadrift are made up largely of people also looking to make healthier life choices, and, to his surprise, are mostly young.

"If I had to do a broad brush across everybody, I'd say (the main reason people come) it's about moderation," Whiteley said.

"Alcohol is very accessible, it's very easy to find.

"Australia is a beautiful place, it always seems like beer or wine o'clock… it's just in the vernacular.

"But now we have the place full with people having drug and alcohol-free raves, just a plethora of different people."

When the duo initially launched their business, they'd have people stand outside looking in and saying: "What's the point?", but that picture couldn't be more different now.

"We just don't see that anymore – at all," Carolyn said.

"Now, people are really interested, they're engaged, they're saying they want to be healthier and fitter.

"Even just for general mental health reasons, in particular men, they're becoming much more aware of it and therefore people want to do something about it." 

According to the study, almost half (45 per cent) of Australian men said they're either interested in drinking less or ditching alcohol completely.

Nationally, there was 1559 alcohol-related deaths in Australia in 2021, with men more likely to exceed safe consumption guidelines than women (34 per cent compared to 19 per cent).

Between 2020 to 2021, one in four Aussies exceeded the recommended daily intake.

Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636.

MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78.

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A New Zealand rugby league player has died after suffering a brain injury during a weekend game.

Pāpāmoa Bulldogs rugby league player Tere Livingstone was critically injured on the field on June 10 during a shield competition match at Mitchell Park in Tauranga.

A person close to the family told Stuff that Livingstone was formally pronounced dead yesterday at Waikato Hospital.

READ MORE: Sailor's startling encounter as orcas ram boat

Scans had revealed a major brain injury and despite surgery, a series of tests revealed his body and brain had not recovered.

"It's so very, very sad," the person said.

"The family are obviously so devastated but the level of support from friends and the community has been mindblowing.

"It shows what sort of man Tere was."

Details for the tangi (a ceremonial Māori funeral) were still being arranged, as Livingstone was still currently at Waikato Hospital in Hamilton, but it would be at Akerama Marae, Towai, Northland, at the weekend, the person said.

Chief executive of Coastline Rugby League, Stan Bunny Nicholas, said that they had received "the devastating news" yesterday that Livingstone had died.

"The brave warrior fought for five days against all odds."

Bay of Plenty teams would start off the season's games this Saturday in Rotorua with "a minute of silence for our fallen brother", he said.

"We send our aroha and condolences to the whānau and Pāpāmoa Bulldogs as Tere embarks on his new journey to Hawaiki nui."

READ MORE: Man killed in ute crash during Sydney police chase

New Zealand Rugby League chief executive, Greg Peters, said a full investigation into the incident was underway.

"We are deeply saddened by the extremely tragic incident that occurred at Mitchell Park over the weekend with Pāpāmoa player Tere Livingstone."

On the day he was injured, Livingstone was part of the Pāpāmoa Bulldogs senior men's team, competing in a round-robin format for the 2023 Coastline District Rugby League Werohia Shield, against current titleholders Ōtūmoetai Eels.

READ MORE: Qantas reveals economy seats for NYC-Sydney long-haul flights

A witness said it had been "tough to see."

Livingstone's partner, Chloe, with whom he had a young son, was "utterly broken, torn in two," she told the community in a heartbreaking message.

"You were the most generous, warm-hearted person on this earth.

"The most doting father to our son … I will miss you every minute for the rest of my life."

An online fundraiser to support the family with funeral costs has already raised more than $NZ58,000 ($52,586).

This article originally appeared on Stuff and is republished here with permission.

Thousands of people converged on Melbourne's Federation Square on Saturday, June 10, to play 10,000 biodegradable kazoos, led by artist and composer Ciaran Frame.

When Luis Eduardo Alves Lima first saw the unmistakable black dorsal fin cut through the water while he was sailing from Lisbon to Ibiza he was elated.

But that excitement quickly turned to concern as the Brazilian sailor realised a pod of orcas had locked on to a target.

That target was his sailboat.

READ MORE: The graph that spells dire news for our oceans 

The encounter, which occurred around 2pm local time on June 4, took place close to the Strait of Gibraltar, a stretch of coast that has become notorious for orca attacks on vessels.

"It was my first encounter with orcas and at first I thought it was beautiful to be sailing with them," Lima told 9news.com.au.

But then he realised he was surrounded by eight of the apex predators.

The encounter took a turn.

"I didn't realise I was being attacked until after a few minutes I saw an orca that was breaking the rudder and I realised that it was more serious and they weren't as friendly as dolphins are," Lima said.

"As my sailboat is a very strong classic Hallberg-Rassy they only managed to break the rudder despite hitting the hull with their heads trying to turn the boat.

"Otherwise it would have flipped.

"I was very surprised."

READ MORE: 'Massive' great white spotted after surviving 'infamous' attackers

Lima turned off the engine and kept the vessel stationary as the orcas rammed his 12-metre sailboat, which weighs around 12 tons, for around 20 minutes.

Then they stopped.

But the pod returned again an hour later.

"The second time it was faster because they had nothing else to do as they had already taken the rudder," he said.

"I immediately headed for Barbate for repairs."

Lima branded the attack as "intelligent".

The sailor has urged others to avoid the Cadiz region to Gibraltar and sail close to the coast instead of through deep water, where possible.

His comments echoed those of another sailor, Greg Blackburn, who also encountered a pod of orcas near Tangier in Morocco, on May 2.

READ MORE: La Niña and El Niño: Will we switch from one to the other in 2023?

"You can see in one of (my) videos the matriarch coming up and attacking the rudder with calf at side of her, then she drops back and then the little calf gets in to have a go," Blackburn said.

"It was definitely some form of education, teaching going on."

'Moment of agony': What could be driving orca attacks

Biologists have long theorised what could be sparking the attacks, which first began in 2020.

Explanations so far have ranged from territorial, defensive, or play behaviour.

Dr Alfredo López Fernandez, a biologist at the University of Aveiro in Portugal and representative of the Grupo de Trabajo Orca Atlántica, or Atlantic Orca Working Group, claimed last month a traumatised orca known as White Gladis, initiated the response.

He said the behaviour started after a "critical moment of agony", potentially the result of collision with a vessel, which other animals learned to imitate.

White Gladis can be identified as scars stripe her body.

Wildlife scientist Dr Vanessa Pirotta told 9news.com.au the theory holds water.

"We are learning more about these killer whale incidents everyday," she said.

"The idea behind the traumatised killer whale 'White Gladis' does continue to grow with additional observations of her carrying out targeted behaviour.

"These killer whales are targeting boat rudders and biting them and sometimes causing them to come off. It is possible she has had a negative interaction, which has promoted this targeted behaviour.

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She said there's a possibility the animals will move on from the behaviour, but added more needs to be done to help both humans and the animals.

"Perhaps this is a behaviour which will fade out although it's been two years now and we continue to see targeted interactions," she said.

"Attempts to mitigate such interactions continue. Learning more about killer whale behaviour in the area continues and education around such events for mariners is key.

"The reality is, no one wants any harm to come of this and authorities want to do their very best to protect both killer whales and mariners.

"How exactly this will be done is not yet clear."

Most of the interactions thus far have been relatively harmless, albeit expensive.

It's believed there have been more than 500 orca assaults since 2020, with only several vessels sunk. 

Lima, who is travelling through Europe by boat, estimates his damage bill will run to about €6,000 (AU$9570).

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