A man is recovering in hospital after being mauled by a crocodile near a remote Queensland campground.

The 44-year-old man managed to save his life by fighting off the 4.5-metre reptile, jabbing it in the eyes, after it tried to drown him while he was spearfishing in Cooktown.

"It has bitten him three times and dragged him to the bottom," Valerie Noble of Queensland Ambulance Service said.

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"He's managed to – according to him – stick his fingers in the crocodile's eyes multiple times and escape before swimming towards the shore."

It's understood the man was attacked near the Archer Point Camp Ground shortly before 1pm on Saturday.

Rescue crews were forced to winch the man to safety, in a difficult-to-reach area, before a helicopter took him to Cairns Hospital.

He suffered multiple fractures, as well as severe injuries to his head, abdomen and leg.

"He's an extremely lucky man, not many people would live to tell a story like that," Noble said.

The 44-year-old man remains in a stable condition and is reportedly in good spirits.

The attack prompted Peter Scott, the Cook Shire Mayor, to warn future campers to talk to the rangers before entering the water at the popular spearfishing spot.

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"I would suggest that the rangers up there have a fair knowledge of what's going on, people should check in with them before they camp and start swimming around," he said.

The Department of Environment and Science, Queensland will investigate the attack and confirm if the crocodile is still in the area. 

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A Salvation Army store in Adelaide was left in a mess after thieves rummaged through donations left outside the store.

It's meant that this Easter weekend, volunteers will be picking up the mess left behind by the thieves who rummaged through and then stole from the donations.

Volunteers at the charity store in Aberfoyle Park said many items will end up having to be thrown out due to their condition in the aftermath.

READ MORE: Man's incredible fight for survival amid vicious croc attack

They note that donations left outside the store during holidays often get damaged or stolen.

However, the store's manager, Elaine Laboure, said incidents like these can be avoided.

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"We really appreciate the people that donate, but please do it when we're open," she told 9News.

Volunteer Corinne Simpson said incidents like this are devastating for the volunteers.

"Something like this, it just breaks your heart, it really does," she said.

"It's a lot of work and generally our volunteers are older so it's a lot for them to go through. "

It is unclear who stole the donations.

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An Uber driver and two passengers made a lucky escape moments before their car exploded into flames on Sydney's North Shore.

The two male passengers were on their way home from dinner when they noticed the smoke billowing out of the Camry's bonnet while their Uber was driving through Cremorne, in Sydney's North Shore. 

The men and the Uber driver jumped out of the car and tried to inspect the car's engine, and when all else failed, they whipped out their phones and started recording, catching the car's firey demise on camera.

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"I popped the bonnet, (thinking) it's probably out of water," one of the passengers says in the video.

"But as I popped the bonnet, I saw blisters starting on the paint and I was like nah man.

"Let's get the f— out of here."

They all managed to escape before the car exploded, taking their carton of beers with them as they fled the scene.

The explosion was loud enough for neighbours to hear, with some running out to help extinguish the car.

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"My next-door neighbour came out with his super-soaker but I don't think that was adequate to the job and the firies were all about to get here," a witness Trent McPhail told 9News.

"I think they got it out just as it was igniting, so they weren't in any danger or their beer wasn't in any danger but they were quite pleased with the situation."

Uber heard about the incident and issued a statement saying they were "concerned to hear about this incident" and are "investigating", but glad no one was injured.

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One person is in hospital after a motorcycle and another vehicle collided.

The federal government is facing criticism for its plan to allow a tax offset to expire in this year's budget, a decision that will see Australians earning less than $126,000 face one of the largest increases in history.

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age reported this morning that Treasurer Jim Chalmers will not continue a tax offset that put up to $1500 in the pockets of middle-income Australians.

The tax offset was initially introduced as a temporary measure under the Turnbull government in the 2018-19 budget, but extended during the pandemic and then boosted in March last year.

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The increased tax has been described as the equivalent of two Reserve Bank interest rate rises by experts, but economists also say it will save long-term pain.

"I know it will cause a lot of pain for many households," AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said.

"But by the same token, if it is extended, it could mean more interest rates than otherwise would have been the case."

Once the break is wound back, those earning $50,000 will be about $29 worse off per week.

However, while it will come as a blow to many households, assistant treasurer Stephen Jones defended the proposed move.

"It's important we are ensuring through sound economic management that we don't make the inflation problem worse," he said.

READ MORE: Man rushed to hospital after being mauled by crocodile in Queensland

However, deputy Liberal leader Susan Ley criticised the decision as "just another hit to Australian families already going backwards".

While Australians are facing the squeeze from cost of living increases and interest rate rises, the federal government is also looking for ways to make ends meet.

The dramatic scale-up in defence spending to pay for a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines will cost the government billions upon billions of dollars, with the AUKUS agreement estimated to cost $368 billion over its lifetime.

Australians will be given further tax relief next year when stage 3 tax cuts – which impact everyone earning between $45,000 and $200,000 – kick in.

However, those have faced heavy criticism themselves as they will benefit high-income earners more than anyone else.

The Greens have called for the tax offset to remain at the expense of the stage three cuts.

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"Labor is making everyday people pay for the stage 3 tax cuts for politicians and billionaires," leader Adam Bandt said.

"Australia desperately needs to stop the handouts to billionaires and corporations so we can tackle the cost of living crisis by getting dental into Medicare, boosting income support and freezing rents."

Independent MP Dai Le also expressed her concern about the reported rise.

"I think the low and middle-income earners share the burden or carry the burden of our tax system," she told Today.

"It's going to be really challenging at this point in time where we're all facing this cost of living crisis."

The budget will be announced in May.

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Daily fights and bullying at Howick College is causing parents to remove their kids.

Energy drink has nearly twice the legal amount of caffeine.

A group of teenagers have been charged over an alleged crime spree that took place in Melbourne yesterday.

Four teen boys and one teenage girl were charged by Victorian police with a number of offences after the spree, which allegedly included car theft and armed robberies.

Police say the group stole a black BMW X3 and a silver Audi Q3 in the south-east Melbourne suburb of Kooyong.

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The group then drove to Brighton East, where they are accused of smashing windows and damaging cars.

Police have also accused the group of being involved in a number of armed robberies in Knox, in Melbourne's east.

The group was arrested by police in Pakenham in the allegedly stolen Audi just after 3pm on Good Friday.

The stolen BMW and the people driving it remain missing. 

A 13-year-old boy from Dandenong has been charged with aggravated burglary, two counts of theft of a motor vehicle, attempted armed robbery and reckless conduct endangering serious injury.

A 14-year-old boy from Cantani was charged with dangerous driving while being pursued by police, two counts of theft of a motor vehicle and reckless conduct endangering serious injury.

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A 15-year-old boy from Springvale South has been charged with attempted carjacking and the theft of a motor vehicle.

The trio has been remanded and will face a children's court in the future. 

The other two peole from the group, a 15-year-old boy from Dandenong and a 16-year-old girl from Hallam, have been granted bail after being charged with theft of a motor vehicle.

They will also face a children's court at a later date. 

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There is reported to be heavy traffic in the area and stop / go management is in place.

China says it has started three days of military exercises around Taiwan, in an announcement that comes after the island democracy's president met the US House Speaker in defiance of repeated threats by Beijing.

The Chinese military's Eastern Theatre Command announced the drills Saturday, describing them as "a serious warning against the Taiwan separatist forces' collusion with external forces, and a necessary move to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity".

The exercises, dubbed "United Sharp Sword," would feature "combat-ready patrols and exercises in and around the Taiwan Strait, and to the north, south and east of Taiwan and the sea and airspace as planned," Senior Colonel Shi Yi of the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command said in a statement on Saturday.

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The drills would focus on the country's "capabilities to seize control of sea, air and information under the support of our joint combat system," the PLA said.

Soon after the announcement by China, Taiwan's defence ministry said it had detected a total of 42 Chinese warplanes over the Taiwan Strait, which separates the island from the Chinese mainland.

It said 29 Chinese warplanes had crossed the median line in the strait into its air defence identification zone. It added that eight PLA vessels had been spotted in the strait.

The drills come a day after Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a 10-day visit to Central America and the United States where she met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Beijing had repeatedly warned against the trip and had previously threatened to take "strong and resolute measures" if it went ahead. China claims the self-governing democracy of Taiwan as part of its territory, despite never having ruled it, and has spent decades trying to isolate it diplomatically. It has not ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its control.

Taiwan's defence ministry said it was closely monitoring the situation and would make every effort to defend national security and sovereignty.

"In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has continued to send aircraft and ships to harass the region, which has threatened the regional situation. It even used President Tsai's visit and transit to the United States as an excuse to conduct military exercises, which has seriously damaged regional peace, stability, and security," Taiwan's defence ministry said.

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The ministry added it would respond with a calm, rational and serious attitude, and not seek to escalate conflict.

China reacted in a similar way when then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August, launching a series of military drills that surrounded the island and firing missiles over it.

Those drills were the first time China had fired missiles over the island, and many experts saw them as representing a major escalation of China's military intimidation against Taiwan.

Some of those missiles also fell into Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone near Japanese islands to the north of Taiwan, a move which heightened tensions between Beijing and Tokyo.

The August exercises also involved dozens of Chinese warplanes crossing into Taiwan's air defence identification zone as well as PLA Navy warships in manoeuvres in waters around Taiwan.

Beijing said at the time it was simulating an air and sea "blockade" of the island, but offered little solid evidence to back up the claim.

Officials in Taiwan had reportedly been expecting a less severe reaction to Tsai's meeting with McCarthy because it took place on US soil.

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