More economists believe the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will hit pause on its record-breaking run of interest rate hikes in April before resuming once more in May amid financial industry instability.

Yesterday Australia's unemployment rate fell to 3.5 per cent in the wake of a falling monthly inflation indicator, generally showing a stronger economy.

But news of Credit Suisse being forced to borrow billions to keep the doors open, along with the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank has some economists tipping that Australia's central bank will hold on its course of rate hiking.

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Senior economist at AMP Australia Diana Mousina said there was "some chance" that Governor Philip Lowe and the board would hike rates in April, but they were not expecting it.

"Panic in markets over the past week around the risks to bank liquidity after the collapse of three regional US lenders and current worries around Europe's Credit Suisse bank shows that impacts of central banks rate hikes are increasing financial stability risks given the fast upward moves in rates over the past year and contagion risks remain high for now," Mousina wrote.

"Additionally, we think the February retail and inflation data in two week's time will also disappoint expectations.

"Our base case is that the RBA will keep the cash rate unchanged in April at 3.6 per cent and see the central bank maintaining the cash rate at this level before the risk of rate cuts in late 2023/early 2024."

Westpac Chief Economist Bill Evans reiterated that there would likely be a pause in rate hikes in April followed by a final increase in May.

"We now expect a pause in April to be followed by a final increase of 0.25 per cent at the May meeting," he said.

"Prior to the Governor's surprisingly hawkish response to the December quarter Inflation Report where he effectively signalled consecutive rate hikes in both March and April, Westpac had expected that there would be a pause in April with a final hike in May."

Evans said Governor Philip Lowe has previously been confident about rate hikes but in March was more tentative.

In a speech following the March rate hike, Lowe noted a pause in April would be considered depending on business surveys, the February unemployment data, the February inflation data and retail sales.

Evans believes rates will tighten to 3.85 per cent by May after previously forecasting a 4.1 per cent cash rate.

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Currently the cash rate target of 3.6 per cent is the highest since May 2012, after the RBA hiked interest rates for 10 consecutive meetings.

Governor Lowe cited persistent inflation – currently sitting above 7 per cent – as the primary driver of the bank's decision to continue lifting rates.

The RBA has consistently said it intends to return inflation to between 2 and 3 per cent.

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More than 40 years ago, Roxlyn Bowie disappeared, leaving behind only a letter to the family she purportedly abandoned.

But on Friday, her now 72-year-old husband John Douglas Bowie was told he would likely spend the rest of his life behind bars for killing the 31-year-old after manipulating her into writing the callous message.

Bowie was sentenced to a maximum of 24 years in prison with the possibility of parole in 2037.

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In October, a jury found Bowie guilty of murdering his then 31-year-old wife in the northern NSW town of Walgett on or around June 5, 1982.

Bowie has always denied his involvement in the disappearance, but Justice Dina Yehia was satisfied he killed his wife in order to seek a sexual relationship with a younger woman.

"He is now 72 and he will not be eligible for release for some time," she told the NSW Supreme Court on Friday.

"He may die in custody."

As Yehia handed down the sentence, Bowie sat in the courtroom, red-faced and with a hand over his mouth.

Meanwhile, Bowie's sister Christine Maddocks and daughter Brenda Boyd burst into tears.

"I'd prefer to have 24 years of Roxlyn than 24 years of John being locked up," Ms Maddocks told AAP.

"This kind of thing just consumes your whole life and it's no closure for Brenda."

Boyd has spent most her life looking for her mother after the devoted carer disappeared when her daughter was six, leaving behind only a letter.

The "Dear John" letter, which was in Mrs Bowie's handwriting, said she was leaving her husband and her kids and told them expressly not to contact her.

In a subsequent letter addressed to her parents, she stated: "Please don't be hard on John, it wasn't his fault".

Her body has never been found.

Yehia was satisfied Bowie coerced his victim to write those letters before he killed her so he could "lay the claim that she simply abandoned him and the children" and move closer to his mistress in Sydney.

Prior to her death, Mrs Bowie was a loving mother who was doing the best she could in a relationship with a man who was a self-admitted womaniser and heavy drinker.

Yehia said this meant it was unlikely she had abandoned her children just because she'd had enough of her relationship with her husband.

She could not determine exactly when Bowie manipulated his wife into writing the letters or whether she had been murdered in their Walgett home, but the judge was satisfied he planned the killing and disposed of her body.

The court heard Bowie had grown up in an unstable household, often witnessing physical violence between his mother and father, and had a history of violent acts against women.

He spent most of his life plagued by alcohol dependency and suffered from several mental and physical ailments.

Bowie was arrested for his wife's murder in 2019 and will not be eligible for parole until October 2037.

A rare and giant species of spider only found in a regional part of Queensland has been discovered.

The Euoplos dignitas is a large trapdoor spider that lives in open woodland habitats and builds burrows in the black soils of the Brigalow Belt in Central Queensland.

Scientists at the Queensland Museum have given the new species a name to pay tribute to its large size.

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"The name Euoplos dignitas is derived from the Latin dignitas meaning dignity or greatness and is reflected by the impressive size and nature of the spider," Dr Michael Rix said.

"This species is known from only a very few locations around Eidsvold and Monto in Central Queensland and has lost much of its habitat to land clearing, which makes it likely to be an endangered species."

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The discovery comes after work by Queensland Museum scientists as part of Project DIG to find and document new species in the state.

"This new spider species is a great example of Queensland Museum's ground-breaking research," the state's arts minister Leeanne Enoch said.

The new species has now been published in the Journal of Arachnology.

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TIME magazine has released its world's greatest places to visit in 2023 and the list may surprise you with some contenders from Australia's own backyard.

A Queensland baby who was in an induced coma after swallowing a button battery is now awake and breathing unassisted, her father has revealed.

One-year-old Amity had been recovering from emergency surgery at Townsville to remove the battery, which has burned a seven-centimetre hole in her throat.

Her father Daniel Buchanan told Today it was an emotional rollercoaster to see his little girl open her eyes.

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"She started opening her eyes last night at about 6 after we took the tubes out in the afternoon," Buchanan said.

"But she's starting to look really good at the moment. But still not out of the wars yet.

"We're just playing a waiting game to see because there's a couple small risks that could happen but she is looking good so far and soldiering on."

Buchanan said seeing Amity open her eyes and begin to breathe "melted my heart".

Her family was also given the opportunity to cuddle her.

"The doctors are saying at the moment it's just a waiting game," he said.

"But more good news is hopefully today she will be out of ICU and if things go well she should stay out of there."

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Amity was first taken to Mackay Base Hospital by ambulance on Monday after her parents suspected she had ingested something she shouldn't have because she was continuously vomiting.

An initial visit to the hospital failed to uncover the battery and her father believes a simple X-ray could have prevented the distressing incident.

Buchanan's partner, who had been with Amity, did not see the girl swallow the battery.

At the hospital, which was busy and had no free beds, Buchanan said the doctor checked Amity's airways with a stethoscope and said she was "fine" to go home.

Buchanan said Amity only continued to get more unwell once they got home.

"From 4pm that day to 11.30am the following day, Amity continuously vomited and couldn't keep any fluids or solids down," he said.

"You could hear it hurting her."

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They then took Amity to their GP on Tuesday, who requested she return to the hospital for an X-ray, which discovered the button battery in her throat.

She was then airlifted to Townsville, where the battery was removed during a two-hour operation.

"None of the doctors would tell us she was going to be OK," Buchanan said.

"That was breaking our heart."

He said doctors found the battery had burnt a seven-centimetre hole through her throat.

The little girl is now recovering at the Queensland Children's Hospital in Brisbane. 

Buchanan insists it "all could have been prevented if she was X-rayed straight away".

"We were at the hospital within two hours but she ended up having it lodged in her throat for around 30 hours."

9news.com.au has reached out to Queensland Health for comment.

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A South Australian road has been covered in thousands of potatoes after a truck carrying the vegetables rolled in the dark.

Emu Flat Road in Keith, south-east of Adelaide, was closed this morning as crews worked to clean up the mess after the crash about 10pm on Thursday.

Police have advised motorists to avoid the area, taking the opportunity to throw in some potato-themed puns.

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"A potato truck hash rolled at Keith … a truck carrying spuds chipped over," police shared on social media.

"Road tot-ally blocked, but will be opened tater today.

"Peeling bad for those hoping to enjoy colcannon this St Patrick's Day."

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Ben Affleck is clearing a few things up.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he addressed controversy that followed comments he made in 2021 while speaking to Howard Stern about his past marriage to actress Jennifer Garner.

"I had a really painful experience where I did an interview where I was really vulnerable, and the entire pickup was something that was not only not right, it was actually the opposite of what I meant." Affleck told THR.

The actor and director faced backlash after saying he felt "trapped" in the dynamic with Garner.

"It's part of why I started drinking," Affleck told Stern. "Because I was trapped."

Affleck told THR he was not trying to blame Garner for his drinking.

"To be clear, my behaviour is my responsibility entirely," he said.

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"The point that I was trying to make was a sad one. Anyone who's been through divorce makes that calculus of, How much do we try? We loved each other. We care about each other. We have respect for each other," Affleck said in the new interview. "I was trying to say, 'Hey, look, I was drinking too much, and the less happy you become, whether it's your job, your marriage, it's just that as your life becomes more difficult, if you're doing things to fill a hole that aren't healthy, you're going to start doing more of those things.'"

The couple eventually split in 2015.

Affleck said he believes his quotes were "mischaracterised it in order to make it clickbait" and "it didn't matter how many times I said, 'I do not feel this way. I'm telling you, I don't blame my ex-wife for my alcoholism.'"

Affleck and Jennifer Lopez reunited nearly 20 years after they were first engaged and married in July 2022.

"[Jennifer Lopez] tells me today, 'Relax, be yourself. Have fun. You're actually a fun guy who is real and genuine and you just seem so serious,'" Affleck told THR. "Do I seem serious? But as in many things, she's really right. And she loves me. She's looking out for me. She's trying to help me."

He also sought to clear up the speculation that sparked the "Ben Affleck having a bad time at the Grammys" meme after the pair seemed to have visibly different reactions while at the event.

Affleck said he actually was having a good time, but as he saw Grammy host Trevor Noah approach them, he thought, "Oh, God."

"They were framing us in this shot, but I didn't know they were rolling. I leaned into her and I was like, 'As soon they start rolling, I'm going to slide away from you and leave you sitting next to Trevor,'" Affleck explained. "She goes, 'You better f—ing not leave.' That's a husband-and-wife thing. I mean, some of it is, I'm like, 'All right, who is this act?' Like, I don't keep up. My wife does, obviously. And yeah, it is your wife's work event."

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Australian TV legend Brian Walsh, the man who helped launch the careers of stars such as Kylie Minogue, Hugh Jackman and Guy Pearce, has died at the age of 68.

Walsh was one of the key creative leaders and pioneers of Australian television over the last three decades, and most recently executive director at the Foxtel Group.

He started his career at ABC before moving to Radio2SM.

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Walsh's first foray into television came at Network Ten, where he helped launch shows such as Vietnam, The Bangkok Hilton and The Dirtwater Dynasty.

But it was the global success of Neighbours which really cemented Walsh's place in Australian television history, with the iconic show helping launch the careers of many Australian stars.

Walsh was also the creative force behind another of the most iconic moments in Australian television – the Simply The Best season launch for the NRL featuring Tina Turner.

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Walsh went on to work on a number of State of Origin and grand final entertainment shows and events, and was also the publicist for huge Australian international concert tours including those of Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Neil Diamond, Ricky Martin and Barbra Streisand.

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In 1995, he helped launch Foxtel, initially as director of television before heading up the drama originals, including Wentworth, Deadline Gallipoli and The Kettering Incident.

"This is a very difficult day for the Foxtel Group family, for Australia's creative community and the millions of Australians who watched and loved the stories that Brian bought to life through television," Foxtel Group CEO Patrick Delany said.

"Australia's creative community has lost a much-loved figure in Brian.

"For us, the loss is heavily felt."

More to come.

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A three-year-old boy who was run over by a car in the Western Australian city of Geraldton is expected to make a "miracle" recovery.

The bush-loving fishing fanatic was dragged for metres after being hit while sitting on a verge with his older cousin on Tuesday evening.

Despite severe injuries including bone fractures, he is now expected to make a full recovery and will be woken up from a medically induced coma this weekend.

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His grandmother, Kylie Dalgety, told 9News he was a "miracle child".

"He's stable, proving the doctors wrong, coming through with flying colours," she said.

Police said a white Hyundai i30 hatchback was driving on Aaron Close in Rangeway when it hit the boy.

They're still investigating whether the driver, who left the scene, knew he had hit the boy.

Dalgety had no doubts, saying her nephew said the driver "went straight for him".

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"He left the scene. He did not stop. There was witnesses there screaming," she said.

She demanded charges before there was unrest.

A man from South Australia has escaped with just a minor burn to his stomach after his homemade e-bike exploded while he was riding to work.

The rider said he was hit by an explosion after the fire started in the bike's battery on Supple Road at Waterloo Corner, about 20 kilometres north of Adelaide.

The flames started a grass fire, the second blaze in a week involving an e-bike, and fire crews were called to extinguish it.

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Mark Ryan, from the Country Fire Service, said the bike's homemade design could have caused the fire.

"Typically the fires are being caused not by a manufacturing fault, but by user error," he said.

"The bike was built from scratch, it's these designs that have fire authorities on high alert, but across the board, it's the batteries that are the biggest concern."

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Industry experts are warning against buying home-made bikes or modifying any of the components.

"You don't know if you are buying anything electric online whether it meets the Australian standards or not," Ben Attwood from Giant Bikes said.