A scorned Perth woman has allegedly hit bar staff in the head with a stiletto before ramming a luxury sports car into the venue after being "rejected" by a date.

The 39-year-old woman adorned a red dress to attend a Valentine's Day event at the Monkey Bar and Lounge in Mandurah but something inside went terribly wrong. 

Police said the woman was kicked out of the venue for allegedly attacking a staff member with her high heel shoe before a trail of destruction ensued.

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The woman left the party, lined up her red Ford Mustang and allegedly repeatedly rammed it into the venue before driving off.

Witnesses claim the event had been for single people and the woman had been "rejected", which sparked the rampage that followed.

"It was like a party for single people," a witness said.

"So anyone that was single was going there. 

"Obviously got rejected by someone and took it the wrong way."

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The woman made it 10km from the bar before pulling into her Mandurah driveway but police were hot on her heels. 

CCTV showed unmarked cars swarming the street before detectives moved in for the arrest. 

The mother-of-two taken to the police station where she was charged with a string of offences, including reckless driving and common assault. 

The late-model Mustang was towed away by authorities. 

Her only date today was before the courts in Perth.

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A child has died after being caught in rising floodwaters and three other lives have been lost as Cyclone Gabrielle wreaks unprecedented havoc in New Zealand.

Police said at least four people had been confirmed killed by the storm, including a child caught in rising water on Tuesday at Eskdale on Hawke's Bay.

One of these people was firefighter Dave van Zwanenberg who had been missing since a landslip on Monday night toppled houses in Muriwai on Auckland's west coast.

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"This morning, our team, working alongside police, located a body in the area where they were searching. We have not yet identified who this is and will be working with police to retrieve and identify the body," Fire and Emergency chief executive Kerry Gregory said.

Van Zwanenberg is a vet, pilot and father of two young children.

Another firefighter critically injured in the slip has been named as Craig Stevens, who has been a volunteer firefighter for the Muriwai brigade since 2018.

A woman was also killed by a landslide at Putorino and a body was found on a shore at Napier on Tuesday, police said.

Police said 1442 people had been reported uncontactable in the North Island by Wednesday afternoon. The large number could be explained by widespread disruptions to telecommunications and power.

"There are 111 reports of people now safe," police said, while some were also duplicate reports of the same person, reported unreachable by different people.

READ MORE: Severe weather system to hit almost every state

However, police had "grave concerns" for several people they confirmed were missing from the Eastern District – Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti.

Police urged anyone concerned about friends and family to try their usual methods of communication first, whether that's a phone number, email, social media or a pre-planned emergency meeting place.

Around 144,000 properties on the North Island were without power on Wednesday, down from 225,000 on Tuesday, The New Zealand Herald reported.

A weather station in the Hawke's Bay and Napier region recorded three times more rain over Monday night than usually falls for the entire month of February, authorities said.

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More than 300 people were rescued Tuesday from that same flooded bay area, including 60 stranded on a single roof, Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said. Helicopters would help make the final 25 rescues of individuals and family groups on Wednesday.

"Our emergency services are still carrying out rescues and land searches in a number of places," McAnulty told reporters.

British King Charles III's sister, Princess Anne, visited New Zealand's disaster management headquarters in the capital, Wellington, on Wednesday and praised the nation's response. Her visit to New Zealand was scheduled before the cyclone struck.

"My thoughts are with all New Zealanders whose homes or livelihoods have been affected by Cyclone Gabrielle," she said in a statement.

"I admire the courage of the people of Aotearoa during this alarming and difficult time," she said, using the country's Māori-language name.

"You should all be proud of the resilience, strength and care for your communities you are showing in the face of adversity," she added.

'Similar feel to the Christchurch Earthquake', defence commander says

Joint Forces commander Rear Admiral Jim Gilmour said HMNZS Manawanui would arrive in Gisborne harbour late Thursday morning with food and water, and a communications line would be set up in the town as satellite phones being used by responders were running out of battery power.

Gilmour said the response had a "similar feel to the Christchurch Earthquake in terms of scale", due to the "breadth of challenges" faced.

He was the commander of HMNZS Canterbury which was in Lyttleton Habour when the 2011 earthquake struck.

"There is a real challenge just to understand what needs to happen, and in what order," he said.

"I would not be surprised if the state of emergency gets extended next week, just as we learn more."

Not the first emergency event of 2023

Last month Auckland and surrounding areas were hit by record rainfall that sparked floods and killed four people.

Hipkins said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had phoned offering his country's support and assistance.

The Australian government also said it was ready to provide support where and if needed, Hipkins said.

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This latest disaster is the third national state of emergency after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and is due to a weather system off the country's north that is tracking south and east along the coast.

The national state of emergency includes six regions where local emergencies had already been declared.

They are Auckland, as well as the regions of Northland, Tairawhiti, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Hawke's Bay.

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A Melbourne man will spend more than two years behind bars for burning down his landlord's warehouse after he was evicted, causing more than $3 million in damage.

Jayden Tune, 32, used standover tactics to threaten his landlord after he was ousted from a Thistlethwaite Street, South Melbourne, property in February 2021 for not paying rent.

Tune and his partner rented a property from the man for two years to use for their business Gentz Productionz, as a music studio and for T-shirt manufacturing.

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He told the man "we're coming for you" and also sent threats to his landlord's solicitor and real estate agent.

On May 5, 2021, Tune poured a flammable liquid through a window and set his landlord's South Melbourne warehouse on fire.

Firefighters believe petrol and a cigarette lighter were used to set the factory alight.

Smoke billowed across multiple suburbs as firefighters spent two nights and a day putting out the blaze.

The Ferrars Street factory and its contents were destroyed, costing the owner more than $3 million in damage and more in lost stock.

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Tune pleaded guilty to arson and possession of unauthorised explosives – party sparklers ground into dust.

He faced Melbourne's County Court on Wednesday, where Judge Peter Rozen sentenced him to a maximum of four years in jail and fined him $500 over the party sparklers.

The landlord, who ran his business of 32 years out of the warehouse, told the court he and his family continue live in fear following the offending.

"He feels that the fire may haunt him for the rest of his life," Judge Rozen told the court.

Tune must serve two years and eight months before he will be eligible for parole.

He has already served more than a year in prison.

A long-standing mystery about snakes has been solved, with a team of Australian researchers discovering the reptiles can hear more than previously believed.

The University of Queensland-led study, published today, found snakes can hear and react to airborne sound, as well as ground vibrations.

In busts a widely held myth that snakes are deaf, Dr Christina Zdenek, from the School of Biological Sciences said.

READ MORE: Why Australia's deadliest snake is so lethal

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"Because snakes don't have external ears, people typically think they're deaf and can only feel vibrations through the ground and into their bodies," Zdenek said.

"But our research – the first of its kind using non-anesthetised, freely moving snakes – found they do react to soundwaves travelling through the air, and possibly human voices."

Researchers played three different sound frequencies to 19 snakes, representing five genetic families of reptile, one at a time, and watched the animals' reactions.

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"We played one sound which produced ground vibrations, while the other two were airborne only," Zdenek said.

"It meant we were able to test both types of 'hearing' – tactile hearing through the snakes' belly scales and airborne through their internal ear.

Zdenek added the reactions varied per snake genus.

"Only the woman python tended to move toward sound, while taipans, brown snakes and especially death adders were all more likely to move away from it.

"The types of behavioural reactions also differed, with taipans, in particular, more likely to exhibit defensive and cautious responses to sound."

READ MORE: What to do if you encounter a deadly snake, spider or jellyfish

Based on the observations Zdenek said "sound may be an important part of a snake's sensory repertoire".

"Snakes are very vulnerable, timid creatures that hide most of the time, and we still have so much to learn about them," she said.

"We know very little about how most snake species navigate situations and landscapes around the world."

Firefighters attended a callout of a different kind today, removing a two-metre long snake from a Bundeena property, on the outskirts of southern Sydney.

The homeowners had originally spotted the reptile on the balcony, but it was in the garden by the time the crew arrived just before 10am.

Video shared by Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) show the large diamond python wound around one of the crew member's arms.

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Another fireman helped unwind the snake before placing it in a blue bag.

The snake was released in the neighbouring Royal National Park.

After the callout, FRNSW said snake relocations were not uncommon.

"FRNSW works closely with WIRES to provide reptile retrieval services in cases where people are deemed at high risk of injury or death," it said in a statement.

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Diamond pythons are non-venomous but can inflict a painful bite, Australian Museum said.

"Like all pythons, the diamond python kills its prey by wrapping itself around its victim (in this case, small mammals and lizards) and suffocating it," it said.

The winners of the Underwater Photographer of the Year awards have been announced for 2023.

Natasha D'Arcy's periods were so heavy she felt she had no choice but to get surgery to physically to stop them so she could be the active mum-of-three she wanted to be.

Her menstrual cycle seriously impacted her wellbeing and her social life and she found herself wanting to stay home for weeks each month.

"It was so just so debilitating, it was really starting to ruin my life," she said.

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Temperatures are set to exceed 40 degrees in Victoria and South Australia over the next two days as a severe heatwave continues a warpath across the south-east of Australia.

In Melbourne, temperatures have reached 31 degrees today and will soar to above 35 tomorrow.

But in regional parts of Victoria, especially in the north-east, temperatures hit 36 degrees today and will rise above 40 tomorrow and Friday.

READ MORE: La Nina continues to weaken but hasn't finished yet, BoM says

South Australia won't escape the heatwave either, as the mercury climbs to 35 degrees today.

In the regions, places like Port Pirie will hit 38 degrees today.

Thursday will be even hotter for the state, as Adelaide nears 40 degrees and the regions soar above.

Tasmania, Western Australia and Queensland – where flood watches are still in place – will not be immune from the sweltering temperatures and will soar to about 30 degrees today.

Parts of Queensland's south-west and Western Australia's centre-north will particularly feel the heat today.

In Queensland, regional towns like Goondiwindi and Cunnamulla will reach 40 degrees today.

But in Western Australia, Sunday will be the hottest day as towns like Gascoyne Junction hit nearly 50 degrees.

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The heatwave warnings come after varied weather across the country including the recent unstable conditions in Queensland due to ex-tropical cyclone Gabrielle and bushfires due to the heat.

Hail stones the size of golf balls fell across parts of the state's south-east yesterday while a huge downpour caused flash flooding in Maroochydore at the Sunshine Coast.

Over 60mm of rain was recorded in Brisbane's metro area in just an hour yesterday evening with the storms also leaving thousands without power.

Across Queensland, over 15 severe weather warnings remain active. 

Meanwhile, Australia's north-eastern tropics will be hit with heavy tropical rain and covered in cloud for the remainder of this week, according to Weatherzone, with flooding likely to affect roads and communities in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

In NSW today, relatively settled conditions are forecast with tops of 24 degrees in Sydney, though it'll be humid.

The bureau warned yesterday that though weather system La Niña's reign is slowly fading out, it hasn't finished just yet.

In its latest climate driver update, the BoM says that while sea surface temperatures have risen to levels usually associated with neutral ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation – the weather phenomena that includes La Niña) conditions, the atmospheric conditions remain La Niña-like.

However, it is still forecast to return to neutral soon, and will remain so for much of autumn.

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From old mining towns, to settlements destroyed by vermin; these are the tragic, and fascinating tales, of Australia's crumbling ruins.

RBA Governor Philip Lowe has conceded that nine consecutive interest rate hikes were "unpopular", but has defended the central bank's actions as a necessary evil to contain inflation.

Appearing before a 90-minute Senate estimates committee, Lowe said he and the RBA board were well aware of the current cost-of-living crisis.

"We recognise it's really difficult if you've got a mortgage and the interest rate has gone up," he said.

"I get a lot of people writing to me at the moment telling me about their personal circumstances and it's really, really tough, I understand that."

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When asked about personal criticism over his tenure as RBA governor, Lowe said it wasn't "just him" making monetary decisions and the entirety of commentary on him was "a bit unfair".

"It's the job of the central bank to control inflation, to make sure that inflation expectations don't adjust and we avoid all those terrible things," Lowe said.

"That's the job of the board of the Reserve Bank. It's not just me.

"I find sometimes that it's all sheeted down to me and that's a bit unfair because it's the board.

"There are nine of us, including (deputy governor) Michele (Bullock), who make these decisions."

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Despite this, he remained defiant in saying the bank would do what it must to contain inflation.

"I'm not complaining about it. That's our job. I've got to contain inflation. I've got to convince the community that we're serious about that," he said.

"That's our job and it's unpopular and I accept that.

"And that's why the central bank is independent from its role in the decision-making process.

"It's easier for me to do unpopular things than maybe for you. I'm not complaining."

When asked about future rate rises, Lowe said the board had an "open mind", but warned that it was likely there would be more hikes to come.

"We've got an open mind … I don't think we're at the peak yet but how far we have to go up I don't know," he said.

"It will depend upon inflation data, resilience, spending, and what's happening with wages.

"I don't think we're at the peak yet but how far they need to go, we're still unsure."

READ MORE: All four big banks pass on latest interest rate hike

Inflation 'damaging' for the economy

During questioning, Lowe explained how persistently high inflation was "damaging" for the economy, saying that there was even a risk that the RBA had not increased rates enough to date.

"There is a risk that we have not yet done enough with interest rates and spending is more resilient and that inflation stays high," he said.

"If inflation stays high, it's very damaging for the economy.

"It worsens income inequality. It makes it harder for businesses to plan.

"It erodes the value of people's savings. It's corrosive for the economy."

Lowe and the RBA board have been under sustained pressure in recent months as nine consecutive interest rate hikes clash with soaring inflation.

During the peak of the pandemic, when interest rates were cut to the emergency level of 0.1 per cent, Lowe and the board were accused of misleading borrowers with forecasts that monetary policy may not change until 2024.

Despite the pressure, Lowe said he had no intentions of stepping down prematurely.

"I have a seven-year term as the governor of the bank and I intend to serve out that term. It's an important job, it comes with public accountability and this is part of the process, but I intend to serve out that term," he said.

"I return to the point that I made … the decisions that the Reserve Bank make are made by a board of nine people. Not just me."

Lowe's term is due to end in September.

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