The Automobile Association has apologised after a customer with autism said he was pressured into buying membership despite not driving a car. The family of the 22-year-old man said he declined an offer of membership when renewing…

Emergency services are at the scene of an incident in Onehunga where a person has died.The incident happened on Grey St and was reported to police around 12.50pm. A St John spokesperson said two rapid response units and a manager…

“Frankly I have never seen the like of it,” said a district court judge as he considered Nicola Sara Watts’ web of lies.She claimed to be pregnant – and then the mother to a child she had fostered out – as well as making allegations…

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Test your brains with the Herald’s afternoon quiz. Be sure to check back on nzherald.co.nz for the morning quiz tomorrow. To challenge yourself with more quizzes, CLICK HERE.

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A former Hells Angels bikie who attacked police at two separate COVID-19 lockdown protests, and also struck a police horse with a flagpole at one rally, has been jailed.

Dennis Basic was sentenced to two years and two months' jail before the County Court of Victoria this morning.

He had previously pleaded guilty to charges including assaulting an emergency worker on duty and causing injury recklessly.

READ MORE: Woman escapes 'attempted abduction' in park in Melbourne's east

Basic used a flagpole to bash a police horse when he stormed St Kilda Road in Melbourne in October 2020 as part of a large protest against COVID-19 lockdowns.

When Basic admitted to the act before the court in June, his defence lawyers told the court the move was out of fear in "an emotionally charged situation".

However, Judge Douglass Trapnell did not agree: "It was an unprovoked attack on police officers doing their duty."

Just before Basic hit the horse, he had grabbed hold of a police officer and struggled with him.

Basic ripped the senior constable's cap from his head.

When he later attended another protest in July 2021 he threw a bollard at a policewoman on horseback on Swanston Street in Melbourne CBD.

The bollard landed directly on the the policewoman's neck and head, the court heard.

Basic's legal team said the officer's injuries were not serious enough to stop her from working but the policewoman said she suffered head pain for two months after the assault.

Basic was identified in both incidents by his clothing and distinctive scar on his stomach.

When police raided Basic's home in Narre Warren, they said they found knives, batons, capsicum spray and illegal fireworks.

The former bikie claimed he needed the weapons for self-defence.

Basic was sentenced to a non-parole period of 20 months.

Considering the time he has already served behind bars, he will be eligible for parole in less than a year.

The New South Wales government may be more than $11 billion in the hole but this year's budget will see huge investments towards the state's women, children and first home buyers.

The state's treasurer Matt Kean has handed down his first budget which includes huge investments to drive women's opportunities, major education reforms and easing the burden of buying your first home in a daunting property market.

Here are the winners and losers in the 2022 state budget.

Explained: What is the $150 NSW back-to-school voucher?

READ MORE: First homebuyers win in NSW budget as stamp duty phased out

Winners

Women

The state government has invested a whopping $16.5 billion over the next 10 years to increase women's participation in the workforce and better health opportunities.

The budget will boost fee relief for pre-school and $4000 rebates per child in long daycare to help women get back to work.

The government will help open more childcare centres and places across the state.

Women's health is also a priority with funding boosts for affordable IVF treatments, menopause hubs and post-natal mental health.

Young families

New schools will be built across the state and existing regional and western Sydney schools will be upgraded under a $1.6 billion investment to the education system.

As a sweetener for families with school-aged children, the government will be giving $150 vouchers to each child in primary or secondary school in the state.

In major education reform, NSW will introduce a universal pre-kindergarten year for four-year-olds by 2030.

READ MORE: Australian woman 'killed in front of her father' in Pakistan

Western Sydney residents

Nine public schools in Western Sydney will be modernised to include digital facilities and more teaching spaces under the government's WestInvest funding program.

Public transport is also receiving a big boost with more than $200 million invested into completing the first two stages of the long awaited Parramatta Light Rail.

More than $12 billion has also been put towards constructing the Sydney Metro West which will be an underground train tunnel connecting Parramatta and Sydney's CBD.

Toll relief will also be available to Western Sydney residents with a 40 per cent cash rebate for every dollar spent over $375. The Toll Rebate Scheme will eventually replace the existing Registration Relief Scheme.

First homebuyers

The NSW government has taken a major step towards phasing out stamp duty by announcing the optional annual property tax instead of the lump sum payment.

For single parents, older singles, frontline workers and first homebuyers there will be a two year trial of a shared equity scheme

Police

A record $5.5 billion has been invested into the police force to improve police stations, recruit more officers and new training programs.

It comes as the state's police force tackles growing gang crime in the city's west with this investment reflecting the government's desire to stamp out violent organised crime.

READ MORE: Adam Bandt's Australian flag stunt slammed

Health

Thousands of paramedics are set to be recruited and new ambulance stations will be built across the state.

Improving palliative care is also receiving major boosts to improve end-of-life care including more staff, new dedicated palliative care units and refurbishing existing units across the state.

There have been major delays across the state for elective surgeries following the COVID-19 pandemic and in this budget, the government has thrown funding at fast-tracking the procedures.

Mental health has also received a mention with $2.9 billion towards suicide prevention.

Losers

Public service workers

After multiple strikes across the public sector, the government has only provided a three per cent pay rise for workers.

The government has already boasted the $3000 one of payment to frontline workers but the sector has previously claimed this doesn't go far enough.

Kean has defended the pay increase as "generous" despite unions continuously asking for a bigger increase than three per cent.

Online bookies

Onling betting companies are big losers this year as the government increases gaming taxes to 15 per cent.

It's expected to create an additional $740 million of revenue for the government but will be a big toll on online betting companies.

Foreign investors

Land tax for foreign investors is set to double to four per cent per year.

Once again, a major revenue source for the government but a big cost to any foreign investor looking to buy in NSW.

The "Ten Pound Poms" famously travelled from the UK to Australia to start a new life, at the cost of just ten British pounds.

And now a post-pandemic scheme to get backpackers back to South Australia is using a new version of the nostalgic offer to lure much-needed young workers.

The South Australian Tourism Commission offered young Brits who qualified for a working holiday visa the chance to land one of 200 flights for just ten pounds – just under $20.

READ MORE: Qantas axes mask mandate for some international flights

Daniel Moore, 29, is one of the first to arrive on the new scheme.

Already set up in a hostel in Adelaide, he hopes to land a job in construction.

He has already done a stint on Australia's east coast, but went home to Kent at the start of the year, thinking his travelling days were done.

But he has been lured back by the offer, and the Aussie lifestyle

READ MORE: First home buyers in NSW able to dodge stamp duty under budget proposal

"It was too good an offer to refuse," he said.

"It didn't feel like my time in Australia was done.

"There's so many opportunities, I've been looking at jobs and there's so many going."

He said Adelaide folk were "noticeably friendly" compared with people in Sydney and Melbourne.

The Ten Pound Poms was the name given to the million Brits people who emigrated to Australia under a government scheme between 1945 to 1972. The long sea voyage cost them ten pounds.

They were promised jobs and better weather – and the attractions haven't changed much.

READ MORE: Bandt's Australian flag stunt slammed

"I think initially it's that sense of adventure – well, I couldn't get any further away," Moore said.

"Then you get to the other side of the world and some things are like home, in a comforting way. But it's markedly different as well.

"People live so active lifestyles. It's just the amount of stuff you can do – in your social and spare time."

READ MORE: Consumer watchdog to investigate power companies' profits after energy crisis

South Australia had 27,000 working holiday visitors to the state in 2019, spending $47m.

That pre-pandemic year, backpackers on working holiday visas made up a quarter of a million Aussie jobs.

They contributed $3.2 billion to Australia's visitor economy, representing seven per cent of total visitor spend.

Almost 50,000 backpackers come to Australia from the UK every year normally – more than seven percent of arrivals – with 11,000 Irish also heading Down Under.

But unless they were already in the country, backpackers were banned when Australia's borders were closed for two years during the pandemic.

READ MORE: Seven family members killed on way home from funeral

Minister for Tourism Zoe Bettison said the campaign would help fill much needed job vacancies.

"We can't wait to welcome the £10 flyers and all those others who have been inspired by the campaign to start their Working Holiday Visa adventure in Adelaide," she said.

After the original flights 200 flights went following a prize draw, more were put on sale for £499 return via travel agent Trailfinders.

Contact journalist Sarah Swain: SS****@******om.au

Today marks the official midpoint of the year, known as the winter solstice.

Which means while the weather may not be necessarily be getting warmer, the days are going to last longer.

The winter solstice is the name for the shortest day of the year, which means every day from now on will have an earlier sunrise and later sunset.

READ MORE: Sydney treated to spectacular sunrise on Winter Solstice

We've answered the internet's questions about the winter solstice here.

What is the winter solstice?

The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year. 

It usually falls on June 20 or 21 in the southern hemisphere.

In the northern hemisphere, today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.

Last night was the longest night of the year, in that it was darker for longer than any other date.

READ MORE: Qantas axes mask mandate for some international flights

Why do we have winter solstice?

Winter solstice is not a creation of humans, but rather a name humans gave to the reality of our Earth's situation.

As the Earth orbits around the sun, it tilts as it rotates, making summer and winter.

In summer in Australia, the southern hemisphere is tilted closer to the sun, and in winter, the southern hemisphere is tilted away.

The winter solstice is the moment the southern hemisphere is tilted furthest from the sun.

How long is the shortest day of the year?

It depends on where you live. The closer you are to the equator, the longer the day will be.

In Hobart today, the sun will go down at 4.43pm. People in Cairns get more than another hour, with a 5.52pm sunset.

Being further east also makes a difference with sunset times.

In Sydney, it's 4.54pm. In Melbourne, it's 5.08pm. In Adelaide, it's 5.12pm. In Perth, it's 5.20pm.

At the Casey Research Station in Antarctica, there's only about 2.5 hours of sunlight today.

Researchers there mark the winter solstice with a chilly dip in icy waters.

READ MORE: Seven family members killed on way home from funeral

Winter solstice weather?

Today is the shortest day of the year, but it isn't necessarily the coldest.

Sunlight and our distance from the sun is a major factor in temperatures, but it's not the only factor.

In Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart the temperatures should be colder at the end of the week.

That's in spite of several minutes more sunlight at the end of the day.

READ MORE: Cold front sweeps across country as Winter Solstice arrives