New Labour MP Lemauga Lydia Sosene has spoken of her “humble beginnings” in Ōtara, and pledged to champion environmental and social justice. Sosene gave her maiden speech at Parliament this evening in front of a packed public…

A world champion oyster shucker has arrived in New South Wales to compete against Australia's very own title-holder. 

The two will go head-to-head at the Narooma Oyster Festival this weekend.

The festival signifies the start to the return to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic and a boost in tourism for the state's south coast.

READ MORE: The murder capital of NSW revealed by police statistics

9News has been treated to an early exhibition of the two champions' speed and efficiency in shucking oysters.

Watch the video above to find out who is the fastest oyster shucker.

Bicycles, bricks and even dollhouses are just some of the unsecured items that have come flying off vehicles and onto Melbourne freeways in recent weeks.

Authorities are now warning motorists of the dangers and risks surrounding unsecured loads.

CityLink General Manger for Victorian Operations Philip Naulls said unsecured loads were a "massive" issue.

READ MORE: Man airlifted to hospital in alleged hit-and-run in regional Victoria over the Easter long weekend

He said it was a "surprisingly large issue".

"The key message to motorists is that we want you to travel through our city but please secure your loads," he said.

"Before you travel please check your load, check your straps and enjoy your journey."

Mr Naulls said since the beginning of the year, CityLink had dealt with 600 loss of load incidents.

"We are only in May," he said.

READ MORE: Victorian state budget: The winners and losers

"Each of those individual events creates a hazard. We are clearing those events quickly but there still is a delay to those motorists.

"It creates an immediate hazard to the motorists around you."

A similar statement was shared by EastLink corporate affairs manager Doug Spencer-Roy.

He said last month alone, there were 120 separate incidents.

READ MORE: Health centrepiece of Victoria budget as hospital system receives huge cash injection

"That's 120 times where we had to send out a team and clear out debris off the road," he said.

"It's a high number and that's 120 potential accidents… we take it all very seriously."

Mr Spencer-Roy said unsecured loads puts every motorist at risk.

"We see items taken by the wind or (in some situations) a series of items might fall of a truck and that can cause widespread damage if it collided with multiple vehicles," he said.

"It's careless and every item should be secured."

Rising cost of living pressures and now rising interest rates are putting the heat on new home owners across the country.

It comes as the big four banks all passed on the first Reserve Bank hike today, the first time in more than a decade.

Home owner and new mum, Nidhi Rekhi said the rising pressures were already stripping the family budget.

READ MORE: Man airlifted to hospital in alleged hit-and-run in regional Victoria over the Easter long weekend

She said her family had to change a lot of things in terms of living expenses.

"We limited our eating out, going out shopping… and travelling… and we had to basically cut our expenses wherever we can," she said.

"The other expenses we had to limit so we could plan for the upcoming future.

"We have had to change a lot of things in terms of living expenses."

Ms Rekhi however counts herself lucky, after she secured a two-year fixed rate on her mortgage.

"We just moved into our house, having a new born, there are increased expenses," she said.

"We have planned and we have to plan for the future and it's a tough situation at the moment.

"We very lucky to be on a fixed-term rate right now.

"Obviously in the back of the mind we are worried what thing will be coming on board after two years… when we are going back to normal, not the fixed one."

ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott said interest rates would likely rise again.

"Now we're looking at a period that it seems likely, globally, interest rates will be on the rise for a period," he said.

"That's quite new for a lot of our customers."

The moment the RBA pulled the trigger, it was a domino effect for the big four banks.

With all four match the 0.25 increase by 7am this morning.

It's a brave new world for new home buyers bracing for a stressful journey.

Pop star Guy Sebastian was the star witness in court today in the trial of his former manager, who is accused of embezzling more than $1 million from the singer over a decade.

Titus Day allegedly pocketed money from royalties, gig fees and ambassadorship that should have gone to the singer, but the talent agent argued there was a clear answer for every charge. 

"He would be responsible for organising gigs, booking them, booking tours, negotiating with record labels… basically everything that I did professionally was done by Mr Day," Mr Sebastian told the court.

READ MORE: The murder capital of NSW revealed by police statistics

The first ever Australian Idol winner also said he didn't read over the deals because Mr Day was a contract lawyer.

Mr Day worked for Mr Sebastian for a decade until their relationship soured in 2017 – leading to civil action and now a criminal trial.

The singer's motivation was questioned by the manager's barrister today, who told the jury the case was "misconceived".

READ MORE: Man and woman arrested after NSW teen vanished nearly 20 years ago

"You may wonder whether the authorities, particularly police, were even willfully blind, seduced perhaps by Mr Sebastian's high profile," Dominic Toomey SC said.

The pop star was shy on the stand as he spoke about his skyrocketing career, number one singles, and how he was wooed to sign exclusively with Mr Day in 2009.

He will return to continue to give evidence tomorrow.

An expectant mother forced to resign from her job as a result of a flood-damaged daycare centre has now missed out on paid parental leave by 10 days.Terell Lambert was expecting her second child when the Napier daycare centre where…

A young child is in a critical condition after being left on a bus in central Queensland.

Police confirmed the three year-old girl was left on a bus outside a Rockhampton early learning centre around 3.15 pm today.

It's believed the child had been on the bus, parked in front of the childcare centre on Lucas Street, in Gracemere since 9.30am this morning.

She was found unconscious in the 28C degree heat.

READ MORE: The murder capital of NSW revealed by police statistics

The toddler was rushed to Rockhampton Hospital in a critical condition.

Police are investigating the incident and are currently interviewing staff at the centre.

Last year a three-year-old boy was found dead inside a bus outside a childcare centre in Cairns.

The driver involved was sentenced to six-years-in jail over the incident.

More to come…

Josh Millard is recovering in hospital after he was the victim of an alleged hit-and-run in regional Victoria last month.

Police are appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage after Mr Millard was seriously injured over the Easter weekend.

The 33-year-old was airlifted to hospital after he was struck by a vehicle on Sturt Street in Kyneton shortly after 2am on April 16.

READ MORE: Victorian state budget: The winners and losers

Police say the driver failed to stop at the scene.

Earlier that day, Mr Millard was spending time with friends and family at the Kyneton Football Ground.

Together with his cousin, they decided to walk home, when he passed out on the side of the road.

His cousin tried to carry him but gave up, running two doors down to his home seek some assistance and help.

And in those few minutes, Mr Millard was allegedly run over and left for dead.

He was airlifted to the Royal Melbourne hospital, and placed into a coma.

His mother was told he might not survive.

Nearly three weeks on and Mr Millard has made a miraculous recovery.

Police are now appealing for information and would like to speak to anyone who drove through the area around that time and may have seen a pedestrian or anything suspicious.

They believe the vehicle may have been a four wheel drive and said it may be possible the driver was one of the many tourists visiting the region for Easter.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Waikato Hospital nurses who took positions at managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) hotels to help combat the Covid-19 pandemic are now struggling to get their old jobs back. More than 20 nurses – who previously worked in the hospital’s…

A cyclist has died after they were hit by a truck in Adelaide's northern suburbs early this morning.

Concrete construction workers were on their way to an early morning job when just before 5.30am when their truck collided with the cyclist on Kings Road in Salisbury Downs.

When emergency crews arrived at the scene of the crash, they were unable to save the 51-year-old rider.

READ MORE: COVID-19 testing site in Sydney closed after 'influx' of venomous snakes

"Losing anyone is a really hard thing, especially in a tragic accident like this," one local man said.

The truck driver – a 60-year-old man – and his passenger jumped out to help the cyclist after making a call to their colleagues, one of which was the driver's son, telling them what had happened.

The driver's son told 9News his dad was in shock and said he hasn't seen the cyclist trying to cross the median strip on Kings Rd in the dark and wet conditions.

READ MORE: The crimes happening in your NSW neighbourhood

The driver was taken to hospital for medical examination.

Police officers also spoke to the passenger in the truck and a security guard who is believed to have witnessed the crash.

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said the crash caused road closures as the Major Crash unit investigated.

The stretch of road between Main North Road and Horrie Millier Avenue was closed for several hours as officers mapped out the scene and combed over the truck.

Police are urging anyone with information to come forward.