A man who repeatedly abused a six-month-old puppy has been jailed for three months in Victoria.

The accused, Lachlan Thornton, was the joint owner of Oreo, a Bull Arab puppy.

Oreo was surrendered to the Lost Dog's Home with multiple unhealed fractures to her hind legs.

She was later euthanised after she was found to have poor prognosis for quality of life and lack of viable treatment options.

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RSPCA Victoria Chief Inspector Michael Stagg said Oreo's case was particularly disturbing.

"There are no excuses for animal cruelty," he said.

"However, this case was particularly disturbing given the regularity of the abuse over a long period, resulting in pain and suffering caused by the deliberate actions of the owners."

Chief Inspector Stagg said they were pleased to see that the severity of the case was acknowledged by courts.

The accused was sentenced to three months' imprisonment, a community corrections order for 18 months including 200 hours of work, a ten-year disqualification from owning any animal and a monitoring order for ten years.

The co-accused, Demi Henry, was previously sentenced and was fined $7500 and disqualified for a period of ten years from being a person in charge of any animal.

New South Wales and Victoria are ending isolation requirements for household contacts of COVID-positive people by this weekend, with Queensland expected to follow suit.

In announcements by respective state leaders, NSW and Victoria also said it would be changing vaccine mandate rules and ending quarantine for unvaccinated travellers.

Queensland health minister Yvette D'Ath said the Sunshine State would likely follow a similar course of action regarding close contacts.

READ MORE: All the COVID-19 changes announced for NSW and Victoria

"It is possible absolutely," Ms D'Ath said.

"It's still to be finalised I'm just waiting to hear from Victoria and New South Wales to hear what the details are as far as the lifting of any quarantine requirements and what will be required of individuals who are living in a household where someone is positive."

Queensland today recorded 8995 new cases of COVID-19.

The Minister said she expected to be briefed by the Chief Health Officer this afternoon but the announcement would not be made today.

"I am keen to see consistency," Ms D'Ath said.

"I would have liked this be a national decision where all states and territories implement changes at the same time to avoid any confusion."

Positive cases will still be required to isolate for seven days.

The easing of restrictions in New South Wales and Victoria comes as NSW today recorded 15,414 COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths. Victoria saw 10,628 new infections and 14 deaths.

Premier Dominic Perrottet made the NSW announcement today, rolling back some of the last major restrictions in the state.

The changes to close contact rules will ease labour shortages across hospitality, transport and freight, which have all been stretched due to contacts in isolation.

They will come into effect at 6pm this Friday.

NSW will also lift the public health orders requiring key workforces to be vaccinated. These will instead be based on a risk assessment under occupational health and safety.

These vaccine orders will remain in place for aged care and disability workers.

Also, from April 30 unvaccinated travellers will no longer be required to do hotel quarantine.

In Victoria, most COVID-19 restrictions, including household close contact rules, will be lifted by the weekend.

Health Minister Martin Foley said the changes were "important steps" forward and due to the state's "high vaccination rate."

Pubs and cafes will also no longer be required to ensure customers check-in with QR codes to show their vaccination status, allowing unvaccinated patrons to access hospitality services.

Masks will no longer be required in primary schools, early childhood, hospitality and retail settings.

Masks will also be required on public transport, at airports, in sensitive health, aged care and justice settings.

Invasive skin biopsies could soon be a thing of the past, now that new Advanced NanoBiomed research reveals a simple blood test could detect cancerous melanoma cells.

Melanoma Australia estimates about 16,800 Australians will be diagnosed with melanoma this year, with one person diagnosed every 30 minutes.

Melanoma is one of the most dangerous and aggressive skin cancers due to its potential to spread rapidly throughout the body. Early identification and removal is critical for higher survival rates.

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Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that in the last decade, the five-year overall survival rate for advanced melanoma has increased from less than ten per cent to more than 50 per cent.

The latest blood testing method uses a special technique involving Melanoma-specific antibodies, and can not only be used to diagnose melanoma but also evaluate whether remaining cancer cells have been successfully removed after skin cancer surgery.

Researchers from the University of Michigan said this is the first study using circulating tumor cells (CTCs) to evaluate efficacy of surgery.

"CTCs have the potential to pinpoint treatment resistance and recurrence, and can be a valuable biomarker to non-invasively monitor for disease progression," said research author Sunitha Nagrath.

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Australia has the second highest rate of melanoma in the world, with almost 2000 deaths each year.

The groundbreaking research could be a life-saving game changer for not only Australians but for people across the globe, with over 300 000 new cases reported globally in 2019.

One person has been taken to hospital with serious injuries following an incident in the Horowhenua town of Shannon.”A man has been transported to Palmerston North Hospital with serious injuries following an incident in Shannon…

A great white shark has attacked the motor of a West Australian family's boat, circling them for over an hour.

David Tuckfield, his wife Tanya and their 14-year-old son Shelby fishing on their 7.2 metre boat off the coast of Mandurah, south of Perth, on Good Friday when a large shark approached.

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Mr Tuckerfield told 9News the shark – measuring between three and four metres – did not leave for an hour and fixated on the motor, chomping at it several times.

"We had a big visitor from the deep come up, nice size … white pointer," he said.

"He tried to take a chunk out of the motor, we were mesmerised."

When the animal first appeared, it tried to grab Shelby's catch.

Mr Tuckfield said he goes fishing often and has never seen a shark so close to his boat, or of that size.

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"Such a big majestic creature," he said.

"We don't appreciate them until you see them up close and it is their playground."

The Tuckfield family managed to keep all of their catches and said this interaction was the highlight of their Easter holiday.

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A 69-year-old man has been charged following a fatal collision which occurred in Melbourne's inner suburbs earlier this month.

Police allege the man hit a pedestrian with his car on Johnston Street in Abbotsford at 9am on Sunday, April 10.

The 74-year old pedestrian died at the scene.

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The South Yarra man has been charged with dangerous driving causing death.

He has been bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Friday.

Supermarket giant Woolworths is conducting a recall of coconut and rice milk over fears the products have been contaminated with cow's milk.

The recall affects Macro Certified Organic Unsweetened Coconut Milk in the one litre size with a best before date of 03/04/2023 and Macro Certified Organic Naturally Sweet Rice Milk in the one litre size with a best before date of 29/03/2023.

The unsweetened coconut milk had been on sale at Woolworths stores only in Victoria, while the rice milk had been sold at Woolworths in New South Wales and Queensland only.

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Both varieties were on store shelves between 6 April 2022 and 19 April 2022.

According to a recall notice posted by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, the recall is being conducted due to the presence of an "undeclared allergen", in this case milk.

Consumers who have a milk allergy or an intolerance to cow's milk may have a reaction if the products are consumed.

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Those who have purchased the affected varieties are urged to return them to their nearest Woolworths for a full refund.

The recall advises that any consumer concerned about their health having ingested this product should seek medical advice.

National leader Christopher Luxon said he would not get rid of any public holidays if he won the 2023 election, saying he could not “follow through on the commitment” of removing holidays. Luxon has repeatedly said the Government…