DoC says disturbing seals is an offence under the Marine Mammals Act 1978.

Experts have issued a warning as some Australians stockpile jerry cans following surging fuel prices across the country.

A Toyota was pictured with about 20 jerry cans attached to the roof in Shellharbour, south of Sydney, last week.

"Well, petrol is the new toilet paper," a witness wrote on social media, referring to when people stockpiled toilet paper during the COVID-19 pandemic.

READ MORE: Victoria's daily fuel price caps now in effect to quash price gouging

The sight drew criticism, with some users saying it was a "serious accident waiting to happen" and "unAustralian".

Others said "mind your own business" and "l bet the price won't drop as quickly as it went up".

Similar scenes are reportedly happening across the country. 

Bunnings shelves that are typically stocked with jerry cans have been pictured empty.

"The end times are upon us and Australians have responded the only way they know how… by clearing out every single jerrycan from Bunnings," a user wrote on social media.

READ MORE: $1.6 billion-a-year tax change confirmed for millions of super accounts

Bunnings confirmed it is replenishing low stock but declined to comment any further.

NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury warned of the dangers of stockpiling fuel at home.

"Apart from not making any economic sense, is also extremely dangerous," he said at a press conference yesterday.

"Please do not fill jerry cans and put them in your garage, because that is unsafe."

Global oil prices surged 30 per cent to $US110 per barrel yesterday after the US-Israeli war in Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage used to transport one-fifth of the world's fuel supply.

READ MORE: Supermarket pain for shoppers as inflation nears record high

Locally, it has caused fuel prices to rise to over $2 a litre.

While some people stockpile fuel, others have panic-bought fuel at service stations.

Long queues were seen outside service stations across the country, as some retailers reported that the increased demand has led to low stock.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen last week said Australia only has 32 days' worth of jet fuel, 34 days of diesel and 36 days of petrol available.

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Ardern also oversees a $5.1m Matariki Fund targeting cervical cancer in the Pacific.

OPINION: There’s a lot of pressure on the PM, who is prone to verbal fumbles and gaffes.

The young boy was reported missing in Ōtāhuhu yesterday.

A video with 15-year-old student leader Malea Procter has reached around 56,000 views.

A Sydney council is considering banning drivers from parking trailers, boats and caravans in several areas amid community safety concerns.

Sutherland Shire Council is looking into the long-term parking of boats, trailers and caravans on busy local streets after multiple residents reported the issue.

"The issues raised included visual amenity, reduced sightlines, safety risks, and prolonged storage on public roads," a Sutherland Shire Council spokesperson told nine.com.au.

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The council is considering enforcement options under current legislation, recommended improvements to existing legislation, and options for a targeted trial of parking measures.

Those measures could include signs banning trailers, boats and caravans from parking in key locations across busy suburbs like Cronulla, Woolooware and Lilli Pilli.

Many locals say they'd welcome the change.

Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Leach at our breaking newsletter here

The federal government's proposed changes to the way superannuation is taxed will soon become law, after the Greens agreed to back the reform.

Under the plan, roughly 1.3 million of the nation's lowest-paid workers will get access to the low-income superannuation tax offset (LISTO), while about 90,000 ultra-wealthy Australians will have their superannuation earnings taxed at a higher rate.

The move will also raise an extra $1.6 billion a year in revenue for the federal budget.

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While the government easily has the numbers to pass legislation through the lower house, with the Coalition opposing the change, it required the support of the Greens to get the bill through the Senate.

This morning, the minor party announced it will back the laws, while at the same time urging the government to pull the trigger on major tax reform in the upcoming federal budget.

"We're disappointed that Labor has watered down its original proposal, but we strongly support the increase to the low-income super tax offset, two-thirds of which will benefit women's retirement savings," Greens senator Nick McKim said.

"We are going to support the bill as a downpayment on genuine, progressive tax reform in this budget."

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Superannuation changes to start July 1

With the laws set to pass the Senate, the superannuation changes will come into effect at the start of the next financial year.

From July 1, the LISTO threshold will be raised to offset the tax paid on superannuation for anyone earning less than $45,000 a year, up from $37,000, effectively ensuring super is still tax-effective for Australians on low incomes.

Raising the threshold to the top of the second income tax bracket will cover an additional 1.3 million workers.

According to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), that change will deliver someone on $44,000 a year close to an extra $50,000 in their super balance by the time they retire.

READ MORE: Five Iranian footballers granted asylum by Australia after escape

The other change impacts ultra-wealthy Australians by increasing the tax rate on superannuation earnings for accounts worth more than $3 million.

This will impact the top 0.3 per cent of super account holders – a total of about 90,000 people.

Instead of the current flat concessional tax rate of 15 per cent, from July 1, the tax rate on earnings for super accounts with a balance of between $3 million and $10 million will rise to 30 per cent, and to 40 per cent for accounts worth more than $10 million.

The increased tax rates won't apply to an account's entire earnings – only to the proportion of the balance over each of the new thresholds.

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Greens push for wider tax changes in budget

By describing their backing as a down payment on progressive reform, the Greens have only raised speculation further that the May 12 federal government will contain some of the most substantial changes to the tax system in decades.

"This budget is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for ambitious tax reform, and we are opening the door for Labor to walk through," McKim said.

Exactly what will be unveiled remains a mystery, but the government has done little, if anything, to quash rumours of the controversial capital gains tax discount being pared back for investment properties – something McKim alluded to.

"The current tax system has turbo-charged the housing crisis, wealth inequality and a deepening intergenerational divide," he said. 

"We are demanding bold reform that responds to these challenges and makes our society fairer for young people and working people.

EXCLUSIVE: Andy paid his parking fine, only to be slapped with another $130 fine

"There is a massive Labor majority in the House of Representatives, the opposition is a rabble, and the numbers are there in the Senate as long as Labor shows courage. 

"The only limit is Labor's level of ambition."

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has frequently spoken of the government's desire to address intergenerational inequality.

Last night, The Australian reported Treasury has conducted modelling on limiting negative gearing to two investment properties, while there have also been rumours of tax incentives for electric vehicles and home batteries being scaled back to cut down on federal spending levels.

Last Friday, Chalmers hosted a roundtable discussion with a group of leading private economists, which he said would help inform the decisions made in the budget.

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It took 48 hours but just one tiny window of opportunity for five Iranian footballers to make their fateful escape from handlers and successfully seek asylum in Australia overnight.

Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi were assisted by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in a dramatic midnight mission on Queensland's Gold Coast as most of Australia slept.

Their desperate bid for freedom came to a triumphant end when Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke granted the players humanitarian visas at 1.30am – a secret meeting that sealed their fate while most of Australia slept.

But the plans had been laid well before Burke signed the dotted line and before it was accused of dragging their feet by Australian activist Drew Pavlou and US President Donald Trump.

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The players feared jail or death upon their return to Iran, besieged by the US-led strikes and under a fresh ayatollah regime, after being eliminated from the 2026 Women's Asia Cup.

Concerns had grown for the footballers since Sunday night when it was claimed at one of the women made "a sign for help" as the team bus left Gold Coast Stadium at the end of their Asia Cup campaign.

The players also feared for their safety after being labelled traitors for not singing the national anthem during a game against South Korea.

Burke's office had declined to comment on the matter before now, citing the sensitivity of the issues involved.

The calls for the Australian government to step in and grant asylum to the team then hit boiling point when Trump joined the fray with a post on Truth Social about 1.15am AEDT.

"Don't do it Mr Prime Minister, give ASYLUM. The U.S. will take them if you won't," Trump wrote, before sharing Pavlou's post which claimed the government had to be "dragged kicking and screaming" to grant the women protection.

It appears efforts to help the football players flee Iranian persecution began days before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese admonished for making a "terrible humanitarian decision" by Trump.

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Here is how the past 48 hours unfolded.

Burke flew to Brisbane on Sunday evening to speak with the team members who had expressed a desire to stay in Australia.

The players had been due to fly back home to Iran yesterday, but did not emerge from their hotel to travel the airport as planned.

It wasn't until late last night that the women broke away from their handlers and were moved to a safe location by the AFP.

The exact circumstances of their escape is unclear – sources previously told SBS News that the women were not able to walk around the hotel unaccompanied and were escorted to a conference room to eat meals.

By 1.30am today, the humanitarian visas were officially granted by Burke.

EXCLUSIVE: Andy paid his parking fine, only to be slapped with another $130 fine

https://www.instagram.com/p/DVqccXtDX9D/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=8a6ad04d-b1db-467c-b614-47b93f171901

"I signed off last night for their applications to go onto humanitarian visas and a little bit after 1.30am this morning the processing was completed by the Department of Home Affairs," Burke said.

Albanese later confirmed that Trump called him just before 2am and the pair had a "very positive discussion".

During that call, the PM delicately explained to Trump that the wheels had already been in motion before his public intervention.

"He was concerned about the Iranian women in the football team and their welfare and their safety if they returned home," the PM told reporters.

"I was able to convey to him the action that we'd taken over the previous 48 hours and that five [members] of the team had asked for assistance and had received it and were safely located."

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At around 3am, Trump returned to Truth Social to shower Albanese with praise.

"He's on it!" Trump wrote. "Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way.

"Some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don't return.

"In any event, the Prime Minister is doing a very good job having to do with this rather delicate situation."

By 7am today, Burke had re-emerged and offered details of his long night in Queensland.

READ MORE: 'Expected': Fuel shortage to drive up grocery prices as inflation bites

"They're welcome to stay in Australia, they're safe here, and feel at home here," Burke told reporters today.

"There has been a lot of work that's been going on in recent days to make sure that we had the maximum number of opportunities for these women to know that they could seek assistance if they wanted to and to have maximum number of opportunities to directly seek that assistance.

"This is my second night here in Brisbane, I was here the night before as well, and at that point we had conversations happening with some of the women but we didn't know whether any would seek assistance."

The remaining members of the team will be offered assistance if they ask for it, he added.

"We realise they are in a terribly difficult situation with the decisions that they're making, but the opportunity will continue to be there for them to talk to Australian officials if they wish to," Burke said.

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The wife of an American teacher killed in a student prank gone wrong wants all charges against the teens involved dropped.

A group of teenagers went to Jason Hughes' home in Gainesville, Georgia on Friday night (Saturday afternoon AEDT) armed with rolls of toilet paper to throw over trees, the New York Times reports.

The 40-year-old, a teacher at North Hall High School, knew the good-natured prank was coming, and went outside to catch them in the act but reportedly slipped and fell in the rain just as the teens were leaving the scene in two cars.

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Hughes was run over by one of the cars and died.

Hall County Sheriff's office have now charged 18-year-old Jayden Ryan Wallace with homicide by vehicle in the first degree, criminal trespass, reckless driving and littering.

The sheriff's office confirmed to the Times that Wallace did stop and attempt to give his teacher first aid but could not revive him.

Another four teens were also charged with misdemeanours, criminal trespass and littering.

In a statement viewed by the Times, Hughes' wife Laura, who is also a teacher at North Hall, said her husband was not going to confront the students, but was "excited and waiting to catch them in the act".

She said the family supports all charges being dropped.

"This is a terrible tragedy, and our family is determined to prevent a separate tragedy from occurring, ruining the lives of these students," Hughes said.

"This would be counter to Jason's lifelong dedication of investing in the lives of these children."

The superintendent of the school district reportedly released a statement in praise of the late teacher and coach.

"Jason Hughes was a loving husband, a devoted father; a passionate teacher, mentor, and coach who was loved and respected by students and colleagues," Will Schofield.

"He gave so much to so many in numerous ways as he faithfully served God.

"Our hearts and prayers go out to his wife and family."