Tag Archives: oceania

headline

Boy suffers head injury on ride at Movie World during school holidays

A child has suffered a head injury after falling from a ride at Movie World on the Gold Coast during the first week of the school holidays in Queensland.

The boy was on a carousel ride at the theme park when he cut his head around 1pm.

A Queensland Ambulance spokesperson confirmed the boy, aged in his pre-teens, was taken to hospital in a stable condition.

READ MORE: Thunderstorm warning for Queensland, cyclone offshore brings rain

Movie World Gold Coast

Village Roadshow Theme Parks, which operates the park, said the child was treated by Movie World's nurse before paramedics arrived.

"Our thoughts are with the guest and his family and we wish him a speedy recovery," a statement said.

https://twitter.com/QldAmbulance/status/1511216223404830722

"We pride ourselves on our standards of care and quality and an investigation is being conducted as a matter of priority into the exact cause of the incident. In an abundance of caution the ride has been closed while we understand how the incident occurred.

"The safety and wellbeing of guests and team members is our top priority at Village Roadshow Theme Parks and we are committed to providing guests with a fun and safe environment.

"We will provide further updates when they are available."

headline

Men charged after 'drag racing at 250km/h in luxury cars'

Two young hoons allegedly drove at more than 230km/hr as they drag raced in luxury cars in an 80km/h zone in Melbourne's west.

A 21-year-old Caroline Springs man and 22-year-old Craigieburn man have been arrested at their homes this morning and charged after a police helicopter tracked their drag race on Boundary Road, Truganina about 12.15am on Sunday, March 13.

The cars the men were alleged to be driving – a black BMW M4 coupe valued at $80,000 and a black Mercedes Benz C63 sedan valued at $90,000 – have also been seized this morning.

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Police allege bystanders watched from the side of the road as the pair drag raced at more than 150km/h over the speed limit.

Both men have been hit with a range of charges including reckless conduct endangering serious injury and unlawfully engage in a speed trial.

The 21-year-old has had his licence suspended and has been granted bail to front Sunshine Magistrates' Court in November.

The 22-year-old has been held in police custody to front the court today.

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Victoria police has specifically targeting hoon drivers in the past nine months, charging more than 200 drivers and impounding more than 140 vehicles for alleged hoon activity.

Acting Senior Sergeant Simon Borg has said hoon drivers who are not arrested when they are driving dangerously will be pulled up at a later date.

"It should be pretty clear to those involved it's only a matter of time before you receive a knock on the door if you're not already caught by us on the night," he said.

"Racing around the streets in our community is not just harmless fun.

"When you're travelling at ludicrously high speeds with spectators lining the road, even the slightest error behind the wheel will result in devastation and tragedy."

He said police would continue to crackdown on hoons and monitor events and their participants.

Anyone with information about illegal hoon activity is urged to report this to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

headline

Exactly what the RBA wants before hiking interest rates

Although Australia's official cash rate remained on hold at 0.1 per cent this afternoon, the Reserve Bank has tweaked its language in addressing the nation's interest rates.

Famously conservative, the bank had for many months said it was "prepared to be patient" before lifting interest rates, deliberately adding no fuel to media and market speculation.

But in today's monetary statement, RBA governor Philip Lowe outlined exactly what the central bank is looking for before hiking the cash rate – and it could be upon us within weeks.

READ MORE: RBA keeps interest rates on hold as cost of living woes grow

"The Board has wanted to see actual evidence that inflation is sustainably within the 2 to 3 per cent target range before it increases interest rates," Mr Lowe said.

"Inflation has picked up and a further increase is expected, but growth in labour costs has been below rates that are likely to be consistent with inflation being sustainably at target.

"Over coming months, important additional evidence will be available to the Board on both inflation and the evolution of labour costs.

"The Board will assess this and other incoming information as its sets policy to support full employment in Australia and inflation outcomes consistent with the target."

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Translation: the RBA will wait until at least late April before charting a course, when the latest Consumer Price Index data is handed down.

The Consumer Price Index – or CPI – generally tracks inflation via a "standard basket" of goods and services.

The latest release delivered in late January revealed that in underlying terms, inflation is 2.6 per cent and in headline terms it is 3.5 per cent.

This is the first time in recent memory that inflation had entered the RBA's own criteria of "sustainably between two and three per cent".

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So what are they waiting for? The next CPI data is due to be handed down by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on 27 April 2022 at 11.30am.

We don't know what the exact numbers will be, but several economists (and indeed the Federal Budget) have forecast inflation to continue lifting.

Will that be enough for the RBA to hike rates in its May meeting?

It remains to be seen – as the language of "sustainably" could require at least three sets of data before the central bank moves its hand.

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headline

Heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding to hit NSW again

New South Wales is set to be hit by heavy rainfall over the next four days after a brief reprieve from the wet weather.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) warned between 100 and 250 millimetres of rain is predicted to batter the state from the Hunter region to the Far South Coast.

A flood watch for a number of the state's rivers and catchments will be issued due to the risk of flash flooding.

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The NSW south coast and ranges are to be hit by heavy rainfall over the next four days.

"The focus is on coastal NSW from the Hunter to the South Coast," NSW State Emergency Service Assistant Commissioner Dean Storey said.

BoM meteorologist Ailsa Schofield said there could be flash flooding following heavy rainfall.

The heaviest rainfall is expected on Thursday.

"On Wednesday we might see rainfall total in excess of 100 millimetres," Ms Schofield said.

"On Thursday we might see rainfall totals in excess of 200 to 250 millimetres.

"On Friday we will see higher rainfall totals in excess of 150 millimetres."

Meteorologist Ailsa Schofield said a flood watch will be issued for a significant number of NSW rivers due to the severe weather in coming days.

Ms Schofield warned moderate flooding could occur in the Upper Hunter, Hawkesbury and Nepean valley, as well as the Colo River.

She also said minor flooding could occur in the Illawarra, South Coast and Far South Coast.

"The catchments are very wet it won't take much rainfall to see flash flooding," she said.

Meanwhile, rain is also predicted in the already flood-ravaged north of NSW where recovery efforts after two flooding events in less than a month caused extensive damage to the region.

"There remains the risk of some rainfall impacting the North Coast and Northern Rivers areas which have seen so much rainfall in recent times," Assistant Commissioner Storey said.

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https://twitter.com/BOM_NSW/status/1511102203443957764

Not only is heavy rainfall predicted, but more damaging winds and large waves will pummel the NSW coast.

"This surge of wind and swell are being caused by a tropical cyclone moving south across the Coral Sea and pressing against a high pressure system in the southern Tasman Sea," Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said.

READ MORE: Bodies of father and son recovered after deadly landslide in NSW

Waves could reach highs of up to two to three metres later this week and NSW coastal residents are warned of the risk of erosion.

"While this swell will be smaller than the waves that inundated the state's coast last weekend, they may still cause erosion in some areas," Mr Domensino said.

Thunderstorm warning for Queensland

Rain and thunderstorms are also expected to develop over southern Queensland between tomorrow and the weekend.

"Rain and thunderstorms will linger over parts of eastern and south-eastern Australia into the weekend, and some of these storms could also become severe," Mr Domensino said.

Some of the rain in Queensland has been brought by Tropical Cyclone Fili near New Caledonia.

The cyclone is forecast to drift south but will remain "well offshore" the coast of Queensland, BoM meteorologist Helen Reid said.

https://twitter.com/BOM_Qld/status/1511107679065980933

Queensland's coast will also experience hazardous surf.

"Swells are expected to be an easterly three-metre with long period, generated by a combination of Tropical Cyclone Fili and a high moving into the Tasman Sea," Ms Reid said.

Some flood warnings also remain in place in southern Queensland, including the Condamine catchment, but the forecast rain could cause more flooding later this week.