By RNZ Tonga no longer meets the criteria for quarantine-free travel due to increasing Covid-19 cases, director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced this evening.Tonga now has 139 active cases, 75 of which are from…

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has vowed to cut the carbs after Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas made waves with a shirtless media appearance over the weekend.

Mr Malinauskas stripped down to his boardshorts at the Adelaide Aquatic Centre as Labor pledged to build $80 million centre if elected next month.

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The 41-year-old politician was photographed playing in the pool with his daughter Eliza.

Mr Marshall told ABC Radio he "hung his head" when he saw the photos.

"There's no Putin-style campaigning from me, I can guarantee, I'm just focused on the key issues of South Australia but, yes, I did have to hang my head in shame when that photo went up," he said.

"I thought to myself this morning, 'Right, that's it, no more carbs.'"

An abandoned pet snake, believed to be worth around $1000, has been spotted on Sydney's busy Oxford Street.

The out of place diamond head python was discovered hiding in a bin outside a Paddington barber's shop, before being coaxed into a bystander's leather bag to safety.

The native Australian reptile's rare city appearance has sparked concern among authorities and wildlife carers, with the incident now set to be investigated by police.

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The snake was taken to a vet to be treated for minor injuries, which are believed to have been inflicted by its previous owner.

Once given the all-clear, the python will be given the chance to find a new and safe forever home.

New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet has admitted the leak of more than 500,000 addresses, including Defence sites, a missile maintenance unit and domestic violence shelters through a government website "shouldn't have happened".

The hundreds of thousands of locations were collected by the NSW Customer Services Department through its QR code registration system and was made public through a government website.

The locations, seen in a dataset obtained by 9News, were businesses or organisations which registered as wanting to comply by COVID-Safe directions.

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"If there has been, as it appears on its face, to have been a significant breach, then relevant state government department must be prosecuted," civil libertarian Terry O'Gorman said.

The addresses of dozens of shelters and crisis accommodation centres for women across NSW were also made public, leading to one victims' support advocate claiming "it could be a matter of life and death".

"If government is really sharing information like this, it can have serious consequences," Hayley Foster, the chief executive officer of Women's Safety NSW, said.

The list also included correctional facilities and critical infrastructure networks, including power stations and tunnel entry sites.

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Locations in Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT were also included in the NSW database.

The NSW Government said it referred the matter to the Privacy Commissioner in October last year and was told "the incident did not constitute a privacy breach".

Mr Perrottet said he was advised of "an issue" this morning and said information had been "uploaded in error".

"That was worked through Privacy Commissioner. My understanding is they were satisfied that the matter was resolved and that information was taken down. It shouldn't have happened," Mr Perrottet said.

The NSW Department of Customer services said it classed less than one per cent of the 566,318 locations as sensitive.

"These businesses were all contacted by telephone and letter. No issues of concern were raised by any recipients," a department spokesperson said.

A notice on the NSW data website dated October 12, 2021 says: "The COVID Safe Businesses and Organisations dataset has been discontinued. We have identified issues with integrity of the data".

But neither the department nor the government explained what the "integrity" issue was.

Today, a department spokesperson said it "considers the security and privacy of customer information its highest priority".

Registration as a COVID-Safe business was open to all businesses, including those in other states and territories which had interests in NSW.

Whistleblower Skeeve Stevens, a technology specialist in the security and intelligence space, identified the publicly available data in September and said he alerted cyber experts, who in turn raised the alarm with the NSW Government.

"If the wrong people got hold of this it could've been used for bad things," Mr Stevens said.

"Some of the scary things we were searching – firearms, armoury, federal police and where storage locations were – perhaps someone should've thought about what should and shouldn't have been disclosed."

Mr O'Gorman questioned the need for the public database.

"Why did they make this information available in the first place? It just boggles the mind as to why there's even a necessity to publish this sort of information," he said.

The department spokesperson said: "The list of COVID-Safe businesses was publicly available online to ensure customers could plan activities while remaining COVID-Safe.

"Those registering were advised the Department of Customer Service may share de-identified information for research and statistical purposes."

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Police have confirmed a man has died after the helicopter he was piloting crashed into a field in Tasmania's north.

The helicopter had been fighting a bushfire in the Lebrina area which has burned through more than 1600 hectares.

The man, 41, was the sole occupant inside the aircraft and died at the scene.

Police and emergency services were called to the scene of the crash near Pipers Brook Road in Pipers Brook about 3.20pm today.

"Initial investigations suggest that the pilot was in the area undertaking duties relating to bushfires in the Lebrina area when it crashed in a paddock," Tasmania Police said.

Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) Acting Deputy Chief Jeff Harper said the crash was a "tragic" incident.

"Our hearts go out to the man's family and loved ones at this difficult time," Mr Harper said.

"Our thoughts are also with our people and others who have been working very closely with the man involved to help fight the Lebrina fires.

"It is a very tragic situation, especially because it has involved someone who was working hard to fight the Lebrina fires to help our community safe."

Mr Harper said support will be provided for emergency crews.

"We will be working with Police, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and other authorities so that this incident is fully investigated," he said.

Anyone who witnessed the crash is urged to contact Launceston Police on 131444 or report it to Crime Stoppers on 1800333000 or crimestopperstas.com.au.

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A traumatised family has been bashed and told to "get out of the country" in an alleged racist attack at the car park of a Melbourne hotel.

Victim Lynn Balm, 54, was allegedly beaten so badly, he had to spend Saturday night in hospital, after being allegedly punched and kicked to the ground outside the Lynbrook Hotel.

"They scuffed me on the ground and started punching me, kicking me on my ribs," he told 9News through tears.

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The attackers first targeted his brother and sister-in-law, prompting Mr Balm to step in to protect them.

Victim Jacqueline Prakasham said she was getting out of the car when the alleged racist abuse was hurled at her.

"Straight away he said: 'you f—— Indians, you f—— Indians get out.'"

Mr Balm alleged the attackers said: "Get out of this country, you don't belong in this country."

"My sister-in-law, poor thing – she'd been hit and pushed. That's why I came to pull him out from her."

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There are hopes security cameras at the hotel filmed at least part of the altercation.

But when 9News approached management today, they declined to comment on the incident.

The family's message to their attackers is "we are all one" and race does not matter.

"We don't want any harm to come to you … but, learn a lesson, treat everyone equally," Mrs Prakasham said.

Police are speaking to a 29-year-old man in relation to the attack.

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A man has been arrested after a woman was found dead inside a home in Melbourne's south-east last week.

Emergency services attended the property on Glendale Road in Springvale about 12.10pm on February 10, finding a 41-year-old woman dead inside.

A 20-year-old Springvale man was today arrested in Melbourne CBD.

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He will now be interviewed by police.

Police said the parties involved in the matter were known to each other and they were not looking for anyone else at this time.