An Australian woman has died in an accident at a ski resort in Japan.

Brooke Day, 22, died on Friday at a popular resort in the Hakuba Valley, a popular skiing and snowboarding region about 30 kilometres from Nagano.

It's believed the Sunshine Coast woman went into cardiac arrest after becoming stuck in a chairlift and suspended in the air about 9am (11am AEDT) on Friday.

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The operators of Tsugaike Mountain Resort, Tsugaike Gondola Lift Co, confirmed the death of a customer on its web page.

The resort said the 22-year-old was left hanging in midair after trying to get off a chair lift when the waist buckle on her backpack caught onto the chair.

In a statement, chief executive and president Tsuneo Kubo said Day was dragged along with her backpack because its chest strap did not release.

He said she was taken to hospital after an attendant pressed the stop button and first aid was administered.

The Tsuga No. 2 Pair Lift remained closed today as the company continued to investigate.

She was identified in Japanese media as Ella Day Brooke but sources close to her family confirmed her name to The Sydney Morning Herald.

In a profile by her employer, Hakuba Physio, the receptionist described herself as a "people person" whose personal motto was to "live in the moment".

She said she was happiest riding powder snow or at the beach with her dog.

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Kubo on Friday said the woman suffered what appeared to be a heart attack before being taken to hospital, where she later died.

"We would like to express our deepest condolences to the bereaved family and pray for the repose of their souls," company chief executive and president Kubo said in a statement.

"We will continue to fully cooperate with the police and related agencies in their investigations."

Nagano Omachi Police also said she suffered a cardiac arrest.

Kubo said staff would also look into strengthening the resort's safety management in an effort to prevent a recurrence.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson confirmed it was providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian who died in Japan.

"We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time. Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment," they said.

– Reported with CNN

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WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this story contains the name and image of a person who is deceased.

Police have confirmed Julian Ingram was seen on the side of a road two days after he allegedly murdered three people, and believe the accused triple-murderer is still receiving help from the public to evade capture.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland this afternoon said Ingram, also known as Julian Pierpoint, visited a property on Kidman Way, three kilometres south of Mt Hope, "in the dark hours of the night" between January 24 and 25.

He urged anyone with information about Ingram's whereabouts to contact police.

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The revelation comes after two women detailed a scary encounter with a man they believe was Ingram.

The 37-year-old is wanted over the Lake Cargelligo shooting deaths of his heavily pregnant ex-partner Sophie Quinn, 25, her friend John Harris, 32 and aunty Nerida Quinn, 50,as well as the serious injury of Kaleb Macqueen, 19, on January 22.

Police have battled what Holland described as "oppressive" conditions in western NSW, where temperatures have hovered above 40 degrees for days on end as their expansive search for the fugitive nudges two weeks.

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Holland said he believes Ingram is receiving help from members of the public to remain unsighted by police.

"After 12 days in this heat and the conditions he's in, I do believe he's getting help and we're appealing to the members of the public to give us some support," he said.

Holland today called a level two critical incident investigation into the alleged triple murder, which will examine the police response, as well as Ingram's domestic violence history and how he got access to guns before the shooting.

"Fresh information has come forward and it's given me reason to believe that the matter needs to be further investigated, hence my reasoning for creating the critical incident investigation," Holland said.

Police are continuing a large-scale search surrounding Lake Cargelligo, including support from the Police AirWing, Tactical Operations and the Rescue and Bomb Disposal crews.

He was last seen driving a dual cab Ford Ranger utility with the NSW registration DM-07-GZ.

"We do believe he's still got access to the main vehicle he was using, we're not sure which vehicle he is using at present," Holland said.

If you or someone you know are feeling worried or no good, you can connect with 13YARN on 13 92 76 (24 hours/7 days) and talk with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporter.

Support is also available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

David Littleproud will remain the federal Nationals leader after the leadership spill launched by backbench MP Colin Boyce failed.

Nationals whip Michelle Landry confirmed the spill motion at today's partyroom meeting was unsuccessful.

Boyce's challenge was tipped to fail following a lack of support among the party's MPs.

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Landry did not confirm how many voted for or against the motion, as is standard practice for Nationals partyroom motions.

Littleproud is expected to meet with Opposition Leader Sussan Ley today at 6pm, however it remains unknown if a reunion with the Coalition is on the cards yet.

Boyce earlier said he was mounting a challenge over his party's decision to split from the Liberals triggered when the National Party voted against new hate speech laws last month after their unsuccessful amendment to the bill.

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The Queensland MP claimed the Nationals were "asleep at the wheel".

Last weekend, Littleproud declared he had "no issues" with Boyce challenging him for the leader's job.

"He is well within his right (to challenge for the leadership)," Littleproud told Today.

"I'll take counsel from my colleagues and I'll take their guidance and their decision."I believe passionately in the National Party and no matter the result, I'll accept."

Littleproud said the Nationals did not want to operate in a party room where "unilateral" decisions would be made.

But the Nationals and their former Coalition partners, the Liberal Party, have recorded dismal polling with voters flocking to One Nation. 

Boyce, who has been in federal parliament since 2022, has previously said the Nationals needed to change direction, and remain in the Coalition to challenge the increasing threat from Pauline Hanson's party.

He announced last week that he will challenge Littleproud for the leadership of their party, describing the decision to split the Coalition for the second time in a year as "political suicide".

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TVs, iPads and a high jump mat were destroyed in the weekend break-in.

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A new capital has joined the ranks of Australian cities where the average house exceeds $1 million, as property prices continue their stubborn climb nationwide.

The median cost of a standalone home in Perth hit $1,003,804 in January, climbing 1.9 per cent from the previous month, according to Cotality's Home Value Index.

It is the fourth Australian city to reach that benchmark, trailing just behind Brisbane and Canberra where median house prices have crept up to $1,149,589 and $1,033,761 respectively.

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It comes amid persistent property price rises nationwide, despite renewed cost of living pressures on the eve of a forecast interest rate hike.

The newly released Home Value Index also shows that it is the most affordable properties – those in the lowest quarter of the price range – where prices are rising fastest, in a trend that risks pushing home ownership ever further out of reach for thousands of Australians.

While Sydney remains by far the most unaffordable city for house ownership, with a median price of $1,598,819, growth has slowed to just 0.3 per cent in January.

Nationally, the value of Australian homes (both houses and apartments) rose by 0.8 per cent in January, according to Cotality's Home Value Index – a slight uptick from 0.6 per cent in December. 

Stubbornly high property prices are a fresh blow to prospective home buyers who are bracing for a cut to their borrowing power if the Reserve Bank hikes interest rates tomorrow as forecast.

"Despite the most unaffordable conditions on record in many cities, along with a rebound in cost of living pressures and prospect of a rate hike as early as (tomorrow), we are still seeing a broad-based rise in housing values," Cotality's research director Tim Lawless said.

However, Lawless suggested price rises are likely to ease this year, as demand eased and forecast interest rate hikes limited people's ability to service larger mortgages.

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The number of homes advertised for sale is currently 19 per cent below where it was at this time last year and 25 per cent below the five-year average.

At the same time, the quarterly number of home sales is one per cent higher than a year ago.

Australia's smaller and mid-sized capitals have recorded the biggest jump in property prices, with Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide prices rising by between 1.2 and 2 per cent.

That compares to an incremental creep of just 0.2 and 0.1 per cent respectively for Sydney and Melbourne.

In the past year, Darwin has seen the steepest property price increases, up by almost a fifth (19.7 per cent).

The second-largest increase is in Perth, where combined house and unit prices have risen by 18.5 per cent annually, making it the third most expensive city to buy a property after Sydney and Brisbane.

Sydney and Melbourne properties are up a comparatively small 6.4 and 5.4 per cent annually.

In worrying news for housing affordability and equality, homes at the most affordable end of the housing market are seeing the largest price hikes.

House values in the lowest quartile rose by 1.3 per cent, compared to just 0.3 per cent rise in the top quartile.

"This trend of stronger growth conditions at lower price points is supported by intense competition for more affordable houses," said Lawless.

"This is where first home buyers, investors and, progressively, mainstream demand is most concentrated."

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Whangaparāoa Road remains closed as crews clear the crash scene.

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