Tag Archives: oceania

Auckland starts seven-day lockdown

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden announced a snap seven-day lockdown in Auckland last night, put in place due to a mystery local COVID-19 case.

From 6am today (4am AEDT), Auckland moves to Alert Level 3 for the week, while the rest of New Zealand is Alert Level 2.

Ms Ardern said the lockdown was in response to a new community case detected this afternoon that did not have a clear link to a small cluster of cases already in the south of the city.

Jacinda Ardern press conference COVID-19 lockdown in AucklandJacinda Ardern announces seven-day lockdown in Aucklandhttps://twitter.com/RuthWW/status/1365574947892916224

The case is an older sibling of a Papatoetoe High School student who was a casual plus contact. The student had returned three recent negative tests and is asymptomatic.

"Public health officials are undertaking interviews to help establish how this new case was infected," New Zealand's Ministry of Health said in a statement.

All five members of the household are being tested with results expected this evening.

The case developed symptoms on Tuesday 23 February. As a result, the person is regarded as being potentially infectious from Sunday 21 February.

Auckland New Zealand

Under Alert Level 3, people in Auckland will not be permitted to leave their home unless for essential reasons.

Social gatherings are not permitted and weddings and funerals will be capped at 10 people.

Under Alert Level 2 people are still able to attend work and school, however, more stringent rules will be put in place including the use of face masks must be work on public transport and tighter restrictions on social gatherings.

Jacinda Ardern (Getty)

Iconic Mad Max house up for sale in Victoria

One of Victoria's most-famous beach houses, which holds a special place in Australian movie history, has been listed for sale for an eye-water $11 million.

Once just a shack on the sand dunes of Fairhaven beach, the property is known as hideout from the original road warrior Mad Max.

Four decades later and the house isn't a shack anymore.

In 2000, the iconic property was bought by Boost Juice founder Janine Allis for $1.1 million before an enormous renovation.

The house now includes five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a pool, and uninterrupted views on 3000 square metres surrounded by crown land.

For locals, it's an exclamation point on a year that's seen surf coast prices jump 13 per cent.

"The market down here's been going berserk anyway, so that might just top it out i think," Agent Marty Maher said.

The sale is expected to attract a few die hard fans.

"When you look at the movie, this is the actual spot they sat in. It's in the movie a lot," she said.

Before Bruce Willis and Arnie captured our hearts - it was <i>Mad Max</i> who held the post-apocalyptic action crown! It was the role that made Mel Gibson famous, and spawned a million tiny faux-leather biker costumes come Halloween.<br/>

To top it off, the house has a second film credit with a clear view to a piece of legendary Aussie TV with views of the lighthouse from Round the Twist — another nudge towards a record-breaking price when offers close in mid-April.

"We have some beautiful properties down here but this one is by far the best," Ms Maher said.

"To get total privacy, this close to the beach… that's the rarest combination on the whole coast of Victoria."

Melissa Caddick investors likely to face 'significant shortfall'

The mystery behind suspected Sydney fraudster, Melissa Caddick, is deepening following the grisly discovery of a second body part expected to be linked in the coming days through DNA testing.

The remains were found just hours after police revealed a foot belonging to the 49-year-old had washed up, on a remote stretch of beach on the NSW south coast.

The remains found last night at Mollymook are now undergoing analysis with officers close to the case telling 9News they're likely linked to Caddick.

READ MORE: More human remains wash up on NSW coast

"There was mass of a fairly bleak substance that had a really peculiar stench to it," local resident Craig O'Donnel told 9News.

Last night's discovery turned up 200 kilometres north of where three teenagers found a shoe with remains inside last Sunday.

Experts had predicted a body which entered the water in Dover Heights on November 11 — the day Melissa went missing — could feasibly drift that far.

While the police investigation has now turned to compiling a report for the coroner, the probe into Caddick's alleged fraud is continuing with the watchdog releasing a statement saying: "ASIC's priority is to seek the return of funds to investors… the hearing should go ahead as a priority."

READ MORE: How Melissa's remains were found

Experts have told 9News many of Caddick's investors, some of whom were also close friends of the missing woman, are unlikely to be reimbursed.

Melissa Caddick flaunted her luxury lifestyle with expensive clothes and pricey holidays making the seizing of assets to retrieve funds a near impossible task.

"Money which is spent on those things is gone, never to be recovered," Innis Cull, Bankruptcy trustee and Liquidator from Pitcher Partners said.

READ MORE: Investigation into Melissa Caddick's alleged Ponzi scheme to continue

Caddick's investors have now been left out of pocket close to $25 million.

"There's going to be a significant shortfall for the investors. Investors will line up behind the cost of the investigation," Mr Cull said.

A hearing has been set for April when the Federal Court will also look to examine people close to Caddick's business.