A badly injured surfer on a remote West Auckland beach was able to write the word “HELP” in the sand before he collapsed.The man had been surfing alone at Karekare Beach on Wednesday when he lost his board and was swept into the…

Sydney locals got an up-close look at a special forces Black Hawk helicopter after a training drill over the harbour took a dangerous turn.

Two helicopters had been taking part in a counter-terrorism training exercise over Sydney Harbour, with personnel spending several hours winching on and off the Captain Cook cruise ship.

However, just before 1pm, one of the aircraft clipped the boat's mast.

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It headed immediately for open space, making a dramatic landing in Watson's Bay.

"There must have been something dramatic happening for it to land so quickly in a space where a lot of civilians were walking around," witness John Blondin said.

"This one came very quick and very loud and the leaves just flew off the trees. Virtually before you could blink an eyelid it had landed."

The second Black Hawk followed close behind, circling the impromptu landing site before touching down itself.

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The personnel and their dogs from the damaged helicopter transferred quickly to the second, which then took off again.

"There was some urgency in it, definitely urgent," he said.

Engineers are still on the scene assessing the damage. The helicopter is expected to stay in the Watson Bay park at least overnight.

The cruise ship is also being checked for damage.

The cafeteria in the business at the centre of a Covid-19 community outbreak could be a possible source of transmission as staff from all facets of the company dine together.A woman who works at LSG Sky Chefs, along with her husband…

An extraordinary steam-cleaning of the office of Minister Linda Reynolds was ordered by the Department of Finance in the hours after the alleged rape of staffer Brittany Higgins.

The incident, first reported by news.com.au, has been confirmed by 9News but conflicting statements have been given by two departments.

The Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) says it was "a routine office clean".

READ MORE: Brittany Higgins says PM's response 'deeply distressing'

But the Department of Finance, which is the administrator for ministers' offices, told 9News it arranged "for an additional clean" after being advised by DPS "staff had accessed Minister Reynolds' office after hours".

Both departments deny any knowledge of the alleged rape, but have failed to give a detailed explanation why the clean was considered necessary.

The Department of Finance said in a statement: "Following this after-hours access by staff, Finance requested and arranged for an additional clean of the office to take place that weekend."

9News has asked the Department whether it is routine procedure for the "additional clean" to take place after someone has accessed a ministerial office outside of office hours and there has been no response.

"At that time (of the clean) police enquiries were not being made and Finance had no information suggesting that an alleged assault may have occurred in the office," a department spokesperson said.

"Finance fully co-operated with subsequent police enquiries regarding the after-hours access of Minister Reynolds' office and the subsequent clean."

The Department of Parliamentary Services, which oversees Parliament House, said the AFP conducted enquiries into the "initial handling of the incident including whether there was any criminality identified, such as attempts to conceal or interfere with a suspected crime scene".

"The AFP advised that there were 'no disclosures of sexual assault made by the complainant on the day of the incident and therefore actions taken by them (DPS) were not in response with a suspected crime,'" a spokesperson said.

"DPS has had extensive consultation with the AFP on this matter.

"The relevant security camera footage relating to this incident was viewed by the Australian Federal Police in April 2019 and has been stored on an ongoing basis at the direction of the Presiding Officers and with the agreement of the AFP for their access as required for any investigation.

"The relevant reports of the incident were handed to the AFP at their request in April 2019."

The suite was cleaned on March 23, 2019, hours after Ms Higgins was found by a security guard. 

She has since alleged she was raped by a government staff member, who was sacked days later.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has indicated he has happy for issues around the cleaning to be "fully investigated".

"To suggest that something had been done to interfere with the environment, I don't think that's established either," Mr Morrison said yesterday.

"But I'm very happy for those matters to be fully investigated."

On this week’s podcast: Podcast 98 sees the much requested return of historian Michael Bassett. Several controversial matters are under discussion; the new history syllabus, local councils and race-based wards.Then we speak with…

Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins says the Federal Government has questions to answer over their conduct as new details emerged of the night of her alleged rape inside Parliament House.

Ms Higgins revealed allegations to news.com.au and Channel 10's The Project on Monday she was raped by a male staffer in then-Defence Industry Minister and current Defence Minister Linda Reynolds' ministerial office in the early hours of March 23, 2019.

Today, she released an explosive new statement as more details were made public about her alleged sexual assault.

READ MORE: Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins says review 'long overdue'

"I have only been made aware of key elements of my own sexual assault as a result of coming forward publicly with my story," Ms Higgins said in the statement.

"I didn't know that security guards let me into Minister Reynolds' suite. I didn't know that a security guards (sic) came into the office multiple times seeing me in a state of undress.

"I didn't know they were undertaking an internal review into how the matter was handled at the time.

"I didn't know that they debated calling an ambulance at the time of the incident."

Ms Higgins also took aim at Prime Minister Scott Morrison and singled out senior parliamentary staffers in her statement.

"The continued victim-blaming rhetoric by the Prime Minister is personally very distressing to me and countless other survivors," she wrote.

"A current senior staffer to the Prime Minister and my former Chief-of-Staff refused to provide me with access to the CCTV footage from that evening and continually made me feel as if my ongoing employment would be jeopardised if I proceeded any further with the matter.

"The Government has questions to answer for their own conduct."

During Question Time in Parliament today, Mr Morrison was pressed on whether he would support an independent external review into Ms Higgins' allegations.

"The short answer to that is yes… and that's what I indicated yesterday," Mr Morrison said.

Mr Morrison said yesterday two reviews would be undertaken into how parliamentary staff could be better protected.

He said he would be working with Cabinet Deputy Secretary Stephanie Foster to review the processes for workplace allegations and establish an automatic reporting process for department officials.

Mr Morrison said his office was not told about the allegations until a few weeks ago because of the alleged victim's privacy.

"I understand that there was a judgement made about the balance of protecting Brittany's privacy at the time," he said.

"That judgement can certainly be commentated on and be judged, but that was my understanding of what occurred at that time.

"Those who were around Brittany were endeavouring to help her. As I said, with the passage of time, clearly that was not effective. And I accept that."

Aucklanders will be able to travel again once the region moves to alert level 2 tonight 11.59pm but they must do so in safe way. And there are a number of rules and guidelines in place for those using public transport. They include…

The family of a Melbourne father-of-two say they have been left devastated after he was killed in a workplace accident in Japan.

Nee Ta, a keen snowboarder, had been living out his dreams after landing a job as a ski instructor in Niseko, in the northern island of Hokkaido, two years ago, his brother Nick told nine.com.au.

However, tragedy struck last Wednesday when the 43-year-old was helping clear a pile of snow built up on the roof of an employee dormitory building.

Mr Ta is believed to have fallen and was buried underneath a large amount of snow.

"He was trapped under about two metres of snow for about 30 minutes while they tried to get him out and rescue him," his sister-in-law Tori Ngo said.

Mr Ta was taken to hospital but did not regain consciousness.

Nine.com.au has reached out to Niseko Adventure Centre (NAC), the company who employed Mr Ta, for comment.

Mr Ta leaves behind his wife Ish, and his two children; six-year-old Jaime and three-year-old Ethan.

"Our family is utterly devastated. Nee was only 43-years-old, had a zest for life, and his life was just beginning in so many ways," his brother said.

"He loved his wife and his two young children deeply, and he had so much more life to live."

Nick Ta said his brother was "incredibly generous", quick to help anyone in need and a devoted dad.

"There is nothing he wouldn't do for those two children," he said.

The Ta family came to Australia by boat as Vietnamese refugees in 1978.

Nick Ta said his little brother was just 14 months old at the time and seriously unwell during the perilous journey at sea, with his parents fearing he wouldn't survive.

"He was like a miracle baby for my mum," he said.

Mr Ta caught the "snow bug" after graduating university and going to teach English in Japan.

"While he was there he learnt how to snowboard and that became a passion for him," Nick Ta said.

When Mr Ta came back to Melbourne he got a job as a ski instructor on the slopes at Mount Hotham, which is also where he met his future wife.

Nick Ta said his family took some solace in the thought he was doing what he loved.

"That's the one thing that we do take comfort from. He was living the life he wanted to live," he said.

Nick Ta said his family was now trying to get his brother's wife and children back to Australia but had been unable to find out through the Department of Home Affairs or the Australian consulate in Japan how they could travel here.

"We can provide the kids with the support they need here but it's been really hard sorting out how to get them back," he said.

"Both of Nee's children are Australian citizens but because they are underage and his wife doesn't hold a visa I'm finding it really difficult," he said, adding that the pandemic was adding another layer of complication.

A spokesperson for The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said consular staff were providing assistance to the family of an Australian man who died in Japan but declined to comment further due to privacy reasons.

An online fundraiser set up by the family to help support Mr Ta's wife and children and their efforts to bring them home to Australia has so far collected $100,000.

Nick Ta said his family had been deeply touched by the support they had received.

"We would really like to thank a lot of the people that have offered support through his GoFundMe page; his family and friends across the globe, his broader skiing and snowboarding community, particularly at Hotham where he worked for some time," he said.

"It's been really heartwarming to read their messages from all across the globe."

Contact reporter Emily McPherson at em********@******om.au.

A mother whose daughter and unborn grandson were killed in a car crash has called for proposed laws recognising pregnancies lost as a result of crime to be strengthened.

Katie Gleeson, 20, was 34 weeks pregnant with her second child Xavier when the car she was travelling in crashed in Inverell, northern NSW, last March.

Ms Gleeson died before she could be airlifted to hospital. Paramedics delivered her baby but he also died before making it to hospital.

The 22-year-old female driver of the car Ms Gleeson was a passenger in was later charged with dangerous driving occasioning death, driving without a licence and driving an unregistered vehicle.

The court case is still ongoing.

However, under current NSW law, Xavier cannot be identified as a separate victim in the crash.

"Xavier is not going to get any justice over his death and my daughter would have wanted that. She wanted that baby so much," Ms Gleeson's mother Dianne Marlow told nine.com.au.

Last November, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Attorney-General Mark Speakman released the details of a draft bill which aims to address the lack of legislation regarding unborn children killed as a result of a crime.

Known as Zoe's Law, it's been the subject of debate for more than a decade.

Central Coast mother Brodie Donegan spearheaded the campaign for law reform after her unborn daughter Zoe was killed in a 2009 car crash.

In Ms Donegan's case, a woman smashed her van into her car while under the influence of drugs.

The period for public submissions on the draft bill closed on January 29.

Under the proposed legislation, offenders who commit a crime which leads to loss of a pregnancy will have three more years in jail added to their maximum sentence as an aggravating factor of the crime against the mother.

It will also allow the name of the unborn baby who died to be included in formal charges against the offender.

However, the draft bill stops short of proposing an unborn baby's death be recognised as a separate criminal offence.

Ms Marlow said the death of any child, whether they were in utero or not, should be treated as an individual offence.

"If someone causes an accident which takes a child's life, that's not an accident, that is causing a death to a child. Even if that baby is in their mother's belly it's still a child," she said.

"Katie was 32 weeks pregnant and Xavier, he would have survived if they (the paramedics) had gotten to him sooner. But he drowned in her blood because of that accident.

"That little boy should be here. He should be running around my house with his mum."

Ms Gleeson's family have started an online petition calling for the proposed Zoe's Law draft to be strengthened.

Mr Speakman said the loss of an unborn child because of a criminal act was "a tragedy worthy of recognition in the law".

"The NSW Government is grateful for the views of those who've had their say on an exposure draft of proposed new laws to better recognise this loss," he said.

"The Government is seriously considering the submissions that have been received as it finalises the proposed legislation."

Tragedy also prompts calls for change in Queensland

The push for unborn children to be named as separate victims of crime has also been renewed in Queensland after mum-to-be Katherine Leadbetter and her partner Matthew Field were killed in a fatal crash in Alexandra Hills, near Brisbane, on Australia Day.

Ms Leadbetter was pregnant with the couple's first baby, Miles, who also died.

A 17-year-old boy was charged with a raft of offences including murder and burglary.

Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd last week confirmed a specific charge of killing an unborn child was not legally possible in this case.

It would be presented as an aggravating element of the murder charge relating to death of his mother.

Ms Marlow said hearing about the Queensland case had broken her heart.

"There are so many babies out there that deserve justice. The law needs to be changed because it's not right."

Contact reporter Emily McPherson at em********@******om.au.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced more than 35,000 frontline health care workers will receive the COVID-19 vaccine over the next three weeks.

"Given the vaccine has arrived… from Monday over the next three weeks 35,000 front line workers will be vaccinated in NSW," Ms Berejiklian said.

The first cohort of people to be vaccinated will receive the jab at one of the state's three vaccine hubs – which are at Westmead Hospital, Liverpool Hospital and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

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For the first three weeks, anyone who receives the vaccine will get the Pfizer jab and will therefore need a second injection three weeks after their initial shot.

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said quarantine workers and frontline healthcare workers will be the first to receive the vaccine in NSW.

"Clearly the priority for us is we need to protect our workers to come in contact with COVID-19 patients day in, day out," Dr Chant said.

"We have a list of people working in our quarantine system… we will then be calling those people to book appointments in the next week."

Dr Chant said those contacted will be given a consent form to sign and will have an opportunity to ask questions about the vaccination process.

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Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the focus would remain on quarantine workers for the next three weeks after which time the vaccine will be rolled out to other members of the public.

Ms Berejiklian added NSW is aiming to have the majority of the state's quarantine workers vaccinated as soon as possible.

"It's not going to mean none of them can get the virus and spread it so everyone still needs to obey the strict rules we have but it's an extra defence," she said.

Ms Berejiklian said she is "convinced" most workers in the quarantine system would be willing to receive the vaccine.

"There would be enough people in that system that would be willing to put up their hand and say they want the vaccine that covers us for that system," she said.

"I'm convinced the vast majority of people will be very enthusiastic."

"I would love to get mine early but I don't think it's fair to jump the queue … but if I could get it tomorrow I would."

NSW recorded no new cases of locally acquired COVID-19 for the 31st consecutive day.