Advisers want a dedicated ‘Minister of Mafias’ to lead the gang crackdown.

A report has reviewed the Crown’s relations with post-settlement governance entities.

Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane remain the most popular overseas destinations.

More than 100 staff at two major Australian book retailers will walk off the job tomorrow for a days-long strike over the busy Christmas period.

Harry Hartog and Berkelouw Books employees represented by the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) will begin a five-day strike from tomorrow until Wednesday, December 24.

The strike will affect all Harry Hartog and Berkelouw Books bookstores.

LIVE UPDATES: Incredible scenes as hundreds paddle out at Bondi Beach

9news.com.au understands the retailers will attempt to staff the stores during the strike with non-union staff and new hires.

"We know that the shareholders are trying to break the strike but there will be over 100 workers on strike," RAFFWU secretary Loukas Kakogiannis told 9news.com.au.

RAFFWU members are bargaining for a new agreement that would boost wages and improve conditions.

They have been negotiating with the Harry Hartog and Berkelouw Books for months in a bid to replace the expired, 13-year-old deal they're currently on.

Under that agreement, many booksellers aren't paid penalty rates on evenings and Saturdays and are stuck on casualised part-time work with no casual loading.

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"We can't keep going under this old agreement when we're juggling multiple jobs just to survive and living with constant financial stress," RAFFWU delegate Ally Bodnaruk said in a statement.

"Passion for books doesn't pay the rent. We want to secure jobs, fair treatment and to be paid a living wage."

Despite six bargaining meetings over three months, a new agreement has not been reached.

RAFFWU members have already instituted a ban on restocking shelves and receiving deliveries in response to the failed negotiations.

Harry Hartog and Berkelouw Books reacted by issuing workers with unilateral wage cuts of 37.77 per cent for participating in the bans, per the RAFFWU.

READ MORE: Heavily armed police make several arrests on Sydney street

"These workers aren't asking for the world, they want job security, a living wage with penalty rates, and protections against unfair treatment," Kakogiannis said.

"These are basic rights that all workers deserve."

He called on Harry Hartog and Berkelouw Books to "stop being recalcitrant" and come to the table with a fair offer.

Harry Hartog operates 15 stores across the ACT, NSW, Queensland and South Australia.

Berkelouw Books operates out of fewer than 10 locations in NSW and Queensland.

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Australia's largest gun buyback scheme since the aftermath of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre will be launched in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the scheme this morning, saying it is expected to lead to the seizure and destruction of hundreds of thousands of "surplus, newly banned and illegal" firearms.

"The terrible events at Bondi show we need to get more guns off our streets," he said.

READ MORE: Police believe seven men arrested in Sydney raid had 'extremist Islamic ideology'

"We know that one of these terrorists held a firearm licence and had six guns, in spite of living in the middle of Sydney's suburbs there at Bonnyrigg.

"There's no reason why someone in that situation needed that many guns.

"There are now more than 4 million firearms in Australia – more than at the time of the Port Arthur massacre nearly 30 years ago."

The cost of the buyback will be evenly split between the federal and state governments.

As in 1996, states will be responsible for collecting the guns, while the Australian Federal Police will be tasked with destroying them.

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The buyback will help enforce the changes to firearm control laws agreed to by national cabinet earlier this week, which will include limiting the number of weapons one person can own, bringing forward the National Firearms Register, and restricting gun licences to Australian citizens.

That overhaul comes after one of the shooters, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, legally owned six long-arm firearms, some of which were used to carry out Sunday's massacre.

He was granted an AB gun licence in NSW in 2023, despite his son having been investigated – and cleared – by ASIO over potential extremist links years earlier.

Any changes to federal laws are unlikely to face any trouble getting through parliament, with Labor holding a comfortable majority in the lower house and needing only the support of the Greens to get the assent of the Senate.

READ MORE: Man banned from Bondi after Jewish 'threat' mid-flight

Senior Coalition figures, though, have signalled their opposition to changes to gun laws, with Nationals leader David Littleproud labelling them a "cheap political smokescreen".

However, Albanese said Australians understood the need for gun controls to be modernised.

"In 1996, the then-Howard government did the right thing: intervened to have a scheme which Australians have been rightly proud of," he said.

"We need to go further… if a bloke in Bonnyrigg needs six high-powered rifles and is able to get them under existing licensing schemes, then there's something wrong.

"I think Australians can see that."

READ MORE: The Sydney suburbs with the most registered gun licence holders

NSW details stronger gun laws

Having already promised to recall parliament before Christmas to pass stronger state gun laws, NSW Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley detailed exactly what those controls will include.

Licensed residents will be limited to owning four guns each, although there will be some exceptions for farmers, other primary producers, and sporting shooters.

Category A and B licences will now only cover magazines with a capacity of 5-10 rounds, while some guns will be upgraded so they can only be obtained under a category C licence.

READ MORE: Teen girl takes bullet while shielding two toddlers in Bondi attack

"Will reclassify straight, pull, pump-action, button, lever release firearms into category C – limiting their access primarily to farmers, agriculture, and primary producers," Minns said.

The state will also enforce more frequent licence renewals and stronger identity checks.

"People need to remember: owning a gun is a privilege, it is not a right," Catley said.

"That privilege must never, ever outweigh community safety.

"These reforms ensure there is no ambiguity when it comes to public safety.

"They strengthen oversight, reduce the availability of high-risk firearms, and give the police the tools that they need to intervene as early as possible."

The new legislation will be introduced to NSW parliament on Monday.

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Exclusive: Sophie ordered her boyfriend's Christmas present from General Pants Co. on December 1, but almost three weeks later, it still hadn't arrived.

It hadn't even been sent off for shipping yet.

Sophie told 9news.com.au every attempt to contact the major Australian fashion retailer has gone unanswered, which is almost as frustrating as her missing order.

LIVE UPDATES: Incredible scenes as hundreds paddle out at Bondi Beach

And she's not the only one.

Multiple customers told 9news.com.au that orders they placed with General Pants Co. online in the first week of December have not been shipped by December 18.

They claimed emails to the brand's customer service address receive nothing more than auto-generated replies promising to get back to them soon.

Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Leach at Google Play.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released photos from Jeffrey Epstein's estate on Thursday — the latest in a series of intermittent disclosures that have fuelled significant political intrigue in recent weeks about who may have been associated with the convicted sex offender.

The five photographs, released without additional context by the members of the panel, include a Ukrainian passport with a female notation, philosopher Noam Chomsky on a plane with Epstein, and Bill Gates posing for a photograph with a woman whose face was redacted by Democrats on the panel.

The images also include a screenshot of a snippet of a text conversation in which a person is discussing sending girls.

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"I don't know try to send someone else. I have a friend scout she sent me some girls today. But she asks 1000$ per girl. I will send u girls now. Maybe someone will be good for J?" the series of messages reads. The individual then sends a detailed description including name, "18 y old," height, measurements, weight, a note on the Schengen area and a "departure city." Many of the details are redacted, though the age, a check mark next to Schengen and Russia are all visible.

There is no context provided around this conversation, and it is unclear who the participants in the messaging exchange are.

A fifth photograph shows a woman's foot with a quote from "Lolita," the Vladimir Nabokov novel about a man's sexual obsession with a 12-year-old girl, written on it.

It was not immediately clear when or where they were taken, or by whom.

Democrats noted the estate did not provide any context around the images shared with the committee and said they have publicised them as they were received, aside from their redactions. Democrats have chosen which photos to release since the panel received more than 95,000 images from the estate last week that lawmakers are still combing through.

The members of the panel have said with each release that they've redacted any personally identifiable information of victims and survivors, or if it is unknown whether a person pictured is a victim of Epstein's abuse.

Oversight Democrats have released portions of the photos turned over to the committee from Epstein's estate last week, while the Republican-led panel has typically released documents and images in single drops once lawmakers have gone through them in full. Republicans on the committee have accused Democratic members of "cherry-picking" images to paint a specific narrative.

"Oversight Democrats will continue to release photographs and documents from the Epstein estate to provide transparency for the American people," Ranking Member Robert Garcia said in a statement.

"As we approach the deadline for the Epstein Files Transparency Act, these new images raise more questions about what exactly the Department of Justice has in its possession. We must end this White House cover-up, and the DOJ must release the Epstein files now."

Previous photos from Epstein's estate released by Democrats have depicted the late financier's private island and the many powerful figures in his orbit.

Gates and Chomsky have previously reported to have known Epstein, as well as have been pictured in previous images from the estate. CNN has reached out to representatives for each men.

A spokesperson for Gates has before repeatedly denied that Epstein ever worked for him. Gates has previously said he regrets meeting with Epstein, telling CNN's Anderson Cooper in 2021: "It was a huge mistake to spend time with him, to give him the credibility of being there."

Chomsky has previously declined CNN requests for comment. He is known to have once wrote a letter of recommendation for Epstein, spoken with Epstein about science and philosophy, and was invited by Epstein stay at one of his homes in 2015.

The Republican-led committee obtained the images from Epstein's estate as part of its ongoing investigation. The panel has so far released tens of thousands of documents, emails and communications that it received from the Epstein estate.

In a letter to the committee, lawyers for the estate noted that they could review videos and photographs they had requested "taken at any property owned, rented, operated, or used by Epstein from January 1, 1990 through August 10, 2019".

While the committee has said the obtained documents have continued to open new lines of investigative inquiry, the slow-rolling disclosures from Capitol Hill have been at times downright painful for many of Epstein's victims.

In a recent interview with CNN, a group of survivors said not knowing when – and what – might be coming out on any given day has been a stressful experience. They also said that some of the releases so far have triggered recollections of their trauma going back years.

Hundreds of victims believed to have been abused by Epstein are currently also bracing for the Justice Department's release of its Epstein files – a disclosure widely expected to be greater in breadth and scope than anything that has come out thus far.

But the DOJ, which faces a Friday deadline to make its investigative files public under a law passed by Congress last month, has not publicly detailed the specific timing or parameters of its upcoming release, and the survivors who spoke with CNN said they had not received any outreach from the department to discuss it.

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Flights were cancelled, children were told to stay indoors and outdoors construction work was banned in Sarajevo on Thursday as a thick layer of fog enveloped the Bosnian capital.

Sarajevo traditionally faces severe pollution during winter, mostly from house heating and transport pollution. The city is located in a valley surrounded by mountains which can keep polluted air stuck for days at a time if there is no wind.

Several flights from Sarajevo airport were cancelled, and cars moved slowly in low visibility during the morning rush hour. Some residents of Sarajevo could be seen wearing face masks for protection from toxic air.

READ MORE: More Bondi terror attack victims released from hospitals

The Swiss air quality technology company IQAir on Thursday ranked air quality in Sarajevo as "unhealthy". The city often tops the list of places with poor air quality globally.

Authorities on Wednesday banned trucks of over 3.5 tonnes in the Sarajevo city centre along with cars and trucks that do not meet European Union environmental standards. Any construction work outside has been banned as well as public gatherings.

Experts have warned that exposure to PM2.5 – fine inhalable particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or smaller – has led to a rise in respiratory infections as well as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and premature deaths in Sarajevo, other major cities in Bosnia and elsewhere in the Western Balkans.

Many Balkan countries have a poor record in environment protection despite promises to improve the situation as they seek to move closer to EU membership. Balkan rivers are often clogged with garbage and recycling is almost non-existent, while many cities have seen rampant construction diminishing green areas.

READ MORE: Heavily armed police arrest seven men in Sydney's south-west

The air in Belgrade, the capital of neighbouring Serbia, also was deemed "unhealthy for sensitive groups" on Thursday.

A 14-year-old girl bravely took a bullet to her thigh as she shielded two toddlers from the gunfire that rained down on crowds at Bondi Beach. 

The teenager, who can't be named for legal reasons, leapt into action without thinking twice when the alleged father and son gunmen opened fire on Sunday.

"She heard a mum crying out for help after she was shot, and without thinking twice, she went to cover them and received a bullet," family friend Dovid Leider told 9News.

READ MORE: 'I accept my responsibility': Albanese makes raw admission on Bondi attack

The girl has since recovered in hospital.

Leider, who has flown from Los Angeles to Sydney to show his support, said she is "always caring about other people before herself". 

Sydneysiders returned to Bondi Beach today as police finally lifted the crime scene tape.

Dozens of people walked and examined Archer Park and the footbridge that the alleged gunmen used, and swimmers returned to the water.

An elderly couple, who were captured on video ducking behind cans just metres away from one of the gunmen, returned to the site.

"When I'm standing here today, and I see just how close we were to that footbridge, I'm just shocked," Benyomin Simons said. 

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They managed to stay out of sight and found an empty van to hide inside.

"My wife saw this van, and the door was wide open, with nobody in it and went into this camper van and closed the door," Simons said.

Survivor Arsen Ostrovsky was swathed in bloodied bandages after being shot on Sunday and today said it was a "miracle" he survived.

"The bullet grazed my head, you could see the bone," he said.

More people have been discharged from hospitals across Sydney, including all the children who were injured.

Sixteen people remained in hospital as of 4pm today, five in critical condition and 11 who are stable.

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At least five people have been arrested by heavily armed police officers in Sydney's south-west in a dramatic operation.

Video footage shows police – armed with long-arm guns, and wearing camouflage fatigues, body armour and helmets – arresting, searching and handcuffing the men.

It appears the men's car had been intercepted and rammed to a stop.

READ MORE: Albanese makes raw admission on Bondi attack

One of the arrested men was seen on a stretcher, with a bloodied face and bandages around his head.

The dramatic scene unfolded on the corner of George and Campbell streets in Liverpool, just across the road from a busy Westfield shopping centre.

Police have not said what the operation relates to – including whether it is linked to an ongoing investigation into the Bondi Beach massacre – but say there is no threat to the public.

READ MORE: Heartbreaking tributes to victims of Bondi attack

"A police operation is under way on George Street, Liverpool," a police spokesperson said.

"There is no ongoing risk to the community.

"Further information will be available later today."

More to come.

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