Emergency services were called to Waikino about 2.30pm.

More than 311,000 Australians could be eligible for a share of $50 million from Facebook's parent company Meta as a part of a landmark settlement stemming from the Cambridge Analytica privacy breach.

The Australian Information Commissioner and Meta agreed to the multimillion-dollar deal last year.

For those who are eligible for a share in the settlement, the deadline to submit a claim is approaching.

Here's what you need to know about the settlement and eligibility requirements.

READ MORE: Tens of thousands without power post-storm as fire danger surges

Who is eligible for the $50 million Facebook payout?

The compensation program is open to Australians who had a Facebook account between November 2, 2013, and December 17, 2015.

The individuals must have been present in Australia for more than 30 days during that period.

Eligible Facebook users must have either installed the app This Is Your Digital Life or been Facebook friends with someone who did.

The amount affected Facebook users will be paid will depend on how many people register for the compensation program.

What is the deadline to submit a claim?

The compensation claims period opened on June 30 this year.

Eligible Australians have until December 31 to make a claim for compensation.

What if I didn't install the app?

An investigation by the national privacy regulator, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), found 53 Australian Facebook users installed the This Is Your Digital Life app, which appeared as a personality test to extract personal information.

However, another 311,074 Australian Facebook users were friends with those 53 people, which meant the app could have requested their information as well.

If you're not sure whether or not your friends installed the app, check this Facebook help page.

How do I apply for the Facebook compensation?

The compensation program is being administered by consultancy firm KPMG, which has set up a website with frequently asked questions and advice on how to make a claim.

However, Australians should be on alert for scammers who offer to help with obtaining payments.

"If you receive a call from anyone offering to help you with a payment or refund, hang up immediately," the OAIC said on its website.

"Never give personal information to anyone calling you out of the blue, never give access to your computer or bank account and never click on a link in a text message or open an attachment in an email if you were not expecting the text or email.

"If you have given information to a scammer or lost money, contact your bank immediately."

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

The road near Ben Lomond remains blocked as contractors work to clear it.

Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann has called for a forensic expert to examine the phone of a woman he's accused of raping due to claimed discrepancies in prosecution evidence.

Lehrmann, 30, has been committed to face trial in Queensland District Court on two counts of rape but has filed an application to permanently halt the matter.

A second download of the alleged victim's phone produced a report that did not match the first, Lehmann's solicitor Zali Burrows told Judge Dennis Lynch today.

READ MORE: Tens of thousands without power post-storm as fire danger surges

"Between the first extraction and the second extraction there are some key words missing that were on the statement of facts," Burrows said.

The second extraction of data from the alleged victim's phone was required as the first copy was lost when a detective's hard drive malfunctioned, the court heard.

Lehrmann, who is on bail and yet to formally enter a plea, is accused of raping a woman twice during the morning of October 10, 2021.

READ MORE: Putin fires warning shot at the world with incredible new 'super weapon'

They met during the previous night at a strip club in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane.

Lehrmann previously indicated he would contest the charges.

Burrows said she had applied before another judge to force police to provide an "unredacted" second report, but she had been told there was a problem with accessing the original encrypted data.

"If this data is lost all over again we would like to address it in our stay application," she said.

"We would like our own, independent forensic IT expert to have an opportunity to do a brand-new extraction of the phone, which would obviously be monitored and supervised by police."

READ MORE: Putin fires warning shot at the world with incredible new 'super weapon'

A copy of the phone data would be obtained today and should be provided before the end of the week, prosecutor Caroline Marco said.

"Unfortunately the delay was that our investigating officer was on leave," Marco said.

She said prosecutors would resist an application for an independent expert to download data from the alleged victim's phone.

Judge Lynch said he would wait for the second report on the phone before considering any such application.

Lehrmann's bail was continued and the case was adjourned until November 17.

Support is available by calling 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028.

Barnaby Joyce has snubbed the Nationals, but insists he is still a member of the regional party as his future in politics remains in limbo.

The former deputy prime minister skipped a party room meeting today as he considers leaving the Nationals over its stance on net zero and Pauline Hanson's invitation to join her right-wing party One Nation.

"I'm not going to attend any party room that believes in net zero," he told reporters in Canberra. 

READ MORE: Microsoft Australia allegedly misled millions of Aussies: watchdog

While he missed the meeting, Joyce said he would still sit with the regional party in parliament when it resumed today.

Joyce has refused to speculate on the "hypotheticals" of his political future, but ruled out running as an independent.

He also confirmed he was still a member of the Nationals for now, and suggested he may remain with the party if it dumps its net-zero target.

"I'll see what they come up with," he said. 

The Nationals are reviewing their position on net zero by 2050, which Joyce has so adamantly opposed that he declared earlier this month his relationship with party leadership had "irreparably broken down" and he would not recontest his seat of New England at the next election.

Joyce's own bill opposing net zero will be going before parliament today.

Nationals leader David Littleproud told Sky News the party would not decide its stance on net zero today, adding that it must come up with an alternative climate plan if it is to drop the target.

"I get that takes time, but I'd rather do it right and be able to look the Australian people in the eye. And we encourage Barnaby to be part of that solution," he said.

READ MORE: New financial 'pain' coming for Aussies – but there's a silver lining

He said that while he wants Joyce to remain in the party, but would not offer up a seat on the frontbench to entice him back.

Instead, he said the party has to "create an environment" where Joyce feels "welcome and wants to come back and contribute". 

"I've made it very clear to him that he's welcome back at any time, and he can make a constructive contribution with the rest of the party room," he said.

"He needs only to walk in and talk to the room."

Joyce confirmed he had spoken to Littleproud.

"I've had a brief and courteous conversation with him. It went for about three minutes," he said.

At the same time, Joyce said he would also be meeting with Hanson, who invited him to join her party upon news of his relationship breakdown with the Nationals.

"I'll meet with Pauline Hanson. I've met with Pauline Hanson before. I mean, this is a free country. You're allowed to actually meet other people. I talk to people from the Greens," he said.

If Joyce defects to One Nation, he could take other dissatisfied colleagues with him, giving Hanson a major win and deepening the rift within the Coalition.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

He’s ‘really proud’ of New Zealand’s work in the region.

The man sought a $2000 refund after claiming the PI’s report was ‘not fit for purpose’.

Batches of a popular brand of pork jerky sold at Costco has been recalled after it was found to contain traces of metal.

Link Foods Australia is calling for customers who have purchased Golden Island Pork Jerky Korean BBQ Recipe to return it to the store of purchase.

The recall impacts bags with a weight of 410g, and the makers warn customers could become sick or injured if they consume the product due to the presence of metal.

READ MORE: New financial 'pain' coming – but there's a silver lining

Golden Island Pork Jerky is sold exclusively at Costco, with 15 locations across the country.

The date marking of the recalled product is BBD 24/11/2025, 25/11/2025, 26/11/2025, 05/05/2026.

Customers can return to product to the Costco store they purchased it and will receive a full refund.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

A "rare" tornado likely ripped through Melbourne's western suburbs during a ferocious storm yesterday, the Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed.

Powerful thunderstorms rolled across Victoria as a severe cell plunged the city into a wet and wild afternoon.

Locals in Wyndham Vale, Werribee and Hoppers Crossing reported seeing a small tornado blowing through their suburbs during the worst of the wild weather.

READ MORE: Suspects arrested over theft of crown jewels from Paris' Louvre museum

Senior Meteorologist David Crock said thunderstorm experts investigated social media videos and radar data and found "pretty strong" evidence that a tornado indeed formed for a brief period.

Social media footage showed a "wind funnel" which resembled a tornado in the sky.

"The geographical line of damage that was recorded through those suburbs is really strong evidence of a tornado," Crock said.

"The radar data shows a weak signal, but a signal nonetheless, that there was likely a tornado briefly in the area."

Crock said it was uncommon to see a tornado form in Victoria, particularly in a populated suburb of Melbourne.

He said it was even more unusual for residents to actually spot a tornado as it developed.

READ MORE: Putin fires warning shot at the world with incredible new 'super weapon'

"But we do see it time to time as we enter the peak of storm season," he added.

Crock said experts were still in the processing of assessing the intensity of the tornado.

The category level of a tornado is usually determined by the amount of damage it leaves in its wake.

"The track of damages through the areas, the way it tracks east and then north-east, that is a distinctive path a thunderstorm with a tornado would take," Crock said.

A smaller tornado can have wind speeds in the realm of 90 to 100km/h.

Locals took videos of the tornado as it blew through the streets of Werribee, Wyndham Vale and Hoppe's Crossing.

"Next door's shed got lifted off its slab and lifted the power lines here on Tarneit Road," local man Adam told 9News.

The ferocious winds uprooted trees, tore down fences and damaged power lines as the storms developed quickly and seemingly without warning.

Nearly 30,000 people were left without power yesterday as the strong winds, heavy rain and occasional lightning strike belted the city.

Victoria's SES has received 650 calls for help across the state from midnight yesterday to 11am today.

Up to 150 homes in Wyndham were damaged in the flash storms.

The SES is still working through a backlog of calls as conditions eased today.

"SES Wyndham Unit is our busiest crew, with over 180 requests for assistance and counting," the SES noted in an update on Facebook.

VICSES State Agency Commander David Tucek said crews may need to work into tomorrow to respond to requests.

He said there were more than 200 calls for help in the areas impacted by the tornado.

Most of the calls involved building damage.

Drones are still assessing the damage in Melbourne's west.

A tram was also stuck in Richmond and some cars were left stranded by sudden flash flooding in both South Melbourne and West Melbourne.

Thousands are still without power today across Melbourne.

The heavy rain also made yesterday the wettest day in 18 months.

Around 35mm fell and inundated streets, homes and businesses, the most rainfall since April 2024.

The Bureau of Meteorology reported Melbourne's Olympic Park was lashed with 37.4mm of rain, followed by 36.4mm at Avalon Airport.

However the BoM noted that it wasn't unusual for severe storms to develop across Melbourne during spring.

"Spring is the time for Melbourne and Victoria to get this sort of weather, as we start to see some more dynamic cold fronts moving across," senior meteorologist Simon Timke said.

The high risk of thunderstorms yesterday prompted the state's chief health officer to issue an epidemic thunderstorm asthma forecast warning of "high" for the northern country district.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Police also issued 204 infringement notices for driving and road-related offences.