A court has tossed out broad police powers allowing protesters to be moved away from places of worship after complaints of overreach and stifled freedoms.

The anti-protest laws were swiftly implemented in February after a spate of anti-Semitic acts across Sydney and Melbourne, including graffiti, arson attacks and threats of personal violence.

But progressive voices claimed the new powers, which allow police to move on protesters who are deemed to be near places of worship, were unconstitutional and too broad.

READ MORE: Trump secured peace deal through 'force', says former ambassador to Israel

READ MORE: Aussie city set to shatter blistering 37-year heat record

The lack of clarity around the reach of the legislation or the definition of nearness meant it wasn't fit for purpose and would have a chilling effect on protesting in NSW, pro-Palestine activist Josh Lees argued before the state's supreme court.

Justice Anna Mitchelmore today sided with the activist, finding the laws wrongly burdened people's freedom of communication and were invalid.

She rejected the argument by NSW Solicitor-General Michael Sexton SC that the laws were confined to protecting people being harassed by disruptive protesters when entering or leaving a place of worship.

The police powers had an "obvious and legitimate purpose" after being introduced in response to threats and attacks at places of worship around the country, he argued.

Lee's legal team contended the laws were discriminatory because they expressly target certain types of political speech in a way that inevitably favoured some viewpoints over others.

READ MORE: More than a million households at critical stress point

That was upheld by the judge, who swept aside Sexton's contention that the validity of the laws wasn't affected by the fact there were exemptions for union rallies or for people in charge of places of worship to permit protests.

When implementing the laws in February, Premier Chris Minns was warned the laws would be problematic when many town squares had a church, including outside the Supreme Court itself.

But Labor instead listened to concerns from peak Jewish groups after rallies went past the Great Synagogue in Sydney's centre.

NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley at the time said the boosted police powers would ensure people could practice their beliefs in safety.

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.

Exclusive: Australia's former ambassador to Israel says Donald Trump's enforcer-style approach to the two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas earned him enough trust in the region to broker this week's ceasefire.

Trump is being credited locally and globally as the pilot of the peace deal, after 20 living hostages were released from Hamas captivity and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees were freed on Monday.

Liberal senator Dave Sharma told 9news.com.au Trump was able to achieve a breakthrough peace agreement because he mastered the language of conflict and earned begrudging respect from both sides.

READ MORE: Micki thought he'd lost $150,000. Then an email landed in his inbox

Do you have a story? Contact reporter April Glover at Google Play.

Peter Alexander's new generative AI marketing campaign may have been met with some consumer backlash, but experts say it's the future of brand advertising.

The retailer, which reported record sales of $548 million last financial year, called it a "peek into the Peter Alexander universe" using "a bit of AI magic to leave limits at the doggy door" in campaign materials.

And consumer psychologists are telling Australians to get used to it, because this will "absolutely" be the norm in the future. 

READ MORE: Joy, relief and jubilation as Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners and detainees given freedom

"The key question now isn't if AI will be used, but how well brands manage to make AI content feel emotionally authentic and human-centred," University of Sydney Business School lecturer and consumer psychologist Dr Christina Anthony told 9news.com.au.

But some Australian shoppers aren't buying it.

Many social media users responded to Peter Alexander's campaign with criticism, questioning the brand's decision to employ AI over human graphic designers.

Some even swore to boycott the retailer over the campaign.

Consumer psychologist, creative strategist, and Thinkerbell founder Adam Ferrier believes the campaign was a "misfire" but called the backlash "ridiculous".

"No one cares that much that [Peter Alexander] is creating slightly creepy-looking dogs," he told 9news.com.au.

He likened the uproar to that over the use of Photoshop in marketing back in the 2000s and said he seriously doubts anyone will actually boycott the brand.

"Advertising has to be incredibly bad, like almost inconceivably bad, to put people off going somewhere and that never happens," Ferrier said.

"At its worst, it normally evokes a few complaints from a few keyboard warriors, but even that's not going to really damage the brand."

9news.com.au has made multiple attempts to contact Peter Alexander – which, like stationery brand Smiggle, is owned by Premier Investments – for comment.

READ MORE: Whip-sawing temperatures to see millions bake while others freeze

Peter Alexander certainly isn't the first brand to embrace generative AI in marketing.

In August, J Crew and Vans launched an AI campaign promoting their collaboration, followed by the likes of Guess, Valentino, and Moncler.

Reactions were mixed, with some critics slamming the campaigns as "AI slop" while others called it the future of brand advertising.

How positive the reactions were seemed to depend on how good the AI was.

"At the moment, there are a lot of brands trying to use AI and using it in a really clumsy way that's getting a lot of ridicule," Ferrier explained.

"Peter Alexander, they've always had a dog in their advertising … but as soon as it comes to life as AI, it looks creepy and weird."

But when used well, AI can be a powerful marketing tool.

Ferrier has embraced it at Thinkerbell, which recently worked on campaigns for Victoria's Transport Accident Commission (TAC) and Menulog using generative AI.

READ MORE: 'Warm and loving' teen killed on way to school was days from starting his first job

There was some blowback but Ferrier predicts Aussies will quickly come to accept AI marketing as it becomes more mainstream.

"It is likely that over time consumers will not react with the same shock or scepticism," Anthony agreed.

She said brands will also become better at creating "human-centred" AI content that evokes more positive reactions.

Like, for example, a pyjama campaign with dogs that look a little less "uncanny valley".

"Consumers expect warmth, playfulness, and a human touch from a brand like Peter Alexander … they don't want to see a slick AI dog in their ads," she added.

Experts predict that as generative AI becomes more powerful and realistic, brands will increasingly utilise it to cut costs, increase output, and personalise content at scale.

In some cases, that may be at the cost of human jobs.

And even though some Aussies will continue to protest its use in brand advertising, the blowback is unlikely to hurt most companies' bottom line.

"People might express frustration or disapproval initially, but unless a strong alternative brand activates their values better, many will continue shopping out of habit or convenience," Anthony said.

"And most brands won't abandon generative AI as the efficiencies are too valuable."

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

Exclusive: A violent British national who was convicted of attacking his pregnant partner and her children is now being deported from Australia.

Terry Phillips was allowed to move to Queensland on a community corrections order after pleading guilty to a long list of charges relating to his former partner Nadine Hams, her children and another female victim.

Phillips, 41, was sentenced to nine months and 21 days behind bars and upon release in Victoria he was placed on a 15-month community corrections order.

READ MORE: 'May be the Worst of All Time': Trump slams magazine for portrait

He applied to serve the rest of his sentence in Mackay, where Hams previously said he was allowed to roam "free".

"[He's been] working in mines, making a fortune, no curfews, the address he had down with the corrections officer wasn't even where he was living," Hams told 9News at the time.

"Just a free man."

After Hams pleaded with the Australian government to deport him back to the UK, she received a surprise call from Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.

Burke personally told Hams the government had cancelled Phillips' visa.

READ MORE: Heartbreaking William Tyrrell update after Spider-Man suit found

"I had a meltdown in the car, I was hysterical crying and beside myself because I thought, you know, I didn't really think it would happen," Hams told 9News.

"I was lost for words actually… I just thanked him and thanked him."

Phillips is now awaiting deportation back to the UK after being picked up by border force officials.

It could take weeks or even months now for him to leave the country.

Hams spent two years campaigning to get her abusive ex-partner kicked out of the country.

READ MORE: Woman and two children dead after 'horrific' house fire in central Queensland

"It was kind of a miracle that it actually happened, yeah, cos I wasn't gonna give up," she added.

"It wasn't just for me, it was for past girlfriends and things like that that made me fight harder, not everyone has the courage to come forward so it became a fight for all of us."

Burke told 9News that anyone living in Australia on a visa should be expected to abide by the law.

"If someone's on a visa I expect them to treat Australians with respect and when they don't I check against the Migration Act and see if there are grounds for cancellation, and if there are you can leave," Burke said.

There are now calls for a national family violence register to monitor high-risk offenders.

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

Detectives are appealing for information from the public as tributes pour in for a woman and two boys killed in a house fire in central Queensland.

Emergency services were called to Whiting Street in Toolooa, a suburb of Gladstone, just before 6am (AEST) today and arrived to find a two-storey house engulfed in flames.

Nearby residents said they heard what sounded like explosions or thunder echoing out across the suburb, and a woman inside screaming for help.

READ MORE: Four coffins returned with hostage remains as pressure increases

"My aunt came to work today and said that she thought it was an airplane engine because it was really loud," one resident told 9News.

"She heard gas tanks over here popping off."

The building had partially collapsed due to the fire, which delayed search efforts.

The blaze was brought under control by 7.20am and emergency services located the bodies of a woman and two boys inside the home.

9News understands they were Jordana Johnson, Jordan Norris and Chazz Mather.

Tributes have begun to pour in on social media.

"Just 13 years old, trying to chase your dreams. I love you endlessly and you'll forever be in my heart," one said.

"Three beautiful souls taken from us too early," another wrote.

"Love you little bros, hope you guys are mucking around up there," a third added.

READ MORE: Heartbreaking William Tyrrell update after Spider-Man suit found

The property is believed to be public housing.

Acting Superintendent Luke Peachey said there was a chance more bodies still could be found, adding that it was a house "people come and go from".

"The fire scene is very horrific for all of the first responders and everyone involved, and it will take some time to go through before we can confirm the exact numbers," he told the media earlier today.

Peachey said it was a tragic incident, and authorities were working as hard as they can to identify the victims.

"It's a tragic event," he said.

"Those persons are still unknown, and we will be working throughout the coming days to establish what has actually happened with this house fire."

A crime scene has been declared, and police are investigating the cause of the fire.

Another home in the suburb is under police guard, with police confirming it is in relation to this morning's fire.

Police are appealing for anyone with information, CCTV or dashcam footage, particularly within the vicinity of Whiting, Trevally, Marlin and Emperor streets between 5.30am and 6.05am, to come forward.

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.

Diversions remain in place as the Serious Crash Unit investigates.

Video shows woman stepping in to protect a victim being kicked in the head.

The last big Powerball win was $10m to a MyLotto player in Dunedin on September 13.

Three Australian men could face the firing squad in Bali after being charged over an alleged underworld hit.

Sydney plumber Darcy Jenson, Mevlut Coskun and Melbourne man Paea Middlemore Tupou were taken by police from Bali's notorious Kerobokan prison today and handed over to prosecutors.

All three men, aged in their 20s, have since been charged with premeditated murder over the death of Melbourne father Zivan Radmanovic and the shooting of underworld figure Sanar Ghanim.

READ MORE: 'May be the Worst of All Time': Trump slams magazine for portrait

The Melbourne men and their partners were staying in a luxury villa near Canguu, on the south coast of Bali, when they were ambushed on June 14.

The alleged attackers bashed through the front door with a sledgehammer, which later proved to be a critical piece of evidence.

Radmanovic was shot dead in a bathroom.

Ghanim was beaten and shot up to six times but survived.

Neither of their partners was physically injured.

Their alleged attackers refused to answer questions from journalists as they arrived at the prosecutor's office today.

Their hands and feet were tied during the proceedings, and their faces were covered with balaclavas.

The Head of the Badung District Prosecutor's Office said the suspects will be detained for a maximum of 20 days in prison before their case is submitted to the Denpasar District Court for trial.

"Formally and materially, the case files have been declared complete," said Sutrisno Margi Utomo.

"We have appointed eight experienced prosecutors to handle this case.

"We will manage it professionally and coordinate with police to ensure security throughout the trial process."

READ MORE: Heartbreaking William Tyrrell update after Spider-Man suit found

Premeditated murder carries a maximum penalty of death under Indonesian law.

Local police chief M Arif Batubara claimed "there were no obstacles during the investigation process".

"As for their motive and statements, it will reveal everything together during the court proceedings," he said.

"We don't want to disclose any facts before the trial.

"The suspects have been cooperative during questioning, but I prefer not to comment further at this stage."

The men – nicknamed the Bali Three – have also been charged with murder.

Which charge ultimately applies will be determined during the trial.

Australian leaders will likely oppose the death penalty, like they did for the Bali Nine.

Two of the nine, ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were ultimately killed by firing squad in April 2015.

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 caller was told to move closer to David Bridgwater’s body and lay him on his back.