Telstra has been fined millions of dollars and ordered to pay millions more in compensation for misleading almost 9000 customers on its budget internet provider.

The Federal Court has slapped the country's biggest telco with an $18 million fine for moving 8897 Belong customers onto a lower-speed NBN plan in late 2020 without telling them.

While the new plan had the same maximum download speed, the maximum upload speed was halved from 40 to 20Mbps.

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On top of the fine, Telstra has been ordered to repay $15 to each customer for every month they were on the lower speed plan – a total compensation of more than $2.3 million for the telco.

"The $18 million penalty sends a strong message to all businesses that they cannot mislead consumers by making changes to key aspects of a service without informing customers of those changes," ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.

"Telstra's failure to inform customers that their broadband service had been changed denied them the opportunity to decide whether the changed service was suitable for their needs.

"Misleading pricing and claims in relation to essential services, with a particular focus on telecommunications, is one of ACCC's current enforcement priorities."

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The ACCC had taken Telstra to court in December 2022 over the incident, and the Federal Court found in February of this year that it had breached consumer law

The telco was ordered to pay part of the consumer watchdog's legal costs.

Belong was launched by Telstra in 2013 as its low-cost internet and mobile provider.

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The mislabelled pack was sold at New World Onerahi in Whangārei.

Police say there are no reports of injury despite the two-vehicle collision.

The candidate has frequently criticised Mayor Wayne Brown for not turning up.

Police are searching for four "aggressive, dangerous" men after a reported armed home invasion sparked a massive operation in Sydney's south-west.

Around 7am, police received reports that up to four people had stormed a home on Wollongbar Avenue in Panania, with witnesses saying that one was holding a gun.

"A dark sedan or possibly a station wagon had attended that street and parked out the front of one of the residences," Bankstown Police Area Commander, Superintendent Rodney Hart, said.

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"Four males, described as all wearing dark clothing with their faces covered, and one possibly being armed with a firearm, exited that vehicle and approached that house.

"Here they kicked in the front door and entered the premises."

A 52-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man were the only two occupants inside the home.

Police were told the 24-year-old was allegedly punched by the intruders, but did not require any medical treatment.

Shortly after, police reviewed CCTV footage and confirmed that the four people had fled the area.

It is believed that a large sum of cash was stolen by the men before fleeing the scene.

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The investigation concluded at 11.30am, and police established a crime scene at the house.

"We were just taking the dog for a walk, and we walked past here. There were SWAT trucks, people with armed guns, big guns," a witness said.

Aerial footage showed multiple emergency service vehicles, including multiple armoured police vehicles and tactical operations units, parked out front of the home.

A perimeter was established by Bankstown Police, with assistance from the Tactical Operations Unit, PolAir, Dog Unit, Traffic and Highway Patrol, Police Negotiators and Raptor Squad.

People inside a childcare centre on the street were told to stay indoors.

"My kids go to the daycare there in Wollongbar Avenue, so we got a notification that the daycare has been in lockdown," a parent told 9News.

Hart said "at no time were any of the children or staff members in any danger".

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A large number of police resources are now searching for the four suspects, including a helicopter.

The occupants of the home are assisting police with the investigation.

Anybody with information is urged to contact police immediately.

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A man has been charged after he was found with a large knife in his pants in a pokies room in Queensland.

Police were carrying out a wanding operation at a licensed premises in the Townsville suburb of Hermit Park at 3.10am on Wednesday when they searched a man who had been playing at a poker machine.

Body-worn video footage showed an officer detecting a metal object under the man's jumper, who told police the object was "just a knife".

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After placing the man under arrest, the footage showed the officer then pulling a large knife from the back of the man's pants.

The 24-year-old man from Garbutt was charged with one count each of possessing a knife in a public place and possessing dangerous drugs.

He is due to appear in Townsville Magistrates Court on October 21.

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The wanding operation was carried out under Jack's Law.

The legislation was introduced in response to the stabbing death of Jack Beasley in 2019.

The law allows police to conduct metal detection wanding operations in safe night precincts, on public transport and at public transport hubs.

"We have seen the devastating impacts from knife crime, including the lifelong trauma for victims, their families, and the community," Inspector Jason Shepherd said.

"We want to send a very clear message to the community, that our ongoing wanding operations will continue and anyone carrying a knife in public will be put before the courts."

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The peanuts were sold at Woolworths, FreshChoice and Supervalue stores.

All of the defendants were in their 20s at the time of the offending.

Exclusive: Queenslanders Howard and Shirley Hill have called site 75 at Dicky Beach Holiday Park home for more than 30 years.

They poured their life savings into building a home on the long-term site, one where their grandkids and great-grandkids can come for holidays and there's always time for a beer on the deck at the end of the day.

But under a new council plan, Howard and Shirley's little slice of paradise may soon be worth nothing.

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Proposed changes to the residential area of Dicky Beach Holiday Park will see the land where the Hills' home is located, along with more than 80 others, returned to its "intended purpose" as camping and recreational reserve sites.

The change is set to come into effect in May 2026 and when it does, residents will no longer be allowed to sell their homes to new owners.

It has rendered the homes of about 100 residents "virtually unsellable and worth nothing".

"It's devastating," Howard told 9news.com.au.

"We put $110,000 into this [home] and we could have sold it six months ago for $350,000.

"Now it's not worth $3.50, if council gets what they want."

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A punk rock icon and a fermented Japanese rice have helped inspire the names of the next tropical cyclones in Australia.

The Bureau of Meteorology has released the new names ahead of next month's start of the storm season, which runs until late April, reports weather forecasting site Weatherzone.

The next six months has the potential for nine to 11 tropical cyclones, which is about average for Australia.

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A handful of those can be expected to reach severe level, categorised by meteorologists as level three or stronger.

The first new tropical cyclone will be known as Fina, while the remainder include Iggy, synonymous with legendary rocker Iggy Pop, and Koji, a rice grain used to make Miso.

They run in alphabetical order and alternate between male and female. The 11 new names are: Fina, Grant, Hayley, Iggy, Jenna, Koji, Launa, Mitchell, Narelle, Oran and Peta.

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Australia's tropical cyclones have been named by the bureau since the mid 1960s.

Initially, the cyclones were only given female names – with the first official names being Audrey and Bessie in 1964.

During the past 62 years of wild weather, some of the most destructive cyclones in Australian history have been named Tracy, Larry, Olivia, Debbie and Alfred.

Earlier this year, the bureau decided to change the name of a major tropical cyclone off northern Queensland from Anthony to Alfred.

The move was made to avoid confusion with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ahead of May's federal election.

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