It’s the fourth time this year the jackpot has climbed above $15m.

A former AFL player who killed two elderly women in a car crash while driving under the influence of drugs with his daughter in the vehicle will spend at least eight-and-a-half years behind bars.

Shannon John Cox, 39, admitted unlawfully killing Thelma Clausen and Coral Seinor after he fell asleep at the wheel and crossed into the path of oncoming traffic about 170 kilometres north of Perth on June 7 last year.

The women, who were in their 80s and on their way to a Country Women's Association event, suffered significant injuries in the head-on collision and died at the scene.

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Cox, who played 25 AFL games for Collingwood between 2007 and 2009, had 0.77 milligrams per litre of methamphetamine in his system and was suffering from fatigue, Western Australia's Supreme Court was told today.

His Toyota Parado struck the Suzuki Ignis carrying the women after colliding with the side of a truck on the Brand Highway in wet conditions at about 84km/h.

Cox was travelling from Geraldton to Perth with his 12-year-old daughter, Josephine, who was also injured, to pick up his wife after she was released from custody when the incident happened.

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He was sentenced to 10 years and six months' imprisonment, eligible for parole after serving eight years and six months, backdated to October 25, 2024.

Cox, a father of two daughters, will also be disqualified from driving for four years after he is released.

The former half-back flank started using methamphetamine and alcohol at age 13 after he was exposed to drugs and violence in the early part of his childhood, the court was told.

Football initially provided discipline for Cox, who didn't learn to read until he was an adult, but after he moved to Melbourne at age 20, he used alcohol to cope with his stress and a gambling habit.

After retiring from the game, Cox entered the mining industry.

But in 2015 he started using a significant amount of methamphetamine and previously served two years and six months for drug-related offences, Justice Stephen Lemonis said as he delivered the sentence.

About 18 months before the accident that killed Clausen and Seinor, Cox's methamphetamine use escalated significantly, and he was on a community-based order for drug-related charges at the time of the accident.

His arrest over the women's deaths was the third time in two years he had been caught driving with methamphetamine in his system, and while on bail for the manslaughter charges, he was again caught using the drug."The impact of your offending has been devastating," Justice Lemonis told Cox.

"This offending has tragically come about because of your addiction to methamphetamine."

Leanne Clausen said her mother Thelma's death had caused her family significant grief and trauma.

"Mum was the most selfless, kind-hearted and community-driven person," she said while reading her victim impact statement.

"Her volunteering efforts were endless."

Suzanne Seinor said her mother Coral "lived for those she loved and loved unconditionally".

"You chose to drive a car with drugs in your system," she said, addressing Cox during her victim impact statement.

"That choice resulted in taking two lives that weren't yours to take.

"Your choice affected over a 1000 people, who were my mum and her friend's family, loved ones and community."

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Police say the man fled before being tracked by the police Eagle helicopter.

New Zealand officials are seeking more information.

A head monk allegedly sexually abused six young children inside his living quarters, a Buddhist temple prayer room and at Sunday school, a jury has been told.

The youngest girls were aged four, and one claims she was abused four times across two Dhamma Sarana Buddhist temple sites in Melbourne until she was aged 11 or 12.

Venerable Naotunne Vijitha, now 70, faced the first day of a jury trial at Victoria's County Court today, dressed in orange and red robes, and wearing sandals and a red beanie.

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Vijitha is charged with 19 child sex abuse offences involving six alleged victims beginning after he relocated to take up a post as head of the Dhamma Sarana temple at Springvale in 1994.

The alleged offending continued after the temple was relocated to Keysborough in the early 2000s, prosecutors told the jury.

Vijitha, who is on bail, has pleaded not guilty and denies all offending.

The chief monk sat at the back of the court as Judge Pardeep Tiwana informed 14 jurors that Vijitha's fasting rituals must be accommodated during the trial.

He was supported in court by a second monk in robes and six others.

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Prosecutor Fiona Martin said Vijitha was accused of nine charges of sexual penetration with a girl aged under 16 at the time, and 10 counts of indecent act with a girl under 16.

"Within the temple, he was referred to as the… 'main Sadhu' and taught Sunday school classes and held those in his living quarters," she said.

All six alleged victims attended the temple with their families at different times between 1994 and 2002, some for special celebrations or ceremonies to mourn loved ones, she said.

Others attended the temple regularly as their families were very religious, Martin said.

A girl who migrated from Sri Lanka to Australia with her family was from a "very religious" family and her mother would make food for the monks, she said.

She attended regular Sunday school classes taught by Vijitha and alleged she was sexually abused five times between the ages of nine and 11 inside his room at the Springvale temple.

This included giving the girl her first kiss after allegedly sexually penetrating her, Martin said.

Another girl alleged Vijitha called her to his room when she was at the temple with her parents and held onto her as she tried to get away, before telling her "not to tell anyone", the court heard.

A girl claimed Vijitha pulled her into the main prayer area when she was four and allegedly placed his hands across her crotch before saying "you're not angry are you?" in Sinhalese to her.

Another alleged victim claimed he sexually abused her in his bedroom after she attended for a ceremony on the anniversary of her grandmother's death.

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Vijitha took the girl to his living quarters to show her a model of the temple and give her a religious book, and then allegedly touched her inappropriately, Martin said.

One of the girls reported the alleged abuse to a school counsellor in 2005, claiming she had been touched by a monk at her Sunday school.

Martin said the counsellor reported it to police, however the girl did not wish for it to be investigated at the time and she did not pursue the allegations until 2022.

Another alleged victim contacted Crime Stoppers in 2021.

Vijitha's barrister Nick Papas KC asked the jury to set aside emotion during the trial and remember the allegations were from 25 or 30 years ago, so they must question their reliability and accuracy.

"Some of the events are so improbable as to stretch any grounds of credulity," he said.

"He says he's not guilty, he denies the charges, there's no middle ground here, the Crown has to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt."

The trial continues.

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

The cafe’s Shelly Bay lease ends on January 31, 2026, after 15 years in business.

Two of Australia's public universities are facing accusations of offering "misleading" and unaccredited degrees to students after twin class action lawsuits were launched.

The University of Newcastle is defending itself in the NSW Supreme Court over claims it misrepresented to students who began studying a Bachelor of Medical Engineering (BME) in 2018 that the course was accredited with Engineers Australia and under the Washington Accord.

Lead plaintiff Andreas Sklavos alleges the university publicised the degree as qualifying a graduate for employment as an accredited engineer in Australia without any further qualification.

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A similar class action was filed in June against Western Sydney University (WSU) over the university's Master of Advanced Imaging (MRI) course.

The lead litigant alleges the degree was not accredited with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (APHRA).

It appears WSU no longer offers the MRI course to students.

9news.com.au has contacted WSU for comment.

Australian Law Partners is representing students in both lawsuits.

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Mathew Hannon handed over a gun and ammunition. Shortly after, Sidney Bridson was dead. 

The Australian brothers sparked outrage when they filmed themselves at the site.

A mechanical fault caused a plane engine to catch fire just moments after take-off, leading to operations at Adelaide Airport being temporarily shut down.

The Rex Airlines flight on the runway and was bound for Broken Hill just after 7am when the pilot braked and abandoned take-off.

Passengers then spotted flames coming from the engine. 

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"The plane started to brake just before we rotated, and I thought 'oh that's not good', and then someone started yelling out 'fire, fire', and I thought 'oh that's not good either'," passenger Warwick Beverley said. 

Beverley and his fiancé Sandy Holmes were desperate to head home after his emergency brain surgery to remove a tumour in Adelaide.

Today, they were left with "another story to tell". 

Passengers and staff were ushered off the aircraft, and a bus picked them up from the airport and took them back to the terminal, where they were booked on another flight.

The fire self-extinguished. 

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"I'm glad it wasn't in the air," Holmes said. 

"I hate flying anyway so I had to really tell myself I was on the riverbank because my heart was jumping out of my chest."

The situation impacted operations across the entire airport, with the runway closed for about 30 minutes before reopening about 8am. 

Rex Airlines claims a small amount of unburnt fuel ignited in the engine's exhaust, causing the emergency. 

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the mechanical fault.

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