Police are investigating his death as a homicide.

‘As a family, we continue to have hope – hope for what might be possible.’

An artwork said to have been created by one of Australia's worst serial murderers, John Bunting, has been listed for sale on eBay with a price tag in the thousands.

The piece of art was advertised as handmade by the Snowtown serial killer from inside Yatala Prison walls with an asking price of $5000.

Bunting, who was the ringleader in South Australia's notorious bodies in the barrels murders, was convicted of 11 killings in 2003.

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The item was listed online for several days for $5000 before it was reported by South Australia's Department for Correctional Services.

The listing was removed this morning out of respect for Bunting's victims and their families.

The drawing depicts a skull-like image on a Salvation Army Christmas card and reads "seasons greetings" with Bunting's signature on the back.

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A Department for Correctional Services spokesperson said authorities would closely examine the artwork to assess whether it was made by Bunting in the prison.

"Action will be taken if any inappropriate behaviour is found to have occurred," the spokesperson said.

Bunting, 57, is serving a life sentence under high security.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said it is a criminal offence to profit off criminal activity.

"Let's assume that it's not, and there's reason to believe it might not be, then it means someone else is trying to profiteer out of it," Malinauskas said.

"That is an exceptionally poor reflection on that individual."

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The federal government has been urged to overhaul the generous tax concessions given to property investors in order to hit its ambitious housing target.

On the eve of parliament returning for the first time since Labor's landslide win in the May election, the McKell Institute released a report calling for the government to rework the capital gains tax discount, which costs the budget about $23 billion a year.

Rather than the blanket 50 per cent discount for all investment properties, the progressive think tank says it should vary depending on the type of property.

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It said the discount should be increased to 70 per cent for new apartment buildings in order to encourage investment in newly constructed units, while at the same time reducing the discount for existing houses.

"A key problem with our existing tax settings on property is they orient too much investment toward established dwellings, at the cost of new supply," study co-author Richard Holden said.

"There is nothing wrong with the commonly held desire of everyday investors to secure their future by investing in the housing market.

"But this desire should be harnessed to achieve our national objectives on housing supply."

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According to the report, the changes would boost housing supply by 1.2 per cent, delivering up to 130,000 new units by 2030.

The current goal of 1.2 million new homes built by mid-2029 is already well behind schedule, and Treasury advised the government that the goal is unachievable and should be revised.

Alongside negative gearing, the capital gains discount has been the target of several calls for reform, particularly from the Greens, while independent senators Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock also modelled winding back the tax breaks.

However, co-author Edward Cavanough, the McKell Institute chief executive, said scrapping or drastically reducing the concession was not realistic.

"We have to stop seeing capital gains tax as some kind of grand moral question," he said.

"That approach has caused a stalemate in this country that has stalled the progress we need on fixing the housing crisis.

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"The CGT tax discount is neither good nor evil. But it should be better calibrated to actually achieve our social aims.

"Instead of encouraging property investors to bid up the price of existing housing stock, we should be encouraging them to contribute to the construction of new dwellings."

Cavanough and Holden said their proposal would be budget-neutral for its first five years, and raise an extra $1.4 billion over 10 years.

The government has avoided talk of tinkering with capital gains and negative gearing, particularly since reports emerged it had asked Treasury to investigate changes to the concessions last year.

"Labor has resisted change to the CGT discount for too long," Cavanough said.

"It needs to creatively reform this poorly targeted tax concession so it works both in the interests of aspirational Australians and society more broadly."

The McKell Institute report will be submitted to the government's productivity roundtable next month.

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Investigators say they are "one phone call away" from finding those responsible for a house fire that killed an innocent Melbourne woman earlier this year.

Katie Tangey, 27, was housesitting for her brother and his wife at their property in Melbourne's west in Truganina on January 16.

About 2am, two people were captured on CCTV getting out of a dark coloured vehicle – similar to a BMW X3 or X5 – and parking outside the address, police say.

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A "significant explosion" then occurs and the pair flee the area, carrying what is believed to have been a jerry can.

Tangey, who was inside the house at the time, called triple zero but died at the scene along with the family's golden retriever.

The three-storey townhouse was completely destroyed.

Detectives believe the arson attack was likely linked to the illicit tobacco dispute, and was a targeted attack but at the wrong address.

"Investigators know Katie was completely innocent and had nothing to do with the illicit tobacco trade," police said in a statement.

Investigators also believe exiled tobacco kingpin Kaz Hamad orchestrated the botched hit from overseas.

"We know we're one phone call away from cracking this investigation," Arson Squad Detective Inspector Chris Murray said.

"Unfortunately the two … the only word I can use is two buffoons who did this act, they targeted the wrong address."

Police are now calling on the crime world for help, with a $500,000 reward for any information announced today.

"I'd suggest even they'd be disgusted at what's happened here," Murray added.

In April, investigators released a digital composite image of a man they would like to speak to in relation to the investigation.

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The image of the man's face was compiled using CCTV footage which has been enhanced.

He is described as Middle Eastern in appearance, aged between 25 and 30 years old and with a slim build.

Police said they had received some leads via anonymous reports to Crime Stoppers, including one call where a name has been given of a pseudonym or nickname.

Investigators are still urging this particular caller to make further contact and provide additional information.

"These two faceless and gutless individuals that carried out this attack, we just need some names to those faces," Murray added.

Detectives are particularly keen to hear from anyone who recognises the man in the image or has any further information on the nickname provided.

"We believe we know who directed this crime, and we know we are getting closer to proving who was responsible for carrying it out on the night," Murray added.

"Those responsible for Katie's death know they targeted the wrong house and they have to live with the knowledge that they are responsible for the horrific death of a completely innocent young woman. 

"$500,000 is a lot of money – hopefully it will encourage those people out there who do know something to do the right thing and come forward.

"Katie's family deserve answers."

A reward of up to $500,000 will be paid at the discretion of the Chief Commissioner of Police, for information leading to the apprehension and subsequent conviction of the person or persons responsible for Tangey's death.

The Director of Public Prosecutions will consider, according to official guidelines, the granting of indemnification from prosecution to any person who provides information as to the identity of the principal offender or offenders in this matter.

Police were notified after the two men failed to return or check in on the radio.

He had his first appearance in the Auckland District Court this morning.

A boy survived the sinking of a tourist boat in Vietnam which killed dozens of people by sheltering in an air pocket of the overturned vessel, it has emerged.

The 10-year-old had been travelling with his family in Vietnam's famed Ha Long Bay when the vessel they were sailing on became caught in a sudden storm. Trapped in the boat as it capsized, the boy found refuge in an underwater air pocket, where he stayed and waited for help.

He was eventually found by rescue teams relatively unharmed, although he was suffering from mental distress. He was warmed up and transferred to a nearby hospital, local outlet VietnamNet reported.

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"Everything happened so fast," the boy said. "I tried to get out, and then the soldiers rescued me."

Search and rescue efforts are continuing for missing passengers and crew after sightseeing ship the Wonder Sea capsized in a squall on Saturday but have been hampered by bad weather.

At least 35 people are confirmed dead from the sinking, state media reported, revising down an earlier toll but warning that it could still rise further. Vietnam News Agency said there were 53 passengers and crew on board and 10 people had been rescued. Four people remain missing.

Another survivor, a 36-year-old Vietnamese man, described escaping the overturned boat by dumping his life jacket and swimming through an underwater window.

Fire extinguisher salesman Dang Anh Tuan described the moment the vessel suddenly capsized during bad weather, leaving little time for those on board to react.

"It rained for about 15 minutes, and then the boat started to shake vigorously, tables and chairs were jostled around and seconds later the boat overturned," Tuan told the Associated Press.

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He said that the boat quickly filled with water and he lost all orientation.

"I tried to breathe. But more water came in. I took a deep breath, got rid of my life vest and dove down. I saw a streak of light and followed it to swim out, escaping the boat, and then I climbed on the overturned boat to look for help," he said.

Tuan, along with several others who had been on board, clung onto the overturned boat and waited for another two hours in pouring rain until emergency crews arrived.

He'd been holidaying in Vietnam's popular tourist bay with 11 university friends. Only three of their group survived.

VN Express reported that the Wonder Sea was caught in a storm around 1:30pm local time (4:30pm AEST), which caused it to capsize.

Most of the passengers were from the Vietnamese capital Hanoi and travelling as families, according to VN Express, which reported the eldest passenger as 53 years old and the youngest as just 3.

Over 20 children were on board, VNExpress said.

The capsize reportedly happened near the Dau Go Cave – one of the largest in the bay.

Halong Bay is a popular tourist hotspot and a UNESCO world heritage site comprising about 1600 limestone islands and islets.

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A former judge's decision to leak confidential material from an inquiry into Bruce Lehrmann's criminal prosecution was an attempt at transparency not an act of corruption, his lawyers say.

Walter Sofronoff KC has asked the Federal Court to toss a March finding by the ACT Integrity Commission that the former judge engaged in serious corrupt conduct.

The commission's probe stemmed from Sofronoff's leaks to a journalist.

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But the watchdog's adverse finding was a "serious offence against the administration of justice", Sofronoff's barrister Adam Pomerenke KC said during a hearing today.

Sofronoff was not corrupt, malicious or dishonest, the barrister told Justice Wendy Abrahams.

Rather, he genuinely believed he was acting in the public interest by sending documents like witness statements to the media.

"Even if Mr Sofronoff was wrong in his view, the fact remains that he genuinely and honestly held it," Pomerenke said. 

"At worst it could be characterised as an erroneous attempt to ensure accuracy and transparency in the public discourse."

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Sofronoff chaired a board of inquiry into the ACT's criminal justice system after Lehrmann's controversy-plagued prosecution.

The former Liberal staffer was accused of raping then-colleague Brittany Higgins in a ministerial office at Parliament House in 2019.

A 2022 criminal trial was abandoned without a verdict due to juror misconduct.

Lehrmann lost a defamation lawsuit he brought over media reporting of Higgins' allegations but has appealed a judge's finding the rape claim was true on the balance of probabilities.

The Sofronoff-led inquiry found the ACT's top prosecutor, Shane Drumgold, had lost objectivity over the Lehrmann case and knowingly lied about a note of his meeting with broadcaster Lisa Wilkinson.

Drumgold resigned and launched a legal challenge to the findings in the ACT Supreme Court.

It found the majority of the inquiry's findings were not legally unreasonable, but it struck down an adverse finding about how Drumgold cross-examined then-Liberal senator Linda Reynolds during Lehrmann's criminal trial.

In March, the ACT Integrity Commission also found the majority of the inquiry's findings were not legally unreasonable.

But it found Sofronoff's behaviour during the inquiry gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias and he might have been influenced by the publicly expressed views of journalist Janet Albrechtsen.

Sofronoff repeatedly messaged the News Corp columnist and eventually provided her an advance copy of his probe's final report.

Pomerenke told the Federal Court today the ACT corruption body had admitted it made an error in finding Sofronoff might have engaged in contempt.

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The claimed contempt stemmed out of leaks to the media despite directions made to parties during the inquiry to suppress certain documents.

But the notion that the head of an inquiry could be in contempt of himself was "absurd and irrational", Pomerenke said.

This concession was enough to toss the findings against his client, he told the court.

Any individual error could not be "disentangled" from the final finding that the former judge engaged in serious corrupt conduct, the barrister said.

The hearing continues.

Support is available from 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) and the National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service on 1800 211 028.

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New research has revealed a troubling trend in Australian workplaces, with a significant number of employers appearing to sideline both older and younger workers due to age biases.

A joint report, released today by the Australian HR Institute (AHRI) and the Australian Human Rights Commission, found nearly a quarter of HR professionals now classify workers aged 51-55 as "older", a sharp increase from just 10 per cent in 2023. 

This shift suggested many employers were overlooking experienced professionals in an economy suffering skills shortages, the commission said in a statement.

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Despite more than half of employers (55 per cent) grappling with hard-to-fill vacancies, only 56 per cent are significantly open to hiring individuals aged 50-64. 

This figure plummets to just 28 per cent for those 65 and over, with a striking 18 per cent outright refusing to consider this age group. 

The situation is equally bleak for the younger generation, with only 41 per cent of employers largely open to recruiting jobseekers aged 15 to 24.

"Our research found some workplaces are hesitant to employ workers over the age of 50, before they are even close to retirement age, or under 24 – including Gen Z's digital natives," Sarah McCann-Bartlett, CEO of the Australian HR Institute, said. 

"One in 5 HR professionals say their recruitment practices negatively impact older workers, and 23 per cent say the same about younger workers."

The report, Older and Younger Workers: What Do Employers Think?, is AHRI and the Commission's fifth national survey of employers and HR professionals. 

It includes responses from almost 150 HR professionals in the private, public, and non-profit sector, and provides a snapshot of how older and younger workers are perceived, supported and included in Australian workplaces.

Robert Fitzgerald, Age Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission, said the findings highlight the need for sustained action against ageism.

"Older and younger workers can be a real advantage for businesses," he said.

"Age-diverse teams bring different life experiences to the table and are better at solving problems.

"Employers need to support inclusive workplaces, where competency isn't assessed against age or career stage. Providing equal opportunity for people of all ages to remain engaged in meaningful work can enhance productivity, while also helping close skills gaps," he said.

Report reveals age-based assumptions about key skills

While older workers rated higher for their loyalty (74 per cent), reliability (64 per cent), and ability to cope with stress (62 per cent), compared to younger workers they were rated lower for their ability to use technology and their career ambition, the report found. 

Only 1 per cent of respondents said older workers had better technology skills, and just 7 per cent thought they had higher energy levels.

Younger workers, meanwhile, were rated comparatively lower for reliability (1 per cent), loyalty (2 per cent), and ability to cope with stress (2 per cent), despite being rated higher for energy and technological fluency.

Nearly 60 per cent of respondents said the departure of older workers has led to a loss of key skills, with only 13 per cent saying their organisation consistently captures that knowledge.

"What we're seeing is bias at both ends of the age range," Fitzgerald said. 

"Sadly this undermines diversity of thought and productivity."

The findings come after the federal government this month flagged increasing productivity as a key priority for its second term.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will hold a productivity round table in August, and has said he wants it to build the "broadest possible base" for further economic reform.