A pet dog has been hailed a hero after helping its elderly owners – the grandparents of Port Adelaide captain Connor Rozee's wife – escape their burning home.

Little Jack Russell Vivienne alerted elderly couple Helen and Geoff Packer when their fire alarms failed to activate after their home on Glen Avenue in Unley Park went up in flames about 3am. 

The Packers, who are grandparents of Port Adelaide captain Connor Rozee's wife Maisie Packer and members of a prominent Adelaide business family, were reportedly asleep when the fire broke out.

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According to the Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS), the home's fire alarms did not activate due to the external nature of the fire's origin. 

It started in the carport before rapidly spreading to the home's roof.

The couple's house was extensively damaged by fire, with the estimated cost of damages reaching $2 million dollars.

"It's a pretty bad day for them, they've lost most of their house. However, the Jack Russell dog has woken them up and they're unscathed," MFS' Gideon Douglas said.

"Hundred per cent that dog needs some treats today," he said.

Neighbour Scott Fox tried to contain the fire with a garden house before firefighters were on scene. 

"I thought if I could get some water on the exterior of the building it might not be able to catch it but it was raging, it was pretty hot," Fox said.

The Packers, who have resided at the property for three decades, are insured, but are unsure about rebuilding due to their ages. 

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.

Police say they had no option but to euthanise the animals at the scene.

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Police say they are “extremely disappointed” in the dangerous behaviour.

Bridget Doell claims she was excluded from key decisions and faced bullying.

It’s hoped the $5m equipment will help prepare the area for future disasters.

Disgraced former deputy mayor of Auburn Council Salim Mehajer has released a statement following his release on parole after being locked up for five years.

Mehajer was sentenced to seven years and nine months behind bars for a number of crimes, including domestic violence offences against his ex-partner, and forging his lawyer's signature.

He was released on parole yesterday and posted to his private Instagram page this morning, thanking the parole board for his release.

"I wish to formally convey my deep gratitude for the opportunity granted to me by the State Parole Authority," the post reads.

"I am fully committed to fulfilling the expectations placed before me, additionally, I express my sincere appreciation for the unwavering support of my family and friends, as well as the dedication of my legal representative."

He said he couldn't comment on the matter further as he has a scheduled appeal in three weeks. 

The post included a third paragraph, saying that in his prior ten-year relationship with Aysha Learmonth, he had never been accused of violence against her, and said she had nothing to do with "present matters."

"I find it extraordinary that the media persists in referencing my prior marriage to my then long-term partner," he wrote.

Learmonth was granted an AVO against Mehajer in 2017 as video footage emerged that showed him threatening to rape her and her parents.

He was convicted of breaching the AVO in 2018.

The pair's lavish 2015 wedding put Mehajer in the spotlight, spending over $1 million on the event.

Mehajer was granted parole last month after he was found guilty in 2023 in separate trials for offences which took place between April 1, 2018 and October 4, 2020, including for domestic violence against a different former partner of Mehajer.

When it comes to survival in the animal world, many people would assume the faster animals fare better.

But a new study led by a University of Melbourne researcher turns this assumption on its head, revealing being too speedy may make Australian central bearded dragons more vulnerable to predators.

The surprising find comes off the back of a year-long study where the lizards were studied in their natural environment and wore tiny fitness trackers.

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The small, high-tech devices contained tiny accelerometers and temperature-sensing radio transmitters to feed back data on the lizards' body temperature and acceleration.

Similar to other lizards, the bearded dragons rely on external heat sources to regulate body temperature to grow, digest food and reproduce effectively.

"Our study confirmed that these dragons are indeed masters at optimising behaviour according to seasonal shifts in air temperature," Dr Kristoffer Wild said.

"Data showed the lizards strategically moving between sunny spots and shady retreats in a delicate balancing act called behavioural thermoregulation."

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During the study, Wild said the research team looked at the dragons' optimal temperature for achieving peak speed and how speed related to survival outcomes.

The data, which was published this week in the Journal of Animal Ecology showed that lizards with higher speeds had a greater risk of mortality.

"What we believe is happening is that speedy lizards are engaging in riskier behaviours, such as moving around more openly and frequently, making them vulnerable to predators like birds and cats," Wild said.

"We found that increased risk was especially pronounced during spring, so this would make sense with dragons moving around a lot more looking for mates.

"These findings highlight an important ecological reality, what is measured in controlled lab environments doesn't always reflect what is happening in real-world environments.

"This research reminds us that in the wild, survival isn't just about physiology, but is deeply intertwined in the interplay with behaviour, predation risk and environmental variability."

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Young micro-investors are sinking their spare cash into shares after being locked out of the property market, leading economist Tom Piotrowski says.

Piotrowski said unaffordable property prices have made stock market investments an "attractive" choice for a record number of Australians aged under 40 as home ownership remains painfully out of reach.

"The fact that it has become increasingly difficult to establish a foothold [in the property market] has certainly contributed to the fact the ease of investing in the share market by comparison is more attractive," Piotrowski told 9news.com.au.

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"You can see a pathway to building your wealth in a more incremental way rather than having to stump up with a very sizable deposit."

This month marks 30 years since Commonwealth Bank's online share trading platform CommSec launched in Australia and the economic landscape has undoubtedly changed enormously since 1995.

In the mid-'90s, CommSec trades were done slowly by telephone and fax for $75 each and most investors were older, wealthier Australians.

Now, Piotrowski said, young people with various incomes are now using their smartphones to trade shares at lunch time hoping to build their "nest egg".

CommSec data released last year found 2.9 million investors under the age of 40 made up nearly half of the investors on the platform.

And according to figures from Finder, Australians have an average of $24,020 invested in shares.

This casual investing may be funded by inheritance or a small amount of disposable income, Piotrowski said.

"We're in the midst of one of the largest transitions of wealth from the baby boomer generation to a younger generation," Piotrowski said.

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"Some are fortunate that they might be able to get some help with a leg up to buying their first property because of that wealth transition, others perhaps might not be that lucky.

"Investing in the share market is attractive to them from that perspective because they're coming into some money.

"They might not quite have enough for a deposit.

"From that vantage point, you'd certainly be interested in looking at the share market."

The percentage of customers trading on CommSec aged under 40 has surged to 39.8 per cent, compared to just over 25 per cent in 2020.

CommBank revealed the rate of women with share holdings has nearly tripled in the past five years.

Piotrowski credits this with a rise in online financial literacy since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There are a lot more female content producers now that are interested in the share market, and that's important in terms of creating a commonality with the audience," he said.

"It's become far more mainstream than it ever has been and that is directly tied to technology and social media."

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CommSec's biggest day of trading in 2025 so far was in the wake of Donald Trump's tariff announcements on April 7.

But Piotrowski said Trump's influence likely won't have much of a negative impact on investors willing to play the long game and ride the wave.

"Yes, things are volatile, but volatility has always been a feature of equity markets," he said.

"From time to time, you have seismic events that create big price movements. But it's a cliche.

"The thing that protects you against that volatility is that long-term perspective."

The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

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