He then asked for a lighter sentence when he was put on the child sex offender register.

The federal election is here, bringing Australia's preferential voting system into the spotlight.

When voting in a federal election, citizens vote on two ballots – one for the House of Representatives, the other for the Senate – but the preferential system can seem daunting, particularly for first-time voters.

Here's everything you need to know about it.

LIVE UPDATES: Polls open; Albanese favourite but fighting to retain majority

How does Australia's preferential voting system work? 

Preferential voting means voters rank who they most and least prefer to be in parliament.

Australians vote on two ballots in federal elections: one for the House of Representatives (the lower house), and one for the Senate (the upper house). 

Preferential voting is used for both, but it works differently for each house.

Lower house preferential voting

In the House of Representatives, preferential voting ensures a candidate cannot be elected without holding an absolute majority (more than 50 per cent) of the vote – a process that can take several rounds of counting.

This is unlike the "first past the post" system used in the UK, where whoever has the most votes after one count – even if it's less than a clear, 50 per cent majority – is declared the winner.

READ MORE: The 10 closest seats heading into the vote

In Australia, voters number all the candidates on their House of Representatives ballot.

Putting a 1 next to a candidate's name means that is who the voter would most like to represent their seat, a 2 means that candidate is the second choice, and so on until they reach the candidate the voter least wants to represent them.

A vote still counts in full even if its first choice is eliminated.

If a candidate wins the majority of first-preference votes – their name is listed as number 1 on more than 50 per cent of ballots – then they are elected to parliament.

However, if no candidate receives a clear majority during that first count, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated.

Then, in the second round of counting, the eliminated candidate's votes are transferred to whoever is listed as the second preference on the ballot.

This process is then repeated, with the least-supported candidates being eliminated after each round and votes being transferred until one candidate earns more than 50 per cent of the vote, finishing with a "two-party preferred" result between the two most-supported candidates.

The system means that it's possible for someone to win a seat even if they don't get the most first-preference votes.

In the last federal election, Greens MP Stephen Bates won the seat of Brisbane even though he finished third on first preferences, behind the Liberal and Labor candidates.

However, because Labor preferences flowed strongly to him, Bates moved ahead of ALP candidate Madonna Jarrett, and eventually won the majority of votes, beating out Liberal candidate Trevor Evans to claim the seat.

READ MORE: The suburbs that could make Peter Dutton prime minister

Senate preferential voting

Preferential voting works differently in the Senate, because voters are electing candidates to fill several vacancies for the upper house each election (generally six in each of the states and two in the two territories).

A quota system is used to determine how many votes a candidate needs to be elected. It takes weeks for these results to be finalised.

When filling out their Senate ballot paper, voters can either vote for parties or individual candidates – these choices are known as voting above the line or below.

To vote for parties, voters must number at least six party boxes above the line, with 1 their first choice and 2 their second and so on.

READ MORE: The key seats that could give Labor a second term in government

To vote for individual candidates, voters number at least 12 candidates below the line. 

When working out who has been elected, the Australian Electoral Commission uses a quota, which is figured out by a formula. 

The quota, which is determined by a formula dividing the number of formal votes by the number of vacancies in the Senate, plus one – is the exact number of votes a candidate needs to be elected to the Senate. 

If a candidate reaches the quota, they are voted into the upper house.

Any votes for them beyond that exact number are dispersed to the remaining candidates who are marked as second preferences on ballots. These are called surplus votes.

Surplus votes are not counted at their full value. Instead, a formula is applied to determine how much weight they hold – this is called the transfer value. 

READ MORE: How independents will shape the federal election

The transfer value is applied to the remaining candidates' votes, and anyone who reaches the quota after that process are also elected.

The system continues until all of the available Senate positions are filled.

READ MORE: Federal Election 2025 Results Tracker

If all the vacancies haven't been filled after the surplus votes have been counted, then another process takes place.

The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their second-preference votes are distributed at full value to the remaining candidates, similar to what happens with the House of Representatives.

Candidates who meet the quota are elected, and the system continues until all the positions are filled. 

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It has become as much an Aussie staple as Vegemite and Tim Tams.

And many voters have been eagerly awaiting their democracy sausage today.

The sausages in bread are traditionally sold for charity at polling booths, with homemade cakes also typically on offer.

LIVE UPDATES: Polls open; Albanese favourite but fighting to retain majority

Voters already salivating at the thought of the snack can check to ensure their local polling booth is offering the delicacy.

More than 1700 locations across the country will offer a sausage sizzle during election day today, according to website democracysausage.org.

Aussie capital Canberra and the ACT has the highest percentage of locations.

READ MORE: 'We started around the kitchen table': The independent trying to unseat Dutton

READ MORE: The election promises Labor and the Coalition have made to win your vote

Almost three quarters of polling places there will have one.

Voters in the Northern Territory may be disappointed – only 17 per cent of polling booths will have the barbecue going.

The website also lists the spots with veggie options, bacon and eggs, coffee and cakes.

By typing a location, voters can see a full list in their area.

The website was set up by "tech nerd" Alex Dawson.

READ MORE: Federal Election 2025 Results Tracker

"We work with industry peak bodies and charity groups like P&Cs to find out in advance how many of Australia's 7000 polling locations are likely to have sausage sizzles," he told Today.

According to the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House (MoAD), the term "democracy sausage" was first coined around 15 years ago.

One of the defining features of the last election was the emergence of the so-called teal or community independents.

Backed by political crowdfunding group Climate 200 and running primarily on platforms demanding better action on climate change, teal candidates snatched a host of once-safe Liberal seats, helping to create the largest crossbench in Australian history.

A key question this time around is how many of those seats will remain in independent hands, and whether any will revert back to supporting the Coalition.

READ MORE: The key seats that could give Labor a second term in government

Some appear unlikely to shift.

Zali Steggal (who has said she isn't receiving Climate 200 funding, despite appearing on the organisation's website) has held Warringah since 2019, and extended her margin to beyond 10 per cent last election. 

While neither Helen Haines nor Andrew Wilkie run under teal banners – they both prefer shades of orange – they are both supported by Climate 200.

Indi, where Haines has a margin of almost 9 per cent, has voted independent since 2013, and Wilkie has been Clark's MP since long before Climate 200 even existed.

With a margin of more than 20 per cent, his is one of the safest seats in the country.

LIVE UPDATES: Polls open; Albanese favourite but fighting to retain majority

While the Australian Electoral Commission has listed Allegra Spender's seat of Wentworth as an ultra-marginal one, election analysts have her margin somewhere between 6 and 9 per cent – although Ro Knox has fought a fierce campaign to win the seat back for the Liberals.

Curtin, on the other hand, will be a battle for Kate Chaney – whose grandfather and uncle, Fred Chaney Senior and Junior, were both senior Liberal politicians – to retain with just a 1.32 per cent margin.

It's considered the most likely teal electorate to change colour this year.

Others are also up in the air, but the exact margins are difficult to judge due to redistribution.

READ MORE: The seats that could make Peter Dutton prime minister

Zoe Daniel is again facing former Liberal assistant minister Tim Wilson in Melbourne's Goldstein, and in Sydney's Northern Beaches Sophie Scamps is being challenged by James Brown for Mackellar.

The AEC has the margin for both listed as 1.8 per cent, indicating they could both be genuine coin-tosses, but most independent analysts are putting the figure for each around the mid-3 per cent range.

The status of Kooyong, currently held by Monique Ryan (who famously defeated then-treasurer Josh Frydenberg in 2022), is even more debated, and has been the site of some of the most heightened tensions of the entire election. 

According to the AEC, the margin is 2.5 per cent, similar to the estimate put forward by the ABC's Antony Green (2.2 per cent), but others range from as little as 0.1 per cent to up around 4 per cent. 

At any rate, it's a seat the Liberals would dearly love to win back, and they've nominated Amelia Hamer, the grandniece of former Victorian premier Sir Rupert Hamer, to do just that.

READ MORE: The 10 closest seats heading into the 2025 federal election

The new players

Redistribution has cost the crossbench one MP, with the abolition of North Sydney leaving Kylea Tink without a seat to contest.

At the same time, it may deliver a replacement. Neighbouring Bradfield has absorbed large parts of the electorate that voted for Tink, and has an existing teal candidate in Nicolette Boele.

She lost the seat to long-serving Liberal moderate Paul Fletcher in 2022, but he isn't running again, having announced his retirement from politics late last year.

Without an incumbent MP, there is a genuine chance Bradfield could fall to the crossbench. 

It was the only Liberal-held seat in the entire country that voted in favour of the Voice to parliament – no doubt a reason why the party preselected local executive Gisele Kapterian over prominent No campaigner Warren Mundine.

READ MORE: Why an entire seat has gone missing this election

Climate 200 is throwing its support behind dozens more candidates – self-styled "maroon independent" is challenging Opposition Leader Peter Dutton in Queensland, for example – but the two most likely to break through to parliament are Alex Dyson and Caz Heise.

Both are departures from the teal norm from 2022 in that they're running in seats well away from city centres.

Former Triple J presenter Dyson is challenging Liberal frontbencher Dan Tehan for Wannon in Victoria's west, while lawyer Heise is up against National Pat Conaghan in Cowper, which straddles Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie on the NSW North Coast.

Both ran their opponents close in 2022, and need swings of just 3.5 and 2.4 per cent respectively to go one step further this time around.

Elsewhere, the independents are more of a long shot. 

READ MORE: For the first time, Gen Z and Millennials outnumber Boomers this election

Kate Hook is running in what looms as a three-way tussle for Calare with sitting MP Andrew Gee, who was elected as a National but went independent over its stance on the Voice to parliament, and new Nationals candidate Sam Farraway.

Marathon runner Erchana Murray-Bartlett is looking to capitalise on former Liberal minister Karen Andrews' retirement in McPherson, and Victorian Father of the Year Ben Smith is hoping to win Flinders, but both would be surprise winners.

And the odd one out

One other independent-held seat worth watching is Monash – although it's certainly not teal territory.

Similarly to Calare, it was won by a Coalition MP in 2022: Liberal Russell Broadbent, who's been in parliament since 1990. 

READ MORE: Federal Election 2025 Results Tracker

Like Gee, Broadbent quit his party, this time in 2023 after he lost preselection for the seat to executive Mary Aldred.

He's announced he will run again in what will be his 14th federal election, posing a potential wrinkle for the Coalition in what is notionally a Liberal seat.

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Prince Harry lost his appeal on Friday challenging the UK government's decision to strip him of his publicly funded security after he stepped away from royal family duties and moved to the US.

The Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that a committee hadn't treated Harry unfairly when it decided to review his protection on a case-by-case basis each time he visits the UK.

Justice Geoffrey Vos said in a 21-page judgment that the Duke of Sussex felt badly treated and his lawyer had made powerful and moving arguments on his behalf. But he said that Harry's grievance wasn't legal grounds to challenge the decision to deny him regular security.

READ MORE: The damning question that paints a grim picture whoever wins

"From the Duke of Sussex's point of view, something may indeed have gone wrong, in that an unintended consequence of his decision to step back from royal duties and spend the majority of his time abroad has been that he has been provided with a more bespoke, and generally lesser, level of protection than when he was in the UK," Vos said. "But that does not, of itself, give rise to a legal complaint."

The ruling is likely to leave the Duke of Sussex with a large bill to pay the UK government's legal fees — in addition to his own lawyers' costs.

It wasn't immediately clear if he would try to appeal to the UK Supreme Court.

The ruling upheld a High Court judge's decision last year that found that a "bespoke" plan for the Duke of Sussex's security wasn't unlawful, irrational or unjustified.

Harry made a rare appearance for the two-day hearing last month as his lawyer argued that his life was in danger and the Royal and VIP Executive Committee had singled him out for inferior treatment.

"There is a person sitting behind me who is being told he is getting a special bespoke process when he knows and has experienced a process that is manifestly inferior in every respect," attorney Shaheed Fatima said. "His presence here and throughout this appeal is a potent illustration – were one needed – of how much this appeal means to him and his family."

READ MORE: Clean-up under way after debris damages hundreds of cars

A lawyer for the government said that Harry's argument repeated his misconceived approach that failed in the lower court.

"It involves a continued failure to see the wood for the trees, advancing propositions available only by reading small parts of the evidence, and now the judgment, out of context and ignoring the totality of the picture," attorney James Eadie said.

Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, had stepped back from their official roles in the family in 2020, because they didn't feel they were "being protected by the institution", his lawyer said.

After doing so, a Home Office committee ruled there was "no basis for publicly funded security support for the duke and duchess within Great Britain".

Harry claimed that he and his family are endangered when visiting his homeland because of hostility aimed at him and Meghan on social media and through relentless hounding by news media.

Since he lost his government-sponsored protection, Harry faced at least two serious security threats, his lawyer said in court papers. Al-Qaida had published a document that said Harry's assassination would please Muslims, and he and his wife were involved in a dangerous pursuit by paparazzi in New York.

Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles III, has bucked royal family convention by taking the government and tabloid press to court, where he has a mixed record.

He lost a related court case in which he sought permission to privately pay for a police detail when in the UK. A judge denied that offer after a government lawyer argued officers shouldn't be used as "private bodyguards for the wealthy."

But he won a significant victory at trial in 2023 against the publisher of the Daily Mirror when a judge found that phone hacking at the tabloid was "widespread and habitual". He claimed a "monumental" victory in January when Rupert Murdoch's UK tabloids made an unprecedented apology for intruding in his life for years, and agreed to pay substantial damages to settle his privacy invasion lawsuit.

He has a similar case pending against the publisher of the Daily Mail.

Exclusive: Australians don't trust either major party's approach to solving the housing crisis, nine.com.au readers say.

Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese will face-off for the keys to the Lodge tomorrow, but voters are not confident either party leader will be able to rein in out-of-control housing prices.

READ MORE: Where to get your democracy sausage this election day

A nine.com.au reader survey of over 500 participants* found almost 80 per cent of respondents did not believe Labor or the Coalition's election policies will help solve the housing crisis.

'Voting for the same 2 parties will not change anything," a reader said.

One homeowner said the housing affordability crisis meant her three adult kids were still living at home, in turn costing her more money on groceries and bills.

'Neither parties (sic) policy will do nothing to help the housing crisis, both are going to make it worse and pump it higher. It's ridiculous!," the respondent wrote.

LIVE UPDATES: Albanese, Dutton try to convince voters in final day of campaigning

"I would gladly cop a huge 50 per cent loss on property values as this would not affect me and my day-to-day life or income, but it would mean my kids can afford a home. Which is what I really want."

Dutton's "super for housing" policywould allow Australians to pull a maximum of $50,000 from their retirement accounts to help pay for house deposits.

The Coalition said it would also let first-time homeowners of newly built properties make mortgage interest payments tax deductible, which would save an average of $12,000 per year.

Labor's solution to getting young people on the property ladder is a scheme that would allow most first homebuyers to buy a property with just a five per cent deposit, with the federal government guaranteeing a portion of the loan.

The federal government said, if re-elected, it will also invest $10 billion into building 100,000 homes reserved just for first homebuyers to address the housing shortage.

READ MORE: The penalty for anyone who doesn't vote by Saturday

When asked what topics had been absent from the campaign trail, respondents said politicians did not spend enough time discussing issues including cost of living, energy policies, homelessness and domestic violence.

Despite heightening trade tensions and causing chaos on the stock markets, just 13 per cent of Nine readers said Trump's tariffs would impact their election votes.

"Trump's tariffs haven't done anything to my vote but the LNP using the MAGA Republicans hand-book did," another reader said.

On a lighter note, almost three-quarters of the group believe the humble democracy sausage should be eaten in a slice of bread, rather than a roll.

Several respondents said the term should be abolished all together.

"Democracy sausage. Stop embarrassing yourself Australia," one reader wrote.

READ MORE: Federal Election 2025 Results Tracker

"I hate the term democracy sausage; feels forced," another said.

*The nine.com.au poll, which runs once a fortnight, canvases the views of the nine audience on 9Nation, which is an online community of our readers and viewers.

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As Australians prepare to vote to decide the next leader, the two men vying for the job have made their final pitches to voters.

Speaking to Nine's political editor Charles Croucher, both leaders were given one minute to make their case.

In his final pitch to voters, Anthony Albanese says a returned Labor government would deliver tax cuts and strengthen Medicare.

You can watch his full answer here.

READ MORE: The election promises Labor and the Coalition have made to win your vote

Peter Dutton says the election comes down to who you think can manage the economy more effectively.

You can also watch his full answer below.

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Erin Patterson's "extremely aggressive" text messages with in-laws left her estranged husband wanting to bring in a mediator in the months leading up to a deadly mushroom meal.

Simon Patterson took the witness stand for a second day today, after spending all of yesterday giving evidence to a Supreme Court jury in his former wife's triple murder trial.

She has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder over the deaths of Simon's mother and father, Don and Gail, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, who all attended a lunch at her regional Victorian home on July 29, 2023.

READ MORE: PM vows to look into Palmer's 'spam' texts

Patterson has also pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of Simon's uncle Ian Wilkinson, the only surviving guest from the poisonous beef Wellington lunch.

The mother-of-two, 50, wore a sage green jumper at the back of Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell today and put on her glasses to read text messages between her and Simon shown to the jury of 15.

Simon said that although estranged, their relationship had been friendly since separating in 2015, but began to break down in November 2022 after she asked him to start paying child support.

He was paying $38 per month to Patterson and had been advised not to make additional payments for their two children.

By December 2022, about six months before the death cap mushroom lunch, Patterson was sending "inflammatory messages" to Don and Gail Patterson in their family Signal chat as the child support issue continued, Simon told the jury.

He said he decided to involve a mediator to sort it out.

"I was keen to resolve it because Erin and my parents' communication about it, it wasn't working," he told the jury.

"From my point of view, Erin was being extremely aggressive, so I thought a mediator would probably help us communicate."

Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC challenged that and said she could have been "upset" or hurt over the situation.

After describing his father "really struggling" in hospital about 12 hours after the fatal meal, Simon was asked again about his communications with his wife while they had treatment.

"It intrigued me that she never actually asked (about their conditions)," he said.

Earlier, Mandy showed the jury text messages from November 2022 when Patterson was upset about not being invited to Gail's 70th birthday.

"Seems like my invite tomorrow is a bit of an afterthought, and not even from your parents, so I might pass thanks," Patterson texted Simon.

"What I reckon is that everybody forgot to invite me to this … I feel very hurt about that and your response is to say I'm being ridiculous," another text from Patterson read.

Simon replied: "Well you can believe whatever you feel like but frankly you're as far off the mark as you possibly could be on this. I know they would love you to be there, they've been talking about this and losing sleep over it for weeks".

Patterson decided to go with her kids to the 70th birthday, but after the event she texted Simon and apologised for "shouting" at him.

"I was feeling very hurt and lashed out. It's no excuse. I'd like to not do that again," she texted him.

He told the jury "mum and dad were really stressed about it" and Don had believed she had already been invited to the lunch.

Simon will return to the witness stand on Monday as cross-examination continues.

Before the jury left on today, Justice Christopher Beale issued them a warning about speaking to people about the case or engaging in any content over the weekend.

He advised the jurors to come back to the court refreshed on Monday.

"Switch off from this case on the weekends, that's the best preparation," he said.

LISTEN NOW: The Mushroom Trial

Say Grace is the latest podcast from Nine and The Age. Join journalists Penelope Liersch and Erin Pearson as they take listeners inside the case that's grabbed global headlines. You can listen on Apple here and Spotify here.

Detailed US Army plans for a potential military parade on President Donald Trump's birthday in June call for more than 6600 soldiers, at least 150 vehicles, 50 helicopters, seven bands and possibly a couple thousand civilians, the Associated Press has learned.

The planning documents, obtained by the AP, are dated April 29 and 30 and have not been publicly released.

They represent the Army's most recent blueprint for its long-planned 250th anniversary festival on the National Mall and the newly added element — a large military parade that Trump has long wanted but is still being discussed.

LIVE UPDATES: Final day on the 2025 election campaign trail

The Army anniversary just happens to coincide with Trump’s 79th birthday on June 14.

While the slides do not include any price estimates, it would likely cost tens of millions of dollars to put on a parade of that size.

Costs would include the movement of military vehicles, equipment, aircraft and troops from across the country to Washington and the need to feed and house thousands of service members.

High costs halted Trump's push for a parade in his first term, and the tanks and other heavy vehicles that are part of the Army's latest plans have raised concerns from city officials about damage to roads.

Asked about plans for a parade, Army spokesman Steve Warren said Thursday that no final decisions have been made.

READ MORE: Election day weather to bring plunging temperatures for voters in one state

Colonel Dave Butler, another Army spokesman, added that the Army is excited about the plans for its anniversary.

“We want to make it into an event that the entire nation can celebrate with us,” Butler said.

“We want Americans to know their Army and their soldiers. A parade might become part of that, and we think that will be an excellent addition to what we already have planned.”

Others familiar with the documents, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans have not been finalised, said they represent the Army's plans as it prepares for any White House approval of the parade.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

There has been no formal approval yet.

Changes to the plans have been made in recent weeks and more are likely.

What would go into the potential Army parade

Much of the equipment would have to be brought in by train or flown in.

Some equipment and troops were already going to be included in the Army's birthday celebration, which has been in the works for more than a year.

The festival was set to involve an array of activities and displays on the National Mall, including a fitness competition, climbing wall, armoured vehicles, Humvees, helicopters and other equipment.

A parade, however, would increase the equipment and troops involved.

According to the plans, as many as 6300 of the service members would be marching in the parade, while the remainder would be responsible for other tasks and support.

The Army's early festival plans did not include a parade, but officials confirmed last month that the Army had started discussions about adding One.

The plans say the parade would showcase the Army’s 250 years of service and foresee bringing in soldiers from at least 11 corps and divisions nationwide.

READ MORE: Bail for Air Force pilot accused of murdering wife in mower crash

Those could include a Stryker battalion with two companies of Stryker vehicles, a tank battalion and two companies of tanks, an infantry battalion with Bradley vehicles, Paladin artillery vehicles, Howitzers and infantry vehicles.

There would be seven Army bands and a parachute jump by the Golden Knights.

And documents suggest that civilian participants would include historical vehicles and aircraft and two bands, along with people from veterans groups, military colleges and reenactor organisations.

According to the plan, the parade would be classified as a national special security event, and that request has been submitted by the National Park Service and is under review.

And it is expected that the evening parade would be followed by a concert and fireworks.

One of the documents raises concerns about some limitations, which include where troops would be housed and “significant concerns regarding security requirements” as equipment flows into the city.

It says the biggest unknown so far is which units would be participating.

Trump has long wanted a big military parade

In his first term, he proposed having a parade after seeing one in France on Bastille Day in 2017.

Trump said that after watching the two-hour procession along the famed Champs-Elysees that he wanted an even grander one on Pennsylvania Avenue.

That plan was ultimately dumped due to the huge costs — with one estimate of a $US92 million ($143 million) price tag — and other logistical issues.

Among those were objections from city officials who said including tanks and other heavy armoured vehicles would tear up the roads.

Trump said in a social media post in 2018 that he was cancelling the event over the costs and accused local politicians of price gouging.

This year, as plans progressed for the Army to host its birthday festival in Washington, talk about a parade began anew.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser acknowledged in April that the administration reached out to the city about holding a parade on June 14 that would stretch from Arlington, Virginia, where the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery are located, across the Potomac River and into Washington.

Bowser at the time said she didn’t know if the event was being “characterised as a military parade” but added that tanks rolling through the city’s streets “would not be good”.

“If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads,” she said.

In 2018, the Pentagon appeared to agree.

A memo from the defence secretary's staff said plans for the parade — at that time — would include only wheeled vehicles and no tanks to minimise damage to local infrastructure.

Three people have been rushed to hospital with serious injuries after a helicopter crashed into the water on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula.

Three passengers were onboard when the helicopter crashed into the water about 30 metres off the rocks at Point Lonsdale just after 10am, police said.

All three people managed to make it to shore, where they were located by a passerby who called triple zero.

READ MORE: The penalty for anyone who doesn't vote by Saturday

A male and female have been airlifted to hospital with serious injuries.

Another male has been taken by ambulance to hospital with serious injuries.

Wreckage from the helicopter is scattered in waters close to the shore.

READ MORE: PM slams opposition crossbench: 'I have no idea what their job is'

The circumstances surrounding the crash are unclear at this time.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will investigate the crash with assistance from police.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, has CCTV/dashcam footage or information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.