Chronically over-budget, significantly delayed and lacking firepower – that's the expert assessment of a major warship project they say should be scrapped.

The Hunter Class frigate project is already seven years behind schedule and many billions of dollars more expensive than initially anticipated.

In 2018, British company BAE Systems won a $35 billion tender to build nine frigates, or $3.8 billion each, with the first scheduled to be in service by 2027.

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By 2020 the price tag had blown out to $45 billion or $5 billion a piece, and Defence is now estimating it will cost $27 billion to build just frigates, or $9 billion each, with the first to be in service by 2034 – seven years late.

BAE Systems is the company that will build Australia's AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines.

Strategic Analysis Australia director Michael Shoebridge said the Hunter Class project was the "high point of decadence" in Defence decision-making.

He said Defence adjusted the original BAE British design with a series of add-ons, including different combat and radar systems – which made it massively more expensive.

"That frigate program is beyond scandalous – It's entered ludicrous mode for a wasteful use of taxpayer money and a very slow, small contribution to Australian military power," Shoebridge said.

He said the Hunter had just 32 missiles, which was a third of the weaponry of the Chinese cruiser that circumnavigated Australia in March.

"We're in a very dangerous world and a very dangerous period in the world, and waiting to the mid-2030s and into the 2040s for three frigates for this amount of money, makes no sense.

"We could go to the Japanese or the South Koreans and get a properly armed cruiser much faster than BAE is delivering this program."

Defence analyst Dr Marcus Hellyer was equally scathing of the Hunter frigate, saying Navy's adjustments to the design had not only significantly increased its cost, but the frigate's weight, taking it from 8000 tonnes to more than 10,000 tonnes, making it slower.

"It is monstrously expensive," Hellyer said. "And I would say, if you're in a hole, stop digging.

"The government itself has decided it can't wait for the Hunter Class frigate, so it has kicked off a new frigate program and it is considering a competition between a German design and a Japanese design.

"So the government itself has pretty much said we need to do something different – in a sense, they're halfway there already."

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the Hunter frigate project would not be cut despite its problems.

"I wish I had a time machine to go back to 2016 and avoid the mistakes that the Coalition government made, but we've moved on," Conroy said.

"We've got the project on track. Steel is being cut right now, we've signed the contract, there are about 2500 people working on this project right now.

"The fastest way of delivering new capability for the Royal Australian Navy, is following through on this, building this project, now that we've fixed up many of the mistakes the Coalition government made."

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A Sydney man will face court after he allegedly led police on a pursuit at speeds of almost 300km/h in February.

Police attempted to stop the man when he was spotted riding a motorcycle south on the M1 motorway at Albion Park on February 26.

Police said during a short chase, the rider allegedly rode away from police at high speeds.

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The pursuit was stopped by police for safety reasons. 

He was spotted later that evening, spotted again further south on the Princes Highway.

An investigation was launched, and months later, the man was arrested at Killarney Heights in Sydney's north.

A 33-year-old man was arrested, with police allegedly finding a small amount of cocaine in his possession.

He has been charged with two counts of not stopping for police, speeding more than 45km/h over the speed limit, and drug possession.

Police will allege the man took helmet footage of the pursuits, which was posted to social media and indicated he reached speeds of up to 299km/h.

The man was expected to face Manly Local Court today.

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An accused triple murderer has opened up about lying to police after cooking a deadly mushroom lunch and fibbing to two of her alleged victims about having cancer tests done.

But Erin Patterson denies she deliberately foraged for death cap mushrooms and she knew they were inside toxic beef Wellingtons when she served them to her former in-laws.

The 50-year-old faced a fourth day in the Supreme Court witness box today, when she was cross-examined by the prosecution on several lies.

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Patterson has denied deliberately poisoning her estranged husband's parents, aunt and uncle by serving them death cap mushroom-laced beef Wellingtons in July 2023 at her home in regional Victoria.

She has been charged with three murders over the deaths of Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Heather Wilkinson, 66, and attempted murder over Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson, the only surviving lunch guest.

Her defence finished examination of Patterson this morning, asking about her lies to police after the meal.

Patterson admitted she lied during her police interview about foraging for mushrooms, owning a dehydrator and using it to dehydrate food.

She said it was a "stupid knee-jerk reaction to just dig deeper and keep lying" in response to being told two of her lunch guests had died.

Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC asked if she had ever "intentionally picked death cap mushrooms" to which she said "no".

She denied intentionally including the toxic fungi in the beef Wellingtons.

The prosecution honed in on Patterson's fibs during cross-examination, accusing her of lying about dehydrating mushrooms because she knew telling police the truth could implicate her in the toxic lunch.

"I agree that I lied because I was afraid I would be held responsible," Patterson said.

Prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers SC suggested Patterson disposed of a food dehydrator because she had used it to dehydrate death cap mushrooms, which she denied.

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Rogers also suggested Patterson had weighed death cap mushrooms to "calculate" the amount needed for "a fatal dose for one person", but Patterson disagreed.

The prosecutor asked if she had intended to serve beef Wellington to her estranged husband Simon, who pulled out of the lunch the night before.

"If he'd come I would have given him a beef Wellington too, yes, but not one with death cap mushrooms in it intentionally," Patterson said.

Rogers asked Patterson about lies she told Don and Gail Patterson, regarding tests on a lump in her arm in the weeks before the lunch.

Patterson accepted she did not have a lump and did not have an appointment at hospital, despite telling Gail she did.

"I suggest that you told Gail Patterson that you had a lump in your elbow and had to go to St Vincent's Hospital to plant the seed of you having a serious health issue," Rogers said.

"I don't think that's right, no," Patterson said.

Patterson said she initially thought she had a lump in her elbow and had pain for a number of weeks and felt embarrassed she "probably whinged a bit too much to Don and Gail about it".

"They made me feel loved and cared for in the way that they were asking about my health and I didn't want that to stop, so I just kept going," she said.

Patterson denied she told her lunch guests she had been diagnosed with cancer and needed advice on how to break this news to her children.

"I can't remember the precise words, but I do know what I was trying to communicate was … that I was undergoing investigations around ovarian cancer and might need treatment in that regard in the future," she said.

As the trial nears the end of week six, Justice Christopher Beale told the jury he could not put a figure on how much longer it would go for but they should make arrangements.

Patterson may continue in the witness box until next week, followed by legal discussions without the jury, and then potentially more evidence before closing addresses which could take two days each.

The judge may then take another couple of days to give the jury his directions before they're sent away to deliberate on a verdict.

The trial continues.

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.

Three Te Pāti Māori MPs have received the harshest penalties in Parliament’s history.

Households might be holding back on their spending, but there's one thing Australians have been happy to splash out on recently: booze.

New ABS data released this morning showed spending growth was essentially flat in April, rising by just 0.1 per cent for the month, it fell 1.2 when only goods were considered.

That came on the back of fresh GDP figures yesterday, which showed the proportion of income Australians are saving has risen to 5.2 per cent – up from less than 4 per cent late last year.

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But while households are clearly still keeping their belts tight after years of high inflation and interest rate rises, they've been happy to spend more on alcohol recently.

A survey by comparison site Canstar Blue found Australians are spending $77 on wine every month, on average, an increase of 17 per cent from the same time last year, when the figure was sitting at $66.

The jump in beer spending has been even steeper: up 30 per cent, going from $76 to $99.

That's well in excess of inflation, as the average price of beer rose a far more modest 4.5 per cent in the 12 months to March.

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"The Easter holidays helped pick up spending slightly for the month of April, but these latest figures show households chose to spend more on experiences than on discretionary items, like clothing and footwear," Canstar Blue spokesperson Eden Radford said.

"Despite spending on alcoholic beverages and tobacco falling for the month, Canstar Blue research shows average monthly spending specifically on wine and beer has increased over the last year, with survey data showing $99 for beer and $77 for wine.

"If this month's figures are anything to go by, households will continue to keep a close eye on their budgets, with many likely holding out for big sale seasons or tax returns, before making any big purchases."

Yesterday's relatively weak GDP figures have fuelled expectations that the Reserve Bank will reduce interest rates again when it next meets in July, with the market now pricing in an 86 per cent chance of a cut, up from 81 per cent on Tuesday.

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The man is in his 20s and met the girl at a drama group.

A witness denies he is responsible for the murder of two people drowned in a toolbox, rather than three men facing trial for the alleged crimes.

Stou Daniels, Davy Malu Junior Taiao and Trent Michael Thrupp are charged with murdering Cory Breton, 28, and Iuliana Triscaru, 31, at Kingston in Logan, south of Brisbane, on January 24, 2016.

Lelan Harrington today told a Queensland Supreme Court jury he was not present when a large toolbox containing Breton and Triscaru was thrown into a lagoon.

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Defence barrister for Thrupp, Jessica Goldie, asked Harrington if he was lying when he said her client told him he killed the alleged victims.

"I suggest to you at no stage has Mr Thrupp ever made comments to you about shooting Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru and you just completely made that up," Goldie said.

"No, that's exactly what he said," Harrington said.

Goldie asked Harrington about his previous statement that, hypothetically, he would have shot the pair in the head. 

"That is the truth, isn't it? You are responsible for what happened to Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru?" Goldie said.

"No," Harrington said.

Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane previously told the jury he would allege Daniels and Taiao were liable for murder by forcing the alleged victims into the toolbox at a residential unit at Kingston in the hours before their death.

Thrupp either threw the toolbox into nearby Scrubby Creek or was present when it happened, Crane said. 

Harrington agreed he was given a suspended sentence for detaining and assaulting Breton and Triscaru after agreeing to give evidence for the prosecution.

He admitted lying to investigators in February 2016 to conceal the defendants' alleged suspicion the alleged victims were informing police about their drug dealing.

"Yes, I did lie for them so they did not go to jail," Harrington said.

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All three defendants pleaded not guilty to two murder charges at the start of their trial on Monday.

During his second day giving evidence, Harrington, a flatmate to some of the defendants, continued being cross-examined by defence barristers.

He admitted he initially lied to police in an effort to protect his friend, named as a chief offender by Crane, from being charged with murder.

"I said 'f— it' and then told the truth," Harrington said.

He denied holding a grudge against Breton over claims he assaulted someone close to him when they could not pay for drugs.

Justice Glenn Martin had to repeatedly warn Harrington he needed to listen to each question and give answers.

Harrington told the jury he was sure about his testimony about Taiao assaulting Triscaru in the hours before her death.

"You saw a cable tie placed around her neck by my client?" barrister Lars Falcongreen said.

"I have got a clear picture of that," Harrington said.

The trial continues before Justice Martin.

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The victim, Eltje Malzbender, was still able to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

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The group set off despite a weather watch, which turned into a warning en route.