Posties across Australia will carry citronella spray to combat an explosion in the number of dog attacks.

Australia Post announced the measure today as figures showed during the past six months, there were 44 dog attacks every week on its workers delivering mail – equivalent to nine daily.

The corporation says it has appealed to dog owners to secure their animals during deliveries, but needed to equip posties with a deterrent.

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The non-harmful, water-based citronella spray has been introduced as a last line of defence to protect workers from imminent attack.

Australia Post says in trials the spray was 80 per cent effective in distracting a dog, giving posties enough time to escape unharmed.

Australia Post's general manager of safety, Russell Munro, said keeping frontline staff free from physical and psychological injury was a top priority.

"Despite public awareness efforts and rigorous safety protocols, we continue to see alarming rates of dog-related incidents," he said.

"The best way to avoid dog attacks is to ensure your dog is safely secured behind a locked door or gate when your postie arrives with your parcel."

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Nearly 40 per cent of dog attacks on posties took place on a person's property – half of those when a front door is opened for a parcel delivery.

Among the dog attack hotspots was the northern NSW town of Moree, where high numbers of roaming and unrestrained dogs has created dangerous conditions.

The deployment of citronella spray will prioritise high-risk regions first, with all posties to be equipped with the spray by late July.

Parcel delivery drivers will then be trained how to use the spray safely and only as a last resort.

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Some Northland farms experienced flooding five times in recent weeks.

Terri Irwin has condemned a push by Katter's Australian Party to permit crocodile culls and hunting trips in Queensland as the state parliament considers the new legislation.

The bill, put forward by Hill MP Shane Knuth, would establish a new "Queensland Crocodile Authority" in the northern city of Cairns, expand the circumstances in which crocodiles could be removed or killed from waterways, and even allow for safari-style hunts under Indigenous supervision.

"The Crocodile Control and Conservation Bill is necessary because North Queenslanders are angry about losing more of our recreational waterways to the increasing crocodile population," Knuth said in his speech introducing the bill.

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"The constant threat of attacks, recent deaths and near-death experiences are dramatically affecting North Queensland's outdoor lifestyle."

He said human deaths from crocodile attacks had risen sharply, from 10 in the 33 years from 1971 to 2004, compared to 14 in nine years between 2005 and 2014.

The bill would allow for crocodiles to be removed or euthanised if they were found in a "populated waterway" – the definition of which would be established by the Queensland Crocodile Authority.

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Crocodiles would also be removed in recreational areas or on landowners' property.

Egg harvesting limits would also be increased from the current annual limit of 5000, with Knuth citing the Northern Territory's limit of 90,000 as a comparison.

And Indigenous landowners will be able to elect to have a crocodile on their property either removed or killed professionally – or they would be able to hunt it themselves, or offer the opportunity to "high end clients".

"This bill will allow a tangible economic opportunity to Indigenous landowners to benefit from the fast-growing crocodile industry, which is estimated to be worth more than $100 million a year in the Northern Territory," Knuth said.

"Indigenous landowners have a connection with and an understanding of the land. They should be empowered to manage that land as they see fit."

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The bill has received 175 submissions since it was tabled in parliament.

Among them was one from Irwin, in her capacity as director of Australia Zoo.

She did not hold back, calling the legislation "lazy and sloppy" and criticising the figures cited.

"All the current research shows that the limited availability of crocodile nesting sites in Queensland severely restricts the annual increase and spread of crocodile populations," she said.

She said "inflated" numbers of increasing crocodile sightings mentioned by Knuth neglected to consider that often, they included multiple sightings of a single animal.

Irwin also warned that the bill would increase the probability of crocodile attacks.

"Through our research of crocodile movements and the probability of crocodile-human interactions, the removal of crocodiles, either through trapping or culling, will instead increase the likelihood of crocodile attacks as people believe the lie that once a crocodile is removed from a waterway then there will be no crocodiles," she said.

"Research has consistently shown that when a crocodile dies or is removed, then another crocodile immediately comes in to take over that territory.

"Because of this reality, the bill will not eliminate or even greatly reduce the risk of crocodile attacks."

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He said he ‘lost the plot’ when she mentioned his previous relationships and lifestyle.

Have you seen Elisabeth, a missing 79-year-old in Christchurch?

The actor and director was caught sending images to a ‘decoy’ police detective online.

Police have laid the charges against building management, two years after the tragedy.

The housemate of a missing Bundaberg teenager has been released without charge after being questioned by police.

Queensland Police yesterday took 34-year-old James Wood into custody over the disappearance of 17-year-old Pheobe Bishop three weeks ago.

No charges were laid.

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Bishop disappeared three weeks ago.

She lived with Wood and his partner Tanika Bromley in a share home in Gin Gin.

They were the last people to see her after they dropped her off at Bundaberg Airport to fly to Western Australia via Brisbane about 8.30am on May 15.

Pheobe was meant to visit her boyfriend in Western Australia but, according to police, never checked in for her flight or entered the terminal.

Police, with the help of the Homicide Investigation Unit, are continuing to investigate Pheobe's suspicious disappearance.

Last week, police suspended their search of the Good Night Scrub National Park, about an hour away from where Pheobe was last seen, which had been a focus in the investigation.

They said they found evidence linked to the teen's disappearance but have not said what they found.

Detectives also said they believe evidence had been moved from the bushland prior to their search. 

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Two crime scenes have been declared — the home in Gin Gin and her housemate's grey Hyundai ix35 with registration 414EW3.

A search of the car led police to allegedly find a shortened firearm, ammunition, and two replica handguns.

More ammunition was allegedly found at a home in Gin Gin. 

Bromley and Wood have since been charged with unrelated weapons offences. 

They remain before the courts on the weapons charges.

A polar blast has left millions shivering this morning as it sweeps through south-east Australia.

Sydney and Brisbane are both enduring their coldest mornings of the year so far, after Sydney had its coldest day of 2025 yesterday, the Bureau of Meteorology's Jonathan How said.

Temperatures bottomed out at 11 or 12 degrees in some suburbs of southern Brisbane.

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But that sounds like a balmy spring day next to the NSW town of Goulburn, where How said the temperature this morning was -7 degrees.

"We will see a mild and sunny day today, but there is more cold weather on the way," How said on Today.

He said while the first week of winter had proven particularly chilly due to the current cold front, above-average temperatures were expected throughout the season on the whole.

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But another polar blast is predicted to hit Australia on Saturday and Sunday.

Adelaide is expecting rain tonight, while Melbourne will see falls tomorrow, How said, before the new cold front moves in on Saturday and Sunday, to also affect NSW and Queensland.

"So it is typical for this time of year, but a bit of a shock to the system," How said.

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A man has been arrested after a bomb threat at a McDonald's in Adelaide's north last night.

The man allegedly walked into a McDonald's in Salisbury Plain at 7.45pm on Wednesday night.

He claimed the bag contained a bomb, SA Police alleged.

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Bomb Squad officers arrived, evacuated the restaurant and removed the bag.

They say the bag had nothing inside it.

No one was hurt in the incident.

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A 44-year-old man from Parafield Gardens was arrested at the scene.

He was charged with creating a false threat.

He's been refused bail and will appear in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court later today.