Anthony Albanese took the opportunity to slam the Coalition's handling of the detention of Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic during the COVID-19 pandemic while speaking to media in Queensland today.

The prime minister was asked about Djokovic having told media he feels traumatised coming to Melbourne since the incident, and whether Albanese thought the tennis player was treated fairly in January 2022.

Then-immigration minister Alex Hawke denied Djokovic entry into the country for the Australian Open in 2022 because he was not fully vaccinated. Djokovic, who was the world No.1 men's singles player at the time, was detained at Melbourne's Park Hotel for five days as he challenged the decision before he was sent home.

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"I made comments about it at the time," Albanese responded to the question today, whilst making an election pledge in Gympie.

"I found it astonishing that in the lead-up to Christmas, Novak Djokovic was denied by the then-federal government the opportunity to see his Orthodox minister, priest during that period.

"That was something that I think was hard to justify."

Djokovic had travelled to Australia claiming a medical exemption because he had recently had COVID-19.

This morning Djokovic told the Herald Sun he had had "a bit of trauma from three years ago" while going through immigration after landing in Australia for the Australian Open events since.

In contrast to Albanese, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan didn't hit out at the former Coalition government when also asked about the issue at a media event in Melbourne this morning.

"Visas are a federal government decision and look, COVID was tough for all of us," she said.

"It didn't matter who you were and what you did. It was a tough time for all of us."

Allan said she was more focused on the thousands of people flocking to Melbourne for this year's Australian Open.

"The pandemic is behind us and what I'm focused on is supporting a great Australian Open for 2025.

"….Those decisions were made by the federal government at the time."

When Djokovic's appeal against the decision to deny him entry to Australia was denied in 2022, then-prime minister Scott Morrison welcomed the decision and said it was "time to get on with the Australian Open".

"Strong borders are fundamental to the Australian way of life, as is the rule of law," he said.

"Our government has always understood this and has been prepared to take the decisions and actions necessary to protect the integrity of our borders."

One of the nation's deadliest roads will be given a major safety overhaul if Labor is re-elected at the federal election.

Labor's $7.2 billion scheme would see more of the Bruce Highway, which stretches for 1673km in Queensland, finally given a long awaited upgrade.

The road connects Brisbane with Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns.

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More than 40 people were killed on the stretch in 2024, with the average number of deaths and serious injuries up to five times higher than on any major highway in New South Wales or Victoria.

Two people have already been killed this year.

Sections north of Gympie will be the first to have work done.

The plan is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's first major funding announcement ahead of this year's election.

It is due to be held no later than May 17.

He said 62 per cent of Queenslanders use the stretch of road.

"The figures are quite horrific. 41 fatalities on the Bruce Highway in 2024," he said.

"There's been two fatalities already in an accident this year.

"That's why this is a priority.

"It's a dangerous piece of highway and it needs upgrading."

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The federal government would cover 80 per cent of the cost, with the state paying the other 20 per cent. Usually the split is 50/50.

Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said the plan would save lives,

"We know that too many people lost their lives on the Bruce Highway last year," King told Today.

"In particular, unfortunately we have seen an increase in fatal accidents on this road, particularly that stretch from Gympie onwards."

Queensland Ambulance Service's Wayne Sachs from Gympie who has worked for 50 years along the road had been lobbying for change since 2009.

He said while lives have already been saved by improvements already been made in his area, more are needed.

"The fatalities have stopped, They've saved countless lives," Sachs said.

'What they're doing by doing this is just amazing. They're going to be saving literally thousands of lives."

In September data from AAMI revealed the most notorious hotspots for crashes across the country, with the Bruce Highway taking third place.

One of the road's most recent deadly crashes killed three people on a Greyhound bus.

The crash happened near the Wilson Creek Rest Area on the Bruce Highway at Gumlu, south of Townsville last winter.

After being blasted by heat as thousands returned to work this morning, commuters in Sydney faced storms on the way home and temperatures set to drop by more than 10 degrees.

The holiday heatwave in the nation's south east is firmly over, with warnings issued by the Bureau of Meteorology as the cool change swept in after days of temperatures in the 30s.

The change was set to hit the east of NSW and Sydney tonight.

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Sydney's CBD hit a top of 30 degrees today, while the temperature peaked at 40 degrees in Badgerys Creek and just under that in Penrith.

The cool change was expected about 10pm with temperatures dropping by 10 to 15 to degrees across Sydney.

Some thunderstorms began hitting Sydney's south-west this afternoon.

"It's going to bring a significant temperature drop, a burst of fresh southerly winds and rainfall," BOM meteorologist Miriam Bradbury, said.

Most of NSW was at risk of thunderstorms. The Central and Southern Tablelands of NSW, and parts of the Illawarra, were most at risk.

"In these areas severe storms may bring heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding," Bradbury said.

READ MORE: Etihad flight aborts take-off at high speed, leaving runway blocked in Melbourne

Lightning ignites fires

Firefighters have also battled hard-to-reach blazes in Upper Colo in Sydney's far north-west, which were sparked by lightning.

The Hunter region also was struck, 30 ignition points and counting.

For the latest bushfire alerts visit the NSW RFS.

More rain on the way

Tomorrow into Wednesday, north and central eastern NSW could see more rain and storms.

Large hail and damaging winds are also forecast.

It'll drop to between 20 and 25 degrees.

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The end of the week will bring more showers.

Victoria is already seeing wet weather after a heat wave which saw a record number of people being rescued from the ocean.

Storms are possible across much of the state this afternoon and evening.

Parts of South Australia and Tasmania are also in the firing line.

Stranded passengers have slammed Etihad's customer service after a flight to Abu Dhabi came to a sudden stop, seconds before take off.

The pilot's urgent actions shredded two tyres and blocked one of Melbourne Airport's runways for more than 12 hours.

Moments after the pilot pumped the brakes, the Boeing Dreamliner was doused in firefighting foam last night.

READ MORE: 'Drunken' couple in court after alleged assault on Jetstar flight

Passenger Ohad Shemtov said it was "the most terrifying moment in my life".

"We were sure we were about to die," he said.

Etihad flight EY46 .was leaving Melbourne en route to Abu Dhabi with 289 passengers on board just before 7pm yesterday.

Travelling at high speed the pilot spotted a warning light and aborted the take off with seconds to spare.

The pressure popped two of the 787's tyres, stopping the jet, in the middle of the runway.

"It seems we may have some problem with the gear," an Air Traffic Control recording says.

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Flat tyres meant the plane couldn't be towed, so it sat blocking one of Melbourne's two runways for more than 12 hours.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was travelling close to 300km/h, according to flight tracking site Flightradar24, before it aborted take off.

The airport's website showed three cancelled arrivals and three departures between 7pm and midnight.

Every customer had to be offloaded bused back to the terminal and sent to hotels, which they say took hours.

"Why for an emergency stop does it take you 2.5 hours to get off a plane? When they knew the tyres were knackered," Alan said.

The wait continued at the baggage carousel.

Passengers were told to be there around 9.30am to collect their bags and check them into new flights, but it took almost two hours extra for them to start coming through.

"The service from Etihad is disgusting," John said.

"You can't get them on the phone, they're not listening to how you're getting home."

The airline is adamant customer safety and comfort is the highest priority, and while most now have a plan B sorted, patience has been tested.

Etihad said the flight crew decided to halt the take off for "technical reasons".

"The aircraft was safely brought to a stop on the runway and emergency services attended as a precaution," the airline said.

"Guests have been disembarked safely and our teams are working to enable them to continue their onward journeys as quickly as possible.

"Etihad Airways sincerely regrets any inconvenience caused. The safety and comfort of our guests and crew remain our highest priority."

Etihad said applying foam to the tyres was "a routine precaution following a high-speed rejected take-off".

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Jones said it was ‘disgraceful’ non-Māori couldn’t speak at the tangi.

A couple's allegedly drunken mid-flight antics have landed them in court after they consumed alcohol brought onto the plane and a passenger was assaulted outside the aircraft's toilet.

Analisa Josefa Corr, 53, and James Alexander Corr, 45, were on a Jetstar flight from Hobart to Sydney on December 28 when staff contacted the Australian Federal Police about their alleged disorderly behaviour.

The pair were intoxicated and consuming alcohol they brought onto the plane, according to the AFP.

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Ms Corr also allegedly assaulted a passenger by grabbing and shaking them while exiting one of the aircraft's toilets.

She has been hit with one count of common assault over the alleged incident.

They were escorted off the plane at Sydney's domestic airport and arrested before being taken to Mascot police station where they were charged.

The couple are also each facing two offences of failing to comply with cabin crew safety directions and consuming alcohol not provided by flight assistants.

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Each of these charges carries of maximum penalty of a $13,750 fine while common assault comes with a maximum jail term of two years.

Mr and Ms Corr both appeared at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court today where they pleaded not guilty to all charges.

They will come before the same court on Friday to review their bail conditions.

AFP Sergeant Luke Stockwell said the federal police had responded to more than 400 incidents involving intoxicated individuals at major airports across Australia in 2024.

"Bad behaviour at airports is not only disrespectful to other travellers, airport workers and airline staff, but it's a safety risk and usually leads to more serious offences," he said.

"The AFP is increasing patrols at all major airports during the holidays and will not tolerate dangerous, disruptive or abusive behaviour from travellers."

AAP put questions to Jetstar about the alleged incident but the airline did not directly answer if the Corrs had been blacklisted or would be allowed to fly again.

"We will never tolerate disruptive behaviour on our aircraft," a spokesman said.

"The safety and wellbeing of customers and crew is our number one priority."

Riverton’s new $620,000 public toilets were vandalised overnight.

Two men have been arrested over the alleged murder of a 23-year-old woman, who died on a street north of Brisbane a fortnight ago.

Chloe Mason was found unresponsive by emergency services on Railway Parade in Caboolture just after midnight on December 22.

Police believe she was assaulted by two men and suffered a gunshot wound during an altercation.

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Detectives made a call out for the public's help in finding two men wanted in connection with her death on December 28.

A 29-year-old Marsden man and a 32-year-old Caboolture man were arrested "without incident" in parkland off Civic Parade, Logan about 2pm today.

"Police wish to thank the media and members of the public for their assistance into locating these men," a police spokesperson said.

Investigations remain ongoing.

Meteorologists are closely watching fast-drying conditions across the upper North Island.

The baby was flown to Whangārei Hospital and later transferred to Starship hospital.