On news.com.au today, the intruder who died after being confronted by a Sydney homeowner has been identified as a weightlifter and trainer, residents in flood affected areas of north Queensland are on crocodile watch as authorities work to return the displaced animals to the river, and a woman has caused a stir on a packed train after refusing to move her designer handbag so another passenger could sit down.
8:40am
World panics over Aussie cyber attack
A cyber attack on parliament ahead of the federal election has sent shockwaves reverberating around the world, with the United States particularly concerned by the intrusion.
Primer Minister Scott Morrison yesterday revealed a “sophisticated state actor” had targeted the Parliament House computer network and all three major parties.
“Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity,” he said.
“Let me be clear though, there is no evidence of any electoral interference. We have put in place a number of measures to ensure the integrity of our electoral system.”
Cyber experts from across the globe warned Australia should be worried after co-ordinated interference in the 2016 US presidential election by Russian hackers.
The attackers not only spread misinformation, they released a tranche of Democrat emails intended to damage Hillary Clinton and help Donald Trump win the presidency.
While Mr Morrison did not reveal the state thought to be responsible, China is the key suspect because of its political power seeking in the region. In 2011, Australia became one of the first countries to discover just how vulnerable its communications networks were when Beijing was accused of accessing thousands of private emails in the system used by politicians and parliamentary staff.
8:10am
Clean-up following highway truck fire
Crews are working to clear what remains of a truck off the road in NSW’s central west after the tanker caught fire overnight.
One of two westbound lanes is closed on the Mitchell Highway between Bathurst and Shadforth as a result of the fire.
Drivers travelling in the area are being warned to take extra care on the road.
7:50am
Townsville residents on ‘crocwatch’
North Queensland residents are on “crocwatch” as wildlife officers try and recapture reptiles displaced by catastrophic floods to return them to the Ross River.
Freshwater crocs were washed into Townsville’s drains and waterways by once-in- a-century flooding and have been seen on roads, in backyards and even in a swimming pool.
Crocs have even been spotted as far downstream as the Port of Townsville after a year’s worth of rain fell in a week, causing the spillway gates of the Ross River Dam to be fully opened two weeks ago.
Northern Wildlife Operations manager Michael Joyce says crocs could still be lurking near sports fields, drains and the mangroves.
Freshwater crocodiles are timid and pose very little danger to the community but may show defensive behaviour if they cornered, so people are urged to call for help moving them back to the river.
“A healthy population of freshwater crocodiles perform an important ecological role in the Ross River above the Aplin Weir,” Mr Joyce says in a statement. Across north and western Queensland the clean-up continues and the scale of the disaster is still being revealed.
—AAP
7:25am
Review ordered into Mokbel attack
The Victorian government has ordered an investigation into the jailhouse attack on drug kingpin Tony Mokbel.
Former NSW anti-corruption commissioner Justice David Ipp will lead an independent review to examine the circumstances leading up to the assault on February 11, which left Mokbel fighting for life in hospital.
“If there are any learnings from the incident, we stand ready to make them,” Victoria’s Corrections Minister Ben Carroll said in a statement.
Justice Ipp will be assisted by former Queensland Corrective Services commissioner Dr Mark Rallings, with the review due by the end of April.
The 53-year-old inmate was attacked in Barwon Prison, a maximum security facility, by two other prisoners.
He was stabbed and his head reportedly stomped on.
Two men, both 21, have been charged over the assault on Mokbel and another man, 31, who tried to help him.
7:00am
No injuries in hot air balloon crashes
Passengers in two hot air balloon that were forced to make emergency landings in Melbourne were lucky not to be injured.
One balloon landed near Eastlink at Wantirna South while the other crashed at Terrara Road, Vermont South, just before 8am on Monday.
Vermont South woman Christine Taylor said she was in bed when she heard a large crack in her backyard.
“It was the scariest thing. I thought it was an earthquake or a big gum tree coming down and then, bang, this thing hit and the balloon was all over our fence and into our pool,” Ms Taylor told 3AW.
Nine people were on board the balloon that landed at Wantirna South and another eight people were on board the balloon at Vermont South.
The balloons encountered trouble when a change in wind direction and speed came through just over half an hour after takeoff.
Commercial Hot Air Ballooning Industry spokesman Damian Crook said both events were “minor” and the pilots, who each have been flying about 20 years and have outstanding safety records, landed safely.
“The pilots chose safe landing sites and both flights have been concluded without injury,” he said.
Mr Crook said one balloon landed in an open reserve at Vermont and conducted a “drag landing”, a typical manoeuvre when there is significant ground wind speed. The other balloon landed in a horticultural property, causing minor tree damage, he said.
6:35am
Woman refuses to move bag on train
Passengers on a packed train were left furious when a woman refused to move her designer handbag off a seat, claiming she didn’t want “disgusting” people sitting next to her.
The incident occurred in New Jersey in the US and shows the woman pushing her bag in-between her and the man sitting next to her and refusing to move it.
Multiple passengers can be heard telling the woman to move her bag so someone can sit down but she just leaves her headphones in and pretends not to notice the commotion going on around her.
“Come on, it’s already a late train. You’re delaying everybody,” the man sitting next to says.
She eventually takes an ear bud out, telling the man “there are plenty of seats”.
The crowd of standing commuters immediately point out the train is full so there isn’t.
“You’re not disabled, you’re not pregnant. I don’t give a f**k. I don’t want your bed bugs. I don’t want your smell. You’re disgusting,” she screams at one of the female passengers.
In a second video the man that was next to her has left and she now has her bag fully covering the spare seat.
The train conductor arrives and taps her bag to get her attention and asks her to move.
She screams at him not to touch her stuff while hitting his hand away.
Police finally arrive on the scene and escort the woman off the train.
6:10am
Excess water use key in NSW fish kills
Scientists have found rules put in place to manage the Darling River system have allowed irrigators to extract excess water which has contributed to the death of millions of fish.
An expert panel on Monday handed down a report into three major fish kills at Menindee in far west NSW this summer which found “serious deficiencies” in governance which “eroded” the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and the Water Act.
The panel — convened by the Australian Academy of Science at the request of federal Labor — said the mass deaths were unusual in the combination of their severity, impact on large, older Murray cod and association with low flows.
Panel chair Professor Craig Moritz said the deaths were an indicator of a river system that’s in “crisis” because of insufficient river flows, drought and excess diversions from irrigators.
“Our review of the fish kills found there isn’t enough water in the Darling system to avoid catastrophic outcomes,” Prof Moritz said in a statement.
The report said while the drought was severe, it wasn’t unprecedented and some of the older fish had survived other events including the significant millennium drought.
Prior releases of water from Menindee Lakes also contributed, the report found.
Panel member Professor Richard Kingsford said there’s no monitoring of how much water is diverted from floodplains by upstream irrigators.
“There’s something between 20 and 50 per cent of water that’s being diverted that’s not metered,” he told reporters on Monday.
The panel called for urgent action — within six months — to ensure there is sufficient flow in the Darling River to prevent stratification and blue-green algal blooms.
—AAP
5:45am
Dead NSW intruder identified as weightlifter
The home intruder who died after a confrontation with a father in a Sydney house has been identified as a trainer and weightlifter who competed in competitions around the world.
Bradley Soper, 35, died after he entered a home in Harrington Park on Sunday morning and was caught by owner Johan Schwartz.
The 44-year-old dad was reportedly woken by his dogs barking at about 7.30am.
He then located the source of the commotion and “challenged a male intruder located in the lounge room”, the police said.
Mr Shwartz was questioned for several hours by NSW Police after he confronted the man but was released on Sunday night without charge pending further inquiries.
Homicide detectives are assisting in the investigation and are awaiting the outcome of a post-mortem examination of to determine the cause of Soper’s death.
