Homicide detectives are investigating the discovery of a woman’s body in Victoria’s Yarra Valley.
The body was discovered in a home in Yarra Junction east of Melbourne at about 4.45pm (AEST) on Saturday.
Homicide Squad detectives are travelling to the scene to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death.
A motorcyclist is dead after he was hit by three cars on the New South Wales north coast.
Police say the motorcycle was struck by a car as it was making a turn at South Grafton on Saturday night.
Officers say the motorcyclist was then hit by another two cars.
Three drivers have been taken to hospital for blood and urine tests.
Police are yet to identify the motorcyclist.
A search is underway for a 10-year old girl reported missing at Kallangur, just north of Brisbane.
Police say Moana Fraser went missing from her home on Octavius Drive about 5:00pm.
Family have told police her disappearance is out of character and they are extremely concerned for her safety.
She is described as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander appearance with light brown skin and was wearing pink shorts and a white singlet.
Anyone knowing her whereabouts should contact Crime Stoppers.
Queensland authorities have announced a crackdown on outlaw motorcycle gangs and organised crime after a massive brawl erupted at the Gold Coast on Friday night.
Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie declared bikies have “had their day” after .
Police needed to use stun guns in the first incident, outside a Gold Coast tapas bar, which involved around 60 people.
A short time later, a second disturbance occurred involving bikie gang members outside the Southport watchhouse.
“Today is the day that we are saying enough’s enough,” Mr Bleijie said this afternoon.
“The Government is drawing a line in the sand and saying to outlaw motorcycle gangs, and those engaged in criminal enterprise in Queensland: you have had your day.”
Police have increased patrols in the area and have promised there will be zero tolerance of violent crimes.
Queensland Police Minister Jack Dempsey says police are sending a clear message to perpetrators.
“[They] have two choices … change their behaviour or go to jail,” he said.
“These people who want to bring violence, drugs and guns onto the streets of Queensland and particularly in the Gold Coast area have no more choices.
“From now on police will be knocking on their door, police will be stopping them on the sides of the roads and pulling them out of their vehicles and stopping their bikes.
“Police will now be ensuring that they will not be able to bring pain and suffering to the streets of the Gold Coast.”
Mr Dempsey said police had previously made a commitment to facilitate more than 100 officers over the next four years to the Gold Coast.
“We have actually delivered 137 police officers in the last 12 months,” he said.
“We have ensured that the police helicopter is permanently stationed at the Gold Coast.”
Mr Dempsey said he has directed Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart to immediately respond by using whatever resources he has.
Commissioner Stewart says he will not tolerate people who act as though they are above the law.
“Any person who is intent on violence against another in this state will be targeted even more heavily from this point on than has previously been,” he said.
“As of right this afternoon, we will have extra police on the Gold Coast.
“There are times – and last night was a classic example – where out of the blue you get a group of people intent on committing crime and being violent, intimidating not only the general public but intimidating the police of this state. That is unacceptable and we will go after those people hard from this point.”
Commissioner Stewart said during the past year 724 people had been charged with over 1,000 offences relating to outlaw motorcycle gangs and violent behaviour.
“Police have been doing great work and they continue to do great work,” he said.
“What we are doing is … sending a clear message, either behave or you’ll be gone from the streets of the Gold Coast.”
The federal government has expressed its sympathies to the victims of an asylum seeker boat sinking off Indonesia and says it will provide assistance to authorities there.
Indonesian authorities say that at least 21 people, including seven children, drowned when a boat carrying about 80 passengers sank in rough seas on Friday off the coast of Java.
In the federal government’s first detailed statement on the boat sinking, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said details of the sinking were unclear.
He said Australian authorities received a call about the vessel on Friday morning that placed the stricken boat about 25 nautical miles off Indonesia.
Mr Morrison said Rescue Coordination Centre Australia maintained co-ordination of the search and notified the Indonesian rescue agency.
An all ships broadcast was issued by Australian authorities, but a merchant ship was unable to find the vessel.
A border protection aircraft was also unable to find the vessel.
“Details of what has occurred are unclear at this time but it is understood Indonesian authorities are coordinating rescue operations,” he said.
“Australian government officials in Jakarta are seeking additional information from their Indonesian counterparts, including seeking to confirm where the vessel foundered. It is believed to have gone down in Indonesian territory.”
Mr Morrison said the sinking reflected the dangers of people smuggling.
“The Australian government expresses its deepest sympathies to those affected by this tragedy for their loss and will continue to provide any assistance required by the Indonesian government,” he said.
Mr Morrison’s statement comes after Prime Minister Tony Abbott refused to answer questions about the boat sinking on Saturday.
Labor called for a full briefing into the incidents, and what role the Royal Australian Navy may have played in two rescues.
Interim Labor leader Chris Bowen said the government had promised to give briefings if there was a tragedy or a significant event at sea.
“This can’t wait for Mr Morrison’s weekly briefing,” Mr Bowen told reporters in Melbourne.
“These updates should be provided as and when the government can.”
Mr Abbott is to meet with Indonesian President Yudhoyno on Monday, with asylum-seeker policy expected to be at the top of the agenda.
Hawthorn has earned redemption for last year’s grand final loss with a 15-point win over Fremantle at the MCG.
On a windy day at headquarters in front of a big crowd of 100,007, the Hawks led for all of the day before holding off the Dockers for a 11.11 (77) to 8.14 (62) triumph.
The Dockers kicked 7.8 to 5.6 in the second half, but they had given the Hawks too much of a start in a tight grand final, and Hawthorn had enough in reserve to get over the line.
The game was a turnaround from the early parts of the finals series for both teams.
Hawthorn was held almost level in inside 50s and well outdone in marks inside 50, the two building blocks of the team’s run to the grand final.
In contrast Fremantle was out-tackled by a fiercer Hawks outfit and beaten at the stoppages and clearances despite a monumental effort by big man Aaron Sandilands, who had 13 disposals, 44 hitouts and three clearances.
Jack Gunston showed he may well be the star of the Hawks’ future rather than Lance Franklin, kicking four goals to Franklin’s one in a stunning performance.
Gunston kicked three first half goals, and then kicked a vital fourth in the third quarter when Hawthorn came under pressure from the Dockers.
“I’m speechless,” he said after the game.
“It was a tight tussle, we got a couple of goals up, but we knew they (Dockers) were not going to go away.
“This feeling, it’s so much better than last year.”
The Dockers could not reproduce the same early pressure they had used to ground Sydney in the preliminary final.
Kicking for goal was a difficult process – in the first half Fremantle had 12 shots but kicked only one goal, with five behinds and five missed efforts.
Hawthorn led by two goals at quarter time and by 23 points at the half.
The Dockers hit back in the third term, booting 5.4 to 3.3 to sew some doubt in the hearts of the Hawks.
But a couple of bad misses for Fremantle stopped the chance of an upset, and Hawthorn sealed a first premiership win since 2008.
Lake proves the missing piece in premiership puzzle
Twelve months ago the Hawks were devastated by a 10-point loss to Sydney in the grand final.
A year on, they buried their demons in the finals series, killing off the Kennett Curse in the preliminary final against Geelong, before holding their nerve in a tough second half to redeem themselves with an 11th VFL / AFL flag.
It was a vindication for the Hawks, their coach Alastair Clarkson, and the club’s recruitment policy in the wake of the loss to the Swans.
The key pick-up was Western Bulldogs defender Brian Lake, who repaid the Hawks’ faith by winning the Norm Smith Medal.
Lake, who was criticised for being out of form and out of fitness at the Bulldogs, proved to be the last piece in the premiership puzzle.
He had 22 disposals, including 11 contested possessions, and 10 marks. But more importantly he took Matthew Pavlich and stopped the Dockers’ captain from kicking a match-winning haul, keeping him to just three goals for the match.
After receiving the medal, Lake made clear where his feelings were over his premiership medal: “Thank you to the Hawthorn Football Club for taking me 12 months ago.”
Coach Alastair Clarkson congratulated Fremantle on producing a tough contest, saying that the Hawks had “so much admiration for how you’ve developed over the last couple of years” and predicting big things for the Dockers.
Clarkson expressed relief and joy at his side’s second flag in six years before lifting the cup with captain Luke Hodge.
“To our Hawthorn guys, we will celebrate long and hard tonight, it was a great effort.
“We are a very happy team at Hawthorn.”
Hawks on-baller Sam Mitchell, who had 38 disposals in the preliminary final against Geelong, was held to just 12 touches by Fremantle tagger Ryan Crowley.
But Mitchell said he knew in advance he was not going to have another day out in the grand final.
“Part of our mantra at our football club is to get the job done for someone else,” he told Grandstand.
“That was my job today … I’m happy to have made a contribution to help the team.”
Asked whether the win made up for last year’s loss, Mitchell replied: “It would be nice to have three (flags), but we’ve got two and we’ll be working hard again next year to add to it.”
No consolation for devastated Dockers
In the Fremantle rooms, midfielder Matt de Boer echoed the sombre mood.
Asked what coach Ross Lyon had said after the match, he replied: “(He said) we couldn’t fracture (as a group), we’ve got to make the commitment to go again (next year).
“We will, we’re resilient … we just fell short today.”
De Boer could not hide his bitter disappointment at the result, although he thanked Dockers supporters for creating an incredible atmosphere for grand final week.
“It doesn’t count for anything, we came over here with just one purpose, and we weren’t good enough.”
There was no fairytale end to the grand final for Dockers captain Matthew Pavlich, who kicked three goals.
“He (coach Ross Lyon) is disappointed, we’re disappointed, but we’re going to have to butter up soon, and go again,” he said.
“They were able to get hold of the ball, win some clearances … we’re going to have to get better.
“They’ve been through some hard times as well as the players … it’s as hard for them to swallow as well as us.
“We believe we have the desire and the willpower to get back here again.”
Hawthorn: 11.11 (77) – J Gunston 4, J Roughead 2, L Franklin, C Rioli, I Smith, L Breust, B Hill
Fremantle: 8.14 (62) – M Pavlich 3, M Walters 2, T Mzungu, C Mayne, D Pearce
Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH) is officially open after the biggest planned hospital move in Australian history.
The new $ 1.76 billion hospital in Parkwood opened its research and teaching facility earlier this year, but has now opened its doors to patients who have been transferred from the old Gold Coast Hospital.
By lunchtime the GCUH had received over 95 patients, with a total of 200 patients now transferred since Friday.
Ambulances have been moving patients from the intensive care unit, emergency department, central sterilising department, anaesthetic services, and medical assessment unit to the new facility.
Patients in neonatal intensive care, special care nursery and the birthing suite are also being moved in ambulances, while a fleet of taxis transporting the less seriously ill.
Gold Coast Health chief executive Ron Calvert says apart from some minor snags yesterday, he was “really pleased” with the operation.
“The move transition has been an overwhelming success,” he said.
“So far it has been completely uneventful, which is exactly what we wanted.
“There are still a handful of patients to come across, and they’re scheduled to take place as the afternoon proceeds.”
The former Gold Coast Hospital’s emergency department closed at 8:00am as the new facility at GCUH opened its doors.
At lunchtime, the hospital reported 44 patients arriving at the emergency department, five of which were admitted.
“We’ve had a steady stream of patients through the new emergency department, and it seems to be business as normal,” Mr Calvert said.
“It’s almost an exactly typical day in the emergency department.”
By Saturday afternoon the hospital was yet to see its first baby born, although a number of women were in labour.
Clinical director for general medicine Dr Mark Forbes says the mood is “buoyant” among staff.
“From nursing perspective they’re really very excited about it and thrilled about how smoothly things have gone,” he said.
Patient Karl Carey, 79, was transferred by ambulance this afternoon and says the staff are outstanding.
“The staff did everything for me, I didn’t have to lift a finger,” Mr Carey said.
“The people are the best part of this hospital.”
In addition to hospital services, the GCUH will partner with Griffith University in more than 170 collaborative activities.
These include extensive research initiatives with Griffith Health Institute, the expansion of study placements and the implementation of innovative teaching and learning initiatives.
The old Southport hospital had a capacity of 450-500 beds, but the new hospital will have a capacity of 750.
