The death toll from a powerful rainstorm that swept across southern Nepal has killed at least 28 people and injured hundreds more.

Villagers who survived the strong weather system searched for food and shelter yesterday as rescuers struggled to reach remote areas.

High winds during the storm flipped cars on Sunday night and blew a bus carrying at least 40 people off a highway, killing some. on-board.

Police said most of the deaths were caused by collapsing walls and falling bricks in homes and toppled trees and electrical poles.

The storm swept through villages in a farming region in Bara and Parsa districts. The government administrator in Bara, Rajesh Poudel, said 27 were killed there.

One person also died in neighboring Parsa, administrator Narayan Bhattarai said.

The area is about 120 kilometers south of the capital, Kathmandu.

Police officers and soldiers were helping people injured by the rainstorm. Villagers from neighboring districts were also distributing food to the victims.

Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli canceled a visit to western Nepal and was flying to the area to observe rescue efforts, his office said.

The National Emergency Operation Center in Kathmandu said 612 people were injured and teams with tents and other materials were sent to the area.

Injured people were still being brought to Narayani hospital, the largest in the region, Dr. Sushil Pokhrel said. He said 395 patients had been treated.

Beds were filled to capacity and patients were lying on the floors of corridors at the hospital.

Villagers salvaged what they could from what was left of their homes in Bharwalia village, where most people live in huts made of mud and bricks with straw and stone roofs.

Most of the huts were blown down by the strong winds, leaving people without shelter or food.

"The storm took everything we had, including all the goods we had. We have no food to eat or any roof over our heads," said Jebeda Khatung, who was digging through the debris in hopes of finding some of her belongings. All four members of her family survived.

"It began with a hailstorm and rain and the wind picked up," said Mamata Devi Patel, whose head was wrapped in a bandage.

"The roof was shaking and when I went to check if the roof was damaged, the door was blown open and I was thrown on the ground and hit my head."

The bodies of four people killed in the village were cremated on the bank of the Trivenighat river as families gathered around for the Hindu funeral service.

Local television showed the injured being taken to a hospital in cars, ambulances and even on motorcycles, but roads in many villages were blocked by fallen trees and electricity poles.

Pre-monsoon storms with strong winds and rain are common in March and April.

The provincial government announced 300,000 rupees (AUD$6095) in financial assistance for families of each of the dead.

Perth police are hunting a hit and run driver who left a young woman for dead overnight.

The Uber Eats delivery cyclist was dragged along the road for a hundred metres, leaving her horribly injured.

Police say 23-year-old Javiera Morgado was riding on Bishopsgate Street in Carlisle about 9pm, when she was hit by a White LandCruiser at the Oats Street roundabout.

9News has obtained security camera pictures that show the moment of impact.

"It was horrible. I don't know how anybody could do that to someone,” Isabella Lee told 9News.

“I heard a girl screaming, I looked through my window and could see a white land cruiser. I called police, came outside and saw the girl on the floor all grazed up, her clothes were all ripped".

An eye witness, who declined to give their name, told 9News: "I was outside having a cigarette and saw the whole thing. I heard a woman screaming and saw a white 4WD stop, then reverse back over the woman who was tangled around her bike, then speed off".

Residents worked quickly to move the young woman off the road.

Paramedics arrived soon after and rushed the victim to Hospital.

The Chilean woman's injuries are extensive but it's believed she was saved by her helmet.

Doctors say Mrs Morgado faces a long recovery in the State Trauma Unit at Royal Perth Hospital.

Police are continuing to hunt the driver and would like anyone with information or CCTV to contact them.

Colluding with Russia? The special counsel says no. Cheating at golf? Well, that's something else.

From pulling a fast one on Tiger Woods to exaggerating his handicap, Donald Trump's alleged misdeeds on and around the golf course are the subject of a new book by former Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly, "Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump".

Reilly documents dozens of examples of underhanded golf behavior by the president, transgressions talked about by pro golfers and duffers alike.

"In golf, he's definitely not exonerated," Reilly told The Associated Press.

"There's been dozens and dozens of people that can declare him guilty of cheating."

One infamous instance came in a 2017 round with Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson, who is the current No. 1 player in the world.

The president's playing partner, Fox Sports golf analyst Brad Faxon, reported that Trump's offenses included putting down a score that didn't account for two balls he hit into the water on one hole.

"You've heard so much about it, it's almost like you want to witness it so you can tell the stories," Faxon is quoted as saying.

No big deal, many would say. It's only a game.

But outside of formal tournaments, golf is a game of honor in which individual players act as their own referees, keep their own scores and assess themselves penalties for rule violations.

Trump's cheating, Reilly said, motivated him to write the book.

"I don't know much about politics, but I know golf and it really offended me, not as a voter or as a citizen - just as a golfer.," he said.

Reilly quotes players who accuse Trump, his caddie and Secret Service agents of regularly moving his golf balls out of difficult lies.

At Winged Foot Golf Club in New York, the only non-Trump property where the president is a member, Reilly writes, "The caddies got so used to seeing him kick his ball back onto the fairway they came up with a nickname for him: 'Pele',". That's the world soccer star from Brazil.

Sports announcer Mike Tirico says Trump once threw Tirico's golf ball off the green into a nearby bunker when they played together.

Some of the allegations aren't new. Boxer Oscar De La Hoya told The AP in 2016 that Trump cheated against him twice in the space of two holes.

"Yes, I caught him," De La Hoya said.

"It was unbelievable. But I guess it was his course, so it was his rules."

Trump, by all accounts, is a good golfer, especially for his age, Reilly writes. But the 2.8-stroke handicap he claims is the product of manipulation.

A handicap is based on a golfer's most recent 20 scores and allows players of different skill levels to compete fairly against each other.

Someone with Trump's handicap typically would shoot scores about three over par. Despite making more than 150 visits to his golf courses since taking office, Trump has logged only one round in the online USGA Handicap Index - and a 96 at that.

Trump's love of playing belies his past criticism of President Barack Obama's regular play and his own campaign declaration that he'd be so busy in the White House, "I'm not going to have time to go play golf."

"It helps to know golf, because golf explains Trump," Reilly said.

The president peppers his public statements with golf metaphors, tweeting in December about the Federal Reserve, "The Fed is like a powerful golfer who can't score because he has no touch - he can't putt!"

And Reilly contends Trump's early days on the course provide a window into his zero-sum world-view.

Trump honed his game at Cobbs Creek, a public course outside of Philadelphia, which he later described as full of "hustlers" and where he "learned about everything."

Reilly describes it as the sort of course where "everybody is trying to grift you," and where Trump learned "I got to cheat them before they cheat me."

Bryan Marsal, the chair of the 2020 US Open to be played at Winged Foot, told Reilly that Trump began one game with him as a partner by warning: "You see those two guys? They cheat. See me? I cheat. And I expect you to cheat because we're going to beat those two guys today."

Trump is hardly the first president accused of bending the rules at golf.

Bill Clinton was infamous for his "Billigans" - taking do-over shots openly and without remorse.

But Reilly, who's known Trump for decades and played with him for his book "Who's Your Caddy?" recounts Trump's score-altering and other schemes as "so brazen you almost admire it."

Reilly, clearly no fan of the president, said he undertook the project because of Trump's "whopper" - repeated over the course of the campaign and in the White House - that he won 18 club championships.

Reilly could not corroborate a single Trump victory in a club championship, and found the president's tally includes at least one in which Trump never played on the course that day, another in which he counted the inaugural round at a yet-to-be-opened club, and 12 that were "actually senior or super senior club championships."

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Reilly said he's issuing Trump a challenge to defend his reputation in a match on a course that he doesn't own refereed by officials - offering $100,000 to the charity of the president's choice.

Reilly, whose handicap is a 4.8, says he's confident Trump "can't cover that 2.8. No way."

A driver who ran down a two-year-old girl and a woman at a pedestrian crossing told the injured pair she would call a doctor before she fled the scene.

Police have released video of the incident in Melbourne’s south-east to try and track down the driver.

In CCTV from the scene, a 63-year-old Elsternwick woman and the child can be seen crossing the intersection of Glen Huntly Road and Booran Road about midday on February 20.

Part-way through the intersection, a black Toyota RAV 4 then turned from Booran Road and struck the pair.

As the vehicle pulled over to the side of the road, the 63-year-old crouched over the girl, who appeared motionless on the road.

Police allege the middle-aged female driver of the RAV 4 then approached the pair and said she was going to call a doctor, before returning to her car and driving away.

Meanwhile, bystanders rushed to the aid of the pair as the woman cradled the young girl in her arms and was assisted to the side of the busy road.

The 63-year-old suffered serious injuries in the collision and remains in hospital, and the two-year-old suffered bruising and trauma from the incident.

Police are now appealing to the public for anyone with more information about the hit-run collision in a bid to find the driver of the RAV 4.

Anyone with information about this incident should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Detectives have released CCTV of a daring burglary in NSW’s south where thieves used a bobcat to steal an automatic teller machine from a shopping complex.

NSW Police rushed to a shopping complex in Moama on February 25 following reports a bobcat had been driven through the front doors about 4.30am.

When they arrived, they found one ATM inside the complex had been stolen, while another had been extensively damaged.

A crime scene was established at the complex and several items including a crowbar and a Mitsubishi Triton ute were seized for forensic examination.

Today, following extensive inquiries, detectives executed a search warrant at a caravan park in the nearby town of Deniliquin around 9.30am.

As part of their investigation, police have released CCTV from inside the shopping centre, showing the bobcat being driven through the front door, followed by a reversing Mitsubishi Triton.

The bobcat is believed to have been stolen.

Detectives are now urging anyone who may have seen the bobcat – or have dashcam footage of the Triton driving in the Moama area – to come forward.

Strike Force Burrandoot has been established to investigate the crime, and NSW Police will liaise with their Victorian counterparts to find those responsible.

London Metropolitan Police are refusing to comment on a potentially case-changing pro bono offer by one of the world's top DNA scientists to analyse important DNA samples linked to Madeleine McCann's disappearance for a UK investigation which has cost taxpayers more than $20m.

The revelations that American DNA expert Dr Mark Perlin could potentially unlock a series of "inconclusive" samples that stumped UK forensic scientists in 2007 was first aired in Maddie, a Nine.com.au multi-episode podcast investigating the baffling disappearance of British girl Madeleine.

Some of those DNA samples were lifted from the boot of a rental car hired by Kate and Gerry McCann 25 days after Madeleine vanished, in May 2007.

Last night Scotland Yard, which is on the brink of applying for another tranche of UK government funding, told Nine.com.au: "The investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann remains ongoing. We are not providing a running commentary."

Nine.com.au understands the UK Home Office is currently considering a request to extend funding for Operation Grange for a further year, until the end of March 2020.

It is believed the Home Office may inject $550,000 to keep the Scotland Yard investigation alive. Since launching in 2011, Operation Grange has cost British taxpayers $21.6 million.

In the Maddie podcast, it was detailed how detectives working on the Madeleine McCann case were notified one year ago about Dr Perlin's advanced testing methods, reputedly the most sophisticated in the world, and his pro bono offer to assist the investigation.

Dr Perlin says Operation Grange, the UK's investigation into the McCann case, never responded to that 2018 offer. Further inquiries to London Metropolitan Police from Nine.com.au about Dr Perlin's offer last week also went unanswered.

A successful analysis of the McCann DNA samples by Dr Perlin could potentially blow open a dead end in the cold case by either confirming or conclusively ruling out some of the questions around the DNA samples.

In 2007, specialist cadaver and blood dogs made a number of alerts in the McCann holiday apartment and a rental car hired several weeks after Madeleine was reported missing.

Many of those DNA samples were returned "inconclusive", halting police lines of inquiry into the possible presence of Madeleine McCann's DNA in the rental car.

Dr Perlin claims his Pittsburgh lab Cybergenetics, which has identified victims of the September 11 attack on New York's World Trade Centre, can routinely unlock the kind of samples the UK Forensic Science Service (FSS) struggled to successfully analyse.

A senior FSS scientist, Dr John Lowe, told Portuguese police the samples were "too complex" and challenging for his team.

"Let's look at the question that is being asked," Dr Lowe wrote about a DNA sample taken from the boot compartment of a silver Renault Scenic leased by Mr and Mrs McCann.

"Is there DNA from Madeline (sic) on the swab?

"It would be very easy to say, 'Yes' simply because of the number of [DNA] components within the result that are also in her reference sample," continued Dr Lowe.

Ultimately, Dr Lowe said the FSS could not answer that potentially critical question.

Dr Perlin said the FSS tests "failed" because its methods used were outdated and inadequate, compared to the modern computer analysis Cybergenetics has used to assist police forces around the world.

Since 2007, the McCanns have strenuously denied they were involved in the disappearance of their daughter. Nine.com.au does not suggest any involvement on their part.

Madeleine, then aged three, went missing while on holiday with her family in Praia da Luz, a coastal town on Portugal's Algarve.

LISTEN TO LATEST EPISODES OF MADDIE NOW 

Maps, graphics, stories and all episodes of Maddie here: nine.com.au/maddie

The carcass of a pregnant sperm whale that washed up in Sardinia, Italy had 22 kilograms of plastic in its stomach and was carrying a dead foetus, the country's environment minister and a marine life non-profit organisation said.

Luca Bittau, president of the SeaMe group, told CNN the beached mammal's remains contained "garbage bags... fishing nets, lines, tubes, the bag of a washing machine liquid still identifiable, with brand and barcode ... and other objects no longer identifiable."

"She was pregnant and had almost certainly aborted before (she) beached," he said.

"The foetus was in an advanced state of composition."

The dead animal, which was eight metres long, washed up last week on a beach in the Sardinian tourist hotspot of Porto Cervo.

Bittau said the cause of death would be known after histological and toxicological examinations carried out by veterinarians in Padua, northern Italy.

Sergio Costa, Italy's environment minister, said in a Facebook post: "Are there still people who say these are not important problems? For me they are, and they are priorities."

"We've used the 'comfort' of disposable objects in a lighthearted way in the past years and now we are paying the consequences. Indeed the animals, above all, are the ones paying them," he continued.

Costa also referred to the recent approval by the European Parliament of a law banning a wide-range of single-use plastic items, such as straws, cotton buds and cutlery, by 2021.

"Italy will be one of the first countries to implement it," he promised.

"The war on disposable plastic has begun. And we won't stop here."

Last month, a young whale was found dead in the Philippines with 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of plastic bags in its stomach.

Australia has sweltered through its hottest March on record.

The Bureau of Meteorology, in its monthly climate report, said the national mean temperature was 2.13C above average - but a wet end to the month saved it from being the driest.

It was particularly warm in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, both of which posted their hottest March on record.

It was among the six warmest for NSW, Queensland and South Australia.

In Rabbit Flat, northwest of Alice Springs, temperatures reached at least 39C for 115 straight days between December 1 and March 25 - smashing the previous record of 106 days at Marble Bar in WA in 1921-22.

"A cold outbreak brought a cool end to the month, particularly in southeastern Australia, with thundery showers, light to moderate rainfall, small hail, and scattered snow about the higher peaks," the report said.

Rainfall for March was above-average for large areas of eastern Australia and parts of the west, partly thanks to tropical cyclones Trevor and Veronica.

A Climate Council report released in early March showed temperature extremes over the past three months, which was the hottest summer on record.

Port Augusta in South Australia reached a record breaking 49.5 degrees Celsius in January, while every state experienced serious bushfires and Townsville broke its 10-day accumulated rainfall total.

More than 200 extreme weather records were broken in 90 days across the nation.

Climate councillor and former NSW Fire and Rescue commissioner Greg Mullins said firefighters were struggling to cope with unprecedented lightning storms which have sparked blazes across the nation.

"We're seeing across Australia far longer fire seasons. A lot more very high-to-extreme bushfire danger. Forests are burning where they shouldn't burn," he said.

Chau Chau was a “playful” young cat living in a Melbourne apartment until his owner's boyfriend threw him off the 45^th floor balcony.

The fatal fall has been declared a "tragic accident" after 20-year-old Cheng Lu admitted he used "a bit too much force" when trying to put the cat outside to teach it a lesson for scratching.

Magistrate Costas Killias today dismissed charges of animal cruelty and reckless endangerment against Mr Lu.

He found the university computer sciences student did throw the cat over the balcony but had no criminal case to answer.

"This was a terrible accident which led to the death of an innocent and apparently, on all accounts, playful pet. But it was not deliberate," he said.

The magistrate compared the event to a driver accidentally hitting a dog, versus one who actively ran one down out of a dislike of dogs.

"I have every sympathy for the poor cat that found itself in this situation, but I have to satisfy myself... whether it was intentional or not," Mr Killias said.

There was no intended cruelty, he found.

Mr Lu told the court he only meant to throw Chau Chau onto the balcony after the kitten scratched his leg from under a couch in April 2018.

"I grabbed the cat and put the cat outside but I might have used a bit too much force,' Lu said, with the aid of a Chinese interpreter.

"I only intended to put the cat on to the balcony, not over the balcony."

The court was previously told Mr Lu launched Chau Chau using a rugby pass-like motion.

Kaiqi Chen, Chau Chau's owner and Mr Lu's then-girlfriend – they have since broken up - watched from the bathroom as her beloved pet sailed "in the air" over the balustrade.

She raced outside to where Chau Chau's body lay in the street.

The cat landed just steps from passers-by on Elizabeth Street.

"Lu Cheng kept saying 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry' on the phone," Ms Chen said.

Senior Constable Tom Roberts had argued the physics of Chau Chau's trajectory, flying two and a half metres through the air from inside the apartment to over the balcony, didn't add up to an accident.

"The cat went so far the only inference that can be drawn was the intention was to put the cat over the balcony," he said.

Mr Kilias rejected that argument and said multiple inferences could be drawn, underpinning his reasonable doubt.

A man has been arrested over the disappearance of Ipswich man David Thornton after a chest freezer buried in his backyard was found to contain human remains.

Police said a 24-year-old man was taken into custody in Byron Bay and will be extradited to Queensland tomorrow.

An excavator was used to unearth a chest freezer buried in Mr Thornton's Goodna backyard yesterday and police today confirmed it contained human remains.

The remains will be tested to confirm they are that of Mr Thornton.

The man arrested today is believed to have been known to Mr Thornton, who was last seen in February and reported missing by concerned family on March 22.

Neighbour Brian Nicholls told 9News he’d seen an excavator being used to bury the chest freezer two weeks ago.

Detective Inspector David Briese said it was suspicious behaviour reported by neighbours which them to excavate Mr Thornton’s backyard.

“We are treating this as suspicious at this present time. All possibilities are open,” Det Insp Briese said.

“He lived here on his own, he has family friends and relatives (who) have been assisting us in particular over the past few days.”

Anyone with information which may assist should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Fresh footage has emerged of the moments following a scaffolding collapse in Sydney's north that killed a teen apprentice and critically injured another man.

The vision shows distressed workers restrained by police as they frantically try to rescue their colleagues.

"Everybody, we need you guys to help us out... you have got to hurry up. Listen listen, if we move the wrong piece, more will collapse, It's like a jigsaw puzzle. Give us instructions then - let's do something, Come on lets start," the workers can be heard yelling in the footage.

Apprentice bricklayer, Christopher Cassaniti was tragically killed when the nine-storey structure he was standing on collapsed at the “nbh Lachlan’s Line project” in Macquarie Park yesterday.

A 40-year-old co-worker was also critically injured in the collapse.

"To lose someone that you work with everyday and that they know very well and are close with you know it is an absolute tragedy," CFMEU spokesman Michael Greenfield told 9News.

The tragedy, as well as the moments that followed are now the subject of an extensive SafeWork NSW investigation.

The developer overseeing this massive apartment project, Ganellen, released a statement saying the company is devastated and indicated this is its first on site fatality in 20 years of operation.

"Tragedies like this just shouldn't happen and we can't imagine the grief and sorrow that family are in at the moment," CFMEU National Secretary Dave Noonan told Today.

In a statement, SafeWork NSW said inspectors attended the site following the tragic incident.

“The tradesmen had been working from the bottom level of scaffolding when the structure suddenly collapsed. Another two workers were laying bricks at the top of the structure and jumped to safety,” the statement reads.

“It is not yet known what caused the scaffolding to collapse, however SafeWork will employ significant resources to fully understand how the tragedy occurred.”

Mr Cassaniti's uncle spoke with media today about the family's devastation losing the young man who celebrated his birthday on the weekend.

"We will miss him dearly... Christopher was the jewel of our family," Joe Cassaniti told media today.

His family also said Christopher was a "gentle, kind and hardworking young man" who was "adored by everyone".

“We feel devastated and empty by the loss of our beautiful boy Christopher," the family said in a statement.

"Christopher was a gentle, kind and hardworking young man full of life and love for his family. He was adored by everyone who was lucky enough to meet him.

"While nothing can bring our son back, we don’t want his death to be just another statistic.

"No other family should have to go through this horrendous pain. We ask that the government step in and take immediate action and implement stringent measures regarding safety on construction sites.

"Crucial safety checks and procedures need to be at the front and centre of every construction site.

"We await the outcome of the investigation as to what went wrong.

"We will miss him dearly.

"One death is too many.

“We would please ask that the media now leave us in peace to deal with our loss.”

His friends also shared their grief on social media.

"You were a fantastic bloke and had a heart of gold," Benjamin Betros wrote on Facebook.

"You have been my friend since the first day of kindergarten … words can't express how much this hurts," Bella Mineo said.

The two men were working on a 17-metre structure to the rear of the building when it collapsed at around 12.30pm.

The teenage victim’s distressed parents visited the scene of the accident at the Lachlan's Line apartment project on Epping Road.

When Mr Cassaniti turned 18 last week, his mother Patrizia sung the praises of her "compassionate and shy, yet strong and forever helpful" son.

"We wish you all the best that the world can dish out and May God be forever in your heart and bless you with much joy, happiness and most importantly health," she posted to Facebook last week.

When paramedics finally reached Mr Cassaniti, almost two hours after the collapse, he was confirmed dead at the scene.

“I heard people in there screaming ‘help us, help us, help us’ and screaming obviously in pain with all the metal that had fallen on them," witness Albert Muscat told 9News.

"We started cutting with the grinders and hammers until about 20 minutes later we couldn’t hear screaming anymore, that’s when the supervisors told us to move out.”

As many as nine ambulance units, a Careflight helicopter and multiple Fire and Rescue NSW crews were deployed to the site to assist with the operation.

The 40-year-old man who was freed from debris by emergency services is now in a stable condition in hospital.

Ganellan, one of the companies involved in the project, said in a statement that support services were being offered to workers affected by the tragedy.

“This is clearly a distressing time for everyone on site and we are mobilising support services to look

after those who have been affected,” the company said in a statement.

“The welfare of our thousands of employees and subcontractors has always been a priority for Ganellen so this is devastating news.

“Ganellen will continue to assist emergency authorities at the site in any way we can.”

In response, SafeWork NSW launched “Operation Scaff Safe” yesterday, which will involve inspectors visitng sites across NSW to ensure businesses understand the safety requirements for workers using scaffolding.

“SafeWork Inspectors observed wide-spread non-compliance with scaffold safety last year and will continue to focus on scaffolding throughout 2019 under a new compliance program, Operation Scaff Safe,” said Secretary for the Department of Finance, Service and Innovation and SafeWork regulator, Martin Hoffman.

“My thoughts and sympathies are with the family of the young worker whose life has been taken far too soon and to the family of the gentleman now in a critical condition.

“I want to reassure the families of the fatally and seriously injured workers, that SafeWork NSW will undertake a thorough investigation in to this catastrophic safety failure.”

"I am just so saddened about the death of young scaffolding apprentice Christopher Cassaniti. To his parents and workmates my heart goes out to you," Prime Minister Scott Morrison tweeted.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten also sent his condolences and described Mr Cassaniti's death as shocking.

"As a father of three, it is incomprehensible what his family must be going through at this time - and I think I speak for everyone when I say they are in our thoughts," Mr Shorten tweeted.

The budget is back in black, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced, with the first surplus in a decade.

The Coalition government today handed down a $7.1 billion surplus with an election budget chock-full of sweeteners to voters.

FEDERAL BUDGET 2019: Follow live updates here

The budget surplus is in large part thanks to a surge in iron ore prices.

As Australia's biggest export, the price spike allowed for a substantial jump in government revenue in recent months.

The populist budget hands out tax cuts to the middle-class, but also sets out to catch more multi-national tax dodgers.

And there's billions upon billions of new spending in infrastructure, as the Prime Minister to call an election in weeks if not days.

"For the first time in 12 years, our nation is again paying its own way," Mr Frydenberg said in his address to parliament.

"Australia is strong than it was when we came to government six years ago."

Here's the winners and losers in the 2019-20 budget.

Winner: The middle class

The banner headline Mr Frydenberg is expecting tomorrow is the substantial tax cuts handed down in this year's budget.

"The largest personal income tax cuts since the Howard government," Mr Frydenberg told the parliament.

The biggest cuts will affect the 4.5 million taxpayers earning between $48,000 and $90,000 a year.

Those taxpayers will get a cut of $1080.

For those earning between $37,001 and $47,999, they will get a cut of between $255 and $1080.

Those earning less than $37,000 may get cuts of up to $255.

But those making between $90,001 and $126,000 will be on a sliding scale from $1080 to zero.

Those making more than $126,000 won't get a new tax cut this year.

Winner: Commuters

The government has increased its infrastructure investment to $100 billion, with fast rail planned to connect Melbourne to Geelong.

It will also investigate the feasibility of fast rail connecting Sydney to Newcastle, to Wollongong and to Parkes (via Bathurst and Orange), Melbourne to Albury, to Shepparton or Traralgon and Brisbane to Moreton Bay and the Sunshine Coast or to the Gold Coast.

In NSW, hundreds of millions will be allocated to the M1 Pacific Motorway, the Princes Highway and Western Sydney Rail.

In Victoria, suburban roads upgrades will get a $1.1 billion cash injection.

In Queensland, the Bruce Highway, the Gateway Motorway and the Warrego Highway will get hundreds of millions more.

In Western Australia, the Tonkin Highway and the Fremantle Traffic Bridge will get more funding.

And in South Australia, the North-South corridor will get $1.5 billion.

The budget also allocates $500 million to a commuter car-park fund.

Mr Frydenberg declared the fund would "take tens of thousands of cars off our roads".

Loser: The environment

Greenies hoping against hope for a surprise boost in climate change funding will be disappointed.

No major new renewable projects are mentioned in the budget, with the already-announced Snowy Hydro 2.0 and Marinus Link featured prominently.

But the fossil fuel industry will be an $8.4 million perk to help them open up the Beetaloo sub-basin in the Northern Territory for natural gas exploration and development.

The government will also seek to underwrite more power generation from a shortlist of 12 projects; some renewable, some not.

However, the budget also includes just $400,000 for developing a national electric vehicle strategy.

Winner: Small business

Also in line for a tax cut is small and medium-sized businesses.

The tax rate has been lowered to 27.5 percent for next year, dropping down to 25 percent for 2021-22.

The budget also increases and expands the instant asset write-off, and gives high tax discount rates.

The government has also announced a $525 skills package to create 80,000 new apprenticeships.

The package will look to fill positions in industries with skills shortages, like bakers, bricklayers, carpenters and plumbers.

Both employers and apprentices will be eligible for high incentive payments under this budget. 

Loser: Tax dodgers

The budget also strikes an unusually populist tone in who it targets as well, with a billion-dollar investment in the ATO's Tax Avoidance Taskforce.

The taskforce is aimed at ensuring that multinationals and big business are paying their fair share of tax.

"This Government has been at the forefront of global efforts to crack down on multinational tax avoidance," Mr Frydenberg said.

"We have implemented tough new laws, which helped raise more than $12 billion."

Loser: The ABC

The ABC be $16 million worse off under this budget, with a hefty chunk bitten off the side of the national broadcaster.

Aunty's operational activities were budgeted at $916 million last year, but it has been reduced to $900 million for 2019-20. 

Funding for SBS will stay flat for this year, an effective cut because of the rate of inflation.

But recreation and culture is seeing cuts across the board.

National estate and parks will see an $11 million cut, while arts and cultural heritage will be $18 million worse off this year.

Sport and recreation will see a massive cut, losing nearly $100 million this year alone, and going from $584 million last year to $329 million in 2022-23.

Loser: The NDIS

Money that wasn't spent last year for the National Disability Insurance Scheme won't be included this year.

The NDIS was underspent by $1.6 billion last year.

Disability advocates had hoped that the money would be injected back into the scheme this year.

Instead that money will be used to boost the budget bottom line.

Winner: Health care

The budget will add a litany of new medicines to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), including drugs to treat kidney, bladder, liver and skin cancer.

And Mr Frydenberg joyously announced the listing of Besponsa, which treats acute leukaemia.

"Instead of costing $120,000 a course, patients will now have access to the medicine at a cost of only $6.50 a script for concession card holders and around $40 for general patients," he told the parliament.

"A real and profound dividend from a strong economy, and done without increasing taxes." 

Loser: Foreign aid

Foreign aid will see a half a billion-dollar cut in two years.

The amount the government commits this year will rise $400 million from the 2018-19 budget.

But it is projected to drop precipitously, going from $3.9 billion this year to $3.4 billion in 2021-22.

The government is also slashing funding for finance and insurance services for Australian exporters and investors.

International police assistance and agricultural research is also seeing cuts.

Loser: Ants

Bad news for invasive insects.

The government is shifting money forward for the eradication of red imported fire ants, which have been spreading into newly defined areas.

They are also spending money to eradicate the yellow crazy ant from Queensland.

And in Norfolk Island, $1.3 million will be spent on wiping out the Argentine ant, a voracious honey-brown insect.

Loser: The world

Despite the healthy forecasts predicted in the budget, Mr Frydenberg pointed to some dark clouds ahead.

"The residential housing market has cooled, credit growth has slowed and we are yet to see the full impact of flood and drought on the economy," he said.

"Global trade tensions remain, the Chinese economy has slowed and there has been a loss of momentum in Japan, Europe and other advanced economies."

In spite of that, the Treasury forecasts that GDP growth will pick up to 2.75 per cent in the next year. 

An Uber driver accused of stealing a laptop from a client has handed himself in after the alleged victim spoke out on A Current Affair.

The development comes as other Uber customers have come forward with their own theft claims.

A group of Brisbane uni students managed to track down driver Zihong after they were convinced he had stolen a laptop belonging to one of them, which was accidentally left in his car.

Days after their story aired on A Current Affair, Zihong turned himself in to police and will face court on a theft charge.

"Obviously after your face is on national TV, you can't really hide and say that you don't have it anymore," laptop owner Kathryn Mayanja said.

"After he was so adamant he didn't have and then it gets handed in, I was just very surprised."

Another alleged victim, Fiona Meadows, contacted A Current Affair to claim she lost her mobile phone in Zihong's Uber.

"I had left my phone in his car, called it straight away, and all of the responses that the people in the story had were exactly the same," she said.

"I had a conversation with him ... he remembered me and he remembered the trip apparently, and then denied knowing about the phone.

Ms Meadows has since gone to the police after reaching out to Zihong and Uber.

Meanwhile, another driver has been accused of stealing thousands of dollars in a "wishing well" from a newlywed couple.

Jade May and her husband, who married 18 months ago, took a luxury Uber black from the venue to their motel, with the wishing well among the luggage in the back of the car.

"Got to the hotel and he stopped out the front and Sam was helping me with my dress, and by the time we had got out of the car, he was sort of at the boot and all of our stuff was already on the ground and he was going 'yep, it's all there', (and) closed the boot," she said.

But, Ms May said, the wishing well box was absent - along with the cards and thousands of dollars it contained.

She said the money was meant to pay for their honeymoon.

"A lot of my family put in a couple of thousand each, so as an estimate, maybe $7000," she said.

She claimed she contacted the driver, who told her nothing had been left in the back of the car.

Ms May went to police, who interviewed the driver, but he denied the allegations.

A woman claims she has been left with post-traumatic stress disorder after her beloved dog was bitten by a woman during a scuffle with another pooch.

Jessie Mae was taking her seven-year-old staffy-cross Theo for a walk at an off-lead dog park in Point Henry, Geelong.

Theo was unrestrained when he bolted over to a kelpie belonging to Biba Horvatic.

"He's always had friendly encounters with dogs before so I didn't think anything of it," Jessie Mae told A Current Affair.

But the playing turned nasty as the dogs started fighting.

"She didn't do anything to intervene with her dog. She just jumped straight onto Theo," Jessie Mae said.

"She was actually biting on his neck while screaming.

Using the lead, Jessie Mae pulled the kelpie from the brawl, which is when Biba hoisted Theo into the air by the tail.

Theo also bit back, injuring Biba's legs and ankles.

"If you're going to bite a dog, you deserve to get bitten back," Jessie Mae said.

But she was the one charged, because of the injuries Biba and her kelpie sustained during the incident.

Theo was taken to the pound, and Jessie Mae was ordered to pay more than $3000 in fines, impoundment fees and vet bills for Biba's dog.

There was also a chance Theo could have been put down, but a behavioural expert found the dog to be non-aggressive.

But Jessie Mae claimed she was deeply traumatised by the incident, to the point of being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"It was probably the worst thing I've ever been through," Jessie Mae said.

Biba declined to comment when approached by A Current Affair.

Ignore the blizzard of numbers in the pile of Budget papers because the only one that counts isn’t in it.

That number is 76.

By Sunday, the Prime Minister is expected to call an election to contest the 151 seats in the House of Representatives and the party that can cobble together 76 wins. 

The Government is running from behind. A by-election loss and a bad redistribution means it starts the race on 73 seats. Labor will line up on 71.

If the polls don’t turn in the next five weeks then the Coalition will be contemplating a very ugly set of numbers; with the loss of 20 seats a very real possibility. 

It’s a measure of how dire things are that the Treasurer Josh Frydenberg fears for his own safe seat of Kooyong and is busy sandbagging it against the coming storm.

So the Coalition is betting everything on his Budget to revive its fortunes and make you forget another very simple number: three. That’s the number of Prime Ministers the Coalition has cycled through since its came to power offering a return to “adult” government in 2013.

Tony Abbott nailed it when he said in the lead up to the 2013 election that, after six years of chaos, Labor’s biggest problem was not the Budget deficit but the trust deficit.

Since then the Coalition became everything it promised it would not be, continuing Australia’s run of bad government beyond a dismal decade. 

The only man still standing in the same job since the 2013 Coalition election victory is the Finance Minister, Mathias Cormann. When he helped put the first Budget together in 2014, Joe Hockey was Treasurer. Hockey has long since retired hurt from the brutal playing field of Australian politics where promising careers rise and fall with the change of seasons.

The 2014 Budget was the beginning of the slow train wreck that the Coalition became, breaking election promises and proposing a radical set of cuts which unsettled the nation. Every Budget since has been about repairing the damage to the Coalition’s brand.

In its favour the Government has now delivered on its promise to get the nation back in the black. You can argue that it is built on a happy set of circumstances that sees the price the world pays Australia for its commodities exceed expectations. But the Government has toiled to keep spending in check, none more so than the dutiful Finance Minister, and deserves some credit.

But households are suffering and kitchen table finances are much more potent than macro-economics when it comes to deciding elections.

Labor’s most potent line is “everything is going up except your wages” and this Budget is aimed at countering that. The Government is arguing that the benefits of its economic stewardship will be immediately shared through cash handouts and a tax deduction that will put $1080 dollars in the bank accounts of four million voters within 13 weeks.

So the bottom line for this Budget won’t be delivered until May 11 or 18 when those people get to pass judgement. 

But while the Budget might be returning to surplus the trust deficit is as deep as it has ever been and it’s doubtful a fistful of dollars can now buy that trust back.

Police are on the hunt for two clumsy crooks who broke into a Perth jewellery store in the early hours of Monday morning.

CCTV from Victoria Park Central allegedly shows one of the thieves dropping a tray of goods on the way out, before frantically trying to collect them.

It’s believed the male offenders smashed through a glass sliding door around 2.20am.

The pair fled the scene within minutes on a Black Motorbike along with a White Ute waiting in the carpark.

One man is described as fair skinned with a slim build, blue jeans, hooded jumper and a red and white helmet.

The second has a medium build and was seen wearing a black jacket with dark blue jeans and a grey and white helmet.

Police are urging anyone who may have seen the two men in the area to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

A young South Australian woman, whose family was told she wouldn't survive a shocking crash, has spoken for the first time about her incredible recovery.

Holly Scott, 23, was left clinging to life with horrific injuries in July 2017.

She had been driving to her boyfriend's house in the Adelaide Hills when she over-corrected and slammed into a tree near Echunga.

“He had a gut feeling and he came looking for me. He found me a street away from his house, with my car wrapped around a tree,” Ms Scott said.

“I couldn’t move or speak, I was stuck in that car.

“Major Crash was called to the scene because no one thought I would survive.”

The impact was so significant, Holly had to be cut from her vehicle and her father was told she wouldn't make it. “The fire trucks had to pull me car off the tree, cut the roof off and cut the car to get me out,” Ms Scott added.

Despite horrific injuries, which included broken vertebrae and bleeding on the brain, the 23-year-old beat the odds. Her road to recovery was long and difficult, with the university student forced to re-learn how to talk and walk.

“Having to learn something that you should know so well, something that comes natural to us. I think I happy cried and I’ve never happy cried before in my life, when I could finally walk again,” Ms Scott said.

While she still undergoes 10 hours of rehabilitation a week, she is bravely sharing her tale of survival with other young drivers and helping spread a message about road safety.

This week, she is speaking to 8000 South Australian School students about the impact a car crash can have.

“Even if you’re doing the right thing, something can happen. A car crash can change your life so quickly and so easily,” she said.

The Royal Automobile Association (RAA) is running the annual event, and hopes Ms Scott’s story can help reduce the carnage on roads.

“Street Smart High is an annual event which aims to demonstrate the reality of road trauma to South Australian high school students,” the RAA’s Jayne Flaherty said.

“It provides an opportunity for students to learn about driving risks and avoid situations that place themselves and others in danger.

“What we do know is that this messaging works and it’s important that we cut through to young people.”

Police have charged a man after he allegedly raped a woman over four days while holding her captive following an online hook-up.

Victoria Police allege Robert Wilson, a 32-year-old from Darley, connected with the Vietnamese national on an online dating app called “Badoo” several months ago.

According to police the pair met on March 25 at a suburban business before he allegedly took the 39-year-old captive at his home.

The victim said Wilson picked her up from her Ivanhoe workplace and took her to his Grey Street home in Darley, where he allegedly punched her in the head and face as she sat in his living room.

"The victim was then imprisoned inside the property and threatened with a number of weapons, including a crossbow," police said in a statement.

Friends of the woman contacted the man asking about her whereabouts and he allegedly let her go on Friday.

She then went to a friend's house and was taken to hospital suffering serious head and facial injuries.

Wilson was arrested yesterday by officers attached to the Sexual Crimes Squad. He has since been charged with false imprisonment, intentionally causing injury, recklessly causing injury, theft and three counts of rape.

He faced Melbourne Magistrate’s Court last night but refused to front the magistrate with his lawyer telling the court his client was content remaining downstairs.

Wilson did not make a bail application and was has been remanded to appear again on 5 April.

Police are appealing for anyone with further information to contact CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.

Police are appealing for anyone with further information to contact CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.

The dangers posed by the melting of glaciers became very real for one set of tourists in Iceland, who had to flee for higher ground as a wave of water rushed their way.

Stephan Mantler, a mountain guide and owner of Icelandic tour company Hafjall, captured the whole ordeal on camera.

Tourists were admiring the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier in Vatnajökull National Park in south-eastern Iceland. This area is only accessible with a trained mountaineer.

Mr Mantler said he could hear the cracking from the far-off glacier, which is a sign that a glacier calving - the natural process in which a large section of ice breaks away - was imminent.

With his clients safe, he pulled out his phone and started recording, but kept his eye on the other group of tourists below.

"I could see all of them start to move out of harm's way and their guides also ready to jump into action if necessary, so I kept recording but with a watchful eye on people's movements," Mr Mantler said.

In the video, you can hear rumbling that sounds like thunder as the pieces of the glacier crash into the water below. People start running to higher ground as waves approach them.

"While calvings are fairly frequent at this time of the year, this was an extraordinarily large event and much closer to the shore than usual, which is why it was such a close call," said Mantler. "In the end, most importantly, nobody got hurt or even wet."

He said everyone is briefed about what to do in case of calvings before they head out on their adventure.