A fourth teenager has died after a crash south of Cairns on Saturday.

Tom Breen, 19, died overnight in Townsville Hospital after the crash claimed three of his mates, Braydan Carter-Mathews, 18, Ryan Beckman, 19 and Shawn Wood, 18.

A motorist found their car partially submerged in the Tully River near Bridge 15, Tully Gorge Road about 30km west of Tully about 1pm on Saturday.

Police said the car could have been there for several hours before it was found.

Three of the teens were pronounced dead at the scene and Mr Breen was taken to hospital with critical injuries. He was unable to recover.

Crowdfunding pages set up for the teens’ families have raised thousands of dollars as the Burdekin community mourns the loss of the four young men.

A page set up to support Mr Breen’s family has raised nearly $3,500 in two days.

“Tom was one of the best people you would ever meet,” one man wrote on the crowdfunding page.

“He always looked out for you before himself and I always considered him a hero.”

She was a household name in Britain, a TV presenter whose roles included fronting a weekly show solving the nation’s worst crimes.

Jill Dando, 37, was murdered horrifically 20 years ago on her front doorstep - but that crime has never been solved.

Now an image of the bloody scene outside her home has been shown with the release of a photograph which features in a new documentary.

The Queen and the prime minister were "shocked" by Dando's death. Her killing was discussed in the House of Commons.

The national outpouring of grief was even likened to that after the death of Princess Diana two years previously.

A man, Barry George, was convicted over her death, the verdict was quashed and he was acquitted at a retrial.

Hamish Campbell, the detective who led the police probe, told the BBC3 team making the documentary that the case may never be solved.

Dando had gone back at her home in London’s Fulham on April 26, 1999 only to get changed for a photo shoot.

She was actually living with her fiancé Dr Alan Farthing.The pair had been writing wedding invitations the night before.

But as she reached her own front door that day, the killer pushed her to the floor, and pressed the gun so close to her head it muffled the sound of the gunshot.

A neighbour heard a cry, and saw a man calmly walking away - but thought nothing of it.

Another neighbour found her 15 minutes later and called emergency services.

The only evidence found at the scene was the bullet, which held clues that the killer was an expert in guns.

Dando, who started her career as a journalist on local newspapers and radio, and hailed from England’s West Country, was one of the hosts of UK Crimewatch.

Alongside presenter Nick Ross, she helped police highlight unsolved crimes across Britain, with the TV appeals regularly solving horrific cases.

She signed off the show each week saying: "Don't have nightmares".

At the time, colleague Ross called her "everything one could want from a colleague and a friend" while on the national TV news, her BBC colleagues reported on the death of one of their own.

A spokesman for PM Tony Blair told journalists he “met her both professionally and socially at Downing Street and in common with many people he found her totally charming and highly talented.

The Queen was also said to be “saddened” while Dando’s pop star friend, Cliff Richard said he was “shattered”.

Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown called it a “terrible irony that, after all her work defending the victims of crime and help in pursuing criminals, she should fall victim herself to an horrific crime."

Dando also presented The Six O’clock News and Breakfast Time on the BBC, the popular Holiday programme and was about to start fronting Antiques Inspectors.

She had also been named the channel’s personality of the year, and the week she was killed she was on the front cover of the UK’s top TV magazine.

Around 2000 people were named as potential suspects after the murder

Bizarrely, one theory was that after the NATO Bombing of a Serbian TV station three days earlier, warlord Arkan took revenge by having a British TV personality assassinated, after 16 staff there were killed including “Serbia’s Jill Dando”.

Other theories include that her murder was organised by a criminal gang or a paedophile ring she was about to expose.

She also had known stalkers - including one in particular who wrote her thousands of “odd letters”.

But Hamish Campbell, who worked on the case, said in the new documentary The Murder of Jill Dando, shown in the UK last night said the person may never be caught.

“Do I think somebody will come back to court? Probably not, no,” he says.

While George, 48, who lived near Dando and had been seen near her home, was tried for the murder in 2001, lawyers later argued his IQ wasn’t high enough for him to have planned the killing and he was acquitted at a retrial.

He was a celebrity obsessive - even changing his name to imitate George Michael. Pictures of him in a mask with a gun was found at his home.

He was also picked out in a line-up by a witness, and a polyester fibre found on Miss Dando’s raincoat was also a match for a pair of trousers owned by him.

However he had no interest in Dando, it has been reported.

He had previously been convicted of attempted rape years before on another woman.

A grain of gunpowder found in his pocket was ruled inadmissible - as it could have landed there while he was travelling around London, lawyers said. 

Police have defended the theory they had been so desperate to have somebody convicted, they made the facts around him fit their theories.

However, Jill’s brother, Nigel, said he “lives in hope” the person who killed his sister will eventually brought to justice.

“I would like to see somebody charged and convicted, but I would just like to know, why someone would want to kill her,” he said in the programme.

The daughter of former NSW Premier Neville Wran has this morning pleaded guilty to a range of charges including drug possession.

Harriet Wran, 30, was arrested a week ago in the NSW town of Wyong after police stopped a vehicle in the car park of a service station on the Pacific Highway around 1.30am.

After police stopped the car, a male ran off, leaving Wran inside.

Police allege they conducted a search of her and the car, locating drug paraphernalia and a small quantity of crystal substance believed to be prohibited drugs.

Ms Wran was arrested and taken to Wyong Police Station where she was charged with possessing a prohibited drug, possessing goods in custody and not displaying P-plates.

Today in court she plead guilty to all three charges and her case has been adjourned to May 15.

According to court documents, officers found 0.96 grams of crystal methamphetamine - or ice - inside the car, as well 32 stolen items including six laptops, five credit and debit cards, three mobile phones, an iPad and a pocket watch.

Unopened mail, a Medicare card and academic transcript belonging to other people - believed to be unlawfully obtained - were also found.

Registrar Steve Mannall continued Wran's bail, on condition she live at the family's farm at Ravensdale and complies with a 8pm to 6am curfew unless in the company of her mother.

Bail documents describe Wran was "a high profile community member".

"The offences are not in the high-scale of seriousness but they may lead to other more serious offences," it states.

The prosecution described its case as strong and will rely on the property seized at the time.

"Some of this property has been proved to have come from various break-and-enters recently," the bail document reads.

"Police do not believe that the accused will receive a custodial sentence if convicted of these offences."

Asked by reporters if it was a tough time, she said: "Yeah it is".

With AAP

A Melbourne GP touched a teenager's breasts without consent and asked her and her boyfriend inappropriate questions about their sex life, a jury has heard.

Azit Das is facing a retrial over allegations he sexually assaulted the 17-year-old girl during a consultation at a Mill Park clinic in March 2016.

The boyfriend had gone to Das for test results of a scan on his groin, which turned out to be a cyst, and his girlfriend had accompanied him.

But the conversation allegedly "shifted into another direction" while the couple were in the room with Das, prosecutors said.

"It shifted into a conversation about sexual matters," prosecutor Nick Batten told a County Court jury in his opening address today.

"Some unjustifiable questions were put to these young people about their sexual life."

It's alleged Das then suggested he would carry out a medical check on the girl's breasts.

"And she said to him, 'no'. She didn't agree to that," Mr Batten said.

"He touched the young woman on her breasts without her consent."

Das also suggested he could demonstrate something on the woman's genitals "in relation to sexual matters", Mr Batten added.

"It was rejected and it didn't happen. But that was part of the lead-up to the sexual assault."

Das denies the assault and his defence lawyer Sean Cash told the jury to look closely at the evidence of a nurse who will testify.

"She's going to say she was there (during the consultation). Nothing happened," Mr Cash said.

There could be aspects of the couple's evidence that could leave the jury with doubts about their "reliability" and "credibility", Mr Cash noted.

The couple went to a police station after the consultation to make a complaint about Das, who was later interviewed.

Mr Batten said Das, who is on bail, denied any wrongdoing when he was questioned by police.

Judge Michael McInerney said Das had previously faced a trial over the same allegations but it was aborted.

The latest jury will be shown footage of the complainant's evidence from the first trial, saving her from testifying again.

AAP

Labor Senator Pat Dodson almost broke down in tears as he added his support for the censure of Queensland counterpart Fraser Anning for his "shameful and pathetic" comments linking the Christchurch terror attacks to Muslim immigration.

Senator Anning was rebuked by his colleagues today in Canberra for blaming Muslim migrants for the horrific attack last month in which a white supremacist allegedly killed 50 worshippers at mosques.

But Senator Dodson, a Yawuru man from Western Australia, also made sure to reach out to the grieving New Zealand community.

"To the faithful mourning for their families in Christchurch", he spoke an Arabic phrase he said meant "rest in peace".

Struggling with his tears, Senator Dodson then addressed a phrase in the Maori language "to the people of New Zealand", which he said meant "We are sorry for your loss, stay strong".

Senator Dodson was joined in his support of the censure motion by the majority of his colleagues, but Senator Anning's ideological cohort Senator Pauline Hanson was not on hand for it, having been swiftly rushed to hospital the day before.

"Senator Anning's comments were ugly and divisive. They were dangerous and unacceptable from anyone, let alone a member of this place," government Senate leader Mathias Cormann told parliament.

Labor's Senate leader Penny Wong said while scores of injured people were being treated for gunshot wounds, Senator Anning fanned the flames of division.

"How pathetic. How shameful. A shameful and pathetic attempt by a bloke who has never been elected to get attention by exploiting diversity as a fault line for political advantage," she said, without mentioning Anning's name.

Senator Anning entered parliament after One Nation's Malcolm Roberts was disqualified for being a dual citizen.

He was widely condemned for a series of racist comments including a reference to the "final solution" - a Nazi term - in his first speech to parliament.

Senator Anning said he had pointed out that New Zealand's immigration policy allowed radical Muslims into their country, which helped cause the massacres.

"My real crime is that I simply told the truth at a time when the left-wing political and media elites least wanted to hear it," he said.

Senator Anning was branded a "disgrace" for saying Sudanese and Muslim migrants had a proven track record of causing crime and terrorism in Australia.

Greens leader Richard Di Natale said he wanted to focus on addressing hate speech in society, only making brief mention of Senator Anning.

"He has shown himself to be a pathetic man lacking any empathy," he said.

One Nation's Peter Georgiou read a speech on behalf of party leader Pauline Hanson, saying they would abstain from the "public flogging" of the censure motion.

But Senator Hanson, a fellow vocal critic of Muslim immigration - and previously, of "Asian" immigration - was not on hand for the vote.

The One Nation head today posted on Facebook that she had been feeling "extraordinarily unwell" over the weekend.

"I woke yesterday morning to continued pains in my stomach and decided to see a GP," she said.

"I was told I needed further scans and blood tests and was taken immediately to hospital."

She said surgeons determined she needed emergency surgery to remove her appendix.

"Compared to the pain I was in before the surgery, today's pain is a lot less and I plan on being back on my feet tomorrow," she wrote.

No senator voted against the part of the motion which censured Senator Anning.

While Senator Anning won just 19 below-the-line votes at the 2016 election, 250,000 Queenslanders supported the One Nation ticket he was on.

After a falling out with Pauline Hanson and later Bob Katter, he split with their parties to sit on the crossbench.

Pensioners were forgotten in last night's Federal Budget, according to Ian Henschke of National Seniors Australia, and it could come back to bite the government hard.

"If Labor or the government choose to ignore pensioners in the run-up to the election, they will do so at their peril," he told A Current Affair.

The power of the pensioner vote has long been courted by both sides of politics.

And Prime Minister Scott Morrison is set to call an election soon.

But last night's Budget, perceived by many as an election pitch, was "disappointing", Mr Henschke said.

"We at National Seniors asked for a number of things and we didn't get them," he said.

"I suppose the thing we wanted, number one on the list, was to try and fix pension poverty - we know that pensioners are struggling."

And on the street - or at least, at a couple of local bowling clubs - many pensioners A Current Affair spoke to seemed to agree with Mr Henschke.

"There are a lot of old people out there living in poverty and they have worked for 20, 30, 40, 50 years," Bronwyn said.

"It's wrong - that's not the Australian way."

Bowler Liz said the lack of support for pensioners she saw in the Budget had made her angry.

"But we are only little people," she said.

And Carol, at a bowling club nearby, said the Budget was filled with "flashy stuff" to buy votes.

The government has pledged to give pensioners a one-off payment to assist with their energy bills - $75 for single people and $125 for couples.

But while better than nothing, this didn't much impress the pensioners A Current Affair spoke to either.

"That $120, yes it is nice to have, but look, it's only a pittance," pensioner John said.

"What is it going to do? Nothing."

Commentator Chris Smith said while it was clear pensioners were not big winners, some of Labor's proposals might convince them to stick with the Coalition.

Pensioner Henry, at least, agreed.

"It's a lot better than Labor is going to do, that's for sure," he said.

Mr Henschke called on the government to do more for the group of pensioners who did not have shares or super.

And Bronwyn put it more bluntly when she addressed Australia's politicians.

"Get your heads out of your butt," she said.

"You're on $200-$300,000 a year, we are not. We are on $40-$50,000 a year, if we are lucky, if we have super."

A Queensland mother has penned a letter pleading for holidaymakers to “recognise their limits” as her son fights for life after a scooter crash in Bali.

As she keeps a bedside vigil in the intensive care unit of Kuta’s BIMC hospital, Rayleen Braddick shared confronting photos with 9 News of her usually “fun and lively” 32-year-old son in a coma, hoping it’ll shock other tourists into taking extra care.

Erran Braddick, from Mackay, was on a scooter that collided with an oncoming truck as he rounded a bend in tourist hotspot Canggu Saturday afternoon.

Vision has since emerged on social media showing witnesses rushing to the young father’s aid as he lay unconscious on the road.

Among the helpers was Erran’s distraught girlfriend who narrowly escaped the same fate.

The couple had joked just moments earlier that the scooter’s seat was too hot for her to sit on before Erran drove off, playfully teasing that he’d meet her at their next destination just 300 metres away.

He never made it.

Erran suffered extensive brain and chest injuries, as well as multiple broken bones and internal bleeding.

“He now lies here in this most dreadful condition, quiet, just the constant sound of the ventilator and machines that will very slowly bring our boy back to us,” Erran’s mother wrote to 9 News.

“I have no words to describe adequately what this feels like as I sit here, but I know so so many mums before me have sat here and, unfortunately, I know many more will.”

Mrs Braddick continued with advice: “If I could say anything to reduce that number, it would be to our adventurous amazing talented and loved children: 1. When you are overseas, register with Smart Traveller, the embassy is amazing, they are your support team and a huge help for understanding the country you are in.”

“2. Don’t put yourself into unnecessary harm (using illicit drugs or getting comatose drunk). Accidents happen without these added elements but you put the odds up exponentially when you use them.”

“3. Recognise your own limits, for instance, if you can’t swim, stay in shallow water and be aware of your surroundings.”

“4. Most Importantly!!!! Get adequate travel insurance! You cannot imagine what a situation like this costs your family financially- it’s beyond what I ever imagined! If not for the support of our family and friends, I honestly do not know what we would have done. Most families I know do NOT have those sort of funds ready and waiting! We certainly didn’t, especially late on a Saturday night!”

Mrs Braddick pointed out that alcohol wasn’t a contributing factor in Erran’s accident but said “still accidents happen, here in Bali, as well as Australia or any other country.”

“Don’t blame the country you are in, its laws or it’s culture.”

“Look for ways to reduce the risk.”

“We WANT you to have fun, we want you to travel this wonderful planet, but we also want you to come home safe with all your wonderful stories.”

On behalf of her family the shattered mother thanked hundreds of people who’ve raised more than $35,000 towards Erran’s expensive overseas medical costs and to get him home to Australia.

Eight people have been injured after a gang of children went on a rampage through a shopping centre in Perth's south.

Ryan Ciszek, 29, suffered a broken nose, a fractured cheekbone and lost sight in his left eye for close to four hours following the incident at Cockburn Gateway Shopping Centre yesterday afternoon.

“I put my arms up… and that’s just when he started wailing at me,” Mr Ciszek said.

He said he felt defenceless because the person attacking him was a minor.

"It's just revolting, it's disgusting to see," the 29-year-old added.

The violence began when the group got off the train at Cockburn Station about 4pm yesterday.

Police were first alerted to their behaviour after Mr Ciszek had his nose broken at the Dome Cafe.

The gang then moved on to McDoanlds, where they assaulted a female worker, before terrorising customers and staff at Baskin Robbins, Dragon Palace, Coles and finally St John Urgent Care medical centre, in a spree that lasted almost an hour.

A 72-year-old grandmother who was in the medical centre said they gang turned their attention to an innocent receptionist.

"They all just got around her and were kicking and punching and doing everything they could," she said.

"Do you know that girl never gave up, she fought all the way to the front door."

Seven girls between 12 and 15-years-old have been arrested, with two charged with stealing offences and disorderly conduct.

The grandmother said more police are needed in the area.

“Listen to your ratepayers,” she said.

“We don’t want more infrastructure. We want more police and we want something done about this gang of youths.

“They grab poor kids from school, they grab their wallets, beat them up, take their money and they go over to the shopping centre."

Police are still conducting inquiries and reviewing security footage which they say is likely to lead to more charges.

Officers have defended their response time to the incident, saying they acted within 10 minutes of receiving the first call.

A draconian death penalty policy that targets homosexual acts and adultery has been implemented in Brunei as the tiny sultanate's revised Islamic penal code comes into force despite an international outcry.

The revision of the South-East Asian country's penal code expands the crimes that can be punished by death to include rape, extra-marital sex for Muslims, robbery, and insulting the Muslim prophet Mohammed.

Under the new code, based on the Islamic religious and legal system of Sharia law, the harshest possible punishment for homosexual acts is death by stoning.

This is reserved for cases where the court believes an especially strict sentence must he handed down.

The threat of the death penalty is apparently chiefly aimed at gay men, although experts are doubtful that executions will actually be carried out.

Gays and lesbians have long faced discrimination in Brunei. The previous maximum punishment for homosexual sex acts was 10 years in prison. Under the new penal code, caning is also a possible punishment.

There has been an international outcry against the revisions championed by Brunei's ruler, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

Human Rights Watch has called Brunei's revised penal code "barbaric to the core" for "imposing archaic punishments for acts that shouldn't even be crimes."

Hollywood star George Clooney has called for a boycott on luxury hotels owned by the sultan.

Currently only Saudi Arabia, Iran, Mauritania, Sudan and Yemen have laws in force that punish homosexuality with death, even though it appears that such sentences have not been carried out in recent years, according to UN rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani.

Victims of a South Australian basketball team manager who groomed four underage players say they were blind to his "predatory and manipulative" manner.

The District Court heard Tyler Stringer continually requested to sleep in the boys' beds and asked to see their genitals while assuring them "this is what friends do".

The 25-year-old is behind bars awaiting sentence after he was earlier this year found guilty of three counts of gross indecency and two counts of making a child amenable to sexual activity.

In victim impact statements read to the court on Wednesday, the boys said they became friends with Stringer after an interstate tournament.

"The accused was not just a team manager, but he became a close friend who I enjoyed spending time with," one 14-year-old victim said.

"When I found out that how he was treating me and interacting with me was not right and also illegal due to my age, I felt very confused, stupid and betrayed. I thought he was my friend."

The boy said Stringer's offending had affected the way he viewed basketball.

"I have lost my love, passion and desire for the game because I have resented it ever since," he said.

Another victim's mother said Stringer was welcomed into their home and treated like a member of the family.

"I nor anyone else saw the predatory and manipulative manner in which he operated," she said.

"This one person's selfish actions have sent my family's life through a trauma that I wouldn't wish on anyone."

Jane Powell, for Stringer, told the court her client accepted the verdict of the jury but should receive a shorter non-parole period than usual because of his age, clean criminal record and good character references.

Ms Powell said Stringer pursued friendships with the boys for reasons beyond making them amenable.

"Mr Stringer was not pretending to be friends with the victims or their families to win their trust," she said.

"His friendship with the boys and their families was genuine and was for genuine reasons."

Judge Paul Rice will sentence Stringer in May.

A pregnant woman is among four people in custody after police smashed a large Adelaide drug syndicate.

The three men and a woman faced court late this afternoon charged with a combined 112 counts of drug trafficking after a series of raids across several suburbs.

Police allege the syndicate was primarily operating out of Rasim Kasumovic’s unit on Colley Terrace at Glenelg, where the 44-year-old was arrested yesterday.

The three other people, including a 33-year-old man, were arrested following raids on six different properties across Adelaide, including in the city, at Woodville and Glenelg North.

Police say those raids uncovered $50,000 worth of methylamphetamine, one kilogram of a powder police suspect is used as a meth cutting agent and more than $20,000 cash.

They say 750 millilitres of the drug fantasy was uncovered as part of the same operation.

In all they allege the group trafficked 150,000 dollars worth of meth over the course of their four-month investigation, which they called Operation Globe.

“We’ll be alleging this four-month investigation has links to organised crime within South Australia,” Detective Superintendent Mark Trenwith of the SA Police Serious and Organised Crime Branch said.

“In terms of the impact and if you look at street deals, it’s a massive impact.”

One of the other people accused - 45 year old Woodville woman Faezeh Ghasedi faces 52 charges-  but on Wednesday afternoon she applied to be released on bail, after telling her lawyer that she believes she is pregnant. That bail hearing will be held Tuesday the 9^th of April.

The three men will all remain behind bars until their next court hearing in October.

Fallen Eagle Ben Cousins has been spotted publicly for the first time since being released from prison.

The 40-year-old accidentally found himself in front of the cameras, while visiting the same pool where the Fremantle Dockers were training.

Journalists were waiting for coach Ross Lyon to hold a press conference when the troubled Brownlow medallist appeared.

He was spending time with his sister and baby niece at the Cockburn Aquatic Centre.

Cousins didn't address the media, other than to say "it's good to be out'.

It’s the first time the 40-year-old has been seen since he was released from Hakea Prison last week on bail.

His lawyer Michael Tudori said he is "...well and motivated to comply with his bail conditions".

Cousins spent eight months behind bars.

He is free ahead of his trial in September, where he is facing stalking charges and allegedly breaching a violence restraining order against his ex-partner and the mother of his children Maylea Tinecheff.

Police have a new clue in the hunt for a hit and run driver, who left a 23-year-old delivery cyclist for dead on a Carlisle street.

Major Crash investigators have released fresh security footage of the white Mitsubishi Pajero involved.

The vehicle has a silver or grey skirting, and is believed to be an older model between 1995 and 2006.

Haveera Mogardo suffered horrific injuries, after she was hit and dragged for 80 metres along Bishopsgate Street in Carlisle about 9 o'clock Sunday night.

Police say the driver reversed to dislodge the Uber Eats delivery cyclist, then sped off.

Detectives say the damage to the four wheel drive may not be obvious.

They want the public's help for dashcam and security footage, to work out the vehicle's registration.

"What happened with that vehicle, what that driver did is not known to us, and until such time as we speak to them, obviously a risk is posed by that person continuing to driver, until we get to the bottom of this," said Act. Det. Snr Sgt Travis Hagan from the Major Crash Squad.

Police haven't had the chance to talk to the victim yet.

She's in Royal Perth Hospital and needs ongoing surgery.

There are calls for immediate action to overhaul South Australia's motorcycle licensing laws after a father of three became the ninth rider to die on our roads this year.

Brett Fox was killed when his bike slammed into a tree at Port Elliot, reportedly on the day before his youngest son’s birthday.

"He's going to be very greatly missed by a lot of people, he's touched a lot of people in his life," friend Samantha Bowker said.

Mr Fox was riding along Waterport Road when he lost control just before 9.30 last night.

Nearby residents heard the collision and rushed out to help, among them Pam Elliott.

"We went out and there was nothing that could be done, our neighbour is a nurse and he was gone," she said.

Mr Fox's family released a statement to Nine News saying "Brett had a lot of struggles ...beneath it all he was a loving father, son and brother."

His devastated former colleagues say the cabinet maker from Goolwa would do anything for anyone.

"If I needed a hand to learn something he was the first one I'd go to," William Hann said.

Major Crash investigators are now trying to piece together exactly what led to the crash with speed one of the possible factors they are exploring.

The state's horror road toll now stands at 31 with almost a third of those deaths motorcyclists.

The state opposition calling for tougher motorcycle licensing laws.

"What this bill essentially does ... it makes the minimum age for getting your learners 17 then there's three years on a provisional license then a whole lot of safety measures around that," Labor MP Lee Odenwalder said.

The Government says it is acting with public consultation on changes beginning tonight.

"We know that we do need to consult widely to make sure that we get the best outcome for South Australia," Road Safety Minister Corey Wingard added.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has denied claims that he’s been bullied by influential radio broadcaster Ray Hadley after fresh reports of poor workplace behaviour.

The question was put to him by Leigh Sales after ABC’s 7.30 aired a damaging report in which former 2GB employees accused Mr Hadley of workplace bullying.

Mr Morrison said he was hard to bully and denied conservative politicians were pressured to change policy by the powerful radio figure.

“As a guest or subject of commentary on Mr Hadley's program, did you ever feel bullied by him?” Sales asked.

“No. I'm not easy to intimidate, Leigh.”

The allegations by the ABC centred on claims of a pattern of serious bullying and intimidation by former colleagues.

Andrew Moore worked with Mr Hadley for decades, and said at his first meeting of him he ripped a machine out of the wall and smashed it “into a million pieces”.

“As a human being I think he is a bully. He thrives on intimidation, has done him ever since I have known him as a kid” he told the program.

Chris Bowen, who was Mr Hadley’s panel operator for 16 years, said he was humiliated daily when he was forced to wheel the radio announcer’s chair out of the booth every morning.

“At the conclusion of the program he would get up, I would follow him with the chair down the corridor, along with his head phones and I would wheel that past the newsroom with everyone glaring at me and going, ‘You poor guy’. It was called the walk of shame.”

A third former employee, who did not work directly with Hadley, said he was called into the broadcaster’s office after writing a satirical piece for the 2GB website.

Jesse Perez said it was like “being fed to the lions”.

“I went downstairs and nearly vomited from like a panic. It was like my guts fell out of my body because I've never experienced anything to that ferocity in my professional life,” he told 730.

Macquarie Media Chief Executive Officer Adam Lang said in a statement: “all staff at Macquarie Media are required to adhere to a workplace behaviour policy which includes a responsibility to maintain a safe working environment and report any matters of concern.

“Any current or former staff are encouraged to register a complaint or raise any concerns they have directly with the company, as is the appropriate process. In the interest of fairness to all parties, all matters reported will be investigated on a confidential basis and the outcomes are discussed directly with the people involved.   

“The concerns raised by these three former staff members relate to allegations that are between 5 and 10 years old.  After these allegations were first made on social media we invited anybody with a complaint to contact the company directly.

“We also contacted Mr Bowen directly to request details of his concerns and offer any support he may need given his personal circumstances as disclosed on social media.  That offer remains open. To date, we have not received details of any concerns from Mr Bowen or any of the former staff members.   

“We would again invite any complaints or concerns to be raised directly with the company to ensure that they can be dealt with promptly and fairly.  Should those former staff be concerned about how management might handle their concerns, 2GB has also appointed an external consultant to be available to them.

“Ray Hadley has made statements on air again this week to address the recent claims made on social media and then in the broader media.

Mr Hadley said: "I took responsibility for my former behaviour, which has been well-documented. I gave my word in 2013 to my fellow staff members, the sort of culture I grew up in would no longer be the standard.”

A man has fronted court charged with the murder of a man whose remains were found in a chest freezer buried in his own backyard.

Bobby Andrew Weaver, 24, faced Ipswich Magistrates Court today charged with the murder of 58-year-old David Thornton, of Ipswich.

The court was told he is also set to be charged with improperly interfering with a corpse.

Police arrested Mr Weaver at a Pacific Highway rest stop in Tyagarah near Byron Bay yesterday. The Peak Crossing man is understood to be a long-time family friend of Thornton.

The chest freezer was found buried in Thornton's backyard by police, who have been searching the Goodna property over several days. Police have confirmed human remains found inside the freezer belong to Thornton.

Police believe the murder was carried out between January 24 and March 30 this year. Thornton was 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 led them to excavate 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.”

Mr Weaver was remanded in custody during a brief mention in which his case was adjourned to April 17.

An ex-model sits in jail after a California doctor was hit in the head with a blunt object and died.

Dr Thomas Burchard, a child psychiatrist, was found dead in the boot of a Mercedes. Kelsey Turner, a one-time Maxim and Playboy model he gave tons of money to, is the suspect.

Dr Burchard's longtime girlfriend said, Kelsey Turner is "as evil as Charles Manson".

"I didn't know the details of the way his body was found other than he was found in the truck. The rest of it, I didn't know," said Judy Earp.

Earp dated Dr Burchard for 17 years. Earp estimates that Burchard gave Turner US$300,000 (A$420,000) over time, including paying her rent.

Burchard's body was discovered in the boot of a luxury car, abandoned on East Lake Mead last month.

According to the arrest report, the blood evidence suggested Dr Burchard was attacked in the vehicle. Among the discoveries was cleaning supplies and evidence of an attempted cover-up.

Turner moved into a rental home near Warm Springs Road and Amigo Street in December - paid for by Dr Burchard.

Inside, according to police, a bloody door was ripped away from the hinges, and in the garage, the reported indicated more apparent blood, cleaning supplies and evidence of a clean-up.

"The last conversation I had with him, he had to go to Las Vegas to check things out because she was a compulsive liar," said Earp.

"All I know Tom was a big guy, almost six feet, 250 pounds (113kg). I don't think one woman could get him into the trunk of the car," said Earp.

Victoria police are urging all road users to take care after three deaths in the last 24-hours.

The state’s road toll now stands at 84 for the year, 28 more deaths than this time last year.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Neville Taylor said preliminary investigations suggest driver error played a role in two separate incidents that claimed three lives in the past day.

A man has died and two others were rushed to hospital after a horror three-car collision in Seville North, east of Melbourne, this morning.

Emergency services were called to the Warburton Highway near Joyce Road in Seville at 5.15am following reports of a multi-vehicle crash.

It is believed two cars collided on the road, before a third car slammed into one of the vehicles.

The male driver of one of the vehicles died at the scene, while the drivers of the two other cars were transported to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Investigators believe one of the vehicles may have crossed double dividing lines.

In a separate incident, a motorcyclist - believed to be in his 20s – died in hospital after colliding with a Volkswagen Golf on Mont Albert Road yesterday.

The motorcyclist was travelling east on Mont Albert Road when it collided with a Volkswagen Golf turning right from York St into Mont Albert Road at 5.50pm.

The driver of the car was uninjured and is assisting police with their enquiries.

In a separate incident, a man has died in hospital today weeks after being involved in a collision in Coburg North.

It is believed the 86-year-old Fawkner pedestrian was struck by a vehicle on Sydney Road about 9.20am on March 25.

The victim was transported to hospital with life threatening injuries and died this morning.

The 19-year-old driver, from Fawkner, was uninjured and stopped at the scene. She is currently assisting police with their enquiries.

Motorcyclists currently make up a higher than normal portion of the road toll figures with 11 more riders killed than the same time in 2018.

Almost three-quarters of the current road toll is made up of motorcyclists and country road users.

Asst Comm Taylor said police will continue to target activity around riders and speed on country roads as they attempt to curb the state’s road death toll.

Leah Dwyer was taking part in a parents’ race at her son’s school sports day when she fell backwards and hurt her neck.

At the time, she admits she was more embarrassed than hurt.

But a few days later the 55-year-old mother-of-two from Ryde, in Sydney’s north, woke up with pain in her neck that wouldn’t go away.

Trips to a physio and a neurologist – who diagnosed her with neck muscle condition nerve muscular cervical dystonia - failed to help.

The pain became so severe that she was reduced to tears after a day at work as a massage therapist.

She went back to her GP who prescribed painkillers.

It was the start of an eight-year battle with not only what is described as chronic pain - because it has lasted for more than three months - but an addiction to codeine-based drugs.

“I was taking 14 Mersyndol a day - each was 500mg paracetamol and 10ml codeine and 5mg muscle relaxant,” Ms Dwyer told nine.com.au.

“That was the only way I could manage. For about eight years I was addicted.”

However, last year, the mother of two took action and managed to wean herself off the drugs, which had just been made prescription-only.

She said it was a “horrible” battle, as she suffered side-effects including sweating, sleeplessness, nausea, and racing thoughts – as well as the return of her neck pain, which was worse than before.

“I had to be very strong and persevere. It took me about eight weeks,” she said.

And while she’s still in pain, Ms Dwyer is now able to handle it with Panadol and is even well enough to kayak daily on Sydney Harbour.

She said she has learned to take a different approach to her pain, rather than relying on drugs.

“Pain is not just that body part - it’s emotional as well,” she said.

Ms Dwyer is backing today’s announcement of an Australian Government injection of almost $7m to help the more than three million Aussies who suffer from chronic pain.

That figure is forecast to rise to five million by 2050.

Health minister Greg Hunt announced $6.8m over four years in response to charity PainAustralia’s call for action.

That will include training for GP’s on how to handle to the condition, as well as a public education campaign on the use of opioids.

Money was earmarked in this week’s Budget to ensure rural Australians affected by chronic pain have better access to services.

“Our Government recognises that pain, especially chronic pain places a terrible burden on sufferers,” Mr Hunt said in a statement.

“It not only reduces quality of life for them and their families, but places many people at risk of addiction to painkillers.”

PAINFUL STATISITCS

While chronic pain can be a condition in its own right, common causes include arthritis, endometriosis, migraine, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia.

Chronic pain is a condition which also affect sufferers’ employment, sleep habits and relationships.

Many sufferers rely on medication to deal with the pain.

The Australian government health and welfare report shows more than three million people were prescribed 15.4m opioid scripts in 2016–17 alone.

However, opioids account for 62 percent of drug-induced deaths, killing three people a day.

Carol Bennett, CEO of Pain Australia welcomed the new funding announcement, saying the issue had been ignored for a long time.

“We know there are three opioid-related deaths every day and more than 5000 hospitalisations,” she told nine.com.au.

“That’s higher than the road toll.

“It is not acceptable that we allow this situation to continue, and it’s not acceptable we have the opioid harm and deaths and that people are getting the wrong treatment.”

Police in the US are investigating if a 14-year-old boy claiming to be Timmothy Ptizen is indeed the same child who went missing eight years ago.

The teenager, who vanished from a hotel in Illinois aged six, says he escaped from kidnappers who had held him for seven years.

He told police in Sharonville, Ohio, that he fled the Red Roof Inn near Cincinnati Airport and "kept running until he ran across a bridge into" the state of Kentucky.

Police have not yet confirmed the teen's identity. Officers from Aurora are travelling to Sharonville, which is about 18kms north-east of Cincinnati.

Timmothy went missing in May 2011 after his mother, Amy Fry-Pitzen, took him out of his school in Aurora, Illinois, citing a family emergency and the pair went on a three-day road trip.

His mother was found dead days later with slit wrists at a hotel in Rockford, Illinois, along with a note saying her son was with people who would take care of him.

"You'll never find him," the note read.

Police in Ohio said the teen described his kidnappers as two white men of "bodybuilder type build, one with a spiderweb tattoo on his neck and the other with a snake tattoo on his arms".

The men drove a Ford SUV with Wisconsin plates, police said.

Policehave always thought Timmothy's 43-year-old mother killed herself after taking him to the zoo and a Wisconsin water park.

At the time, police searched for Pitzen in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa.

"We've probably had thousands of tips of him popping up in different areas," an Aurora Police spokesman said. "We have no idea what we're driving down there for. It could be Pitzen. It could be a hoax."

The FBI said in a Wednesday afternoon statement that its offices in Louisville and Cincinnati were working on a missing child investigation with Aurora police and police departments in Cincinnati and Newport, Kentucky, and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office in Ohio. The FBI offered no other details.

Sharonville police said on the department's Facebook page that the information about the boy's reported escape was received by police in Campbell County, Kentucky.

Timmothy Pitzen's grandmother, Alana Anderson, told WISN-TV that authorities have told the family very little.

"We just know a 14-year-old boy was found and went to the police," she said.

"We don't want to get our hopes up and our family's hopes up until we know something. We just don't want to get our hopes up. We've had false reports and false hopes before."