Independent petrol stations in regional Queensland running dry, mayor says

Independent petrol stations in regional Queensland running dry, mayor says

Independent petrol stations in regional Queensland are reportedly starting to run out of fuel as shortages continue to impact rural areas.

Goondiwindi Mayor Lawrence Springborg said that several independent petrol stations near the Queensland and New South Wales border had completely ran out of fuel over the last few days.

"We certainly did have supply issues, particularly over the weekend," he told the Today Show this morning.

"Indeed, the small community of Texas ran completely out of fuel on the weekend."

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Independent petrol stations in regional Queensland were being affected by supply issues, Goondiwindi Mayor Lawrence Springborg said.

Two service stations in Goondiwindi also ran out of diesel yesterday evening, he added.

"They are not sure when they are able to be resupplied." 

Springborg said the shortages were so far only affecting independent service stations and suppliers, with the major fuel companies favouring their own bulk distributors and retailers.

"If you're smaller, and particularly if you're an independent, there are some serious disruptions and a major part of our area relies on bulk fuel supplies to be delivered by independents," he said.

Springborg said local farmers were being hit with the brunt of the shortages and the inevitable increase in fuel prices, with some having to stop work over the weekend as they had no petrol.

"There is a problem on the ground (and) it will drive up fuel prices for farmers. By the end of week I'm told we could have a three in front of our fuel prices. Last week it was around about $1.70."

Springborg said the federal government need to step in and help the independents out.

"Government does have a role in this, government can't solve the Middle East (conflict), but what it can do is plan, coordinate and potentially regulate."

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Major oil supplies were favouring their own bulk distributors and retailers, Springborg said.

The world's oil markets have been driven into disarray by the Iran war, which has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's key oil transit points, which typically carry about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas.

On Tuesday, world oil prices surged by 25 per cent, with Brent crude surpassing $US115 a barrel, as analysts label it a "furious rise" amid war in the Middle East.

It is the first time oil prices have exceeded $US100 since the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Nationally, fuel prices have soared over $2 a litre as some residents panic-buy petrol.

"What we are now seeing is some service stations running low on supply and that is because Australians are buying fuel at a far greater rate than they normally would," NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said yesterday.

Concerns have also been raised about the national fuel supply after Energy Minister Chris Bowen last week said there were only 32 days' worth of jet fuel, 34 days of diesel and 36 days of petrol available.

From today, Victoria has introduced daily fuel price caps to prevent price-gouging at the pump, as residents are urged not to panic buy petrol.

Under the new law that comes into effect today, retailers must set their daily price of fuel at 2pm on the previous day.

That price is then capped and will apply for the 24 hours from 6am the following day.

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VPN services exploding in popularity as Pornhub cuts nudity to protest new laws

VPN services exploding in popularity as Pornhub cuts nudity to protest new laws

VPN services have exploded in popularity after PornHub and other popular adult sites cut Australian users off from all nude content last week.

A virtual private network (VPN) works by making it look like a device is accessing the internet from another location, usually a different country.

Doing so allows users to bypass local laws and restrictions and access content that is region-locked or banned in their area.

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Toronto, Canada - December 13, 2024: VPN apps on a smartphone - NordVPN, Proton VPN, ExpressVPN, Surfshark, Mullvad, CyberGhost.

Unsurprisingly, several VPN services have surged to the top of the app store download rankings this week.

Proton VPN, a free option, jumped more than 10 places from number 19 to number seven on the Google Play store on Monday.

NordVPN, another popular service, is also among the most downloaded apps on iPhone and Android this week, while the VPN SurfShark has seen a marked spike in interest from Australians.

But these workarounds may not work for long.

The eSafety Commissioner's guidelines say that "service providers are expected to detect whether a user is using a Virtual Private Network (VPN)" and take reasonable steps to prevent workarounds.

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New online safety rules come into effect today

Aylo, one of the world's largest online porn organisations, blocked access to its websites – including PornHub, RedTube, YouPorn and Tube8 – for all Australians on Friday.

The sites are also no longer accepting new account registrations from Australian users.

The move was in protest of the second phase of Australia's social media ban for under-16s, which requires all websites and platforms hosting adult content to bolster their age-verification measures.

That could mean using facial age estimation, digital wallets and photo ID to ensure users are over 18.

The new rules came into effect on Monday and companies found to be in breach risk fines of up to $49.5 million.

But an Aylo spokesman argued it won't work.

He told the Sydney Morning Herald that Australia's new approach "does not effectively protect minors, and instead creates harms relating to data privacy and exposure to illegal content on non-compliant platforms".

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Pornhub

Head of policy at industry group Digital Rights Watch Tom Sulston told The Australian Financial Review there's no evidence assurance schemes work.

"Young people will trivially side-step age-verification with VPNs or similar tools, while the rest of us take a privacy hit when our IDs become associated with our internet browsing," he said.

Mish Pony, chief executive of peak sex worker body Scarlet Alliance, warned the Herald the new rules may also push Australians to offshore sites hosting stolen and illegal content.

Especially if they need to provide ID to access adult content in Australia, which may leave some Aussies concerned about their viewing habits being linked back to them.

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Bigfoot, trombone, orca among the latest emojis

Bigfoot, trombone, orca among the latest emojis

Have you ever wanted to send a text about orcas or Bigfoot or trombones only to find you have to do it using words instead of pictures?

Well, there's good news for you, with the latest batch of emojis released by Apple.

They include a ballet dancer, a rockslide, a treasure chest and what is described as a "distorted face".

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The new emojis released by Apple.

There is also a "fight cloud", an emoji you might drop into a heated group chat in the hopes of easing the tension.

The update will also include the option of changing skin tones for a pair of existing emojis - people wrestling or people with bunny ears.

While these graphics have been released by Apple, they are just the iPhone designs of the ones approved by the Unicode Consortium.

The Unicode Consortium is a global public body formed in part to ensure easy communication over devices made by different organisations.

Every year the non-profit meets to decide what emojis will be added to phones all over the world.

This year's emojis were determined last year but Apple's designs have only now been unveiled.

"Every year, new characters including emoji are added to the Unicode Standard and after a lot of paperwork are added to your device of choice," the Consortium said in a statement.

"These new emoji have long standing symbolic meanings, are visually distinctive, and contain multitudes of expression."

The new emojis as they will appear on Google phones.

Apparently far more prepared, Google revealed their own designs of the emojis the same day they were approved by the Consortium.

They are more or less identical to the Apple designs, but with the slightest style differences.

Anybody can submit a suggestion to the Consortium to have their emoji considered for inclusion.

Not allowed are logos, brands, specific people, specific buildings, deities or images protected by third-party IP rights.

This year's emojis will become available with the new iOS 26.4 operating system. 

Next time you update your phone, it might be there.

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'Hard not to panic': Australian farmers hit first as fuel supplies dry up

'Hard not to panic': Australian farmers hit first as fuel supplies dry up

Some farmers say they only have a week of fuel left as shortages hit important farming areas first, raising concerns about supply issues Australia-wide.

Fuel prices are soaring and supply is plummeting due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with regional and rural Australians being hit the hardest.

A Queensland cattle farmer has said he is beginning to worry about how his farm near Toowoomba will cope beyond this week if they do not receive fuel, and is questioning the decision being made into how fuel is getting distributed across the country.

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Queensland cattle farmer Layton Free admits he is already having to ration the fuel supply he has left.

"It's a little bit hard not to panic," Layton Free said on Today. "I know [they] say we have enough fuel, but how come we're not getting it?

"Is someone manipulating the supply or is it not here?"

Free said he was already having to make decisions on what tasks to carry out on his farm and which ones to delay due to the shortage of fuel he is experiencing.

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He stresses that he is not the only one in the situation, saying suppliers in his area are feeling the pinch as well.

"Our suppliers are telling us that they are struggling to get their supplies. Some are getting zero, some are getting up to 10 per cent of their supplies," Free said.

"It's basically rationed out, and we're relying on our suppliers to do the right thing to give that fuel to where it's really needed.

"They've got a really big responsibility on their shoulders too."

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Free said he is trying to remain optimistic, but admits it is difficult as he claims the community has received "little to no" communication from any form of government.

The government has urged Australians not to panic buy fuel, saying reserves it petrol, diesel and jet fuel will last for more than a month.

Rishworth, Karl clash over fuel divide as government insists no crisis

Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth insisted there had only been a "spike in demand", and there was no reason for Australians to fear widespread supply shortages.

"Let's be really clear, there isn't an issue with supply when it comes to fuel," she said.

In a heated debate with Today Show host Karl Stefanovic, she insisted reports on the contrary were false.

"The suggestion that there is a crisis in fuel supply in this country is incorrect," she said.

"We have more fuel in this country than in the last 15 years," she claimed, though Stefanovic was unconvinced.

"What planet are you living on?" he said.

"That is a complete fabrication."

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Rescues and road closures as flooding rain moves across Queensland

Rescues and road closures as flooding rain moves across Queensland

Most of Queensland is on flood watch as the tropical low that hammered north Queensland last week moves south.

Large parts of central Queensland as well as the Darling Downs and parts of the south east coast have been warned to brace for locally intense rainfall and flash flooding with six-hourly rainfall totals of between 60 and 150mm overnight and today.

In the south-east the 24-hour rainfall total could reach around 250mm on already wet catchments.

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A number of roads are closed on the Sunshine Coast and across the South Burnett, including all lanes of the Burnett Highway at Booubyjan, and there have been more than 100 calls for assistance to the SES.

A photo posted to social media shows a person sitting atop their submerged car at Boonara Creek on Murgon-Gayndah Road south of Booubyjan.

Video shows water cascading off Mt Coolum on the Sunshine Coast while the saturated ground has caused trees to come down across Brisbane.

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Emergency flood watch and act warnings were issued overnight and this morning for the South Burnett as well as Chinchilla and Sapphire, urging people to prepare for flash flooding and avoid driving.

The severe weather warning extends from Clermont and Rockhampton in the north, south through Emerald and Gladstone, into Bundaberg, Gympie, Kingaroy and the Sunshine Coast.

The rain is expected to continue throughout today and tonight before easing tomorrow as the low moves offshore.

brisbane rain

Flood Warnings are current for: Burdekin downstream of Burdekin Falls Dam, Don and Proserpine, Pioneer, Connors, Isaac and Styx and Plane, Baffle, Kolan, Burnett, Burrum and Cherwell, Mary, Noosa, Upper Brisbane, Paroo, Nicholson, Upper Flinders, Lower Flinders, Norman, Georgina and Eyre, Diamantina, Thomson and Barcoo.

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'Apocalyptic' scenes as Iran's capital pummeled by air strikes

'Apocalyptic' scenes as Iran's capital pummeled by air strikes

Iran's capital continues to be smashed by US and Israeli bombardment, with a strike on an oil refinery lighting up the night sky.

The site in Tehran was one of several oil storage sites and refineries struck over the weekend, with a huge fireball sending plumes of smoke and ash into the air and being visible from across the city.

Thick plumes of black smoke were swept over the city, resulting in the rare weather phenomenon of black rain, or "acid rain" falling over the city.

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Tehran's night sky lit up as the city's oil refineries were hit.Fires raged across Tehran as US and Israeli airstrikes continued.

The fires are continuing to burn into the night in Tehran.

As the war enters its second week, the bombardment of Iran has continued, with the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) claiming to have destroyed the headquarters of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Air Force Headquarters in a strike.

The facility in Tehran operated "the ballistic missile command, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) array, and other air force units," according to IDF spokesman, Brigadier-General Effie Defrin

Around 140 targets were hit on Sunday alone, Defrin said.

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US strikes also continue to have an impact, with an attack on a warship reportedly killing 104 people.

Around 32 people were injured as the IRS Dena was sunk last week, according to semi-official sources in Iran. 

The US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency estimates over 1200 civilians have been killed in the strikes since the conflict broke out last Saturday, including 194 children.

Reported with Associated Press and CNN

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Tourists will soon be slugged a fee to visit iconic Australian landmark

Tourists will soon be slugged a fee to visit iconic Australian landmark

Thinking of visiting the Twelve Apostles on Victoria's Great Ocean Road? It will soon cost you.

The Victorian government is about to impose a "tourist tax" on the iconic landmark, which attracts about 2 million visitors a year, in a bid to preserve it.

Just seven of the 12 original limestone landmarks remain standing.

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Visitors at Victoria's scenic coastline at Port Campbell. The popular tourist spot is slowly eroding over the years where visitors come to see the 12 Apostles.

Australian and international visitors will be charged to enter the new $126 million Twelve Apostles Visitor Experience Centre, which is due to open by the end of the year.

"It's only fair that visitors to the region pay a small fee to visit this world-class destination so that we can maintain it for future generations," Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos said.

"We're investing in the future of the Great Ocean Road region and making sure every single cent spent in the region stays there."

There will also be a new visitor booking system to manage numbers and parking during peak periods.

The price of entry hasn't been confirmed yet, and will be decided in consultation with local councils, businesses, and traditional owners.

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Tourists could be slugged fee to visit the Twelve Apostles

But Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism chairman Andrew Jeffers acknowledged "no one likes being charged for something that was free in the past".

"This is a fee for the visitor centre that's being proposed," he said.

"It doesn't limit their access to other parts of the Great Ocean Road. There's no fee being proposed for that."

Revenue will be collected by the Great Ocean Road Parks and Coastal Authority.

It will fund beach access and visitor facility upgrades in the area, as well as the maintenance of historic landmarks.

Jeffers said some of the money will also go towards upkeep on the recently constructed visitor centre.

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Visitors at Victoria's scenic coastline at Port Campbell. The popular tourist spot is slowly eroding over the years where visitors come to see the 12 Apostles.

A select number of Australians will be exempt from the fee.

Local residents and members of the Eastern Maar community, who are the traditional owners in south-western Victoria, will not be charged.

This isn't the first natural landmark in Australia to impose a "tourist tax".

Entry fees also apply at major tourist locations like Kosciuszko National Park in NSW and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in the Northern Territory.

Park fees at Kosciuszko National Park start from $29 per vehicle per day in the winter peak, and $17 per vehicle per day during the rest of the year.

A three-day park pass for Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is $38.

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'Stay inside': Large parts of Queensland brace for severe rain, flash floods

'Stay inside': Large parts of Queensland brace for severe rain, flash floods

Parts of south-east Queensland and the interior of the state are preparing for flash flooding as heavy rain continues to batter the state.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for large parts of the south coast, including the Sunshine Coast, as a tropical low continues to make its way over the state.

Maroochydore could see up to 130mm of rain today, with the BOM warning isolated falls could reach 150mm on the Sunshine Coast.

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Residents in flood affected areas of Queensland have been urged not to drive through flood waters.

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The impacts could be serious and lead to flash flooding.

"There is some uncertainty where the heaviest rainfall will occur, particularly through the southeast of the state," the BOM warned, saying the worst of the weather could last into tomorrow morning.

Further inland, Toowoomba, Kingaroy and Roma are also facing the risk of floods from the heavy rainfall, with falls of up to 170mm possible in some areas in just 24 hours.

Further inland, heavy rains are also smashing the norther interior, with around 50mm falling in around six hours this morning.

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Parts of the northern interior were pelted with over 100mm of rain in around six hours overnight.

The danger zone is east of Mount Isa, with towns like Winton and Cloncurry all warned to brace for heavy rain and flooding conditions.

Sardine Creek, a small township in the region, recorded over 100mm of rain in just six hours overnight.

The BOM has issued several instructions to residents in impacted regions, urging them not to drive into floodwaters.

"Go inside a strong building now. Stay inside until the storm has passed," they said.

Explosion rocks Dubai international airport, passengers forced to take shelter

Explosion rocks Dubai international airport, passengers forced to take shelter

Travellers sheltered in tunnels when an Iranian drone appeared to strike Dubai International Airport yesterday.

Footage on social media showed an explosion and smoke close to the terminal. A whirring sound is heard seconds before the blast in the video.

Blasts were heard in several parts of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, reports the Independent.

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Travellers at the international airport, one of the world's busiest and a main travel hub through the Middle East, were ushered down into train tunnels after the alert sounded.

UAE airline Emirates later resumed operations after briefly suspending all flights to and from Dubai.

"Dubai Airports confirms partial resumption of operations from today, 7 March, with some flights operating out of Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International (DWC)," a Dubai Airports spokesperson said.

The apparent Iranian attack came after the country's President apologised to neighbours in the region for striking them, declaring Iran would stop them and they had been caused by command chain miscommunications.

There were attacks yesterday in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

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Oil storage plant blast in Iran after Trump warning

Oil storage plant blast in Iran after Trump warning

A new wave of United States and Israeli strikes have shaken Tehran overnight after President Donald Trump warned "Iran will be hit very hard".

The Iranian state-affiliated Fars News Agency said US and Israeli bombing targeted an oil refinery in southern Tehran.

Massive plumes of flames lit up the sky in Tehran on Saturday night after the Iranian state news agency said that an oil storage facility was targeted in latest round of strikes. AP video showed the horizon glowing, then pillars of flame and billowing smoke.

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It is among the first times a civil industrial facility has been targeted in the war.

Israel's military did not immediately comment on the targets of the latest strike, but said Israel had recently launched another round of strikes in Tehran.

Iran state media in response threatened to hit oil refineries in the northern Israeli city of Haifa.

The strikes lasted for about an hour, with thuds in the east, south and north-west of the city.

Earlier, Trump warned in a social media post on Saturday that more Iranian officials would become targets in the war, writing: "Today Iran will be hit very hard!"

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In his comments on his Truth Social website, Trump noted the apology by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian for attacks on regional neighbours.

"Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran's bad behaviour, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time," Trump wrote, without elaborating.

Meanwhile, a video posted on social media yesterday appeared to show an Iranian exploding at Dubai International Airport.

- With AP, CNN

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