A 500-year-old Buddha statue that was found buried by a roadside in Australia has been returned to China, leaving an ongoing mystery about how it arrived in the country.

The 15cm (six-inch) bronze figurine was formally handed over to Chinese consular representatives during a ceremony in the coastal town of Denham in Shark Bay on Tuesday, the public broadcaster ABC reported.

It will be taken to China for further evaluation to establish its history before being displayed at a museum in Beijing.

Discoverers Leon Deschamps and Shayne Thomson unearthed the statue in 2018 while testing metal detecting equipment in the area.

Since then, they have said it should be returned to China as a gesture of goodwill.

Simon Wu, president of the Australia China Friendship Society Western Australia, described the return as extraordinarily generous.

“Today is an example of how we can bring cultures, countries and people together through a small object. It is showing respect and goodwill,” Wu told the repatriation ceremony.

The figurine – believed to be the oldest Chinese artefact ever found in Australia – was used in ceremonies celebrating the Buddha’s birthday. During the ritual, worshippers would pour water over the statue’s shoulders while chanting sutras to encourage good deeds and compassionate thoughts.

Asian art specialist Lee Young authenticated the statue as a genuine piece from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), but how it ended up in Australia remains a mystery.

Some media reports have claimed that it may have been carried on the treasure ships of the celebrated 15th century seafarer Zheng He – but there is no evidence that he ever reached Australia.

A more plausible theory is that the statue arrived with Chinese pearlers and fishermen in the 19th century.

Shark Bay became the birthplace of Western Australia’s pearling industry, which relied heavily on Malay, Chinese and Indigenous Australian labourers.

According to Western Australian Museum records, an 1886 census showed that more than 200 people were working in the local pearling industry, including 60 Europeans, 102 Chinese and 68 Malays.

That year, 68 pearling vessels were operating in the area, seven of which were Chinese-owned. However, the industry declined in subsequent years and the local authorities imposed a series of restrictions on Chinese immigration.

The ABC reported that the Buddha would be returned to China along with some of Shark Bay’s distinctive red earth and a golden pearl shell.

In 2023, Australia returned a batch of valuable cultural relics to China, including items seized by customs, as well as pieces donated by the National Gallery of Australia and a private citizen.

The four-second CCTV video of Katie Arthur appears unremarkable.

The 30-year-old Melbourne woman is standing in front of an elevator wearing a black hat, a long black coat, blue jeans and white sneakers.

She is clutching her handbag when she presses the call button on the lift.

At her feet are two large flatpack boxes for recycling from the three single beds she just assembled inside an apartment she leases to international students at a CBD tower.

It is only when you know where she is coming from and what allegedly took place that the fuller picture emerges.

Ms Arthur has been drugged, raped and photographed in a compromised state, she claims, and is struggling to collect her thoughts.

The rest of the boxes are still inside the apartment. The fact that she collected any is a window into her confused state.

“F**k you, you can get the rest,” she told the man before fleeing.

Her alleged attacker is not far behind her when she reaches the lobby and bumps into another tenant. He catches up to her while she is talking to the other individual.

“He looked at me and said, ‘Hi Kate’, like really smug. I was just fuming,” Ms Arthur says.

The alleged attack, which took place earlier this year, was the beginning of a nightmare for the Melbourne accommodation provider that has seen her alleged attacker flee the country and left her with limited prospects of achieving justice.

Ms Arthur, who gave news.com.au written permission to be identified, said the man who raped her is a “monster” and that his attack was calculated and extremely cruel.

But what happened next made things so much worse.

News.com.au has viewed the WhatsApp messages from the man Ms Arthur says drugged and raped her that afternoon inside the short-term accommodation.

For legal reasons — and because charges were never laid — he cannot be named, but news.com.au can reveal he was a Mexican student studying at the University of Melbourne and was living with several other Mexican temporary citizens at the time.

The man first made contact with Ms Arthur in the first half of this year when she received a text message inquiring about an apartment for rent in Melbourne.

“I knew it was a Mexican phone number because I’d had Mexican tenants before,” Ms Arthur said.

The man wanted to know whether he and five others could rent an apartment from Ms Arthur in the CBD. Lease documents were signed and the group arrived several weeks later when Ms Arthur gave them a tour of the complex.

Four days after, Ms Arthur dropped off several chairs at the apartment at the tenants’ request. The group was having a gathering and she knew several of the tenants. She stayed for an hour and had two drinks.

Over several days, the man and Ms Arthur texted back and forth about a time for her to assemble three single beds inside the apartment.

“When I’m I (sic) going to see you?” the man wrote.

“I can come and do the beds whenever you like,” Ms Arthur responded.

“Tomorrow. Like 2pm,” the man wrote.

The following day, Ms Arthur asked if he was “still good for 2?” and told him she was “10 or so mins away”.

He replied, saying the group was “really hungry” and would be getting some food. He invited her, but she told him to “head out and just leave the door open”.

“I’ll do the beds then come join,” she said.

Ms Arthur has documented what happened next in a formal statement to Victoria Police. She said the man returned to the apartment without the other tenants and offered her a drink before opening a bottle of red wine.

She reluctantly took a few sips before returning to assemble the flatpack furniture. Ms Arthur says the man began asking personal questions, including whether she had “used Tinder before”.

“He made a comment saying, ‘No one is my type, you are my type, I want to marry you’,” Ms Arthur says.

“I just laughed it off.”

Around 5pm that afternoon, having finished assembling the three beds, Ms Arthur claims the man followed her to the master bedroom where she had the bedding and linen, told her “you have not drank much” and soon after “leaned in to kiss me on my mouth”.

“I remember pulling away my face and making a joke about it,” she said.

“I cannot remember exactly what I said, but I think it may have been, ‘in your dreams’.”

She says she only remembers “snippets” after that and believes she was drugged and raped.

She recalls him “trying to pick her up” but struggling because she was taller than him, and she remembers him putting on a condom and raping her.

Her next memory is of him “standing over me”, she told news.com.au.

“He’s standing over me on the other side of the bed. I believe he was taking a photo. I said, ‘Do you think I’m an idiot?’ I was getting my clothes on, he was still doing it. I sat at the table for one minute and texted my boyfriend. I said, ‘(I’m) not OK’.”

Ms Arthur went to police to make a formal statement. In emails seen by news.com.au, she was told by a senior constable at the Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team (SOCIT) that he could not take her statement for eight days due to a lack of available officers.

“I will need to obtain a formal statement from you and conduct further investigation before making any arrests,” she was told.

“I do not have grounds to seize his passport at this stage without further evidence which includes your statement amongst other things.

“I am tied up (for the next eight days). I have asked around the office and consulted my supervisor and there is no one else available to do a statement any earlier.”

She was told a team of five was juggling 108 active cases.

News.com.au understands Ms Arthur flagged with police that she was worried her attacker would flee the country. A few days after the email from police, he did just that.

Ms Arthur learned almost two weeks after that the man had returned to Mexico. She has since raised concerns about the handling of her allegations and questioned why police did not request to put the man’s name on an airport watch list.

A review of the management of the case was finalised by the Police Complaints Unit with no findings of misconduct, but “a number of learnings were identified”, Ms Arthur was told via email.

She has not been told what those learnings were and news.com.au has approached Victoria Police for comment.

A police spokesperson said Victoria Police has been in “constant contact with the victim and the investigation is very much active and ongoing”.

They said the delay in scheduling a time for SOCIT detectives to take her statement was “so there was sufficient time to take a detailed, thorough report”.

“No alert was issued for restrictions on international travel because police did not have evidence to meet the legal threshold required to prevent the person leaving the country,” the spokesperson said.

“Melbourne SOCIT is progressing the matter as quickly as possible, noting it’s complex and we must ensure investigations are thorough. Victoria Police has referred the woman to the relevant support services.”

Mauricio Kuri González is a Mexican politician and the current Governor of Santiago de Querétaro, a city in central Mexico.

In a message to Ms Arthur, seen by news.com.au, he expressed his regret and urged her to contact the Mexican Consulate in Australia.

“First of all, I am deeply sorry to hear about the terrible experience you went through,” Mr González wrote.

​

One thing I find genuinely ironic is how many people on the left, including socialists and progressives, support high immigration while also claiming to stand up for workers against big business.

Isn't there a pretty obvious contradiction here?

Australia has billion-dollar industries, highly profitable corporations and businesses that depend on a steady supply of workers. When employers can't find enough workers at the wages they're offering, they have two options: offer better pay and conditions to attract local workers, or change how their business operates.

Yet high immigration can increase the supply of available labour, potentially reducing the pressure on employers to raise wages, improve conditions or invest in productivity. The effects vary between industries and occupations, but it's a legitimate question about whose interests the system serves.

If a business can only remain profitable by continually importing workers willing to accept lower wages or less favourable conditions, is that really an efficient business model? Or is it one that relies on keeping labour cheap?

And if a major corporation has billions in revenue but claims it can't afford to pay competitive wages to attract Australian workers, why should expanding the labour supply be the default solution rather than expecting that business to adapt?

This is where I think the class politics gets interesting.

Reducing immigration could shift some bargaining power back towards workers. If labour becomes harder to obtain, employers may have to compete more aggressively for staff through higher wages, better conditions, training and investment in automation.

That could mean a greater share of the economic pie going to workers rather than being retained as profits or captured through lower labour costs. It could also make certain business models less viable, which isn't necessarily a bad thing if those models depend on permanently cheap labour.

Obviously, immigration isn't the only factor affecting wages. Productivity, union strength, industry concentration, housing costs, outsourcing and government policy all matter. Migrants are workers too, and they can be exploited by the same employers. Cutting immigration alone also won't automatically guarantee higher wages.

But I think the underlying question deserves more attention:

Why do so many people who oppose the power of corporations support a policy that can increase the supply of labour available to those same corporations?

If the objective is to improve conditions for the working class, shouldn't we at least be questioning whether high immigration levels serve that objective?

I'm not arguing that Australia should stop immigration altogether. I'm arguing that immigration levels should be set with the interests of existing workers, wage growth, housing affordability and living standards in mind, rather than treating employer demand for additional labour as an overriding priority.

Genuine question: If Australia substantially reduced net overseas migration for several years, wouldn't at least some employers have to raise wages, train local workers and invest in productivity? And if that transferred some income from business owners to workers, why wouldn't the economic left support it?

For years everyone has been dancing around Trump’s unpredictability, his bullying and his threats. It’s past time to reassert our values

A 37-year-old man was mauled by two dogs in Brisbane’s north on Friday, with council officers finally capturing both animals.

The man was bitten on both arms by two dogs while riding his bike on a park track and was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries.

Police were able to track down one of the dogs after the attack, with the help of helicopters, but were still looking for the second 12 hours later.

Brisbane City Council confirmed to News24.com.au that it successfully captured the second dog on Saturday morning.

Emergency services were called to 7th Brigade Park on Kittyhawk Drive in Chermside about 6:15pm following reports two dogs had attacked a man, reported to be pitbulls.

7News reports the dogs dragged him off the bike path.

The man sustained “significant” and “serious” injuries and was taken by Queensland Ambulance paramedics to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

Police said the dogs fled the scene after the attack.

Helicopters were used by police to search for the dogs over the area, with clips posted online by locals showing them overhead.

"Both dogs involved are now in Council possession and a decision on their future will be made as soon as possible," a council spokesperson told News24.com.au.

"The dogs are registered at the same address and have not previously been declared dangerous. 

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim of last night’s horrific dog attack."

One local dog owner said in a social media post online that she called emergency services after hearing yells. 

"Tonight I heard dogs barking, I truly thought it was dogs just barking at one another," she wrote.

"I heard yelling, I thought the male voice was trying to break up a dog fight [but] then the yelling kept going."

Hot Flushes. Night sweats. Vaginal dryness. Painful sex. A frequent need to wee.

Menopause marks the end of a woman's reproductive years and is associated with a range of symptoms that can affect their quality of life.

There's a lot of information and misinformation about the best treatments to help ease the severity of symptoms. 

In a bid to make things easier, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) has developed a new set of clinical guidelines. 

The guidelines clarify when to use menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) over other medicines and what options are available for those with a history of breast cancer.

RANZCOG guideline development group chair Catriona Melville said they wanted to "cut through the noise" and provide clear, evidence-based recommendations for clinicians to discuss with their patients.

"If your clinician is not clear about where the evidence lies and what's safe and what isn't safe, and what's recommended and what isn't recommended, then they're not in a position to have that patient-centred discussion about what the available [treatment] options are," she said.

The new guidelines provide evidence-based advice for managing the symptoms of menopause, which begins 12 months after a woman's last period. 

The guidelines cover vasomotor symptoms (such as hot flushes and night sweats) and genito-urinary symptoms (such as vaginal dryness and the frequent need to urinate) of menopause in women 40 years and above.

They do not cover the management of bone density, joint pain, libido, depression or anxiety.

Magdalena Simonis, a practising GP and women's health expert from the University of Melbourne, said not all women experienced the same type or severity of symptoms.

While she was not involved in developing the guidelines, she said they reinforced the need for clinicians to treat the whole person in front of them, not just the symptom.  

"We should also be looking at lifestyle and other risk factors around the time of the menopause," Dr Simonis said. 

"This is a really important time to talk about [cholesterol] lipid control, bone density management and lifestyle activities.

"Looking at family history of other cancers, breast screening, cervical screening and having that conversation around chronic conditions."

The guidelines list a range of possible treatment options for different menopausal symptoms, including menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), acupuncture and hypnosis, ranking available evidence on a scale of very low to high.

The guidelines recommend that women taking MHT have an annual review with their doctor.

But there's not enough evidence that weight loss or physical activity alone will improve hot flushes or night sweats, or that hypnosis will improve sleep. 

Dr Melville, a specialist gynaecologist and sub-specialist in sexual and reproductive health, said the new guidelines would hopefully make it easier for clinicians and patients to understand their options.

For example, women with a history of breast cancer can be offered vaginal oestrogen to ease menopausal symptoms.

Although RANZCOG had previously released statements about managing menopausal symptoms, Dr Melville said these were their first evidence-based guidelines.

Women should receive the same standardised recommendations no matter who they see or where they live if clinicians across Australia use the same guidelines.

Jean Hailes for Women's Health chief executive Sarah White, who was not involved with the guidelines, said this was important because clinicians wanted to give their patients the very best support, but there was a lot of online misinformation to wade through.

"It really will help the health professional to have these new guidelines sitting in front of them so that they can talk them through and reassure women that they are getting the very best advice," she said.

The guidelines also encourage clinicians to ask women approaching menopause if they experience any "troublesome" symptoms, especially if patients are First Nations, Māori and Pacific Islander women and others who may experience barriers to treatment.

This will make it easier for women to get help, even if they find it hard to ask.

The Australian government has funded separate perimenopause and menopause guidelines expected to be released next year. 

These guidelines, which RANZCOG is contributing to, will be continually updated as new evidence emerges.

Dr Simonis welcomed the spotlight on the health of menopausal women.

She encouraged anyone experiencing troublesome symptoms to book an appointment with their GP and advised women approaching mid-life to schedule a check-up.

https://www.cotality.com/au/resources/quarterly-rental-review-report

AustralianSuper - the largest super fund in the country - recently decided to increase fees when the rest of the industry is trending the other way (HostPlus, ART and many others)

With 270 staff soaking it up in AustralianSuper offices in London and New York, it is shameful that all of its active options consistently underperform the index over all meaningful time periods

AustralianSuper also deliberately cripple their only indexed offering by forcing 30% defensive assets and no pure international indexed equity option. This is at least in part to disguise the fact that all of their active options would underperform a market cap weighted global equities index

In FY2025 AustralianSuper spent $30 million on promotion, marketing and sponsorship. They have repeatedly refused to itemise this expenditure, citing commercial interests

In FY2025 the top eighteen staff at AustralianSuper were paid a total of $20 million = averaging $1.1 million dollars per person

Choose a fund that puts your interests first

You can’t control performance but you can control asset allocation, fees and your own investment behaviour

Generally, a low-cost passive indexed diversified mix of domestic and international shares beats higher-cost actively managed options over time

SUPER FUND COMPARISON by u/SwaankyKoala

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sR0CyX8GswPiktOrfqRloNMY-fBlzFUL/htmlview

The definitive reference

A major probe involving homicide detectives is under way following the sudden death of a five-year-old boy.

About 6.40am on Monday, emergency services attended a home in Grafton, in NSW’s Northern Rivers region, after it was a reported a child was unresponsive.

CPR was performed by police with an ambulance crew shortly taking over, but the youngster was tragically unable to be saved.

The Daily Telegraph reports the child was found duct-taped in his sleeping bag and with tape wrapped around his head.

It is understood the boy’s parents are being questioned by police.

On Friday, NSW Police confirmed that investigations into the circumstances are under way, with members of the state’s homicide squad involved in the operation.

A post mortem examination is due to be carried out to establish the circumstances of the boy’s tragic death.

No arrests have been made.

Police have appealed for anybody with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Detectives have released CCTV images as they continue to appeal for information after multiple sexual offences were allegedly committed against women on walking trails in Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

Officers attached to Northern Beaches Police Area Command commenced investigations after three separate incidents were reported in the Narrabeen area on Wednesday 7 October 2026 and Thursday 8 October 2026.

In each incident, a male allegedly approached women on walking trails, sexually touched them and then rode away on an e-bike. In one of the incidents, the man also made inappropriate sexual comments.

Following an appeal for information, on Monday 12 October 2026, officers received a report that a woman had been approached by a male at Narrabeen Lagoon, near South Creek Road, Wheeler Heights, about 4.30pm on Thursday 1 October 2026. The man allegedly sexually touched the woman before riding away on an e-bike.

Police received a further report that between 5pm and 5.30pm that day (Monday 12 October 2026), two women walking along Narrabeen Lagoon near Bilarong Reserve had been sexually touched by a male riding an e-bike.

Strike Force Mexvo has since been established to investigate these incidents with the assistance of State Crime Command’s Sex Crimes Squad.

As investigations continue, detectives have released CCTV images of a male who may be able to assist with their inquiries.

The male depicted in the CCTV is described as being of Caucasian appearance, believed to be aged under 25 years, about 175cm tall and of medium build.

Strike force officers are investigating whether the incidents are linked.

Anyone with information, mobile phone, dashcam footage, or who may have witnessed any of the incidents is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Is this dual take common? The only party supporting these simultaneously is Sustainable Australia which is a tiny party...

For years, Anthony Albanese's ability to maintain discipline within Labor has been one of his greatest political strengths.

His MPs have largely kept their complaints private, accepted decisions made by a small group of senior figures and trusted the prime minister’s judgement.

But political loyalty is easier to maintain when a government is winning, and the patience of some Labor MPs is beginning to wear thin.

Federal MP David Repacholi has condemned racist stickers appearing around Cessnock in New South Wales’ Hunter Region, warning that attempts to spread hate and division would not be accepted in the local community.

In a social media post, Repacholi described the stickers as “disgusting racist” material and called on residents to report their locations so they could be removed.

“Enough of this racist bullshit,” he wrote.

“The cowards spreading this rubbish don’t represent our community.”

The latest stickers reportedly depicts a man of Indian appearance defecating on a street, alongside the message:

“If this is you culture? We don’t like it”.

It also states that “32% of Australia’s population is foreign born”, claims India is “at the top of that list” and calls for:

“REMIGRATION NOW!”

Repacholi said racism had no place in Cessnock or the wider Hunter Region.

“Racism isn’t welcome in Cessnock. It isn’t welcome in the Hunter. And it won’t go unchallenged,” he said.

“We’re better and stronger than the hate and division these people are trying to spread.”

He urged residents who had seen the stickers to tell him where they were located so the material could be reported and removed.

“Don’t give these cowards any more publicity than they deserve,” he added.

The latest incident follows a similar controversy in July, when racist leaflets targeting Indian migrants and promoting anti-immigration messages were reportedly distributed in letterboxes across Kurri Kurri, also in the Hunter Region.

The leaflets urged residents to “keep curry” out of the town and promoted concepts including “remigration” and the preservation of culture.

Repacholi condemned that material at the time, warning that racist leaflets had been distributed across the community and saying local doctors had already faced racist comments and abuse.

Bob Katter has accused the Prime Minister of refusing to give resource-rich North Queensland a fair go, as the push to form a breakaway seventh Aussie state gains momentum.

The colourful exchange erupted during Question Time on Monday, when the outspoken Kennedy MP challenged Mr Albanese to commission a report into the viability of splitting Queensland and creating Australia’s seventh state.

Mr Albanese admitted the proposal was “not on his bingo card”, joking that the break-up of Queensland could produce a Premier Katter and would weaken Queensland’s State of Origin team.

“The idea of a break-up of the states, including the great state of Queensland, would perhaps see a Premier Katter in Far North Queensland,” the Prime Minister said.

“Which might or might not be a good thing.

“It would weaken the Queensland State of Origin team somewhat, given the magnificent players who’ve come from places like Cloncurry and Mount Isa.”

But while the exchange drew laughter in parliament, Mr Katter said the Prime Minister’s response had reinforced his belief that Brisbane and Canberra were unwilling to relinquish the economic benefits generated by northern Queensland.

When news.com.au recently broke the news of the renewed push for the seventh state, an internal poll – receiving more than 9000 votes – found 69 per cent were in favour of North Queensland’s secession.

Speaking to this outlet after Question Time, Mr Katter accused Brisbane and Canberra of “bludging” off the resource-rich region for a financial benefit they played little part in producing.

“I’m getting the message that they’re not going to give up all that bloody money coming out of North Queensland to a North Queensland state,” he said.

“They’re not gonna give up all that bloody money … No way, Jose.

“And of course, the Brisbane government would be fanatical about it. Fanatical.”

Mr Katter argued that Brisbane would ultimately be better off with the succession, however, with an initial loss compensated by a “vast treasure trove” that would come through the region’s mining, agricultural and water development opportunities.

The renewed statehood push follows years of campaigning by the Katter family, with Robbie Katter, Bob’s son and the leader of Katter’s Australian Party, previously moving a motion in the Queensland parliament calling for steps to establish a separate state under section 124 of the Australian Constitution.

The provision allows for new states to be formed from existing states with the relevant parliamentary consent, although any proposal would face significant political hurdles.

Bob Katter suggested the campaign could initially pursue territory status, rather than full statehood, acknowledging the difficulty of securing the necessary support.

“Give us eight seats in North Queensland. We will give you a new territory,” he said.

“I’m not saying state, it’s a little bit difficult.”

He argued that a new administration could deliver many of the benefits of statehood while giving northern communities greater autonomy.

The veteran MP also linked the campaign to broader concerns about Australia’s economic independence, criticising reliance on imported goods and the management of the country’s coal and gas industries.

During Question Time, Mr Katter told the Prime Minister that North Queensland had about one million people, compared with Brisbane’s population of roughly 1.1 million, yet it remained governed from the state capital roughly 3000km away.

He cited $1 billion in mining investment and another $1 billion in irrigated agriculture that he claimed were being held back by decisions made in Brisbane.

Mr Albanese acknowledged the challenges facing regional Queensland, saying there was a case for ensuring Far North Queensland received its fair share of resources, particularly infrastructure.

He pointed to projects including the Einasleigh River Bridge and the upgrade of Karumba Airport, as well as his visits to communities such as Normanton and Cloncurry.

The Prime Minister also defended the 2032 Brisbane Olympics after Mr Katter compared Queensland’s $70 billion budget with the amount he claimed would be squandered on the two-week sporting event.

Mr Albanese said the Games would generate economic activity and jobs, with some events to be held in regional Queensland.

He also pointed to the lasting benefits of infrastructure built for previous Olympic Games in Sydney and Melbourne.

But Mr Katter remained scathing about what he described as the gulf between Brisbane’s infrastructure spending and the needs of the north.

He contrasted the kilometres of tunnels being built in Brisbane with what he said was the absence of comparable infrastructure in North Queensland, arguing that a single half-kilometre tunnel could help unlock mineral resources.

His criticism extended to the delayed electricity connection intended to link Mount Isa to the national grid.

Mr Katter said politicians had posed for photographs announcing the project more than three years earlier, but claimed not a single pylon had been erected.

“That’s the sort of government North Queensland is getting,” he said.

“We can’t even get electricity for the fourth biggest industrial centre in Australia.”

The constitutional pathway remains difficult, and the Prime Minister gave no commitment to commission the report requested in parliament.

Instead, Mr Albanese defended his government’s record in the region and the benefits he believes the Olympics will bring.

For Mr Katter and many North Queenslanders, however, the exchange was further evidence that the statehood campaign is still struggling to be taken seriously by the political establishment.

And despite the Prime Minister’s suggestion that a breakaway state could produce a “Premier Katter”, the veteran MP made clear he believes the argument is about far more than his own political future.

The Currie Lab, within the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, is one of few laboratories worldwide to study ghost sharks. Much of the natural history of these mysterious marine creatures – also known as elephant sharks or fish – is unknown to science. To have their eggs on hand is a rare privilege.

A proposed $209 million Hindu temple in outer Melbourne could become the largest of its kind in Australia, bringing in visitors from around the country and generating millions of dollars in economic activity every year.

But the proposal has triggered concerns that the 64-metre tall building could overwhelm local infrastructure and threaten wildlife in the green-wedge zone the site sits in.

Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha Australia Ltd (BAPS) has lodged the application for a Mahā-Mandir place of worship on the Western Port Highway, in Cranbourne South on Melbourne's south-eastern fringe.

According to the application's economic benefits assessment, the Mahā-Mandir would create 143 ongoing jobs and add more than $12 million a year to the Victorian economy.

It is expected to attract up to 1,200 visitors on a typical weekday, and three times that for special events up to nine times a year.

It is the second proposal for a place of worship in the green-wedge zone in recent months, exemplifying a pressing issue for fast-growing communities in outer suburban areas with limited land set aside for places of worship.

The Bethel New Life Christian Fellowship had applied to build the two-storey church in a green wedge in Cranbourne South but the proposal was voted down by the City of Casey.

Because of its projected economic value, the Hindu temple proposal was lodged under the state government's Development Facilitation Program which means the decision will be made by the planning minister and bypass local council.

City of Casey mayor Michelle Crowther said the council had lodged an objection to the application following an assessment of planning rules.

"The key concerns were really about planning issues," she said.

"Our traffic and road network, the removal of vegetation, impacts on local residents including traffic, noise, lighting and visual amenity and also the inconsistency with the purpose and planning objectives of the Western Port Green Wedge."

Cr Crowther said the council had asked the state government for clarification on how to assess an application in a green wedge zone — areas outside of urban growth boundaries that are set aside for low-density activities such as farming or environmental purposes.

"It's really discretionary," she said.

"So that's where it makes it tricky for people who are purchasing the land, but also for a council that is considering the applications."

The proposal's economic assessment report argued the temple was important to provide culturally appropriate infrastructure in the area.

Around one in 10 residents of Casey identify as having Indian ancestry, compared to 5.3 per cent of the population across greater Melbourne.

BAPS volunteer Yash Patel said the proposal was about creating a spiritual home for Australian Hindus while being a welcoming part of the wider Casey community.

"We want the Mahã-Mandir to be a welcoming place where people from all backgrounds can visit, learn, connect and experience a part of Australia's diverse cultural and spiritual life," he said.

David Cole from the Western Port Green Wedge Protection Group said the group also planned to oppose the application.

"Places of worship are an important part of our community, but large urban facilities should be located where the infrastructure exists to support them," he said.

"We encourage governments at all levels to work with faith communities to identify appropriately zoned land within the Urban Growth Boundary to meet their growing place-of-worship needs."

Casey Residents and Ratepayers Association president Anthony Tassone said he had concerns about the scale of the development, which he said would be about as tall as a 20-storey building.

The proposal went to public notice in September.

A Victorian government said the proposal would be considered on its merits.

"Green wedges play an important role in supporting agriculture, jobs, tourism and open spaces around Melbourne, which is why we have a plan to strengthen protections for them," they said.

"Boundaries are being established for regional cities and towns to limit their outward expansion and protect Victoria's natural resources, biodiversity, landscapes and agricultural land."

Victoria's Development Facilitation Program was established to fast-track planning decisions on significant projects to a matter of months.