news

Sunday's news in under five minutes.

We’ve rounded up all today’s major news stories from Australia and around the world.

1. Labor set for stunning victory in Queensland election.

By ABC.

Labor looks set to pull off a stunning victory in a cliffhanger Queensland election, after securing an “extraordinary”, double-digit swing that has ended the political career of Premier Campbell Newman.

Labor is on track to claim 45 or 46 of the 89 seats in the state’s parliament, after going into the poll holding only nine seats.

“My political career is over,” Mr Newman told Liberal National Party supporters as he conceded defeat in his seat.

The LNP has not conceded the overall result, but ABC election analyst Antony Green has said projections suggest “there is a Labor government coming in Queensland” – at worst relying on one of three crossbenchers.

“You’d have to put the money on Labor forming government,” Mr Green said.

A version of this article originally appeared on the ABC here. It has been republished with full permission. 

2. Man dies and his family are in hospital after being hit by lightning on the Gold Coast.

By ABC.

A man has died after being struck by lightning while leaving a polling station with his family on the Gold Coast.

The man aged in his 30s and his family – a woman, a baby aged 12 weeks and a boy aged 18 months – were sheltering from an electrical storm in a park near Worongary State School on Delta Cove Drive just before 4pm when they were hit.

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The school was being used as a polling booth for the state election, situated in the seat of Gaven.

Paramedics attended to the man at the scene before he was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital in a critical condition.

He died about 7pm.

The woman and children were still in hospital in a stable condition with minor injuries.

A version of this originally appeared on the ABC here. It has been republished with full permission. 

3. LNP’s rout in Queensland leaves Ministers questioning the PM’s leadership.

By ABC.

The rout of the Liberal National Party in the Queensland election is being described as “catastrophic” by federal Coalition MPs, with some claiming the Prime Minister is now terminally wounded.

“All we are talking about now is the timing and method of execution,” one Queensland MP said.

“This is catastrophic, unimaginable,” said another.

Labor looks set to pull of a stunning victory in a cliffhanger election, after securing a double-digit swing that has ended the political career of Premier Campbell Newman.

Labor is on track to claim 45 or 46 of the 89 seats in the state’s parliament, after going into the poll holding only nine seats.

A version of this article appeared on the ABC here. It has been republished with full permission. 

4. Socceroos claim Asian Cup with extra-time winner.

By ABC.

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Australia won its first ever Asian Cup title with a nervy and dramatic 2-1 extra-time win over South Korea at Stadium Australia in Sydney.

James Troisi etched his name in Australian football history with the winner late in extra-time, lashing home from close range after superb work on the byline from Tomi Juric.

The Western Sydney Wanderers striker held up the ball remarkably before nutmegging his marker, before putting the ball on a plate for Troisi to finish.

A version of this article originally appeared on the ABC here. It has been republished with full permission. 

5. Serena Williams wins sixth Australian Open title.

By ABC.

Serena Williams overcame illness to capture a sixth Australian Open crown with a straight-sets win over Maria Sharapova in the women’s final on Saturday evening.

Williams, who was struggling with the flu in the build-up to the final on Rod Laver Arena, triumphed 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) to lift the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup for the first time since 2010.

She took out the first set in 47 minutes, with rain interrupting play briefly before the roof was shut, before surviving a tie-break in the second set to triumph in an hour and 51 minutes at Melbourne Park.

The triumph means the world number one overtakes 18-time major champions Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert to go a clear second on the all-time Open-era winners’ list, three behind Steffi Graf on 22.

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At 33, Williams also became the oldest woman to win the title in the open era.

A version of this article originally appeared on the ABC here. It has been republished with full permission. 

6. Private investigator of illegal Sydney brothels fired by local council.

A man paid by councils to have sex with prostitutes to investigate the workings of illegal brothels has been fired for withholding information about a female he was particularly “enchanted” with.

Sydney based consultancy firm, ‘Brothel Busters’, has accused the private investigator of having “deliberately omitted” important details about one sex worker and her place of work, The Age reports. The man, referred to as Mr Allan, allegedly did not disclose to council that he had taken a sex worker’s number down and agreed to meet her outside of work.

“I did not provide the phone number as I was not aware of who else was involved in having access to this report and was concerned for the safety of both her and myself,” Mr Allan said.

However, ‘Brothel Busters’ chief Chris Seage has accused Mr Allan of breaking the private investigator code of ethics, as he “willingly provided” council with details of a different illegal sex worker, called Amy, in the same week.

Over the past decade Mr Allan has been paid by at least 10 metropolitan councils to help close underground parlours across Sydney.

Keith Rhoades, president of Local Government NSW, said the government’s broken promise to better control the industry as an “early priority” had forced Sydney councils to “pick up the bill”.