Christmas countdown
Do you leave things to the last minute? Or have you got all your Christmas shopping done? Either way, this will show you the exact hours, minutes and seconds, left until Christmas Day.
State of the nation
Need a national news snapshot first thing? Well, we have you covered.
► TAS: They’re small, furry and adorably cute, but you wouldn’t want them for a pet.
The Eastern Quoll is a bite-sized ball of attitude, and they are under threat.
Researcher and eastern quoll expert Bronwyn Fancourt said the population has potentially reached a precipice, where it can no longer breed faster than it is being killed. Read more.
► NEWCASTLE: A man may have been ejected from a parked boat and trailer during a crash on the Pacific Highway at Tomago on Saturday.
Police and emergency services were called to the accident, north of Old Punt Road, after reports of a crash which left a pedestrian injured.
A man aged in his 50s was found at the scene with injuries to his head, torso and limbs. Police said he remained in a critical condition in John Hunter Hospital on Saturday evening. Read more.
► TAMWORTH: Goods including irrigation systems seized from remote drug crops after this week’s $8 million cannabis bust will undergo forensic testing as police identity who is behind the illegal plantations.
The Leader revealed on Thursday police had seized almost 4,000 cannabis plants and 45kg of cannabis leaf from several areas in the New England.
The bust – which carried an estimated street value of $8.3 million – was uncovered in an operation involving New England police, the drug squad and PolAir searching areas between Armidale and Tenterfield. Read more.
► BENDIGO: Bendigo police have congratulated the city’s motorists on a good start to the festive season after a Friday night booze bus failed to detect any alcohol or drug-affected drivers.
The Townsend Street operation measured the blood alcohol content of 575 drivers, and tested another 10 for traces of drugs.
No drivers were found breaking the law. Read more.
► TAS: Labor claims that state sawmillers have been sold out by the government who will conclude on June 30 a $585,000 transport subsidy to allow Southern-based product to reach Northern sawmillers.
The axing of the subsidy was revealed in the last government business enterprise hearing of the day on Forestry Tasmania.
Former Resources Minister Paul Harriss had reassured sawmillers that the subsidy would be in place until the government resolved issues in moving forest product from the South after the closure of the Triabunna sawmill and port. Read more.
► BALLARAT: Heartless thieves have stolen more than $100,000 worth of musical equipment the night before the Ballarat Memorial Concert Band was due to perform Christmas carols.
Despite being forced to cancel the first half of their performance in the Bridge Mall on Saturday, the devastating loss of their musical equipment did not stop the band from trying to pick up the pieces and carry on.
It was an all-in effort to pull together enough music sheets and instruments on Saturday morning to ensure the Christmas carols were still heard, even if it was only for the last hour of their set. Read more.
► The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is seeking to ramp up revenue opportunities from some of Sydney's most stunning natural beauty spots as it wrestles with a backlog of poor heritage maintenance, a loss of experienced staff, and a prolonged squeeze on its operating budget.
In a recent call for "expressions of interest" from commercial event organisers, the service says it wants to "encourage industry professionals to consider the great potential of national parks as venues for exciting and dynamic events". Read more.
► One of the state's most notorious killers has made a last ditch attempt to be released from jail, declaring that he is willing to undergo chemical castration to diminish his levels of arousal after being repeatedly diagnosed a sexual sadist.
After spending more than three decades behind bars for the brutal murders of four people, Samuel Leonard Boyd, 61, this week told court he was a devoted Christian, had an on-off relationship with a woman and had not had any deviant fantasies. Read more.
National weather radar
International news
► GREECE: There's snow in the hills that ring Serres, a big town in northern Greece.
As night approaches a group of Yazidi refugees – survivors of Islamic State attacks and persecution in Iraq – return to their camp in the town's industrial outskirts with foraged branches. They build a fire, ash fast turning white in the icy rain.
They retreat to their tents with glowing coals, choosing to risk a fire over the certainty of another shivering, sleepless night. Read more.
► ACEH EARTHQUAKE: As the number of displaced people from Wednesday's earthquake ballooned to almost 23,000, the scarred communities of Aceh confronted an old fear: the spectre of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.
Mariana Yusuf is among several thousand people sheltering at Taqwa mosque in the hard-hit town on Meureudu, breastfeeding her baby amidt the chaos.
Her wooden home, on stilts above water, is intact after the earthquake. However the family is too traumatised to return after living through the 2004 disaster, which struck the day before Ms Yusuf's wedding and almost washed away their home. She knew dozens who were killed. Read more.
On this day:
1972 – Apollo 17 becomes the sixth and last Apollo mission to land on the Moon.
1997 – The Kyoto Protocol opens for signature.
2001 – The People's Republic of China joins the World Trade Organization (WTO).
2005 – Cronulla riots: Thousands of White Australians demonstrate against ethnic violence resulting in a riot against anyone thought to be Lebanese in Cronulla, New South Wales; these are followed up by retaliatory ethnic attacks on Cronulla.
The faces of Australia: Hugh McCluggage
HUGH McCluggage endured a restless night after learning of his senior football debut.
A late call-up did little to settle his nerves.
South Warrnambool coach Matthew Monk rung the McCluggages to ask if he could play the smooth-moving teenager against North Warrnambool Eagles the following day.
Dad Sam, himself a former Rooster, was keen to watch his son take the next step at Hampden league level. Read more of Hugh’s story here.
