The inglorious end to Alan Joyce’s 15 years as Qantas chief executive has cost him at least $500,000 with a further $10.5m in doubt after the board finally acted in response to an “acute loss of trust” in the airline.

Specially prepared “kill cars” have been seized by police across Sydney before they can be used in the next underworld assassination, kidnapping or drive-by shooting.

Homicide detectives will probe how a three-day manhunt across two states turned deadly after specialist police shot dead an armed fugitive in northern Victoria.

The number of Queenslanders receiving vital surgery and seeing specialists in Queensland hospitals has returned to pre-Covid-19 levels, but there are still thousands of patients waiting longer than clinically recommended, new data reveals.

South Australians are being warned to prepare for an intense bushfire season thanks to higher fuel loads in regions such as the Adelaide Hills.