A 78-year-old Hobart woman with a broken foot, split lip, cut nose and a strained wrist was told she was too old to be admitted to Hobart Private Hospital.

The 78-year-old, who asked to remain anonymous, was in desperate need of medical care and her daughter-in-law, Sheree Morriss says she had been paying for private health cover for years but when she was rushed to HPH following a “nasty fall” she was turned away.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has resigned from office following weeks of mass protests.

The 82-year-old has been in office for twenty years but has rarely been seen in public since his stroke in 2013.

Algerian Defence Ministry called on Tuesday for the President to quit “‘immediately”. The ministry says, "there is no more time to waste" after six weeks of nationwide protests against the chief of state and his inner circle.

Solomon Island locals say they are not worried by recent rumours of electoral interference and electoral blockades as they head to the polls surrounded by tight security this morning.

Around 1,600 local police officers have been deployed across the country while Solomon Islanders cast their ballots to choose 50 members of Parliament from 333 candidates and 15 different parties.

Billions of dollars will be allocated to disaster relief as part of the 2019-2020 budget, and farmers can expect a boost to drought support.

Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, announced the Government will commit $3.9 billion to the Emergency Response Fund and more than $3 million to increase access to the Farm Household Allowance.

Mr Frydenberg says the fund would, "ensure additional resourcing is available to support future natural disaster recovery efforts."

New council data has highlighted spots on Brisbane’s southside where speeding occurs most, including a school zone in Yeronga wherein 61% of motorists speed.

The data was collected from council-implemented “slow for SAM” signs which display a commuter’s speed as they drive past, telling them to slow down if necessary.

Data from SAM, the Speed Awareness Monitors program, has been referred to police to set up mobile speed patrols in speeding hotspots.

A truck has been involved in an incident causing 50 litres of diesel to spill from its ruptured fuel tank during Brisbane’s peak hour traffic this morning.

At 7:30am, emergency services were called to Beaudesert Road and Sussex Road in Brisbane’s south and the City Council were notified so chemical absorption materials could be brought to clear the scene.

Two babies in Sydney have contracted measles as they were too young to be vaccinated, putting New South Wales in a position where it is well on its way to breaking its highest rate of the disease in five years.

The eight-month-old and 11-month-old most likely caught the infection from two people, a backpacker in the CBD and a man in Eastwood, who reported spending time in a number of public places while being infected with measles.

Funding for Queensland infrastructure has been put on the backburner in the budget despite Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, announcing more than $2 billion for new projects.

The budget included $2.6 billion for new road and rail projects but Queensland Treasurer, Jackie Trad, said the majority of the funding won't be seen until the 2023-24 financial year.

Conservation group Humane Society International have won a bid to stop the killing of sharks caught on drum lines in the Great Barrier Reef.

Nineteen species can no longer be shot when in protected areas if they are caught, unless it is unlikely they will survive after being released.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal ordered the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries to check 173 drum lines in the marine park more often, as well as highlighting the “overwhelming” evidence to show culling does not reduce the risk of unprovoked shark attacks.