A freak storm dropped nearly a month’s worth of rain in just half an hour on Singleton, a town in the News South Wales Hunter region yesterday afternoon.

Families have been left homeless, several houses have been severely damaged and trees have been uprooted throughout the town.

News South Wales SES member, Simon Merrick, said in the first 10 minutes of the storm he had 32 requests for assistance and responded to more than 40 calls for help.

Queensland Parliament is likely to pass legislation that will allow police access to driver’s license photos without a warrant.

Authorities said that a comprehensive database of photos is necessary to ensure security.

Queensland Council for Civil Liberties president Michael Cope argued that when driver’s license photos were introduced in Queensland the government accepted that the database would never be searched without a warrant.

The Electoral Commission for Queensland could issue more than $900,000 in fines to Brisbane residents after more than 25 per cent failed to vote in the recent Brisbane City council by election.

The Morningside by election following the resignation of councillor Shayne Sutton saw 7369 people failing to vote.

Councillor Peter Cumming said the blame lies on Lord Mayor Graham Quirk’s refusal to fund an official Queensland Electoral Commission mail rollout.

An investigation has been launched into how a can of red bull drink stuffed with Crystal Meth came to be found in a staff access fridge in a Brisbane prison.

The fridge was located in the reception store of Wacol prison where prisoners are initially processed.

A Queensland corrective services staff member attempted to open the can after no one had claimed it and discovered it was full of the drug ice.

A landmark agreement is set to be signed today at the UN to help resolve the long dispute between the maritime boundary between Australia and East Timor.

The agreement will draw a permanent boundary between the nations for the first time and set a formula for sharing large amounts of revenue in future oil and gas from the Timor Sea.

Several people, however, are concerned this may ‘unravel’ borders with Indonesia’s outdated maritime boundary.

The eastern Syrian region of Ghouta has received aid from the United Nations following the deadly government assaults.

An official from the World Health Organization said Syrian government authorities have prevented vital medical supplies such as surgical kits and insulin from entering the enclave of 400,000 people.

Spokeswoman for the International committee of the Red Cross, Ingy Sedky advised that repeated and continuous access to East Ghouta by humanitarian organisations is vital.

The latest victim in a string of dog attacks is calling on her local council to toughen dog ownership bylaws.

The woman, who has undergone three operations as a result of the attack, said that the current bylaws do not hold dog owners to account.

Palmerston City Council CEO Luccio Cercarelli said that he does not think the laws are biased towards dog owners.

According to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian farmers could potentially face a decline in income this financial year as agricultural production levels are expected to fall 5%.

Nearly 60 billion dollars in national agricultural income will be lost, causing prices in wheat, barley and other commodities to rise in price.  

Analysts blame poor seasonal conditions for the fall in agricultural production and predict that next financial year, production levels may begin to stabilise.

A report released Monday by the Grattan institute says that fewer than 50 per cent of Australians aged between 25 and 34 own their own property.

For many, moving further away from the city is the only solution to owning affordable land.

The report said that while high-rise developments benefit housing in inner-city locations, they are limited to the confined areas of the CBD and will not fix the city’s housing affordability problem.