Sweden and New Zealand are among international militaries still operating the aircraft, while the Australian Defence Force grounded its MRH-90 Taipan helicopter fleet after a fatal crash during Talisman Sabre 2023.

Jetstar will ramp up its recently-launched Newcastle–Bali service to four per week from 29 March, adding 24,000 seats per year, and will introduce another leg connecting through to Singapore. It comes a week after the low-cost carrier announced a similar route from the Sunshine Coast.

Speaking at The Australian Financial Review Infrastructure Summit in Sydney, Minister Catherine King said the Sydney to Newcastle high-speed rail line – which the government hopes will run to WSI by 2042 – will offer significant benefits for travellers.

The helicopter, N166DP, hauled 24 basalt boulders weighing a total of roughly 40 tonnes to shore up the 100-year-old Lavertys Gap Weir on Wilsons Creek near Mullumbimby, which was damaged in the 2022 floods and by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred earlier this year.