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Electric car sales have more than doubled in Australia over the past year as consumers and government policies perform a U-turn on zero-emissions transport technology.

But some states and territories are performing significantly better than others, a report from the Electric Vehicle Council has found.

It wants the federal government to set a strong standard to encourage automakers to bring more car options to Australia.

The report card arrives months after the government released the National Electric Vehicle Strategy and pledged to unveil a fuel-efficiency standard before the end of the year.

The State of Electric Vehicles report for July, released on Monday, found sales of battery-powered cars soared by 121 per cent over the past year, with more EVs sold in the first six months of 2023 than throughout all of 2022.

About 130,000 electric vehicles were being driven on Australian roads by July, the report found, with the country on track to haven almost 180,000 in use by the end of the year.

Three models dominate the market, with Tesla's Model Y and Model 3, plus BYD's Atto 3 making up 68 per cent of sales.

Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said the sales jump showed Australians "now know the future of driving is electric," but potential buyers were still being held back by a small range and less stock.

"While Australians have some high-quality options to choose from, it's no surprise that the models that were the most available had the highest sales," he said.

"Global car makers are still only sending a trickle of the vehicles they produce to the Australian market because we remain one of the few nations on Earth without new vehicle efficiency standards."

Mr Jafari said the lack of supply could be addressed if the federal government introduced a "globally competitive" standard to help brands secure greater vehicle allocations for the country.

Despite the sales boost, the report found Australia was still lagging other countries in the electrification race, including Canada, New Zealand and Singapore, in addition to market leaders Sweden and Norway.

Some states and territories were much further ahead than others, with the ACT and NSW leading the nation and scoring nine out of 10 in the report for their electric vehicle policies.

The Northern Territory and Tasmania tied for last place, with low marks for vehicle sales, data and industry initiatives, while Victoria scored only a little better, with five out of 10 after cancelling its vehicle rebate early and charging EV drivers to use roads.

"There's really encouraging momentum across most of Australia on EV policy but our report also finds there is abundant room for improvement," Mr Jafari said.

© AAP 2023

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has offered his thoughts to the families of four missing soldiers after an army helicopter crashed.

There are grave fears for Captain Daniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs.

Their Taipan MRH-90 helicopter crashed near Queensland's Hamilton Island on Friday morning.

The chopper had been conducting joint military training as a part of Exercise Talisman Sabre.

Mr Albanese said the tragedy was a reminder of the danger faced by the nation's defence force personnel.

"Each and every day is one which carries some risks," he told ABC radio on Monday.

"Our thoughts today remain very much focused on the families, the friends but also the colleagues as well, who will be going through a difficult time."

Some debris from the stricken aircraft was found on Saturday but the main body is yet to be recovered.

"We're focused on bringing them home, supporting their families and getting to the bottom of what happened," Australian Army chief Simon Stuart said.

Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh said the investigation into the crash was yet to determine the cause.

"Our key focus is on the ongoing search in supporting a family at this time," he told Sky News.

Mr Keogh said the Taipan, which is coming out of service at the end of next year, may not be retired early after the crash.

"We'll need to see what the causes are and whether additional mitigations need to be put in place before it can resume operation," he said.

Specialist navy divers have joined Queensland police and crews from HMAS Brisbane, HMAS Adelaide and USS Miguel Keith in their search for the missing Taipan.

An exclusion zone is in place south of Hamilton Island, from the southern tip of Long Island east to Perseverance Island, south to Cole Island and west to the mainland at Round Head.

Members of the public who find crash material have also been urged to contact investigators.

Defence Force chief General Angus Campbell thanked Australian and international defence personnel assisting in the search.

"We'll do everything we can to ... see the search and rescue effort undertaken as expeditiously and as effectively as possible," he said.

Forty-seven MRH-90 helicopters have been grounded until further notice.

It is the second time an Australian MRH-90 has been involved in an emergency this year after a Taipan ditched off the NSW south coast in March.

General Campbell would not discuss the immediate future of the MRH-90 helicopters, instead saying the focus remained on the missing men.

"There will be an investigation as there always is in these circumstances and we will look to that to understand what has occurred here," he said.

The Talisman Sabre training operation involves defence forces from Australia, the United States and other allies.

The joint exercises, mostly being held in regional Queensland, resumed late on Saturday in the Northern Territory and Western Australia after an initial pause.

© AAP 2023

Nobody was expecting television presenter Sonia Kruger to win the Gold Logie, especially not Kruger herself.

As she made her way to the stage in a high cut rainbow lame dress to accept the award from presenter Daryl Somers, Kruger seemed genuinely surprised.

"I cannot believe that, I have to compose myself, I'm not used to being on TV," she joked.

The host of The Voice, Dancing with the Stars and Big Brother beat favourite Hamish Blake, who had been expected to take out his third Gold.

Yet as presenter of three programs on the Seven Network (and co-host of the Logies red carpet broadcast) Kruger simply had far more screen time than most of her fellow nominees - that's presenting, not watching.

Another big winner was offbeat comedy Colin from Accounts by husband-and-wife team Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer, which won three Logies.

The series won most outstanding comedy, while most outstanding actress went to Dyer and to Brammall, most outstanding actor.

Brammall thanked everyone behind the show as well as his fellow nominees.

"You're all outstanding as far as I'm concerned, but not as outstanding as me," he joked.

There were some other upset wins too, with well-known performer Amy Shark taking home most popular new talent for her role on Australian Idol.

Most outstanding children's program went to ABC's Crazy Fun Park, beating global juggernaut Bluey.

Film star Sam Neill said he was gobsmacked to win a gong for his role on The Twelve.

"There's so many actors in the show I'm not even sure I was the main actor," he said.

The awards were held in Sydney for the first time in 37 years, with comedian Sam Pang the first solo Logies host in more than a decade.

He delivered one zinger after another, along with some timeless advice for those onstage.

"To all the winners out there, don't mix your acceptance speech with an active court case."

© AAP 2023