Received

Bundled up in huge clothes against the bitter cold and spraying waves, Xavier Doerr gave two weary thumbs up as he was airlifted into a helicopter almost 24 hours after his dramatic sea rescue began.

The 22-year old experienced solo sailor set off an emergency beacon shortly before five o'clock on Friday evening, as his yacht Waterline began to take on water and he lost contact with his land team when he became stranded in the Great Australian Bight.

An extensive rescue operation was launched by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, with planes sent from Perth to make aerial contact and several vessels including bulk carriers diverted to the beacon's location.

Late yesterday Mr Doerr was taken aboard the Bulk Carrier Theodore JR and treated for injuries.

Vision of the dramatic rescue shows his smaller vessel rocked by huge waves, with at least three attempts made to get him off his stricken boat and onto the larger carrier before darkness fell.

AMSA said on Sunday afternoon that a rescue helicopter had reached the bulk carrier, and he has now been flown to an Adelaide hospital for treatment.

He'd departed Queensland's Southport Yacht Club weeks ago to complete an anti-clockwise circumnavigation of Australia, and had already travelled over 5200 nautical miles when he ran into trouble thousands of kilometres from help.

He had been hoping to become the youngest and fastest sailor to complete the journey by finishing in less than 50 days.

© AAP 2023

Motorists in Queensland will now be tested to see if they have cocaine in their system, with the drug added to the list of illicit substances that roadside police drug vans are set up to detect.

The state had the countries highest road toll last year, with 299 lives lost.

61 people were killed as a result of crashes that involved a drug driver or rider.

Government data shows an increase in the number of people with cocaine in their system after a serious crash in the state rose from 3.6 per cent between 2018 to 2019 up to 7.1 per cent between 2020 to 2021.

The figures are taken from hospital data.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Chris Stream said there's been a 30 per cent climb in drug driver detections compared to the previous five-year average, and authorities had to act.

"Drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol exhibit impaired judgement, memory, coordination and reaction time," he said.

""Choosing to drive when affected by drugs is a decision that has a direct consequence on your life and those around you."

The move to add cocaine to the list of testable substances comes five years after New South Wales introduced it as a part of its roadside testing regime.

Act. Ass. Comm. Stream said people need to take responsibility for the choices they make when they decide to get behind the wheel.

"Expect to see police anywhere, anytime targeting drivers who are making the wrong choices," he said.

Queensland's Roads Minister Mark Baily said one in four drivers currently tested are returning a positive result for drugs.

"It is shocking to think that a quarter of all random drug tests in our state return a positive result, this is unacceptable," he said.

"If you're behind the wheel with drugs in your system, you're not only a danger to yourself but to every other Queenslander and we make no apologies for coming down hard."

People caught driving with drugs in their system face licence disqualification, fines of up to $2167, and jail time for repeat offenders.

© AAP 2023

Parents will be dialled in with training over Queensland's plan to ban mobile phones and smartwatches in state schools when classes begin next year.

Education Minister Grace Grace said parents would have two terms to adjust to the ban, which brings the state into line with the rest of the country as part of a consistent national approach to mobile phone use.

"We're about to bring in a uniform ban right across the school day so they are away for the day," Ms Grace said at a press conference in Canberra.

"We'll be implementing this on term one in 2024."

The move builds on the previous policy under which almost all state schools had imposed some form of mobile phone ban.

"We're now taking that next step where we will have a uniform approach," Ms Grace said.

"It will cover all break times as well, so away for the day, and we'll ensure that we have guidelines up to date in consultation with school communities, including parents about how we implement this at a school level."

She said more than 95 per cent of schools had a clear policy banning phone use during class, with the remaining schools restricting use informally.

Following the implementation of recommendations from the Anti-Cyberbullying 2018 Taskforce, all state schools have been required to outline how they manage mobile phones.

This includes the context of cyberbullying and distractions in the classroom.

"We will, of course, also make sure that we educate our parents - we will give two terms so we can work on implementation guidelines so we can educate parents and students and teachers," Ms Grace said.

Students will still be able to bring phones to school so they can contact parents or carers immediately before or after school.

Exemptions will also be available in specific circumstances, including for health and wellbeing.

The Queensland government appointed former family and child commissioner Cheryl Vardon to review the policy, with her report due later this month.

Ms Grace said she would continue talks with other education ministers on producing consistent guidelines across states and territories.

© AAP 2023