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British-Born Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John has died at the age of 73, according to a post on her Instagram account.
"Dame Olivia Newton-John (73) passed away peacefully at her Ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends," the social media post said.
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St George Illawarra captain Ben Hunt says it would be "very disappointing" if Tariq Sims' high tackle on Cronulla winger Connor Tracey marked the end of his career at the Dragons.
Bound for Melbourne next season, Sims' shoulder made forceful contact with Tracey's head early in the Dragons' 24-18 loss on Saturday night.
Tracey appeared to lose consciousness before he hit the ground and needed to be stretchered from the field; Sims followed shortly afterwards for a stint in the sin-bin.
Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon said he was unsure whether the Dragons forward should have been sent off rather than sin-binned.
"I'm not sure," he said, "(Sims) did drop pretty low there."
Sims has prior loading from dangerous contact and careless high tackle charges incurred in round 17 so he faces a heftier suspension than otherwise.
Given the Dragons' finals hopes are now all but dashed, he could spend the last four games of the regular season on the sidelines if the match review committee hands down a grade three dangerous contact charge on Sunday morning.
Hunt said it would be a shame for Sims' 123-game career at the Dragons to end with a suspension.
"I've played a lot of footy with Tariq. I really respect Tariq, he's a good mate," he said.
"If that was his final game for the Dragons, it would be very disappointing."
Tracey was up and about in the dressing rooms after the hit but could also be looking at some time out of the game.
Lachie Miller, Mawene Hiroti and Matt Ikuvalu are three possible replacements on the wing for the Sharks, who have already lost first-choice winger Sione Katoa to a season-ending shoulder injury.
"We've got some players who can fit right in there if need be. It's a next-man-up kind of mentality," Sharks playmaker Braydon Trindall told AAP.
Sharks captain Wade Graham said teammates and opponents alike were feeling for Tracey.
"It's never nice in those situations, for either team. No player goes out there to hurt another player like that," he said.
"It didn't look great at the time on the field and both teams knew that.
"It was good to see him after the game in good spirits."
Image: St George Illawarra Facebook
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Members of The Seekers have paid tribute to their "shining star", singer Judith Durham, who died aged 79 in Melbourne.
Durham died in palliative care on Friday night after complications from a long-standing lung disease, her management said.
Her bandmates - Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley and Athol Guy, said their lives had been changed forever by losing "our treasured lifelong friend and shining star".
"Her struggle was intense and heroic, never complaining of her destiny and fully accepting its conclusion. Her magnificent musical legacy Keith, Bruce and I are so blessed to share," they said in a statement on Saturday.
Durham made her first recording at 19 and later achieved worldwide fame after joining The Seekers in 1963.
The group of four became the first Australian band to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and United States, eventually selling 50 million records.
Durham embarked on a solo career in 1968 but recorded with The Seekers again in the 1990s.
Durham's sister Beverley Sheehan spoke of the siblings' shared love of music.
"Judith's joy for life, her constant optimism, creativity and generosity of spirit were always an inspiration to me," Ms Sheehan said.
Durham's death in palliative care after a brief stay in Melbourne's Alfred Hospital was a result of complications from a long-standing chronic lung disease, Universal Music Australia and Musicoast said in a statement on Saturday.
"This is a sad day for Judith's family, her fellow Seekers, the staff of Musicoast, the music industry and fans worldwide, and all of us who have been part of Judith's life for so long," The Seekers management team member Graham Simpson said.
Tributes flowed for the beloved singer, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hailing Durham as "a national treasure and an Australian icon".
"Judith Durham gave voice to a new strand of our identity and helped blaze a trail for a new generation of Aussie artists," Mr Albanese said on Twitter.
"Her kindness will be missed by many, the anthems she gave to our nation will never be forge."
Australia's entertainment industry also responded to the sad news, with singer Anthony Callea posting: "the skies above just gained a voice of an angel."
Actor Magda Szubanski sent her "deepest condolences".
"Her beautiful, crystalline voice was the naive but knowing siren song of my childhood," Ms Szubanski tweeted.
Images: Judith Durham Facebook
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More than a quarter of Australian mortgage holders have seen their home loan repayments rise by more than six per cent since the start of the year.
That's according to research from online financial broker Savvy, which found 25.7 per cent of respondents witnessed repayments lift by above six per cent, while 18 per cent saw repayments tick up between three and 10 per cent.
Around six per cent were hit with a rise of between 11 and 20 per cent, with one per cent reporting an increase of more than 21 per cent, it found.
Seventy-seven per cent of the 1003 respondents had some level of increase to their mortgage repayments, according to the company.
Savvy chief executive Bill Tsouvalas said the results showed economics in action as interest rates increased in a bid to dampen inflation.
"That is of little comfort to Australians already doing it tough and set to do it tougher as the RBA puts the brakes on a little more each month," Mr Tsouvalas said in a statement.
The Reserve Bank of Australia lifted its key cash interest rate to 1.85 per cent from 1.35 per cent at its August meeting, with the big four banks all passing on the rate hike to mortgage holders
On Friday, in its quarterly Statement on Monetary Policy, the RBA noted financial markets were pricing in a rise in the cash rate to around three per cent by the end of this year, and around 3.25 per cent in early 2023.
The RBA in the statement reiterated its forecast for annual inflation to reach 7.75 per cent at the end of this year, in line with federal Treasury estimates.
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