A former Army private, a rugby international, a martial arts instructor and a one-time IT recruitment consultant are among nine young men who have become the latest additions to the Naval Service officers' ranks.

A man charged with gunning down two people, including an anti-abortion protester, cut his arm in an apparent suicide attempt in jail, prosecutors said, as they disclosed that the man’s mother once worked with another intended victim.

Sixteen people were injured and several were trapped when a pole supporting a chairlift in south-eastern Australia collapsed today, emergency workers said.