Two men have died and several people have been injured in separate firework-related accidents in New South Wales and Victoria during New Year celebrations.

One man died after being hit in the head by a firework at Budgewoi on the NSW Central Coast.

Emergency service crews were called to Budgewoi Beach just after 3am on Sunday to find the 52-year-old man had suffered a serious head injury.

Despite the efforts of friends and emergency services the man could not be revived.

Police have launched an investigation and say initial inquiries suggest the man may have been lighting a firework at the time.

The death follows that of a 46-year-old man in another fireworks incident at Hollands Landing east of Melbourne on New Year’s Eve.

Police say the 46-year-old man died next to the beach near Rae Street about 9.35pm.



A crime scene guard will remain in place overnight and an arson chemist will attend the scene in the morning to further investigate the incident.



Victoria’s deputy police commissioner, Andrew Crisp, said the use of fireworks was dangerous and illegal.

“You can be charged with a criminal offence for possession of an explosive, jailed for up to 15 years and fined thousands of dollars,” he said.

“As demonstrated across the new year [celebrations], possession and use of illegal fireworks can sadly result in injury, death and destruction of property.”

Police made 183 arrests across Victoria, compared with 126 arrests last New Year’s Eve.

Three people including a teenager were also treated for facial injuries from fireworks overnight.



A man in his 20s suffered facial burns when he was hit by a firecracker in Drouin, near Warragul. He was taken to Dandenong Hospital in a stable condition.

While in South Morang, a teenager was treated for minor injuries after he was hit in the face by fireworks.



Police are also investigating the events leading up to a man receiving serious eye injuries on the Central Coast after a firework exploded at a property in Blue Haven at noon on New Year’s Day.

The man sustained burns to his face and was taken to Wyong Hospital, at which point hospital staff notified police.

The 19-year-old was transferred to Royal North Shore Hospital in a stable condition. He is expected to undergo further vision tests in the coming days.

Meanwhile, a 36-year-old is in a critical condition in Westmead Hospital following a fight in Sydney’s west.



At about 10.50pm on Sunday the man was walking with a 24-year-old man along Belmore Street in Parramatta after leaving a party.

Police allege the pair began to argue and began physically fighting. The 36-year-old was pushed to the ground and hit his head on the footpath, losing consciousness, police said.

Witnesses came to the aid of the injured man and contacted emergency services. The 24-year-old was arrested.

A 16-year-old is also fighting for his life after being stabbed in the early hours of the new year in Sydney’s west.

The boy was stabbed at a house in Hebersham and was rushed to hospital about 2am. He was operated on, but he remains in a critical condition.

Still in Sydney’s west, a man who allegedly fatally stabbed a dog in the first minutes of the new year will face court next month.

The dog was with its owner outside an Airds home when it became spooked by fireworks shortly after midnight and bit a 26-year-old man at a nearby house.

Police allege the man stabbed the dog, which was later euthanised due to the extent of its injuries.

The man has been charged with several offences including torture and killing an animal.

In Sydney’s CBD, five police officers sustained minor injuries in two separate brawls that broke out.

And a 26-year-old man was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital with serious head injuries after falling from the tray of a truck on Kent Street, in the CBD, just before 9.30pm. He remains in hospital in a critical condition.

In total, 15 people were arrested throughout Sydney and charged with a total of 21 offences, including assaults, street and drug-related offences.

However, police were pleased with the behaviour of crowds overall, assistant NSW police commissioner, Mick Fuller, said. Most incidents were alcohol-related, he added.

“Alcohol impairs your judgement and leads to very poor decision making, so please stop and think about the consequences of your actions,” he said.

On the Queensland and NSW border, meanwhile, a man has died and two others are fighting for their lives after suspected drug overdoses at a house party on New Year’s Day.

Emergency services were called to the address in Mount Lindsey about 10.20am after several people became ill.

One man was declared dead at the scene and two others were flown to hospital in critical condition.

They all had an “adverse reaction from an as-yet-unidentified substance”, police said.

The two survivors were flown to Gold Coast University Hospital and Toowoomba Base Hospital.

There were believed to be up to 500 people at the party in Hardgrave Road, according to police.

In northern Queensland, a driver is on the run after he allegedly hit and killed a woman following a row in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

The pair, who are believed to have been related, had an argument at a house in Paradise Close, White Rock, according to police.

The man then got into a car and police said the 64-year-old woman was struck as he drove away around 1.40am.

She was taken to Cairns Base Hospital, where she died hours later. Another woman, who was in the car, managed to get out of the vehicle before the man drove away, police said.

Also in Queensland, the ABC reports a teenager is in a critical condition in hospital after falling about six storeys from a balcony on the Sunshine Coast on New Year’s Eve.

Police said the 19-year-old fell at a Mooloolaba Esplanade unit block in Mooloolaba about 8.30pm.