Spiritual healer who served magic mushrooms at Victorian retreat where woman died escapes drug trafficking conviction

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Deanne Mathews fined $3000 after pleading guilty to trafficking psilocybin at Clunes wellness retreat where Rachael Dixon fell ill and died

A woman has admitted serving up magic mushrooms at a spiritual retreat where a participant died, leaving court without a conviction recorded for drug trafficking.

Spiritual healer Deanne Mathews, 53, was fined $3000 after she pleaded guilty to the single charge at Bacchus Marsh magistrates court on Wednesday.

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Labor’s ‘devastating’ bail laws overhaul sparks outrage from legal, human rights and First Nations groups in Victoria

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Proposed changes, which include scrapping principle of remand as ‘last resort’ for youth, condemned as ‘backwards step’

Legal, human rights and First Nations groups have condemned the Victorian government’s overhaul of the state’s bail laws, which will force the courts to treat children accused of serious crimes like adults when deciding whether to remand them or release them into the community.

The premier, Jacinta Allan, on Wednesday announced proposed changes to the Bail Act that would result in more unsentenced people who have not been convicted of a crime being remanded in custody.

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‘We stuffed a lot of things up’: Sportsbet CEO slams his company’s past advertising campaigns

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Barni Evans laments being involved in an advertising ‘arms race’ and says company did not do enough to stop integrity threats to major sports

Australia’s largest online gambling company has conceded it failed to properly understand its responsibility to prevent financial crime and did not do enough to stop serious integrity threats to major sporting codes.

The Sportsbet chief executive, Barni Evans, told an industry conference in Sydney on Wednesday that the company “forgot to do some grownup things” and “stuffed a lot of things up”, including its involvement in an advertising “arms race”.

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Indigenous leaders celebrate as court rejects appeal in landmark Yunupingu compensation case

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High court upholds ruling against commonwealth that Gumatj clan’s land was not acquired ‘on just terms’, in case initiated by renowned land rights activist

Traditional owners say justice has been served for their people as the high court dismissed a commonwealth appeal in a landmark compensation case.

The commonwealth lost the high court battle over whether it may be liable for up to $700m in compensation for bauxite mining at Gove in north-east Arnhem Land.

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Help for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is available on 13YARN on 13 92 76

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Police launch new search for fugitive father and children missing in New Zealand wilderness for three years

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Over the next few days police will be ‘present’ in the remote Marokopa area where Tom Phillips and his three children are believed to be hiding

New Zealand police are launching a fresh operation in the rugged North Island wilderness to track down a fugitive father and his three children who have been missing for more than three years.

Just before Christmas 2021, Tom Phillips fled into a remote area of Waikato with his children Ember, thought to be now aged 9, Maverick, 10, and Jayda, 11, following a dispute with their mother. Phillips does not have legal custody for his children.

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Police say surfer ‘taken by shark’ in Western Australia – Al Jazeera English

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  1. Police say surfer ‘taken by shark’ in Western Australia  Al Jazeera English
  2. Surfer Steven Payne presumed dead in shark attack while on Australian vacation with girlfriend and dog: 'It’s just horrible'  New York Post
  3. Surfer Missing After Attack by 'Massive' Shark in Chest-Deep Water: Reports  Yahoo Entertainment
  4. 37-Year-Old Man Identified as Surfer Killed by ‘Massive Shark’ in Chest-Deep Water  PEOPLE
  5. Surfer presumed dead after shark attack off Australian coast  Fox Weather
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Northern Territory’s growing saltwater crocodile population gorging on nine times more prey than 50 years ago

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Research shows apex predators are increasing in numbers and excreting important nutrients into Top End waterways

The growing saltwater crocodile population in the Northern Territory has led to the creatures gorging on nine times more prey than they did 50 years ago, with the apex predators contributing important nutrients to Top End waterways, new research suggests.

Saltwater crocodile populations have increased exponentially in recent decades, from less than 3,000 in 1971, when a ban on hunting was introduced, to more than 100,000 animals today.

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US education department to lay off 1,300 people as Trump vows to close agency

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Firings announced Tuesday as administration decried as ‘detached from how Americans live’

The US Department of Education intends to lay off nearly half of its workforce. The layoffs of 1,300 people were announced by the department on Tuesday and described by the education secretary, Linda McMahon, as a “significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system”.

In a post on X, McMahon said: “Today’s [reduction in force] reflects our commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers.”

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Europe isn’t planning for peace It will pay the price for this tug-of-war – UnHerd

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  1. Europe isn’t planning for peace It will pay the price for this tug-of-war  UnHerd
  2. Politics  The Economist
  3. The US embrace of Russia is an existential threat to the EU. Germany must step up to save it | Catherine De Vries  The Guardian
  4. Three weeks that changed the world: How Trump turned against Ukraine and Europe  Reuters
  5. Russia-Ukraine war: Can Europe replace US aid for Ukraine?  Vox.com
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