Australia’s most decorated living soldier has had his defamation case dismissed, but questions remain over his future
The 1,800 words of Justice Anthony Besanko’s summary judgment were quietly devastating.
Delivered in less than 20 minutes, the judge’s decision would see Ben Roberts-Smith VC lose what remained of his reputation, his job, and possibly his willingness to live in a country where he was once revered.
Continue reading...Prime minister also seeks to reassure regional nations wary about Australia’s reasons for acquiring nuclear submarines under Aukus pact
Anthony Albanese has warned against “harmful” assumptions that the US and China are heading towards an inevitable war, and called for “practical structures to prevent a worst-case scenario”.
The Australian prime minister said a war in the Indo-Pacific would be “devastating for the world” and used a keynote speech to a regional security summit in Singapore to urge all countries to uphold peace and stability.
Continue reading...The boy was found dead in a unit in Riverwood with his father, Nathan Vikatos, who was arrested in hospital after life-saving surgery on injuries
A father has been charged with murder over the death of his three-year-old son in Sydney’s south-west.
The toddler was found dead alongside his father, 45-year-old Nathan Vikatos, who had serious injuries, inside their Riverwood apartment on Wednesday afternoon, police said.
Continue reading...Judge dismisses intimidation charges against 52-year-old who was accused of stalking and verbally intimidating friend’s former fiancee
The former Test cricketer Stuart MacGill has claimed an emotional court victory after a judge dismissed intimidation charges against him.
MacGill, 52, was accused of stalking and verbally intimidating his friend’s former fiancee, Samantha Ford, on a Sydney street and at a nearby pub on February 1, 2022.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Study finds pests could damage crops, and households would incur costs for pesticides, veterinary bills and electrical faults
Failure to stop the spread of an outbreak of invasive fire ants in south-east Queensland could cost the Australian economy more than $1bn a year, including damage to high-value crops, infrastructure and homes.
A previously unreleased cost-benefit analysis, commissioned by a steering committee managing the outbreak of red fire ants and obtained by Guardian Australia, says that eradication of the species provides “much higher returns” than suppression measures that simply limit its spread.
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Continue reading...Greens say removal would be ‘first step in correcting the official record’ after federal court dismisses defamation case
The Australian War Memorial is facing calls to remove Ben Roberts-Smith’s uniform from its display, after the federal court dismissed the defamation case initiated by Australia’s most decorated living soldier.
But the Australian Special Air Service Association has argued it was “a very disappointing day” for veterans who had served in Afghanistan, saying the majority who had done the right thing were being “re-traumatised after having gone through a difficult war”.
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Continue reading...Exclusive: Homes for 7,800 residents in areas worst hit by 2022 floods proposed in near term, with more development later
Land that could hold more than 10,000 homes across 22 sites in the northern rivers has been identified as part of a New South Wales government strategy to deal with the region’s housing crisis.
The draft northern rivers resilient lands strategy will be released on Friday, more than a year after floods devastated the region and saw thousands of people displaced. Many are still unable to return home.
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Continue reading...Draft changes to party’s platform replace commitment to strengthen laws with ‘almost meaningless’ clause to ‘develop policy’, advocates say
Labor has been criticised for proposing to ditch a commitment to strengthening legal protections for the LGBTQ+ community, with queer advocates saying the party appeared to have “backtracked”.
A consultation draft of changes to Labor’s national platform, released this week, proposes to remove a commitment from the 2021 platform to “strengthen laws and expand initiatives against discrimination, vilification and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or sex characteristics”.
Continue reading...Key witness asserts other women’s statements are ‘all lies’ and says he believes Marion Barter is still alive
Ric Blum, the key witness at the inquest into the disappearance of Marion Barter, has denied most of the testimony of four female witnesses to a coroner in Lismore, even as more evidence was heard.
“It is all lies,” Blum said as he gave evidence during the New South Wales inquest on Thursday. “People have made up their mind after hearing the podcast.”
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Continue reading...A crime scene has been established and will be examined but police do not believe a third party was involved
The bodies of a 15-year-old boy and a 58-year-old man have been found inside a home in Yamba on the New South Wales north coast.
Police were called to Kookaburra Circuit on Thursday afternoon after reports two bodies had been found. A 58-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy were found dead at the property, both with gunshot wounds.
Continue reading...Seven chairman Kerry Stokes, who parachuted the former soldier into a network job in 2015, says ‘the judgment does not accord with the man I know’
For Seven’s chairman, Kerry Stokes, the verdict in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial was all bad news.
The cost of the trial is estimated to be between $25m and $35m and, with the billionaire media proprietor bankrolling the former soldier and Seven employee, Stokes’s legal tab will be significant if he does pick up the bill.
Continue reading...Department taken to task for its nine contracts with PwC, two of which were entered into in the past two months. Follow latest updates
Sally McManus responds to RBA governor’s commentary on housing market
Sally McManus spoke to ABC News Breakfast this morning and gave her thoughts on some of RBA governor Phil Lowe’s commentary around the housing market and what he thinks needs to happen.
I think we’re living in two worlds. We’ve got people living in very big houses that have multiple dwellings and they’re landlords. And what they’re doing is when the Reserve Bank governor puts up interest rates, they’re passing on that cost to renters and that’s part of the reason why we’re seeing rents increase.
And I think that that is just basically saying to everyone, look, ordinary people, move in with your parents and grandparents whilst we’re going to say nothing about those CEOs I talked about at companies that actually are the ones that could ease cost of living tomorrow on people but they’re choosing not to because in the end they want to see their bonuses.
Continue reading...Coroner seeking to establish what happened to Gold Coast school teacher, subject of The Lady Vanishes podcast
Ghislaine Dubois-Danlois was 72 and at a low point in her life when she put a lonely hearts ad in a newspaper in 2006. A widow, she was “exhausted” and “wanted to think about something new”.
“I wasn’t looking into the future,” she told a Lismore court via satellite link from her home in Brussels on Wednesday.
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Continue reading...Canberra’s National Capital Authority terminated lease on block of land in Yarralumla but federal court rules the move was ‘invalid and of no effect’
The Australian government has made an embarrassing backdown in its attempts to turf the Russian government off the site of its new embassy in Canberra.
The National Capital Authority (NCA) last year announced a decision to terminate the Russian government’s lease on a block of land in the wealthy suburb of Yarralumla, where it was building its new embassy.
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Continue reading...Exclusive: Report claims Australia’s shareholdings in development banks has made it responsible for investing $828m in fossil fuel projects over five years
Australia’s shareholdings in three international banks – including the World Bank – has seen it responsible for investing $828m in fossil fuel projects between 2016 and 2021, according to a research report.
The World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank have collectively pumped $32.85bn into fossil fuel projects – almost entirely linked to oil and gas production or power generation – over the same period, the report says.
Continue reading...Critics say the seeking of permanent stays in cases where perpetrators have died amount to ‘another layer of abuse’ for survivors and a failure of moral leadership
The Australian Lawyers Alliance is preparing to meet with the New South Wales attorney general to lobby for reform against the “disgraceful” tactics employed by churches and other institutions to prevent abuse survivors from pursuing justice.
A Guardian investigation – based on interviews with 13 lawyers, analysis of court records, and discussions with survivors and their advocates – found earlier this year that churches and other institutions are now routinely seeking permanent stays in cases where perpetrators have died, arguing they cannot possibly receive a fair trial.
Continue reading...Exclusive: consumer and aviation figures call for continued scrutiny as Australian companies post multibillion-dollar profits and prices remain high
A key government program monitoring Australian airlines’ behaviour is ending just as carriers face claims they are overcharging passengers, prompting consumer and aviation figures to call for a dedicated and ongoing inquiry to probe the industry.
Calls for greater scrutiny from Australian Airports Association chief executive, James Goodwin, and former competition tsar Rod Sims come as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s domestic aviation monitoring taskforce expires at the end of June.
Continue reading...Exclusive: ‘I have spent half my life in a tent closed off by gates like a prison,’ says the child, who is under 10, in a voice message to Anthony Albanese
An Australian child trapped in a Syrian detention camp has pleaded directly with prime minister Anthony Albanese to be rescued and brought home.
“I am one of the children left behind in Roj camp and I have spent half my life in a tent closed off by gates like a prison,” a voice message sent to the prime minister’s office says. “I have never been to school, laid in grass or climbed a tree.”
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Continue reading...Gen Angus Campbell also tells Senate that army member’s employment arrangements were ‘adjusted’ after US raised issue
The United States warned that it may have to suspend cooperation with Australian special forces after the release of a report into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, the Senate has heard.
The chief of the Australian defence force, Gen Angus Campbell, also confirmed that an army member’s employment arrangements had been “adjusted” after the US raised the issue.
Continue reading...Sixteen-page notice contains list of claims against Liberal leader as he faces another by-election after the resignation of veteran Ryan Smith
Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto has been served with a fresh defamation threat by ousted MP Moira Deeming, as the party faces a by-election headache.
Lawyers for Deeming, who was expelled from the parliamentary Liberal party this month for allegedly bringing discredit on the party, has issued a second defamation concerns notice to Pesutto.
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