Category Archives: Australia news

Teen felt ‘degraded and belittled’ by former University of New England vice-chancellor, court told

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Prof Brigid Heywood has pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and offensive behaviour over an alleged incident in March 2022

A teenager who was allegedly assaulted and subjected to offensive behaviour by the former vice-chancellor of the University of New England at an International Women’s Day event last year has told a court that the incident left her feeling “ degraded and belittled”.

Prof Brigid Heywood, 65, a British-Australian biological scientist, is alleged to have wiped her saliva on a teenager’s face and commented on her skin colour at a council-run International Women’s Day event on 8 May 2022. She was a panellist at the event.

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Three men charged over alleged violent e-scooter robbery and dog killing in Brisbane

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Men remanded in custody after allegedly demanding Forest Lake residents hand over e-scooter for sale on Facebook Marketplace

Three men allegedly involved in a violent confrontation over an e-scooter sale will remain behind bars after being charged.

Aron Nsengiyumva, 21, Alex Edward Deng, 20, and John Wal Wal, 24, have been remanded in custody on a string of charges after three men were stabbed and a dog was killed during the weekend attack in Brisbane’s south-west.

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China accuses UK of protecting ‘fugitives’ after bounty put on Hong Kong democracy activists

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Chinese embassy in London tells UK to ‘stop interfering’ in China’s affairs, as Hong Kong leader says overseas activists will be ‘pursued for life’

China has accused the UK of protecting fugitives after the British foreign secretary criticised Hong Kong’s decision to offer HK$1m bounties for the arrest of eight democracy activists based overseas, as the territory’s leader said the group would be “pursued for life”.

In a statement late on Monday, China’s embassy in London said: “British politicians have openly offered protection for fugitives. This is crude interference in Hong Kong’s rule of law and China’s internal affairs.”

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Australia resists Japan’s lobbying for NT gas export project to be given special treatment

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Australian government stands by safeguard mechanism’s design and indicates it will not change in response to lobbying

The Albanese government is resisting a push by Japan for a major new Northern Territory gas export development to be given special treatment under Australia’s revamped emissions reduction policy.

The Kishida government has lobbied the Albanese government over its concerns about Australia’s safeguard mechanism, a climate policy that requires major industrial polluters to either cut greenhouse gas emissions intensity – how much they emit per unit of production – or pay for carbon offsets.

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Minister suggests rate pause based on uncertain outlook – as it happened

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Foreign minister Penny Wong says the focus of Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo’s visit to Australia will be on strengthening economic ties between the two countries, on ABC RN this morning.

One of the things we’re focused on is how do we improve our economic ties. Obviously, the nation is an increasing economic power and will be over the next decade. We want to make sure we’re partners in that. So there will be a great focus on the economy and the economic relationship.

You’ll see some big changes to make sure we make business travel easier.

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Human remains found in two burnt-out cars in separate parts of Sydney overnight

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NSW police say remains found in cars in Royal national park south of the city and in western suburb of North Parramatta

Human remains have been found in two burnt-out cars in two different parts of Sydney, but police said the two incidents were not thought to be linked.

Skeletal remains were found inside a burnt-out four-wheel drive in a national park south of Sydney early Tuesday morning.

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Australia’s actions in Ashes Test not in the spirit of cricket, says Rishi Sunak

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Spokesperson says PM agrees with Ben Stokes about Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal at Lord’s

Rishi Sunak has weighed into the row over Jonny Bairstow’s controversial dismissal at Lord’s on Sunday, saying Australia did not act in the spirit of the game.

Downing Street said it was the prime minister’s belief that the Australian team had contravened the spirit of cricket by stumping Bairstow out when the England batsman appeared to believe the ball was not in play during a heated final day of the second Ashes test.

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Pauline Hanson threatens to release anti-voice essay if shut out from official referendum pamphlet

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Exclusive: One Nation leader wants her input to be included for the no side as concern grows among some politicians their views may be left out

Pauline Hanson has threatened to send her own 2,000-word anti-voice essay to Australian voters unless a parliamentary committee includes her contributions in the official referendum pamphlet for the no side.

The so-called “progressive no” views of left-wing senator Lidia Thorpe may also end up excluded from the no essay, which will be authorised by a committee dominated by Coalition and conservative politicians.

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Bernard Collaery trial highlights ‘prohibitive’ and ‘onerous’ government secrecy restrictions, lawyers claim

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Exclusive: Whistleblower’s legal team detailed the ‘profound’ cost of the commonwealth’s rules in inquiry into the effectiveness of the National Security Information Act 2004

The secrecy restrictions around Bernard Collaery’s prosecution were so severe that he was forced to obtain government approval for his lawyer to view evidence against him, communicate with his legal team in-person in secure rooms chosen by the commonwealth, physically transport documents around the country at exorbitant cost and compose drafts on commonwealth laptop computers at pre-approved locations.

The national security law watchdog is currently investigating the operation and effectiveness of the National Security Information Act 2004, which the federal government uses to protect sensitive information during court proceedings.

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Domestic violence advocates outraged over potential for ‘watered-down’ Queensland police integrity unit

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Expert says anything less than the ‘full implementation of an independent police integrity model’ will fail to prevent the continuation of misconduct

The daughter of a domestic violence murder victim, who a coroner found was systematically failed by Queensland police, is urging the state government to stamp out the practice of police investigating themselves.

Shayne Probert’s mother, Doreen Langham, was killed when her ex-partner set fire to her townhouse, south of Brisbane, in 2021.

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In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org

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Senator ‘working on’ settlement referral – as it happened

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Some more detail here on the new national anti-corruption watchdog from AAP.

The integrity commission’s job is to stamp out corrupt conduct by commonwealth officials – including ministers, parliamentarians and their staff, public servants, and government contractors.

The thing I would be really careful about it would be weaponising things before elections.

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Chelmsford defamation case ends in settlement and apology for claims in Scientology book

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HarperCollins ‘sincerely apologises’ to doctor for claims about Sydney hospital in ABC journalist Steve Cannane’s book

A long-running defamation case sparked by the ABC journalist Steve Cannane’s 2016 book on Scientology has ended with a confidential settlement and an apology.

Fair Game: The Incredible Untold Story of Scientology in Australia included a range of claims about the use of a controversial psychiatric treatment – deep sleep therapy – at Sydney’s Chelmsford private hospital in the 1960s and 70s.

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Former deputy mayor Salim Mehajer found guilty of fraud offences after forging signatures

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Ex-Auburn councillor found guilty in Sydney court of four counts of making or using false documents to obtain financial advantage

A bankrupt former deputy mayor of a Sydney council has been found guilty of fraud offences after forging the signatures of his ex-lawyer and sister.

Salim Mehajer, 37, forged his former solicitor Zali Burrows’ signature on two separate documents, one of which claimed to witness a statutory declaration from his sister Zenha Osman, whose signature he also forged, a New South Wales district court jury decided after deliberating for just over four hours.

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Celine Cremer: waterfall and river to be searched for missing Belgian tourist in Tasmania

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Police say swift water will be examined on Tuesday ‘before we begin to scale back the search’

Police will search waterways as they continue looking for the Belgian tourist Celine Cremer, who has been missing for two weeks in remote Tasmanian wilderness.

Officers say they will examine the Philosopher Falls area more closely on Tuesday before scaling back the search.

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Australia’s national anti-corruption commission receives 44 referrals on first day of operation

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Nacc commissioner Paul Brereton reveals the body has already received a number of leads but not all will be investigated

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nacc) has hit the ground running, with commissioner Paul Brereton revealing by 5pm Sunday it had already received 44 referrals online.

At its opening ceremony in Canberra on Monday, Brereton promised “we will listen to you”, referring to the fact that “anyone can refer corruption issues to the commission”, as well as its ability to commence investigations of its own motions.

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Daryl Maguire’s lawyers accuse media of stalking, unsafe U-turns and spooking horses

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Oddly worded statement attacks unnamed outlets for alleged behaviour after Icac findings against former MP and his former partner Gladys Berejiklian

Lawyers for Daryl Maguire have attacked journalists for their alleged behaviour since damning corruption findings were made against the former Wagga Wagga MP last week, issuing a strangely worded statement accusing unnamed “media” of “unsafe u turns”, spooking “valuable horses” and trespassing on government-owned rail corridors, among other things.

Maguire’s lawyers also praise their client’s efforts to secure money for Wagga, including his pursuit of grants and hospital funding that were at the centre of Icac’s corruption investigation.

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Twitter faces lawsuit over alleged non-payment for office services in four countries

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Australia-based company Facilitate seeks more than A$1m for work done at offices in London, Dublin, Sydney and Singapore

Twitter is facing another lawsuit after the company was accused of failing to pay for services for offices in London, Dublin, Sydney and Singapore.

Sydney-based infrastructure company Facilitate is seeking a collective payment over A$1m ($666,000) across the three businesses in alleged owed payments dating back to October last year, when Elon Musk bought Twitter.

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‘It’s crippling families’: parents say childcare centres pushing up rates as Labor’s subsidy kicks in

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Experts warn early learning centres may seek to capitalise on government’s scheme, which comes into effect from 1 July

Two years ago, it cost Jessica* $176 a day to send her daughter to childcare in Melbourne. From July, it’ll be $204.40 – a $26.40 jump.

Jessica is now reconsidering a second child. She’s accepted for the first five years of her daughter’s life, her and her partner will “just have to be broke”, dishing out more than $1,000 per week on fees.

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Advocates call for levy on gambling company earnings to fund addiction rehab

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Australian parliamentary inquiry recommends levy but some public health experts warn it could be ineffective unless carefully designed

Gambling companies should be forced to pay for rehabilitation centres, new consumer rights groups and legal services via a levy on their earnings, according to harm reduction advocates.

A federal parliamentary inquiry has recommended the government introduce the levy, without specifying what the rate should be. But some public health experts believe the levy may be ineffective unless carefully designed.

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Private operators slug commuters with price hikes on Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane toll roads

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Prices rise amid concerns from competition watchdog over Transurban’s proposed acquisition of operator of Melbourne’s EastLink

Commuters on toll roads in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne will notice price hikes on Monday due to long-term contracts with tolling giant Transurban.

The price rises come as the competition watchdog flags concerns the private operator could also become dominant in Melbourne.

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