No sentence could adequately address the ‘devastating effect on the Lovell family’, judge says
A teenager has been sentenced to 14 years’ in jail for the “particularly heinous” murder of Emma Lovell in Brisbane in 2022.
The Queensland supreme court justice Tom Sullivan said the then 17-year-old, who is now 19, hurt more than just the two people he had stabbed – Emma and her husband, Lee Lovell – but had left a “deep impact” on their two daughters as well.
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More details on government’s plan to cap international student numbers
The government has released a little more information on its plan to cap international students in a bid to ease housing shortages and clamp down on sub-standard education providers and agents. It will introduce legislation next week which will:
Prevent education providers from owning education agent businesses.
Pause applications for registration from new international education providers and of new courses from existing providers for periods of up to 12 months.
Require new providers seeking registration to demonstrate a track record of quality education delivery to domestic students before they are allowed to recruit international students.
Cancel dormant provider registrations to prevent them being used as a market entry tool by unscrupulous actors.
Prevent providers under serious regulatory investigation from recruiting new international students.
Improve the sharing of data relating to education agents.
[The Coalition will announce its] energy policy not at the time of the media’s choosing or at a time of the government’s choosing but a time of the Coalition’s choosing.
But it will be very clear in advance of the next election the way we want to go about opening up a new energy source for Australia. That will deliver emissions free energy and lower energy prices by increasing the mix of types of energy over the long term.
Continue reading...Towns across the country are putting on a show as the cold nights draw in. We’ve picked five spots from Queensland to Gippsland to take it in
Autumn is arguably the most beguiling time of year. It’s not too hot, not too cold, and regional towns are basked in alluring shades of auburn, burgundy and orange.
But to experience the season in all its glory, you have to know where to go.
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Continue reading...Queensland police say four ‘juveniles’ were held after an Italian woman was attacked by the boy and then set upon by others when she called for help
Queensland police say a 10-year-old boy has been arrested after a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted in the state’s far north.
Det Insp Kevin Goan said a 23-year-old woman was walking in the Cairns CBD at about 10am on Wednesday when the 10-year-old allegedly sexually assaulted her.
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The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, says the prime minister needs to “pick the phone up” and speak directly to the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, after the Australian government accused a Chinese fighter jet of dropping flares close to an Australian helicopter in international waters.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, yesterday branded the incident as “unacceptable” and said the Australian pilot had to take evasive action to avoid the flares. You can read all the details below:
I think the prime minister needs to pick the phone up, frankly, and speak to the Chinese president … and express our deep concern, because at some stage, there’s going to be a miscalculation and an Australian defence force member is going to lose their life.
And that is a tragic circumstance that has to be avoided at all costs, but there will be a miscalculation by somebody who’s flying that jet or somebody who’s on the deck of a Chinese naval ship, something will happen.
Continue reading...Woman and man, aged 21 and 23, facing charges including murder and deprivation of liberty after alleged victim died in hospital
A Queensland man who was allegedly held captive, tortured and beaten at a remote property north of Brisbane has died in hospital, police say.
A woman and man, aged 21 and 23, had initially been charged with attempted murder and a series of other offences after police were called to the property at Mount Mee on Wednesday evening.
Continue reading...‘Some negative projects will get up, but we have to keep our eyes on the broader goals’, says WWF Australia
A map of operating windfarms in Queensland does not take too long to survey – of the 100 or so across Australia, only six of them are in the sunshine state.
But this is about to change in a very big way. According to state government data, there are 46 separate proposals for windfarms in Queensland with four more already under construction.
Continue reading...Police investigating after Brittany Lauga allegedly assaulted in central Queensland town of Yeppoon
Queensland Labor MP Brittany Lauga has alleged she was drugged and sexually assaulted in the central Queensland town of Yeppoon last weekend, and claims other women may also have been similarly attacked.
Lauga posted a statement on social media, saying she had contacted police early on the morning of Sunday 28 April.
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PM responds to reports regional women camping out, sleeping in cars
Anthony Albanese has commented on reports that carparks in regional areas are being opened for women to sleep in tents or their cars.
We have allocated funding through our Housing Australia Future Fund for emergency accommodation for women and children escaping domestic violence. I will be in discussions with the states and territories as well about what more can be done.
We know that the circumstances where a woman is escaping a violent situation [and] has to sleep in her car or surf on a couch of a friend and rotate around, we hear stories about that as well, is unacceptable in 2024. We need to do better. There’s no question about that.
We need to look at bail laws. More importantly, we actually need to look at how we can keep women, or victims and children in the home environment and force the perpetrator to leave. We have a program in NSW called the Staying Home: Leave Violence program. There are over 138 LGAs in this state at the moment, only 91 have access to that program, even though we know it is incredibly effective. We need programs like that funded immediately, not just across NSW but across the country.
I am optimistic about who we are as a country and our capacity to take responsibility for ourselves. The time of us to do this is now. We don’t have three months, which is what the government is suggesting, to wait and see what happens next. By then another 23 women will have lost their lives.
Continue reading...Sentencing to depend heavily on whether the judge considers the murder to be ‘particularly heinous’
The husband of murdered Queensland woman Emma Lovell wants the young man who fatally stabbed his wife in the heart to be jailed for life, he told a court on Friday.
Lovell, 41, was killed during a late-night attack at her home in North Lakes, north of Brisbane, by two youths on Boxing Day 2022. Her husband, Lee Lovell, was also stabbed twice in the back and kicked in the head in the attempted robbery.
Continue reading...Advocates fear the hard-won reform could be overturned if the LNP, which voted against the bill, wins government in October
Queensland parliament has passed historic legislation decriminalising sex work in the state, after decades of campaigning.
But advocates are concerned the hard-won reform could be overturned if the Liberal National opposition wins government in October. The party voted against the bill on Thursday evening.
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Prime minister says trial ongoing into funding for women escaping violence
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking to ABC RN about yesterday’s announcements after national cabinet.
Well, there is already a trial going ahead. We want to make sure that the processes are in place [so] that they will begin within the next financial year as a permanent program, not just offering financial support, but as well as offering support for referral services, risk assessments, safety planning, and other support …
This isn’t something that you solve with a meeting on one day. This is something that governments are determined to take action on. For some of us this is deeply personal, for others, it is incredibly important.
Continue reading...Final submissions begin in racial discrimination case brought by Mehreen Faruqi against Hanson. Follow the today’s news live
As we flagged earlier, the treasurer Jim Chalmers will today announce foreign investment changes, with approvals to be made quicker and greater scrutiny to be placed on potential risks.
You can read all the details on this from Peter Hannam below:
Right now, we treat investments from right around the world more or less the same. We want to streamline it for the less-risky investments so we can devote much more time and energy and resources to screening the sorts of investments that we’re seeing in critical industries – like critical minerals, critical infrastructure, critical data, and the like.
This is all about strengthening the foreign investment framework to make sure that investment is in the national interest. We want to maximise the right kind of investment, but we want to minimise risk and that’s what these changes I’ll announce today are all about.
Continue reading...Steven Miles’ government claims to have legal advice from Crown Law and solicitor general that amendments will not violate Human Rights Act or international law
The principle of detention as a last resort will be removed from the Queensland Youth Justice Act, under legislation introduced by the Labor government on Wednesday.
The Youth Justice Act will be redrafted to read: “A child should be detained in custody, where necessary, including to ensure community safety, where other non-custodial measures of prevention and intervention would not be sufficient, and for no longer than necessary to meet the purpose of detention.”
Continue reading...Fortitude Valley institution and sister venue Stranded will soon shut as owner cites cost-of-living pressures and young people drinking less
The Brisbane music venue the Zoo will call last drinks in July, with the owner listing a “perfect storm” of forces leading to its closure, including cost-of-living pressures and declining alcohol consumption among young people.
The 500-capacity room, which first opened its doors on Ann Street in 1992 in the formerly down-at-heel but now heavily gentrified inner suburb of Fortitude Valley, is one of Australia’s oldest music venues.
Continue reading...Exclusive: The raft of new laws includes expanding a trial of metal detectors to now include shopping centres and other high-risk locations
Queensland will introduce laws to bus children between police watch houses and youth detention centres as part of a $1.28bn community safety plan announced this week.
Guardian Australia understands the measure, set to be announced on Wednesday, will see children transported between facilities to ensure they receive exercise and access to rehabilitation services, schooling and support programs.
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As we reported, X has provided an update on its legal challenge against Australia’s eSafety commissioner, stating it had complied with a direction to remove content from the Wakeley church stabbing.
However, underneath the post from the platform’s global government affairs team (which we quoted in our previous post), the video is available to watch in a reply to the post, as of 7.45am AEST.
The eSafety Commissioner required X to remove posts containing a video of the attack on Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, filmed by an innocent bystander. [The bishop] has expressed his desire for the video to remain online.
X believes it has complied with the notice issued by eSafety, and with Australian law, by restricting all the posts at issue in Australia.
Continue reading...A 26-year-old Beachmere man has been charged with one count of murder and one count of attempted murder
Homicide detectives have charged a man with murder after a man was found dead and a woman suffered serious head injuries at a home north of Brisbane.
Det Insp David Harbison said it was not a domestic violence-related incident and the 26-year-old man was not previously known to the victims.
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Hundreds gather in Sydney for Anzac Day dawn service
AAP has the details on Sydney’s dawn service where hundreds of people – including veterans – gathered under a full moon and clear skies for a solemn service in the CBD.
You who have loved will remember the glow of their glad young years, as you stand today to salute them in silence, with pride and with tears.
The best thing about the ceremony this morning is to see the number of people that come early in the morning.
Continue reading...Less than 24 hours after the bot was launched, internet users were already attempting to ‘jailbreak’ the program
Charlie, the AI war veteran chatbot, was programmed to educate people about the first world war, mateship and life in the trenches in time for Anzac Day.
But less than 24 hours after the bot was launched, internet users were already attempting to “jailbreak” it.
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