William ‘Little Pebble’ Kamm and Sandra Costellia expected to be charged following six-month NSW police investigation
Cult leader William Kamm and his partner have been arrested in Sydney over allegations they groomed a 19-year-old woman for sex from the age of six.
Kamm, 73, who refers to himself as “Little Pebble”, allegedly sent the girl letters and homemade gifts and called her on the phone.
Continue reading...Police say they ‘acted appropriately’ when they shot a 26-year-old woman who fatally stabbed her 53-year-old mother
A Victorian woman shot and killed by police officers on Friday evening was caught in the process of stabbing her mother, police say.
Police revealed details about the incident on Saturday, saying that an officer was called to a home in Melbourne’s north-east at about 6.30pm after neighbours mistakenly reported that a young woman was trying to set her mother on fire.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Influx of reports comes amid concerns about welfare of young people detained in overcrowded adult watch houses
The Queensland public guardian says its community visitors have reported more than 550 issues on behalf of children detained in police watch houses since the start of this year, amid ongoing concerns about the welfare of young people in overcrowded and “unsuitable” lockups.
First-hand reports from watch houses, revealed by Guardian Australia in January and February, detail how the system is struggling to cope with an influx of children, the result of the state government’s “tough on crime” justice policies.
Continue reading...Police say the 22-year-old Ballarat man was expected to face court today, a month after the 51-year-old was last seen leaving home
A 22-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy, who went missing more than a month ago.
Patrick Stephenson is expected to front Ballarat magistrates court on Thursday, charged with one count of murder.
Continue reading...Police say the alleged attack occurred on the Dandenong Creek trail on 31 January, with the woman fighting off the teen
A teenage boy has been charged over the false imprisonment and sexual assault of a female jogger in Melbourne’s south-east.
The 13-year-old from Rowville was charged over the alleged attack of a woman on the Dandenong Creek trail in January.
Continue reading...Mike Burgess says security agencies ‘don’t radicalise people’ and stands by actions of police in case of 13-year-old with Islamic State ‘fixation’
The Asio chief has insisted security agencies “don’t radicalise people” but admitted “dealing with minors is incredibly difficult” after court findings criticising an undercover operation targeting a 13-year-old child with autism.
Guardian Australia revealed last month that the boy, known by the pseudonym Thomas Carrick, was granted a permanent stay on terror-related charges last October, after a magistrate found police “fed his fixation” with Islamic State during the operation and “doomed” his efforts at rehabilitation.
Continue reading...Shadow immigration minister wants ‘better Australia’ but refuses to say what level of migration Coalition would pursue in government
The shadow immigration minister, Dan Tehan, has criticised a “big Australia” policy but refused to say what level of migration the Coalition would pursue in government, saying only that it wants “a better Australia”.
In an interview with the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday, Tehan was repeatedly challenged to spell out the Coalition’s view on acceptable migration levels, but said: “I can tell you what it shouldn’t be. It shouldn’t be as high as what it is today.”
Continue reading...Zachary Rolfe evidence calls into question the testimony of several senior officers to the court earlier this week
Award certificates allegedly given out to members of an elite Northern Territory police unit were “clearly racist”, calling into question the evidence of several senior officers, a court has heard.
Zachary Rolfe told an inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker earlier this week that he believed a racist mock award had been bestowed by the Tactical Response Group to the member who behaved most like an Aboriginal person.
Continue reading...Exclusive: New ‘police efficiency’ laws planned amid political pressure to devote more frontline resources to youth crime
The Queensland government is planning to introduce new “police efficiency” laws that would empower officers to issue on-the-spot year-long domestic violence protection orders, amid ongoing political pressure to devote more frontline resources to youth crime.
Documents leaked to Guardian Australia show the state intends to announce police “modernisation measures” in mid-March, including legislative amendments allowing officers to impose immediate protection orders for up to 12 months without having to make an application to a court.
Continue reading...Lawyer tells Kumanjayi Walker inquest current and former officers in tactical response group rejected claims and said they were hurtful
Senior police from the Northern Territory’s heavily armed tactical response unit have strongly denied claims by Zachary Rolfe that the unit bestowed a racist mock award on colleagues who displayed Aboriginal-like behaviour, a court has heard.
Rolfe made the claims earlier this week in Alice Springs during the inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker.
Continue reading...Kristin Shorten from The Australian told former police officer to ‘ignore the leftist reporting’, inquest into Indigenous man’s death hears
A journalist at The Australian told Zachary Rolfe only two days after he shot and killed Kumanjayi Walker that she could “write an article in your defence” because “I know what you did was totally warranted”, a court has heard.
Journalist Kristin Shorten, who Rolfe said was a friend because her partner was a fellow police officer, texted Rolfe in November 2019 asking if he was OK after the incident and telling him to “ignore the leftist reporting”, the inquest into Walker’s death heard on Wednesday.
Continue reading...The decision comes after NSW constable Beaumont Lamarre-Condon was charged over the deaths of the gay couple last week
Organisers of Sydney’s Mardi Gras parade have asked police not to march in the event on Saturday after New South Wales constable Beaumont Lamarre was charged with murdering a gay couple in the city, the New South Wales force have said.
A NSW police spokesperson confirmed the decision by the board of Australia’s premier LGBTQI event on Monday night.
Continue reading...NSW police say remains found near Goulburn after Sen Const Beau Lamarre charged with murders of ex-Channel Ten TV presenter and Qantas flight attendant
Two bodies have been found south-west of Sydney during the search for missing couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.
The discovery came four days after the serving New South Wales police officer Beau Lamarre, 28, was charged with their murders.
Continue reading...Inquest hears Rolfe told former soldier he wanted to leave police force to find ‘wild work’
Ben Roberts-Smith agreed to provide overseas private security contacts to Zachary Rolfe after the then Northern Territory police officer said he wanted to leave the force to find “wild work” and “dangerous shit”, a court has heard.
Rolfe shot Warlpiri man Kumanjayi Walker three times while trying to arrest him on 9 November 2019 in the remote community of Yuendumu, about 300km from Alice Springs. Walker, 19, stabbed Rolfe with a pair of scissors shortly before he was shot by the then constable three times. Rolfe was found not guilty in March 2022 of charges of murder and manslaughter relating to Walker’s death.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
The trade minister, Don Farrell, is at the World Trade Organisation ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi where he had a sideline chat with China’s commerce minister, Wang Wentao, overnight.
Sideline chats are the unofficial official talks – it’s not considered a bilateral, but both sides have to agree to the talk in order for it to happen. So it’s not just a see them and grab situation between sessions. It’s a little more planned than that.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Sen Const Beau Lamarre took a police gun home before allegedly using it to murder his former partner and his ex’s new boyfriend
Civil liberties advocates are calling for an independent review of how police weapons are used in New South Wales after a constable was able to take home a force-issued gun three days before allegedly using it to murder two people.
Sen Const Beau Lamarre allegedly used the same Glock pistol to murder his former partner Jesse Baird, 26, and Baird’s partner, Luke Davies, 29, in Paddington on 19 February.
Continue reading...NSW deputy commissioner further alleges accused police officer purchased angle grinder, padlock and weights from hardware store
New South Wales police will allege one of their own constables made “partial admissions” about an alleged double murder to an acquaintance before he turned himself in to police last week.
The deputy commissioner Dave Hudson said Sen Const Beau Lamarre – who was charged on Friday over the deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies – wasn’t cooperating with investigators searching for the men’s bodies south-west of Sydney.
Continue reading...NSW police commissioner Karen Webb expresses ‘heartfelt condolences’ to the families and friends of alleged murder victims Jesse Baird and Luke Davies
New South Wales police are investigating whether murder-accused senior constable Beau Lamarre-Condon was lawfully in possession of the police-issue handgun which they believe was fired at a Paddington unit where two men were allegedly killed.
Police continued the search on Sunday for the remains of Jesse Baird, a former Channel Ten presenter, and his partner, Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies.
Continue reading...Police say three men and a woman died after vehicle left the road in Wardell, near Ballina, on Saturday morning
Four people have died after the ute they were travelling in left the road and rolled in northern New South Wales, in another horror smash amid a disastrous period on the state’s roads.
Police were called to Back Channel road in Wardell, near Ballina, at about 5.45am on Saturday after reports of a crash. Officers found that three men and a woman had died at the scene.
Continue reading...Former celebrity blogger expected to face court. Follow updates live
What will happen if there’s a storm during today’s Taylor Swift concert?
With a thunderstorm forecast at Sydney Olympic Park this evening, many are asking what this means for the Eras tour?
The show will play, rain or shine. The only exception would be severe weather, which could impact the safety of artists and patrons. Such a decision would be made by NSW Police, the event promoters and Venues NSW staff.
Please follow venue screens and staff instructions in these circumstances.
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