Category Archives: Australian police and policing

Terror in Wieambilla: inquest hears of a radio blackspot, booby traps and ‘fatal funnel’ of gunfire

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Distressing details emerge about what happened when two young police officers were shot dead in an ambush by the Trains in December 2022

None of the four Queensland police officers were older than 30, but the horrors they were about to experience at 251 Wains Road would shock even the most hardened cop.

They’d been sent to the remote area of Wieambilla, halfway between Chinchilla and Tara, in south-eastern Queensland, to find a missing person. It was in the middle of a known radio blackspot, with residents so off the grid some of them laid booby traps.

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‘Running for her life’: how police rescued trapped officer from Wieambilla ambush

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Rescue team members tell inquest they devised a code to guide Const Keely Brough to safety, drawing gunfire as they blocked property entrance

The leader of a police extraction team sent to rescue trapped constable Keely Brough from the Wieambilla ambush has told an inquest of the moment he saw the officer emerge from scrub “running for her life” to escape the property.

An inquest on Friday heard evidence from several officers involved in the rescue attempt, which was launched while shooters Gareth, Stacey and Nathaniel Train were nearby and considered “active armed offenders”.

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Ex-Australia Post employee and friend plead guilty in Australian of the Year insider information betting scandal

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The men faced a Melbourne court after being charged following a three-year investigation by federal police into gambling on the annual awards

Two high school friends used insider information to bet on the winner of three Australian of the Year awards, and pocket thousands of dollars, a court has heard.

James Dawkins, 39, and 38-year-old Dean Young fronted Dandenong magistrates court in Melbourne on Thursday after details of their plan came to light.

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‘We could have all been dead’: Wieambilla shooting survivor blames police for failing to warn of danger

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Survivor Victor Lewis and victim Alan Dare’s widow Kerry demand changes and accountability in testimony to Queensland inquest

A survivor of the Wieambilla massacre whose friend was shot and killed while standing next to him has demanded answers about why police failed to warn of the danger.

Victor Lewis travelled to the property with his friend Alan Dare to investigate a fire, and was standing shoulder to shoulder with Dare when he was shot and killed.

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Jury hears Nelomie Perera’s screams before alleged murder in front of children

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Dinush Kurera has pleaded not guilty to murder and assaulting his son after wife’s 2022 death in Melbourne home

The screams of a mother’s final moments alive while her estranged husband allegedly hacked her to death in front of their children have been played to a Victorian jury.

“Help me, help me,” Nelomie Perera yelled in a recording captured on her watch, which was played to Melbourne’s supreme court.

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Knife-wielding man shot dead by police in Sydney’s south-west

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The 34-year-old allegedly struck an officer with a knife in Middleton Grange before he was shot

A knife-wielding man has been shot dead in Sydney’s southwest after he allegedly attempted to stab a police officer, who narrowly avoided “catastrophic injuries”.

Emergency services were called to Bird Walton Avenue in Middleton Grange, about 40km from the CBD, about 11pm on Saturday following reports a man was armed with a knife.

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Victoria’s tobacco wars: police investigate suspicious fire that destroyed Melbourne shop

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Firefighters found the building on Bridge Road, Richmond engulfed in flames on Saturday morning

Police are treating as suspicious a fire that destroyed a Melbourne tobacco shop on Saturday morning, after a series of arson attacks on tobacco retailers.

Firefighters found the building fully engulfed in flames after being alerted to the blaze on Bridge Road, Richmond by callers to triple zero at 3.44am.

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Immigration detainee charged over alleged drug ring operating from inside Villawood detention centre

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Police allege the man used an encrypted messaging service to deal drugs and coordinate a network of runners outside the Sydney facility

An immigration detainee and another man have been charged over an alleged drug ring operating from inside a detention facility.

Police say the 49-year-old dealt large amounts of methylamphetamine using an encrypted messaging service from Villawood immigration detention centre in Sydney’s west.

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Man dies after trying to drive truck on to NSW ferry; global sea ice levels hit record low – as it happened

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Q: Why target the individuals when it’s state policy?

Penny Wong said the Australian government has been “clear in terms of state-to-state relations about our view on settlements”.

They are unlawful under international law. We’ve been clear about that … We have also said that we want to continue to take steps towards a two-state solution.

That may not be the view of some people in the Israeli government, but that is the view of the Australian government.

These individuals have been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians, including things such as beating, sexual assault and torture, resulting in serious injury and in some cases death.

We have imposed these after careful consideration and we would expect that all Australians would recognise the weight of these.

Settlements are unlawful under international law. We are continuing to act in ways that we can to look to how we protect a pathway to a two-state solution, and part of that is to ensure we also impose penalties who perpetrate violence against Palestinians.

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NT military exercise suspended after pilot escapes crash – as it happened

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Import ban fails to curb flow of Nazi-linked items

The number of items imported into Australia bearing Nazi imagery has not been slowed by a national ban on the symbols, AAP reports.

The importation into Australia of Nazi memorabilia, both historically genuine items and modern recreations, has not abated with the passage of [the ban].

Where these goods are imported in quantities which indicates the goods are likely to be traded, the Australian Border Force refers the goods to the Australian federal police to consider investigation under the criminal code.

Consumers are crying out for clear information on how to save money, protect their health and reduce emissions – and they want that information online where they make their purchasing decisions.

We call on the state and federal governments to give consumers the real truth about the risks of gas appliances, by mandating comprehensive pollution labels on all their ads and websites.

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Tasmanian judge facing assault charge tells court his former partner ‘fell’

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Court hears Gregory Geason, who denies assaulting the woman, searched ‘how to get domestic violence charges dropped’ in days after argument

A Tasmanian supreme court judge denied punching his former partner and pushing her into a mantelpiece, telling a court she was unsteady, fell and hit her head on a table.

Justice Gregory Geason is facing a court hearing after pleading not guilty to assault and one count of emotional abuse or intimidation.

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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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Mother of NSW police shooting victim demands mental health reforms a year after son’s death

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Judy Deacon will lead a Sydney rally to press her case that police no longer be sent as first responders in mental health emergencies

A year ago to the day, Judy Deacon got a call to head to the police station.

The 80-year-old expected the issue to be that her son, Jesse, had been hospitalised again. But on her way there, she got a phone call from Jesse’s father. He was crying, and as soon as she heard the tears, she knew her son had died, she said.

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‘Harrowing’ footage sparks calls for Queensland government to remove children from police watch houses

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Exclusive: Labor MP Jonty Bush among those speaking out about state’s youth justice policies after Guardian Australia investigation

Queensland’s most prominent victims’ rights groups say the state government must remove children from police watch houses after the release of confronting footage showing the “brutal” treatment of children in the adult holding cells.

The videos, published after a year-long investigation by Guardian Australia and SBS The Feed, showed young people locked in “freezing” isolation cells, becoming panicked and struggling to breathe.

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NSW police detective found to have committed ‘serious misconduct’ following car crash after work drinks

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Law Enforcement Conduct Commission makes two findings of serious misconduct including for allegedly leaving crash scene in NorthConnex ‘to avoid being breath-tested’

The New South Wales police watchdog has made two findings of “serious misconduct” against a high-ranking detective who crashed a work car while allegedly drunk in the NorthConnex tunnel in May 2023.

The police officer, whose identity is secret due to a 40-year court order, pleaded not guilty in December to charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and high-range drink-driving, nearly seven months after the incident happened last May.

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Woman charged with murder after body found in Melbourne river

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Police say 49-year-old was arrested alongside a teen, who was released without charge, after woman’s body discovered in Maribyrnong River

A woman has been charged with murder after another woman’s body was found in a river in inner Melbourne.

The body was discovered by a passerby in the Maribyrnong River, near Smithfield Road in Flemington, on Sunday.

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Tasmanian judge allegedly assaulted partner after seeing funny photo from her colleague, court hears

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Supreme court justice Gregory Geason has pleaded not guilty to emotional abuse or intimidation and common assault

A Tasmanian supreme court judge allegedly assaulted a woman and left her with two large “egg” bumps on her head after he saw a funny photo she received from a colleague, a court has heard.

The woman, who cannot be named, continued giving evidence on Tuesday in a hearing over her alleged “controlling and coercive” relationship with Tasmanian justice Gregory Geason.

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Police search for teenager bailed over alleged crash that killed 28-year-old in Melbourne

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Police allege 17-year-old has failed to comply with bail conditions and his location is unknown

Police are searching for a teenager who was charged and bailed after an alleged crash that killed a 28-year-old man.

Victoria police on Tuesday afternoon alleged the 17-year-old failed to comply with his bail conditions and his whereabouts was unknown.

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Man charged with murder over alleged DV-related stabbing death in Sydney’s west

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Twenty-one-year-old arrested in Penrith after woman found with two stab wounds to her chest at Kingswood on Monday

A man has been charged after the stabbing of a young woman in an alleged domestic violence-related murder in Sydney’s west.

The 21-year-old was arrested in Penrith and was due to face court on Tuesday, after the woman was found with two stab wounds to her chest.

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Police seek Sydney woman’s partner over alleged stabbing death – as it happened

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Australians feel ‘crushing burden’ from humanitarian crises

Many Australians are feeling a “crushing burden” as they see images from multiple humanitarian crises around the world, a prominent charity says.

I think sometimes people see this stuff on the news or read about it in the newspaper and they feel like they have to carry this burden on their own shoulder, and so they have nothing in between crisis and themselves.

And they look at something like what’s happening in Gaza and Israel, what’s happening in Ukraine, what’s happening now in Sudan, and think how can they possibly make a difference? What can they possibly do to make that situation better? And so it feels like a crushing burden.

Abortion is a very personal choice, and every Queenslander deserves the level of support and care we are offering with this investment.

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Queensland LNP criticised over ‘cruel’ plan to sentence some youth offenders as adults

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Policy unveiled by leader David Crisafulli on Sunday means those convicted of crimes such as manslaughter and robbery would face regular criminal code

Queensland’s top social services body has criticised a Queensland LNP proposal to sentence many youth criminals as adults, saying it is “cruel”, “populist” and ineffective.

On Sunday, the opposition leader, David Crisafulli, used the party convention to announce the “adult crime, adult time” policy, which he said would act as a deterrence by subjecting children to much longer potential sentences behind bars.

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