Category Archives: Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

Police arrest Sydney man for blackmail over major data breach affecting up to 1 million NSW and ACT residents

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IT provider Outabox, used by dozens of hospitality venues, blamed an ‘unauthorised third party’ for the breach

Police have arrested a Sydney man they expect to charge with blackmail as they investigate a major data breach that saw personal details for up to 1 million New South Wales and ACT residents shared online.

NSW police officers have been working with state, federal and international agencies as they investigate the major breach that is believed to be either blackmail or corporate sabotage after data was published this week.

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Bruce Lehrmann to pay Peter FitzSimons thousands in legal costs

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Lehrmann will pay the columnist $4,616 to cover cost of producing documents during failed defamation case against Channel Ten and Lisa Wilkinson

Bruce Lehrmann has agreed to pay the columnist and author Peter FitzSimons’ costs for complying with a subpoena during Lehrmann’s failed defamation proceedings against Network Ten and former Project presenter Lisa Wilkinson.

Lehrmann lost his defamation case against Network Ten and Wilkinson in the federal court earlier this month. Justice Michael Lee found on the balance of probabilities that Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins on a minister’s couch in Parliament House in 2019. Lehrmann has consistently denied the allegation and pleaded not guilty at the criminal trial into the matter which was aborted due to juror misconduct.

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Parliament rape claim was true, judge rules in case that gripped Australia

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Defamation trial judge satisfied, on balance of probabilities, that Bruce Lehrmann raped colleague Brittany Higgins in 2019

For years, the Australian public has been fascinated by a rape allegation in Parliament House that embroiled government ministers, media personalities and political staff in multiple complicated legal and civil battles.

The saga reached a climax on Monday when Justice Michael Lee declared he was satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that Bruce Lehrmann raped his then colleague Brittany Higgins in 2019.

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Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial live updates: verdict an ‘unmitigated disaster’ for Lehrmann, Ten lawyer says; Wilkinson says she ‘published a true story about rape’

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Justice Lee finds Ten’s defence of truth successful after Lehrmann sued the network and journalist Lisa Wilkinson in the federal court of Australia for defamation. Follow the latest news and updates from the judgment today

Bruce Lehrmann and Lisa Wilkinson have both arrived into courtroom one on the 21st level of the federal court building in central Sydney.

Lehrmann is sitting at the bench, alongside his legal team, while Wilkinson is sitting on the other side of the courtroom in the front row of the gallery, in a row of red reserved seats.

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Bruce Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House, judge finds on balance of probabilities

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Justice Michael Lee finds former Liberal staffer was not defamed by Lisa Wilkinson and Ten in interview with Brittany Higgins in February 2021

Bruce Lehrmann has lost his defamation case against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, bringing to an end a sprawling legal saga which has gripped the nation.

In a live oral summary that took two and a half hours, Justice Michael Lee said the former Liberal staffer was not defamed by Wilkinson and Ten when The Project broadcast an interview with Brittany Higgins on Monday 15 February 2021 in which she alleged she was raped in Parliament House.

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Brittany Higgins questions whether she was drugged on night of alleged rape in new court submission

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Higgins says any question about her evidence in the Bruce Lehrmann defamation case should take into account her trauma and the possibility she may have been drugged

Brittany Higgins has told the federal court the suggestion by an AFP officer that she might have been drugged on the night she was allegedly raped should have been raised in the defamation trial.

Higgins filed a seven-page submission to the court on Tuesday after being invited by Justice Michael Lee last week to make final submissions concerning her credit before the judgment in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson is handed down on Monday.

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Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial: judge to hand down verdict on Monday

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Federal court announces a new date for the decision after original date delayed by fresh evidence

Justice Michael Lee will deliver his judgment in the defamation case Bruce Lehrmann brought against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson in the federal court in Sydney on Monday.

The federal court announced the date for the decision on Tuesday, more than three months after the five-week trial ended on 22 December and four days after the final hearing of additional evidence last week.

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Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial live updates: judge asks Ten lawyer why ‘sordid’ evidence is relevant to case findings – latest news

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Lehrmann’s defamation trial against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson has reopened to hear evidence from the former Spotlight producer. Follow the latest news and updates from the federal court of Australia today

There has been a big document dump on the federal court’s website this morning, with 17 exhibits and affidavits relating to yesterday’s evidence uploaded to the site.

These include screenshots of text messages between Auerbach and Steve Jackson during the night of the alleged “bender” in January 2023, during which Auerbach says Lehrmann bought cocaine and ordered the services of sex workers. Auerbach told the court on Thursday that the drugs and sex workers were paid for by Lehrmann, who was then reimbursed by Channel Seven as “per diem” charges.

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Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial live updates: judge to hear fresh evidence from Taylor Auerbach after Channel Ten wins last-minute bid – latest news

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Lehrmann is suing Channel Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson in the federal court of Australia for defamation. Follow the latest news and updates from today

Judge asks for documents relating to Taylor Auerbach’s departure from Seven

Justice Lee has asked Taylor Auerbach’s solicitor to produce as many documents as possible that relate to the producer’s departure from Seven last year by this afternoon.

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Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial: Channel Ten wins bid to present fresh evidence

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Justice Michael Lee has reopened high-profile case to allow fresh evidence from former Seven producer Taylor Auerbach

Justice Michael Lee will allow Channel Ten to present additional evidence in its defence of the defamation case brought by Bruce Lehrmann, delaying the judgment until next week.

The case will be reopened and the evidence of a new witness, former Seven producer Taylor Auerbach, will now be tested on Thursday, the day the judgment was to have been handed down.

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ACT police take aim at ‘moron tourism’ for bad behaviour at Summernats

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Senior officer says ‘pest’ drivers and not ‘real’ car enthusiasts were causing problems during festival in Canberra

A group of “morons” who would fail to enter the ACT if there were IQ requirements at the border are to blame for bad behaviour at one of Australia’s premier car festivals, a senior police officer has said.

ACT Policing seized 13 cars, including a Holden Commodore for doing a burnout metres from pedestrians, during this year’s Summernats festival in Canberra.

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New Year’s Eve fireworks in Australia: ‘your cracker night could end in hospital’, authorities warn

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Illegal use of fireworks can lead to thousands of dollars in fines and even jail. Here are the rules around the country

Hefty fines and even jail time are on the cards for those who set off illegal fireworks this New Year’s Eve.

People right across the country used to partake in the annual “cracker night” festival, setting off fireworks in their backyards, but most states and territories began banning this practice in the 1980s.

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Brittany Higgins told ‘complete falsehoods’ amid ‘political hit job’, Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers say as defamation trial ends

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Judge concludes case and reserves his decision after more than four weeks of evidence

Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers have argued on the final day of his high-profile defamation trial that Brittany Higgins told “complete falsehoods” and her allegations were part of a “political hit job” fuelled by her partner.

Justice Michael Lee on Friday concluded the case and reserved his decision after more than four weeks of evidence and submissions.

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Man charged with murder after woman found dead at National zoo in Canberra

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The 29-year-old co-worker was refused bail after a woman was found dead with stab wounds on Monday

A man accused of stabbing his female co-worker to death at a Canberra zoo has been charged.

During a bedside hearing, the 29-year-old zoo worker was charged with one count of murder and refused bail.

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In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

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2023 the deadliest year on Australia’s roads in more than half a decade, data shows

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Peak motoring body demands end to governments’ data secrecy as road death toll reaches 1,253

This year was the deadliest on Australia’s roads in five and a half years, with the road death toll reaching 1,253 – the highest since 1,270 people were killed in the 12 months to March 2018, according to the nation’s peak motoring body.

Upon releasing the data, the Australian Automobile Association accused governments of kicking road safety “down the road” after federal, state and territory transport ministers met a fortnight ago to discuss their next five-year partnership on road infrastructure projects but failed to make progress on data transparency when it comes to road deaths.

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Lisa Wilkinson tells court she was ‘largely out of the picture’ in lead up to Brittany Higgins broadcast

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Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial also hears Wilkinson didn’t receive detailed summary of producer’s call with prime minister’s office

Lisa Wilkinson says she was “largely out of the picture” in the days leading up to the broadcast of The Project’s interview with Brittany Higgins in 2021, a federal court has heard.

Wilkinson and Ten are co-respondents in a defamation trial brought by Bruce Lehrmann who says he was defamed by a rape allegation made by Higgins on Ten’s The Project. Lehrmann was not named but says he was identifiable.

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Lisa Wilkinson rejects idea she put ‘pride and ego’ before Bruce Lehrmann’s right to a fair trial

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Broadcaster also hits back during defamation trial at suggestion she was ‘captured’ by Brittany Higgins and had no desire to ‘check or scrutinise anything she said’

Lisa Wilkinson has hit back at suggestions she behaved “like a cheap tabloid journalist” in her handling of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations, saying her team investigated the story “extremely well”.

The broadcaster’s much-anticipated evidence began on Thursday in the federal court, where she is facing lengthy cross-examination by Bruce Lehrmann’s legal team.

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Bruce Lehrmann seeks ‘secret’ Sky News recordings of Brittany Higgins’ lawyer and fiance talking in Sydney bar

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Recordings of Leon Zwier and others reportedly revealed lawyer discussing how Higgins could respond to cross examination in defamation trial. Zwier has denied coaching his client through her fiance

So-called “secret” recordings of Brittany Higgins’ lawyer speaking to Higgins’ fiance David Sharaz at a Sydney bar while she faced cross-examination are being sought by Bruce Lehrmann as he sues for defamation.

The recordings were taken of Leon Zwier and others at the Park Hyatt Lobby Bar on December 4 and reportedly revealed the lawyer discussing how Higgins’ could respond to questions in cross-examination.

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Sydney bakes in 43C temperatures and heatwave conditions; southerly change expected from 6pm – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

‘Climate change a threat to people’s health as well as to our environment,’ Albanese says amid heatwave

Speaking at a press conference in Sydney, prime minister Anthony Albanese said the current heatwave is “a reminder that there just might be something in this climate change stuff”.

We have experienced 2023 as the hottest year on record. We continue to break these records, and that’s why my government’s determined to act on climate change.

Today, with the high heat levels, I do say that it’s a time to ensure that we look after each other and stay safe.

We need to have our migration levels brought to a sustainable level and we will be releasing details of that this week.

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Bruce Lehrmann had ‘bad vibes’ and wasn’t someone former colleague wanted to spend time with, court hears

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Nikita Irvine also says Brittany Higgins seemed ‘sad’ and told her about alleged assault in Parliament House

Bruce Lehrmann’s former colleague, an aide-de-camp for the senator Linda Reynolds, has told the federal court she had “bad vibes” about him based on her “women’s intuition”.

The army major, Nikita Irvine, also said she discussed Brittany Higgins’ allegation of sexual assault against Lehrmann with both Reynolds and her chief of staff, Fiona Brown.

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