NSW MP resigns before vote to expel him
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
4 minutes ago
- ABC News
No finding of guilt in blackmail case against former MP and husband, court reveals
A South Australian court did not find former MP Annabel Digance and her husband guilty of blackmailing Premier Peter Malinauskas, despite a previous claim by the premier's lawyer in court, a leaked email reveals. The email — which was obtained by ABC News — further states that Chief Judge Michael Evans has proposed an open court hearing be held early next week "to hear the parties prior to having the record of the court corrected". The email was sent by Mr Evans's acting judicial assistant on Friday afternoon to SA Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Martin Hinton, as well as his department and lawyers representing Mr Malinauskas and the Digances. "There were no orders made which involved a finding of guilt against either of the defendants," the acting judicial assistant wrote. "It has come to the attention of the Chief Judge that a part of the court record in this matter is incorrect and needs to be corrected. Annabel and Greg Digance were charged with one count each of blackmail after they allegedly threatened to make accusations of misconduct against Mr Malinauskas in 2020. Those charges were later dropped. Last month, the Digances filed a $2.3 million civil lawsuit against Mr Malinauskas and the State of South Australia — claiming that both led a malicious prosecution. Barrister Michael Abbott KC, for Mr Malinauskas, told the Supreme Court last Wednesday that the Digances had been found guilty of the blackmail charges, but they were subsequently dropped on the proviso they enter an order to leave his client alone. "It's clear … that the sentencing Judge, who was Judge Muscat, found [them] guilty of the charge of blackmail," he said. At the time, Supreme Court Associate Justice Graham Dart said he understood the court order could not have been imposed in the absence of a guilty finding. He questioned the viability of Mr and Mrs Digance's civil claim and said if they'd been found guilty then the prosecution could not be classified as malicious. According to the email sent by the acting judicial assistant on Friday, a nolle prosequi was entered by the prosecution on April 21, 2023, which brought the blackmail charge proceedings to an end. Nolle prosequi is a legal term used to abandon legal action. "The … orders made on that date were correctly made under the [Act]," the email states. "There were no orders made under [section] 28 of the Sentencing Act 2017. "The orders of the court made by the judge on 21 April 2023 are accurately reflected in the transcript of that hearing." In statement, a spokesperson for Mr Malinauskas said: "All Peter Malinauskas has ever wanted is to be left alone by the Digances, and is therefore grateful the court saw fit to impose an … order on the Digances". "The rest is a matter for the courts and the Digances," they said. ABC News contacted the Digances for comment.
News.com.au
16 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Major claims as Netflix's Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright goes on trial over deadly chopper crash
A reality television star and pilot allegedly fudged helicopter flight logs before his mate died in a fatal crash and suggested 'torching' important documents in the aftermath. Those were just some of the explosive claims made in the Northern Territory Supreme Court during the first week of the trial against Outback Wrangler Matt Wright. Mr Wright, 45, is accused of engaging in a 'pattern' of failing to accurately record flight times in the Robinson-R-44 that crashed three years ago, killing his friend and co-star Chris 'Willow' Wilson. The 34-year-old father was dangling from a sling attached to the chopper during a dangerous crocodile egg collecting mission on February 28, 2022. The helicopter crashed into a paperbark swamp along the King River in Arnhem Land, killing Mr Wilson and critically injuring 28-year-old pilot Seb Robinson. Mr Robinson is now a paraplegic and in a wheelchair. Mr Wright has pleaded not guilty to three allegations of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the crash. In his opening address this week, prosecutor Jason Gullaci told the court the six-man operation was 'risky and dangerous work'. Wild Harvest NT owner Mick Burns — commonly known as the 'crocodile king' — had a permit for egg collection and subcontracted Mr Wright's company Helibook. Mr Gullaci alleged Mr Wright had a 'pattern' of manipulating flight records. He said the Netflix and Apple TV star would have known about the maintenance requirements, including a service every 50 to 100 hours of flight and a major overhaul at 2200 hours. He said these 'potential end of life' overhauls could cost up to $460,000. Mr Gullaci alleged that in a bugged conversation with his wife Kaia in September 2022, Mr Wright suggested he knew he had overflown the maintenance hours 'by a couple hundred (hours), maybe 10 per cent'. 'I will be guilty of not keeping my f****** paperwork up to speed,' Mr Wright allegedly said. Mr Wright allegedly repeatedly disconnected the chopper's Hobbs Meter, which Mr Gullaci compared to the odometer of a car. While it was not alleged Mr Wright was responsible for the deadly crash, Mr Gullaci said his fear that he would be blamed did motivate his actions. 'Mr Wright was concerned after the crash that this failure would be revealed,' Mr Gullaci said. 'And if it was uncovered that there had been systemic under-reporting of the recorded hours, that it could be used as a way to blame him for the accident.' Mr Burns testified the collectors, who dangled from helicopters, were paid $1000 per day and the pilots were paid by their respective companies. He told the jury he paid for their 'green' fuel as 'we thought it was safer as it allows the engine to run cooler'. The petrol and a refuelling stop at Mt Borradaile will be a source of contention throughout the trial. Mr Burns began to tear up as he recalled arriving at the horrific crash site. Off-duty police officer Neil Mellon was with Mr Burns at the site and also became emotional as he told the jury how he put his friend in a body bag. 'I've done it so many times, I didn't think these guys needed to do that,' he said. Mr Mellon said he disconnected Mr Wilson's harness, removed a handgun from his hip, and removed his mobile phone — handing it to Michael Burbidge, who was flying another helicopter and had been the first to arrive at the scene. He told the court Mr Burbidge told him Mr Wilson's wife Dani 'doesn't need to see what's on that' and later admitted the phone was 'in the ocean'. Mr Mellon agreed Mr Wright and Mr Burbidge were 'in and around' the crashed chopper's cockpit, but Mr Burns said he did not recall. In a bugged conversation months later, the court heard Mr Wright had allegedly said: 'He had run out of fuel. I'll just say he was a s*** pilot.' The prosecutor alleged Mr Wright repeatedly tried to manipulate the helicopter's documents, including pressuring Mr Robinson to forge records and suggested to others the original maintenance release should be 'destroyed'. Mr Gullaci alleged the celebrity was recorded saying: 'Just torch it, I don't know where it is.' 'Now they are starting to put the pressure on everyone, you know, they will start squealing,' he allegedly said in September. On Friday, the court was played a covertly recorded phone call between Mr Wright and Mr Burbidge from August 9, 2022. Mr Burbidge allegedly said to Mr Wright: 'Who's got the logbooks for IDW? There's been s**t written in it.' Mr Burbidge then told Mr Wright an anonymous 'source' told him engineers had been writing notes in the logbook, saying the helicopter had been flown when the hours meter was disconnected. 'They've said the clock's been off … so you need to find out who's f****** said it so you know who to trust and not to trust,' he said. Defence senior counsel David Edwardson said the charges against his client relied on statements made by Mr Robinson and his family whose 'credibility and reliability' was in question, as well as inaudible and unclear recordings. The jury heard the lengthy trial would likely focus on the trace levels of cocaine in Mr Robinson's blood. Mr Gullaci said expert evidence would be presented that indicated recreational use in the days before the crash. The trial before Justice Alan Blow will resume next week.
ABC News
34 minutes ago
- ABC News
How Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has gone from dazzling property flipper to secret business trouble
Australians love a tale of property renovation, but one story that's little known is that Queensland Premier David Crisafulli was once a successful house flipper. Between 2005 and 2009, his private family company, Crisafulli Financial Services, bought and sold seven north Queensland houses in rapid, profitable deals. Those successful deals make a disastrous loss on another property in 2022, when he was opposition leader, unusual. The family company lost more than $50,000 on a long-held property sold in a rush. That was just less than a year after he secretly finished paying out liquidators $200,000 to settle claims of botched business oversight. Politicians have private business, but that business is sometimes thrust into the public arena. And the premier's failure to declare private business affairs on a register of interests was found in June to breach parliament's rules. A bipartisan parliamentary ethics committee decided he had failed to declare a liability for the $200,000 liquidator settlement. He had been "careless", and there was evidence he "ought to have known that such payments were to be declared (as a liability) or at least sought the registrar's advice", the committee found. Another question he has since refused to answer is how he paid for the $200,000. Journalist: Did you pay yourself? Premier: I've met my obligations. Did anyone assist him in paying for it? "Well, have a look at the report," he replied, arguing how he paid was "part of the analysis". But the report does not mention how he paid. It goes to what private business of politicians should be public. Transparency International Australia chief executive Clancy Moore said public figures withholding information about financial dealings erodes public trust. He said that was particularly the case when it related to "insolvency and potential conflicts of interest". "Being forthcoming about how a significant financial settlement was funded, especially while serving in public office, would demonstrate a commitment to integrity, reduce speculation and enhance public confidence," Mr Moore said. But back to the profitable days flipping homes in the mid 2000s. Mr Crisafulli's family company was acquiring homes — often in Townsville's battler suburbs — capitalising on demand for housing with quick, hard real estate work. In general, these properties were nothing fancy but could be spruced up. One might have new tiles installed, for instance. It was successful. Property records show Crisafulli Financial Services bought one property for $256,000 in June 2007 and offloaded it by September for $312,000. Another, acquired in December 2006 for $218,000, was sold in March 2008 for $291,000. All told, before costs, the Crisafullis cleared almost $330,000 on those seven homes. By then, Mr Crisafulli had been in local government, later becoming a state minister in the short-lived LNP administration of Campbell Newman. In 2015, Mr Crisafulli lost office and ventured into the private sector. As revealed by the ABC, he landed a job via LNP donor and soccer-fanatic businessman Rabieh Krayem. The pair had known each other from Townsville and Mr Krayem had put forward the now-premier's name as sole director of a long-struggling training organisation SET Solutions. That was the same company in which Mr Krayem had just acquired a 50 per cent stake. Mr Crisafulli lasted mere months in the role — from his appointment in December 2015 until his resignation in April 2016. He was ultimately never paid a wage for his time, and one creditor told the ABC that Mr Crisafulli had been a straight shooter at the business and paid bills when promised. The business, which auditors found had received government funding for more hours of teaching than it had delivered, even when Mr Crisafulli headed the company, collapsed into liquidation in June 2016. Mr Crisafulli returned to parliament in 2017, but the ABC later revealed he had quietly paid liquidators $200,000 to settle claims the training business might have been trading while insolvent while he was at its helm. Such a payment can make business sense even when people do not believe they have done anything wrong. That's because settling liquidator claims privately may be cheaper and less scarring than risking a long battle which could potentially involve public court hearings. Mr Crisafulli secretly paid the settlement in three tranches: $80,000 in March 2020, $60,000 in July 2020 and $60,000 in July 2021. Insolvency industry sources said the multiple transfers can indicate financial strain or an inability to gather sufficient funds for a one-off payment. At the time, Mr Crisafulli's register of interests listed a multi-property portfolio and six Bank of Queensland mortgages. Land records also show an early-mid 2021 sale of one mortgaged property for $2.3 million and a mortgage-backed purchase of another for $745,000 by his wife, Tegan Crisafulli. In February 2022, about half a year after finishing paying the liquidators, his family company tried to offload a Townsville property bought for $287,500 12 years earlier. It was on a big but odd-shaped battleaxe piece of land. Even the sale advertisement was blatant about the property's bad condition: "No point in doing a building and pest." But buyers weren't keen. The asking price dropped. The advertisement suggested selling pressure: "The owner's instructions are clear, and this will be gone before the end of the financial year." By May 2022 it was sold for $230,000, marking a gross loss of $57,500. Mr Crisafulli won't answer why a sale needed to go through that financial year or if he was under strain then. Perhaps he might have wanted cash to make another purchase later, or to bring down borrowing levels. It could be unrelated to the liquidator settlement. But the premier, who had campaigned on his love for small business and transparency, will not clarify that, nor how he financed the $200,000 liquidator settlement. Perhaps he drew down on existing loans. Or family might have provided a payment as a gift — a carve out in the register of interests allows some family contributions to not be declared. In June of this year, when asked how he financed the $200,000 payment, Mr Crisafulli repeated phrasing he'd used before about having met his "obligations". He was asked: Did the $200,000 payment impose obligations on him to other people? "I want to be clear, this was subject to this analysis (the committee report) and I have met my obligations," he responded. Yet the report does not mention how he paid. He had also previously, when asked why he had not listed the liquidators' debt as a liability, maintained he had "met [his] obligations" — a statement the ethics committee later found was incorrect. Transparency International's Mr Moore said even if a payments disclosure "is not technically required under the letter of the law, the spirit of democratic accountability calls for more openness". "Transparency is not a technicality, it is a test of leadership." Deputy Opposition Leader Cameron Dick argued in June that questions remained.
