Gin Gin man James Wood faces court on weapons charges
A Gin Gin man has faced the Bundaberg Magistrates Court on weapons charges.
James Thomas Muir Wood, 34, appeared via video link from custody at the Maryborough Correctional Centre on Friday.
He has been charged with one count each of unlawful possession of a short firearm in public and possessing explosives without authority.
Police laid the charges last month after allegedly finding the shortened firearm and ammunition while searching a grey Hyundai ix35 and a home in Gin Gin.
Mr Wood did not apply for bail.
Magistrate John McInnes agreed to adjourn the matter to "meet up" with his other charges.
Mr Wood will reappear in court, via video link, on August 11.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
22 minutes ago
- ABC News
Victorian sexual abuse survivor wins 'landmark' case against Waller Legal
A survivor of sexual abuse at a Catholic school in Victoria has won a claim against his ex-lawyers, after suing the law firm for negligence. The survivor was abused at Monivae College in Hamilton in the late 1970s by two Catholic brothers and was originally represented in his lawsuit against the Catholic order by Waller Legal in 2015. He first settled his claim against the Order of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) for $140,000 in February 2017. He later went on to sue Waller Legal, claiming the firm was negligent and provided inadequate advice when representing him in that claim. Last week, in a judgement against Waller Legal, Supreme Court Justice Jack Forrest awarded the survivor $263,000. Rightside Legal partner Michael Magazanik, who represented the survivor in his action against his ex-lawyers, described it as a "landmark" decision. The survivor, who legally cannot be identified, told the ABC he felt satisfied with the judgement. "It's been a long process," he said. "I just kept fighting, and I'm hoping that my victory, and ultimately the judgement, will encourage others to pursue their claims to the full amount." He said any others who felt dissatisfied at their settlement should seek new legal representation. Under its principal solicitor Dr Vivian Waller, Waller Legal is among the most prominent specialist abuse law firms in Melbourne. Another lawyer at the firm was responsible for the day-to-day management of the survivor's case against MSC. In a statement, lawyers representing Waller Legal said the law firm was reviewing the judgement, and considering an appeal. "Waller Legal founder and principal Dr Vivian Waller has represented and advocated for hundreds of survivors of institutional sexual abuse for almost 30 years, and will continue to do so," it said. "She has been instrumental in agitating for important law reforms for survivors." MSC said due to ongoing legal matters, the Catholic order would not comment The survivor suffered the abuse between the age of 11 and 12, and said when he first began pursuing legal action against the MSC in 2015, Waller Legal seemed to be the only firm helping victims of historic child abuse. He described the process with Waller Legal as being "like on a conveyer belt". The survivor took the firm to court alleging negligent advice and misleading conduct in relation to both the handling of his economic loss (lost earnings) claim and the advice given to him. The Ellis defence was repeatedly referenced in Justice Forrest's judgement, which refers to a legal technicality that prevented abuse survivors from suing unincorporated organisations, including churches. In his ruling, Justice Forrest said Waller Legal's belief in the efficacy of the Ellis defence was "misconceived and negligently held at the time" the survivor was represented by the firm. Justice Forrest also said advice that any claim faced "insurmountable obstacles" were "furphies". "Not one of the points now identified by Waller Legal and described as constituting an insurmountable obstacle was mentioned by MSC in the negotiations to settle … in 2016 and 2017," the judgement stated. The judge threw out the allegation of misleading conduct. Mr Magazanik began representing the survivor in 2019. In 2021, the survivor launched a fresh suit against MSC, and in 2022 settled his claim for an additional $400,000. In this latter case, the judge refused to set aside the part that related to his claim for economic loss. "My client has enormous endurance," Mr Magazanik said. "He's been through two police processes in relation to his abusers. "This is a point of principle for him. He wanted to stand up for what he thought was right." Of the two Catholic brothers accused of abuse in the case, one has been sentenced in 2013 to two years and three months in prison, while the other had not been convicted of any criminal offences. Mr Magazanik said Rightside Legal had separately been pursuing a class action lawsuit over allegations the firm failed to sufficiently claim for lost earnings, but the Supreme Court had found the details of each case were too different for a group action to progress. He said many of those in the class action were now contemplating individual cases against Waller Legal. "We will read this decision very carefully and give each of them individual advice about their prospects," he said.
ABC News
22 minutes ago
- ABC News
The moments from Erin Patterson's evidence that didn't make headlines
In a courtroom cross-examination, the questions largely flow one way. A lawyer for the defence or prosecution gets the chance to ask questions of the other side's witness, to test the evidence they have given to the court. It was a principle crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC was quick to highlight to accused killer Erin Patterson this week, as they locked horns over evidence drawn from a computer in Ms Patterson's home. Dr Rogers had put to Ms Patterson that she'd used her computer in May 2022 to visit iNaturalist website pages containing information about death cap mushrooms. The court was shown a log of individual URL visits prosecutors said were made on Ms Patterson's PC over a period of time. Dr Rogers's questioning turned to the "visit count" recorded in the log for one particular URL. Dr Rogers: You had visited this URL once before on this device, correct? Ms Patterson: Yes, correct, and I believe it was two seconds earlier. Dr Rogers: I suggest you're wrong about that; correct or incorrect? Ms Patterson: Ah, I'm correct. A short time later, the prosecutor indicated she would move on from the exhibit of URLs visited by the PC. Dr Rogers: Now I'm moving on to a different topic. Ms Patterson: Before you do, Dr Rogers, within this record is that second [website] visit … that I was talking about, 7:23:16, 7:23:18. Dr Rogers: Ms Patterson, I am the person who asks the questions. If there's something that needs to be clarified in re-examination, then your barrister will do so. Ms Patterson: No problem. In her evidence, Ms Patterson also told Dr Rogers she did not recall if it was her who was operating the computer when it visited the page. "Somebody did, and that somebody could have been me," she told the prosecutor. The exchange was not the only one where Ms Patterson pointed out details she believed to be incorrect. One example was when she was given a date in 2023 with the incorrect day of the week: Dr Rogers: [Mobile phone tower expert Matthew Sorrell's] evidence was: "On Monday, 28th of April 2023, the mobile service records for you indicate a possible visit to the Loch township." Ms Patterson: I'm really sorry, Dr Rogers, could you just repeat the date? ... I just lost focus. Dr Rogers: On Monday, 28 April … his evidence was: "The mobile service records for you indicate a possible visit to the Loch township." Ms Patterson: I don't mean to be argumentative, but I think the 28th of April was a Friday. The only reason I remember that, is [my daughter] had two ballets on the 29th and 30th of April and they were that weekend. Dr Rogers: Ok, I'll change it Ms Patterson: Ok. It was an exchange Dr Rogers did not forget, referencing it later that day as she sought to inject a moment of levity into the hours-long examination. Dr Rogers: I better check with you. Monday, 22 May, it's a Monday? Ms Patterson: I don't know about that one. Dr Rogers: It's a joke. It's a joke. I take out the 'Monday'. Throughout her cross-examination, Ms Patterson was focused on Dr Rogers, blinking rapidly and speaking with a level voice as she rejected the suggestion her actions after the lunch were those of a guilty woman covering her tracks. She repeatedly denied to the Supreme Court jury that she was guilty of the murder of three in-laws and the attempted murder of a fourth. She rotated through outfits which have been widely described in media reports and sketches: a paisley-coloured top, a dark-coloured top with white polka dots and a pink shirt. The 50-year-old kept her glasses in her hands during her hours on the stand, so they were ready if she was taken to one of the many trial exhibits on the computer monitor before her. Her questioner, Dr Rogers, kept a brisk pace as she sought to make the most of the opportunity to ask questions of the accused. At times, responses became more personal as Dr Rogers suggested the evidence of Ms Patterson strained credibility. When questioning turned to the Monday after the Saturday lunch, Ms Patterson was asked about her movements after she discharged herself from Leongatha Hospital against medical advice. The court heard she arrived about 8am that day but left about 10 minutes later, before returning after a roughly 90-minute absence. Ms Patterson told the jury she had needed that time to see to things like putting the lambs away to protect them from foxes and packing her daughter's ballet bag, before she could be admitted to hospital for full treatment. She told the court this week that after returning home she also laid down "for a while". Dr Rogers: How long did you lie down for? Ms Patterson: I don't know. Dr Rogers: That's untrue, isn't it? … It's untrue that you lay down? Ms Patterson: No. Dr Rogers: Surely that's the last thing you would do in these circumstances? Ms Patterson: It might be the last thing you'd do, but it was something I did. Dr Rogers: After you'd been told by medical staff that you had potentially ingested a life-threatening poison, isn't it the last thing that you would do, is to lie down in those circumstances? Ms Patterson: They didn't tell me it was life-threatening. By any measure, Ms Patterson's time in the witness box was a lengthy one, stretching over eight days of hearings. And in a case where the complex brief of evidence has ranged from computer and mobile phone data to the science of differentiating fungi, moments have often been needed by all of the parties conducting the trial to double-check the facts on record. But by the end of the week, the time for questioning Ms Patterson was over, and the evidence phase of the trial drew to a close. Now the prosecution and defence will trawl through the hours of transcripts and reams of documents as they prepare to deliver their final arguments in one of Australia's most closely watched trials in years.
Daily Telegraph
6 hours ago
- Daily Telegraph
Troy Wilkie charged with intimidating partner
Don't miss out on the headlines from Central Sydney. Followed categories will be added to My News. A former senior policy adviser in the Berejiklian government and ex-television presenter has been forbidden from seeing his partner after being charged with intimidating her. Troy Wilkie, 35, was charged with intimidation after an alleged incident involving his long-term partner at his Zetland home on February 15 this year. He will defend the charge at a hearing at the Downing Centre Local Court on November 14, and is currently restrained by an apprehended domestic violence order from contacting or approaching his partner in any way except under a limited range of court-ordered conditions. Wilkie was a senior parliamentary adviser to the NSW government's first ever female Speaker and then local government minister Shelley Hancock. A three-year stint as a senior political adviser in the Berejiklian government followed, then three years as a senior government relations manager at the RSPCA. Troy Wilkie. Picture: John Appleyard 'As a senior political adviser in the Berejiklian government, I managed extensive stakeholder relationships and successfully navigated the passage of numerous bills, handled media and public relations, and provided briefings to high-ranking government officials,' Wilkie wrote on LinkedIn. 'Notably, I contributed to addressing the challenges posed by the prolonged drought, catastrophic bushfires, the COVID-19 pandemic, and record-breaking floods.' Wilkie now runs his own strategic communications firm called Seat At The Table, and a disclosure log reveals he met with NSW Government Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic Violence Jodie Harrison on September 4, 2023 alongside the RSPCA. Wilkie's diverse career – documented in fulsome detail on LinkedIn – also includes a two-year stint as the host of Nine's Luxury Homes Revealed. A seven-year stretch of freelance creative gigs included 'memorable performances' in television commercials for Qantas and McDonald's, and as a backing singer for international superstar Adele during her 2017 Australian tour. However, Wilkie's intricately detailed employment history online is peculiarly missing an important role – his candidacy for what was then the Palmer United Party in the mid-north coast seat of Lyne at the 2013 Federal Election. Troy Wilkie on the campaign trail during his stint as the Palmer United Party candidate for Lyne in 2013. His candidacy was the centre of an awkward mishap when Clive Palmer hung up during an ABC Mid North Coast radio interview that year after being unable to call Wilkie's name to mind when repeatedly asked. 'I was watching Lateline one night and up came Clive Palmer: 'This will be interesting,' I thought,' Wilkie said in a 2013 interview with a local news publication. 'His ideas really struck a chord with me, and I was inspired by his passion. 'These were the kind of new ideas I had been wishing someone would talk about.' Wilkie was born and raised in Port Macquarie, graduating from St Columba Anglican School in 2008. Got a story? Email
