CFMEU WA official filmed ‘butting heads' with manager
CCTV footage of the incident at the Sydney Charles Quarter apartment project in West Perth appears to show CFMEU WA co-ordinator Edmond 'Monty' Margjini aggressively pressing his head against a manager's forehead at least three times, repeatedly forcing the manager back.
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7NEWS
8 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Kathleen Folbigg's best friend Tracy Chapman takes aim at $2 million offer for wrongful conviction of child murder
Kathleen Folbigg's best friend has taken aim at the $2 million ex gratia payment offered by the government to Folbigg after she was wrongfully convicted of killing her children and locked up for 20 years. Folbigg, now 58, was jailed over the deaths of her four children before being freed in June 2023 after new scientific evidence cast reasonable doubt over her convictions. NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley said he decided to make an ex-gratia payment to Folbigg, more than a year after a compensation claim was submitted to the government. Tracy Chapman, Folbigg's live-in best friend, was joined by Folbigg's lawyer Rhanee Rego on Sunrise on Friday, where they were questioned on the financial offer. 'I was as shocked as everyone else. It was absolutely disgraceful,' Chapman told hosts Nat Barr and Matt Shirvington. 'We talk about what is fair and what is humane all the time. Unfortunately, you come back to the same answers. 'This is not fair. It's inhumane. (But) Sadly, not surprising. 'Remembering, Kath has been exonerated. This is a wrongful conviction. She has the ongoing pain and suffering. The trauma. We've all had to live with that every day. 'It's not like that can be put in a suitcase and put under the bed. This is going to be with her during the rest of her days.' Chapman went on to explain Folbigg also has functional needs. Chapman said: 'Life is very expensive. Even having her here for seven months. It was so hard and so expensive. You have to be realistic. Then we have ageism in the workforce. So, realistically, what is Kath going to do? 'She can't just go and get a job. The average age of retirement is 56. It's just an insult.' Folbigg's lawyer Rhanee Rego said she was not shocked, with Folbigg being treated poorly by the system since 1999. 'The Nationals and the Greens have called for a parliamentary inquiry into the decision of the NSW Attorney General. We fully support that, to understand how they came to this figure,' Rego said. Folbigg joins Lindy Chamberlain a small number of Australians who have been jailed but later acquitted and offered compensation. Chamberlain and her former husband Michael were awarded an ex gratia payment of $1.3 million in 1992 for their prosecution in the Northern Territory over the death of baby daughter Azaria. West Australian man Scott Austic in May received $1.3 million on top of an earlier payment of $250,000 after serving nearly 13 years for murdering his pregnant secret lover. He had sought $8.5 million after being acquitted in 2020 on appeal. Both payments were ex gratia, unlike David Eastman who was awarded $7 million in damages by the ACT Supreme Court in 2019. 'I still don't want to put a figure on it,' Rego said. 'I am also like everyone else. How do you put a figure on a woman's life? 'The ex gratia payment system is there for victims. We now know what the government thinks 20 years of a woman's life, wrongfully imprisoned, is worth. And that's $2 million. 'Which is worrying not just for Kath, but for everyone else out there.' Chapman said the system has never taken responsibility for what was wrongfully done to Folbigg. 'There's still not apology,' she said. 'I am disgusted. Actually, I am beyond disgusted. We live in a democracy. These people are supposed to talk to us. There's never been any communication that is decent. 'We're writing a book at the moment. The whole reason for that is to lay bare everything that has happened to us. It's disgraceful. 'I wouldn't treat people like this.' Greens MP Sue Higginson described the offer as 'an absolute slap in the face'. 'And a failure of the NSW premier to uphold the principles of fairness and justice,' Higginson said. 'Kathleen Folbigg was imprisoned for 20 years, accused wrongly of the murder of her own children. 'She has suffered. She has now been released. She is owed compensation that rights the wrong of this state.' Nationals MP Wes Fang said the offer was made the same day upper house members pushed for an inquiry into the payment. Unlike court-run compensation claims with a series of precedents, ex gratia payments are one-off matters and are expected to be a decision of state cabinet. Folbigg was convicted of three counts of murder and one count of manslaughter following the deaths of her children between 1989 and 1999. She appealed successfully against her convictions after scientific discoveries in genetics and cardiology cast doubt on her guilt following two inquiries into her verdicts. In 2024, Rego told AAP the compensation claim included a lengthy statement explaining her 24-year experience with the matter, submissions detailing errors by agents of government and an expert report assessing loss suffered by the former prisoner. Folbigg had previously sought a meeting with Premier Chris Minns, but he refused on the grounds she was in the middle of negotiations with the attorney general.
Perth Now
a day ago
- Perth Now
Non-binary battle as worker fired for calling colleague ‘he'
A 63-year-old Perth man has been sacked from his high-paying job after he called a non-binary colleague 'he' instead of 'they'. The case went to the Fair Work Commission after the fired worker claimed wrongful dismissal, but the matter was kept under wraps because the conciliation conference was confidential. The identities of the two people at the centre of the pronoun controversy and the name of their employer is not publicly available information, but details leaked out after lawyers started talking about the implications of the case. The West Australian understands the legal fight erupted after an exchange at a leadership training course in February, when the man said 'he' while introducing the younger co-worker to the room. Another staff member corrected him and the man apologised to the worker — a biological male who identified neither a man nor a woman. The non gender-specific employee had earlier told the man that they wanted to be referred to as 'they' and the pronoun was written on their name badge. Relations between the pair remained overtly cordial for the duration of the training day. They sat next to each other and were partners in various role-playing scenarios. The older worker was later informed by his manager that a formal complaint had been lodged, and a written apology was required. He refused, claiming nobody could be compelled to call a colleague 'they'. He later told a Fair Work hearing that if one person had the arbitrary right to use a particular pronoun then another person had the right not to. The decision to not apologise exacerbated an already harsh backlash from co-workers, many of whom were in their 20s and had sided with their non-binary colleague. The company launched an investigation in March and the older worker was shown the door. He claimed his dismissal was unlawful and sought legal advice, intending to take the matter to the Federal Court. The matter was shuffled to Fair Work, where he was told he risked a violent social backlash if he pursued the matter in open court. It was with that in mind he reached a confidential settlement with his former employer. The case is unusual because it is not tinged with religious overtones. The sacked worker's refusal to say sorry in writing was not motivated by faith, rather from a belief he was being bullied into accepting a position on gender politics. Lavan Legal partner Bruno Di Girolami, who specialises in workplace law, said the case was 'new legal territory'. 'This situation would broadly fall within equal opportunity legislation,' Mr Di Girolami said. 'Those laws say that you cannot be discriminated against based on gender or intersex status. So, if a company had a policy that employees would not be called 'they' or 'them' then that would likely be actionable by a transgender or non-binary employee on the grounds it is discriminatory, but each case would turn on the facts.' Lawyers who spoke to The West Australian about the case said there did not appear to be a legal right for someone to be called 'they' or 'them' and it was up to individual companies to articulate pronoun convention. It is understood that the company who employed the 63-year-old did not have a pronoun policy. Gender politics have dominated headlines over the past few days courtesy of transgender woman Roxanne Tickle going to court to prove that female-only spaces were illegal if they excluded trans women. Gay and trans rights advocates Equality Australia has thrown its weight behind Ms Tickle's fight with Giggle app founder Sall Grover. Ms Grover had rejected Ms Tickle from the female-only networking app on the grounds the applicant was born a man. The Lesbian Action Group has thrown in behind Ms Grover. Equality Australia's application to get involved in the case will be decided on August 4, when Ms Grover's appeal is heard.
Sky News AU
a day ago
- Sky News AU
Aussie worker fired after calling non-binary colleague 'he' instead of 'they'
A Perth man has reportedly been fired from his workplace after misgendering a non-binary colleague. The 63-year-old man called a non-binary colleague 'he' instead of 'they' in a room of people during a leadership course in February. Another staff member corrected him as the man apologised to the worker, who previously made clear they wanted to be referred to as 'they'. The worker had their pronoun name badge on to ensure fellow colleagues knew of this preference. The 63-year-old was later informed by his manager a formal complaint had been lodged, and a written apology was required. The man refused to make a written apology and claimed nobody could be compelled to call a colleague 'they'. The worker then brought the case to the Fair Work Commission claiming wrongful dismissal. He told the FWC if one person had the arbitrary right to use a particular pronoun, then another person had the right not to use it. His employer launched an investigation in March and was later dismissed. The West Australian reported the worker had reached a confidential settlement with his former employer after he was informed he would risk social backlash if he pursued the matter in open court. As of August 1, 2013, the Sex Discrimination Act makes it against the law to treat a person unfairly because of their gender identity, intersex status, sexual orientation and marital or relationship status (including same-sex de facto relationships). According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics an estimated 0.9 per cent of Australians aged 16 years and over are transgender and gender diverse, including non-binary people.
