Woman spared jail time over crash that injured MP
Rani Paige Lowry, 27, was charged over the collision that seriously injured Amy MacMahon in Kangaroo Point on February 12, 2024.
Lowry was driving at 90km/h in a 60km/h zone around sunset on a Monday evening when she ran a red light at an intersection.
As MacMahon started driving when the light turned green, Lowry ploughed into her car.
CCTV showed the state MP's vehicle slide 180 degrees near where a pedestrian was about to cross the road, while Lowry's car skidded 60 metres south.
Lowry watched the CCTV footage played to Brisbane District Court on Friday, wiping her eyes and sniffling as she broke down in tears.
Data showed Lowry's car accelerated five seconds before the crash and did not apply the brakes as she hit MacMahon's at 83km/h.
Both were taken to the hospital, where MacMahon was in a coma for some time, suffering a traumatic brain injury and damage to her carotid artery.
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The Advertiser
20 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Tougher national working with kids scheme by year's end
People banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction will be banned in all under fast-tracked reforms to be delivered by the end of the year. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland announced on Friday her state and territory counterparts had committed to a "long overdue" scheme, where different systems across the nation will communicate with each other. "We now have a moment as a country, as a federation, to get this done," she told reporters in Sydney. "Attorneys-general today agreed to toughening the system by ensuring that if you're banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction, you are banned in all of them." Ms Rowland said her counterparts supported accelerating delivery of the reform by the end of the year. "There is a firm commitment from all states and territories to pull out all stops and we are working together as a team," she said. Education Minister Jason Clare also announced compliance action had been initiated against 30 early childhood centres under laws passed by the federal parliament in July. Under the changes, funding will be stripped from centres not meeting safety standards. Calls for a unified system have been growing following multiple reports of abuse in childcare centres. In one case, a Victorian childcare worker was allowed to retain his working with children check and work in the sector despite a major provider substantiating grooming allegations. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the reports were shocking and more needed to be done to fix working with children checks. "It's hopeless, and we need to do better, quite clearly, and these revelations are a wake-up call for state and territory governments in terms of the regulations," he told ABC Radio on Friday. "The reports that we've seen recently have shocked parents and (are) every parent's worst nightmare. That's why we are taking action at the national level." Recommendations for a national scheme were made in 2015 as part of a royal commission into child sexual abuse. Ms Rowland acknowledged the reform had not happened quickly enough and had been "let down by successive governments at all levels". "We are here as representatives of the states, territories and Commonwealth to say we're here to make that right, and that is why we are taking decisive action," she said. A NSW parliamentary inquiry on Thursday was told childcare centres were not checking whether staff were allowed to work with children before they were hired. The inquiry was also told banned workers were able to remain in the industry for years without oversight. Opposition education spokesman Jonno Duniam said "there is no time to waste to put stronger measures in place to protect children in child care". The Greens will move to establish a senate inquiry into the safety and quality of early childhood education when parliament resumes later in August. The nation's education ministers will meet next week to consider further child safety laws for childcare centres. Among the measures being considered are use of CCTV in centres and mandatory child safety training. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 People banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction will be banned in all under fast-tracked reforms to be delivered by the end of the year. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland announced on Friday her state and territory counterparts had committed to a "long overdue" scheme, where different systems across the nation will communicate with each other. "We now have a moment as a country, as a federation, to get this done," she told reporters in Sydney. "Attorneys-general today agreed to toughening the system by ensuring that if you're banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction, you are banned in all of them." Ms Rowland said her counterparts supported accelerating delivery of the reform by the end of the year. "There is a firm commitment from all states and territories to pull out all stops and we are working together as a team," she said. Education Minister Jason Clare also announced compliance action had been initiated against 30 early childhood centres under laws passed by the federal parliament in July. Under the changes, funding will be stripped from centres not meeting safety standards. Calls for a unified system have been growing following multiple reports of abuse in childcare centres. In one case, a Victorian childcare worker was allowed to retain his working with children check and work in the sector despite a major provider substantiating grooming allegations. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the reports were shocking and more needed to be done to fix working with children checks. "It's hopeless, and we need to do better, quite clearly, and these revelations are a wake-up call for state and territory governments in terms of the regulations," he told ABC Radio on Friday. "The reports that we've seen recently have shocked parents and (are) every parent's worst nightmare. That's why we are taking action at the national level." Recommendations for a national scheme were made in 2015 as part of a royal commission into child sexual abuse. Ms Rowland acknowledged the reform had not happened quickly enough and had been "let down by successive governments at all levels". "We are here as representatives of the states, territories and Commonwealth to say we're here to make that right, and that is why we are taking decisive action," she said. A NSW parliamentary inquiry on Thursday was told childcare centres were not checking whether staff were allowed to work with children before they were hired. The inquiry was also told banned workers were able to remain in the industry for years without oversight. Opposition education spokesman Jonno Duniam said "there is no time to waste to put stronger measures in place to protect children in child care". The Greens will move to establish a senate inquiry into the safety and quality of early childhood education when parliament resumes later in August. The nation's education ministers will meet next week to consider further child safety laws for childcare centres. Among the measures being considered are use of CCTV in centres and mandatory child safety training. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 People banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction will be banned in all under fast-tracked reforms to be delivered by the end of the year. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland announced on Friday her state and territory counterparts had committed to a "long overdue" scheme, where different systems across the nation will communicate with each other. "We now have a moment as a country, as a federation, to get this done," she told reporters in Sydney. "Attorneys-general today agreed to toughening the system by ensuring that if you're banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction, you are banned in all of them." Ms Rowland said her counterparts supported accelerating delivery of the reform by the end of the year. "There is a firm commitment from all states and territories to pull out all stops and we are working together as a team," she said. Education Minister Jason Clare also announced compliance action had been initiated against 30 early childhood centres under laws passed by the federal parliament in July. Under the changes, funding will be stripped from centres not meeting safety standards. Calls for a unified system have been growing following multiple reports of abuse in childcare centres. In one case, a Victorian childcare worker was allowed to retain his working with children check and work in the sector despite a major provider substantiating grooming allegations. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the reports were shocking and more needed to be done to fix working with children checks. "It's hopeless, and we need to do better, quite clearly, and these revelations are a wake-up call for state and territory governments in terms of the regulations," he told ABC Radio on Friday. "The reports that we've seen recently have shocked parents and (are) every parent's worst nightmare. That's why we are taking action at the national level." Recommendations for a national scheme were made in 2015 as part of a royal commission into child sexual abuse. Ms Rowland acknowledged the reform had not happened quickly enough and had been "let down by successive governments at all levels". "We are here as representatives of the states, territories and Commonwealth to say we're here to make that right, and that is why we are taking decisive action," she said. A NSW parliamentary inquiry on Thursday was told childcare centres were not checking whether staff were allowed to work with children before they were hired. The inquiry was also told banned workers were able to remain in the industry for years without oversight. Opposition education spokesman Jonno Duniam said "there is no time to waste to put stronger measures in place to protect children in child care". The Greens will move to establish a senate inquiry into the safety and quality of early childhood education when parliament resumes later in August. The nation's education ministers will meet next week to consider further child safety laws for childcare centres. Among the measures being considered are use of CCTV in centres and mandatory child safety training. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 People banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction will be banned in all under fast-tracked reforms to be delivered by the end of the year. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland announced on Friday her state and territory counterparts had committed to a "long overdue" scheme, where different systems across the nation will communicate with each other. "We now have a moment as a country, as a federation, to get this done," she told reporters in Sydney. "Attorneys-general today agreed to toughening the system by ensuring that if you're banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction, you are banned in all of them." Ms Rowland said her counterparts supported accelerating delivery of the reform by the end of the year. "There is a firm commitment from all states and territories to pull out all stops and we are working together as a team," she said. Education Minister Jason Clare also announced compliance action had been initiated against 30 early childhood centres under laws passed by the federal parliament in July. Under the changes, funding will be stripped from centres not meeting safety standards. Calls for a unified system have been growing following multiple reports of abuse in childcare centres. In one case, a Victorian childcare worker was allowed to retain his working with children check and work in the sector despite a major provider substantiating grooming allegations. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the reports were shocking and more needed to be done to fix working with children checks. "It's hopeless, and we need to do better, quite clearly, and these revelations are a wake-up call for state and territory governments in terms of the regulations," he told ABC Radio on Friday. "The reports that we've seen recently have shocked parents and (are) every parent's worst nightmare. That's why we are taking action at the national level." Recommendations for a national scheme were made in 2015 as part of a royal commission into child sexual abuse. Ms Rowland acknowledged the reform had not happened quickly enough and had been "let down by successive governments at all levels". "We are here as representatives of the states, territories and Commonwealth to say we're here to make that right, and that is why we are taking decisive action," she said. A NSW parliamentary inquiry on Thursday was told childcare centres were not checking whether staff were allowed to work with children before they were hired. The inquiry was also told banned workers were able to remain in the industry for years without oversight. Opposition education spokesman Jonno Duniam said "there is no time to waste to put stronger measures in place to protect children in child care". The Greens will move to establish a senate inquiry into the safety and quality of early childhood education when parliament resumes later in August. The nation's education ministers will meet next week to consider further child safety laws for childcare centres. Among the measures being considered are use of CCTV in centres and mandatory child safety training. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
WA gun owners protest regulations as police minister warns of 'total firearm anarchy'
Frustrated WA gun owners have gathered in droves at Parliament House to support a crossbencher's motion to scrap controversial firearms regulations, but opposition from the Greens means it will not pass parliament. Legalise Cannabis MLC Brian Walker tried to use a disallowance motion to force the government to abandon the new laws, which came into effect in March and have been billed "the strictest in the country". But despite more than 1,000 people rallying outside Parliament this morning, the motion faces certain defeat since it has failed to win crucial support from the Greens, with leader Brad Pettitt saying the party could not support "the nuclear option" of scrapping it altogether. The regulations faced a backlash from gun owners and the WA Nationals, who have thrown their support behind the motion, as well as One Nation MLCs. The changes were meant to make it harder to get licences, including by requiring stronger evidence of why firearms are needed. Most people will be limited to 10 firearms under the new laws, although that's reduced to five for hunting licences. "By doing what they're doing to us as gun owners is … it's not really going to make the streets any safer," gun owner Murray Cave said at the protest. "The guns that we've got are all licensed, people know where they are … and we're doing all the right things." Fellow gun owner Debra Taylor echoed similar sentiments. "I'm a farmer, this is about us keeping our tools … to maintain our way of living, it's our heritage, it's our culture," she said. The large crowd resulted in the public gallery of parliament being closed. Other gun owners were unhappy about problems they'd had registering new guns on current licenses, and problems accessing the online portal to register guns. One man was unhappy with how long it took to get a gun licence now, saying he had been waiting for three months. Police Minister Reece Whitby said support for the motion was concerning given "what's on the line". "We're in very dangerous situation. There is massive amounts of misinformation," he said. "You've got the proponent of the disallowance motion in the upper house telling people that everything will be OK, we can go back to the original '73 legislation. That is not true." Mr Whitby told reporters Police Commissioner Col Blanch was "really concerned" about the disallowance motion succeeding, claiming it would lead to "total firearm anarchy". "Every firearm in Western Australia would become prohibited because it's not categorised under the regulations, which be disallowed," Mr Whitby said. But gun owners disagreed, including organiser of the rally, David Finnie who said the new laws were an overreach on law-abiding firearms owners. "Let's be honest there is only one intention here, it is to control us and disarm us," Mr Finnie told the crowd. "They can paint it any way they want." Dr Walker backed up those concerns and said freedoms were being eroded bit by bit. "You think that this firearms act is the only thing, well it's not," he said. "We just got a post and boast bill that we've actually just sent to a committee and that post and boast bill will allow the government to actually at a whim tell the police to arrest you for things that happened five years ago and you put on Facebook." A disallowance motion for the new firearms regulations was first moved in the Legislative Assembly by Nationals Leader Shane Love back in May but failed. While the WA Greens supported the referral of the regulations to a Parliamentary Committee, leader Brad Pettitt said his party would not support today's motion. "This nuclear option that's before the parliament today, of literally blowing it all up before that's even happening [the committee reviewing the regulations] is something that can't be supported," he said. "So we won't be supporting that. We'll be working with the government to make sure it improves the current regulations, not blow the whole lot up." Given the Greens confirmed they won't support the motion, it won't have enough support to get up even with Opposition and some crossbench support. Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas, who previously supported the motion in the lower house, did not make himself available for reporters on the way into parliament this morning about his stance on the issue. The government said the laws are designed to keep the community safe by keeping guns out of the hands of violent offenders. The rally comes after police and consumer authorities on Wednesday warned videos circulating on social media featuring deep fake AI generated police officers condemning the firearm law reforms could lead to community unrest. One video features the AI generated officers removing a gun from a crying elderly farmer, while the other shows an officer falsely stating defence personnel can't hold firearms "unless they can prove they're not crazy". Consumer Protection commissioner Trish Blake said the videos were "intended to build heat and passion in the community". "But it's on based on lies, so and that's where we're worried that someone might be misguided into doing something dumb, responding or actioning something in any way that causes them harm or harm to the community," she said. "It is really concerning because it is misinformation that is causing a lot of heated debate in the community unnecessarily and we really don't want people to be misinformed and we don't want people to be encouraged to take action or do something really dumb based on this."
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Perth Now
Surge in jailed kids as courts refuse bail
Almost 10 classrooms worth of children are detained in one state alone as bail changes trigger a sharp increase in detention rates. More than 230 children were in custody in NSW in June, an increase of 34 per cent since the same month in 2023, the state's crime statistics bureau said. It's a reversal in a trend of declining numbers of children in detention, but the figure is still lower than it used to be, the bureau's executive director Jackie Fitzgerald told AAP. "Over the longer term, we have had much higher rates of kids in custody than we have now," she said. More than 300 children were in custody in June 2015. The majority of children currently in NSW jails have not been convicted, with only 66 children in custody as a result of a sentencing. More than 70 per cent of the children in jail are on remand while they go through the court process. But the increase is not necessarily driven by laws placing additional tests on bail, suggesting magistrates are increasingly inclined to refuse bail. "There has been a tightening up of access to bail," Ms Fitzgerald said. "But it seems to be beyond just the offences that were targeted or the particular circumstances that were targeted under the legislative change." The state government introduced laws limiting access to bail for children aged 14 and over accused of break-and-enter and motor vehicle theft offences while bailed on similar charges. The government has also clamped down on bail for accused domestic violence offenders. "We have had a lot of conversation about bail and remand in NSW, both in the adult space and the youth space," Ms Fitzgerald said. "Whether it's that, or it's something that magistrates are seeing in the court, there has been a move towards more serious bail determinations for young people irrespective of those legislative changes." The increase is particularly concerning for Indigenous children and conflicts with Closing the Gap targets, Ms Fitzgerald added. About eight per cent of children in NSW are Indigenous, but that proportion rises to almost 60 per cent for those in jail. Greens MP Sue Higginson said the money spent locking up children would be better spent on social services and programs that could divert them from the criminal justice system. "Locking up kids is the most criminogenic thing we can do to them," she said. "It increases the likelihood of reoffending, entrenches disadvantage and drives higher crime rates." NSW has the most people in custody in Australia but is also its most populous state. The Northern Territory has the highest proportion of its population in jail while Victoria has the lowest, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)
