Suspicious Geelong West fire triggers rare vacant block sale
The three-bedroom weatherboard house that formerly occupied 20 Clarence St sustained significant damage when it was engulfed by flames last May and has since been demolished.
Now the 418sq m parcel of vacant land has been listed for sale with $675,000-$725,000 price hopes.
Geelong's $9m 'best home' to break record
A police investigation into the blaze, which long-term resident Avril Leishman escaped unharmed, remains ongoing.
'The fire is still being treated as suspicious, and the exact cause is under investigation,' a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.
The destruction of the house creates a rare blank canvas in a premium Geelong West position just a few doors down from Pakington St's shopping and cafe strip.
Whitford, Newtown director John Moran said he'd already had an offer on the property and several other inquiries within days of it hitting the market.
'In terms of a block that close to Pakington St I went back the last few years and I can't find anything that has been vacant land in that proximity so it's a pretty rare offering,' he said.
'Obviously it is an unfortunate situation with the fire but with the heritage overlay you would not have been able to pull the house down so every cloud has a silver lining.'
The front section of the character house that once stood at the property was burnt beyond salvation.
Mr Moran said the fact it had been demolished created a freedom not usually found in the heritage neighbourhood.
He expects a stand-alone dwelling to be constructed there.
'With this one you can just go for it,' he said.
Only a handful of vacant blocks have been listed for sale in Geelong West in recent times, with only one changing hands last year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
21 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Latest wastewater report reveals Australians consumed 22 tonnes of illicit drugs over one year
The latest wastewater report has revealed Australians consumed more than 20 tonnes of illicit drugs worth billions of dollars over one year. The report, released by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), found 22.2 tonnes of methylamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and MDMA worth an estimated $11.5bn were used by Australians between August 2023 to August 2024. Authorities found cocaine use had risen 69 per cent from the previous year, MDMA use rose 49 per cent, meth use 21 per cent and heroin use rose by 14 per cent. The dramatic rise in drug use was attributed to the recovery of the illicit drug market following Covid-19 restrictions as organised crime groups quickly re-established and expanded their operations to supply markets. ACIC chief executive officer Heather Cook said serious and organised crime remained an enduring threat to Australia's national security and safety. 'Serious and organised crime groups exploit Australia's high demand for illicit drugs and are focused on maximising profit at the expense of the community's security and wellbeing,' she said. 'The 2.2 tonne increase in national meth consumption is concerning because 12.8 tonnes is the highest annual level recorded by the program and the drug causes significant community harm. 'Similarly, there has been a large increase in national cocaine consumption, also to the highest annual level recorded by our wastewater program.' Record high meth, MDA and ketamine consumption was detected in capital cities and record high heroin use was found in regional areas. The average regional consumption of alcohol, nicotine, MDA, methylamphetamine, oxycodone, fentanyl and cannabis exceeded capital city consumption. Ms Cook said wastewater data combined with other drugs-related information helped authorities develop a comprehensive understanding of illicit drug markets. 'This combined data strongly indicates a concerning level of market growth, extending beyond the markets for illicit stimulants,' she said. 'This challenge can only be met though concerted and co-ordinated effort under the three pillars of the National Drug Strategy: demand reduction, supply reduction and harm reduction.' The report found the Northern Territory consumed nicotine and alcohol at rates above the national average. Regional sites South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria had the highest average meth consumption. Adelaide and Perth were the capital cities with the highest meth use, while the highest cocaine use was recorded in Sydney. For free and confidential advice about alcohol and other drug treatment services call the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015.
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Secret Deloitte review into automated JobSeeker system warns of 'instability,' 'unintended impacts'
A $439,000 report kept under wraps by the government has issued urgent warnings over the system responsible for managing vulnerable Australians on JobSeeker, with fears the program punishes those struggling and is prone to error. The damning report comes after the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) and Services Australia were found to have illegally cancelled the JobSeeker payments of 964 recipients between April 2022 and July 2024. A review completed by Deloitte, which was received by DEWR on June 18 and remained unpublished until inquiries from NewsWire on Thursday, said repeated modifications and updates of the system had created at 'excessively convoluted' code base which 'lacks architectural integrity' had become 'difficult to manage. Commonwealth Ombudsman Iain Anderson said he feared it would have likely resulted in 'profound if not catastrophic' effects on Australians struggling financially. The mistaken terminations, which have been likened to robodebt 2.0, occurred after the controversial automated Targeted Compliance Framework (TCF) responsible for ensuring JobSeeker recipients met their mutual obligations repeatedly malfunctioned. A lack of a 'comprehensive design register' also meant any changes require 'extensive manual intervention across multiple databases and workflows,' resulting in a high 'likelihood of system instability and unintended impacts on participant case outcomes'. Additionally the Statement of Assurance said the TCF has 'not evolved or matured' since it was introduced under the Coalition government in 2018, and 'lacks the risk-based proportionality and participant centred design' found in similar programs used by the ATO, Australian Border Force and the NDIS. In another scathing finding, Deloitte, who were paid $439,142 to undertake the review, said other large government IT systems which weren't used by vulnerable Australians placed 'greater emphasis on human case management to respond to complex participant needs'. Criticisms were also made of the TCF's technical makeup. The report said the volatility of the program had been 'exacerbated by the widespread use of unconventional technical practices', like hard-coded fixes. However, the two out of three of the glitches which resulted in the nearly 1000 JobSeeker payment terminations were 'embedded during the original 2018 system'. Despite amendments passed in 2022, which called for greater discretion to be used before the cancelling of payments, Deloitte said there was 'no evidence' that the 'capacity for discretionary decision-making functionality was embedded in the system' ever. The review called on DEWR to limit or suspend further modifications to the system to 'constrain the risk of further disruptions,' and limit the introduction of new defects. If necessary, changes to comply with legislative updates should be 'thoroughly assessed by policy, legal and technical authorities to ensure legislative and policy compliance and anticipated outcomes are maintained'. DEWR must also urgently strengthen its current internal review processes to ensure negative case determinations are 'supported by appropriate evidence' and lawful under current legislation. Welfare advocates, like the Anti-Poverty Centre, the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS), and Economic Justice Australia have repeatedly criticised the use of the TCF, calling for the punitive measure to be removed. Mr Anderson, the Commonwealth Ombudsman also singled out DEWR secretary Natalie James had been so slow to act, taking 10 months April 2022 to September 2023 to pause the automated cancellations after it was raised by external legal advisers. As of March 21 this year, reductions and cancellations in income support payments have been paused pending ongoing legal and IT reviews, however suspensions have remained. The department has also yet to implement the Digital Protections Framework, despite legislative requirements passed in 2022, with Mr Anderson writing: 'We do not consider a delay of over three years, coupled with an indefinite commitment to future action, is reasonable'.
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
Fears man who allegedly bribed Australian Border Force employee to smuggle drugs could be killed on bail: court
A man accused of bribing an Australian Border Force employee with gifts to smuggle in nearly 7kg of cocaine into the country has allegedly been threatened behind bars, sparking concerns he could be killed if released on bail. Cosmo Commisso, 67, allegedly conspired with Australian Border Force (ABF) employee Rita Gargiulo, 51, to get a 6.9kg parcel of cocaine through an ABF examination and into the country. Mr Commisso, alleged to be an organised crime figure in court documents seen by NewsWire, allegedly gave Ms Gargiulo cash, jewellery and designer accessories in exchange for information to get drugs through the border. Ms Gargiulo was allegedly able to search cargo systems and decide if parcels needed to be flagged for examination as part of her role as an ABF supervisor, the Australian Federal Police previously alleged. She and Mr Commisso allegedly used burner phones for 'clandestine' communications over a nine-month period during which it was suggested Mr Commisso gained knowledge of ABF operations, a court was told. Prosecutors on Thursday fought against an application for Mr Commisso's bail, arguing he may fail to front court if released as he may be killed or seriously injured. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) prosecutor Melanie Moss told the court Mr Commisso had already sought protective custody over claims 'all bikie gangs have put a threat against me through my family'. 'I confess, I've not previously heard or considered a concern with respect to an application failing to appear as a result of being hospitalised or killed by others,' Justice Hament Dhanji said. He argued Mr Commisso's safety was at higher risk while in jail, a 'notoriously dangerous place'. '(The) presence of persons in jail to settle grievances or scores is common,' Justice Dhanji said. The court was also told Mr Commisso, who suffers from several health conditions including diabetes, had complained he wasn't receiving access to medications in prison, which Justice Dhanji accepted could cause him anxiety. His health conditions also satisfied Justice Dhanji that he was unlikely to be a flight risk if released. Justice Dhanji noted the charges were 'extremely serious' and would likely result in a significant jail term if Mr Commisso were to be convicted when handing down his decision. He found there was no possible risk of Mr Commisso reoffending in the same way given Ms Gargiulo was also charged, and it was unlikely he'd risk reoffending while on bail. Mr Commisso was ultimately granted bail under a set of extensive and strict conditions, including home detention conditions and requirements preventing him from using or possessing a smartphone or encrypted communication devices including Snapchat and Telegram. He's also been barred from going within 500m of any international point of departure or getting a passport, and he cannot have more than one mobile phone. He was also required to put up $1.6m in security. Ms Gargiulo was also granted bail on Thursday, the conditions of which also prevent her from going within 500m of any point of international departure. She also had to surrender her passport prior to her release. Both Ms Gargiulo and Mr Commisso have been ordered not to contact each other, nor two other alleged co-offenders Daniel Nuumaalii and Ali Riza Eren. Mr Commisso was charged with import a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, communicating and dealing with information by non-Commonwealth officers, and bribe a Commonwealth public official, while Ms Gargiulo was charged with aid and abet importation commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, commonwealth public official receive bribe, official abuse public office to gain advantage and commonwealth officer disclose information. Mr Nuumaalii, 25, was charged with possess commercial quantity unlawful import: border controlled drug, while Mr Eren, 65, was charged with import commercial quantity of border controlled drug and attempted possess commercial quantity unlawful import: border controlled drug.
