Branciforti targets Cambridge race in build-up to Polytrack Championship defence
The Sir Peter Vela-bred and owned mare took out the Awapuni feature in convincing fashion last August and will be out to replicate that
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ABC News
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Monto residents anxious about potential QCoal mine's impacts
A patchwork of lush green fields, tilled red soil and swaying crops stretch over the horizon of a rural piece of regional Queensland. It is hard to imagine this fertile land, dotted with old dairy sheds, being used for anything other than farming. But the tiny towns of Monto and Mulgildie in the North Burnett, almost 500 kilometres north of Brisbane, have faced decades of uncertainty about the landscape they love being transformed into an open-cut coal mine. The Monto Coal Mine, owned by subsidiaries of QCoal, was first approved in part 20 years ago without the need for an environmental impact study (EIS). If built, the mine could produce about 1.2 million tonnes of thermal coal each year, which is burned to make electricity. The Queensland Environment Department said in a statement mineral licences were "rigorously" assessed for the greenfield site, which spanned up to 648 hectares of cropping and grazing land. QCoal declined to discuss the Monto project, or its future, when approached by the ABC. The state government under Labor's Peter Beattie first granted a mining lease covering more than 470 hectares in 2005. The company applied for another lease over an extra 178 hectares nearby in 2011, which is yet to be approved. For now, the land remains untouched. Maree Kimber's property borders the potential mine site. She is concerned about what the development would do to the small community's water supply and health. "The thought of [the mine] always hangs over, that never disappears," Ms Kimber said. "It never dissipates, it's always there." Having bought her property in 2016, Ms Kimber knew it was beside a mining lease, but said she underestimated amount of anxiety that would come with the uncertainty. "How you go about where you spend your money, and how you go about improving [the property's] infrastructure, you think, 'Well, if this mine goes ahead, what is that going to look like for my farm going forward?'" she said. Ms Kimber said a lack of transparency also added to the worry. "I have only ever received two updates, two letters, just generic letters … nothing directly on the plans for the mine. "Knowledge would give you a better idea of exactly what's coming our way." In July, new state planning laws came into effect, making wind and solar farms subject to public notification and requiring companies to show how their renewable projects benefited the community. But the proposed open-cut coal mine in Monto escaped the same stringent conditions. Monto community advocate Paul Stephenson has been fighting to stop the mine being extended in the Land and Environment Court. He said he wanted historical coal mines included in the new rules covering renewable projects. "If you're going to require EISs for wind farms and solar farms, then of course you should be requiring [one] for an open-cut coal mine on prime agricultural land," Mr Stephenson said. Andrew Kwan from Queensland's Environmental Defenders Office said Qcoal and others would only have to get an EIS if they wanted to extract more coal. "A major factor may be that the Monto Coal Mine's proposed 1.2 million tonnes [annual extraction] is below that EIS trigger threshold of two million [tonnes]," Mr Kwan said. He said keeping coal volumes under that threshold meant mining companies could avoid environmental assessments. Minister for Natural Resources and Mines, Dale Last, said the state's mining industry operated under a strict regulatory framework that balanced the rights of landholders and the environment. The department said approvals required the site to be rehabilitated once mining was complete. Gilbert Louttit's beef grazing property is also close to the proposed mining lease. He said he was not convinced the land could again be farmed if coal was ever mined on the site. "I'm a third-generation farmer and there's some pretty valuable ecosystems there," Mr Louttit said. "It's not going to be the same farmland as it was so I'm concerned that mining will really degrade the land. "As well as they might try to rehabilitate it, it will never be good for farming again." His wife Emma Scragg was also concerned about how a mine would change the community. "The rural nature of this area is what makes this town what it is, and this region what it is, and I think [a mine] would just change the culture," she said. Gooreng Gooreng man Douglas Graham was concerned about flow-on effects to country and sacred sites. "When you're destroying cultural heritage areas, natural wildlife habitats and ruining the environment and taking copious amounts of water from the aquifer, it has an effect on other areas," Mr Graham said, speaking on behalf of western Gooreng Gooreng elders. The Australia Institute research director and economist, Rod Campbell, said stalled projects like the Monto Coal Mine were financially and environmentally unviable. "That's kind of bad for companies, but it's also terrible for the community that has to live around the project with the uncertainty of this kind of zombie project." Mr Campbell said state governments needed the courage to intervene. "Instead, they've left it to the mining companies and community groups to fight it out and see who wins," he said.
ABC News
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- ABC News
Nikita Tszyu and Michael Zerafa win with first-round TKOs in Sydney
Nikita Tszyu is pondering his next move after restoring family pride with a devastating first-round TKO victory over the previously undefeated Lulzim Ismaili. Ismail's corner opted to stop the fight after the Macedonian copped a battering from "The Butcher" at the ICC Sydney Theatre on Wednesday night. Making his much-anticipated comeback following a year out of the ring, Tszyu needed barely a minute to show there were no lingering effects from hand surgery when he stunned Ismaili with two huge lefts. The 27-year-old slayer finished Ismaili with a liver punch that broke his hapless Germany-based opponent's rib. "I wanted to properly hurt him," Tszyu said. In improving his own record to 11-0 and capturing the vacant WBO intercontinental super-welterweight title, Tszyu also extended his famous family's incredible record in Australia to 52-0. As well as Tszyu himself, the 27-year-old's father, Kostya (18-0), and older, former world champion brother Tim (23-0) have never lost a professional fight on home turf. After defending his family's honour, Tszyu admitted he had been driven not only to deliver for his newborn daughter but also to quieten the doubters after his superstar sibling's three world-title losses in the US over the past 18 months. "I copped a lot of criticism with my brother's recent fights," he said. "I mean, this is boxing. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. "We celebrate our wins and we celebrate our losses. "There's no shame in it." Wednesday night's victory may have set up a domestic blockbuster with the Tszyus' arch-rival Michael Zerafa, who earlier destroyed American Mikey Dahlman also inside 2 minutes in the co-main event to claim the WBO intercontinental middleweight strap. The 33-year-old former world title challenger hurt Dahlman early with a big right before tripping and unfairly receiving a double count from the referee. An incredulous Zerafa mocked the decision before swiftly taking matters into his own hands, punishing Dahlman further with a flurry of punches to the head. Standing corrected, the referee had no choice but to stop the fight and award Zerafa a TKO. While he would prefer to fight Tim Tszyu next, Zerafa said he was also prepared to settle for Nikita if need be — and show who's boss. "I believe I beat Nikita," he said. "Nikita's doing good things and beating who's in front of him and he's proving that he belongs at that level with me. "But I think there's a little bit more to do." If he really had his way, though, the WBC's soon-to-be fifth-ranked middleweight would prefer to be fighting internationally for boxing's biggest spoils than settling any scores in a domestic grudge match. "Overseas for a title eliminator, yeah, 100 per cent. Give me that," Zerafa said. "My dream was to be a world champion, not to fight one of the Tszyu brothers." AAP
ABC News
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- ABC News
Bruce Lehrmann's appeal against his failed defamation case enters its second day in the Federal Court
Bruce Lehrmann and his lawyer Zali Burrows will return to the Federal Court this morning after a bumpy start to his appeal against the result of his failed defamation case. Mr Lehrmann sued Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over an episode of The Project in February 2021, in which Brittany Higgins detailed her rape allegation, though they did not name the man she accused. In a judgement last year, Justice Michael Lee found — on the balance of probabilities — that Mr Lehrmann did rape Ms Higgins at Parliament House in 2019, and thus, Network Ten had proven the substantial truth of the allegation. He maintains his innocence and is seeking to overturn that finding. On the first day of the appeal, Ms Burrows asked to reserve a portion of her submissions on two of the four grounds of appeal for her reply, but was met with resistance from the bench. Justice Michael Wigney said a reply could only be used to respond to submissions of another party, not to introduce fresh material. "If you want to advance submissions in support of this ground … you really need to deal with them now," Justice Wigney said. The resumption of the hearing today comes after the court agreed to allow Ms Burrows to consider her reply submissions overnight. Ms Wilkinson's barrister, Sue Chrysanthou, said a substantial amount of material from the defamation trial — which Ms Burrows was not a party to — had been referred to throughout the day. Earlier, Ms Burrows had argued Mr Lehrmann was denied procedural fairness in the defamation trial because he did not have the opportunity to respond to the judge's "different theory" of exactly how the alleged rape took place. Both respondents rejected that argument. They have also filed notices of contention which argue Justice Lee should have found Mr Lehrmann knew Ms Higgins did not consent to sex, rather than being indifferent or reckless. Ten's barrister Matthew Collins said it was clear from Ms Higgins's level of intoxication that Mr Lehrmann "must have turned his mind to consent and knew he did not have it". The hearing will resume with Ms Chrysanthou continuing her arguments about the failure of Lisa Wilkinson's qualified privilege defence. She and the network had argued — even if they could not prove the substantial truth of the allegation — that the broadcast was reasonable, given the circumstances. Ms Chrysanthou has told the court there was "extreme public interest" in the broadcast going ahead, after two stories earlier that day by Samantha Maiden of News Limited, and discussion of the story in Question Time in both chambers of Parliament. "[That was] not referred to at all in His Honour's reasons," she said. She also pointed to a range of supporting evidence Ms Higgins gave the program, including written proof that she had attended the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre. The hearing in the Federal Court has been set down to run until Friday.
