Latest news with #Cairns
Daily Mail
18 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Mary Fowler reveals baby plans with NRL player Nathan Cleary - as Matildas star looks toward retirement
She's one of Australia's most beloved football stars, but Mary Fowler is already dreaming of trading stadiums for stables. The Matildas forward, 22, has revealed her long-term plans with NRL beau Nathan Cleary - and they include babies, adoption, and a life surrounded by animals on a rural property. Currently recovering from an ACL injury in England, Fowler gave fans an intimate look into her hopes for the future and after retiring from sport during a candid appearance on the Keegan and Company podcast. Despite being more than 17,000km away from home - and with no plans to play in Australia again 'any time soon, if ever' - Fowler says she's already looking ahead to a quieter life with the Penrith Panthers halfback. 'I really want to have a big family,' she said. 'The only dream I have at the moment is to be a mum and have heaps of kids and be in a space where they can play outside a lot.' Not content with just a picket fence and a swing set, Mary is thinking big - envisioning a home where her future children can get their hands dirty in the veggie patch, feed farm animals, and 'run wild in the mud.' 'If I had the set-up for that, it would be a dream,' she added. Mary, who hails from Cairns and is one of five siblings herself - Caoimhin, Seamus, Ciara and Louise - said she sees a similar-sized family in her own future. 'I would love to have two or three kids of my own and then adopt,' she revealed. 'I don't know how many I would adopt, it's a long process. But in an ideal world I would like to adopt siblings. I would bring all of them into the home.' Nathan, 26, is the eldest of four children in the Cleary clan, which includes sisters Indiana and Milaya, and younger brother Jett. But it's not just kids the sports golden couple are planning on welcoming into their future home. Fowler also wants a fully-fledged animal sanctuary – complete with a cow, goats, geese, a pig, and a towering Great Dane. 'I really want to have a whole range of animals,' she said, laughing. 'It's very random and I'm trying to convince Nath that it would be a good idea.' While her vision may seem like a far cry from the world of elite sport and international fame, Fowler insists it's the grounded, wholesome life she's always imagined. 'I'm not as bothered about what the house would look like, I just want to have space for a garden set-up to grow my own crops.' Mary's comments come as she continues her rehab journey after undergoing surgery for a torn ACL she suffered in April – a devastating blow that's kept her sidelined from the pitch. But despite the setback, she's choosing to see it as a pause that's allowed her to reflect on what really matters.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Urgent manhunt for heavily tattooed prison inmate who escaped on a tractor two days ago
A manhunt is underway for an inmate who escaped a prison farm on a tractor. Michael Graeme Rennie, 43, was last seen using the machinery while working at Lotus Glen Low Custody Correctional Centre in far north Queensland. Rennie likely left the farm on a red tractor on Sunday morning, Detective Inspector Jason Chetham said. 'I haven't heard that one before,' he told reporters on Monday. 'There have obviously been prisoners abscond from the corrections centre up there in the past but I don't think anyone's left on a tractor.' Police are on the lookout for the heavily tattooed Rennie who is serving more than six years for motor vehicle, weapon, drug and other offences including serious assault, theft and burglary. Police have released a photo of Rennie and the tractor he was using when he escaped the Atherton Tablelands prison farm near Cairns on Sunday. 'The Tablelands is an agricultural centre so tractors on the road I don't think are something that would turn a lot of heads, but we're keen to find it anyway,' Det Insp Chetham said. Rennie is described as Caucasian and 174cm tall, with blue eyes and fair hair. He has multiple tattoos across his body including a gun on his left shoulder, a demon holding a skull with horns on his left arm, a full sleeve on his right arm. Rennie also has multiple dog bites and scars on his left arm, police said. He was from the state's far north and there had been a 'number of sightings' of the tractor, Det Insp Chetham said. 'We don't have specific concerns about what he might do in the community ... but we certainly ask people not to approach him and to call us immediately if they have any information,' he said. A 28-year-old man serving two years for break-and-enter offences escaped from the prison farm in February 2023, and was arrested three days later.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Liam Wilson was agonisingly close to landing blockbuster fight on Manny Pacquiao and Tim Tszyu's undercard in Las Vegas
Liam Wilson was agonisingly close to fighting on the same card as Tim Tszyu and Manny Pacquiao on July 19 in Las Vegas, before the deal fell through at the last minute. The Queenslander will instead fight on the same card as Liam Paro on June 25 on a non pay-per-view show in Cairns. But the 29-year-old was tantalisingly close to facing Brandon Figueroa on one of the biggest cards of the year at the MGM Grand. 'I was on it. I had a fight on that card, but it fell through and was cancelled,' Wilson tells Code Sports. 'The fight was confirmed, and then a day later it was cancelled. 'I got kinda excited about that. I always put my hand up when an opportunity arises, and that's what I did. 'I put my hand up, I'll always fight anybody, but unfortunately the fight fell through. 'I've got no idea why.' Former WBC super-bantamweight world champion Figueroa will now face Joet Gonzalez on the Pacquiao card, which also features Tszyu's rematch with Sebastian Fundora in the co-main event. That card was made official over the weekend, with Tszyu jetting to the US for a five-day media and promotional shoot whirlwind. Wilson also revealed he could barely spar, couldn't hit pads or work on the heavy bag in the lead-up to his fight of the year unanimous decision win over Youssef Dib in March. As first revealed by Code Sports, Wilson went into the fight with fractured L2 and L3 vertebrae and needed cortisone injections to get through camp. His team was close to pulling him out of the high stakes fight, and he was forced to train wearing a back brace after injuring his back seven weeks out from the fight. 'My trainer wanted me to pull out, but I just felt that if I could spar, I could fight,' Wilson told Code Sports. 'So, I fought. 'I had two fractured vertebrae in my back, so I had to manage camp and do the best I could to get through it. 'But I never thought about pulling out.' Wilson claimed a thrilling decision win, dropping Dib twice early on, before being deducted a point for a low blow in the ninth round. 'I couldn't do bag work in the lead-up, couldn't do pad work, I couldn't really even twist my body,' he said. 'Even my sparring was pretty restricted. I was just sticking to my jab and keeping my punches very light. 'I just fought with what I had and got the job done. 'Deep down, I'm just a fighter, and a little injury doesn't deter me. If there's a fight that's been put to me, I'll take it.' Three months on, Wilson is fully healed, has dropped from lightweight back to his natural super-featherweight division and is preparing to take on Ayrton Gimenez on June 25. A win will see 'Mr Damage' move within touching distance of another world title shot. Wilson was short-changed in his first world title tilt against Emanuel Navarrete in 2023, before being outgunned by Oscar Valdez last year. Wilson dropped Navarette in the fourth round, but the referee allowed the Mexican nearly half a minute to recover. Navarrete eventually stopped Wilson in the ninth, and the Aussie is hell bent on revenge. 'It's everything to me,' he says. 'I feel like I let it slip through my fingers. 'I'm not going to sit here and argue the decision. It is what it is. It's made me more hungry and it's made me the person I am today. 'It's made me realise how resilient I am. 'But that world title shot, that's the main objective. I'm holding onto the saying 'third time lucky'. 'I'm number four in the world now, and a win will move me up, and then I'm just a phone call away. 'Hopefully it's the rematch with Navarette that everyone's been wanting.'
ABC News
2 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Prisoner Michael Rennie at large after fleeing Lotus Glen prison farm on red tractor
A prisoner remains at large after absconding from a prison farm in rural Queensland aboard a stolen tractor. Police believe Michael Graeme Rennie, 43, left Lotus Glen Low Custody Correctional Centre, about 100 kilometres west of Cairns, during a 90-minute window on Sunday. Rennie, serving a sentence of more than six years and three months for serious assault, theft, burglary, drugs, weapons and driving offences, was last seen at 10:20am on Sunday. At the time he was working at the prison farm driving a red Massey Ferguson tractor. By midday, when a head count was conducted, Rennie was gone, police said. "There have obviously been prisoners abscond from the correctional centre there in the past but I don't think anyone has left on a tractor before, " Detective Inspector Jason Chetham said. "We certainly think he's likely to have left on it. "We don't have specific concerns about what he might do in the community, not targeting anyone, but we certainly ask people not to approach him and to call us immediately if they have any information." Detective Inspector Chetham said there had been "a number of sightings" of the tractor "but nothing is confirmed at this point in time". Rennie was from far north Queensland and "doesn't have far to go to get to family", Detective Inspector Chetham said. "We're looking at all his antecedents and who he might be keen to contact or attempt to contact," he said. The Lotus Glen prison farm is part of a correctional centre located between the agricultural service towns of Mareeba and Atherton. The low security facility is one of six prison farms in Queensland and accommodates 134 prisoners. Prisoners undertake training programs at the farm to develop skills to help them find work once they are released. Detective Inspector Chetham said he did not know the tractor's maximum speed but said it would not "turn a lot of heads" if seen on the road in the Atherton Tablelands. Detective Inspector Chetham said police could call in its air wing to help find Rennie, although he declined to go into specifics of the search. He also declined to comment on security arrangements and prisoner classification at the prison farm. "They're not familiar to me and I'm not part of that department so that's probably a question for Corrective Services to answer," Detective Inspector Chetham said. Queensland Corrective Services has been contacted for comment. In February 2023, a 28-year-old man serving a two-year sentence absconded from the Lotus Glen prison farm. He was arrested more than three days later. There were also previous instances of prisoners escaping in 2020 and 2022.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Warning as worker sues for $800,000 over right to disconnect: 'People are nervous'
The right to disconnect will be tested for the first time by a Queensland primary school teacher who is suing her former employer for nearly $800,000 over allegations of unlawful dismissal. A workplace lawyer said the new law was having a major impact on Australian workplaces, and employers were becoming more 'nervous' about being caught out. The teacher has alleged that Cairns Hinterland Steiner School fired her for not responding to allegations of inappropriate behaviour sent to her during school holidays, when she was not required to work. This is the first public legal action to cite the right to disconnect, which was introduced in August last year, as part of a dismissal case. McCabes Lawyers principal Tim McDonald told Yahoo Finance he doesn't expect this case will lead to more people using the right to disconnect to sue. However, he said both employers and employees were becoming much more conscious of their rights. RELATED Damning research shows right to disconnect fails Aussie workers: 'Scared to switch off' Coles and Woolworths checkout move that there's no coming back from: 'Will only accelerate' Aussie couple making $1,200 a day from job anyone can do: 'Went off like an explosion' 'People are a lot more conscious of the hours that employees work and there is concern generally about compliance issues,' he said. 'Employers don't want to get caught out with pay claims for work outside of hours. Employees are a lot more conscious of their rights here. 'People are nervous about it, and people are conscious about it.' The right to disconnect allows employees to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact or attempted contact from their employer, or work-related contact from another person, unless such refusal is 'unreasonable'. The right applies to all Australian businesses with more than 15 employees. It will apply to small businesses from August this year. The law allows workers to apply for orders to stop employers from contacting them outside of work hours. Workers also have the right to launch adverse action claims, which opens the door to compensation claims. Fair Work Commission records show only two employees have applied for the right to disconnect orders since it came into effect. Neither case has proceeded to a decision. The teacher has filed a statement of claim in the Federal Court over allegations she was unlawfully dismissed, partly because she tried to use her right to disconnect. According to the Australian Financial Review, she alleged she was targeted because she made complaints about child safety at the school and against a person charged with reviewing the school and its staff. She later took leave and claimed she was not fit for work due to stress. The school sent her misconduct allegations during the school holidays, with a requirement to respond in that period. She objected that it was outside her working hours and claimed that she had a right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact, or attempted contact, from an employer during the period unless the refusal was unreasonable. The school argued she was not on school holidays and refused her request to extend the response time until after the holidays finished. She argued that had she not been dismissed, she would have stayed on in her job for six years. She said she lost $730,000 in income and has asked for $50,000 for hurt and humiliation. The school has denied allegations, including that it breached the teacher's right to disconnect or stopped her from exercising it. RMIT University professor of law Shelley Marshall said the case was unlikely to provide a definitive interpretation of the legal limits of the right to disconnect. "While the right to disconnect is a high-profile and novel element of this case, it's important to recognise that it's only one aspect of the teacher's broader legal claim,' she said. "However, applying the law in practice is complex. In industries with genuine operational needs outside regular hours, such as education or emergency services, the line between necessary communication and unlawful overreach is far from clear.' Marshall said the case appeared to involve multiple alleged breaches, including unfair dismissal and general protections under the Fair Work Act. McDonald said it would be difficult to prove the right to disconnect entitled people to some sort of money. 'I'm not seeing that these laws are providing an ability to get a whole lot of money out of employers like this case seems to be suggesting,' he said. While McDonald doesn't expect to see a wave of right to disconnect cases in the future, he noted that the new laws did "have an impact" on workplaces. McDonald noted employers were also conscious of claims around the right to refuse unreasonable working hours, which is a National Employment Standards entitlement under the Fair Work in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
