Latest news with #Cairns
News.com.au
13 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Home featured on Australia's Best House, hosted by Megan Gale, for sale
A Cairns home that featured on Australia's Best House, hosted by supermodel Megan Gale, has been listed for sale. Located in Bayview Heights, Naya Haus featured in the 2024 season of the show, and will soon appear on Australia By Design. It has earned multiple design awards, including BDQ State & Regional and Master Builder accolades. Sustainability is at its core, with 10kW solar panels, a 5000L water tank, and recycled or recyclable materials used throughout. Set on a 1227sq m block with panormaic views from every room, the residence offers a fusion of Japanese minimalism and tropical influences. It is listed with The Industry agents Megs Walker and Tegan Rees. 'Enjoy seamless indoor-outdoor living, cooling breezes, and thoughtful design perfect for multi-generational families,' the listing says. The heart of the home is the chef's kitchen, a culinary dream with its marble benchtops, custom cabinetry, and premium fittings. The king-sized master suite is a haven of luxury, featuring a walk-through robe, automatic curtains, and a sumptuous ensuite. Additional guest bedrooms are generously sized, and a versatile office or fourth bedroom offers private access, perfect for a home business or guest accommodation. The lower level boasts a studio/workshop and a flexible-use room that could serve as a gym, media room, or additional living space. Outdoors, the expansive verandah offers breathtaking views and a unique 3.4-metre round plunge pool equipped with app-controlled spa features, heating, and lighting. The property is designed for ease of maintenance, with a secure front yard, smart irrigation systems, and dual gated access leading to a spacious lower yard—ideal for future expansion. The oversized garage provides ample storage, and the home is equipped with integrated Clipsal 'Wiser' smart home technology, ensuring superior energy efficiency and modern convenience. Australia's Best House sees a team of judges tour some of Australia's most impressive homes in a search for a winner. Naya Haus featured in the 2024 season and has been described as a 'mastercalss in Japandi (Japanese-Scandanavian) style with sustainable living'. It has a price guide over $1.9 million.
News.com.au
20 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘I'll start whacking you, dog': Man abuses woman, passers-by in Cairns CBD
A man has been filmed intimidating and abusing a woman in front of a crowd watching a busker in the Cairns CBD, while also violently lashing out at members of the public who stepped in to intervene. Footage posted to Reddit over the weekend showed the man, wearing a white T-shirt, shorts and a bum bag, threatening the woman in the middle of the busy strip, repeatedly wandering away and back towards her as he hurls abuse. 'Do something and I'll start whacking you, dog,' he says. 'I'll start whacking you, dog. Do something, c**t.' The man intimidatingly pushes his face into the woman's as he continues to threaten her. 'Sir, that's not how you talk to a lady, yeah?' the street performer chimes in over the microphone. An elderly man with his partner man then approaches in an attempt to defuse the situation. 'What the f**k you going to do, dog?' the man yells, pushing the man backwards causing him to drop his phone. 'Do something, c**t!' The busker asks onlookers to get the police as the fracas explodes. The woman prods the man with a bottle, sparking a furious reaction as he begins chasing her. As another member of the public attempts to hold the man back, he turns and strikes him in the side of the head and attempts to start a fight. He then turns his attention back to the woman, following her around the square before kicking and punching her. The man eventually walks away, with a police officer seen arriving a short time later. 'Hey, lady, go straight to the cop shop, just get some help,' the busker tells the woman. 'Yes I do think the police will help you. They're right there. Police, violent individual running that way.' The user who posted the footage said they had provided the video to police. 'If he's willing to behave like this in public, imagine what he is capable of behind closed doors,' one commenter wrote. A Queensland Police spokeswoman told 'Police are aware of this matter and investigations are continuing.'
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Legal ruling can't obscure the brutal reality of climate change for Torres Strait Islanders
As parliament returns for the first time since the May election, talk is focused on productivity, disastrous childcare failures and how Australia should position and prepare itself amid rising global turmoil. If our leaders are serious, they should also make time to look back on the events of a week ago, when federal court justice Michael Wigney handed down a judgment in Cairns that is likely to echo for years to come – and says just as much about what lies ahead as the latest rhetoric from Washington and Beijing. Much of the initial reaction to the judgment has understandably focused on the immediate bottom line. Wigney found the federal government did not have a legal responsibility to protect the Torres Strait Islands from a climate crisis that is already being experienced. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email It was a devastating result for Uncle Pabai Pabai and Uncle Paul Kabai, the elders from Boigu and Saibai islands – who brought the case – their communities and the civil society representatives who supported them. But it is unlikely to be the end. And Wigney stressed that, on facts and moral weight, their case was strong. It is worth sitting with what he said in his summary. Every member of parliament should read it. Wigney found the evidence showed the Torres Strait Islands, the collection of low-lying coral cays and sand and mud islands between Cape York and Papua New Guinea, are already being ravaged – his word – by the effects of human-induced climate change. Rising sea levels, storm surges and other extreme events are causing flooding and sea-water inundation. Trees are dying and previously fertile areas affected by salination are no longer suitable for growing traditional crops. Beaches are being eroded and tidal wetlands damaged. The ocean is getting hotter and its chemistry is changing as it absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, causing coral bleaching and the loss of seagrass beds. Once abundant totemic sea creatures – dugongs and turtles – are becoming scarce. Seasonal patterns are changing and transforming migratory bird patterns. In Wigney's words, this has already had a 'profound impact' on the customary way of life in the Torres Strait. Inhabitants and traditional owners are finding it increasingly difficult to practice and observe customs, traditions and beliefs that have sustained them for generations. Sacred ancestral sites, including burial grounds and ceremonial sites, have been damaged and are constantly at risk. Increasingly, the people can not source traditional foods or engage in cultural practices. It is difficult for elders to pass on their knowledge to the next generation. Consider for a moment how people would respond if these sorts of abrupt changes came to those who live in Australia's major cities – if, within a generation or two, they were losing their homes, their ability to feed their families and protect themselves from the elements It would at the very least be a constant focus in the national conversation. Our politicians would be asked about it – and motivated to respond to it – every day. Wigney's assessment of the evidence is that these changes are coming for all of us if swift action isn't taken. He found climate change 'poses an existential threat to the whole of humanity' and that many, if not most, communities in Australia are vulnerable. The people of Boigu and Sabai and neighbouring islands are at the pointy end. Given they are also more socially and economically disadvantaged than many Australians, they often lack access to the resources, infrastructure and services that would help them adapt or protect themselves. In Wigney's words: 'Unless something is done to arrest global warming and the resulting escalating impacts of climate change, there is a very real risk that the applicants' worst fears will be realised and they will lose their islands, their culture and their way of life and will become climate refugees.' The justice repeated Pabai's evidence that, if he had to leave Boigu due to it being under water, he would 'be nothing'. 'I will have nothing behind my back,' Pabai said. 'I will not be able to say I'm a Boigu man any more. How will I be able to say where I come from? I will become nobody. I will have no identity.' On one level, there is no new news here. The plight of residents on low-lying islands has been documented. But the federal court's black-and-white recognition of this evidence is noteworthy – and so is what came after it. Sign up to Clear Air Australia Adam Morton brings you incisive analysis about the politics and impact of the climate crisis after newsletter promotion Outside a legal context, it sounds pretty galling. Wigney found the case had largely succeeded in establishing the facts – particularly, that the former Liberal-National Coalition government failed to engage with, or genuinely consider, what the best available climate science said Australia should do to play its part in meeting the goals of the landmark Paris climate agreement, which it signed up to in 2015. The justice said the science 'was and is patently clear' and it was 'imperative for every country to take steps to drastically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions'. The climate targets under the Coalition were nothing like up to that job. Wigney said the new 2030 target legislated under Labor after its election in 2022 – a 43% cut below 2005 levels – had 'some regard' to the best available science, but did not go as far as scientists say is necessary. Despite this, Wigney found the government did not owe Torres Strait Islanders a duty of care to protect them from the climate crisis, primarily because emissions reductions targets are a political decision and not subject to the common law of negligence. He said this meant there was 'no real or effective legal avenue' for people to claim damages for harm they suffer due to government decisions related to core policy – and, crucially, that this would remain the case unless the law was developed or expanded by an appeals court or new laws were introduced to parliament. There is an obvious risk of reading too much between the lines of a judgement. The Torres Strait case ultimately lost on multiple grounds. Some legal experts were not surprised. But Wigney's summary is also being read as offering encouragement and basis for a potential appeal, or an argument that can bolster future cases. Failing that, the justice said, the applicants' options were 'public advocacy and protest, and ultimately recourse via the ballot box'. Pabai, Kabai and their supporters are considering their legal options. Isabelle Reinecke, the chief executive of the Grata Fund, the charity that backed the case, says her organisation may support an appeal. She believes there could be echoes of the Gove land rights case that helped pave the way for the landmark Mabo native title high court judgment in 1992, if not Mabo itself. If nothing else, there is some distance still to run on this. Meanwhile, Anthony Albanese and his cabinet are weighing decisions on a 2035 emissions reduction target, a first-time national climate risk assessment and an adaptation plan. Hopefully, beyond the technocratic detail and the calls from business groups to do next-to-nothing, they are also considering the sort of legacy they want to leave.
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Petford youth camp founder Geoffrey Guest takes the stand in historical child abuse trial
The founder of a Far North Queensland youth camp has denied ever being violent with or sexually assaulting a child in his care, as he stands trial accused of six historical sex offences. Warning: This article contains details of alleged child abuse that some readers may find distressing. Geoffrey John Guest, 98, has pleaded not guilty to one count of unlawful carnal knowledge, four counts of unlawful and indecent dealings, and one count of repeated sexual conduct against a child under 16. The alleged offences took place in the 1970s. On Monday, Mr Guest was in the witness box for the first time to give evidence in the Cairns District Court. Opening the prosecution's case, defence counsel Kelly Goodwin described Mr Guest as someone who was "obsessed with helping people". Responding to Mr Goodwin's questions, Mr Guest told the court how he began caring for "wayward youth" at Petford station after he would go fishing with them. "Before I knew it, I had big mob there, six, seven, eight kids just turned up," Mr Guest said. The jury heard of the numerous awards the accused had received, including an Order of Australia Medal and Federation Medal, both related to his services to youth. Mr Guest told the court of his unstable upbringing, saying he was taken from his Aboriginal mother as a baby and adopted out as a child. He said he had received no formal education and was physically beaten, and told the court this had made him caring towards others. "You've heard evidence in this trial that you were violent," Mr Goodwin said. "That's incorrect, that's not the way I handle people," Mr Guest responded. Mr Guest regularly noted he had "long-term memory loss", for which he had been receiving treatment over the past several years. Last week, the court heard from four prosecution witnesses, including two men who were teenagers in Mr Guest's care around the same time as the complainant. They told the court they saw Mr Guest "flog" the alleged victim. A former partner of the complainant also gave evidence that he had told her of the alleged abuse after he saw Mr Guest appear on a TV program. During cross-examination, Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald questioned whether Mr Guest was ever alone with the alleged victim. "You were there alone with [the complainant] at times?" Ms Friedewald said. "Often," Mr Guest confirmed. Ms Friedewald asked whether he ever had "sexual urges". "I would've because I'm a normal person," Mr Guest said. Ms Friedewald alleged Mr Guest would use the complainant to satisfy those urges. As Ms Friedewald questioned Mr Guest on whether he had committed the alleged offences, the 98-year-old rejected each accusation as either "wrong" or "incorrect". Mr Guest founded the Petford Youth Camp in the late 70s, and it ceased operation in 1999. The defence case is expected to include 11 witnesses, many whom attended the Petford camp. Mr Goodwin said each witness would provide evidence of Mr Guest's character, including that he was "respectful", "gentle and talented" and had compassion.
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Taxi driver charged with sexual assaults in Cairns area
Police are appealing for women who may have been assaulted in taxis or rideshare vehicles in North Queensland to come forward after charging a 72-year-old male driver with three counts of sexual assault. Senior Constable Amelia Farrows said police believed there may be more alleged victims. Taxi driver Roman Peter Galaska picked up a 76-year-old woman near Cairns Hospital on May 9, according to police. They allege the Palm Cove resident drove the woman to a Manunda address, helped her inside and touched her inappropriately. Police also allege that Mr Galaska inappropriately touched a 27-year-old woman before she got out of the vehicle at Woree on May 17. "This type of offending is not tolerated in our community and police will investigate all complaints thoroughly," Senior Constable Farrows said. She called for anyone who had experienced inappropriate behaviour or touching while riding in a taxi or rideshare vehicle to contact police. Mr Galaska is due to appear in Cairns Magistrates Court on Thursday.
