Latest news with #MaribyrnongCouncil
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Time of India
Photojournalist dies after brutal Melbourne assault by released immigration detainee
Dominic O'Brien, a veteran photojournalist, has died after an alleged assault in Footscray. Lominja Friday Yokoju, the suspect, was arrested. Yokoju was initially charged with intentionally causing serious injury. Following O'Brien's death, police are reviewing the charges. The incident has sparked public and political criticism regarding immigration detainee releases. Maribyrnong Council plans to improve safety in Footscray. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The suspect The veteran photojournalist Dominic O' Brien Police investigation Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Veteran photojournalist Dominic O'Brien, 62, has died in hospital, six days after being allegedly assaulted in Footscray on Sunday, June 15. The incident occurred just before 10 am at the intersection of Nicholson and Paisley Streets in an outdoor shopping mall, where O'Brien was reportedly approached by 43‑year‑old Lominja Friday Yokoju Yokoju, a former immigration detainee on a bridging visa and part of the 'NZYQ cohort' released after a High Court ruling in late 2023, was arrested at the scene. He was initially charged with intentionally causing serious injury. Witnesses allege Yokoju struck and stomped on O'Brien's head during the O'Brien, a renowned photographer for major outlets including The Age , The Australian, Getty Images, AAP, and Reuters, was a well‑respected figure in photojournalism and known for his work with Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. Colleagues described him as a 'talented storyteller' who embraced both analogue and digital photography O'Brien's death on Saturday morning, June 21, police confirmed they are reviewing the existing charges and may upgrade them pending the outcome of the post‑ remains in custody and is scheduled to face the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on October 20, 2025, for a committal incident has led to widespread public and political backlash. Figures such as Andrew Hastie and Brad Battin have criticized the government's handling of immigration detainee releases, while the Maribyrnong Council has pledged to bolster safety in Footscray.
Sydney Morning Herald
6 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Bigger trucks, night runs: Port's plan to handle doubling traffic draws fury
A surge in trucks servicing the Port of Melbourne could undermine touted benefits from the West Gate Tunnel for inner-west residents, according to a scathing council submission that has called the port's 30-year strategy lazy. The City of Maribyrnong, which takes in suburbs such as Yarraville and Footscray, is acutely affected by heavy trucks and poor air quality largely due to its proximity to Australia's biggest container port. The council declared a health emergency in 2023 following high rates of illness linked to pollution. Council staff have now published a blistering 29-page submission, which will go before councillors on Tuesday night, objecting to the Port of Melbourne's draft 30-year strategy, a document released in April and revisited every five years. The port's private operators, which are nine years into a 50-year lease with the Victorian government, predict that the number of six-metre shipping containers it handles each year will more than double to 7.1 million by 2055. The increase is expected to be mostly on the backs of trucks because ambitions to shift more freight onto trains have failed to take off. The port's most recent forecast, published in 2020, showed the number of trucks visiting the port each weekday could triple to 34,000 by 2050, an increase of about 20,000 a day. While the port's 2050 strategy named several rail projects as a priority, the latest document instead says that bigger trucks and off-peak pick-ups offer an adequate medium-term solution. Maribyrnong Council argues that this approach is 'not good enough', and says that more overnight truck trips would mean exploiting local roads and poses a significant health risk to residents. 'The port's encouragement of larger vehicles as a strategy to free up port capacity through the gate using local roads, at an increased rate during nighttime hours, may be acceptable for the port, but has serious implications on those residents who live on the local roads,' the submission says.
The Age
6 days ago
- Business
- The Age
Bigger trucks, night runs: Port's plan to handle doubling traffic draws fury
A surge in trucks servicing the Port of Melbourne could undermine touted benefits from the West Gate Tunnel for inner-west residents, according to a scathing council submission that has called the port's 30-year strategy lazy. The City of Maribyrnong, which takes in suburbs such as Yarraville and Footscray, is acutely affected by heavy trucks and poor air quality largely due to its proximity to Australia's biggest container port. The council declared a health emergency in 2023 following high rates of illness linked to pollution. Council staff have now published a blistering 29-page submission, which will go before councillors on Tuesday night, objecting to the Port of Melbourne's draft 30-year strategy, a document released in April and revisited every five years. The port's private operators, which are nine years into a 50-year lease with the Victorian government, predict that the number of six-metre shipping containers it handles each year will more than double to 7.1 million by 2055. The increase is expected to be mostly on the backs of trucks because ambitions to shift more freight onto trains have failed to take off. The port's most recent forecast, published in 2020, showed the number of trucks visiting the port each weekday could triple to 34,000 by 2050, an increase of about 20,000 a day. While the port's 2050 strategy named several rail projects as a priority, the latest document instead says that bigger trucks and off-peak pick-ups offer an adequate medium-term solution. Maribyrnong Council argues that this approach is 'not good enough', and says that more overnight truck trips would mean exploiting local roads and poses a significant health risk to residents. 'The port's encouragement of larger vehicles as a strategy to free up port capacity through the gate using local roads, at an increased rate during nighttime hours, may be acceptable for the port, but has serious implications on those residents who live on the local roads,' the submission says.
