Latest news with #NewsCorpAustralia
Perth Now
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Flares lit as A-League's decider kicks off
Flares have already been set off in Melbourne streets, with police out in force as the A-League's decider kicks off. Incredible photos have captured Melbourne streets turned red and yellow as flares were set off on Saturday evening, soccer fans descending on AAMI park to watch the showdown between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City FC. No one has been accused of any wrongdoing. NewsWire / Diego Fedele Credit: News Corp Australia Members of the Public Order Response Team with Victoria Police arrive outside a pub where hundreds of Melbourne Victory football fans gather ahead of the A-League final. NewsWire / Diego Fedele Credit: News Corp Australia Crowds of fans bundled up in soccer scarfs appeared to be taunting officers, who turned out in big numbers ahead of the match. Some shouted anti-police chants, The Herald Sun reported. Previous matches between the two teams have erupted in chaos, including in 2022 where about 150 spectators stormed the field. Goalkeeper Tom Glover was allegedly struck in the head with a metal bucket during the incident, while life bans handed down. No one has been accused of any wrongdoing. NewsWire / Diego Fedele Credit: News Corp Australia Police are out in force. NewsWire / Diego Fedele Credit: News Corp Australia Victoria Police CBD acting commander Zorka Dunstan said some people were barred from attending Saturday night's big game, in a statement ahead of the match. 'The majority of supporters do the right thing and create an incredible environment for everyone in attendance, including families,' Mr Dunstan said. 'However, at times this year we have seen a very small group of supporters engage in reckless and anti-social behaviour. Police are set to maintain a strong presence throughout Saturday night. NewsWire / Diego Fedele Credit: News Corp Australia 'Due to their actions, some of these people are barred from attending this Saturday's big game. 'We don't want this small group to tarnish the event for the rest of the soccer community.' He said those in Richmond — particularly on Swan St — could expect a 'strong and dedicated police presence throughout the entire night'. 'There will be an unbelievable atmosphere on Saturday night as two traditional Melbourne rivals meet in the Grand Final for the first time,' Mr Dunstan said. 'The bumper crowd can expect to see plenty of police on the way to the game and at the ground itself.' Soccer fans lit flares under a Swan St bridge on the way to a game just two weeks ago. More to come …
Perth Now
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
‘Daunting, grim': Warning on Chinese nukes
Beijing's nuclear ambitions and Chinese military build up create daunting and grim challenges across the Asia-Pacific, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister has warned. Defence Minister Richard Marles used a speech at a summit in Singapore to reiterate alarm bells over Chinese and Russian nuclear weapons. 'China's decision to pursue rapid nuclear modernisation and expansion, which aims in part to reach parity with or surpass the United States, is another reason the future of strategic arms control must be revitalised,' Mr Marles said in a speech on Saturday. Richard Marles says Cold War era arms controls are now inadequate. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia 'And that is a difficult and daunting project. 'We also have to counter the grim, potentially imminent, possibility of another wave of global nuclear proliferation as states seek security in a new age of imperial ambition.' Mr Marles made the speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Shangri-La Dialogue conference in Singapore on Saturday. The annual conference attracts defence ministers, senior military and security officials and diplomats from across the Asia Pacific; it is the pre-eminent regional security forum. Beijing has not sent its National Defence Minister Dong Jun, instead sending a lower-level academic delegation. Last year's forum resulted in a meeting between Mr Dong and then-US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. In his speech on Saturday, while acknowledging the US as a nuclear superpower, Mr Marles said arms controls needed to be strengthened. 'Russia suspended its participation in the last remaining binding bilateral arms control treaty between the United States and Russia in 2023,' he said. 'This leaves no legally binding limits on the strategic nuclear arsenals of the two largest nuclear powers for the first time since 1972. 'New technologies like cyber, the weaponisation of space, and the ability to integrate nuclear weapons with autonomous systems means traditional arms control frameworks are being surpassed without any established method of control to supplement them.'
Perth Now
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Bombshell election result in tightest seat
A new member for the Melbourne seat of Goldstein has been crowned, four weeks after the federal election. Independent candidate Zoe Daniel demanded a recount after losing the seat to Liberal moderate Tim Wilson by just 260 votes, saying several errors were made during the distribution of preferences. The Australian Electoral Commission finalised the partial recount of 85,000 votes on Saturday confirming Mr Wilson had won with a margin of 175 votes. Liberal MP Tim Wilson is the new member for the Melbourne seat of Goldstein after the AEC finalised a partial recount of votes. NewsWire/ Nadir Kinani Credit: News Corp Australia In a statement posted to social media, Mr Wilson said after 29 days of counting the Liberals had 14,697 more first preference votes than the former MP. 'I want to thank all Goldstein voters, but particularly the extraordinary effort some went to so their voice was heard,' he said. 'Now the recount is finished, the result is clear. It is time to get on with the job and take the voice and values of Goldstein to shape the future of Australia.' Independent MP Zoe Daniel has conceded defeat to newly appointed Liberal MP Tim / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia Ms Daniel declared victory in the highly-contested seat on election night after early counting leaned heavily in her favour. But a surge in postal votes over the following days swung the pendulum back into blue-ribbon territory, with the seat actually called for Mr Wilson on May 7. Ms Daniel refused to concede the seat at the time and insisted on waiting for the full distribution of preferences and then demanded a recount, which was granted in part by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). She said it had been a long process to recount the 85,000 votes representing 75 per cent of votes cast. 'Goldstein is now one of the most marginal seats in the country, and with that comes embedded accountability,' she said. 'In that, we have done our job. 'In a world where trust in elections is being eroded in so many places, we should never take this for granted.'
Perth Now
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
City braces for months of commuter chaos
Melbourne commuters can expect headaches for the rest of the year as the $15bn Metro Tunnel opens in stages. Passengers on three different train lines will have to switch at either of two different stations as the first trains carrying passengers through the new tunnel are opened to the public. Speaking to media on Saturday, Transport Infrastructure Minister, Gab Williams, said the amount of disruptions owing to the state's massive infrastructure projects was too long to list. 'You've probably already seen the media release with an outline of many of the disruptions that will be taking place over the winter break, because we have a huge winter of work,' she said. Victorian Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams acknowledges there will numerous disruptions in coming months. NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Credit: News Corp Australia The Parkville Station is one of five new Metro stations. NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Credit: News Corp Australia 'So I won't go through all of them. I will choose to single out a few, but in short, we are ensuring you know the final stretch and opening, getting ready to open, the Metro Tunnel project and of course as well the West Gate Tunnel.' On June 21, the train-carrying Metro Tunnel will run a 'dress rehearsal', however the tunnel hasn't yet been signed off to transport passengers. On this one rehearsal day, passengers on the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines will have to switch trains at Caulfield or Footscray stations. The empty trains will then continue on through the tunnel as a sort of dry run. Media got a look at the new Parkville Station on Saturday. NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Credit: News Corp Australia There are two AFL games in Melbourne on that Saturday, being contested by four Melbourne-based teams. Ms Williams said staff will 'be out in force' at the stations where passengers have to get off the train to tell people where to go, on top of the usual announcements ringing out. This June 21 trial marks the first in a string of major transport disruptions over the next six months. Final works on the West Gate Tunnel will cause lane closures on outbound arterial routes later in the year. Sections of the Eastern Freeway will be shut during the weekends in August and buses will replace trains on the Hurstbridge line in July.
Perth Now
20 hours ago
- Perth Now
Bondi attack survivor's harrowing story
Warning: Distressing content. People walked through the popular shopping centre with ease, there was nothing to suggest to them their afternoon would amount to anything other than the regular autumn day it should have been. Some were pushing prams, others running mindless errands. As shoppers began to run through the Westfield Bondi Junction, it was easy to brush the behaviour off. No one yelled as one woman, known as Witness I, saw people running towards her: she thought they were just being 'silly'. It was only after she 'felt an intense thud in her back' that she turned to see a man walking away with a knife. She placed her hand on her back and saw blood on her hand as she had realised she had been stabbed. There had been nothing to alert her that the 'floridly psychotic' Joel Cauchi was in the midst of a deadly rampage, stabbing 16 people in less than three minutes. Witness I was his 13th victim, and as quickly as he'd stabbed her, he was onto the next victim. The Westfield Bondi Junction attack unfolded on April 13, 2024. Jeremy Piper Credit: News Corp Australia CCTV captured the moments before Joel Cauchi was shot. Supplied. Credit: Supplied Another woman saw Cauchi approaching from the same way she'd seen people run from, less than a minute after Witness I was stabbed. 'Why is everyone running?' she asked him, before he stabbed her in the chest. Once inside the shelter of a nearby store the woman, known as Witness X, called her mum, believing 'she was going to die'. Cauchi's last victim, Liya Barko, saw the killer 'veer' her way and 'immediately felt a hot pain'. Realising she'd been stabbed, she believed Cauchi told her 'Catch you' before running away. Witness I, Witness X, Ms Barko and seven other victims survived the attack. Dawn Singleton, Yixuan Cheng, Faraz Ahmed Tahir, Ashlee Good, Jade Young and Pikria Darchia were all killed, tearing apart the lives of their loved ones, some of whom described their grief as 'bone deep, soul crushing agony' that follows them 'like a shadow'. CCTV showed Ms Cheng walking through the centre on her phone, 'oblivious' to what was unfolding, before she was killed. L to R: Silas Despreaux and Damien Guerot, the two French nationals who challenged Joel Cauchi with bollards. NewsWire / John Appleyard Credit: News Corp Australia The sheer speed at which the attack unfolded left many in the centre unaware of what was happening: 'bollard men' Silas Despreaux and Damien Guerot told an inquest into the attack they ushered a woman, unaware of Cauchi lurking below, off an escalator before they threw bollards at the knife-wielding killer. Even security staff weren't entirely sure what was going on, with footage showing a security supervisor running towards a danger he had scarce information on. Through tears, he told the court he'd seen 'people on the ground' and had radioed to ask where the attacker was. Bondi stabbing victims (top l-r) Jade Young, Ashlee Good, Dawn Singleton, (bottom l-r) Cheng Yixuan, Faraz Ahmed Tahir and Pikria Darchia Credit: Supplied When Inspector Amy Scott shot Cauchi at 3.38pm, the supervisor – like many in the centre – didn't know they were police shots, instead thinking he was being shot at. Fifty witnesses were called to give evidence to a five-week coronial inquest into the tragedy, many breaking down and crying in the witness box as they relived the horrors of April 13, 2024. The bar table and media room weren't spared from the tears, with tissue boxes placed throughout the building as the inquest concluded on Thursday. The officer in charge of the investigation into the attack, Chief Inspector Andrew Marks. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia Red flags, missed opportunities The evidence painted a picture of confusion, missed opportunities and red flags in the care of Cauchi as well as the responses of emergency services and the centre's operator. This included a psychiatrist, known as Dr C, who deemed Cauchi fit for a weapons license in January 2021. This is despite Cauchi telling Dr C he'd only been on clozapine for two years, when in fact he'd been on the antipsychotic drug for nearly two decades to treat schizophrenia before he was gradually weaned off it. Inspector Amy Scott arrived at the scene within about two minutes of acknowledging the job on police radio. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia Dr C only discovered this after contacting Cauchi's former Toowoomba psychiatry clinic, and agreed with Ms Sullivan this was a 'red flag': he acknowledged he shouldn't have deemed him fit for the license. Counsel assisting the coroner Peggy Dwyer SC said it was 'very fortunate' Cauchi didn't follow through with a gun license after the Queensland Police Force issued him a statement of eligibility. Mum's concerns 'not taken seriously enough' An expert psychiatric conclave pored over evidence of the mental health care Cauchi received, with Denmark psychiatrist Professor Merete Nordentoft telling the court concerns raised by his mother of a deterioration in his mental state were 'not taken seriously enough'. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2001, Cauchi's dose of the antipsychotic, clozapine, was gradually titrated down by his private Toowoomba psychiatrist, Dr Andrea Boros-Lavak, over complaints of over-sedation. He was entirely weaned off it in 2018, and was taken off the drug prescribed for his obsessive compulsive disorder (Abilify) the following year. Shortly after his Abilify was stopped, Cauchi's mother, Michele raised concerns with Dr Boros-Lavak's clinic seven times between November 2019 and February 2020, ringing them, sending emails, and visiting in person to report a potential relapse. She reported her son may have been hearing voices, was leaving notes he was under 'satanic control', and his OCD was 'getting out of control'. Cauchi's mother, Michele Cauchi, raised concerns over her son's mental health several times. NewsWire/Tertius Pickard Credit: NCA NewsWire Dr Andrea Boros-Lavak was Cauchi's treating psychiatrist for about eight years. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia Dr Boros-Lavak prescribed him Abilify in November 2019 as a precaution, but said in hindsight it wasn't necessary, chalking the symptoms up to concern over a risky sexual encounter he'd had. He did not fill the script. Dr Boros-Lavack told the court 'Michele is a beautiful, beautiful mother, but she is not a psychiatrist'. The psychiatrist discharged him from her care to a GP when Cauchi moved to Brisbane in March 2020: the referral letter was the subject of scrutiny for failing to mention Mrs Cauchi's concerns. Her concerns were also not mentioned in any further correspondence with other practitioners caring for Joel, including Dr C. Dr Boros-Lavack's lawyer at one stage lifted a massive binder before the court and questioned the likelihood of practitioners actually reading a referral containing a patient's entire medical history. The expert psychiatric panel ultimately agreed Dr Boros-Lavack's care did meet the accepted standards for private psychiatrists during that period, but there were 'shortcomings' in her handover. Cops' 'missed opportunity' year before attack Years later in 2023 Cauchi called police to his family's Toowoomba home, with body-worn video of the attending police officers revealing Cauchi had assaulted his father in a 'rage' after he confiscated his pigging knives. One of the officers said Cauchi had a 'real hard on for his knives' during the call out. Cauchi called police on his father after he confiscated his knives. Supplied. Credit: Supplied Mrs Cauchi again expressed she was worried about her son, telling the officers she was unsure how to get him help 'unless he does something drastic'. Under the belief they had no powers to force Cauchi for an urgent assessment due to 'confusing' changes to the Emergency Examination Authority (EEA) criteria, the officers requested a follow-up for the Cauchi family. In what was agreed as an 'oversight' and 'missed opportunity', the email — like Cauchi — slipped through cracks and was ultimately missed, despite the court being told evidenced painted a 'clear picture' he needed an emergency examination at some point in time. A better system for follow-up has since been put in place. By 2024, Cauchi was making notes on his phone to 'Call knife sharpener and confirm it doesn't need sharpening for mall use' and to 'Check out malls and also where to run'. Chillingly, he made searches related to the 1999 Columbine shooting in the US on the morning of the fatal attack. Evidence suggested Cauchi was a 'totally different' person while he was medicated. Control room operator not 'up to speed' The CCTV control room was unmonitored as Cauchi began his deadly rampage, as the operator, known as CR1, had gone to the bathroom just 40 seconds prior. Her colleague, CR2, was also out of the room, having been pulled out for training. International security expert Scott Wilson was called to give evidence in the inquest. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia International security expert Scott Wilson told the court CR1 obviously wasn't 'up to speed' in her role, with the court earlier told she was on the verge of being replaced and had been flagged for 'ongoing issues' on multiple occasions: retraining needed to be scheduled as she was responding too slow, notes made days before the attack stated. Former Glad Group project and training manager Andrew David denied suggestions he was directed to 'rush' CR1's training due to staffing pressures, telling the court 'there was pressure … I hope that didn't affect my training'. The delay in activating public announcements, alarms and messaging through the centre was also identified as an issue, with it accepted all actions should have been rolled out earlier and should have encouraged people to 'escape, hide, tell' rather than evacuate. A suite of measures have since been put in place at the centre, including an automated PA system. Confusion over whether the centre was a 'hot zone', and if there was a second offender, also highlighted the need for improved interagency communications between NSW Police and Ambulance. Importantly, it was generally accepted decisions made on the day of the attack didn't affect anyone's survivability, however it's important to learn for any future mass casualty event. Many families slammed the media's reporting of the tragedy, including Ms Young's mother, who was sickened at the suggestion some of the footage aired of her daughter and grieving family after the attack was newsworthy. Ms Singleton's mother, Julie, and fiance, Ashley Wildey, both reported they were upset to find Ms Singleton had been identified in media reports before they were allowed to formally identify her, with the mother 'still hoping at this point there had been some kind of horrible mistake'. She slammed reporters requesting comment, including by leaving notes in her mailbox, as 'intrusive', while Mr Wildey said the reporting of the attack caused 'immense and immeasurable pain' to his and Ms Singleton's families. Sue Chyranthou SC represented the Singleton, Good and Young families during the inquest. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia Families of the victims specifically requested the media response, and the impact this had on them, be examined during the inquest. Tensions in court prompted gasps Bubbling tensions were brought to the surface over the five weeks, including one moment where counsel assisting the coroner Emma Sullivan reminded Mr David he was under oath during questions about CR1's training. The court was shown CR1's training competency checklist: each section was signed off and dated at January 31, 2024, which was in stark contrast to another checklist which showed sections signed off on different dates. Accepting he had signed off on CR1's training, he simultaneously denied any recollection of it, prompting Ms Sullivan to ask if he was doing his 'very best'. She told him 'there are families in court who would really like some answers'. Even NSW coroner Teresa O'Sullivan interjected, asking him if he knew at all what he was doing on the day in question. 'From the look of this document that you've signed, it looks like everything happened on 31 January 2024, which you say is impossible to have done that much training,' Ms O'Sullivan said. 'The reason we're asking is it's troubling to see this without an explanation from you … I take it that you're doing your very best to try and remember how it came to be that your signature is on this document?' Ms O'Sullivan pressed. Mr David maintained he couldn't recall despite doing his best, and later told the court he didn't remember issues with CR1's performance being raised with him. 'That's your evidence on oath?' Ms Sullivan asked. He agreed. Joel Cauchi stabbed 16 people in less than three minutes before he was shot dead. Supplied. Credit: Supplied Accepting he had signed off on CR1's training, he simultaneously denied any recollection of it, prompting Ms Sullivan to ask if he was doing his 'very best'. She told him 'there are families in court who would really like some answers'. Even NSW coroner Teresa O'Sullivan interjected, asking him if he knew at all what he was doing on the day in question. 'From the look of this document that you've signed, it looks like everything happened on 31 January 2024, which you say is impossible to have done that much training,' Ms O'Sullivan said. 'The reason we're asking is it's troubling to see this without an explanation from you … I take it that you're doing your very best to try and remember how it came to be that your signature is on this document?' Ms O'Sullivan pressed. Mr David maintained he couldn't recall despite doing his best, and later told the court he didn't remember issues with CR1's performance being raised with him. 'That's your evidence on oath?' Ms Sullivan asked. He agreed. Counsel assisting the coroner Peggy Dwyer SC. NewsWire / Monique Harmer Credit: News Corp Australia The court was told CR1's training could have been undertaken over a period of time, and simply signed off all at once. Cauchi's psychiatrist also sparked a collective gasp from the room of journalists when she claimed his attack had 'nothing to do with psychosis'. 'I think it might have been due to his frustration, sexual frustration, pornography, and hatred towards women,' Dr Boros-Lavack told the court. Almost equally shocking was Dr Dwyer's subsequent suggestion that Dr Boros-Lavack's refusal to accept Cauchi was psychotic on April 13 was 'because you don't want to accept yourself the failings in your care of Joel?' 'I did not fail in my care of Joel, and I refuse. I, I have no error on my behalf. That is my answer.' She withdrew the comment, branding it 'conjecture' the following day when questioned by lawyer Sue Chrysanthou SC, who represented the Good, Singleton and Young families. Through her evidence, Dr Boros-Lavack was constantly asked to please listen to the question and not to interject. mental health support
