Latest news with #RobertBarnes
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Morning Mail: Can Ley rebuild the Liberals? AFL faces gambling hit, Trump woes continue
Morning everyone. Can Sussan Ley make the Liberals great again? Today we start a four-part series in which our political reporters ask whether she can survive the internal brawls and forge a more inclusive era of conservative politics. Talking of Maga, Trump supporters are burning their signature hats in protest at their esrtwhile hero's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. In Victoria, the regulator is considering an unprecedented intervention which could limit the AFL's wagering revenue, concern grows about rogue tradies preying on the vulnerable, and the 12-year-old swimmer who has qualified for the world championships. Super windfall | Major Australian media production companies, including the producers of Neighbours and Home and Away, may be ordered to pay workers millions of dollars in alleged unpaid superannuation after a 2024 tax office ruling. Wager limit | The Victorian gambling regulator is considering whether to make an unprecedented intervention in a dispute between the AFL and bookmakers, which could set a limit on the league's revenue from wagering. Tradie trouble | Governments and consumer groups are becoming increasingly worried about rogue tradies who are targeting vulnerable Australians – especially the elderly – to pressure them into unnecessary work such as roof repairs. Solitary concerns | Advocates have serious concerns for the wellbeing of Robert Barnes, an Indigenous man who they say has been in solitary confinement in a South Australia prison for 'close to 800 days'. 'Grossly inappropriate' | Allegations about Mark Latham's conduct in the NSW parliament have once again raised the issue of how to deal with workplace behaviour. As Anne Davies writes, there's no easy fix other than leaders making fixing the culture inside political parties and inside parliaments a priority. Epstein prosecutor fired | The Department of Justice has reportedly fired Maurene Comey (pictured), the daughter of former FBI director James Comey and a prosecutor in the federal Jeffrey Epstein case. It came as Donald Trump's efforts to dismiss the criticism over his administration's handling of the Epstein files as a 'hoax' showed no sign of working as some of his supporters recorded videos burning their signature Make America Great Again hats. Follow developments live. This week's edition of our Politics Weekly America podcast also discusses the issue. Gaza attack | An Israeli strike has hit the only Catholic church in Gaza, killing two people and injuring several others including the parish priest, who used to receive daily calls from the late Pope Francis. Plane all-clear | Air India has said it found 'no issues' with the fuel switches on its other Boeing planes after the fatal crash that killed 260 people last month, as a US report suggested investigators have turned their attention to the actions of the plane's captain. MI5 sting | A former Tesco worker caught buying a gun in an MI5 sting operation has denied compiling a kill-list of colleagues and customers he had allegedly branded 'race traitors'. Young gun | A 12-year-old swimmer, Yu Zidi, has qualified for the world championships in Singapore after her performance at China's nationals placed her times among the world's elite this season. Newsroom edition: why is Jim Chalmers listening to Ezra Klein? The most-talked about book in Canberra right now is Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. Nour Haydar asks editor Lenore Taylor and head of newsroom Mike Ticher if the Abundance agenda is right for Australia. Sorry your browser does not support audio - but you can download here and listen $ In the first of a four-part series, our political reporters have been talking to Liberal party insiders about whether Sussan Ley can move beyond the Dutton years and climate wars and forge a new, more inclusive era of conservative politics. One says: 'It feels like we're moving into a whole new era of more openness … so I think it's been a breath of fresh air so far.' The trailer for the last season of Stranger Things has just been released and is chock full of heavy metal, demons, tornados and flamethrowers. One of our television critics, Stuart Heritage, is hopeful that the series might have rediscovered its emotional core. Sign up to Morning Mail Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Golf | World No 1 Scottie Scheffler laid down an ominous marker on the first day of The Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, but local favourite Rory McIlroy is in with a shout. Rugby union | Lions coach Andy Farrell looks relaxed as the first test approaches but he knows his team can't be complacent even though the Wallabies have some gaping holes in their selection. Football | England have staged a remarkable fightback late to force Sweden into extra time in their battle to secure a place in the semi-finals of the Women's European championship. Follow the action live. Cycling | A devastating attack from Tadej Pogacar on first Tour de France's first day in the Pyrenees helped the defending champion reclaim the yellow jersey and leave his rivals trailing after stage 12. The Liberals are leading the latest polls in the Tasmania election, the Mercury reports, but a minority government remains the most likely outcome. Melbourne's suburban rail loop project is locked in a $7m compensation battle over its takeover of a park in Burwood, the Age reports. The ABC reports that two men charged with the murders of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson in Mexico have alleged ties to organised crime, according to court documents. The Sydney Morning Herald claims that Icac raided City of Parramatta offices hours before a council meeting. Billionaire Annie Cannon-Brookes has finished the first part of her revamp of Dunk Island in far north Queensland with the opening of a new beachfront restaurant, the Australian reports. Melbourne | Public hearing at University of Melbourne of the 'people's inquiry' into campus free speech on Palestine. Environment | Social services minister Tanya Plibersek is making an announcement at OzHarvest in Sydney at 9am. Media | Interlocutory judgment in Antoinette Lattouf's legal challenge to the ABC. If you would like to receive this Morning Mail update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here, or finish your day with our Afternoon Update newsletter. You can follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland. And finally, here are the Guardian's crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Grave concerns for Indigenous man's wellbeing after ‘close to 800 days' in solitary confinement at SA prison
Advocates have serious concerns for the wellbeing of a man in a South Australian prison they say has been in solitary confinement for 'close to 800 days'. Robert Barnes is serving an 11-year sentence at Yatala Labour prison in Adelaide and is in the high-security G Division. Uncle Major 'Moogy' Sumner, one of the state's most prominent Aboriginal elders, said Barnes, an Indigenous man, was in prison after assaulting a corrections officer Sumner and Mel Turner, a former Aboriginal liaison officer (ALO) at the prison, both said they had not previously heard of anyone being kept in solitary confinement for that long. 'It's getting close to 800 [days],' Turner said. Sumner, a Ngarrindjeri elder, environmental activist, former Greens candidate and member of South Australia's First Nations voice said he had been stopped from seeing Barnes because he spoke to the voice about the situation. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'I was going to see him, then I got told that because I'm a member of the voice in SA and I took it to the voice – and somehow they found out I mentioned it there and said I couldn't go in and see him,' Sumner said. 'That's what the voice is for. Anything wrong with Aboriginal people, we take it to the government.' Sumner is due to meet the state's correctional services head, David Brown, on Friday regarding Barnes's situation. 'We'll talk about what we can do. We have to get [Barnes] out of there,' Sumner said. The Human Rights Law Centre defines solitary confinement as isolation 'for 22 hours a day or more without meaningful human contact'. 'Prolonged solitary confinement is solitary confinement for a time period in excess of 15 consecutive days.' The centre has condemned it as a 'cruel practice that causes irreparable harm to the people who are subjected to this form of physical and sensory isolation', and called on governments to ban the 'archaic and inhumane' practice. Turner said she advocated for Sumner to visit Barnes, at which point she was told Sumner could not come in because he had spoken to the voice. 'I said 'Wow, I'll tell Major Sumner', and [the person] said, 'You can't tell him and you can't tell the prisoner',' Turner said. She said she last saw Barnes at the end of March. Turner has claimed she had been targeted and bullied and felt she had to resign from her role as an ALO, which she did in June. 'I resigned because I was pushed out,' she said. In a letter to Brown sent in May, seen by Guardian Australia, Turner said she had been 'hindered' in performing her role because of a ban on ALOs from accessing G Division, which was 'heartbreaking and soul-crushing' because her role is 'specifically aimed at preventing Aboriginal deaths in custody' and Barnes had self-harmed and attempted suicide twice. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion She said Barnes's sister told her he had tried to kill himself on Tuesday, the same day a protest was held outside the prison. SA Greens senator Barbara Pocock wrote to acting premier Susan Close to confirm exactly how long Barnes has been in solitary confinement, saying UN standards known as the Nelson Mandela Rules prohibit solitary confinement for more than 15 consecutive days. 'We send people to prison as punishment, not for punishment,' Pocock said in a statement on Wednesday. 'I am told this prisoner has already attempted suicide and self-harm on a number of occasion and I, along with many others in the community, hold grave fears for his health and wellbeing while he is held under these conditions.' In the letter to Close, seen by Guardian Australia, Pocock asked exactly how many days Barnes had been in solitary; whether UN rules had been breached; whether certain books and materials had been withheld; whether ALOs and Sumner were stopped from visiting; whether any officer had said Sumner was stopped from visiting because he was a member of the SA voice; and whether Close had confidence in the leadership and management at the prison. 'In view of these serious allegations and the clear threat and risk to Mr Barnes' health and wellbeing, I request that your government initiate an immediate investigation of these matters,' Pocock wrote. Guardian Australia has contacted the South Australian government and the Department of Correctional Services for a response. The department has told other outlets in a statement that it cannot comment on individual cases but 'continues to provide cultural and mental health support to identified prisoners in need across the system', including at Yatala. It also said Sumner was not banned from DCS sites, the ABC reported, and that an offer had been made for him to visit Yatala next week. Sumner said he had been told he could not see Barnes. Support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636
News.com.au
6 days ago
- News.com.au
Grim update after South Australian maximum security prisoner chewed off own finger
WARNING: Confronting details including self-harm A South Australian maximum security inmate has attempted to take his life behind bars less than a fortnight after it was revealed that he chewed off his own finger. Robert William Junior Barnes, 39, has spent more than 700 days isolated in G Division at Yatala Labour Prison — a place described by a former inmate as 'hell on earth'. exclusively revealed earlier this month that Barnes 'chewed off his pinky finger down to the knuckle'. The story cited two people who had spent time with Barnes in prison recently; Aboriginal elder Uncle Moogy Sumner and former Aboriginal Liaison Officer with SA Corrections Melanie Turner. Uncle Moogy told 'he chewed it right off'. The story led to a protest outside Yatala Labour Prison on Tuesday this week where advocates warned the status quo would lead to another Aboriginal death in custody. A text message sent by Barnes' sister on Tuesday this week, seen by reveals the Aboriginal inmate attempted suicide for what is reportedly at least the third time. 'Just got off the phone to Robbie and he cut into himself again,' Barnes' sister wrote to Ms Turner. 'He's being tormented (by) those correctional offices (sic). Robbie just said to me he needs to find something sharper, he doesn't wanna be in this world anymore. 'I tried to tell him to hang in there ... but my heart is just breaking.' The South Australian Department of Corrections is preventing Ms Turner and Uncle Moogy from visiting Barnes in G Division. Ms Turner resigned from her position after being prevented from visiting Barnes. In a letter to Corrections CEO David Brown, she wrote: 'I emailed my manager to request permission to enter G Division to meet with this prisoner, with whom I have established a good rapport, but I was denied.' 'This poor individual believes that (I have) abandoned him,' she wrote. Uncle Moogy told Barnes 'is in a bad way mentally' and was benefitting from his visits. 'He's got a lot of problems. If you're in jail, you're not there for being an angel,' Uncle Moogy said. 'But he's got problems because of how he was getting treated. 'I went up there to talk about culture, where he's from, the traditional ways. And I found out he's connected to my way, too,' he said. 'It was working out well. He enjoyed me going there, talking to him once a week. We're both connected to the Adnyamathanha people from the Flinders Ranges.' He was worried what Barnes would do after he stopped visiting. This week's suicide attempt has worried him further. A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections told on that Uncle Moogy 'is not banned from DCS sites, including Yatala Labour Prison'. But understands that does not include G Division where inmates are kept in solitary confinement. 'The Department continues to provide cultural and mental health support to identified prisoners in need across the system including at Yatala Labour Prison,' the spokesperson said. 'An offer to visit Yatala Labour Prison next week and meet with the Aboriginal Cultural Treatment Unit team, who support prisoners placed in the maximum-security unit, has also been extended to Major Sumner. 'The Department values the contribution Elders make to our prisons, including site visits. The safety of any visitor along with staff and prisoners is paramount when considering access, particularly to the state's high security prisons.' During a protest outside Yatala on Tuesday, advocates called for an end to 'human rights abuse' inside. 'Robert Barnes is being subjected to cruel and inhumane punishment, spending almost 800 days in solitary confinement,' a speaker said. 'Aboriginal prisoners are being denied cultural support when housed in solitary confinement.' They called for the General Manager of Yatala, Kit Wong, to 'be stood down immediately'. The crime that landed Barnes behind bars at G Division was a violent one that involved throwing a cup of urine in the face of a prison officer at Port Augusta prison in 2021. The Adelaide Advertiser reported last year that Barnes was jailed for over a decade after a brawl that left his victim in hospital suffering a fractured eye socket and requiring surgery. Less than a month while at the Adelaide Remand Centre, Barnes attempted to bite off his own finger before a corrections officer pinned his arms. Barnes punched him to the left side of his body and ear, causing it to bleed and yelled 'I'm going to f***ing bite your ear off'. He reportedly used a metal pipe from a vacuum cleaner to hit an officer over the head three times.
ABC News
7 days ago
- ABC News
Elder's concerns for mental health of Indigenous man in high-security prison
An Aboriginal Elder says an Indigenous man is "suffering mentally and physically" inside South Australia's high-security prison, and is concerned that without intervention he could become "another death in custody". WARNING: This story contains reference to self-harm and suicide. About 70 people gathered outside Yatala Labour Prison, in Adelaide's northern suburbs, on Tuesday afternoon to protest what they described as the "cruel" and "inhumane" treatment of Indigenous man Robert William Junior Barnes. Barnes was sentenced last year to 11 years in prison for multiple offences, including assaulting a corrections worker. Former Aboriginal Liaison Officer Melanie Turner, who recently resigned, said she had been denied access to Barnes by the Department for Correctional Services (DCS). She said Ngarrindjeri Elder Uncle Major 'Moogy' Sumner had also not been allowed to visit Barnes, and so they could not provide cultural support to him. Ms Turner said Barnes had self-harmed while behind bars, and that when she had last seen him about a month ago "he wasn't doing good at all". "I've got a cultural obligation to the community to look after Robert Barnes as well, and if something had happened to him I would have felt devastated because I would have the community to explain to as well," she said. Mr Sumner said Barnes had spent "nearly 800 days" in a cell "no bigger than a bathroom" with "nothing in there for him for entertainment". "He's suffering mentally and physically," he said. Mr Sumner said he was concerned for Barnes's welfare if the situation did not change. In a statement, the Department for Correctional Services said it cannot comment on individual cases under the Correctional Services Act but it "continues to provide cultural and mental health support to identified prisoners in need across the system", including at Yatala. It also said that Mr Sumner was not banned from DCS sites, and that he was due to meet with the DCS chief executive this week. "The Department appreciates the cultural support Major Sumner continues to provide in prisons, including a visit to the Adelaide Remand Centre during NAIDOC Week last week," the statement said. It said an offer has also been made to Mr Sumner to visit Yatala next week and meet with the Aboriginal Cultural Treatment Unit team, who support prisoners in the maximum-security unit. "The Department values the contribution Elders make to our prisons, including site visits," the statement said. "The safety of any visitor along with staff and prisoners is paramount when considering access, particularly to the state's high security prisons."
Finextra
26-06-2025
- Business
- Finextra
BPX gets FCA clearance to operate marketplace for traditional and tokenised securities
BPX is pleased to announce that it is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to operate as a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF), Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM), Cryptoasset Exchange and Custodian Wallet Provider. 0 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. With these institutional grade regulatory permissions in place, BPX is developing a fully integrated marketplace to support the entire lifecycle of a security. This includes issuance, trading and collateralised lending of traditional dematerialised and tokenised securities, alongside settlement and custody of tokenised securities. BPX is also the only FCA-authorised trading venue to have passed Gate 1 of the Bank of England and FCA's Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS). BPX now enters its next phase: preparing for live operations and welcoming institutional participants to connect in anticipation of its first transaction. BPX's mission is to enhance access and liquidity for Issuers and Investors in investment funds and digital assets. Its distributed ledger technology enabled platform enables efficient tokenisation at scale, broadening investment opportunities, unlocking new liquidity sources, and facilitating capital access. Dr. Robert Barnes, BPX Co-CEO, said: 'Our vision is a marketplace of best practice, modernised for institutions, offering access through a single connection to a broader range of hard-to-access alternative assets, such as infrastructure and real estate investment funds, whether traditional or tokenised—available for issuance, trading, and use as collateral.' Ali Celiker, BPX Co-CEO, added: 'Our comprehensive regulatory permissions and integrated market infrastructure strongly position us to advance our mission: enhancing access and liquidity for issuers and investors, while leading the transformation of capital markets from legacy systems to tokenised workflows - firmly anchored in regulatory compliance and driven by innovation.'
